"He’s just a toad lusting after swan meat! He’s an orphan with no parents—does he really think he can become a royal consort?" Lucy snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"He is, after all, our Prime Minister’s adopted son," Grace Wan said. "The Empress Dowager has always doted on Xinyao, and she agrees to anything she asks for. So... we must be careful."
"So what should we do?"
"There’s nothing we can do about the Princess," Grace Wan replied. "But Jason Zhuo... If we want to mess with him, that’s easy!"
"This maid is not very clever, Madam. Please instruct me."
"My brother has always liked him, so let’s have him marry into my family as a live-in son-in-law!" Grace Wan said.
"Wait, a live-in son-in-law for the Wan family?" Lucy’s eyes nearly popped out. "He’s a fourth-rank Spirit Cavalry commander with the Prime Minister’s mansion backing him. Our cousin... Captain Wan is only sixth-rank. Asking him to marry into the Wan family? That’s wild!"
"Unrealistic things require extraordinary methods," Grace Wan sneered. "Kevin Zhuo’s already pulling strings. That Spirit Cavalry commander title of his? About to be history! Once he’s out of the army, we’ll pounce. Unrealistic? Watch us make it real!"
"So, how exactly do we do it?"
"Jason Zhuo’s birthday is coming up soon. When the time comes..."
As the two continued talking, their voices faded away, and Grace could no longer hear them.
So the thing she’d been worrying about was going to happen at Jason Zhuo’s birthday banquet.
Will Wan Xuezhen use the same tricks she did in Grace’s previous life?
She probably will...
And what did she mean when she said Jason Zhuo’s days as Spirit Cavalry commander were numbered?
Is Kevin Zhuo plotting something nasty against him?
She’d better warn Jason Zhuo and tell him to stay alert.
...
As she walked back, lost in thought, she suddenly saw a little girl squatting by the lake up ahead.
The girl looked about four or five years old, playing alone by the lakeside.
This is way too dangerous!
Whose child is this? Why isn’t anyone watching her?
The lake was clearly deep, and there wasn’t anyone around. Plus, the water was icy cold—if she fell in, she wouldn’t survive!
Grace rushed over and scooped the girl up, asking, "Hey little one, how did you end up here all by yourself?"
The little girl was adorable, with delicate features. She blinked her big eyes and said, "A big sister brought me here."
"Where is she now?"
The little girl looked around and said, "I don’t know. She said there were giant salamanders in the water, and they cry like people. She told me to look. Now... I don’t know where she went!"
"Huh?" Grace found this strange. "Whose child are you?"
"It’s my grandfather’s birthday today. My name is Emily Shane."
She was the daughter of the eldest son of the Shane Family.
"I’ll take you back," Grace said with a frown. "Little kids shouldn’t—"
Before she could finish, Grace suddenly felt dizzy and completely lost control.
Something’s wrong!
It’s a trap!
Someone drugged this little girl!
The thought flashed through her mind, and then she lost consciousness.
At the last moment, she remembered pushing the little girl hard, tossing her onto the shore.
Then Grace fell in herself, and everything went black.
It seemed like she’d fallen into the lake...
She didn’t know how much time passed, but eventually she woke up.
Her whole body felt warm and comfortable.
She opened her eyes and saw... water.
Deep water.