Chapter 177: Once a Slave, Always a Slave
When Wen Xingluo looked at Xie Yanchen, there was a hint of pity in his eyes.
Xie Yanchen was completely unaware. As he cleared the medicine bowls stacked on the table, he said wistfully, "I don't have any unusual fragrance coming off me. It seems the medicine wasn't successfully made this time..."
Wei Ying lifted her sleeves and asked, "Second Master Xie, can you remove the brand for me?"
Xie Yanchen looked over.
Wen Xingluo clearly noticed that his pupils shrank sharply in an instant.
Xie Yanchen curved his lips, a smile on his face that made it hard to tell if he was happy or angry. "Miss, did you escape from the capital? This brand was created with a special potion. Even I can't eradicate it. It's deep in your bones. Even if you peel off your skin and flesh, it will grow back, and it will grow old and die, until I'm buried in the grave with you."
Wei Ying had no expression on her face.
——Once a slave, always a slave.
The seductive and evil young man, wearing a leopard print cloak, sat high on the balcony, holding a golden cup and surrounded by beauties. He looked down at her with a cynical and condescending gaze, as if he were looking at an ant.
He said these eight words to her on the day he branded his name on her body.
Wei Ying covered the brand, remained silent for a long time, and slowly lowered her sleeves.
Xie Yanchen's gaze still lingered on her arm.
I don’t know what he was thinking, but a hint of thought appeared on his elegant and beautiful Guanyin face.
After a while, he suddenly asked, "Is he very mean to you?"
"How evil!" Wei Ying gritted her teeth. "When I return to the capital, I will cut off his head and two ounces of flesh and hang them on the city wall to dry in the sun!"
Wen Xingluo was curious, "What do you mean by two taels of meat?"
"that is--"
Wei Ying was about to explain, but Xie Yanchen covered her mouth.
Xie Yanchen smiled, "You're just a little girl, you shouldn't know so much!"
Wen Xingluo raised an eyebrow.
She wasn't stupid, and she could guess what it was just by looking at their expressions.
She said to Wei Ying in a positive tone: "Xie Zan slept with you."
Xie Yanchen was stunned for a moment and looked at Wei Ying.
Wei Ying's expression turned even uglier, "I slept with him!"
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Suddenly, she drew her sword and started slashing at the table.
After venting her anger like this, she sheathed her sword and strode away with a cold face.
Xie Yanchen watched her leave the warm room, his hands in his pockets as he smiled and said, "This girl has a really strong temper. Grandmother will definitely like her very much."
Wen Xingluo glanced at him and felt a little strange in his heart.
Her cousin and grandmother don’t even know each other, so why should she be liked by her grandmother?
A strange thought flashed through her mind, and without thinking too much about it, she followed Wei Ying back to Xiejinyuan.
Wei Ying went to practice martial arts. Wen Xingluo had just changed into a jacket and skirt when Cuicui came in with a pot of hot almond milk tea.
Cuicui asked, "Miss, do you still remember Yu Pingping?"
"What happened to her?"
"She disliked the Third Master Wen for being a groom, and broke off relations with him. The Third Master Wen disliked her for being a merchant's daughter, so he didn't try to keep her. I heard she sold the house she had recently purchased at a low price, and yesterday she left Rongcheng in disgrace, heading to Hanzhong to seek refuge with her maternal grandfather."
Wen Xingluo nodded, "She's not too stupid to cut her losses in time."
"Besides..." Cuicui hesitated, "The Wen brothers and sisters have been staying at the inn for so long and have become addicted to squandering money. Miss Xu's dowry is almost gone. They checked out of the inn yesterday, and now..."
Wen Xingluo saw her complicated expression and suddenly had a bad feeling, "Where are you going now?"
"Last night, when the prince was returning from drinking, they stopped him on the road and made him kowtow. I heard they were holding Magistrate Wen's tablet and crying heartbreakingly in the middle of the road, saying they had nowhere to go and were penniless, and begged the prince to let them stay in the palace."
Wen Xingluo: “…”
The girl took a deep breath, "What did father say?"
