Yu Qingwu’s eyes held a smile, and her tone was amiable, but every word she spoke was like a knife, sharp and piercing.

Yan Ruoxue bit her lip tightly, stunned once more.

Seeing this, everyone understood what was happening even more, and they began to chatter and curse.

Yan Ruoxue originally wanted people to know that Yan Qingqing was a jinx, hoping that the wealthy family she was staying with would kick her out. Perhaps she could be sold again, and her family could have money to resettle in a new house.

But at this moment, she realized that Yan Qingqing was no longer the Yan Qingqing of six or seven years ago.

Not only could she dislocate her jaw, but she also had a wealthy sister.

However, now that she was here, how could she let Yan Qingqing off so easily?

If it weren't for Yan Qingqing, that slut, how could Brother Yuan Chong have rejected her? He even accused her of deliberately drugging him, wanting to drown her in a pig cage. All of this was caused by Yan Qingqing.

Yet, after harming her so miserably, Yan Qingqing could still live so well. Why?

Thinking of this, Yan Ruoxue's eyes were filled with滔天恨意 (taotian heyi - overflowing hatred).

She immediately started lying, angrily replying to Yu Qingwu, "Our family was driven out of the village in the year that Yan Qingqing was sent away. The reason, of course, is because she, Yan Qingqing, is a jinx. The villagers couldn't tolerate our family, so we had to move out. Who knew that after moving out, she would bring misfortune to our neighbors. In the end, they wouldn't let us live there anymore, so we had to send Yan Qingqing away..."

"Didn't you just say that Qingqing was seducing married men in the village? How come you're now saying she was sent away when she was ten years old?" Yan Ruoxue was speaking angrily and incessantly, but Yu Qingwu suddenly interrupted her with a cold laugh.

At this moment, the expressions of the people around her could not be described as just ugly.

With so many loopholes in her story, she couldn't even cover up her own lies. Even a fool could see what was going on.

In the lobby, some righteous diners couldn't stand it any longer.

They pointed at Yan Ruoxue and started scolding her, saying that she was full of lies, not a single word of truth in her mouth, and that it was obviously slander.

As they argued, someone recognized her.

Immediately, they brought up her dirty behavior in Yan Village, drugging Yuan Chong, resulting in the loss of her virginity, and almost being drowned in a pig cage.

Yan Ruoxue never expected that even in Qingzhou, someone would expose that incident.

Amidst the insults, she finally couldn't bear the humiliation any longer. She stomped her foot fiercely and told Yan Qingqing to wait, then ran out crying.

The lobby was filled with sighs.

The diners also offered words of comfort to Yan Qingqing.

"I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless. Little girl, don't be afraid. People like this should be taught a lesson. Next time she dares to cause you trouble, tell me."

"Yes, yes, yes, little girl, if this niece of yours dares to bother you again, come find me. I'm a constable from the county yamen here. Maybe I can even help you get your dowry back."

"Speaking of which, I was transferred from Wei County. I handled the case in Yan Village, Wei County. I thought that shrew looked familiar. After thinking about it carefully! Hey! Isn't she the woman who drugged the village men and falsely accused someone?"

"Oh my, not only that shrew, but her parents aren't easy to deal with either. They insisted on forcing that Young Master Yuan to marry her, demanding three hundred taels of silver as betrothal money. When he refused, they threatened to commit suicide. But who knew that Young Master Yuan would rather die than marry her. Later, they threatened to accuse him of rape, but when they investigated, guess what they found?"

"It was that shrew who drugged the food herself! Hey, tell me, is that shameless or what?"

"In the end, of course, he couldn't be convicted! But that shrew, I heard that the villagers couldn't tolerate her family anymore. The vegetables in their fields were all pulled out, some people poisoned their poultry, and some even broke into that shrew's room at night. Anyway, her family couldn't stay in the village any longer, so they had to move away."

"So-called karma is truly unfailing!"

In the lobby, a young man loudly recounted Yan Ruoxue's past.

The diners applauded and cheered, then offered Yan Qingqing more comfort.

However, Yan Qingqing was not happy because of this. Instead, she seemed a little lost.

After eating, the three of them returned to their respective rooms.

"Your Highness, don't you think Qingqing is acting strangely?"

As soon as she entered the room, Yu Qingwu asked Xie Jin'an in a low voice.

Xie Jin'an sat down on a stool, casually flipping through a map, a smile flashing across his eyes. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Junior Sister Yan probably won't be leaving with us."

"What do you mean?" Yu Qingwu frowned, turned around and sat down beside Xie Jin'an, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "Why do you say that Qingqing won't be leaving with us? If she doesn't leave with us, where else can she go? At least at the beginning, she would have nowhere to settle down, wouldn't she?"

"Who said she has nowhere to settle down? Isn't Yan Village her home?" Xie Jin'an raised his head, reached out and tapped Yu Qingwu's forehead, and laughed, "I say, Senior Sister, why are you suddenly so silly at this crucial moment?"

As Xie Jin'an spoke, he reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, leaning his head gently on Yu Qingwu's shoulder, and sighed, "When I was little, I was ostracized all the time because of my appearance. So, I always thought it was my own problem, so I tried to please and tolerate everyone, just like Junior Sister Yan before."

"At that time, some people also said that I was a jinx."

"But later, Senior Sister, you came to my side. You always said that I was good-looking, you said that I was more handsome than them all, you said that I was very smart, you said that no one was born to be bullied, you said that I could fight back."

"Later, I fought back..."

"I realized that it was indeed so. Of course, it was also because at that time, you, Senior Sister, were behind me, giving me some confidence. Later, I became dissatisfied with just fighting back. I felt that I had to clear my name."

"So, Junior Sister Yan must also want to clear her name. At least, she should want to get rid of the words 'jinx' and want to take back everything that belongs to her."

"Because now she has confidence, many people are standing by her side, and she has you. You said that she is your sister."

Xie Jin'an spoke calmly, as if he was telling some unimportant stories, even when talking about his own affairs.

However, this made Yu Qingwu's mood suddenly feel a little heavy.

She looked at Xie Jin'an quietly, a complicated emotion surfacing in her eyes, and asked him, "Your Highness, did you ever think it was your fault before?"

Hearing this, Xie Jin'an was stunned.

He didn't expect Yu Qingwu to ask about him.

After a slight pause, Xie Jin'an smiled indifferently and said, "It's all in the past. It doesn't matter. To me, they're just past events, and they can't hurt me in the slightest. As long as... you don't hold a grudge, about the things... I did in the past, that's all."