Chapter 13, Someone is Lying
"This... I can't remember!" Lu Ziyuan was stumped by the question and blinked, pretending to be clueless.
Anyone could tell he was lying.
“I can’t remember. You’re getting all confused. One minute you’re saying this person beat you, the next you’re saying that person beat you. One minute you’re saying this person is being chased away, the next you’re saying that person is being chased away. Do you think the Imperial Academy is run by someone surnamed Lu?” The 12th Prince, Li Mobai, couldn’t help but frown.
"Exactly! It's just kids fighting all the time. Why do you have to kick them out? Even if they really hit you, why don't they hit someone else? Why don't you look for the problem within yourself!"
"You don't distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children, and you don't understand the hierarchy. Is it possible that you don't respect them enough and are deliberately provoking them? You even want to drive away their legitimate children, your stepchildren! What kind of behavior is this, like a little dove stealing a magpie's nest!"
Chen Zihao couldn't stand seeing the Jiang family's stepson and stepsister bullying a weak little sister.
He had heard how Jiang Ruanruan was mistreated by her stepmother, and he wondered what good the two children she had raised could be.
“It’s a case of a cuckoo taking over someone else’s nest!” the 12th prince translated for his friend.
"Yes, yes, that's it! A turtledove is a turtledove, and it even steals a magpie's nest!" Chen Zihao and the 12th Prince are good friends.
He could tell that the 12th Prince was intentionally speaking up for the three children from the Jiang family.
A friend of a friend is still a friend, and an enemy of a friend's friend is no different from his enemy.
Seeing his stepson and stepsister reminded him of his restless half-brothers who enjoyed making fun of him by badmouthing him.
By putting yourself in that shoes, you feel like you can see the whole picture.
Jiang Ruanruan's eyes widened. What was going on? This Chen Zihao was one of Lu Zirou's suitors in her previous life, yet he was actually speaking up for her and her brother.
We must turn them to the enemy; we absolutely must turn them to the enemy.
With more allies, the number of enemy troops can be reduced.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. In her previous life, neither she nor her brother entered the Imperial Academy. Lu Zirou had a low status in the Imperial Academy and could only pretend to be a weak and kind-hearted innocent girl.
But Lu Zirou has just come from a dilapidated small county town, and she doesn't even know many characters. How much cunning could she possibly have? She certainly can't compare to Jiang Ruanruan, that old fox.
"Exactly! Even if you're going to frame me, at least come up with a better excuse! My skinny little body is so weak, I could fall over at the slightest breeze. How could I possibly beat you? If you're going to make up a lie, at least make it believable!"
Jiang Ruanruan looked aggrieved; she was too thin, with big eyes and a small face.
Everyone nodded in agreement: "With just one punch from her, it's like tickling someone. Who could she possibly hit? I don't believe this nonsense!"
Zhu Xiaobao, the grandson of the old Grand Tutor, shook his head and looked at Lu Ziyuan with disdain.
"Who made this up? It was clearly this brat, this little bitch, who did it. You still don't believe me when I tell you the truth? Are you blind? Can't you see she's faking it?" Lu Ziyuan was so angry that his fists hardened, and he stepped forward to punch Jiang Ruanruan.
"Stop! Fighting is not allowed in class, Lu!" Teacher Lin pulled the boy back, and believed the Jiang siblings' words even more.
"Why should I? She hit me, I want her back!" Lu Ziyuan retorted.
But Master Lin caught him, and he was so angry that his face turned red.
"That brat is wicked; you've all been fooled by her!"
He felt so wronged, so incredibly wronged.
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have gained 200 debt collection points, with a balance of 3800.]
Jiang Ruanruan, hehehe, covered her mouth and secretly winked.
"Keep making things up, keep making things up! Why are you swearing? How vulgar!" The students below were even less convinced. This person was swearing constantly, calling people "little bitch" and "dead girl" all the time.
"Brother, I want to go home. I'm scared, boohoo. I only came here because the Imperial Academy provides food so I could have a full meal. But now I don't want to eat anymore. Let's go home!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ruanruan was surprised to find that someone was speaking up for the three of them. Her acting skills instantly improved, and she became pitiful and aggrieved.
