Looking at the complete mess covering the floor, Zhen Tingyun felt as though something were lodged in her chest, making it difficult to breathe. Her eyes stung. She was so angry she nearly burst into tears.
She took several deep breaths, but every breath only filled her nose with the muddled fragrance, making the fire in her heart burn even hotter.
Still, now was not the time to lose her temper.
She forced herself to calm down, crouched on the floor, and carefully began cleaning up the mess before her.
The clothes that had been shredded by the cat’s claws were beyond saving, so she simply threw them away.
After all, while attending the women’s academy, she mainly wore the academy-issued red blouse and white skirt anyway. As for the incense materials scattered across the floor, she simply could not bear to throw them away. Instead, she gathered everything together into a box.
Although she knew perfectly well that once so many different fragrances had been mixed together, their scents had been irreparably ruined and could never be used again, she still packed them away carefully.
She would keep them as a reminder to herself.
Important things had to be stored properly.
Otherwise, if anything happened to them, the only person left to regret it and suffer heartache would be herself.
Fortunately, there were still some incense materials left inside the torn paper packets.
Zhen Tingyun painstakingly sorted what remained, wrapped each kind separately again, placed them into her trunk, and locked it securely.
Once she had finished putting everything away, the heart that had felt as though it were being fried in boiling oil every moment finally began to settle somewhat.
Now all that remained was to wait for the others to return.
Zhen Tingyun sat on the edge of her bed, casually picked up a book, and waited for Qian Manyue and Du Qingqing to come back.
At first, her emotions continued to surge, and she simply could not settle down enough to read. But she was, after all, someone with a determined mind.
After thinking through the entire incident from beginning to end, she gradually calmed herself.
Soon, she was finally able to focus on the densely packed characters covering the pages before her.
The joint examination between the two academies would be held in just a few days.
At a time like this, she should devote herself to studying.
She absolutely could not allow those people’s disgusting behavior to disturb or hinder her.
Thus, Zhen Tingyun sat cross-legged on her bed, reading seriously.
Just as she turned to the third page, she suddenly heard the door open, followed by the voices of Qian Manyue and Du Qingqing talking as they entered.
When Qian Manyue and Du Qingqing pushed open the door, they naturally saw Zhen Tingyun sitting by the bed reading a book.
The smile had not yet faded from Du Qingqing’s face. Seeing Zhen Tingyun, she smiled and asked, “Tingyun, you’re back?”
Before she had even finished speaking, she noticed the book in Zhen Tingyun’s hands. Her eyes filled with admiration and amazement. “You’re so diligent! You’re actually still sitting here reading at a time like this. I could never concentrate the way you do…”
Zhen Tingyun did not respond.
Instead, she casually laid the book she had been reading across her lap and, as though absentmindedly, raised her eyes to look at the two girls who had just entered.
In truth, she had begun carefully observing them the very instant they stepped through the door.
There was no need to mention Du Qingqing.
If she were really the one responsible for this, yet could still speak to her with such complete composure, then her acting skills would surpass even those of the greatest opera performers.
As for Qian Manyue…
Zhen Tingyun looked deeply at her.
From the moment she entered, Qian Manyue had unconsciously fallen silent. She hadn’t spoken a single word and instead kept her head slightly lowered.
Of course, over the past two days, Qian Manyue had generally behaved shyly and reserved around others, so this didn’t seem particularly out of character. But Zhen Tingyun had already been suspicious of her. Watching carefully now, she noticed that the moment Qian Manyue entered, she lowered her head and fell silent while discreetly scanning the room. Her pale lips pressed together ever so slightly.
Though she still couldn’t be completely certain, Zhen Tingyun was now almost sure.
Qian Manyue was most likely the one behind this.
The thought made the anger Zhen Tingyun had only just managed to suppress flare up once more.
Yet the angrier she became, the calmer her face appeared. Only her eyes, stark black and white, had turned icy cold.
She slowly closed the book, placed it beside her pillow, then rose gracefully from the bed before speaking in an even tone. “I wasn’t only reading. I was waiting for you two to come back because I have something I want to ask.”
Du Qingqing frowned in confusion. She sat back down on her own bed and replied casually, “Go ahead.”
Qian Manyue also nodded and walked farther inside. She was just about to return to her bed for a short rest when she suddenly cried out. “Ah!”
Her face instantly turned deathly pale, and her lips trembled as though she had suffered an enormous shock.
The next moment, her shrill scream filled the entire room. “My bed! My quilt!! How… how did they get scratched up by a cat?”
Watching her flawless performance, Zhen Tingyun almost laughed coldly.
Instead, she suppressed the sneer tugging at her lips and calmly continued. “That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about. It seems a cat got into our room. When I came back, everything inside my cabinet had been pulled out and ruined by it. Even the incense materials I’d stored in the very back of the cabinet had been dragged out and scattered all over the floor.”
