——She wasn't actually seriously injured, just a bit sore from hitting the railing, but the dizziness was solely due to her inability to accept the embarrassment of looking foolish in front of so many people.
She wept with both eyes, earnestly calling out a few times, "Chengwang brother." Finally, she managed to snap the spectators out of their daze, and they all became busy, some helping to rescue the injured and others shouting for help.
Lin Chengwang, who could not swim, watched helplessly as the person in the water's figure disappeared from view within minutes. The servants who were guarding at the back of the boat finally arrived and jumped into the water to save the person.
Someone jumped into the water, and Xin'er's urgency lessened for a moment. The next second, she immediately turned her vengeful gaze on Zheng Lingbo and cried, "It's you! It's you who pushed Chengwang brother into the water!"
Zheng Lingbo actually felt a bit anxious, but amazingly enough, there was a strange sense of satisfaction.
She dimly remembered last year or around that time, she unintentionally had a dispute with Xin'er. She accidentally fell into the pool during the pushing and shoving.
Lin Chengwang saw her fall, not only did he not rescue her and bring her up, but he also looked down on her and ordered her to reflect properly in the pool before leaving with Xin'er.
——How absurd it is. As a victim who fell into the water, Xin'er was ordered to reflect by Lin Chengwang, while she, the one who started it all, was carefully carried away by Xin'er.
Luckily, the pool in the courtyard was shallow enough for Zheng Lingbo to climb out of it herself.
It was just that the hurt and injustice overwhelmed her. Despite that, she hadn't thought of leaving at the time; she just felt that Brother Chengwang had misunderstood her and that's why he acted that way...
The thought flashed away, and Zheng Lingbo looked at Xin'er, slowly saying, "As a delicate person like Xin'er, one should not make rash statements without witnessing something with their own eyes."
On the side, Mou Rong Hui Yan also just slowly came back to her senses and immediately said, "Everyone saw that Lin San didn't stand properly and fell into the water. Miss Xin'er, please watch your words."
After saying that, Mou Rong Hui Yan scanned the surroundings again and repeated, "You all agree, don't you?"
Rong Yi was the first to laugh, "It's true that Brother Liu didn't stand properly."
With Rong Yi leading the way and his comment followed by a smile on Mou Rong Hui Yan's face, the crowd chimed in, agreeing with her. Some even went as far as suggesting that Lin San was not reliable or that he had gone too far as to hit a woman.
In summary, there were a dozen or so people present, and not a single one spoke up for Lin Chengwang, except for Xin'er.
Xin'er: "..."
Before she could figure things out, the servant had already pulled the person out of the water.
Lin Chengwang had swallowed a lot of water, and immediately a knowledgeable boatman came forward to help. Xin'er, not bothering with anything else, cried and wept beside him as she watched.
Zheng Lingbo watched as Lin Chengwang was helped to spit out water, and after a long while, she forced a smile and said, "Let's go."
Because of this unexpected incident of falling into the water, the poetry recitation ended in a lackluster way. The large boat quickly docked, and Zheng Lingbo went back this way.
Not knowing what Lin Chengwang might have said back home or if Xin'er exaggerated anything, a few days later, when Zheng Lingbo went out with Jin'er for a stroll, they encountered Liu Ningning by chance in front of a cosmetics shop.
Liu Ningning had always disliked Zheng Lingpo's persistence in pursuing Lin Chengwang. In the past, even though Zheng Lingpo had tried to win her favor with various favors, she had always been indifferent to it. After the last time when Zheng Lingpo had slapped her, she had even developed a grudge against her.
At this moment, when she saw Zheng Lingbo, she immediately flipped her eyebrows and advanced in a very rough manner to grab Zheng Lingbo's arm. She shouted angrily, "Stop where you are!"
Zheng Lingbo had been bending over to try a box of makeup, not paying attention to the movement behind her. When someone pulled her roughly, she let out a hiss, lost her grip on the makeup box, and it fell to the ground with a sound. The bright red powder scattered and stained her skirt.
Zheng Lingbo frowned when she saw Liu Ningning. She paused for a moment, realizing her wrist was in pain due to the grip, and then she raised her hand without saying a word, slapping Liu Ningning's face with one quick motion. At the same time, she spoke softly and casually, "You have no manners at all. Your aunt has not taught you well. As your cousin, I can't help but teach you a lesson this time."
Liu Ningning was momentarily at a loss for words.
She didn't care about anything and grabbed Zheng Lingbo because of the newly accumulated resentment and old grudges. In her opinion, Zheng Lingpo had to buy her a few good boxes of high-quality cosmetics as a proper apology to be forgiven.
However, she didn't get to see the cosmetics as expected but instead received a firm slap on the face.
Liu Ningning's cheeks flushed red, and she stood there dumbfounded.
As soon as the crowd heard the commotion, they gathered to watch the show. Zheng Lingpo showed no signs of being flustered.
——She's just giving a lesson to an unthoughtful cousin. It's not as if she's killed anyone or set fire to anything, so there's no need to panic.
A woman who recognized the scene took a look at them, and for a moment, she was confused—her impression was that Miss Zheng was more accommodating towards the Liu family's daughter. How come today it seems to be the opposite?
The passerby was confused and couldn't help but ask cautiously to the person next to her, "What's going on? Isn't Miss Zheng and Liu Second Cousin supposed to be friends?"
The person next to her was also confused and not very clear about what had happened. She only heard Zheng Lingbo say that Liu Ningning was impolite, so she hesitated and replied, "I don't know. It seems that the girl from the Liu family did something rude, so Miss Zheng is helping to educate her……"
——As she spoke, she too became confused and couldn't make sense of the situation.
Zheng Lingpo slowly massaged her wrist, noticed that the girl had asked, and attentively observed that everyone's ears had become attentive, and smiled brightly, turning to address them in a good-natured way, "My sister has some habits that are not well-known to others. As her cousin, I cannot watch her make mistakes again and again, so I had to correct her forcefully."
The bystanders: "..."
Liu Ningning: "..."
Finally, Liu Ningning came to her senses. For a moment, she was about to go crazy. She couldn't believe that she had been slapped by Zheng Lingpo. She screamed in disbelief, "You actually dare to hit me?"
She said this and immediately tried to attack Zheng Lingbo in retaliation.
Zheng Lingpo had not been exercising in vain recently; seeing this, she quickly dodged and then grabbed Liu Ningning by the wrist from behind, pinning her hands back. She allowed Liu Ningning to struggle against her, but her expression was serious and concerned: "Sister, although I know you can't help but steal things from others, this is really not right. I'm doing this for your own good."
Hearing this, Liu Ningning's heart skipped a beat, and she hesitated in her struggle.
——However, this is not just empty talk from Zheng Lingpo.
Liu Ningning truly had a dark past of stealing things from others, which was something Zheng Lingpo knew from a past life.
She not only took someone else's things without explanation but also killed the person when she was caught, not realizing that the person had survived. Years later, when the surviving person came to seek justice, it caused a lot of trouble for the Liu family.
However, for the most part, this is likely the deepest dark secret within Liu Ningning's heart, even unknown to other members of the Liu family.
Liu Ningning, upon hearing this, felt guilty but didn't believe Zheng Lingpo knew anything. She shouted authoritatively but feigning innocence, "What are you blabbering about?! What stealing things? Don't talk nonsense!"
However, as she said this, Liu Ningning didn't realize that the force of her struggle had unconsciously weakened, which was obvious to anyone who saw her.
The bystanders immediately began to discuss that one should know people not only by their appearance but also by their true intentions.
