Chapter 13 Xie Guanlan pondered: Smelling my sister?

Today is the old concubine’s birthday banquet.

There was a clamor of carriages and horses, and many guests gathered. Almost all the prominent officials, wealthy businessmen and their families in the southwest were present.

"If you're a quarter of an hour slower, you'll be late!"

Wen Xingluo came to the side door of the palace to meet Xie Shian and his group of cronies.

Xie Shian and his friends were going to perform lion dance at today's birthday banquet to please the old concubine. They felt that the lion dance props they borrowed before were not exquisite enough, so they specially spent a lot of money to order new ones, which were only delivered to Chengdu this morning.

Xie Shian and others had already changed into lion dance costumes halfway.

They were all young men around fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing colorful tasseled lion dance costumes and holding large and beautiful lion heads. They were all handsome and unruly.

Xie Shian threw a large embroidered ball to Wen Xingluo and said with a carefree smile, "Isn't this just in time?"

Wen Xingluo hugged the hydrangea and ran to the front yard with them: "The guests are all here, waiting for you to warm up the place! Grandma didn't know this was your birthday gift, and she asked me why I hadn't come yet."

As they passed through the corridor behind the screen wall, the large hydrangea in Wen Xingluo's arms accidentally rolled out.

She hurried forward to pick it up, but saw that the hydrangea had rolled to a pair of boots embroidered with gold cloud patterns.

Wen Xingluo picked up the hydrangea and looked up.

Xie Guanlan stood in the corridor with his hands behind his back.

The young commander of the Southwestern Army wore a scarlet brocade robe with a gold hairpin and leather belt. The spring sunshine shone on his profile, outlining the sharp and beautiful contours of his bones. His thin, overly red lips added a touch of color to him, but his eyebrows and eyes, like dry mountains and wild water, neutralized this gorgeousness, making him appear just the right amount of aloof and noble.

He lowered his eyes and looked at her.

Wen Xingluo stood up silently, took a few steps back, and retreated to Xie Shian's side.

Xie Shian coughed lightly: "Brother."

The teenagers who were originally shouting and yelling also became as quiet as chickens.

They bowed their heads and saluted in unison, "Greetings, Your Highness..."

Wen Xingluo lowered his head, knelt down and bowed: "Long live the prince."

Xie Guanlan's gaze swept across Wen Xingluo.

Today she wore an apricot-pink narrow-sleeved top, a landscape-green half-sleeve top, a layered goose-yellow skirt tied around her waist, and a bright red silk sash hanging down.

Her dark blue hair was neatly combed, and she still wore the silver butterfly hairpin that Xie Shian had given her.

He had been busy with government affairs in the office recently, leaving home early and returning late, and he had no idea that she was hanging out with Xie Shian's group of friends.

Although this girl is young, she is very shrewd. Perhaps because there are so many young masters in the palace, she cannot get much of the wealth from them, so she turns her attention to this group of playboys, hoping to choose a husband from them with a good family background.

She wanted to use the Zhenbei Palace as a stepping stone to climb up, but she had to see if he would agree.

He casually broke off the peach blossom that had protruded into the corridor and said gently, "Miss Wen, don't you know that boys and girls should not sit together for more than six years? How can you be so frivolous with a man in broad daylight?"

"No!" Xie Shian immediately retorted, "I asked Wen Xingluo to pick us up!"

The other teenagers also spoke in unison: "That's right! Sister Wen never plays with us. We only talk to her occasionally when we meet in the academy. And we only talk to Sister Wen when Xie Shian is around!"

"Sister Wen and I have absolutely not overstepped the boundaries!"

“…”

Xie Guanlan pondered: "Sister Wen?"

Wen Xingluo hugged the hydrangea tightly.

She knew that Xie Guanlan had never liked her and her mother, but it was a bit harsh for him to make a fuss about matters between men and women.

