Chapter 19: Do You Have Any Intelligence?

As soon as Bing Qingwan finished speaking, she took a closer look and realized with a start that there was someone else there—a woman, no less. Hmph, how dare she stand beside Brother Yi, chatting and laughing with him? I’ll have her dragged out and fed to the dogs!

"Hey, who are you? Get away from here! By what right are you in the private garden of the Prince Mo residence? Which noble family do you belong to? I've never seen you before. Never mind, it doesn't matter who you are, just get lost! Stop pestering Brother Yi; he belongs to me!" Ignoring everything else, Bing Qingwan staked her claim immediately.

Yuan Qian'er glanced at Bing Qingwan and coolly threw the words back at her: "And who might you be, miss? By what right are you in the private garden of the Prince Mo residence? Never mind, it doesn't matter; I have no interest in knowing."

"You... how dare you speak to me like that! Do you know who I am? I am Princess Anning, the most noble princess in all of Bingmo! You dare speak to me in such a manner? Have you lost your mind?" Bing Qingwan thought that flaunting her status would intimidate Yuan Qian'er, but she had miscalculated.

"Princess Anning? You certainly aren't very 'peaceful' (anning), are you? What of it? This is just how I speak to people. Or are you not a person? Am I supposed to treat you differently?" Yuan Qian'er was generally good-natured, but if someone insisted on asking for trouble, she couldn't be blamed for having a sharp tongue.

"You, you, you..." Though Bing Qingwan was usually wilful and spoiled, no one had ever dared to talk back to her. Her ability to retort was no match for Yuan Qian'er, and she stood there stammering, unable to get a single coherent word out.

"Me, me, me... what about me? Go on, say it!"

Yuan Qian'er's smug expression incensed Bing Qingwan. She raised her hand, intending to strike Yuan Qian'er across her delicate face, but was stopped just in time by Mo Yiran, who caught her wrist.

"Bing Qingwan, stop this nonsense!" Mo Yiran exclaimed angrily. "How can you be so rude? Qian'er is my honored guest. As for you, you've snuck out of the palace again—if Bing Qinghua finds out, you'll be punished again!"

He was relieved he had caught her in time; if that slap had landed, it would have surely hurt. He pulled Yuan Qian'er behind him and scolded her, "You silly girl, why didn't you dodge when she tried to hit you? Were you just going to stand there and take it?"

"Uh, well, I didn't expect her to start swinging in the middle of a conversation! I'll be more careful next time!" Yuan Qian'er was also relieved that the slap hadn't landed; otherwise, her face would have been swollen.

Seeing that Mo Yiran not only refused to help her but was actually concerned that the other woman hadn't dodged, Bing Qingwan's anger flared even higher. "Brother Yi, how can you help her instead of me? Look, you've bruised my wrist grabbing me, and you aren't even comforting me! By what right does this woman of unknown origin deserve your care?"

"Enough, Qingwan! Can you stop causing scenes? She is an honored guest of this residence and the granddaughter of my master; she is not some woman of unknown origin." Mo Yiran found her behavior truly exasperating. She wasn't inherently evil, but she was far too spoiled and wilful. If not for the fact that she was a princess, he would have had her thrown out long ago.

"The granddaughter of Master Taihe? I don't believe it! Brother Yi, don't be fooled by her. I've never heard of Master Taihe having a granddaughter!" Bing Qingwan said, her expression full of suspicion. "I know, she must be an imposter! She's trying to seduce you. Brother Yi, hurry up and chase her out!"

Yuan Qian'er rolled her eyes at the sky, utterly speechless. "Princess, are you sure your head is filled with brains and not tofu? Does my grandfather need to report to you every time he has a granddaughter? If I were an imposter, wouldn't Mo Yiran—who has spent years on Mist Mountain—know it? If I wanted to seduce him, I could have done it back on the mountain. Why wait until now? Please, use your brain. Don't insult Mo Yiran's intelligence, or your own, for that matter. Wait, do you even have any?"