Everyone was stunned.
No one had expected that Qiao Nian would give Xiao Qingnuan a slap so unexpectedly!
So, even though Xiao Heng and Lin Ye were standing beside Xiao Qingnuan, they failed to stop that slap from landing on her face.
But this slap seemed to have jolted the formerly silent crowd back to their senses.
Lin Ye took a fierce step forward and grabbed Qiao Nian's hand. "What are you doing? Apologize to Miss Xiao immediately!"
Qiao Nian looked at Lin Ye with her slightly cold eyes. "Let go."
Her voice was not loud, nor did it carry any sharp edge.
These two simple words, spoken so casually, made Lin Ye's heart contract suddenly.
He instinctively released his grip.
Qiao Nian withdrew her hand and rubbed her wrist, which had been hurt by Lin Ye's grasp. At this moment, Lin Yuan's voice rang out beside her. "Sister, Miss Xiao's words were a bit harsh, but you really shouldn't have resorted to violence, especially in a Buddhist temple... You might incur the wrath of the Bodhisattva like this!"
Qiao Nian didn't even glance at Lin Yuan. She simply said, "If you say one more word, I'll slap you too."
Lin Yuan's eyes instantly filled with tears, and she looked at Qiao Nian with a pitiful expression.
However, Qiao Nian turned her gaze to Xiao Heng. "General Xiao, do you have anything to say?"
She wanted to wait for them to finish spouting all their useless words so that she could deal with them all at once.
Surprisingly, Xiao Heng slightly shook his head. "It was Nuan Nuan who spoke disrespectfully first. I hope Miss Qiao can calm your anger."
This was quite unexpected.
Qiao Nian couldn't help but look at Xiao Heng deeply. But Xiao Qingnuan, who had been slapped, couldn't hold back any longer. "What did I say wrong? She is of lowly birth. Everyone saw her holding hands with the Prince of Ming today! What are they? Not to mention that the Emperor hasn't bestowed the marriage yet. Even if he did, they shouldn't be so intimate in full view of everyone! How am I wrong in saying that she's flirting with the Prince of Ming?"
"It seems I shouldn't have stopped them from cleaning your ears just now," Qiao Nian said casually, causing Xiao Qingnuan to turn as pale as ashes.
Song Baixuan beside her couldn't help but step forward and tug at Xiao Qingnuan. "That's enough. Shut up. We can't afford to offend her now!"
This remark from Song Baixuan, instead of calming things down, only aroused Xiao Qingnuan's competitive spirit.
She shook off Song Baixuan's hand and shouted, "What's there to be afraid of? Even if she has the backing of the Prince of Ming, so what? I have my elder brother! Although the Prince of Ming has a noble status, he's just an idle prince. But my elder brother has repeatedly achieved military merits and is highly favored by the Emperor. I don't believe the Prince of Ming would really do anything to me!"
"Shut up!" Xiao Heng furrowed his brows and pulled Xiao Qingnuan behind him. "Who gave you the audacity to speak such disrespectful words?"
As soon as Xiao Heng furrowed his brows, Xiao Qingnuan didn't dare to say a word.
She could only stand behind Xiao Heng, covering her face and glaring at Qiao Nian with hatred.
Qiao Nian, however, curled her lips into a smile. "It seems General Xiao really needs to discipline Miss Xiao's mouth well, lest she bring trouble upon herself in the future."
If these words were heard by the Prince of Ming, who knew how he would deal with the Xiao family.
Although an idle prince had no real power, he was still the Emperor's own son and couldn't tolerate such blatant disrespect.
Xiao Heng naturally understood this. But seeing the faint sarcasm at the corner of Qiao Nian's mouth, he felt rather uncomfortable.
Moreover, just now Xiao Qingnuan had said that Qiao Nian and the Prince of Ming had held hands in full view of everyone.
In just a few days, had their relationship become so intimate?
He then said coldly, "My younger sister is headstrong. I will surely discipline her well. However, Miss Qiao, being so shameless, should also be properly disciplined by Brother Lin."