“W-What kind of stray cat was this? Why did it scratch everything…” Qian Manyue’s face remained pale, her eyelashes trembling as she spoke timidly, her voice pitiful enough to bring tears to one’s eyes. “I’ve heard some cats are especially sensitive to fragrances. If it smelled the incense in your cabinet and rummaged through your things because of that, I suppose that would make sense. But why would it even scratch my bedding…? I only have this one quilt. Now that the cat’s ruined it, how am I supposed to sleep?”
Zhen Tingyun let out a cold snort.
She strode directly toward Qian Manyue and looked straight into her tearful face before asking icily, “So you think my incense attracted the cat. You think this is all my fault?”
“N-No…”
Seemingly frightened by Zhen Tingyun’s aggressive gaze, Qian Manyue lowered her head to avoid eye contact. Her eyelashes drooped, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “I… I just remembered. We forgot to close the window before leaving at noon. It’s our fault. Tingyun… you’re not angry, are you?”
Seeing Qian Manyue sobbing uncontrollably, Du Qingqing suddenly remembered that she and Qian Manyue had returned at noon to rest briefly and indeed seemed to have forgotten to close the window before leaving.
She hurried over to smooth things over. “All right, all right. Let’s all calm down and talk this through properly. Since we’re living in the same room, it’s fate that brought us together. Why argue like this and hurt each other’s feelings?”
Then she turned to Zhen Tingyun. “It really was our fault for forgetting to close the window at noon. The two of us made the mistake. How about this? I’ll compensate you for everything the cat ruined, including your incense. All right, Tingyun? Don’t be angry anymore. You don’t want to make yourself sick from anger.”
Qian Manyue cried even harder. Sobbing, she leaned into Du Qingqing’s arms, sounding more pitiful with every word. “It’s all my fault… Tingyun… please don’t be angry anymore…”
But Zhen Tingyun paid them no attention. Without responding, she simply walked past the two of them and suddenly opened her cabinet. For a moment, the only sound in the room was Qian Manyue’s quiet sobbing. Then Zhen Tingyun spoke.
Her voice was cold and calm, yet it effortlessly drowned out Qian Manyue’s crying. She enunciated every word clearly.
“Since we’ve all managed to get into the women’s academy, I assume none of us are fools.” She paused. “Do you really think that without someone opening the cabinet door, a stray cat could climb into my cabinet and drag everything out?”
She slowly turned to face them. “You say the cat got in because you forgot to close the window at noon. Fine. But then who opened my cabinet for the cat?”
Du Qingqing seemed to realize something. Her eyes widened as she stared at Qian Manyue, and she fell completely silent.
Qian Manyue, however, looked shocked and terrified. Quickly covering her mouth with one hand, she spoke softly. “You mean… someone deliberately let the cat in to destroy our things?”
“My things,” Zhen Tingyun corrected coldly. “Not ‘our’ things.”
With tears glistening in her eyes, Qian Manyue reminded her weakly, “My quilt…”
“Your quilt was already old anyway. Letting a cat scratch it not only helps clear yourself of suspicion, but might even get you a brand-new quilt in exchange. That’s a deal where you can only profit and never lose. If it were me, I’d make that bargain too.”
Zhen Tingyun smiled at her but the smile was filled with nothing but mockery and icy contempt. Her words were as sharp as blades. “You say the cat got in because the window was left open at noon. But whether the window was closed or not is such a trivial detail. If you hadn’t deliberately brought it up, Du Qingqing probably wouldn’t even have remembered it.”
Du Qingqing’s hand, which was supporting Qian Manyue, stiffened as well.
That was right.
She had never paid much attention to little things like this. In truth, she couldn’t clearly remember whether they had closed the window before leaving at noon.
It was only because Qian Manyue had first said, “We forgot to close the window before we left at noon,” that she had been led into vaguely feeling that perhaps they really had forgotten. But if she thought about it carefully, she actually wasn’t certain at all.
Qian Manyue wiped away her tears, concealing the look in her eyes. Her palm-sized face was covered in tears, looking unbearably wronged. “H-how can you say something like that? We have no grudge against each other. Why would I let a cat in to ruin your things?”
“I was wondering the same thing just now,” Zhen Tingyun replied calmly. “After all, we’ve only just met. Unless someone is wicked by nature, there’s really no reason to do something that harms others without benefiting oneself.”
Hearing this, Qian Manyue cried even harder, as though she might faint from grief.
“However,” Zhen Tingyun continued unhurriedly, “after thinking it over, perhaps it wasn’t entirely an act that harmed others without benefiting oneself.”
She looked directly at Qian Manyue. “Why did the cat specifically go after my incense materials? Because someone couldn’t afford to buy her own. So she became greedy and decided to steal some. But she was afraid of being discovered, so she only stole a very small amount. Then she used the cat as a cover, scattering all the incense. That way, even if some of the incense had been stolen and the quantity reduced, I would never notice. And perhaps the next time I bought incense materials, that person could once again take advantage and steal a little more.”
