Xie Fengran's expression turned cold. Just as she was about to speak, she felt a warm touch on her hand.
Looking down, she saw that the Fourth Princess had grabbed her hand.
The Fourth Princess tightened her small face, pursing her lips into a straight line. Looking at the Third Princess seriously, she said coldly, "Third Sister, apologize!"
The Third Princess widened her eyes, as if she had heard something incredible. "Fourth Sister, Third Sister is doing this for your own good."
"Sister Xie was personally praised by the Empress. I also actively sought her out to play with. She is definitely not the kind of person Third Sister described." The Fourth Princess lifted her chin slightly, with a look of disdain on her face. "It seems that it's Third Sister who can't tell right from wrong. Third Sister, don't use the excuse of doing good for me to bully others."
The Fourth Princess knew exactly what kind of person her Third Sister was.
On weekdays, whenever she was a bit unhappy, she would beat and humiliate the palace servants. There were always a bunch of sycophantic young ladies around her. She hated being ignored the most. She was not only petty - minded but also extremely vindictive.
The two sisters were at odds with each other, and neither was willing to give in.
Finally, the arrival of the Crown Prince broke the deadlock. "Zhaoyue, what's going on?"
When the Third Princess saw the Crown Prince, she quickly said, "Brother, it's nothing. We're just playing around."
She dared to accuse Xie Fengran in front of the Fourth Princess, but she didn't dare to talk nonsense in front of the Crown Prince.
The Fourth Princess gave the Third Princess a sidelong glance and suddenly said, "Qin Zhaoyang, apologize to Sister Xie."
The Third Princess frowned and sized up the Fourth Princess with a strange look. "Fourth Sister, after a little play among sisters, it's over. Do you really want to hurt our harmony for an outsider?"
She spoke in an old - fashioned tone, as if the Fourth Princess was being unreasonable.
The Fourth Princess was least likely to buy the Third Princess's tricks. Her temper flared up, and she was about to scold.
"Fourth Princess, the Third Princess is right. You sisters don't need to fall out for me." Xie Fengran calmly stepped in front of the Fourth Princess, blocking the Third Princess's possible provocation.
Then she turned to look at the Crown Prince. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, just now I was here with the Fourth Princess feeding the fish. Then the Third Princess rushed over and said that the Marquis of Dingguo's family was eager to curry favor with the royal family. She kept saying that I was shameless and wanted to marry into the royal family. I don't know where this groundless rumor came from."
As she spoke, her gaze swept across the Third Princess's face. A hint of provocation flashed in her eyes, and she slowly said, "My reputation may not matter much, but the century - old reputation of the Marquis of Dingguo's family cannot be insulted. If the Fourth Princess doesn't give me an explanation today, I will go to the Empress Dowager to seek justice. I'm willing to cut off my hair to swear that I have absolutely no intention of currying favor with the royal family."
After such forceful words, the Crown Prince's expression changed. His eyes were like knives, scraping across the Third Princess's face.
"Qin Zhaoyang, do you apologize on your own, or do I force you to apologize in front of everyone?"
"Brother, this woman is good at pretending. She's just trying to gain your sympathy!" Seeing that the Crown Prince didn't help her either, the Third Princess immediately scolded without thinking. "Xie Fengran, don't play the victim first."
The Third Princess had always looked down on Xie Fengran. She dreamed of stepping on her. How could she be willing to apologize? She even resented the Crown Prince in her heart.
They would rather believe an outsider than her!
"I can judge right from wrong. If you don't apologize, I'll immediately send someone to escort you to Mother's presence."
The Crown Prince always kept his word. Immediately, two guards stepped forward and tried to take the Third Princess away.
Only then was the Third Princess panicked, but she was still stubborn. "Brother, I'm your sister. You don't believe me but believe her?"
When her eyes swept across Xie Fengran and saw the faint look of triumph on her face, she became even more angry. She wished she could scratch that beautiful face.
Seeing that the Third Princess was still so uncooperative, the Crown Prince's face showed more and more disgust. He waved his hand, and the guards behind him rushed forward.
But before they could touch the Third Princess, they were stopped.
The Second Prince stepped in front of the Third Princess. Acting friendly towards the Crown Prince, he said, "Brother, she's our sister. Just give her a little lesson. Why make it so ugly?"
Then he opened his folding fan and waved it twice. Looking at Xie Fengran, he said, "What do you think, Miss Xie? How do you feel when you see the princes and princesses turning against each other for you?"
His tone was flat, but Xie Fengran could hear a hint of threat in it. After a brief thought, she understood.
The Second Prince didn't want the Crown Prince to punish the Third Princess, nor did he want the Third Princess to apologize to her. He was trying to make her compromise!
But if Xie Fengran really compromised and let the Third Princess scold her without saying a word, it would really confirm the rumor that she wanted to marry the Crown Prince.
No matter whether this marriage would happen or not, she would be smeared.
After thinking for a while, she looked at the Second Prince. "May I ask the Second Prince a question? Where is the turning against each other? I only see His Highness the Crown Prince patiently persuading his sister. Is the Second Prince going to stop the Crown Prince from teaching his sister? Or is it that the Second Prince even wants to interfere in the Crown Prince's affairs?"
The Second Prince narrowed his eyes and sized up Xie Fengran from head to toe. Suddenly, he said, "Miss Xie has a really sharp tongue! It seems that I underestimated you."
After saying that, he turned his head and looked at the Third Princess. "Zhaoyang, if you really have a misunderstanding with Miss Xie, just clear it up." At this point, his eyes swept across the Crown Prince, with a hint of mockery in his tone. "Just give Brother a bit of face."
The Second Prince quickly turned the apology into a misunderstanding, making Xie Fengran seem unreasonable.
The Third Princess was still a bit unwilling. Remembering that Sun Jiming had defended Xie Fengran just now, she thought, What does she have?
Isn't it just a pretty face?
Xie Fengran saw the hatred in the Third Princess's eyes and raised her eyebrows. This action was seen by the Third Princess as a provocation.
As a princess of the royal family, which young lady in the capital didn't revolve around her? When had she ever suffered such a setback at someone's hands?
Her eyes passed through Xie Fengran and landed on the lake behind. She couldn't hold back anymore. She rushed over directly and gave Xie Fengran a hard push!
This sudden change stunned everyone. No one expected that the Third Princess would resort to violence so suddenly.
Even the Second Prince didn't expect it.
There was a railing behind Xie Fengran. With this push from the Third Princess, Xie Fengran was pushed hard against the railing.
Everyone only heard a clear sound, and then they saw a crystal - clear jade bracelet fly out.
Xie Fengran exclaimed, "The bracelet." Without thinking about the danger, she reached out to grab it.
With this grab, half of her body leaned over the water. She could no longer maintain her balance and fell towards the water.
"Sister Xie!"
The Third Princess reached out to grab her but missed. The Crown Prince lifted his robe and was about to jump in, but was held back by the eunuch behind him. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, this servant will immediately send someone down. Your precious body must not go into the water!"
"You know nothing!" The Crown Prince shook off the eunuch and still wanted to jump in, but unexpectedly, someone had already jumped in before him.