The winter exams passed in a flash, and Jiang Ling, Jiang Yaojie, and Zhao Qianyu were already waiting at the gate of Linghui Academy.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't worried. Jiang Ling stood there nervously, rubbing her hands together. A moment later, Jiang Suihe's familiar figure appeared at the entrance of Linghui Academy.

Just as Jiang Ling and the other two were about to step forward to greet her, Jiang Suihe stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

"Watch out!" Zhao Qianyu reacted quickly, grabbing Jiang Suihe's arm to prevent her from falling.

Feeling a little embarrassed by Zhao Qianyu's help, Jiang Suihe quickly pulled her arm away and turned to glare angrily at the instigator behind her.

"Why did you push me?" Jiang Suihe asked, frowning.

"I pushed you? Which eye of yours saw me push you! Why don't you say you deliberately did this to seduce someone?"

A sharp sound reached her ears, and Jiang Ling's eyebrows furrowed. At the same time, she felt that the sound seemed somewhat familiar.

Looking up, she saw a girl in purple. She recognized her; Jiang Suihe had bumped into her that morning and then made a scene, subtly and overtly mocking her.

Now, not only did they poison Jiang Suihe, but they also insulted her innocence. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling took three steps at a time and walked to the door.

He narrowed his eyes and sized up the so-called Miss Qian.

Zhao Qianyu was even more furious when he heard Jiang Suihe being insulted like this. He stood in front of Jiang Suihe and looked at the arrogant girl in front of him, scolding, "Which shrew is making such a racket!"

Miss Qian had probably never been so humiliated before. Her face flushed red, and she glared at Zhao Qianyu angrily, saying, "Oh, so eager to protect her? Could it be that the village girl is your lover?"

Miss Qian's words were really too harsh. Zhao Qianyu wanted to continue his outburst, but Jiang Ling patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to take Jiang Suihe away and not create unnecessary trouble.

Although Zhao Qianyu looked reluctant, he still led Jiang Suihe towards his own carriage with a look in his eyes.

“Miss Qian, I don’t know what my daughter did to offend you. You have insulted her time and time again. As a daughter of a prominent family, are you really so mean-spirited?” Although Jiang Ling spoke calmly, her tone carried an extremely strong sense of pressure.

Upon hearing these words, Miss Qian felt a shiver run down her spine. Normally, she would have used her sharp tongue to "fight back," but now, she didn't know why.

The simply dressed village woman in front of her had such a powerful aura that she felt as if a huge stone was pressing down on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

However, Miss Qian still pretended to be calm. She rolled her eyes and scolded, "Who do you think you are, daring to talk to me like that!"

"Miss Qian, with such a vicious tongue, aren't you afraid of embarrassing your parents in public?" Jiang Ling said calmly, completely ignoring Miss Qian's disdain and jealousy.

"You...you dare to curse me like that? You wait, I'll have my father come and break your legs!" Miss Qian was so angry that her face turned red, and she stormed off from Linghui Academy, lifting her skirt in a huff.

“Mother, we…” Jiang Suihe looked at Miss Qian, who was leaving in a huff, with some annoyance.

Jiang Ling turned to look at Jiang Suihe and immediately smiled, comforting her, "It has nothing to do with you. I want to see which arrogant young lady this is!"

“That’s right, that’s right, don’t worry, Suihe, with my dad around, no one will dare to bully you!” Zhao Qianyu echoed Jiang Ling.

Upon hearing Zhao Qianyu's words, Jiang Suihe blushed immediately and nervously clutched the hem of her clothes, remaining silent for a long time.

Jiang Ling and the others had no intention of leaving; they wanted to see what kind of background this Miss Qian's family had.

Soon, the sound of several hurried hooves approached from afar. Jiang Ling looked in the direction of the sound and saw two rather ornate carriages galloping towards them.

The carriage stopped as it approached Linghui Academy.

A fat man dressed in fine silk and satin, with jade rings on almost all ten of his fingers, jumped angrily off the carriage.

Judging from the resemblance between his appearance and Miss Qian's, it's not hard to tell that the man in front of him and Miss Qian must have some connection.

As expected, Miss Qian followed closely behind, lifting her purple dress as she stepped off the carriage.

Many more people got off the carriages one after another.

Her gaze immediately fell on Jiang Ling's side. After whispering something to the fat man next to her, the man rushed up to Jiang Ling with anger in his eyes.

"So you're the one who bullied my daughter?" the man said arrogantly, glancing at Jiang Ling's clothes.

Jiang Ling looked at the man's disdainful gaze and sneered, "So this is how you raise your daughter?"

The obese man seemed unprepared for Jiang Ling's fierceness. He frowned and scolded, "You country bumpkin, you really don't know any manners! You're a lowlife! I won't hold it against you, but you just insulted my daughter. Kneel down and apologize to her now, and we'll let it go!"

"You! Who do you think you are, do you even know that..." Zhao Qianyu, who was standing to the side, was furious when he heard this. It was clearly his daughter who had spoken rudely just now, so how come his godmother is now the victim?

"Kid, this is none of your business, I advise you to mind your own business, or believe me, I'll make you kneel down too!" The fat man said disdainfully, glancing at Zhao Qianyu.

Zhao Qianyu wasn't annoyed. He curled the corners of his lips and retorted, "I can kneel down for you, but I don't know if you can handle it!"

The obese man's lips trembled slightly, but this was, after all, on the street, and he couldn't very well argue with a teenager in front of the academy.

He glared at Zhao Qianyu, then his gaze fell on Jiang Ling again, and he said with a half-smile, "If you don't want to kneel, you can make him crawl between your legs, and we'll call it even! Otherwise..."

The obese man didn't continue speaking, but looked at Jiang Ling with a meaningful gaze.

Jiang Ling wasn't annoyed. She just smiled contemptuously at the fat man and said, "I can kneel down, but I want to remind you that the hierarchy is scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant, not merchant, scholar, farmer, artisan. Even if I were a farmer, I would still be ranked above you!"

Jiang Ling's words fueled the fat man's anger, and he raised his fat finger to slap Jiang Ling's face.

"stop!"

Zhao Qianyu's angry voice reached their ears. He glared at them and cursed, "You dare touch my godmother? Believe me, I'll make sure you don't leave Pingxi County today!"

"If you dare touch my mother, I'll fight you to the death!" Jiang Yaojie shouted angrily, his eyes red.

"Where did this wild brat come from, daring to act so arrogantly towards me! Get out of here or I'll beat you all up too!" the fat man shouted.

Jiang Ling turned her head and gave Jiang Yaojie a look, and Jiang Yaojie immediately understood what was going on.

He whispered to Zhao Qianyu, "Brother, you stay here and look after my mother and sister. I'm going to the yamen!"

Zhao Qianyu nodded, his eyes warily fixed on Jiang Ling not far away, and replied, "Go quickly and come back quickly!"

Jiang Yaojie nodded and ran towards the entrance of the yamen like a runner.

The obese man witnessed the whole scene and spat on the ground, mockingly saying, "What? You sent your son to get reinforcements? Now you're regretting it? Fine, I'll see what kind of trouble you, a country bumpkin, can cause!"