“I…” Feng Qingyin was dumbfounded. Crown Prince Brother was… was this a warning telling her not to slander Feng Jiu’er again?

“Crown Prince Brother, everything I said was…”

“Whether it is true or false, why are you shouting so loudly? Do you want to announce it to all under heaven?”

Zhan Yuheng’s sharp gaze snapped toward her, and he said coldly in anger: “She is your own younger sister. Behaving like this — are you trying to send her to her death?”

“I am not!” Feng Qingyin was so frightened that her complexion turned ashen, and her tears immediately poured forth like a river bursting its banks, rolling down in streams.

“She has been hurt so deeply by you, and yet she has not wept. What are you crying for?”

At this moment, Zhan Yuheng suddenly felt a few more degrees of revulsion toward Feng Qingyin — this woman who appeared gentle on the surface yet consistently unleashed hurtful words at every turn.

Today, if it were not for his Imperial Mother insisting he escort her here, he would never have walked alongside her.

The last time he had rushed to the Jiantian Court to save Jiu’er, it was precisely because Feng Qingyin had a sudden violent relapse that had delayed his steps.

By the time he arrived at the Jiantian Court, Jiu’er had already been taken away by Yu Jingfeng.

Every time he recalled this, he felt a few more pangs of guilt toward Feng Jiu’er — and naturally, a few more degrees of contempt toward Feng Qingyin.

No longer paying any attention to Feng Qingyin, who was still weeping piteously, he looked toward Feng Jiu’er and softened his voice: “This Crown Prince will escort you inside.”

“Alright!” Feng Jiu’er’s face still wore its carefree, blithe smile.

Zhan Yuheng felt a helpless exasperation. If only she could be like yesterday in the carriage — biting her finger in deep thought — he did not know how pleased he would be.

Yet now… one great fire had turned her into a person he no longer recognized at all.

Zhan Yuheng still could not understand it. Even if the fire had damaged her mind, why had not a single one of her former habits, her expressions, her mannerisms been preserved?

As for the Feng Jiu’er standing before him now — though she still appeared confused and simple-minded — the small mischievous expressions she occasionally revealed bore a striking resemblance to what she had been like as a child.

And so Zhan Yuheng led Feng Jiu’er inside, leaving behind Feng Qingyin, who was still weeping her desolate tears.

All around them, a continuous stream of students arrived to register, one after another. The maidservant Qin Xue quickly said in a low voice: “Young Miss, perhaps we should withdraw for now.”

As things stood, there was no possibility of His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly having a change of heart and coming back out to look for her.

If the Young Miss continued crying here, was she afraid people did not yet know she had been abandoned by the Crown Prince?

Feng Qingyin shot a fierce glare at the two retreating figures growing ever more distant, bit her lip, wiped her tears, and left.

Crown Prince Brother had actually spoken up for that fool. Had he not heard what she said just now?

She had already dropped so many hints — that Feng Jiu’er was constantly disheveled and fraternizing with men — and yet, knowing all this about such a girl, he still wanted her?

“Young Miss, your servant feels that just now…” Once they had reached a place where no one could hear them, Qin Xue said quietly: “Young Miss, you came across as far too forceful.”

“How was I forceful? Did you not see how pitifully I was crying?”

Feng Qingyin refused to accept this in the slightest.

It was definitely not her fault. It was Feng Jiu’er! It was Feng Jiu’er who had used some kind of enchantment to bewitch Crown Prince Brother.

Although Qin Xue had always stayed by Feng Qingyin’s side, Feng Qingyin’s feelings toward this maidservant — who had a somewhat unclear background — were by no means as simple as how one would treat a mere servant.

At times, Qin Xue could even be called her chief strategist.

“Young Miss, based on your servant’s observation, just now His Highness the Crown Prince took pity on Feng Jiu’er.”

“Took pity?”

“Exactly so — the instinct of a man to protect the weaker party. Because Young Miss’s words just now were… far too hurtful.” Before Feng Qingyin could say anything, Qin Xue quickly continued: “All men have a natural instinct to shield the vulnerable. Young Miss, next time you must…”