C33 Dismissed

Feng Tiange could tell from Qin Luoyi's expression that today's scene didn't originally include Dugu Jin, but luckily, she had added him in.

"Xueyao!" Dugu Jin rushed into the pavilion and saw Feng Xueyao struggling in the icy lake, her face turning blue. He was about to jump in immediately.

Qin Luoyi stepped in front of him first. "Commander, are you so worried about Miss Feng because there's something between you two?"

"Get out of my way!" Dugu Jin, heart aching for Feng Xueyao, had no time to argue with Qin Luoyi. He shoved her aside forcefully.

Qin Luoyi staggered back, and though she should have regained her balance, she fell into the lake just as Dugu Jin jumped in to save Feng Xueyao!

Splash—

The ice on the lake shattered, creating two large holes, and water surged upwards like a fountain!

In the pavilion, the young ladies screamed in terror, but none dared to jump in to help. Dugu Jin had already wrapped Feng Xueyao in his arms and pulled her out of the water, while Ruyi followed her mistress into the lake.

Tragically, neither Qin Luoyi nor her servant Ruyi could swim...

Feng Tiange hadn't planned to get involved, but seeing no one else diving in, she stood up, shed her snow-white cloak, and leaped into the emerald lake!

After struggling in the water, Feng Tiange managed to push both Qin Luoyi and Ruyi up onto the pavilion. Only then did the young ladies snap out of their shock and hurriedly cover them with their fur cloaks.

"Miss, quickly put this on!" In the entire pavilion, only Crescent was worried about Tiange.

The show was over, and Tiange couldn't withstand the cold, so she and Crescent left first. As they reached the entrance of the garden, they saw a crowd rushing in.

Some people naturally have a presence that stands out, even in the most inconspicuous corners.

Tiange looked down, pretending not to notice.

"Isn't that Dugu Jin? And is he holding Xueyao?" someone exclaimed.

Wei Zixuan, surrounded by a group of young nobles, glanced toward the pavilion and was immediately filled with anger.

Everyone rushed toward the pavilion, except Rong Qi, who turned to follow Tiange as she passed by.

"Did you fall into the lake too?" Rong Qi saw Tiange drenched and immediately took off his cloak to cover her.

"No, thank you." If she had a choice, Tiange would rather freeze. But Crescent, feeling sorry for her mistress, took the cloak from Rong Qi and draped it over Tiange's shoulders.

As they left the garden, Rong Qi once again managed to hitch a ride on someone's carriage. Inside the garden, chaos ensued.

In the carriage, Crescent sensed the odd atmosphere and wisely stepped out to sit with the driver.

"Did you deliberately call Wei Zixuan over?" Tiange looked up and asked sternly.

"I didn't call him. He found out that Xueyao was enjoying the snow in the garden and insisted on coming," Rong Qi said, spreading his hands innocently.

Tiange pondered, "Then who told him Xueyao was in the garden?"

"Me." As Rong Qi's words fell, a line of frustration appeared on Tiange's forehead...

The drama escalated, eventually becoming the talk of the town.

Rumor had it that after Tiange and Rong Qi left, Wei Zixuan, insisting on propriety, demanded Dugu Jin put Xueyao down. Dugu Jin, however, pushed him away, leading to a brawl.

The young ladies enjoyed the spectacle, but the most unfortunate was Xueyao, who nearly froze.

That night, the news reached the ears of the Marquis of Martial Peace, who was furious.

Dugu Jin had already committed a grave mistake by pushing his granddaughter into the lake, and now he was publicly fighting over Xueyao with a hostage!

The next morning, at court, the Marquis of Martial Peace formally requested the annulment of the engagement with Beiming Yuan, claiming his granddaughter couldn't reach such heights. He also criticized Feng Yan for failing to raise his daughter properly.

Within a few days, the gossip in the capital had shifted. Many sympathized with Qin Luoyi, cursing the troublesome couple, while others casually praised Tiange for rescuing Qin Luoyi.

South Suppressing Marquis Mansion, Zhongqi Courtyard.

The old lady wiped Feng Xueyao's tears and looked up at Nanny Zhou. "Has that girl not come over yet?"

"Nanny Zhou replied respectfully, "I've already sent someone to call her."

Soon, footsteps were heard outside. Feng Xueyao knew who it was and cried even more sorrowfully, "Grandmother... boo hoo..."

"Tiange greets Grandmother."

"Kneel!" The old lady's gentle demeanor turned to disdain and disgust as she looked at Feng Tiange.

Feng Tiange had intended to keep her distance from the old lady of the Marquis Mansion, but it seemed that was too simple a plan.

"What did Tiange do wrong?" Feng Tiange straightened her back, her face icy beneath the white veil.

The old lady was clearly not used to Feng Tiange's change, her finger shaking like a weaving loom as she pointed. "You dare talk back? I ask you, did you go to the snow-viewing at Biyuan the other day?"

"I did."

"Did you see that little troublemaker Qin push Xueyao?" The old lady's words were harsh, her expression too fierce to look at.

"I saw it," Feng Tiange replied coldly.

"If you saw it, why didn't you stop it? And instead of stopping it, you jumped into the lake to save Qin Luoyi. Why didn't you save your own sister?" The old lady glared angrily, as if it were Feng Tiange who had pushed Feng Xueyao into the icy lake.

Beside her, Snow looked over with tear-filled eyes, her expression pitiful. "Why didn't you save me, big sister? We're family..."

Tiange was speechless, yet another shameless one.

"I didn't save you so you'd learn a lesson. Taking what's not yours always comes back to haunt you..."

Tiange's words carried a deeper meaning as she turned to the old lady. "As for Luoyi, if something truly happens to her, the Marquis of Martial Peace might not blame Father, but he will certainly find a way to deal with Uncle. After all, someone has to pay for what happened to his granddaughter."

Her words left Snow and the old lady speechless.

"But you can't just leave your sister there alone!" the old lady said angrily.

"Was she really alone? I don't know. I was freezing after coming out of the lake, so I headed back to the house first," Tiange replied with biting sarcasm, considering how many people were actually present at the time.

After leaving the estate unscathed, Tiange went to the Heavenly Garment Pavilion. The matters at the estate were trivial; what weighed on her mind was far more important...

At the Marquis Mansion, in the Water Moon Pavilion, Luoyi had fallen into the lake that day and swallowed some water. She was rescued but soon lost consciousness. That night, she caught a cold and remained in a feverish sleep for two or three days.

“Miss, you're awake?” The door opened, and Ruyi entered the room carrying a bowl of ginger tea.

Qin Luoyi felt a pang of sympathy for Ruyi. Earlier, when she jumped into the lake, she was ready to risk everything to avoid marrying Dugu Jin. She hadn't expected Ruyi to jump in after her, especially since Ruyi couldn't swim.

“You silly girl, don't be reckless like that again, okay? If I fell into the lake, those people wouldn't just stand by and watch me drown! But you...” Qin Luoyi never treated Ruyi as a mere servant, but in the eyes of the world, there was still a distinction between them.