Xiao Jinghan watched Yi Qing looking so smug. He reached out and flicked her on the forehead. Then, thinking he might have flicked too hard, he gently rubbed the spot.
Yi Qing was about to get angry, but with Xiao Jinghan's gentle soothing gesture, her anger just melted away.
In the past, Xiao Jinghan was very domineering. But now, the way they got along gave a sudden feeling of tranquility and contentment.
Suddenly, the sound of fighting came from outside. It seemed the fight had reached their boat.
"Xue Miao'er, protect the lady." Xiao Jinghan drew his sword and rushed out.
Deng Xiao was fighting with someone. The opponent was a boatman, and he was evenly matched with Deng Xiao. Xiao Jinghan saw at once that the boatman was an internal martial arts expert.
He immediately went to help Deng Xiao. The boatman always tried to rush into the cabin. Xiao Jinghan quickly realized his intention. If he managed to hold Yi Qing or Baozi hostage, he would surely escape today.
With this in mind, Xiao Jinghan attacked even more fiercely, blocking the man outside the cabin.
At this moment, another person suddenly leaped out of the water from the other side and rushed directly into the cabin to stab Yi Qing. Yi Qing dodged repeatedly and was forced into a corner. The situation was critical. Sang Sang glanced at Shuang'er and then stepped forward to block in front of Yi Qing. She was pierced through the chest by a sword.
Taking advantage of this moment, Xiao Jinghan rushed in. He stabbed the assassin to death with his sword. Deng Xiao also killed the man outside and rushed in.
"Sang Sang, Sang Sang..." Yi Qing had never expected to be in such a dangerous situation.
"Madam, please take good care of Shuang'er." Sang Sang gritted her teeth and said.
Yi Qing immediately took out silver needles to seal Sang Sang's acupoints. "You won't die. I won't let you die. Xue Miao'er, come and help." She instantly became calm.
Xiao Jinghan and Deng Xiao stood in the cabin watching Yi Qing treat Sang Sang. Xiao Jinghan knew Yi Qing's medical skills. As long as Sang Sang's heart vein was not injured, she should be fine.
"Prepare cotton cloth, strong liquor, cotton thread for me..." Yi Qing ordered.
The conditions on the boat were poor. Fortunately, Yi Qing's hands were very steady. After stopping Sang Sang's bleeding, she began to suture the wound.
"Go and do your work." Xiao Jinghan glanced at Deng Xiao.
Deng Xiao nodded and asked someone to carry the two corpses onto their boat. The situation had changed too quickly today. He took away all the students who had attended the poetry gathering and all the people on the boat.
Madam Di was originally troubled by Bai Yutang's matter. Then she heard that Yi Qing had been assassinated, and her mind became even more confused.
"Liang Qiu, you stay here and watch Yutang. I'll go and have a look." Madam Di said and was about to leave.
Bai Yutang quickly wiped away her tears. "I'll go with aunt."
"You stay here and have a good rest. Later, I'll ask Liang Qiu to take you back." Madam Di was worried that if Bai Yutang went out, others would gossip about her.
"Aunt, Yutang is worried about Lady Xiao." Bai Yutang pulled Madam Di's hand.
Madam Di saw the worried look on Bai Yutang's face. "Get a cloak."
When they got to the deck, the Xiao family's boat was already far away from theirs. Madam Di had no choice but to wait until they landed and then go.
"Madam Di still dares to bring her out to make a fool of herself." Madam Ke walked over with a sneering look on her face.
Madam Di was the only daughter of the Duke Di. Although she didn't socialize much, she was still a precious and noble person. Everyone flattered her. On the other hand, Madam Mu was a concubine's daughter. She wasn't even qualified to attend some banquets.
If it weren't for her marriage to Ke Shanlong, and now that Ke Shanlong had a high - ranking official position, she wouldn't be so glamorous.
Bai Yutang timidly hid behind Madam Di.
"Mu, watch your mouth." Madam Di was angry.
