That's it for Chapter 15?

Ling Wei pressed on: "We dare not enter brothels, and we are even more unwilling to enter!"

Because that's not the world; it's an abyss of blood and tears for countless women.

As you said, we are indeed confined to our homes, with limited abilities and restricted actions.

We can't save those poor women; all we can do is feel compassion and not treat their suffering as something to amuse ourselves with.

How did you turn it into a contest of courage?

"Miss Du, why?!" Ling Wei's voice was filled with a piercing question.

Why equate the suffering of same-sex couples with the desolate desert with "seeing the world"?!

Why use our predicament of being confined to our homes and unable to realize our ambitions as the basis for your attacks?!

These words struck many people like a heavy hammer.

Qin Wan had already sat up straight. Although she had initially looked down on brothels, after hearing this, she had a different feeling.

Yes, when Father comes back, she will definitely ask him to help them.

Du Qianqian was speechless. She was used to isolating everyone by herself in order to highlight her uniqueness.

Now that Ling Wei has done what she wanted, she has placed her directly on the opposite side of all women. Are you happy?

Seeing the situation take a sharp turn for the worse, Xiao Yu immediately interrupted, "Enough! Qianqian is just young and playful..."

The system said sarcastically, "Oh my god, she's just a sixteen-year-old baby. She just turned sixteen!"

Ling Wei wasn't going to put up with these two big shots. The system had just informed her about the situation on the second floor, and she was determined to make sure they lost both face and dignity.

"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the road, the frozen dead lie." She looked at Du Qianqian, her eyes filled with deep disappointment. "When I first heard this saying, I firmly believed that Miss Du was a compassionate and patriotic woman! But seeing your words and actions today..."

Ling Wei shook her head, maintaining her heartbroken expression: "How could a poet who can see 'frozen corpses on the road' not see the 'blood-weeping person in the building' right next to him?"

That heart-wrenching lament, that profound understanding of the people's suffering—did it truly come from your own heart and your own hand?

Swish—

Du Qianqian's face instantly drained of color, turning ashen white.

She thought it was just a matter of visiting a brothel, but Ling Wei's repeated remarks exposed her true colors.

A storm raged within her: Were the insights of the ancients really this terrifying?!

The murmurs below instantly grew louder. Yes, she was just the daughter of a vice minister. Not only were her poems varied in style, but how could she possibly capture the desolation of the frontier and the brutality of the battlefield?

Could it be that the Du family hired a ghostwriter to write the text in order to enhance their daughter's reputation? Then...

Several questioning gazes were directed at Du Qianqian.

Even Xiao Yu couldn't help but waver, but he quickly convinced himself that he was present when Qianqian wrote the poems, and no one else wrote them on her behalf. These poems had a variety of styles, which was a testament to Qianqian's literary talent.

Du Qianqian trembled with rage, screaming with feigned bravado but underlying weakness, "Of course I wrote it! What proof do you have that I didn't write it?!"

Ling Wei suddenly concealed all her sharpness and gave Du Qianqian a solemn bow.

She said sincerely, "Of course there is no evidence. So, I would like to sincerely apologize to Ms. Du. I made a baseless accusation against someone without any evidence. I was confused by the heated debate and asked Ms. Du to forgive my rudeness."

She apologized, and Du Qianqian, who had just just made the same baseless accusations of being shallow: ...

They were stuck in that awkward position, neither here nor there.

She looked helplessly at Xiao Yu, her eyes brimming with tears. Xiao Yu, not wanting to disappoint her, gave a cold snort and stepped forward:

"You think you can get away with this with a flimsy apology? There are so many scholars here watching. If word gets out, what will become of Qianqian's reputation? What will become of her name?"

Qin Wan, who was listening in, was indignant. She stood up in front of Ling Wei and glared at Xiao Yu: "She can't even recognize words from the Analects and the Book of Changes. Isn't it normal for us to doubt her talent?!"

Her use of "we" indicates that she stands with Ling Wei through thick and thin.

When Xiao Yu saw Qin Wan, her rationality returned slightly.

Ling Wei glanced at the second floor, a faint smile playing on her lips, and added fuel to the fire, saying, "So what does the young master intend to do? Perhaps you intend to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture and ask the officials to make a fair judgment and debate whether Miss Du's talent is genuine or not?"

That's a really flattering thing to say. In modern parlance, it's like: "What do you think? Why don't you call the police?" ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Qin Wan looked at Ling Wei in shock.

Sister! You have such a fiery temper! How am I supposed to protect you?!

Xiao Yu was indeed thoroughly enraged by her provocation, and shouted sternly, "What a sharp tongue! Guards! Seize this woman who speaks rudely, slanders others, and incites rumors! Take her to the Jingzhao Prefecture!"

"I want to ask the Prefect of the Capital, what is the punishment for falsely accusing others and disturbing public order!" I shouted this out in front of the people in the teahouse.

This is an attempt to use the prince's status to forcibly pin a crime on Ling Wei and punish her.

At the same time, Mu Han, the assassin beside Du Qianqian, made his move.

His figure was like a ghost, and a fierce gust of wind carrying a chilling killing intent struck Ling Wei's face.

Du Qianqian was devastated by Ling Wei's words, while Mu Han just wanted to vent his anger on behalf of his beloved.

Since Xiao Yu has shouted "Take it down," then he can just "mistake" and severely injure Ling Wei!

Despite sensing the chilling killing intent, Ling Wei remained calm and even winked at Su Jingyu, who had somehow appeared beside her—she now had powerful backers.

Just as Mu Han moved, strange noises came from upstairs and downstairs at the same time, and the sound of teacups shattering rang out.

"Whoosh!" A faint sound of something cutting through the air rang out as a shard of porcelain bowl struck Mu Han's wrist with pinpoint accuracy, forcing him to pause his attack. Immediately afterward, several copper coins shot towards his face.

Mu Han dodged the hidden weapon and struck at Ling Wei with a palm.

A hand, accompanied by a strong gust of wind, reached out from behind Ling Wei and clashed head-on with Mu Han.

"Bang!" The force of the impact sent Mu Han staggering back a step.

The person blocking Ling Wei's way was someone even Ling Wei herself hadn't expected—Shen Qinglan!

Shen Qinglan held two ordinary bamboo chopsticks, yet her movements created a whooshing sound. Her moves were fierce, and she fought the assassin Mu Han to a standstill, showing no signs of being at a disadvantage.

Qin Wan also spread her arms wide, using her body to shield Ling Wei tightly: "If you want to catch her, catch me first!"

"Qin Wan! Do you want to rebel?!"

Seeing this, Xiao Yu became even more enraged: "Take her down with you and send her back to the Qin residence. Ask Scholar Qin how he raised his daughter!"

"How I, Qin, should educate my daughter is none of Your Highness's concern!" a voice filled with anger rang out.

The door to a private room on the second floor was suddenly pushed open.

Qin Zhengqing, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, stood at the door with a livid face, followed by several officials with equally displeased expressions, including a censor from the Censorate.

Su Jingyu, who was just about to show her princess's waist token, breathed a sigh of relief and gave a look to signal the guards around her to step back.

With her predicament resolved, she shifted her focus to Shen Qinglan, who was still fighting.

Looking at Shen Qinglan's agile movements, Ling Wei asked Su Jingyu in confusion, "She... is one of ours?"

Su Jingyu shook her head, but her eyes gleamed with an astonishing light: "Not yet. But..." She stared at Shen Qinglan as if she had discovered a rare treasure, "...it will be soon!"

Ling Wei: "..."