CHAPTER 243: CHAPTER 240: NO HOPE

Miss Lin was so scared that she opened her mouth wide, unable to make a sound for a moment. It was Nanny Xu beside her who first came to her senses and shouted.

"Oh no, Third Master Lin... fell off the boat, quick... quickly, save him!"

As if waking from a dream, the boat became even more chaotic. Everyone looked toward the river, and two crew members and servants jumped into the water.

Miss Lin felt as if a hand was gripping her heart tightly. She couldn’t care about anything else and pushed through the terrified ladies on the boat, stumbling and rushing to the place where Du Yi fell off. She looked downwards.

There seemed to be a splashing sound coming from the river, but it was too dark to see anything clearly. Miss Lin grabbed a lantern and bent down to look, but still saw nothing. Just as she was about to lower her head further, she felt a sudden push at her waist, and her body lost balance, her feet leaving the flower boat, plunging headfirst into the river.

"Glug" Miss Lin didn’t even have time to make a sound as water rushed into her mouth and nose. She opened her eyes wide, still not recovering from the shock and fear, instinctively trying to save herself, but she couldn’t swim. Her hands and feet flailing for a while, but she couldn’t break the surface.

Vaguely, Miss Lin felt someone approaching her. Her hand immediately reached out for the shadow, her long nails clawing into the person’s arm, and then tightly gripping it, hoping they would rescue her. She saw the person approaching closer, but instead of helping her out of the river, they pressed her head down, pushing her further into the depths.

Miss Lin realized their intent and started to struggle desperately. The person evidently thought it wasn’t enough and reached forward, and Miss Lin felt a sudden pain in her abdomen, the fright of impending death enveloping her instantly. She wanted to scream, but as she opened her mouth more water poured in.

She was going to die, just going to die. Miss Lin wanted to cry, wanted to scream, but when death came, she was both powerless and silent.

Miss Lin’s strength to struggle waned, and just as she was about to lose consciousness, she felt someone tugging at her clothing, and her entire being was pulled upwards.

When Miss Lin came to herself again, she felt a painful pressure in her chest, and heard the faint sounds of voices around her.

"Rescue Third Master, quickly rescue Third Master."

Amidst the splashing water, Miss Lin coughed violently, struggling to breathe, her chest feeling like it was being crushed by a heavy stone. She looked around in panic.

At some unknown time, several more boats had appeared on the river, illuminated by torches, making the river surface clearer. Among a group of people, she spotted a familiar figure.

It was... Du Yi.

"Third... Third Master..." Miss Lin shouted weakly, but couldn’t make a sound.

A small boat was approaching, evidently to pick up those in the water, but the river was not calm, as people were still fighting, causing the boat to come even slower.

Miss Lin snapped back to reality: there was a villain in the river, the person who tried to kill her.

Having just struggled from the edge of life and death, Miss Lin was eager to escape danger. Seeing the small boat approaching, Third Master Du was being escorted towards her by someone.

"Third Master."

Du Yi obviously knew some swimming skills, moving faster with the help of someone beside him. Miss Lin felt as if she saw the only relative she could rely on, her nose tingling, reaching out to grab Du Yi’s arm.

"Third Master," Miss Lin said weakly, "I finally found you..."

Miss Lin’s tears were still swirling in her eyes. Before she could finish speaking, Du Yi waved her hand away, and Miss Lin was stunned.

Du Yi’s face twisted, not looking at her even once.

Miss Lin felt plunged into an icy abyss, surely she was dreaming. Third Master Du wouldn’t treat her like this; Third Master Du was clearly fond of her, how could this be?

"Third..." Miss Lin wanted to say something, but her voice was drowned out by Du Yi’s shouting.

Du Yi said, "What are you standing there for? Help me onto the boat, quickly..."

Miss Lin’s face was full of disbelief. The tender affection Du Yi had shown her earlier evaporated in an instant. With fear accompanying the enormous shock, Miss Lin almost fainted.

Du Yi clumsily climbed onto the boat, clutching his abdomen tightly, pain contorting his face grimly. Fear hadn’t left him; he frantically commanded, "Quick... fetch a doctor..."

He couldn’t die, not die in this little Mingzhou. He was the younger brother of the Military Governor, a member of the Du Family from Sui State.

Du Yi clutched his stomach tightly, breathing rapidly, his eyes skimming over the flower boat, wishing he could kill everyone on board.

Someone had sneaked onto the flower boat and pushed him into the water while he was completely unprepared. There were assassins lying in wait in the river who grabbed him as soon as he fell in. Fortunately, he was born into a military family, practicing combat skills from an early age, otherwise, the blade would have pierced his chest.

Du Yi didn’t want to die, and he couldn’t.

Du Yi thought chaotically, faintly sensing someone else boarding the boat. He looked up, and in the torchlight, saw a familiar silhouette.

That was...

Du Yi widened his eyes: "Big... Big Brother..."

A mix of astonishment, panic, and joy surged into Du Yi’s chest. He struggled to approach Du Zhuo: "Big Brother... save me, someone wants to kill me... it’s... it must be Song Xian..."

Yes, it was Song Xian.

Du Zhuo looked at Du Yi, who was drenched, blood staining his garments. The household general stepped forward to check Du Yi’s wound but was stopped by Du Zhuo.

Du Yi stared blankly at Du Zhuo’s actions. Du Zhuo’s face was somber, his eyes filled with fury, staring at him unwaveringly. He had never seen his brother like this.

"Was it you who had the mountain bandits attack Chen Family Village’s merchant convoy?"

Du Yi’s expression froze.

Du Zhuo already knew the answer.

Du Yi quickly said, "Big Brother, it’s not what you think, it’s Song Xian forcing the issue, Song Xian has always wanted to deal with the Du Family, he..."

"Shut up," Du Zhuo stepped forward, reaching out and grabbing Du Yi’s collar, "If you weren’t my biological brother, I would have ended you myself to prevent you from harming the Du Family."

Du Zhuo kicked Du Yi in the stomach: "You useless fool, still played for a fool."

Du Yi winced with pain, almost fainting.

Du Zhuo said, "I used to think you were worthless, so I didn’t keep you in the army. Letting you do some business, thinking you wouldn’t cause any great trouble. But I didn’t expect you to be both stupid and vile. To this extent, it’s your own path to ruin. I really shouldn’t have saved you."

Du Yi still didn’t understand what had happened, why his brother was treating him like this. He reached out and hugged Du Zhuo’s leg: "Big Brother, it’s not me, listen to me..."

Du Yi just happened to see Miss Lin being pushed onto the boat and pointed: "It was her, it was all her idea, it had nothing to do with me."

Du Zhuo glanced at Miss Lin, veins bulging on his forehead; his brother was beyond saving.