Chapter 84 Facing
My cousin's wife took a half step forward and lowered her voice. "Look at the lady, she doesn't look like an ordinary woman. You can tell she's smart. I'll just say it straight. We're all here for the child, so why hide it?"
"For the child?"
Wen Ning was stunned when he heard this, and subconsciously pulled Xibao closer to him, with some genuine doubts in his eyes.
The cousin's wife used a handkerchief to brush off the non-existent dust on her cuffs, and her tone was filled with a kind gesture of charity.
"No matter what, these children from our side branches all have Xie family blood in their bones. When the Fifth Princess and the Marquis get married in the future, adopting a child with the surname Xie will be a legitimate inheritance of the family line. No matter what, the princess must consider this relationship. The child has roots and a place in the Marquis's mansion, so he won't suffer any harm in the end."
She changed the subject and glanced at Xi Bao, "But your surname isn't Xie. When the princess marries into this mansion, she'll probably be left out in the cold, without even a hot meal to eat. It would be all in vain. It would be a waste of such a good child."
"Fifth Princess? Marrying the Marquis?" The doubt in Wen Ning's eyes was instantly replaced by astonishment. Her chest felt like something was clutching it, making her feel suffocated and uneasy.
Xibao felt a little pain from his mother's suddenly tightened hand. He raised his little face and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Wen Ning finally came to her senses and suppressed the turmoil in her heart. She looked at her cousin's wife with a look of disbelief in her eyes, "Is what Madam said true? The Marquis wants to marry the princess?"
Upon hearing this, the cousin's wife curled her lips in a mocking tone, "Of course not! The news has spread all over the capital long ago. The emperor is about to grant the princess and the marquis a marriage. Are you still in the dark?"
Seeing Wen Ning's face turn pale in an instant, the cousin's wife finally felt a little relieved from the frustration of being outdone.
No matter how good-looking you are or how smart your child is, you will still be an outsider in the end, right?
The Marquis wants to marry a princess, and the adopted child must be of the Xie family. It is not your turn as a widow to have such wishful thinking.
Wanqing and Yunxiu were carrying lunch boxes as they walked around the corridor when they heard their cousin's wife's sarcastic remarks. Their faces immediately darkened.
Wan Qing was more impatient. She took a few steps to Wen Ning and bowed to her cousin's wife, "Madam, the Marquis has already instructed us not to let outsiders even take a single step into our courtyard.
Look carefully, which leg has entered the moon-shaped door? If the Marquis asks about it later, I'm afraid he won't want that leg anymore."
My cousin’s wife shuddered all over, as if a bucket of ice water was poured over her head.
She had heard about Marquis Anyuan's methods long ago. He killed people without blinking an eye on the battlefield, and the rules in the mansion were strict. How could she dare to gamble with her legs?
She hurriedly pulled her foot back from the door, dragging the child beside her out with her.
"I'm leaving right now, I'm leaving right now."
She staggered backward until she was completely out of the moon-shaped door, then hurriedly walked away with the child in her arms, not daring to look back.
Yunxiu quickly helped Wen Ning over, his eyes wary of his cousin's wife as she walked away. "Even if you're a relative, you shouldn't talk like that. Don't be suspicious, young lady. You're the Marquis's most beloved woman, so don't trust the words of outsiders."
"Let's go back to the room." Wen Ning said softly.
There seemed to be no emotion on her face, as if the thunderous conversation just now had never caused a ripple in her heart.
…
Xie Jinglan had been busy at the training ground for a few days. As soon as he stepped into the study, he asked the steward standing beside him in a deep voice.
"Has anything happened in the mansion these days?"
The steward lowered his head and replied, telling everything about how the side relatives brought their children to the house under the pretext of giving the old lady a birthday gift in advance, and how the third cousin's wife talked to the girl across the courtyard.
Xie Jinglan closed his eyes and tapped the table with his knuckles. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were as dark as indissoluble ink.
After a long pause, he raised his eyes and said, "Go and tell them what I have said. I, Xie Jinglan, will never adopt any children in my lifetime. It is not the turn of outsiders to continue the Anyuan Marquisate's legacy. From now on, anyone from the side branch who wants to enter the mansion must first hand in a badge. Anyone who dares to take even a single step in without my permission will be kicked out!"
After a pause, he picked up the teacup but did not drink it, and glanced out the window.
"Around the courtyard, except for the young lady, the young master, and her servants, anyone who dares to touch it without permission will have their legs cut off first!"
He looked at the steward, his eyes sharp as a knife, "Also, stop the monthly allowance for the third household and tell them that the money from the Marquis's Mansion is not for supporting idlers, and certainly not for them to gossip about!"
The steward was startled and quickly replied, "Yes, I'll do it right away."
The steward took the order and left.
Xie Jinglan pinched his brows and let out a low sigh.
No wonder he has been feeling restless and his right eyelid has been twitching violently in the martial arts training ground these days.
This time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to coax her.
…
Xie Jinglan shed his dusty clothes, soaked in the bathtub for a while, then changed into a set of crab-green casual clothes and went straight to the cross-courtyard.
The lanterns in the corridor had just been lit, and a dim glow spread all the way along the veranda.
Wanqing was standing on tiptoe, reaching out to collect the dried herbs on the wooden rack under the corridor. When she saw the Marquis coming, she stopped and quickly stepped forward to kneel and salute.
"My Lord."
Xie Jinglan raised his hand to exempt her from the formality. He glanced unconsciously into the room before asking in a deep voice, "How has she been these past few days?"
Wan Qing lowered her eyes and answered honestly, "My Lord, besides playing with the young master these past two days, the young lady has been reading medical books. Sometimes she can spend half an hour looking at herbal atlases, and she has also written quite a few prescriptions."
Xie Jinglan listened, and his tense shoulders relaxed a little.
He was afraid that she would feel deceived after hearing those words, so he was glad that he did not pack up and take Xibao away at night.
Now hearing Wanqing say that she still has the mind to ponder over the medical prescriptions, it seems that she didn't really take it to heart, or... at least she wasn't angry enough to leave.
He uttered a low "hmm" in his throat, hiding the barely perceptible relief in his eyes, and walked into the house.
The door was ajar, leaving a gap half a finger wide. Xie Jinglan stood outside the door, his eyes looking into the house through the gap.
The weather in early winter was already chilly. A charcoal brazier was burning in the corner of the house. Tiny sparks would occasionally crackle, spreading warm air everywhere.
Wen Ning sat at the desk, wearing a moon-white soft silk nightgown, the material hanging down to her shoulders.
It rises and falls slightly with breathing, outlining a soft outline like a distant snow-covered mountain.
The shoulders are round like dewy magnolia buds, the collarbone is like a crescent moon, and further down is a hazy hint of spring. The gradually deepening and fading curves are dyed into a hazy warm mist by the swaying candlelight.
Her long black hair was loosely tied into a bun and fixed with a jade hairpin. A few strands of hair hung down at her temples, making the part of her neck exposed outside the collar look even whiter.
She frowned slightly, and lightly tapped the lines of the medical book with her fingertips. Her long eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow.
Just as Xie Jinglan was about to step into the door, he stopped abruptly.
His Adam's apple rolled unconsciously, and his heart felt like it was gently hit by something.
It turns out that there really is such a person. Even if he has seen him a thousand times, he will still feel a throbbing in his heart. His hard heart, which has been tempered by the flash of swords and the fight between swords, can be softened like melted sugar at this moment.
Wen Ning seemed to notice the movement outside the door and closed the book gently. When she stood up, Xie Jinglan just pushed the door open.
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