Shameless?
Qiao Nian's face stiffened.
It was indeed inappropriate for her to be led in by the Prince of Ming holding hands. She had little ground to retort when Xiao Heng insulted her like this.
But she could respond to something else. "General Xiao, you must be joking. I'm surnamed Qiao. It's not up to anyone surnamed Lin to discipline me."
"Qiao Nian!" Lin Ye was enraged. "Don't be too presumptuous!"
"It's you who are presumptuous!" Qiao Nian was at the end of her patience today. "I just came here to pray for a peace amulet for my grandmother. What have I done to offend you all? Why are you all coming here to lecture me? Especially you, Lin Ye! When I was being slandered, you just kept silent. Now you want to act high and mighty and teach me a lesson? What gives you the right?"
"As your elder brother, I have the right to teach you a lesson!" Lin Ye roared.
Today, even though Xiao Qingnuan was in the wrong, the two families had a deep friendship. Everything could be discussed after returning to the mansion. He could even go to the Xiao family's parents personally to complain and ask them to discipline Xiao Qingnuan.
Anyway, Qiao Nian shouldn't have resorted to violence!
But to his surprise, upon hearing this, Qiao Nian burst out laughing. "What did you say? Elder brother? Stop making me laugh!"
"Qiao Nian!" Lin Ye shouted harshly, about to hurl more insults.
But Qiao Nian suddenly spoke coldly. Her voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the entire Buddhist hall to hear. "My elder brother died three years ago."
In her heart, they were all dead.
Meeting Qiao Nian's cold gaze, Lin Ye felt as if he couldn't breathe.
Clearly, she was cursing him. Clearly, he should be angry and retort. But at this moment, he couldn't utter a single word.
Even Xiao Heng beside him couldn't help but clench his fists tightly.
An indescribable emotion welled up from the bottom of his heart, instantly taking over his whole body. His blood seemed to boil, yet he felt as immovable as an iceberg, rooted to the spot.
At this moment, even Song Baixuan and Xiao Qingnuan had sensed the unusual atmosphere and Qiao Nian's abnormality.
However, Lin Yuan didn't.
She slowly reached out and took Qiao Nian's hand. "Sister, how can you say such things? Brother is alive and well."
"He's your elder brother," Qiao Nian said, shaking off Lin Yuan's hand. She looked back at her indifferently. "And I'm not your sister."
With that, she turned to leave. But unexpectedly, Lin Yuan suddenly knelt down.
"Sister!"
This action shocked everyone.
Qiao Nian never expected that Lin Yuan would kneel.
Not only did she kneel, but she also cried as she spoke. "Sister, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have come back three years ago. I shouldn't have entered the palace. And today, I shouldn't have told the Prince of Ming that you were here! It's all my fault. Blame me if you must, but Brother has always been worried about you. He has always loved you deeply. You can't disown him because of me!"
Lin Ye naturally couldn't bear to see Lin Yuan like this. Moreover, Lin Yuan said that she shouldn't have come back.
Lin Ye was heartbroken. He immediately helped Lin Yuan up. "Yuan'er, don't do this. She's heartless. We don't need to apologize to her! You are a daughter of the Lin family. Returning to your roots is the will of heaven! But some people!"
Lin Ye glared at Qiao Nian as he spoke. "Are as cold as stone and can't tell right from wrong. Even if such a person comes to the temple to pray a hundred times, the Bodhisattva will never answer her."
"Lin Ye!" Qiao Nian shouted angrily, her chest heaving violently. She thought that after three years in the laundry bureau, her temper had been smoothed out. But today, she still couldn't help but lose her temper.
"I told you just now that I'm here to pray for my grandmother's safety. You'd better hope the Bodhisattva didn't hear what you just said. Otherwise, if anything happens to my grandmother, I'll never forgive you!"
The hatred in her eyes was so intense that it seemed as if it could incinerate Lin Ye completely.