However, Xie Fengran didn't feel like sympathizing with Qi Yueying. Even if Qi Yueying really had something going on with Sun Jiming, it was still not Qi Yueying's place to point fingers at her.
Whether it was the Third Princess, Zhang Yao, or Qi Yueying, they were all too timid to confront the men directly and instead took their anger out on other women. It was truly contemptible!
But this woman had just saved her. Xie Fengran never liked owing favors, and now that she had the chance to repay this debt, she should be grateful to the woman.
"Princess."
The Fourth Princess turned around. "Sister Xie, are you okay?"
Just now, Sister Xie had pulled her behind her, and she had truly felt Sister Xie's protection. At that moment, her heart melted.
"I'm fine, Princess. Miss Qi saved my life, so I'm bold enough to plead with you. Could you please not punish her?"
Xie Fengran lowered her head and curtsied deeply.
"Sister Xie, why are you pleading for her?"
"Princess, Lord Qi is an important official of the Great Yue. There's no need for you to doubt Miss Qi's loyalty. I believe she was only targeting me and definitely had no intention of harming you. Please don't punish her!"
"Oh, Sister Xie, that's not what I meant!" The Fourth Princess walked over and pulled Xie Fengran up. "I just... just..."
She wasn't stupid. She could tell that Qi Yueying meant no harm to her. She just wanted to avenge Sister Xie. How dare this woman scare Sister Xie!
"No! Miss Xie, if you let her off so easily, won't anyone be able to act recklessly in the future?"
Just thinking about what had happened earlier made Sun Jiming furious. What if the horse hadn't stopped in time? The consequences... He didn't dare to think about it.
"Mr. Sun!"
Seeing Qi Yueheng's gloomy face, Xie Fengran sighed. She didn't want Sun Jiming to have a conflict with the Qi siblings because of this. She shook her head and looked at the Fourth Princess. "Princess, is that okay?"
Seeing that Xie Fengran didn't want to pursue the matter, the Fourth Princess gritted her teeth. "Since Sister Xie is pleading for you, get up. I won't pursue this matter, and I'll try to explain it to the Crown Prince. You may go!"
"Thank you, Princess!" Qi Yueheng heaved a sigh of relief and pulled his sister up.
He knew that since the Fourth Princess wasn't pursuing the matter, the Crown Prince would only give them a minor punishment. This matter could be resolved within a small circle.
At this time, Sun Yuelan came over with a very unhappy look on her face. "Qi Yueying, what on earth do you mean?"
Some of the young ladies behind her were also walking over. Xie Fengran didn't want any more trouble. "Yuelan, the princess and I are going to rest. Are you coming?"
"I..." Sun Yuelan glared at Qi Yueying angrily and then turned around to catch up.
"Brother Sun, I... I really just wanted to scare her. I didn't mean to harm the princess!" Qi Yueying gritted her teeth and blocked Sun Jiming's way.
Sun Jiming gave her a cold look. "What Miss Qi did has nothing to do with me."
With that, he left without looking back.
"Yingying, you really did something wrong this time. You shouldn't have done this. Brother Sun's words were for your own good!"
"Brother, he said it had nothing to do with me!"
Qi Yueying's eyes were red. Usually, although Sun Jiming was aloof from her, out of respect for Qi Yueheng, he still treated her like a younger sister. But now, his coldness was so obvious. How could she accept it?
"Yingying..."
Qi Yueying looked at the figures in front of her, gritted her teeth, and chased after them.
"Xie Fengran!" Qi Yueying blocked Xie Fengran's way. "I admit I was wrong about this, but I don't appreciate your plea for mercy. Don't think that just because you pleaded for me, I'll be grateful or let you go. If I get the chance in the future, I'll still treat you like this."
Looking at the unreasonable young girl in front of her, Xie Fengran's good impression of Qi Yueying, who had once selected five deputy commanders, shattered into pieces. She said impatiently, "Miss Qi, I pleaded for you not because I wanted your gratitude or for you to let me go. It's because you saved my life just now. I don't like owing favors. If you had stepped on me just now, that would have been fine. But since you didn't, I'll plead for you once, and then we'll be even!"
"As for what you said about not letting me go, I'll just wait. But you can rest assured that if there's a next time, Miss Qi definitely won't get away so easily."
These somewhat threatening words were spoken casually from Xie Fengran's mouth, but they carried a sense that was hard to ignore. Qi Yueying opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.
"Miss Xie, I apologize on behalf of my younger sister. I'm sorry!"
Looking at his sister's dejected appearance, Qi Yueheng felt a little heartache and also a bit resentful towards Xie Fengran.
This reluctant look in his eyes made Xie Fengran impatient.
"Mr. Qi, if you don't want to apologize, then don't. Besides, it was your sister who did this. The mouth is on your sister. It's not your place to apologize on her behalf." Xie Fengran's patience was running out. She sneered. "Moreover, I don't think I've ever offended you siblings. I don't know where your hostility towards me comes from!"
"If it's because of Mr. Sun, then forgive me for saying something harsh." Xie Fengran's eyes swept over the siblings. "Miss Qi can't win the man's heart, so she takes her anger out on innocent people. The family style of the Qi family is really an eye - opener."
"Miss Xie, watch your words!"
Qi Yueheng stared at Xie Fengran with a gloomy face. "It's not your place to comment on the Qi family!"
"You siblings are bullying me. Can't I even say something?" Xie Fengran retorted without giving in. "I've read the biographies of famous people in the Great Yue carefully, and I'm very familiar with the biography of the first famous general in the Southern Border. You two really don't deserve to be his descendants!"
After saying that, she held Sun Yuelan's arm and pulled the Fourth Princess along. She left with a parting shot, "Mr. Qi, if you have anything to say, write it down. I'll accept it!" Then she turned around and left.
After Xie Fengran left, the faces of the Qi siblings were indescribable. Especially Qi Yueheng, who murmured in disbelief, "I was so fierce, but she wasn't even afraid of me?"
Qi Yueying said, "Brother, what she said seems to make sense!" She wasn't usually an unreasonable person, but today she had really made a fool of herself.
Qi Yueheng sighed. "Yingying, go back and think it over. I'll go find Brother Sun and plead guilty to the Crown Prince."
At this time, the Crown Prince, Qin Junxing, and the Second Prince were standing in the imperial study. A little eunuch was lying on the ground, stuttering as he told the whole story of what had happened at the horse ranch.
"It was the slave who accidentally mixed the medicine into the horse's forage, which caused the horse to go crazy. The slave deserves to die. Please forgive the slave, Your Majesty!"
The emperor was sitting on the dragon throne, listening to the little eunuch's confession with an inexplicable look on his face.
After the little eunuch finished speaking, he lay on the ground, not daring to move. He knew he was doomed. His body was shaking like a sieve, waiting for the emperor to get angry.
The emperor glanced at the man lying on the ground and waved his hand. "Drag him away and beat him to death!"
He didn't even bother to ask any more questions.