The second daughter of the Fan family, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, perhaps not wanting to lose face when Li Shiyue scrutinized her, met Li Shiyue's gaze and raised her hand, exposing the thumb-sized scar.

Almost everyone present gasped. If she were to be left with a scar, Xu Shi Niang would have no way of explaining herself to the Vice Minister's Mansion.

Li Shiyue glanced at Xu Lingwan's skirt, then at her fingers hidden under her sleeve. With a sudden movement, she twisted Xu Lingwan's wrist around. What she saw shocked her.

"Ah!" Xu Lingqing covered her mouth in surprise and quickly took out a clean handkerchief from her bosom and covered Xu Lingwan's palm.

No matter how fast she moved, everyone could see a scratch on her palm that ran from the base of her thumb to her wrist.

Li Shiyue's fingers were warm as she gripped Xu Lingwan tightly, the sensation of skin against skin gradually becoming real.

Li Shiyue was about to say something, but when she looked up, Xu Lingwan was staring at her with teary eyes. Before she could speak, Xu Lingwan wrapped her arms around Li Shiyue's waist and burst into loud sobs: "It hurts...it hurts so much..."

Even Li Shiyue, let alone Xu Lingqing, was taken aback for a long time. Suppressing her unease, she put her arms around Xu Lingqing's shoulders and patted her back reassuringly: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we'll go find a doctor soon."

Li Shiyue gave Xu Lingqing a look, signaling her to go find Yang Shi, but Xu Lingqing had barely taken a step when the Second Miss Fan blocked her way.

He raised the back of his hand and looked at Li Shiyue: "Are you going to call for reinforcements? What about me? Is the county princess going to take sides?"

"What do you mean by the county magistrate taking sides? Fan Er, look at the wound on the back of your hand, and then look at the palm of Xu Shi Niang's hand. How can you bear to watch her bleed until she's completely drained?"

The woman who spoke was a daughter of an official from the Crown Prince's faction. After all, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion was part of the same faction as their own, and there was no reason for them to stand by and watch their own people being bullied.

Fu Yunning frowned at the woman who had spoken, and walked to the side of Miss Fan Er: "The county princess will naturally not take sides, but this matter must be dealt with today. Miss Xu Shi's tendency to believe rumors is truly frightening. If there is no explanation, what will happen if rumors of Miss Xu Shi's ruthlessness spread in the future?"

"The matter is still undecided, so how can you be sure that Shi Niang is ruthless?" Li Shiyue had remained silent, but her words carried an air of unquestionable authority.

Miss Fan frowned and raised her hand even higher: "Could it be that I cut myself? County Princess, you have a lot of unfounded accusations!"

Li Shiyue coldly surveyed the crowd, her arms around Xu Lingwan, her gaze fixed on Fu Yunning and Miss Fan: "Miss Fan, you still know that I am a county princess personally appointed by the Emperor. How dare you, the daughter of a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, be so presumptuous in front of me? Or is it that a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice can be so presumptuous in front of the Duke's mansion?"

“I am the Princess of Yichang, personally appointed by the Emperor. I will not hold your breach of etiquette and your shouting in front of me against you. On the contrary, Miss Fan Er, with just a few words and without even a clear understanding of the matter, directly convicted Shi Niang. What kind of logic is that?”

Fu Yunning stood beside Miss Fan, her attitude clearly stated: "Even if you are a county princess personally appointed by the emperor, you can't just side with sentiment and ignore reason. There are so many of us here, are we going to bully a young girl who hasn't even reached the age of marriage?"

After Fu Yunning finished speaking, the second young lady of the Fan family looked even more smug, clearly convinced that Li Shiyue, a mere county princess, couldn't cause any trouble.

Xu Lingqing chuckled lightly, a mocking smile playing on her lips: "Yes, there are four or five of you, why bother bullying Shi Niang herself?"

Li Shiyue did not let go of her hand, clearly intending to protect Xu Lingwan. Before Yang Shi arrived, she could not allow others to bully the Xu family and humiliate them.

"People naturally side with those they are on good terms with. Now that the elders are all gone, do I have to ask for their consent or approval if I side with my own family?"

"This matter naturally needs an explanation. For example, we need to find out why and how Shi Niang and Miss Fan had their disagreement. As for today's events, if there was anything inappropriate, Yi Chang will come to apologize in person another day."

As soon as Li Shiyue finished speaking, she felt her clothes being tugged. She looked down and met Xu Lingwan's stubborn gaze: "I didn't start it, it was her."

With blood still on her fingers, Xu Lingwan pointed at Miss Fan'er: "It was she who spoke rudely and disrespectfully to her cousin, and even falsely accused several of her brothers, spoke ill of the Xu family, and sowed discord between the Xu family and the Crown Prince's brother-in-law."

“I just went inside for a visit, and as soon as I came out, I heard her slandering you. Her words were so vile that she even implicated the Xu family. It’s clear she doesn’t respect the Duke’s Mansion at all.”

"Besides, I didn't injure the back of her hand. I argued with her, and she got angry and tried to hit me with a teacup. I covered my face with my hand and that's how I got injured. As for her wound, I really didn't do it."

Miss Fan was caught off guard when Xu Lingwan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke the truth. She instinctively rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward, saying, "If you say another word, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

"Is that so? Miss Fan Er is quite the big shot!"

A clear, cold female voice rang out, and everyone made way for Xu Lingzi and Feng Lanyin.

Before Feng Lanyin's mistress could speak, Xu Lingzi walked up to the second young lady of the Fan family, her phoenix eyes sweeping over the group: "Why aren't you making a move? Let me see how the second young lady of the Fan family is going to tear my sister's mouth apart."

It's so similar, so incredibly similar.

Fu Yunning was engrossed in watching, as if she saw the shadow of that person in Xu Lingzi. Her gaze fell on the Second Miss Fan, and she regretted stirring up trouble for her by making her the first to speak out. She had only intended to ruin Li Shiyue's reputation, but she hadn't expected Xu Lingwan to overhear.

Things were developing in an unpredictable way. Fu Yunning's palms were sweating. Looking at the back of Miss Fan, she could only hope that she could handle things.

Li Shiyue's eyes lit up. Xu Lingzi had arrived just in time. She took the opportunity to look at Xu Lingqing, who understood and quickly slipped out of the crowd.

Feng Lanyin thought to herself, "Oh no, I failed to win over my crush, and instead, his sister was wronged at my house."

With a cold expression, he shouted, "Fan Er, my family kindly invited you to a banquet, and you dare to bully my guest? Do you really think the Minister's mansion is your own Vice Minister's mansion?"

Xu Lingzi walked to Li Shiyue's side, bent down and looked at Xu Lingwan: "Tell me later, what's the reason that Miss Fan could be so cruel to my sister?"

"We also need to let people see how ruthless Miss Fan is."

Fu Yunning frowned: "The family of an unmarried woman has a reputation for being ruthless. Wouldn't that ruin their future?"