Suddenly feeling weightless, Yun Qing instinctively covered her face with her hands and closed her eyes.

However, the pain she expected did not come; a pair of strong arms held her tightly from behind, preventing her from falling down.

Once she had regained her footing, the owner of her arm politely and restrainedly released her hand.

Yun Qing patted her chest to calm herself down, then turned around and saw who had saved her. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Your Highness, I am very grateful for your help."

The Crown Prince's expression was cold and stern; he didn't even lift his eyelids when Yun Qing thanked him.

"No need to thank me, just remember to be careful in the future."

"yes."

At this moment, Ling Hua and Xu Qingyun also hurriedly dismounted and walked to Yun Qing's side.

Seeing that she was alright, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking about the Crown Prince's actions just now, they felt a little uneasy.

Pang Xinhui was startled by this turn of events and immediately rebuked, "Cousin, can you be more careful? Don't always trouble everyone to take care of you."

A hint of sadness flashed in Yun Qing's eyes, her lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing.

Linghua couldn't bear to see her suffer, and retorted, "What did Yunqing do wrong? It was you who was jumping around and almost made her fall."

Xu Qingyun chimed in, "Ziyue is right, cousin. You still need to change your temperament. You don't look like a proper young lady at all now."

Seeing that she had only said one thing to Yun Qing, everyone started criticizing her again, Pang Xinhui stomped her feet in anger: "You, you all went too far, you just gang up on me."

After saying that, she ran away crying.

"Cousin!" Yun Qing exclaimed with concern, quickly chasing after her.

Seeing this, Ling Hua and Xu Qingyun, fearing that Yun Qing would be bullied again, also spurred their horses and followed.

...

The Ministry of Personnel.

As soon as Yun Qing returned to Baolan Garden, she pretended to be depressed.

Her mother, Pang Yue, immediately stepped forward and asked with concern, "Qingqing, what's wrong? Didn't you go to pick up Qingyun with Xinhui?"

"It's nothing, just a little thing that happened and my cousin is upset."

Hearing her say that, Pang Yue knew that Pang Xinhui must have caused trouble again.

"Xiaohe, tell me, what exactly happened just now?"

As Yun Qing's personal maid, Xiao He was definitely on his side and immediately recounted everything that had happened at the city gate.

"This is outrageous!"

After hearing Xiaohe's account of what happened, Pang Yue slammed her fist on the table in anger.

"I married your father to fill the hole in our family's coffers, and now that he's gone, these ungrateful bastards are treating us, a widow and orphan, like this! It's outrageous!"

"Madam is right."

Xiaohe took the opportunity to recount how Pang Xinhui had bullied Yunqing in the past.

"It's obvious that all the good things Miss Biao has now are subsidized by the Yun family, and she still looks down on our Miss because of her status."

Hearing this, Pang Yue became even angrier and went directly to confront Pang Xinhui and her daughter.

Nowadays, when people talk about the Pang family, everyone calls them a distinguished and prestigious family. However, in earlier years, when Pang Yue's grandfather was the Minister of Revenue, he actually borrowed a lot of silver from the national treasury.

After the late emperor passed away, the national treasury was running a deficit, so Emperor Wen decided to order all officials to return the silver they had borrowed from the national treasury.

At that time, the Pang family had no money. If they could not make up the difference, the Pang father and son would not only be demoted but also exiled.

Pang Yue was the most beautiful woman in the capital. She and Ling Rui, the heir of Prince An, were deeply in love and had reached the point of discussing marriage.

To help the Pang family repay their debts, she had no choice but to write a letter of severance to Ling Rui and instead marry the eldest son of the Yun family, the richest family in Jiangnan.

Later, with the help of the Yun family, the Pang family successfully paid off their debts.

Unfortunately, Pang Yue's husband, Yun Lang, was frail and sickly from childhood and passed away before he turned thirty, leaving behind only her and her child.

Pang Yue did not want to stay in Jiangnan and be reminded of the past, and also wanted to find a good marriage for her daughter, so she took Yun Qing back to her parents' home.

Both her father and brother felt guilty towards Pang Yue, so they naturally welcomed her back.

However, her sister-in-law, Zhao, Pang Xinhui's mother, often made sarcastic remarks.

Pang Yue was also assertive. She took the original betrothal gift list to Zhao and demanded that she return all the benefits she had received over the years.

After such a big commotion, the two of them kept to themselves from then on, and Pang Yue paid for all the expenses of Baolan Garden out of his own pocket.

Yunqing once asked her, "If that's the case, why don't we just move out?"

Pang Yue smiled and tapped her forehead.

"Are you stupid? Your father is just a low-ranking official in Jiangnan. Who in the capital would respect you? The status of a cousin of the Minister's family is completely different. Besides—"

She sneered, "If it weren't for your father, the Pang family would have been raided long ago. How could they, mother and daughter, have the audacity to swagger in front of us? Remember, the Pang family owes you this."

Yunqing was just ten years old when she heard these words from her mother. Her father's death had made her witness the coldness and warmth of human relationships.

So she kept those words firmly in her heart.

Despite being ostracized and neglected by Pang Xinhui, Yun Qing outwardly yielded to her, but she would inevitably retaliate behind her back, and stealing Ling Hua, whom Pang Xinhui liked, was the first step.

Moreover, the system told her that Ling Hua, Pang Xinhui, and Xu Qingyun were all immortals who had descended to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations. As long as they failed their tribulations, she could turn their fortune into her own.

In time, even a tiny plant spirit like her will be able to ascend to godhood.

Thinking of all this, Yun Qing silently prayed in her heart: Xin Hui, don't blame me. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for having an exceptionally romantic mind that insisted on getting involved in this love tribulation.

The Nine Heavens.

As the Star Lord of Destiny watched the rotating star chart, his expression gradually became solemn.

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