It darted ahead of her, bit down on Samuel Sun's outer garment, and swiftly tore it apart.
Grace stood there, stunned.
The Antler Serpent turned to look at her, then pointed its tail toward the door.
"What? You want me to go out?"
The Antler Serpent nodded.
"Why?"
It couldn't answer her, so it just pointed its tail at the door again.
So, Grace left the room, full of confusion.
She heard the sound of fabric ripping inside, and then Cutie Pie came out with a big bundle of torn cloth, scattering it everywhere.
"What are you doing? You'll make it easy for people to find out!"
Cutie Pie nodded again.
Grace looked at it, rubbing her chin, and asked doubtfully, "You even understand this kind of thing?"
Putting them together, naked, man on top, woman below... It even knows about that?
The Antler Serpent tilted its head, blinked its eyes, and looked completely innocent.
......
Grace swam back from the river, then lay down in the dry reeds by the lake and mountain.
She waited so long that even the flowers wilted before someone finally found her.
Several people hurriedly carried her back, did some emergency treatment, and finally, Grace slowly woke up.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Minister Zhuo, Maya Summers, Jason Zhuo, and Grace Wan gathered around her, all looking relieved.
"Dad..." Grace called out. "What happened to me?"
"How could you be so careless and fall into the water?" Minister Zhuo asked. "We were all worried sick!"
"I wasn't careless." Grace glanced toward the house, her eyes landing on the little girl in Mrs. Zhen's arms. "It was Emmy. She was alone by the lake, so I went to pick her up. Someone must have put something on her clothes—I smelled it and passed out."
"What?" Everyone's eyes turned to Emily Shane. "There was something on her clothes?"
"Emmy wasn't wearing this before. Where's her original outer garment?" Elder Shane asked with a serious face.
"I don't know. When she was found, the outer garment was already gone," Mrs. Zhen said nervously.
"Grace, thank goodness Emmy is clever. She came back and told her mother you fell into the lake," Maya Summers said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have known!"
"Uncle Shane, Mrs. Zhen, I don't suspect Emmy or you. Someone must have used her. Using such a young child is unforgivable! If I hadn't let go in time, she would've fallen into the lake with me!" Grace explained.
Mrs. Zhen hugged her daughter tighter and said angrily, "Dad, you must find that villain! This is outrageous!"
Elder Shane nodded and ordered a full search and lockdown.
Grace offered a clue, saying that while she was climbing Lakeheart Mountain, she vaguely saw a woman in red below, like a ghost.
She fainted from fright at the time.
Soon after, a guard reported that they found a maid's body at the location Grace mentioned.
They also found Emmy's missing garment in the lake, weighed down with stones.
The chief alchemist confirmed that the garment had been laced with a potent sedative.
But little Emmy had been given the antidote.
Emmy recognized the maid as the one who carried her away and tricked her into going to the lake to see salamanders.
Upon investigation, the maid turned out to be Serena Liu's servant.
So, everyone began searching the whole manor for Serena Liu.
Eventually, they found her near the carriage parking area outside.
Apparently, a clever guard, unable to find her in the manor, decided to check if the Liu family's carriage was still outside—and discovered a pile of clothes beside it.