She stared at Xie Guanlan and argued, "It's because I saved them at Jinweizhai that they treat me as their sister. As the saying goes, what you see is what you see. I wonder what's going on in the prince's mind when he makes such assumptions?!"

The girl's spine was straight.

The spring breeze blew her silk ribbons and skirt, outlining her thin and lonely figure, and showing a bit of stubborn character.

Xie Guanlan had never been contradicted like this before.

He raised his chin, lowered his brows, and a murderous look suddenly surged in his dark and narrow eyes.

Xie Shian knew at a glance that this was a sign that his elder brother was about to get angry.

He was still very afraid of Xie Guanlan.

Just as he was about to smooth things over, he heard a sudden rebuke from the side: "Wen Xingluo, you are simply outrageous! How dare you contradict the prince?!"

Everyone looked over.

They are the four siblings of the Wen family.

They first went to the backyard to visit their bedridden mother before coming to the front yard to attend the birthday party.

Wen Rufeng said with a stern face: "Xingluo, it was fine that you disrespected your elders at home before, but now that you're at someone else's house, why do you still not know the rules?"

Wen Xingluo's breathing became heavier.

She had never expected that in this life, these people would actually come to the palace to attend the birthday banquet.

Her good mood was swept away. Just as she was about to speak, Xie Shian got impatient: "No, why are you everywhere?! Are you haunting me?! And what do you mean by 'someone else's house'? Wen Xingluo is my sister, this is her home! What's wrong with her talking back to her brother at home? Why do you outsiders have the right to tell her what to do?!"

Wen Rufeng didn't expect that he would be scolded for his kindness in speaking up for the prince of the palace.

In his previous life, he was a newly crowned scholar and a rising star in the imperial court. In this life, he was just a young man who had just come of age and was not very experienced in the world. Therefore, his face was burning and he didn't know how to respond for a while.

Wen Yueyin's gaze swept across Xie Guanlan subtly.

According to her experience, Wen Xingluo could bribe Xie Shian, but could never bribe Xie Guanlan.

This person is the most difficult to deal with because he has a kind face but a black heart. He is simply an evil ghost in a beautiful appearance.

Thinking of his experiences in his previous life, Wen Yueyin couldn't help but tighten his handkerchief.

In her previous life, she was actually married to a minor official because she had slept with Xie Guanlan.

At that time, she passed by a porch and happened to overhear the quarrel between King Zhenbei and Xie Guanlan.

The King of Zhenbei forced Xie Guanlan to choose a princess for his son, but Xie Guanlan said he would never marry.

The King of Zhenbei was furious and asked him who would inherit his huge family business if he didn't marry and have children.

She couldn't help but think, being a lady in a royal palace is nothing, being able to become the crown prince's consort is what it means to be capable!

So she climbed into Xie Guanlan's bed.

Unfortunately, before I could even touch his hand, he threw me and the bed out...

Fortunately, the person who offended Xie Guanlan in this life was not her, but Wen Xingluo.

Wen Yueyin stepped forward, bowed to Xie Guanlan, and said softly, "My sister has been spoiled since she was little, so she is naughty and ignorant. Yueyin apologizes to you on her behalf."

Wen Xingluo looked at her and couldn't help laughing.

Xie Shian also laughed.

After all, he is a prince of a royal family and has seen all kinds of women.

Although Wen Yueyin was trying to excuse Wen Xingluo with every word she said, she was actually deliberately destroying her reputation and establishing an image of a gentle and generous good sister for herself.

Only the Wen brothers were blind and thought she was a good person.

Xie Guanlan looked down from above.

What came to mind was the conversation between the Wen brothers and sisters in the jewelry shop that day.

——An ungrateful and ungrateful person!

——Wen Xingluo, if you have the guts, never come back to the Wen family! We don't want you as our sister anymore!

——In my heart, you will never be as good as Yue Yin!

The girl silently listened to the heartbreaking words of her loved ones, with a calmness on her face that was not in line with her age.

It was as if I had heard these words thousands of times.