Chapter 258: The Quarrel and the Unexpected Accident

Heng Yuwan had arrived at the side door. She turned her head and smiled at Heng Yuqing brightly before walking behind the door.

As soon as Heng Yuqing and Ning Xueyan arrived at the platform behind the door, Ning Xueyan smelt a medicine flavor. Although the smell was faint, as Ning Xueyan had taken a lot of medicine since her childhood, she could tell that there was some medicine nearby.

She looked down and saw the four older female servants still chatting behind that tree. Since she left just now, these servants had been there for some time. It was very suspicious that they had been talking for such a long facing the wind. Besides, Ning Xueyan felt like an older female servant raise her head and glance over to the platform.

“What did you want with me?” Heng Yuqing asked angrily, staring at Heng Yuwan.

“Eldest Sister, calm down. Why are you so angry every time you see me? I just want to ask if you want me to send some delicious food to our mother. After all, today is my birthday, so I should not neglect our mother,” Heng Yuwan said with a smile, as if she really cared about Lord Guardian’s wedded wife.

Heng Yuqing began to shiver with anger at the words.

Heng Yuwan seemed to be talking about a servant, not the wedded wife of Lord Guardian, as if Heng Yuqing’s mother could not get good food without her help. Furthermore, she was only a concubine’s daughter. How could she speak lightly of the hostess of the manor, showing no respect, as if she was talking about a servant?

“You… How dare you say that?”

“Eldest Sister, I don’t understand what you mean. Ah, I see! You mean I’m just a concubine’s daughter, right? Eldest Sister, don’t worry. I will become the wedded wife’s daughter soon. Then we will be on the same level and nobody will look down upon me again because of my identity.” Seeing Heng Yuqing trembling with anger, Heng Yuwan became even more triumphant, and her smile was brighter.

It seemed that Heng Yuwan was not just saying that she wanted to become the wedded wife’s daughter. She was hinting that if Lord Guardian’s wedded wife died, her mother would become Lord Guardian’s wedded wife, and then she would become the rightful wedded wife’s daughter. Therefore, she was challenging Heng Yuqing on purpose now, but she looked at ease with a smiling face.

On the contrary, Heng Yuqing was extremely angry. For Heng Yuwan, Ning Xueyan was just a passer-by, so she did not take her seriously. Anyway, Ning Xueyan was unremarked and nobody would believe what she said.

Ning Xueyan had been thinking about the connection between the medicine smell and those older female servants. Now she suddenly figured it out, a coldness flashing in her eyes. However, Heng Yuqing had been provoked and rushed toward Heng Yuwan, who was standing on the outside of the platform, as if she would fight her to the death. After all, nobody could stand the others insult his mother to his face.

However, everything happened all of sudden, and Ning Xueyan had no time to tell Heng Yuqing what she was thinking about. She reached out and grabbed Lanning by the hand as she put out her foot and caught Heng Yuqing’s, tripping Heng Yuqing by taking advantage of Lanning’s strength. Since she was holding Lanning’s hand firmly, she did not rush out.

She then shouted anxiously, “Second Young Lady, how can you…”

Before she could continue, everybody heard a big bang. The Young Ladies who were enjoying scenery and chatting by the window had noticed the conflict between the two sisters. However, since they were a little far from them, and the two sisters quarreled in a low voice to avoid attention, they could not hear clearly what they were talking about.

They only saw that Heng Yuqing was in rage while Heng Yuwan was smiling.

As they were wondering what was happening, they suddenly heard a loud noise. When they looked in the direction, they saw Heng Yuqing falling straight into the lake from the platform with a scream from Ning Xueyan.

Heng Yuwan froze and looked blankly at the lake below, and then at Ning Xueyan. She was so stunned that she could not even say a word.

Knowing that Heng Yuqing was short-tempered, she and Concubine Yun had plotted to provoke her on purpose today, trying to make Heng Yuqing push her into the lake out of anger. They had arranged for the older female servants waiting there and even prepared liquid medicine against colds in advance. However, nobody had thought that the person who had fallen into the lake would be Heng Yuqing.

The four older female servants had been waiting for a long time. They thought it must be Heng Yuwan in the water when they saw a person falling into the lake from the platform and heard someone calling ‘Second Young Lady’. Therefore, they immediately jumped into the lake and brought her to the bank. The lake was not deep, but it was very cold in winter. After rescuing Heng Yuqing, they covered her with a warm robe and then poured a bowl of liquid medicine into her mouth.

At the moment, all the Young Ladies had rushed to the window to see what was happening.

They saw Heng Yuqing trembling under the robe and Ning Xueyan standing on the platform with her maid’s help with a pale face, speechless. Obviously, she was overwrought with fright.

Commandery Princess Xianyun came with a few noble Young Ladies from the back door. “Fifth Young Lady, what happened? “she looked down with a frown and asked.

Someone had taken Heng Yuqing to change clothes.

“I’m not sure. It seemed Second Young Lady said something about Lord Guardian’s wedded wife and annoyed Eldest Young Lady. Then Eldest Young Lady fell into the water.” Ning Xueyan seemed to have come back to herself and answered in a low voice. She raised her head and looked at Heng Yuwan suspiciously. Everyone knew what she was hinting.

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All the Young Ladies fixed their eyes on Heng Yuwan. Some of them did not see clearly what had happened, and they thought that Eldest Young Lady was losing her temper when they saw Heng Yuqing’s resentful look. Now they knew that Heng Yuwan had provoked Heng Yuqing on purpose, so they drew the conclusion that Heng Yuwan had pushed Heng Yuqing into the water.

