"Duan Tingxuan, I don't care anyway. You can say I'm unreasonable, domineering or anything else. I just think that those slaves are right to want to live. Is there anyone who is not afraid of death? Even if they want to give themselves to the thieves in exchange for their lives, it's not wrong. They are just slaves, not betraying their country and masters for glory."
Since being soft didn't work, Su Nuannuan immediately put her hands on her hips and showed the attitude of a shrew. Although the young marquis is a soft-hearted person, but when they are playing around, if she shows this attitude, he will give in to her. Maybe this will work as a surprise attack?
"They are just a few servants. Why do you go to so much trouble?" Duan Tingxuan smiled bitterly. Given the environment he grew up in and the education he received, he really couldn't understand the values of Su Nuannuan, a time-traveling girl.
"Those are not a few slaves, they are human lives, real lives." Su Nuannuan said faintly, tears flashing in her eyes, "You are the master, they are slaves, but in fact, the only difference between you is your birth. They also have emotions and families. They did not take the initiative to sell anything, they just want to stay alive. Survival is a human instinct. Sister Jing said that she wanted to die to repay your life-saving grace. My identity is the wife of the prince, and I must die to maintain the pride and dignity of this identity, but they have no such obligation. The practice of burying people alive with the dead has been abolished for more than a thousand years. I said..."
“Okay, okay…”
Duan Tingxuan saw his wife's tears, and his heart of steel finally turned into tenderness. He wiped her tears and sighed, "You only care about saving them, but have you ever thought about it? Even if I spared them, what would they do when they return? It's a capital crime for them to escape, and they still want to surrender to the enemy to save their lives. They will be stabbed to death when they return. Rumors are scary. So many people know about it, it's not something we can keep secret with strict orders."
Su Nuannuan was silent: Yes, the tongue can kill without a knife. These women's momentary desire to survive may very likely drive them to a dead end in the end. But she did not hesitate at all, and said firmly: "No matter what the consequences are, I will do my best."
"Well, when we get back, I'll send them all to the farm. This is the only thing I can do to help you, Nuannuan. For the rest, I can't do anything about it."
Duan Tingxuan spread his hands. But seeing his wife actually laughing, he shook his head and said, "Are you so happy just because you let a few slaves go?"
"That's not entirely true. I never thought that one day I would hear the words 'powerless' from your mouth. I thought the young marquis was omnipotent." Su Nuannuan's smile was like a spring flower, and she was truly beautiful under the candlelight.
Duan Tingxuan felt his throat dry and his heartbeat quickened. Some part of his body was also stirring. This tough foodie wife seemed to have transformed into a vixen, so beautiful that it was hard to look directly at her. Even when facing Xue Zhilan's occasional bold teasing, he didn't feel his blood boiling to the point of being out of control.
Quickly turning his head away from the goblin, the young marquis took a deep breath and tried to keep his tone calm: "Do you think I'm a god? Even if I am a god, I'm not omnipotent, okay?"
"Okay, okay, let's get down to business."
Su Nuannuan also realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere. She had never expected Duan Tingxuan to be so weak. She was just smiling for fun, but who knew it would be seen as teasing? If this continued, would this guy think she was possessed by a demon? That would be too unfair.
Although it was late at night, the two of them did not want to sleep, so they leaned on the bed and talked. Hearing how they used all kinds of tricks to delay the enemy in the temple, even Duan Tingxuan's eyes were a little wide: Is his wife still human? Facing so many fierce bandits, her life was in danger, and she still had the mind to make stone cakes? Hmm! Sprinkle a thin layer of flour on the oily stone, and it will be cooked in a sizzling sound. This sounds mouth-watering.
With a "gulp" sound, the young marquis swallowed his saliva in a cowardly manner and gave his wife a serious instruction: "We should also prepare this stone cake to eat after returning home. I will have someone move a few large smooth white stones to Chunfeng Garden."
"What white stone? Wouldn't it be better if you use your brain and ask a craftsman to make a few frying pans?" Su Nuannuan rolled her eyes: "Actually, it's almost the same as pancakes, but it tastes better only in this special environment. If you like it, I'll make hundreds of them for you to tie around your neck and eat."
"I'm not a lazy guy." Duan Tingxuan smiled: "But your suggestion of the frying pan seems to be good. I will go back and discuss it with the Fourth Prince."
This was good news. Su Nuannuan was happy. Suddenly, someone in the courtyard called out softly, "Brother." Duan Tingxuan said, "It's Tingye. I don't know what you want to talk to me about. It's almost dawn. You should get some sleep first."
Su Nuannuan whispered, "By the way, I forgot to ask you, how come Tingye came so fast? Faster than you?"
Duan Tingxuan spread his hands and said, "How should I know? I think after my grandmother and the others returned home, he got the news and immediately rushed over with the guards."