"Although the prince is kind-hearted, he really dislikes them because of what happened recently. In the end, he just relented and said that he would lend them the side courtyard in the northeast corner of the palace to live in. After Master Wen finishes the autumn examination next year, he will let them move out."
Wen Xingluo supported his forehead.
Daddy...
It really gave her a big surprise!
At dusk, Wen Xingluo went to the main courtyard to have dinner with Wei Si. When he came out, he happened to run into Xie Jing passing by the opposite corridor.
She pretended not to see it, lowered her head and walked quickly.
"Ningning!"
Xie Jing called her.
Wen Xingluo was angry, so she ignored him and continued walking fast.
"Ningning!"
Xie Jing raised his voice and called out anxiously again.
Wen Xingluo had no choice but to stop.
She lowered her eyes to stare at the pearl shoes, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Xie Jing carrying something and hurriedly chasing after her.
Xie Jing said, "Ningning, why are you ignoring Daddy?"
Wen Xingluo said softly, "No."
"You blame Daddy for bringing your brother and sister into the palace, don't you?" Xie Jing said helplessly, "I drank too much last night, and there were a lot of people pointing and talking on the street. Plus, your biological father passed away, and I'm their stepfather. They're sleeping on the streets with nowhere to go. I have to intervene even if I don't want to."
Wen Xingluo said calmly, "Daddy knows how to act properly, why bother explaining it to me?"
The palace lanterns in the corridor cast shadows.
The girl was wearing pearl shoes and a jacket and skirt embroidered with green and gold. Her hair was combed up, leaving only two small braids hanging down from her forehead. In the cold night, she looked as fresh and bright as a lotus reflected in the water, but the small braids made her look more charming for her age.
Xie Jing looked at the little girl, his heart softened, "It's just a temporary stay. In Daddy's heart, they can't surpass you."
Wen Xingluo raised her eyes and looked at him uncertainly.
Xie Jing rubbed her head lovingly and stuffed the things he was carrying into her arms, "Daddy made this especially for you. Not only do your brothers and sisters not have it, but the fourth brother and his family don't have it either. In the whole family, only you, a little girl, have it."
Wen Xingluo looked at the thing in his arms.
It was a piece of pure white, elegant, fluffy and soft fox fur, which had been cleaned and was perfect for making a winter scarf.
She hugged the fox fur tightly, still unsure, "Am I really the only one who has it?"
"Why would Dad lie to you?"
Wen Xingluo looked at him.
The middle-aged man, nearly forty years old, had a long beard and a broad build, looking rough and sharp. Upon closer inspection, he was also handsome and majestic.
The tenderness and love in his eyes did not seem fake.
Wen Xingluo likes him very much and doesn't want him to be snatched away by the Wen brothers and sisters.
She thought for a moment, then raised her little finger seriously, "Then I'll make a pact with Daddy: when Daddy treats the brothers and sisters of the Wen family, he won't go over me."
Xie Jing was amused by her and decisively hooked her little finger, "Daddy promises you everything!"
"Also," Wen Xingluo added, "They are not allowed to call you daddy."
The little girl shed the shyness and timidity she had when she first entered the palace and bravely put forward her request.
Xie Jing had no daughter and had never coaxed a little girl in his life.
He was thankful that he could coax Wen Xingluo into submission. He didn't care what the Wen brothers and sisters would think. He just said cheerfully, "All is up to you, all is up to you!"
At this time, in the northeast courtyard of Zhenbei Palace.
Wen Ruyun frowned and covered his mouth and nose with his folding fan. "They say the royal palace is rich, but why did they arrange this kind of house for us? It's not cleaned, but it looks very old. It doesn't feel magnificent at all."
Wen Rufeng placed Wen Qingsong's tablet on the table, picked a clean chair and sat down. He looked around and said, "It's not bad. Although it's not as good as the Xu family, it's much better than the backyard of the county government office."
Wen Rulei's face was gloomy, and he ordered, "Yue Yin, go clean the house."
Wen Yueyin was stunned for a moment, then covered her chest, "Third brother, I'm frail and sickly, how can I clean the house? Why don't you let my sister-in-law do it?"
The four brothers and sisters all looked at Xu Miaomiao.
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