Feng Jiu’er had genuinely not wanted to pay them any mind, but since someone had already walked right up to her, ignoring them was no longer an option.

Looking at Feng Qingyin, whose makeup was so exquisite it could only be described as flawlessly stunning, Feng Jiu’er smiled and said: “There’s no need, Elder Sister Qingyin. Whenever you’ve asked Crown Prince Brother to do things for you, he has never been willing.”

Having said her piece, Feng Jiu’er immediately returned her attention to the queue, as though she truly had no expectation that Feng Qingyin could bring her any benefit whatsoever.

Yet those words she had just spoken were simply… far too humiliating!

So the Eighth Miss Feng had asked His Highness the Crown Prince for things, and His Highness had never been willing to agree?

When someone half-simple speaks, there is usually a grain of truth in what they say — and wasn’t it plain to see that Feng Qingyin couldn’t even muster a single word of rebuttal?

In truth, it was not that Feng Qingyin could not speak. Rather…

That wretched Feng Jiu’er — she had said what she had to say and then simply ignored her. Was she supposed to drag her back and loudly declare that every request she had ever made of Crown Prince Brother had always been fulfilled without fail?

If she truly carried on with such agitation, would everyone not think she was protesting too much, that her very reaction betrayed her guilt?

Yet if Feng Qingyin were to simply walk away like this, she could not do it either — for that would be an admission that her requests were ones the Crown Prince had never agreed to.

That hateful Feng Jiu’er! A mere handful of simple words had somehow backed her into a position where she could neither advance nor retreat!

This fool — when had she become so cunning?

Feng Qingyin drew a deep breath, barely keeping her fury in check, and still walked up to Feng Jiu’er, her smile gentler than a spring breeze.

“Jiu’er, you’ve misremembered. Whenever Elder Sister has made a request of Crown Prince Brother, he has always agreed, which is why Elder Sister is willing to help you…”

“No, Elder Sister Qingyin — it is you who has misremembered.”

Feng Jiu’er embodied the guileless simplicity of a fool to perfection.

“That day, you said the people at the Imperial Academy were all villains — that not only would they beat me, they would kill me…”

“Jiu’er!” Feng Qingyin’s expression shifted dramatically in an instant. She had never imagined she would bring this up at a moment like this!

All around them, eyes filled with shock had already begun to turn their way.

Feng Qingyin had said that the people of the Imperial Academy were all villains — that they not only beat people, but killed them?

“No — I never said any such thing, I…” Feng Qingyin shot Feng Jiu’er a glare. “Stop talking nonsense!”

But Feng Jiu’er was a “fool,” and she was “stubbornly” determined to speak the truth — who could possibly stop her?

“Elder Sister Qingyin, you truly did say that. Have you forgotten?”

“That day, Crown Prince Brother even scolded you for it. He said that if you ever frightened me again, he would certainly not let it go lightly.”

Feng Jiu’er’s face was resolute, like a willful child who simply must speak the words she had heard, no matter what.

“That is exactly what Crown Prince Brother said — Jiu’er remembers it very clearly. He said exactly that!”

Her voice was loud; because Feng Qingyin would not let her speak, she grew visibly agitated.

One could picture it: a child who has been wronged, insisting on bringing the truth to light.

That was precisely what Feng Jiu’er looked like now.

And so the onlookers who heard it — their gazes toward Feng Qingyin instantly turned contemptuous and indignant.

That wretched Eighth Miss Feng! Just because her relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince was unusually close, did she think she could spread slander and smear the students of their academy?

What was more, Feng Jiu’er herself had said it plainly — whenever she had made requests of His Highness the Crown Prince, he had refused the great majority of them.

Her being here today was most likely not the result of having asked His Highness at all. Rather, it was surely the doing of Her Majesty the Empress.

Who did not know that Her Majesty the Empress owed the Eighth Miss Feng a debt of life-saving grace? No one was quite sure who had let it slip, but throughout the entire imperial city, at least half of all people were already aware.