"No, I mean, why is he so positive? He and his sister-in-law are not... that... to us..." Su Nuannuan raised her eyebrows and looked at Duan Tingxuan: "You know."
Duan Tingxuan really understood. He shook his head and smiled, "I'm wondering about this, too. Maybe he suddenly felt guilty? Or maybe he felt that you were still useful. After all, the restaurant and cake shop are doing very well. If you have some new dishes in the future, wouldn't it be a pity to let you die like this?"
"I tend to believe the latter explanation." Su Nuannuan nodded seriously, "According to your description of your second brother and his wife, their conscience should have been fed to the dogs long ago. It is impossible for the dogs to leave any residue for them."
Duan Tingxuan took a deep breath: "It should... probably... maybe... it's not that dark, right?"
"If what you described is not true..." Su Nuannuan glanced at him.
"No, of course what I described is true, it couldn't be more true. So they are black, pure black, that's right." Duan Tingxuan immediately looked righteous. At a time like this, of course his integrity was the most important, so even if the second brother and his wife had some white points, they had to be described as black.
Wuliang walked out after he finished speaking. He saw Duan Tingye standing in the courtyard in the moonlight, wearing a cloak. When he saw him coming out, he forced a smile: "Um... I didn't disturb you, did I? How is your sister-in-law? Apart from the external injuries, is there anything else?"
"It's okay, thank you for your concern. Why don't you go to sleep for a while in the middle of the night and come to see me?" It is not known whether Duan Tingye's conscience has been eaten by the dog, but it is obvious that the dog still has some conscience left in Duan Tingxuan, so much so that when facing his treacherous and insidious second brother, the young marquis actually felt a little guilty for the bad things he had said about him just now.
"Oh, nothing. I just came to see my brother and sister-in-law. My sister-in-law had a big fright today." Duan Tingye said hesitantly, his eyes drifting left and right.
"If you have something to say, just say it. You are hiding it as if you can hide it from me." Duan Tingxuan snorted coldly, no longer bothering to hide his contempt for his brother's intelligence.
"Ever since my sister-in-law came back from Meiyue Tower, you have become more and more annoying, brother. Have any ministers in the court said that they wish they could beat you up?" Duan Tingye's face was dark. He originally thought that the hypocritical elder brother was annoying enough, but now he realized that there is no most annoying, only more annoying. This "honest" elder brother makes people want to beat him up, but it's a pity that they can't beat him at all.
"I don't know if any minister wants to beat me. I only know that if I want to beat you, one finger is enough." Duan Tingxuan's face also darkened. Since when did his hypocritical second brother dare to speak his true feelings in front of him? The key point is that these true feelings are not pleasant to hear at all. Is this guy itching for a beating?
"I actually have nothing else to do. I just came here to ask about my sister-in-law's condition. If she is injured, I can go down the mountain tomorrow to find a doctor." Duan Tingye's face calmed down and he began to diligently play the role of a good brother who cares about his brother and sister-in-law.
"No need. Your sister-in-law is fine. If there is anything wrong, I have many acquaintances in the Imperial Hospital." Duan Tingxuan sneered at his brother's "concern": "Is that all you want? Now that you've asked, you can go back."
"Well... today my mother and Yu Rou were confused for a moment and followed the old lady to escape back to the mansion, leaving my sister-in-law alone in the temple. When they thought about it later, they felt very uneasy..." Duan Tingye lowered his head and finally spoke out his real thoughts. It turned out that what he was really worried about was his mother and wife.
Duan Tingxuan rolled his eyes to the sky and sneered, "I said you weren't so kind. It turns out you're afraid that Madam Min and my sister-in-law will be punished by the old lady and the master in the future. Haha, there's nothing I can do about it. You know, they did it, and no one forced them to be unkind."
"The situation was urgent, so they..." Duan Tingye stammered and still wanted to explain, but he didn't know how to start: Even if you say a lot of beautiful things, it can't cover up the cowardly and greedy nature of your mother and wife. Although it was Su Nuannuan who took the initiative to stay, when this matter spread, people would not say so. They would only praise the wife of the prince of Anping Marquis's Mansion for her noble character and sacrifice her life for righteousness, while the marquis's concubine and illegitimate son's wife were greedy for life, cowardly and ruthless, because no matter how you look at it, Su Nuannuan, the prince's wife, should not be the one to stay.
Duan Tingxuan was not someone who could be easily fooled, so Master Duan didn't know how to start talking for a moment. Moreover, he knew that his eldest brother always hated their mother, so how could he miss such a good opportunity to take advantage of their misfortune? After what happened today, he was afraid that his father would be dissatisfied with his mother and distance himself from her from then on.
As he was thinking about it, he couldn't say the words out loud. Duan Tingxuan naturally wouldn't say anything. He was not a saint who could forgive Liu Min for everything she had done just because of a few unspeakable words from his sinister brother.
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