As a concubine’s daughter, she had even pushed her elder sister into the water in winter. Clearly, she had showed no respect to a wedded wife’s daughter and she was a vicious girl.

“I did not. Fifth Young Lady, you are talking nonsense! I did not push her. She fell into the lake by accident and it had nothing to do with me!” Heng Yuwan shouted anxiously, staring at Ning Xueyan angrily. She was dumbfounded as she had never thought that she would get into trouble.

“Didn’t you say something about Lord Guardian’s wedded wife? Didn’t you argue with Eldest Young Lady? Those Young Ladies were not far from here when you were arguing just now, so I believe that they heard everything clearly!” Ning Xueyan said in confusion with a frown.

Heng Yuwan had deliberately said those words to provoke Heng Yuqing. Although she had lowered her voice, she was not sure that nobody had heard what she said. Being accused by Ning Xueyan, she thought that someone had heard what she said, so she did not dare to deny and had no idea what to say.

From her look, everyone could tell that Heng Yuwan had said something offensive about Heng Yuqing’s mother. Now they were sure that it was Heng Yuwan, who had pushed her elder sister into the lake. Thinking about this, the way those Young Ladies looked at Heng Yuwan changed. All the Young Ladies present were wedded wives’ daughters. Although they had come at Heng Yuwan’s invitation, they could not bear Heng Yuwan, a concubine’s daughter, setting up a wedded wife’s daughter like this.

“The Lord Guardian’s Manor is really disciplined! It seems she invited us to come here to witness how she would bully the wedded wife’s daughter. Obviously, she wanted to warn us!” A straightforward Young Lady could not help mocking Heng Yuwan.

“No… that’s not the case. You misunderstood me! My sister fell into the lake because of her carelessness. I, I didn’t push her!” Heng Yuwan stammered with tears in her eyes, trying to defending herself.

“Carelessness? I remember that Eldest Young Lady was standing closer to the inside than you were,” Ning Xueyan said after thinking for a while.

“Yes, I saw them just now. It’s true that Eldest Young Lady was a little closer to the inside,” someone said in agreement.

“It seemed that Second Young Lady sent someone to ask Eldest Young Lady out. I saw a maid coming over to Eldest Young Lady before Eldest Young Lady came out.” Another Young Lady remembered something.

When they were buzzing, Lord Guardian hurried over from a path under the platform. Hearing something bad happened, he immediately came. When he saw the female servants under the platform, he asked angrily, “What happened?”

The servant who had reported to him did not know exactly about what had happened and spoken in a confused way. He had no idea who had fallen into the water. Lord Guardian knew that all the guests were high-rank officials’ wedded wives’ daughters, and no matter who had fallen into the water, it might cause big trouble. Therefore, he immediately ran over at the news.

“I, I don’t know.” The older female servants had been waiting below to provide immediate rescue in case that Heng Yuwan fell into the lake. However, as everything had happened all of sudden and they acted in a hurry, they did not felt anything wrong just now. Now they just remembered that the person they rescued looked the same as Eldest Young Lady.

At the thought of what Concubine Yun said, they were in a panic and could not explain it clearly for the moment.

“Lord Guardian, it was Eldest Young Lady of your manor who fell into the lake.” Commandery Princess Xianyun was the most distinguished among the Young Ladies on the platform, so she had to walk out from the crowd and answer Lord Guardian’s question.

“Commandery Princess Xianyun, do you know how Qing’er fell into the water?” Knowing that the Young Lady who had fallen into the lake was not from other manors, Lord Guardian took a sigh of relief. What he asked was only out of politeness. He had never liked his eldest daughter and more favored his second daughter, who always acted cute around him.

“Lord Guardian, it’s said that Second Young Lady pushed Eldest Young Lady into the water.” Although Commandery Princess Xianyun did not tell the whole story, the other Young Ladies on the platform supplemented the information fairly.

“No! Father, I did not do that,” Heng Yuwan was anxious and said loudly to Lord Guardian below.

“There may be some misunderstanding!” Lord Guardian lowered his voice when he heard that it was Heng Yuwan who had pushed Heng Yuqing into the lake. Besides, he looked a little hesitant when he spoke this. Everyone could tell that he was partial to Second Young Lady.

“Second Young Lady, more than one Young Lady saw what was happening,” Ning Xueyan said to Heng Yuwan gently.

By now, all the Young Ladies had known that Lord Guardian was partial to his second daughter. It was very doubtful that to celebrate the birthday for a concubine’s daughter, all the guests they had invited were wedded wives’ daughters. Now Lord Guardian’s concubine’s daughter had even pushed his wedded wife’s daughter into the lake, but Lord Guardian did not seem to want to punish her. Since they were all wedded wives’ daughters, and at the thought of their sisters whose mothers were concubines, all the Young Ladies stood on Heng Yuqing for the moment.

“It’s no wonder that the others said that Lord Guardian’s Manor was declining. They treat the concubine’s daughter even better than the wedded wife’s daughter!”

“Sure enough! It’s unbelievable that a concubine’s daughter dared to bully the wedded wife’s daughter. I will tell the people of other manors when I go back. They must think it’s ridiculous!”

“Definitely! I will tell those honored consorts in the imperial palace this joke when I attend the Beauty Contest after a few days.” The Young Ladies on the platform were very resentful and began to mock the Lord Guardian’s Manor.

Although they did not speak loudly, Lord Guardian heard every word clearly and became anxious. If this news spread out, plus his wedded wife was still sick, he would get into big trouble. Moreover, his wedded wife’s family was powerful and might come to make a scene.