Chapter 48: Snatching the Child
"It's getting late, my Lord, you should go back and rest."
These days, the nanny deliberately took Xibao out to visit relatives, for fear of disturbing her and the Marquis.
But the children stay out too late and always have trouble sleeping at night.
Seeing that she kept glancing towards the courtyard gate, Xie Jinglan knew that her mind was on that little brat again.
There was an inexplicable feeling of depression in my heart, as if something was blocking it, and I felt uncomfortable.
But if he refused to leave, it would be like he was mad at a baby, and he would end up in a bad situation.
He made up his mind and did not stay any longer.
Before leaving, I picked up a few wild pecans.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, he heard her anxious voice behind him, "Your Majesty, you cannot eat these wild walnuts!"
He paused, turned around, and saw her pursing her lips and glaring at him, so he said maliciously, "Ning'er has medicine here anyway. If you really get a rash, I'll come find Ning'er again."
After saying that, he strode away.
"You—scoundrel!"
The next day, Xianfengyuan.
Qingfeng returned from the capital and went straight to his master's study to report without dismounting.
"Master, I have already thoroughly investigated the Liu family's background."
Xie Jinglan put down the report in his hand, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said, "Speak."
"My subordinates have investigated and found that the Liu family's ancestor was a fifth-rank military commander in the previous dynasty. Back then, he secretly sold imperial firearms to bandits, resulting in heavy casualties among the officers and soldiers fighting against the bandits.
Later, to protect their family, the Liu family handed over half of their property as atonement and turned to running an escort agency to make a living. Although it is now ostensibly an imperial merchant escort agency, it is actually not allowed to enter the officialdom and is still regarded as the descendant of a criminal minister by the upright officials in the court.
In order to whitewash his family, Master Liu desperately tried to curry favor with the powerful. One of his daughters married the Minister of War and became his ninth concubine.
Xie Jinglan narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a deep voice, "What do they want to do to Wen Ning?"
Qing Feng replied, "I heard that Master Liu wants to send his nephew and a few servants over here, and they'll probably be arriving in the next few days."
He lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment, then took a half step forward and whispered, "Master, I've heard that the Liu family knew Miss Wen was pregnant six months ago. However, they say Miss Wen was the one who killed their son... a jinx. So, they only want a grandson and won't let Miss Wen into their family. Now that they think the child is born, they've sent the housekeeper to find Miss Wen's residence and then plan to steal the child away."
Xie Jinglan's eyes flashed, and he sneered, "What a calculation!"
"Master, I'm being too talkative. Although the Liu family isn't difficult to deal with, they're a real nuisance for Miss Wen. Could you please ask her to get out of the way first?"
"She can avoid it temporarily, but she can't avoid it forever. The trouble with the Liu family will eventually come back to her."
Qing Feng scratched his head, looking confused. "Master, you asked me to investigate the Liu family, wasn't it to solve this big problem for Miss Wen in advance?"
Hearing this, Xie Jinglan's eyes became deep and the white jade ring slowly turned between his fingers.
"If I had taken care of her earlier, I wouldn't have waited until she came to beg me..."
…
Qingfeng walked out of the study with two bunches of walnut shells in his hands, feeling confused and bewildered.
In the past, the rewards from the master were either newly tempered daggers, whole ingots of silver, or at the very least two jars of strong liquor that could warm the body. Where had he ever seen these round nuts?
She insisted on eating it in front of him.
The taste was good, but I was a little nervous while eating it.
After all, Xie Jinglan was really curious. He secretly tasted some wild walnuts yesterday, and sure enough, he got a rash again.
Fortunately, he ate less, so the rash was not severe and faded away quickly.
Seeing that Qingfeng was fine after eating, he couldn't help but feel curious, so he called the doctor to clarify.
"Are there many people in this world with similar physiques? For example, if I eat these wild pecans, I'll get rashes, and another child...another person will also get rashes."
The medical officer said, "My Lord, as you said, although people with similar constitutions are rare, if they share the same origin and bloodline, they may indeed suffer from the same symptoms." He paused for a moment, "For example... between blood relatives."
The wild hickory nuts made a subtle "crackling" sound in his palm. Xie Jinglan's eyes darkened when he heard this. "Blood relative?"
He suddenly sneered, "What if they are not blood relatives?"
The medical officer bowed his head in thought for a few breaths before respectfully raising it. "My Lord," he said, "according to medical texts, only one in a hundred ordinary people will be allergic to wild walnuts. If two people share the same allergy and symptoms, the chance is less than one in ten thousand unless they are blood relatives. However, the world is so vast, with so many coincidences, that nothing is impossible."
It’s like two randomly dropped seeds that happen to land on the same soil, encounter the same sunlight and rain, and eventually grow into almost identical seedlings.”
Xie Jinglan was silent for a long time.
If the child is really his, then the woman in the thatched hut is Wen Ning.
It's not like he hasn't had doubts.
But I have verified it myself. Wen Ningyan said that he had never been to Fuyan Mountain, so it is even more impossible that he had been to the thatched cottage.
Besides, she said that the child was from the Liu family. How could she lie about her child's background?
Xie Jinglan curled the corners of his mouth in self-mockery.
Perhaps he was overthinking it.
…
That day, Wen Ning and Sister Xianglan took the finished embroidery to the embroidery workshop.
There were more than ten embroidered handkerchiefs stacked in the basket, as well as a bellyband with a magpie-on-a-plum-tree pattern that she had spent three nights embroidering.
The owner of the embroidery shop pinched the edge of the bellyband and looked at it over and over again, and couldn't help but say it was good.
When calculating the wages, he specially gave Wen Ning an extra twenty coins. "This magpie climbing on a plum tree is very lively. I'm keeping it as a sample. You can take this little extra. Send it to me next time you have embroidery work."
The two of them walked around the town for half a day, and Wen Ning went to the clothing store to pick out a spring shirt for the nanny.
I also picked out a piece of indigo blue fine cotton cloth at the cloth shop to make a spring dress for Xibao. The remaining cloth could be used to make a small bellyband.
I also picked out a pair of silver earrings with fine lines. They are simple and elegant, and perfect for Sister Xianglan.
"Don't refuse, sister-in-law. This time, it's all thanks to you for bringing us together."
Ji Xianglan yelled, "Oh, how can this be possible!"
Her fingertips were pinching the small silver earrings, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.
"My rough man has never given me anything except a pair of copper earrings when I got married. I'm afraid he hasn't even seen what silver earrings look like. I've never worn anything this delicate and beautiful, Xi Bao Niang, you have such good taste."
The two chatted and laughed all the way, and when they returned to the village, it was already past noon.
Before Wen Ning pushed open the gate, she heard a commotion in the yard.
"God damn it, do you still have any law?"
"You're trying to snatch a child in broad daylight!"
Wen Ning's heart tightened and she walked in quickly.
But I saw several men standing in the yard.
The man standing at the front was wearing an indigo brocade robe, with a mutton-fat jade pendant hanging around his waist. He had a fair face and looked like a scholar at first glance.
Behind him followed four or five burly men, and a tall and thin man with narrow eyes.
"What are you going to do!"
The man in the indigo brocade robe was about to signal a few strong men to snatch the child, but the moment he saw Wen Ning, he suspended his hand in mid-air.
Nanny Xue staggered two steps towards the door, pulled Wen Ning to her side, and held Xibao firmly in her arms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
