Feng Qingyin could never have anticipated that she would end up as collateral damage simply by standing nearby.

She had been standing to one side, watching Feng Jiu’er torment her own maidservant — angered by it, naturally.

But angry as she was, she felt no physical pain from it.

After Feng Jiu’er had finished with the maidservant, Feng Qingyin fully intended to go about weeping and lamenting to anyone who would listen, proclaiming that Feng Jiu’er was a savage brute who had beaten her maidservant.

What she had not anticipated was that when Feng Jiu’er grabbed Qin Xue and flung her casually, she sent her flying directly into Feng Qingyin herself.

“Aah…”

Mistress and servant tumbled to the ground together, Qin Xue landing on top of Feng Qingyin and leaving her utterly unable to get up.

Feng Qingyin, pinned beneath her, could not summon the strength to push her off no matter how she struggled.

In the midst of all the flailing and thrashing, her skirt somehow became disheveled, and a gust of wind swept in, tossing it further until even her bare thighs were exposed to plain sight.

Xiao Yingtao watched with a deeply flushed face. And the passing students — upon catching a glimpse of Feng Qingyin’s thighs, every last one of them stood riveted, eyes wide and unblinking.

The Martial Academy was populated almost entirely by male students, with women present in dismally small numbers, so all those who happened to be passing by were young men.

The more Feng Qingyin struggled, the more her two legs were laid bare. In the end, even the short inner trousers beneath her skirt came into view.

From some distance away, a group of men stood together, hands clasped behind their backs, watching the spectacle with great relish.

“Is that your intended bride, the Ninth Miss Feng? From the look of things, she turns out to be quite the little firebrand.”

The speaker was Nanmen Jie — the fourth elder brother of Nanmen Xu, born of the same father but a different mother. He was addressed as Young Lord Jie.

Standing beside him, one of Young Lord Jie’s companions laughed: “Lucky for us that your future sister-in-law is fierce enough — otherwise, we would never have been treated to such a tantalizing spectacle!”

Life as a student was dull, and the Martial Academy had precious few women. Feng Qingyin was truly a beauty, and those legs of hers… tsk, tsk — riding that must be something glorious.

Nanmen Jie also laughed: “Sixth Brother — taking home such a fierce and unruly bride, are you certain life with her will actually be livable?”

“Young Lord Jie, since His Majesty decreed the match, livable or not, Young Lord Xu will simply have to make do, will he not? Ha ha ha…”

Amid a round of laughter, Nanmen Xu strode quickly forward. In a single motion he pulled the maidservant off Feng Qingyin and reached out to help Feng Qingyin to her feet.

He did not so much as glance at Feng Qingyin — not even earlier, when her two legs had been all but completely exposed, had he spared her a proper look.

Now, his eyes settled on Feng Jiu’er, and his expression was one of unmistakable displeasure: “You have trained in martial arts — what you have learned ought to be used to uphold justice and protect the weak, not to bully those who cannot defend themselves!”

Feng Jiu’er returned his gaze with cool indifference. Yet another man who, swayed by Feng Qingyin’s beauty, wished to ride in as a righteous champion on her behalf.

In the past, she had endured no small number of such performances.

“Is that so? How do you know she is the weak party here?” What Feng Qingyin had done to mock her just moments ago — these men were deaf, blind, and heart-dead to all of it.

But she was long accustomed to it. It no longer mattered.

Pity that for all he looked the part of a proper man — even more handsome than most men she had seen — his eyes were still as blind as the rest.

Feng Jiu’er turned to leave. But Xiao Yingtao quickly stepped in front of Nanmen Xu, her expression earnest as she explained, “Just now, it was her maidservant who first opened her mouth to humiliate Jiu’er. That is why Jiu’er…”

“I only trust what I see with my own eyes.” Nanmen Xu fixed his gaze on the side of Feng Jiu’er’s face, his eyes full of severity and cold judgment. “Throwing your weight around and taking pleasure in it — you have gone too far!”

“Jiu’er is not…”

“Xiao Yingtao, let us go.” Jiu’er did not care in the least about what others thought of her.

But Xiao Yingtao hurried after her, urgent and anxious: “Jiu’er — he… he is Young Lord Xu. Nanmen Xu!”