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Chapter 2: Saving a drowning person (2)
Young Master, Come and Possess Me!
Chapter 2: Saving a drowning person (2)
“Cheng Cheng”
Mrs. Wu eyes were reddened as she waved her hand at her.
“My child has a fever so I need to go back and take care of him. Please help me to iron those clothes and send it back to the masters.”
After she passed on the message to her, Mrs. Wu turned around and left without uttering another word.
Tang Cheng Cheng opened her mouth slightly to speak, but then thought that there might be somebody that she could ask later, so she kept her mouth shut and turned back to the ironing room to ask the other servants there.
“How do I get to the master’s rooms?”
Her colleagues were all equally lost and that made her almost sigh in frustration.
Lower ranking servants like them usually had to enter their workplace directly through the back door. They only needed to iron the clothes and the rest of the arrangements were made by Mrs. Wu herself so Tang Cheng Cheng didn’t have the authority to even get close to the main house.
Tang Cheng Cheng thought that maybe Mrs. Wu had been too worried so she forgot this very important detail and pushed this job onto her without thinking.
“You should go to the kitchens and ask.”
A laundry maid who was a few years older suggested that.
“The girl who is in charge of sending the food might be able to help you.”
Tang Cheng Cheng then went to the kitchen carrying a set of clothes that were already neatly pressed and walked briskly to the maid’s rooms there.
The Li Manor was built luxuriously in a very large area of land. They not only had a grand and tall pavilion, there was also an elegant bridge that was built over a small stream. Tang Cheng Cheng walked past the bamboo trees, into the little flower garden then only arrived at the compound where the maids were staying.
There were two unwed maids that lived in the same compound in the Li household.
She knocked on the door. A rude girl then pushed it from the other side and the door banged against her forehead with a loud thud.
That was not even the end of her rudeness.
The girl who had hit her didn’t even apologize and just took the clothes in the basket that she was holding. Somebody then called her from behind. The moment the girl turned around, the basket brushed against the tender exposed skin at the back of Tang Cheng Cheng's hand. The prickly twines that stuck out from the side of the basket pricked her delicate skin, causing drops of blood to form.
The rude girl didn’t pay attention to the fact that she had hurt her and slammed the doors shut.
Only higher ranking maids were allowed to serve the young masters and mistresses of the family, so they will be rude and look down heavily on the lower ranking servants. If she even asked them for an explanation, they might even say that she is harassing them.
It didn’t matter to Cheng Cheng because she grew up living a rough life. So did it even matter if she was injured lightly or heavily?
She can only wipe it off with her saliva and treat it as if she had already applied medicine on it.
Her pricked hand moved away from the basket so she could avoid staining the young master's clothes with her blood. She then headed towards the gravel road on her right.
The Li household had two young masters. The eldest heir Li Hai Jiao was born from the first wife and Li Hai Zhen, the son of a concubine, was only three years old this year and still wobbles when he walks. For now, she was heading towards where Li Hai Jiao was living at.
The fastest way to Li Hai Jiao’s courtyard was by crossing through a man made lake using the water pavilion above it. HaiYa residence where Li Hai Jiao was living in was situated just opposite the water pavilion.
It looked like someone was already inside there.
The lantern swayed from the roof of the pavilion and illuminated the tall and lean silhouette that looked like a man to her.
Could it be the eldest young master? She worriedly thought in her head.
If it was really him, then she could no longer use the water pavilion to get to his residence anymore. She now had to circle around the lake and she didn’t know how long that would take.
She was worried Young master would find out that a low insignificant girl like her had the nerve to get close to his dwellings. He would definitely blame her before she could explain herself, so she blew away the tiny flame in her own lantern.
She heard that Li Hai Jiao is a pretty strict person. He didn’t speak nor smile much and followed every single etiquette to the tee. That was why Tang Cheng Cheng was so worried about being found out.
The full moon and stars were her only guide now as she carefully walked along the grassy banks to avoid falling accidentally into the lake.
Li Hai Jiao’s emotionless face slowly appeared in her line of vision as she walked closer to the water pavilion. He looked as if he was pondering deeply about some unknown thoughts.
The candlelight casted a deep shadow on his face but it was not hard to see how handsome his facial features were. When the maids gossiped about him, they say that the Xu household’s madam really liked the city’s number one pretty boy and purposely asked the matchmaker to send a message out to him. Yet the Li Household did not respond to her enquiries at all.
Could it be because Li Hai Jiao had some say in this?
Tang Cheng Cheng couldn’t help but thought about it.
“Paakkk”
A snapping sound came from beneath her feet as she had accidentally stepped on a twig. Li Hai Jiao raised his head and looked towards her. Her heart instantly froze with her body while cold sweat started to wet the clothes on her back.
A black shadow suddenly appeared behind Li Hai Jiao then the flames in the lantern above him wiped out.
“Pu Tong”
The sound of water splashing rang in Tang Cheng Cheng’s ears.
Alarm filled her widened eyes and she was shocked stiff on the spot.
Did... Li Hai Jiao actually fall into the water?
The water splashed at an even faster rate now as if someone was struggling. This only confirmed her fears.
Dang it, this is not good, what if that person dies?
Tang Cheng Cheng didn’t bother thinking any further. She threw away her lantern to the side and jumped into the lake.
Yet she had forgotten—
She couldn’t swim!!
Now she, the supposed savior was going to drown.
“Gu Lu Gu Lu.”
Bubbles escaped from her mouth as her oxygen escaped and never return.
“Help... Oof...”
She frantically tried to breathe in air but water filled her lungs instead.
The lake water was icy cold in the middle of the night, so it sucked away her energy in a short period of time. The struggling hands and feet became heavier and heavier as time passed. In the end, the water finally dragged her down and her body slowly floated down to the bottom of the lake that was so deep that it cannot be seen from the surface.
The silvery moonlight from the 15th day of the month[1] penetrated the waters but her eyes could no longer see it.
She, was going to die.
If she dies then what will happen to her family?
Her little brother still haven’t graduated from the profession that he had chosen yet, so nobody was earning a salary to feed the family as of now. Her family depended on her to feed and clothe them. If she dies then it means that her family will definitely fall apart now!
The tears that flowed down from her eyes seeped and disappeared into the lake water. It was as if the lake was crying along with her.
She didn’t know how long it took but it looked as if something was touching her yet she could not open her eyes or even think properly at all. The fire within her soul had been extinguished...
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