"Humph! Dare to do it but not admit it. I think she fell into the water on purpose. There were all the children of powerful and wealthy families on that boat. If she managed to catch one of them, it would be a blessing from her ancestors." Madam Mu sneered.
"What do you think you are? You're just a concubine's daughter from the Duke Mu's mansion. You think you're not a sparrow just because you've climbed onto a high branch. How dare you be so presumptuous here." Madam Di was already anxious because of her worry about Yi Qing. Being provoked by Madam Mu, she said something without thinking.
"Don't think you're so great just because you're a first - rank imperial order recipient. You were still divorced by your husband. You don't even know who your own daughter is. You've really lived in vain." Status was Madam Mu's sore spot. Whoever mentioned it would make her angry.
The noble ladies inside heard the quarrel between Madam Di and Madam Mu and came out to persuade them. Who would have thought that such a nice outing would turn out like this.
"You..." Angry, Madam Di grabbed Madam Mu's arm and threw her into the lake with a sudden force.
The people who had come out to persuade them were stunned.
"Help, help..." Madam Mu shouted.
"Quick, quick, quickly rescue Madam Ke." Madam Yuan directed the maids beside her.
"It's all my fault..." Bai Yutang said with tears in her eyes.
"It's really all your fault. You've been dragging Madam Di around to see the world every day. There's always trouble. Why did you go to the edge of the boat for no reason? Otherwise, how could it have ended up like this? Madam Di, take her back and let her reflect on herself. Don't keep running around with an outsider when you haven't even sorted out your own daughter's matter." Madam Yuan directly scolded.
When Madam Yuan got angry, others immediately fell silent. Madam Yuan had a very good reputation in the capital. If something could make her angry, it must be the other person's fault.
Madam Di felt a bit worried after throwing Madam Mu into the water. Being scolded by Madam Yuan like this, she also lowered her head and said nothing.
"I won't let you off." Madam Mu had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. She pointed at Madam Di tremblingly.
"You should also calm down. If you can't even maintain a polite appearance, then just never see each other again. What's the point of such a noisy quarrel? Who will look good?" Madam Yuan turned to Madam Mu.
Being scolded by Madam Yuan like this, Madam Mu didn't dare to refute. Instead, she cried like a shrew, which made the noble ladies beside her look disgusted.
This gathering ended on a sour note. When they reached the shore, everyone went home.
Madam Di stood on the pier and didn't leave. The painted boat of Yi Qing and the others hadn't returned yet.
"Aunt." Bai Yutang pulled Madam Di's sleeve and called softly.
"Liang Qiu, take Yutang home first." Madam Di said while always looking at the lake. She only worried about Yi Qing now and didn't care about other things.
"Aunt?" Bai Yutang felt wronged.
"Miss Bai." Liang Qiu made a gesture of invitation.
Only then did Bai Yutang leave reluctantly.
Madam Di stood alone on the pier, stretching her neck and looking at the lake. She was reflecting on whether she was wrong. Before, when she knew that Baozi was Xiao Han's son, she couldn't do anything. Now, she just wanted to let Bai Chengyi rest in peace.
Yi Qing was busy for more than half an hour and finally managed to save Sang Sang's life. But due to excessive blood loss, whether Sang Sang could wake up or not would depend on her own fortune.
"Nobody is allowed to touch her." Yi Qing ordered wearily. "Miao'er, go and get the medicine according to this prescription."
She went to wash up and changed into a set of clothes. Xiao Jinghan had been accompanying her all the time, as if Yi Qing would disappear in the blink of an eye.
"The assassin who tried to kill me should be the one who pushed Yuan Hecong into the water, right?" Yi Qing sat down and drank a cup of water. There were still some problems about today's incident that she couldn't figure out.
"We have to wait for Deng Xiao's investigation to confirm." Xiao Jinghan took Yi Qing's hand. "I'm sorry."
Yi Qing was a bit surprised. "Why?"
"I didn't really believe that there was something wrong with Bai Yutang at first." Xiao Jinghan said seriously. "I didn't take enough precautions."