Lin Feilu had always been the weaker party; Lin Xi used to bully her to her heart’s content and she never dared to pip a squeak. Since when did she get the courage to mock her like this? She wanted to retort but she was so angry that she lost her rationality and was speechless for such a long time, even her face was turning purple with rage. Like mother like daughter, she raised her hand and slapped Lin Feilu across her face.
Song Jinglan, who was a few steps away from them, froze momentarily, then he hurried forward to stop them.
Lin Feilu caught a glimpse of two figures not too far away. It was Lin Ting and Lin Jingyuan on the terrace. She was originally about to dodge the next hit, instead she stood still.
But she did not let her face get slapped by Lin Xi again, rather she tilted her head slightly downwards. The next slap struck her head instead, unfurling the little bun of hair on the left side of her head.
Then, without letting out a sound, she fell to the ground and held her breath.
When it comes down to acting — I am a professional.
Lin Jingyuan happened to witness this scene. He nearly went mad from fury as he rushed down the steps and ran over to Lin Feilu’s side. Lin Xi was clouded by rage; a slap was not enough to quell her anger as she motioned to continue her assault. However, Lin Ting had rushed over in time as he swiftly grabbed Lin Xi’s wrist.
The mild-mannered prince was rarely quick to anger. But this time, he shouted, “Stop! What are you doing?!”
Lin Jingyuan lifted Lin Feilu from the ground and saw that she was sweating bullets from her forehead. Her face was sickly pale; her hair was thrashed from the blow and remained disheveled. He felt angry and was heart-broken at the sight of her. After handing her over to Kang An; his face was filled with indignant fury as he rushed forward to beat up Lin Xi.
Lin Ting had to block him and stopped him in his tracks. “I order all of you to stop! What are you all trying to do?! Have you all forgotten your royalty?!”
A tinge of redness dabbed the corners of his eyes as Lin Jingyuan roared, “She hit Little Lu! I’m going to kill her!”
Lin Xi screamed in a shrill voice, “She insulted me! She deserved it!”
With a harsh voice, Lin Ting shouted, “Shut your mouths!”
Befitting the eldest son of the Emperor, Lin Ting exuded a dignified stature, forcing both Lin Jingyuan and Lin Xi to shut up. Seeing they had both dampened down, Lin Ting went to check on Lin Feilu. He stooped down beside her and gently touched her flushed face. Softly, he asked, “Does it hurt?”
Lin Feilu did not speak. With moist eyes, she shook her head and gave him a strained smile.
Lin Ting felt his heart ache. The Third Princess’s palace maid had just rushed over to her mistress’ side, when Lin Ting turned around and said, “The Third Imperial Princess has acted in utter defiance of courtly manners and disturbed the peace of the Imperial School! As penance, she will be placed under house arrest for half a month and reflect on her mistakes in solitude!”
As the eldest imperial prince and the eldest brother, it was his birthright to mete out punishment on his younger siblings.
Lin Xi did not expect that her eldest imperial brother would actually take Lin Feilu’s side. Despite her tactlessness, she was quick on the uptake as she whined and wailed, “Eldest Brother, she insulted me first! Even if I were to be punished, she should face the same punishment too!”
Immediately, Lin Jingyuan angrily refuted, “That’s complete nonsense! Little Lu would never insult others! You’ve become so full of yourself; you’ve even learnt how to slander others!”
Lin Xi continued to sob and said, “She did insult me! Even Song Jinglan heard it!”
Several heads turned to look at Song Jinglan, who had been standing aside the whole time.
All eyes were upon him, but the young boy’s expression remained calm. He first turned to look at Lin Feilu, who was in a pitiful state; then he turned his eyes and fixed his gaze on Lin Xi. As if reluctant to tell a lie, he lightly pressed his lips together and said, “That is not true.”
Lin Xi: “???!!!”