Xiao Jinglin glanced at the maid kneeling beside them, boiling water and preparing tea. Hongying immediately stood up and walked briskly out of the pleasure boat.

Xiao Jinglin remained seated without moving, and Ren Yaoqi followed suit.

Soon, Hongying returned. Just as she was about to report, a young woman’s voice rang out from outside: “Xiao Jinglin, don’t you know boats aren’t allowed on the inner city waterways? Or are you deliberately breaking the rules, relying on your status?”

The voice sounded very young, probably around Xiao Jinglin’s age, with undisguised mockery and displeasure in her tone.

The girl outside knew Xiao Jinglin, but Ren Yaoqi was curious which family’s daughter in Yanbei would dare speak to the Yanbei Prince’s residence Princess this way.

Hearing these words, Xiao Jinglin didn’t even change her expression and showed no intention of responding. She merely instructed Hongying coolly: “Tell the boat woman to exit the city through the northern lock.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Hongying turned and went out again. Ren Yaoqi, sitting in the pleasure boat, could still hear Hongying speaking to the boat woman at the stern.

Another maid finished preparing the tea and poured cups for both Xiao Jinglin and Ren Yaoqi. Meanwhile, the ignored woman standing on the bridge grew angrier, her voice becoming louder: “Xiao Jinglin, did you hear me! Come out here immediately! Are the two waterway locks in the city for your casual amusement? You’ve completely disgraced the Yanbei Prince’s residence! Xiao Jingyue, why don’t you quickly stop her boat!”

Xiao Jingyue? The third young master of the Xiao family?

“Cousin, you don’t understand. This pleasure boat was specially commissioned by the Second Brother from the Crown Prince in the capital. Don’t let its small size fool you – one pleasure boat costs enough to buy a mansion. It’s not that Third Brother won’t stop it; Third Brother doesn’t have the nerve to. If I damage it, I couldn’t afford to compensate,” a man’s leisurely voice slowly responded, adding fuel to the fire.

“Look at your pathetic attitude! You people, block that boat for me. If it’s damaged, I’ll take responsibility!” the woman said somewhat arrogantly.

Then several submissive voices responded – the woman had turned to command her attendants.

By now, Ren Yaoqi could guess who this girl was. The old Yanbei Prince Consort, born a princess, had only one daughter, Xiao Wei, who married Ningxia Commander-in-Chief Wu Xiaohe. Xiao Wei also had only one daughter. The person outside who dared challenge Xiao Jinglin should be Xiao Wei’s daughter, the cousin of the Yanbei Prince’s residence.

This Miss Wu seemed no easy opponent either.

As Ren Yaoqi pondered this family’s complex relationships, she heard several knocking sounds against the boat’s hull, and then the boat began to sway.

Ren Yaoqi hadn’t expected the people outside to take action. Caught off guard, her body struck the low table.

The teacup on the table swayed from the impact, and the scalding hot tea that had just been prepared was about to spill onto Ren Yaoqi. Xiao Jinglin, sitting beside her, quickly pulled Ren Yaoqi away. The tea flowed along the table’s edge onto the boat’s floor mat, soaking a patch that still steamed with heat.

“Miss, are you scalded?” Pingguo, who had nearly fallen to the floor herself, steadied herself and rushed over with concern.

Xiao Jinglin also looked over with concern.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “The Princess pulled me away in time. I wasn’t scalded.”

A “splash” of someone falling into water came from outside, followed by exclamations.

“Princess, they used bamboo poles to knock our boat woman into the water,” Hongying reported after peering out.

The people on the bridge had found bamboo poles somewhere. After knocking the boat woman into the water and preventing her from boarding, they used the bamboo poles to push against the pleasure boat’s hull, forcing it in one direction.

Ren Yaoqi felt the pleasure boat, which had been heading toward the bridge opening, suddenly turn sideways. With the changed direction, the situation on the bridge became visible.

A tall woman in a purple dress stood by the bridge railing, the corners of her mouth slightly raised as she watched their predicament with obvious satisfaction. Beside her stood a handsome young man stroking his chin, lazily watching with the air of someone enjoying a show without interfering.

Three or four female servants held bamboo poles about ten feet long, exerting force against the pleasure boat. Further away stood some ordinary onlookers, watching the commotion without understanding what was happening, though none dared speak carelessly, given the intimidating scene.

The pleasure boat spun on the river surface, making Ren Yaoqi feel dizzy from the swaying.

Xiao Jinglin finally stood up: “You watch over Miss Ren here.” With that, she walked toward the cabin exit.

“Princess, be careful not to fall into the river.” Ren Yaoqi tried to grab Xiao Jinglin, but missed.

Xiao Jinglin nodded and instead comforted Ren Yaoqi: “Don’t worry. I can swim.”

Ren Yaoqi felt like crying. What did knowing how to swim have to do with anything? If she, a woman and dignified Princess, fell into the river, would she swim to shore in front of everyone?

