The lake was much shallower than Little William had expected. Swimming over to the girl in red, he saw that she was still struggling in the water, but was clearly running out of strength. Little William realized that the water here was only about seven feet deep. Judging by the girl's height—at least 1.65 meters—her nose would have just been submerged, so how did she end up in such a sorry state? Little William pulled the girl in red out of the water, cradled her in his arms, and stepped toward the shore with his feet firmly on the lakebed. At this point, the girl in red had quieted down, lying motionless in Little William's arms, one arm dangling and swaying in the air, looking just like a corpse.

The crowd on the lakeshore, who had gathered to watch the commotion, began whispering among themselves. Had the girl drowned?

Of course, Little William knew the girl wasn't dead—she had just fainted from choking on water. As Little William walked ashore, bare-chested, the women in the crowd blushed and their hearts raced, quickly turning their heads away. The four months of training had paid off for Little William; his skin was a glossy chestnut, his muscles beautifully defined, full and brimming with strength and elasticity.

In this feudal era, even men rarely displayed their bodies in public. The weather in April was still a bit chilly, and whether they were diligent scholars or sons of noble families, everyone wrapped themselves in various long robes with flowing sleeves to show off their refined demeanor. Every era has its own standards of beauty, but the appreciation of physical beauty is eternal.

Little William's athletic physique on public display was an extremely rare sight. Though the women watching felt shy and thought it improper, they couldn't help but want to look. Women, too, have the right and desire to appreciate beauty. The more they snuck glances, the more their faces flushed and their hearts pounded with excitement.

More than a dozen pleasure boats had gathered in this part of the lake because of the incident. Many wealthy young ladies and official's daughters, hidden behind beaded curtains and gauzy drapes, secretly peeked at Little William's muscular back. The lake water had soaked Little William's large shorts completely, and his firm, full gluteal muscles were half-revealed beneath them, naturally causing many beauties' eyes to light up with desire. Some bold girls had already lifted the beaded curtains to openly admire him, and quite a few were quietly inquiring about Little William's background.

Little William had no intention of showing off his physique; he was never an exhibitionist. With no time to put on a shirt, he carried the girl in red to the shade of a tree and had four servants disperse the onlookers, standing with their backs to shield Little William and the girl.

A doctor's compassion is innate. Although Little William had decided never to be a doctor again after regaining his memory, when someone truly needed his help, he didn't hesitate for a moment.

The first thing Little William did was untie the girl in red's sash. Tight waists were in fashion at this time, and though the girl's waist was already slender, she had it cinched tightly with a palm-wide, gold-inlaid tortoiseshell brocade belt. Undoing this belt was truly a hassle.

Robert Bennett, while driving away the onlookers, kept sneaking glances at his young master's actions. Seeing Little William untying the girl's belt, he was instantly bewildered. This was broad daylight, in front of everyone! Young master, you really need to have some decency. Only a fool would dare do such a thing in this situation—removing clothes, the next step would be... well...

Howard Hoover had the same thought and gestured to Robert Bennett to intervene, but Robert Bennett gestured back. Who was their young master? Wasn't he a fool, having been simple-minded for sixteen years? Who knew what outrageous thing he might do? Otherwise, the Minister wouldn't have ordered the four of them to watch him so closely. But the Minister had only told them to protect him, not to stop his actions, so it was best to just let things be.

Although the crowd had been pushed back, they still watched from a distance. The four servants were all sturdy, but they couldn't completely block the view of Little William and the girl in red.

As Little William untied the girl's sash, some people saw and began to grumble indignantly: "Shameless! How dare he do such a thing in broad daylight?" "Is there no justice, no law left..."

Someone had already recognized Little William: "Better to avoid trouble. He's the son of Hu Buwei, the Minister of Revenue. I hear he's a fool, and even if a fool does something, he won't go to jail..." "Outrageous!"

Some muttered curses, some pointed fingers, some lingered to watch, and some waited for a good show. But not a single person dared step forward to stop Little William and his servant's misdeeds. If it didn't concern them, they kept their distance; being able to voice a few words of condemnation was already a sign of a strong sense of justice.

Little William cleared a few strands of waterweed from the girl's mouth and plucked a few snails stuck to her face. Clearing debris from her mouth and nose was a necessary step. Seeing her belly slightly distended, it was clear she had swallowed quite a bit of lake water. So Little William knelt on one knee, bent the other, placed the girl's abdomen over his raised thigh, supported her head to face downward, and pressed her back with his other hand.