Chapter 10, Climbing Up the Pole

Luo Mingxiu must be thinking of finding an excuse to stop Su Zhongxing. If Su Zhongxing uses this as an excuse to stop Liu Yong, then no one will go to rescue the young lady who has fallen into the water. Regardless of whether that young lady fell into the water intentionally or accidentally, it is still a life, and how can it be taken lightly? Alas, Su Zhongxing and Luo Mingxiu are entangled with each other, and I do not want to watch him get involved with another young lady who has fallen into the water. I just did not expect that Liu Yong would actually encounter a problem and not come! What should be done about this? Alas, Su Zhongxing and Luo Mingxiu are entangled with each other, and I do not want to watch him get involved with another young lady who has fallen into the water. I just did not expect that Liu Yong would actually encounter a problem and not come! What should be done about this?

Here, Lin Mei went to get her sachet and, as a habit, took a sniff at the tip of her nose. However, a very strange smell wafted out, causing her spine to tingle and her legs to weaken. She hurriedly moved the sachet away and used her fingers to rummage through it. She remembered that she had placed a few mint leaves inside, which should emit a minty fragrance. Why, then, was this sachet releasing a different scent?

When Wu Yuyi fell into the water, she already sensed something was amiss; the pool water did not seem very deep! After struggling for a while, and realizing that no one had jumped in to save her, she felt even more alarmed. Underwater, she heard a cacophony of shouts, yet she did not hear the voices of Liu Yong and Su Zhongxing, which made her aware that something had changed, filling her with both anger and anxiety. If she did not grab the bamboo pole to climb up, what if other servants from the Hou residence arrived first to rescue her? Would she then have to become a concubine of a servant? Should she hold on a little longer to see if Su Zhongxing or Liu Yong would come over, or should she hurry and climb up the pole?

There is no way around it; who asked to be the fiancée of Su Zhongxing? One cannot just stand by and watch Su Zhongxing fall into a trap. As for Liu Yong, has he not been waiting for his destined marriage? Perhaps this young lady who fell into the water is precisely the noble wife destined for him! I am doing a good deed, not plotting mischief.

As they walked along, the young girl recounted the events that had transpired.

Zhou Minmin advised: "Although it is not yet spring, the water in the pond is still bone-chillingly cold. You just soaked in it, and I fear the cold might invade your body. You should let Doctor Wang take a look to put your mind at ease. Speaking of Doctor Wang's medical skills, he is among the best in the capital. Ordinary people often cannot even invite him! He frequently comes to our residence to check my mother and me for peace of mind, and he is the most trustworthy. Even if you feel fine, it wouldn't hurt to have him examine you."

Lin Mei, in a moment of desperation, shouted loudly: "Who understands water conditions? Come quickly to save someone!"

Zhou Minmin, the owner, finally arrived out of breath. Upon looking into the pool, she recognized that the one who had fallen into the water was Wu Yuyi, and she shouted: "Yuyi, the water in the pool is shallow, and the bottom is covered with pebbles, there is no mud. Don't panic, quickly grab the bamboo pole to steady yourself and you will be able to come up."

On the other side, the young girl hurriedly ran to report to the Lady of Yongping Marquis

The heart of a doctor is akin to that of a parent, and Dr. Wang, with his kind and gentle demeanor, seems trustworthy. Lin Mei gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and revealed her condition of having osteomalacia, pleading with Dr. Wang to cure her.

By the koi pond, the young ladies were continuously screaming, with a few timid ones already in tears. Lin Mei, panting, rushed to the edge of the pond and peered in, seeing a vibrant silk dress floating on the surface. The owner of the dress was struggling underwater, a sight that appeared extremely perilous. In a hurry, she looked around and pulled a bamboo pole from the side of the pond, extending it into the koi pond while shouting, "Quick, grab the pole, and we will pull you up." As she shouted loudly, she turned to the few young ladies nearby who were not crying and said, "Everyone, please help and pull her up."

A young lady has fallen into the water. As a man who understands the nature of water, the first instinct is naturally to offer assistance. As for the consequences of saving someone, it was not something that crossed his mind at that moment. Upon hearing Luo Mingxiu's words, Su Zhongxing suddenly realized that saving the young lady meant he would also have to take responsibility for her. Since Lin Mei was also knowledgeable about water, there was no need for her to take action in this rescue.