But Xiao Jinglin had already exited the cabin. Only then did Ren Yaoqi realize that even as the pleasure boat swayed unstably, Xiao Jinglin’s steps remained unaffected, still steady and sure. Ren Yaoqi suddenly remembered that Xiao Jinglin was different from ordinary women like themselves – she knew martial arts. This brought some relief.

No longer caring whether the people outside could see her, Ren Yaoqi moved to sit by the window to watch Xiao Jinglin, who had emerged from the cabin.

Xiao Jinglin grabbed a bamboo pole, thrust it toward her, and pulled it hard toward her chest. Without seeming to exert much effort, the burly middle-aged woman on the other end of the pole was pulled horizontally off the bridge and fell into the water with a splash.

Seeing this, the other women became frightened and wanted to retreat. But the purple-dressed girl immediately turned cold, snatched a bamboo pole from a nearby servant, and swung it toward them. Unlike the servants who had been hitting the boat’s hull, she aimed directly at Xiao Jinglin.

Xiao Jinglin raised her bamboo pole to deflect the attack. The purple-dressed girl twisted her wrist to avoid it, then immediately swung again. The two began fighting – one standing on the bridge, one on the boat’s bow.

After watching for a while, Ren Yaoqi discerned some details. The purple-dressed cousin miss actually knew martial arts too, and because she held the high ground advantage, she hadn’t yet shown signs of defeat.

Ren Yaoqi felt a headache coming on. What kind of situation was this?

“Cousin, what do you mean by this?” Xiao Jinglin finally spoke, her voice still cool. This was the first thing she had said to the people on the bridge since the beginning.

The woman on the bridge snorted coldly: “Since you call me cousin, I must manage you properly, lest you become too presumptuous, relying on the Yanbei Prince’s residence power to embarrass yourself everywhere!”

Ren Yaoqi thought that given Xiao Jinglin’s temperament, she would fall silent again. Instead, she heard Xiao Jinglin say coolly, “Since you also said I’m disgracing the Yanbei Prince’s residence, what business is it of yours? Are you planning to change your surname to Xiao?”

Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help wanting to laugh. She felt she still didn’t fully understand Xiao Jinglin…

“You—” The purple-dressed girl’s face became somewhat distorted with anger at these words.

Someone nearby burst out with a “pfft” of laughter.

The purple-dressed girl’s expression turned cold as she immediately turned her head, but was struck on the arm by Xiao Jinglin’s bamboo pole.

The sound made even Ren Yaoqi wince in sympathy.

The purple-dressed girl’s face paled with pain, but she didn’t immediately turn back to face Xiao Jinglin.

Ren Yaoqi looked toward the bridge and was also startled.

At some point, three more people had appeared on the bridge. Among them, the tall young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, leaning against the bridge railing with a crooked smile, was none other than Yun Wenfang.

Recently, though Yun Wenfang claimed to be staying at the Ren residence, he was always elusive. Since Qiu Yun had returned to the academy and it became inconvenient for him to loiter in the Ren family’s back courtyard, he had become even harder to find. She didn’t know when he had returned to Yunyang City.

Yun Wenfang also spotted Ren Yaoqi by the window. His eyes brightened as he straightened up and even winked in her direction.

“Princess, Miss Wu,” a scholarly-dressed young man who had come with Yun Wenfang bowed, his voice clear and pleasant like spring water.

When he raised his head, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but silently praise his appearance.

This young master was extremely handsome. Among all the men Ren Yaoqi had seen, apart from Xiao Jingxi, who hardly counted as a human being, more like a half-immortal, this man undoubtedly had the finest appearance. Moreover, he carried a strong scholarly air, unlike Yun Wenfang’s aggressive, domineering aura, but rather one that made people feel refreshed like a spring breeze.

Facing such a man, ordinary women would feel ashamed of themselves.

So the purple-dressed girl quietly lowered her bamboo pole, covered her arm that Xiao Jinglin had just struck, and called out softly with flushed cheeks: “Young Master Yun.”

The girl who had just been wielding a bamboo pole with fierce momentum immediately transformed into a refined lady from a noble family – and a wronged noble lady at that. Her face-changing skills were truly amazing.

Yun Wenfang glanced at the scholarly young man, still wearing his signature smile but with some teasing in his expression.

Ren Yaoqi realized the “Young Master Yun” wasn’t addressed to Yun Wenfang, but to this scholarly young man – Yun Wenfang’s older brother, Yun Wenting.

Ren Yaoqi had seen Yun Wenting in her previous life, but so much time had passed that she couldn’t clearly remember his appearance, only vaguely recalling he was very handsome.

In her previous life, her fourth sister Ren Yaoyin had become Yun Wenting’s concubine. As for who Yun Wenting’s legitimate wife was, Ren Yaoqi had no impression.