As though she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world, Qian Manyue cried even more bitterly.
Her slender shoulders trembled as she sobbed. “I know… I’m poor… my family’s poor… all of you look down on me. But… Tingyun, you can’t make malicious accusations like this. You can’t falsely accuse me…”
Zhen Tingyun ignored every word of her defense. Right in front of the two girls, she opened Qian Manyue’s cabinet. Sure enough, inside were several packets of incense materials, each containing only a tiny amount.
Qian Manyue cried as she said, “I bought those myself.”
Ignoring her, Zhen Tingyun turned to Du Qingqing. “When the two of you went shopping at noon, did she buy incense materials?”
Du Qingqing thought for a moment before nodding. “She did.”
Zhen Tingyun asked again, “You saw her buy them yourself?”
Du Qingqing nodded. In fact, she had even paid for them because Qian Manyue hadn’t had enough money.
At that moment, however, doubts had already begun forming in her mind.
She had never lacked money and was sincere by nature, always wanting to treat people well. At the time, she had suggested buying more.
But Qian Manyue had refused, insisting she couldn’t take too much advantage of Du Qingqing’s generosity and asking for only a tiny amount of every kind of incense.
Back then, Du Qingqing had admired her, thinking that although she was poor, she remained steadfast and ambitious, refusing to abandon her lofty aspirations. She had thought Qian Manyue someone worth befriending.
Now that she thought about it…
The fact that she had insisted on buying only a tiny amount of each incense suddenly seemed to carry another meaning.
After all, when buying everything else, Qian Manyue certainly hadn’t insisted on taking only a little.
Meanwhile, Qian Manyue simply kept her head lowered, crying.
Though her tear-filled eyes secretly flashed with satisfaction. She really had purchased incense materials in front of Du Qingqing. Therefore, the incense in her cabinet could only have been “bought.”
Yet Zhen Tingyun merely sneered. “Buying something doesn’t mean it can’t be returned. However, someone who buys incense only to immediately return it afterward must have remarkably thick skin. There can’t be many people like that in the capital. I’m sure the incense shop would remember such a customer vividly. I’ll simply go there tomorrow and ask.” She continued calmly, “Besides, incense materials differ in color, texture, and other characteristics. The very first lesson in Incense Making is learning to identify fragrances. If necessary, tomorrow I’ll invite one of the academy’s instructors to determine whether the incense on both sides came from the same source.”
Listening to Zhen Tingyun’s calm, confident reasoning, even Du Qingqing began looking at Qian Manyue with hesitation and uncertainty.
Qian Manyue herself was becoming frightened. Even the hand she used to wipe away her tears trembled slightly. Especially when she heard that Zhen Tingyun intended to question the incense shop and ask an instructor to identify the incense, panic and resentment welled up in her eyes.
They’re only a little bit of incense!
Zhen Tingyun could afford to prepare all of this before even entering the academy. Obviously her family is wealthy.
Why does she have to haggle with a poor person like me over something so insignificant?
The truth was, Qian Manyue had done this sort of thing before back home.
Whenever she got into trouble or secretly ate something she wasn’t supposed to, she’d simply blame it on her younger brother. After all, he was still little, couldn’t even speak clearly, and was easy to deceive.
This time, she had originally intended to frame Du Qingqing instead.
Although Du Qingqing claimed to treat her like a friend, in reality she merely treated her like a maid or little follower, keeping her around with a few pleasant words. Even that box of scented balm that morning, Du Qingqing obviously had a brand-new one, yet she had given Qian Manyue the old one instead.
Wasn’t that simply treating her like a servant and tossing her unwanted leftovers?
However, since school had only just begun, Du Qingqing was still useful as someone to take advantage of.
So Qian Manyue had instead found a cat, thinking she could muddle through the matter that way.
Who would have imagined…
Zhen Tingyun would actually investigate so relentlessly over such a small amount of incense, refusing to let the matter go and pressing her at every turn!
She was already so wealthy, why insist on arguing over something like this with a poor student who couldn’t even afford incense?
The more she thought about it, the more Qian Manyue resented Heaven’s unfairness.
Someone as foolish as Du Qingqing…
Someone as petty as Zhen Tingyun…
Yet Heaven favored them both, blessing them with wealthy families and high social standing, allowing them to live without worrying about food or clothing.
As for herself…
Despite her lofty ambitions, she had been born into poverty.
Her parents favored sons over daughters and doted entirely on her younger brother.
She had struggled with everything she had just to earn admission to the women’s academy.
She had even risked everything to persuade her family to pay for her education.
And after all that, she ended up meeting classmates who were both foolish and miserly!