Doctor Wang examined Lin Mei's pulse, and after a brief observation, he stated that there was no cause for concern. She only needed to take two doses of medicine to dispel the cold.

"Where did the fall into the water occur?" The Lady of Yongping Hou pondered that all the railings in the garden had been recently repaired; if one were not very careless, it would be unlikely to fall into the water so easily

Lin Mei saw that Wu Yuyi was still struggling, seemingly unaware of the shouts from the crowd by the pool. With no other choice, she took off her shoes, climbed over the railing, and walked down the steps where the fish food was thrown. With a splash, she stepped into the water, using her left hand to grasp the bamboo pole above for stability. Wading through the water, she moved to Wu Yuyi's side, grabbing her hair with her right hand and pulling her back with force. Taking advantage of the buoyancy in the water, she managed to lift Wu Yuyi's face upward. The young ladies holding the bamboo pole above, upon seeing this, exerted all their strength to move the pole toward the edge of the pool.

Lin Mei ran quickly, and when she looked back, Su Zhongxing had not arrived, nor had Liu Yong. My goodness, Scholar Liu did not come to save the day; this time it is truly life-threatening

Miss Qiao's cousin, dressed in a light pink dress, is quite beautiful. This is her first visit to our residence, and naturally, the lady of the house did not pay attention to her

Dr. Wang listened with surprise and inquired in detail about the circumstances of Lin Mei's illness. He suddenly laughed heartily and said, "Little girl, what you have is not an illness."

When Lin Mei threw down her words and ran ahead, she was certain that Luo Mingxiu would understand and stop Su Zhongxing from going to save the person. As long as she could block Su Zhongxing, then Liu Yong would be able to rush ahead of Su Zhongxing to save the person. Once Liu Yong had saved the person, how to handle the aftermath would be Liu Yong's concern, not Su Zhongxing's.

Having contracted such a shameful illness, of course, I would not tell anyone! Lin Mei nodded, only contemplating Dr. Wang's words: Hmm, getting married as soon as possible, gradually it will not become weak?

Wu Yuyi was restless and did not pay much attention. She simply handed the damp sachet in her hand to Lin Mei, exchanging it for the book-scented sachet in Lin Mei's hand, and continued to chat with the young girl.

Zhou Minmin had already instructed someone to bring in dry clothes. Lin Mei changed into them, fastened her belt, and then took off her jade pendant and fragrance pouch from the wet clothes. She put on the jade pendant, noticed that the fragrance pouch was wet, casually set it aside, and first began to tidy up her attire

What she did not expect was that Liu Yong stumbled again after running a few steps, and it seemed more serious this time, as he appeared to have sprained his ankle

Before the servants of the Hou residence arrived, the young ladies had already brought Wu Yuyi to the edge of the pool, instructing her to lean her abdomen over the railing and expel a few mouthfuls of pool water. A little maid then brought over some clothing for her to cover herself with and assisted her to the changing room in the garden to change into dry clothes

Outside, Zhou Minmin had already called Doctor Wang over, only allowing him to take the pulse of Wu Yuyi and Lin Mei.

It is the koi pond near the fragrant flower forest.

"Alright, I will take them out!" Zhou Minmin always insisted that Doctor Wang check Lin Mei's pulse, so that if Lin Mei fell ill after leaving the Marquis's residence, the blame would not fall on the Marquis's household. Upon hearing Lin Mei say this, she naturally led the others out.

Once everyone had left, only Doctor Wang remained in the quiet room. It was unclear whether it was due to Doctor Wang's old age or some other reason, but Lin Mei, sitting opposite him, did not experience the same feeling of weakness and vulnerability she had when Su Zhongxing was near. She felt a sense of relief. She then recalled that when she visited the doctor as a child, she did not have any strange feelings either. The issue of her osteomalacia seemed to have begun at the age of twelve, and it gradually worsened after her menstruation started. When Su Zhongxing had approached her that time, she nearly turned into a puddle of mud. The condition and its causes were indeed quite peculiar.

Zhong Xing and Liu Zhuangyuan were nearby at the time, but neither could run as fast as Xiao Mei? Madam Su quietly pulled Mo Shuangqi aside to inquire, her slight anger evident. What kind of person is this Miss Wu, resorting to such underhanded tactics? Fortunately, Zhong Xing was held up; otherwise, it would have been difficult to prevent Miss Wu from entering.

