"Ouch!"
"Lingyan!"
Several exclamations rang out simultaneously.
The leading maid turned pale with fright and kept shouting, "Someone come quickly!"
None of the people present could swim, and Yun Xi was no exception.
Seeing Lingyan fall into the pond under Yun Qianying's scheme, Yun Xi shook off Yun Qianying, who had been clinging to her, and rushed over.
"Lingyan, Lingyan..."
She called out several times and saw Lingyan struggling in the water, unable to speak.
Panic welled up in her heart. Yun Xi looked around, trying to find a bamboo pole to reach out to Lingyan. Just then, several servants of the villa heard the leading maid's shouts and rushed over.
Feeling a bit more at ease, Yun Xi waved and shouted hoarsely,
"Over here, hurry up!"
The servants who saw her gesture responded and ran over quickly. One of them protected Yun Xi and led her aside, while the others started to cooperate in rescuing Lingyan.
It was a critical moment, and everyone's attention was on Lingyan. No one noticed the gray - clothed servant who was protecting Yun Xi quietly take out a sharp dagger from his sleeve.
Only Yun Qianying, who had pretended to fall into the water and deliberately made Lingyan fall in, was watching all this closely.
Seeing that her plot was about to succeed, a venomous and gleeful smile involuntarily curled up on her lips.
Just as the dagger was about to pierce into Yun Xi's body, there was a "clang" sound. A stone flew through the air obliquely and hit the dagger hard, knocking it to the ground.
With a clanging sound, everyone was stunned when they saw the dagger glinting with cold light.
Before they could react, a gust of wind swept by. Yun Qi, with fear and a murderous look in his eyes, jumped to the servant's side. With a "thud!", he kicked the gray - clothed servant into the lake and shouted angrily,
"Someone come! Catch the assassin!"
The situation changed suddenly.
Yun Qianying's face distorted for a moment. A flash of hatred and venom flashed in her eyes. The next moment, she ran towards Yun Xi and Yun Qi with a look of panic on her face:
"Brother! Sister! Are you all right?"
"Someone come! Hurry up!"
As she shouted, she had already run close to them.
Sai Xing beside Yun Xi instinctively felt something was wrong. She quickly protected her young mistress behind her and spread her arms menacingly to block Yun Qianying who was running towards them.
But Yun Qianying didn't approach Yun Xi. Instead, she threw herself on Yun Qi and looked at him anxiously to check if he was injured.
Sai Xing was stunned. Just as she was wondering, Yun Xi, who was protected behind her, let out a scream and "plop!" fell into the lake.
It turned out that someone who had been hiding in the lake grabbed the corner of Yun Xi's skirt and pulled her down.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Yun Xi's ears and nose were instantly submerged in the slightly warm pond water. She didn't have time to hold her breath and choked so hard that she couldn't speak. She could only struggle constantly.
"Miss!"
Sai Xing shouted in horror and leaned forward without hesitation to pull Yun Xi.
Lingyan had just landed on the shore. Seeing this, she was about to jump into the water again.
But she was stopped by Yun Qi's loud shout:
"Don't move! I'll go!"
"You can't swim. It's useless for you to go! Don't distract your young mistress!"
As he shouted, he was about to jump into the water.
"No, brother..."
Yun Qianying grabbed Yun Qi tightly, her eyes full of worry:
"It's too dangerous. I can't let you go."
"Xiaoying, don't be naughty!"
In this urgent situation, Yun Qi didn't care what Yun Qianying said. He used force on his hands and was about to push her away.
How could Yun Qianying let him go?
She tightened her grip even more. With tears in her eyes, Yun Qianying said:
"You can't go, brother, you can't go."
"The servants are here. They will save sister by themselves. You are my brother. I can't watch you take risks..."
As she said, she turned to the servants beside her and shouted:
"Hurry up and save people! Are you all dead? What are you standing there for!"
But those servants were busy catching the gray - clothed servant who had been kicked into the water by Yun Qi and the thief who had hidden in the pond and pulled Yun Xi into the water. Where could they spare any energy?
Yun Xi in the pond cursed in her heart.
However, Yun Qi was entangled by Yun Qianying and couldn't get away. Lingyan and Sai Xing couldn't swim. She could only rely on herself to struggle hard to swim towards the edge of the pond.
"Miss, hold on, miss..."
Sai Xing was so anxious that she shed tears. She turned to Yun Qi and shouted:
"Mr. Yun, hurry up and save people! My young mistress is your own younger sister!"
Several people who didn't know the truth were all shocked!
No one expected Sai Xing to shout it out so bluntly. Yun Qianying's face sank. Just as she was about to say something, Yun Qi suddenly used force and pushed her away without caring whether Yun Qianying would be injured or not.
"Brother!"
Caught off guard, Yun Qianying fell to the ground. She let out a scream and was about to pounce on Yun Qi again.
But Yun Qi had already reached the edge of the pond.
Coincidentally, Yun Xi had also struggled to the edge and was rising and falling with the pond water.
"Xiaoxi,"
Yun Qi's eyes were red:
"Give me your hand."
After fourteen years, the memories that he had deliberately forgotten came back like a tide.
His little sister, the little girl who had always followed him around and called him brother, was finally back by his side.
"Cough, cough..."
Yun Xi had difficulty speaking. She tried hard to reach out for Yun Qi's big wheat - colored palm.
Their fingertips touched.
Yun Xi's heart suddenly trembled. The long - lost buzzing sound and dizziness came again.
The strange and noisy voices rang in her ears again. Yun Xi's vision went black. She could only weakly say two words from her throat:
"Brother..."
It seemed as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant. Yun Xi sank into the water immediately.
"Xiaoxi!"
"Miss!"
The frightened screams could no longer reach Yun Xi's ears.
Seeing the hand that was about to be grabbed suddenly fall back, Yun Qi's eyes were bloodshot. Without thinking, he "plop" jumped into the water.
Back then, when he was young, he watched his little sister being sent away in disguise. Since then, her life or death had been unknown and there had been no news of her.
He cried for a long time and made a lot of noise. Finally, he fell seriously ill.
In a daze, he heard his parents crying.
He heard his mother say:
"Why am I so unlucky? If Yingying stays by my side, she will encounter disasters. I was forced to send her away. Now... Xiao Qi is also seriously ill..."
"Woo... If something happens to Xiao Qi, I... I might as well just die..."
His father, who he regarded as a god - like heroic figure, sounded much more vicissitudinous. He sighed and put his arm around his mother's shoulder to comfort her softly:
"Don't say such silly things. Yingying will be fine, and Xiao Qi will get better too."
"He just doesn't know the truth and thinks we don't want Yingying. When he wakes up, we'll tell him the truth. He..."
"No!"
His mother interrupted his father's words firmly. Her sad voice was resolute and left no room for negotiation:
"Xiao Qi is still so young. If he accidentally reveals the secret and others know that our family is missing a daughter, those who want to harm her will surely go looking for her. Wouldn't that put her in danger?"
"Make up an excuse and see if we can persuade Xiao Qi to accept Xiaoying..."
He didn't hear the following words.
Because he couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep.
But he knew that from then on, his little sister could only be the girl who was picked up later.
Afraid that he would really accidentally reveal the secret, he forced himself to gradually forget Xiaoying and his real younger sister.