If I were the one with a good family and high status, I certainly wouldn’t be as stupid as they are.
Nor would I squabble over such trivial things.
Thinking this, Qian Manyue steeled herself.
Since things had come this far, she would simply go all in.
She burst into loud sobs. “I didn’t do it! I really didn’t! Zhen Tingyun, I know you look down on me because I’m poor, but why do you have to falsely accuse me like this?! Why do you insist on forcing me?!”
As she shouted, Qian Manyue reached up and pulled the hairpin from her hair.
Her glossy black coiffure immediately came undone, and her long hair cascaded down around her shoulders.
She gripped the hairpin tightly in her hand, pointing its sharp tip at her own throat.
Her hair was disheveled and she looked utterly bedraggled, but her eyes were fixed on Zhen Tingyun. Through clenched teeth, she hissed, “Zhen Tingyun! How dare you slander me like this! Are you trying to drive me to my death?!”
Du Qingqing had never witnessed anything like this before. Her face instantly turned pale. She hurried over, grabbing the hand holding the hairpin. “It was only an argument, Manyue! Don’t do anything rash!”
Qian Manyue shook her head over and over. Tears streaked her face, and the smile she wore was both tragic and crazed. “I really didn’t do those things! Even if I die, I won’t admit to them! Rather than let all of you talk about me like this, I’d rather die! And even if I become a ghost, I won’t let off the people who wronged me!”
Still holding her arm, Du Qingqing coaxed her gently. “Yes, yes. You didn’t do those things. I believe you.”
“I don’t.” Zhen Tingyun interrupted her. She walked forward until she was standing directly in front of Qian Manyue. Then she suddenly smiled. “If you really have the guts to stab yourself, I’ll admit I was wrong about you.”
Qian Manyue stared at her, her eyes bloodshot, her gaze as venomous as poison but Zhen Tingyun remained completely calm.
She reached out, seized the hand gripping the hairpin, and forcefully pushed it toward Qian Manyue’s neck. “Go on. If you’re really going to die, all you have to do is press it in. Don’t let go.”
People like Qian Manyue were nothing new to Zhen Tingyun.
Back in the countryside, she’d seen countless women who threatened to cry, make scenes, or hang themselves whenever they didn’t get their way. But those people were always the most afraid of dying.
Someone like Qian Manyue only talked a big game. She might be ruthless toward others, but when it came to harming herself, she would lose her nerve.
Sure enough, as Zhen Tingyun forced her hand closer, the tip of the silver hairpin lightly touched her neck. The sharp point pressed against the soft skin, bringing an icy, piercing pain.
Qian Manyue shuddered violently.
She looked at Zhen Tingyun as though she were looking at a ghost. Her fingers instinctively loosened. The silver hairpin fell to the floor.
Zhen Tingyun gave a contemptuous laugh.
Then she turned to the dumbstruck Du Qingqing. “Now do you understand what kind of person she really is?”
Du Qingqing nodded blankly then shook her head.
“You probably think she’s pitiful. That she’s hardworking and worthy of sympathy.” Zhen Tingyun sneered. “I imagine she thinks you and I are fools who are easy to trick. Last night she said the money for her tuition came from loans her mother borrowed, and that her father beat her mother because of it. But you saw her mother that day too. Did she look like she’d been beaten?”
“Fine. Let’s assume the injuries were somewhere we couldn’t see. Even so, if her mother had just been beaten for her sake and was still carrying injuries, what kind of daughter could calmly sit there while her mother, sweating all over, made her bed and unpacked her belongings? How cold-hearted and cruel would someone have to be?”
“And then she claimed her father had no steady job, her mother earned only a little by washing clothes for others, and the family was so poor they could barely afford food. She even said they hadn’t had meat soup for months before coming here. But then she turned around and said she’d earned two B grades in mounted archery. That isn’t something you can just pick up overnight. If a family is so poor they can’t even eat, where did she get the time, the money, and the opportunity to train in mounted archery?”
“And the funniest part? She keeps insisting she’s dirt poor, yet she chose incense-making as one of her elective classes. Anyone with a brain knows that subject costs a fortune. In the end, she’s been lying from the very beginning. She only wanted to use people richer than herself as gullible benefactors and stepping stones.”
In truth, Qian Manyue was still young.
Her schemes were crude.
Or perhaps she simply looked down on “simpletons” like Du Qingqing and herself, so she hadn’t bothered making her lies consistent. Her stories contradicted one another and couldn’t withstand careful scrutiny.
She had only succeeded because Du Qingqing was so innocent.
Originally, Zhen Tingyun had thought Qian Manyue merely had a few petty schemes. Since the matter hadn’t seemed serious, and she wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble, she’d chosen not to expose her.
She had never expected Qian Manyue to be so vicious and so bold that even after Zhen Tingyun had politely refused her, she still dared target her.