Wasn't Lu Zirou particularly good at feigning pitifulness in her past life? She can do that trick too.
Today she was wearing her old clothes, which were a bit too short. Firstly, they were newly made by her grandmother, but they weren't finished yet, and secondly, she didn't like those fancy clothes anyway.
The clothes are a bit short, but that's just right—clean and neat.
This outfit is already considered one of the better ones among her old clothes; it's about 80% new.
However, compared to Lu Zirou's gorgeous attire, one is a rich heiress and the other a maid; it's obvious who is favored.
The students below looked at each other.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Even Master Lin felt pity for them. Most of the meals at the Imperial Academy were eaten by teachers like themselves; the sons of noble families brought their own food.
And this eldest daughter of the Jiang family only came here to have a full meal.
What a simple and pitiful little wish.
"Hmph, don't think that the Master can protect you here. When we get home, I'll beat you to death!" The contemptuous looks from the crowd infuriated Lu Ziyuan.
Are all these people blind? This brat is just pretending to be pitiful, and they all seem to be oblivious.
"Waaah, Pear Brother, help! He still wants to hit me!" Jiang Ruanruan hid behind Li Yunzhi like a little quail.
"Alright, alright, don't cry!" Li Yunzhi could only pat the little girl's back to comfort her.
"My sister is timid and she's still sick, how could you want to hit her!"
"Just because your father gave the three of us the school places that were originally meant for you the other day, you cried, made a scene, and cursed. Now that you have school places, what more do you want? Are you determined to kick us out?"
Jiang Huai'an stood in front of the two men, recalling how he had retreated again and again in his past life, yet these two had constantly framed and suppressed him. Now, as they put on their acting skills, they showed no remorse whatsoever.
Protecting Jiang Ruanruan behind him, he inadvertently revealed several scars on his arms. These were left by the old nanny, a servant of Zhang, who had bullied him several times before. The scars were covered with pink new flesh, which looked quite shocking.
The students watching gasped in shock; it looked painful. These two were truly the epitome of misery.
Who else can a person like that bully?
"Brother, it's all my fault. You were beaten because you were protecting me. Ruanruan shouldn't have come to school. I don't want you to be beaten, sob sob sob..." Jiang Ruanruan held Jiang Huai'an's arm, feeling very sorry for him.
What a loving brother and sister they were, but unfortunately they were too weak and were bullied by outsiders.
"They say that with a stepmother comes a stepfather. Seeing their own children dressed in rags and starving, while their stepchildren are dressed in fine clothes and chubby, they use such despicable means to force them to leave school. Alas, the Jiang siblings are so pitiful!"
Chen Zihao shook his head, looking at him with sympathy.
If anyone dared to bully his sister, he would be so angry he'd want to kill them.
"Nonsense! It wasn't my mother who hit me; it was those blind servants in the house who did it!"
Lu Zirou quickly tried to explain, frowning as she looked somewhat confused.
Seeing how favored they are, shouldn't these people be even more eager to curry favor with them?
But their reaction seemed a bit off. The mother said that outsiders always show respect to the dress first, then to the person.
The clothes he and his brother wore cost most of their mother's money; such a display would earn them respect from the scions of prominent families.
But why are they helping that little bastard Jiang Ruanruan now?
"Don't cry. It's all your brother's fault for being so incompetent. I didn't want to compete with them for a place to study, but I was really worried about you coming to the academy alone. I didn't expect they still wouldn't let us go!"
"You want to kick us out as soon as we enter the Imperial Academy? Lu Ziyuan, Lu Zirou, what exactly do you want?"
"It's fine if you bully me and Ruan Ruan, but this is a place for studying, not the Jiang family home. You've wasted everyone's time this morning!"
Li Yunzhi…this double act is quite good, and he couldn’t join in the conversation for a moment.
Their strategy was clear and meticulous, setting traps at every turn. Those two were no match for them, and these scions of powerful families didn't care at all whether Lu Ziyuan and his group were being beaten.
They only saw that the legitimate sons and daughters were being bullied by the stepmother's children, and they couldn't stand it.
She has naturally distanced herself from the Lu siblings.
“That’s right, you’re wasting our time. On weekdays, morning classes usually take half a cup of tea to finish,” Chen Zihao chimed in.
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