Fu Yi's mouth was bitter. Seeing Bai Qingqing's expression, he knew no matter how much he explained, she wouldn’t believe him. Any woman who had gone through such danger would never trust him again.
“Today's events… I apologize for frightening you, but no matter what, this was never my intention. I will give you an explanation.”
Fu Yi lowered his eyelids and suddenly handed the sachet back to Bai Qingqing. “Keep this with you, in case anyone sees it with me and makes up rumors.”
Bai Qingqing naturally didn’t want to accept it, but considering that Fu Yi had slept in the room with the burning incense for so long, if it weren’t for the sachet...
She hesitated, but suddenly her eyes widened as water splashed around her. Fu Yi had already jumped into the lotus pond.
The water wasn’t deep, just reaching up to his waist. But with the recent cold snap, the water was icy and biting. The unusual redness on Fu Yi’s face slowly faded, replaced by a pallid hue.
Bai Qingqing was stunned by his sudden action, unable to tell if it was some kind of scheme or something else, but she felt no sympathy. She was the one who had been schemed against, and she was the one to be pitied!
Servants heard the noise and rushed over, horrified to see Fu Yi in the pond. They hurried to pull him out, but Fu Yi coldly ordered them to stop.
Soon, from the direction of the courtyard Bai Qingqing had escaped from, voices could be heard, and the commotion seemed quite loud. She felt a chill in her heart but didn’t leave. Instead, she stood still, waiting for them to arrive.
Stolen story; please report.
As expected, a crowd soon gathered, with Princess Ping leading the way. When she saw Bai Qingqing standing calmly by the pond, her eyes flickered subtly.
When she saw Fu Yi in the water, her face immediately turned pale. “What’s going on here? Yi’er! What are you all standing there for? Hurry, get him out of there!”
Fu Yi was in terrible condition. By the time the servants managed to lift him from the water, he was trembling all over, looking like he might faint.
Princess Ping anxiously ordered someone to fetch a doctor and shot a sharp glance at Bai Qingqing. “Can you explain what happened here?”
Bai Qingqing maintained her composure, her face filled with innocence. “Princess, what makes you say that? Do you think Mr. Fu’s entering the water has something to do with me?”
“... Yi’er fell into the water, and you were the only one nearby. I was merely asking what happened.”
“Oh, it seems that Mr. Fu just thought the weather was hot and wanted to cool off in the water.”
She smiled casually, tucked the sachet away, and added, “I too felt the heat today, so I wouldn’t want to disturb the princess's leisure. I’ll take my leave now.”
Princess Ping had no reason to stop her. Before Fu Yi lost consciousness, he had trembled and said it was because he felt hot. Everyone around them had heard it.
So, she could only grit her teeth in silence and turn her attention to Fu Yi.
Once Bai Qingqing was in the carriage, her calm demeanor from before slowly faded away, and a delayed shiver ran through her.
She couldn’t bear to imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t had the sachet with her today. If Fu Yi had really done something to her, what would her life have turned into?
The more she thought about it, the more afraid she became, plunging her entire being into panic, which frightened Zidai as well.
She couldn’t go home —it would scare her parents. “Go, go to Yanlai Tower!”
The top floor of Yanlai Tower was always closed to the public. No one knew what was up there.
Ge Shao followed the winding staircase upwards. After knocking on the door, he quietly waited outside. When called in, he carefully pushed the door open.