???

Xie Jin Yan's words instantly silenced everyone around him, leaving them stunned.

What a stupid question to ask! What man would ask his wife if she felt sorry for another man?

Did he have some special fetish, or what?

It was simply absurd, ridiculous, and astonishing.

However, considering that these words came from the mouth of Crown Prince Xie Jin Yan, who was always the most outrageous and unrestrained, everyone dismissed it.

Except for Yu Qingwu and Xiao Fengyun.

One was embarrassed and speechless, and the other... full of expectation.

"You... Xie Jin Yan, what nonsense are you talking about?" After a moment of hesitation, Yu Qingwu glared at him resentfully, and then secretly glanced at the people around her. Seeing that everyone was pretending to be calm and moving forward, but their expressions were different, and they were all ears, she immediately understood.

Xie Jin Yan was simply trying to make Xiao Fengyun see his situation clearly, so that he wouldn't have any more delusions, and it could also be considered as giving Xiao Fengyun a warning in front of all his fellow disciples.

Actually, now that things had come to this point, Yu Qingwu didn't want to have any more entanglement with Xiao Fengyun, nor did she want to hurt his pride any further.

But Xie Jin Yan's actions undoubtedly tied her to the stake.

Biting her lip, Qingwu quickly regained her composure, her face as cold and serious as usual, and she explained in a light voice, "Your Highness, Senior Brother Xiao and I have always only had the affection of fellow disciples, so where did all those messy things come from? It's just that I saw that you were too fond of causing trouble, so I said a few words to you. If you're not happy, just tell me, why are you dragging others into this for no reason?"

Others? So, in Qingwu's eyes now, he was just an outsider?

Xiao Fengyun's pupils trembled slightly, and his chest tightened severely.

At this time, Xie Jin Yan spoke again. He snorted, with a hint of childishness, and retorted to Yu Qingwu, "How am I dragging others into this? Didn't you speak up for him just now? In the past, you often spoke up for him, and you even washed his clothes for him in the dead of winter, and your hands were frozen, but you still washed them for him..."

Xie Jin Yan's voice was stern and his expression was extremely resentful, as if he was really arguing with Yu Qingwu.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Ning Yu quickly grabbed Xie Jin Yan and advised, "Seventh Junior Brother, you... there are so many people here, what are you doing? Isn't Senior Sister just trying to stop everyone from arguing? Don't be childish."

Childish?

He, Xie Jin Yan, was so scheming, ruthless, and adept at maneuvering in the court and among the powerful—how could he be childish?

Yu Qingwu could see through Xie Jin Yan's thoughts...

She was a little speechless, but in order to prevent Xie Jin Yan from further embarrassing people, and... wanting Xiao Fengyun to completely give up his thoughts, she cooperated and retorted, "Xie Jin Yan, how did I speak up for Senior Brother Xiao? I just didn't want everyone to waste time arguing, and if we're any later, I'm afraid we won't be able to get back before nightfall."

"Besides, I didn't just wash clothes for Senior Brother Xiao in the past, didn't I wash them for you too? I washed them for Hu Die, I washed them for Ning Yu, I washed them for Shuangshuang?"

"Yes, yes, Junior Brother Xie, Senior Sister also washed them for me, she can't possibly like me too, right?" Hearing this, Ning Yu immediately chimed in, hurriedly catching up with Xie Jin Yan's pace, and explaining with a smile.

Seeing this, Hu Die also quickly laughed, "That's right, look at Ning Yu's bear-like appearance, I can't even stand him, let alone Second Senior Sister."

This Hu Die, if he wanted to mediate, he should just mediate, why did he have to step on him for no reason?

Ning Yu was extremely depressed, but seeing that Xie Jin Yan and Yu Qingwu were at each other's throats, he didn't have time to argue with Hu Die about anything. He just grinned and shoved his face close to Xie Jin Yan, asking, "That's right, Junior Brother Xie, look at my virtue, could Senior Sister take a fancy to me?"

"Senior Sister just likes to take care of everyone usually. Besides, Senior Brother Xiao always said that he couldn't wash his clothes clean, so Senior Sister often helped him wash them together."

"Besides, if Second Senior Sister really had feelings for Senior Brother Xiao, Senior Brother Xiao wouldn't be willing to let her wash his clothes for him in the dead of winter, right?"

"... " That's right, if it was really like the rumors said, that Senior Brother Xiao and Senior Sister Yu were once in love, how could Senior Brother Xiao be willing to let Senior Sister Yu wash his clothes for him in the winter? And he clearly saw that her hands were getting frostbite, but he still made her wash them for him.

How could this be mutual affection? It was simply exploiting her because he was the eldest senior brother.

And then he spread rumors to the outside world, saying that she liked him and took the initiative to help him wash them.

What a shameless bastard!

Several fellow disciples, including Zhou Shuangshuang, understood the meaning of this under Ning Yu's prompting.

The air became silent again.

Xiao Fengyun, who had originally harbored expectations, now felt only embarrassment.

He didn't dare to turn his head at all at this moment, for fear that he would see the contemptuous and sarcastic faces of his fellow disciples.

Clearly, in the past, those faces were reserved for wastrels like Xie Jin Yan, so how did they all fall on him now?

The enormous sense of disparity made Xiao Fengyun feel a little broken, but even so, he still suspected a sliver of hope, hoping that Yu Qingwu could say a few words for him.

After all, she had once liked him so much. How could she be so heartless to him after only half a year?

However, at this moment, Yu Qingwu was not only heartless, but also had no time to pay attention to him.

At this moment, she just wanted to go up the mountain as soon as possible, and separate from Xiao Fengyun and the others as soon as possible.

What reason should she find?

Why not... just go along with the plan...

Having made up her mind, Yu Qingwu also revealed an unhappy expression, glanced coldly at Xie Jin Yan, and said to Ning Yu, "Alright, Junior Brother Ning, don't explain to him, he's just like this, very suspicious, it's useless to explain any further."

"Sick!" Giving Xie Jin Yan a cold look, Yu Qingwu pretended to be annoyed and disappeared into the forest.

While speaking, she also gave Yan Qingqing a wink. Although Yan Qingqing was a little cowardly and hesitant, she was also quick-witted, and immediately understood.

She quickly chased after her and said, "Um, I'll go take a look. Second Senior Sister doesn't practice martial arts, so it wouldn't be good if she encountered a wild beast alone."

Hearing this, Xie Jin Yan also seemed to wake up from a dream, and suddenly slapped his head, regretting, "That's right! I forgot, A-Wu doesn't know martial arts!"

"What if something happens..."

After saying that, he also hurriedly chased after her.

As a result of Xie Jin Yan and Yu Qingwu's big fight, no one doubted their whereabouts. They only thought that the couple was having a quarrel, and they were chasing each other.

Soon, the three people who entered the forest reunited.

According to her previous memory, Yan Qingqing quickly led the two to the thatched hut where the crazy woman lived.

Because she had traveled back and forth last time, this time it took half the time, and it only took one and a half hours to reach the outside of the thatched hut.

"Th-this is the place."

At this time, the sky was already approaching dusk.

Surrounded by dense bushes, the thatched hut looked somewhat dark.

While pulling Yu Qingwu towards the window, Yan Qingqing reminded them, "Be careful, Master also set up traps here. I almost stepped on one last time."