At this moment, Lady Yongping and Lady Su had arrived at the changing room. After listening to the maid's words, they smiled and said: "So, Miss Wu fell into the water, and it was the inexperienced Xiaomei and the other young ladies who worked together to rescue her?"

Hello, the water in the pond is not deeper than your waist, you don't need to struggle. Just hold onto the bamboo pole and stand up straight, you can climb up from the edge of the pond.

Lin Mei's waist and below were drenched, naturally following her to the changing room, muttering: Look, at critical moments, men are completely unreliable, right? Ladies, do not easily take the plunge!

"You should marry as soon as possible, get accustomed to your husband's scent, and gradually, you will no longer feel weak." Doctor Wang packed his medicine box and said with a smile, "Little girl, you need not worry; perhaps your husband will find it hard to take notice of other girls because of this condition of yours." As he spoke, he noticed Lin Mei hesitating to say something and added, "Before you get married, do not tell others about this condition, lest they take advantage of it."

The medical skills are among the best. Lin Mei understood that Doctor Wang was already over sixty years old, and she immediately breathed a sigh of relief, agreeing to let Doctor Wang take her pulse. When Doctor Wang arrived, she quickly turned to Zhou Minmin and said: "I am always afraid of being watched by others when I see a doctor, and now there are so many people..."

Wu Yuyi also changed into her attire and stepped out from behind the screen, only to express her gratitude to Lin Mei. As the two conversed, a little maid came in to collect their wet garments and other items.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mei felt a great weight lift from her heart, but she soon became troubled, saying, "However, whenever a young man comes close, I feel weak and lack energy. This situation is always..."

It is said that Lin Mei poked a bamboo pole into the koi pond, leaning over the water and calling out. After she finished calling, she was taken aback: "Oh, the bamboo pole has gone in, it seems to have reached the bottom of the pond. Is the water in this koi pond not deep?"

Which young lady fell into the water? Has she been rescued? Lady Yongping was taken aback; today was her birthday. If anything were to happen to a young lady in the residence, it would bode ill. Therefore, she quickly got up and instructed the servants to properly attend to the ladies in the outer room who were listening to the opera, merely stating that she had stepped away for a moment with Madam Su.

Indeed! The Lady of Yongping Marquis was amused and instructed the maid, "Quickly send someone to invite Doctor Wang into the residence. This matter of getting wet can be serious or trivial; we must not let it lead to a cold."

Upon seeing Su Zhongxing come to a halt, Luo Mingxiu felt a surge of joy in her heart. Just as she was about to turn around to speak to Liu Yong behind her, she suddenly became anxious.

"Miss Wu, did you perhaps take the wrong sachet?" Lin Mei recalled that Wu Yuyi was wearing a sachet that looked quite similar to her own. Since it had been soaked in water, it was possible that she had taken the wrong one.

Upon hearing this, Lady Yongping's expression became strange, "Is it that koi pond? Can she really come up with something new?"

The young girl had just panicked, but did not think it through. Upon hearing the words of the Lady of Yongping, her expression became peculiar, yet a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth, though she dared not laugh out loud

After Dr. Wang finished examining Wu Yuyi, he only prescribed two doses of medicine to dispel the cold. When he was about to take Lin Mei's pulse, however, Lin Mei made numerous excuses to avoid it

Qiao Jiaru also pulled the bamboo pole, feeling resentful: "Alright, Wu Yuyi, this time you have tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing a handful of rice. How embarrassing! Falling into the water at the birthday banquet of the Lady of Yongping Marquis, I can't believe you thought of that! This time, I might get dragged into it too!"

Luo Mingxiu indeed understood Lin Mei's intention, and as expected, used the phrase "Lin Mei understands the nature of water" to stop Su Zhongxing

Madam Su, however, smiled and said, "Alright, as long as no one gets hurt, it's fine to play like this"

Which Miss Wu is it, after all

Oh! Luo Mingxiu suddenly clutched his head and cried out in agony, noticing that Su Zhongxing had forgotten to remind Liu Yong, who had already run past him, which finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief

Liu Zhuangyuan twisted his ankle? Upon hearing the situation at that time, Lady Yongping could not help but lower her eyes. Liu Zhuangyuan had indeed been skillful over the years, avoiding any entanglements.