Lu Xunguang rose to his feet imperceptibly and gracefully mingled with the guests at the table, clinking glasses and making small talk. This way, he managed to avoid the gazes of the Hu siblings.
A flicker of displeasure crossed Hu Maolin's face, and he silently cursed under his breath.
What an insolent Lu Xunguang!
Since he had accepted the invitation from the Minister of Protocol, it was obvious that he didn't want to turn the Lu family and the Hu family into bitter enemies and was willing to patch up the old feud.
In that case, why did he have to put on such airs!
He gave Hu Qinzhu a little push and whispered in her ear, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go offer a toast!"
In full view of everyone, and considering Hu Qinzhu was a delicate young lady, Lu Xunguang surely wouldn't be so heartless as to reject her.
He thrust a goblet of wine into his sister's hand without a word, dipped his index finger into the wine imperceptibly, and signaled her with his eyes not to decline.
Hu Qinzhu, a sheltered young lady, couldn't hold her liquor. Under her brother's coercion, she had no choice but to gather up her skirt meekly, step forward, and pay her respects to Lu Xunguang.
Lu Xunguang frowned slightly and didn't take the goblet from her. Hu Maolin suppressed his anger, stepped forward, and forced a smile. "Brother Lu, all that happened before was just a misunderstanding. I'm here to apologize. Even if you, Lord Lu, don't want to give me face, but my sister is just a woman..."
Before he could finish his sentence, many merchants who were on good terms with the Hu family chimed in one after another.
"Lord Lu, as men, we shouldn't make things difficult for a young lady!"
"Yes, Lord Lu, the Hu siblings are sincerely apologizing. Why don't you, for our sake, bury the hatchet!"
Lu Xunguang remained calm, clearly not convinced by their words. But then he remembered Li Ying's private conversation with the young lady of the Hu family. After a moment's hesitation, he finally took the goblet from Hu Maolin.
Hu Qinzhu let out a sigh of relief, curtsied gracefully, and drained the wine in one gulp. Immediately, two bright blushes like ripe peaches appeared on her face.
As soon as the wine went down her throat, she felt as if a fire had been lit in her belly. Her body staggered, and she almost lost her composure.
Hu Qinzhu quickly covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief and bowed to Lu Xunguang again. Ignoring her brother's objection, she excused herself on the grounds of being unable to hold her liquor and left the table in a hurry.
Hu Maolin laughed. "This girl is really something. Usually at home, she can drink a few cups, but today she got drunk so quickly. It's really strange. I'm sorry to make you all laugh."
He waved his hand, signaling the servant to follow her and check on her, while he continued to clink glasses and drink, seemingly determined to get drunk.
Li Ying frowned. Seeing Hu Qinzhu's flushed face as she left the table in a hurry, she vaguely guessed that Hu Maolin must have played some dirty tricks again.
But since Lu Xunguang was safe and sound, she thought there wouldn't be any major problems.
As for Hu Qinzhu, she staggered out of the door. She had intended to find a quiet place to calm down for a while, but in a daze, she felt a pair of hands behind her push her hard into the pond in the garden!
Caught off guard, Hu Qinzhu lost her balance and fell in.
Although she could swim, for some reason, perhaps because of the alcohol, she felt as weak as a shrimp and couldn't muster any strength at all. She immediately choked on a couple of mouthfuls of water.
In a panic, she heard the panicked voice of the servant beside her brother on the shore.
"Oh no, the young lady has fallen into the water!"
The scattered thoughts in Hu Qinzhu's muddled mind seemed to be struck by a heavy blow, and finally began to piece together.
If she let the servant make a big fuss, and everyone saw her in such a sorry state after falling into the water, her reputation would be completely ruined.
Hu Qinzhu secretly groaned inwardly. She pulled out the hairpin from her head and stabbed it hard into her arm, hoping to gain a moment of clarity.
A dark red thread of blood immediately oozed out. She struggled to swim in the small pond. Exhausted, she finally managed to grab two large stones by the pond and climb out with difficulty. Her clothes were completely soaked through.
"Search carefully. If anything happens to the young lady of the Hu family, you'll be held accountable!"
Before Hu Qinzhu had a chance to tidy up her disheveled appearance, the voices of the Minister of Protocol and Hu Maolin and others rang out.
She groaned inwardly again.
In this state, she definitely couldn't be seen by others!
But in this early spring garden, it was still quite cold. Her water-green dress was very eye-catching among the bright red peach blossoms in the garden. There was no way she could hide.
Hu Qinzhu was at a loss. Just when she was in a desperate situation, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slender figure in a blue robe not far away. Taking a deep breath, she rushed forward without thinking and knelt down in front of the person.
"Lord Su, please help this humble girl!"
She had good eyesight. The person was Su Buchi, who was tired of the noisy feasting at the table and had found an excuse to slip out for some fresh air.
Just now, he had witnessed everything: how she fell into the water and how she struggled to survive.
However, Hu Maolin's actions at the table clearly showed that he was trying to hurt Li Ying and Lu Xunguang with underhanded means.
Although Su Buchi was kind-hearted, he didn't want to help the evildoer, so he had just stood by and watched.
Seeing that Su Buchi averted his gaze and didn't look at her, Hu Qinzhu let out a sigh of relief. Then, hearing the voices of the searching servants getting closer and closer behind her, she grew extremely anxious. Forgetting all about etiquette, she quickly shouted, "Lord Su, please listen to me!"
"Today's incident is all my brother's trap. I, Qinzhu, am by no means a vicious and heartless person. I've long intended to pledge my loyalty!"
"The wine I drank at the table just now was clearly tampered with. My brother will surely use my falling into the water as an excuse when he comes with people later and trace the root cause back to that glass of wine. Lord Lu, who drank with me, will surely be hard-pressed to clear himself of the blame!"
"Even in the Minister of Protocol's mansion, this mess may be smoothed over, but Lord Lu's reputation will surely be damaged. I'm sure this is not what you, Lord Su, want to see!"
Her body trembled slightly as she knelt shivering on the bluestone path, looking fixedly at Su Buchi and pouring out all her speculations during the moment of her fall into the water.
"Lord Su, please lend a helping hand. I, Qinzhu, will surely reciprocate and assist you and Boss Li!"
Hu Qinzhu spoke with such certainty that Su Buchi hesitated for a moment and finally took off his outer robe and threw it at her.
He pulled his cloak tighter. By this time, Hu Qinzhu had wrapped herself tightly in the clothes and quietly slipped behind him, understanding his intention.
"Lord Su, have you seen my sister?"
In a short while, Hu Maolin and his entourage had found their way to Su Buchi. In awe of the new favorite of the emperor, they were quite polite in their words.
Su Buchi calmly straightened his robe, covering Hu Qinzhu behind him more securely. He said indifferently, "No, there are only me and my page here. Young Master Hu, you'd better look elsewhere."
A corner of the water-green dress peeked out from behind him. Hu Maolin was a shrewd man. He saw it at a glance and immediately recognized his sister.
But he just bowed slightly, didn't expose her, paid his respects, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then really led his men away with a swagger.