Chapter 237 Wen Ningning, I regret letting you go
That night.
Candles were lit in Wei Si's Pearl Garden.
Wen Xingluo looked down at the brand new pearl shoes on her feet and took two cautious steps.
She was so happy that she turned around and smiled at Wei Si, "Mom, these shoes are so beautiful!"
"As long as you like it." Wei Si smiled softly, "It's the court style of the Wei Dynasty. I don't know if it's still popular now. I'm not good at sewing, so I can only make a rough version."
Wen Xingluo knelt down at her feet, picked up her hand and looked at it carefully.
Seeing that there were no needlework wounds on her hands, the girl felt relieved.
She put her little face on her knees lovingly and said, "I like everything that is made by my mother."
Recalling something, she raised her head again and asked hopefully, "Mom, are Wen Yueyin and the others here?"
Wei Si was amused by her fighting and grabbing attitude. She stroked the girl's cheek and comforted her, "They don't have it. Only Ningning has it."
Footsteps were heard outside the bead curtain.
The palace maid rolled up the curtain, and Xie Zhe came with his hands behind his back.
The middle-aged emperor's fiery shoulders stood tall and soaring like the sun, and his wide, dark dragon robe added a touch of desolation and oppression to this winter night, causing the people in the room to hold their breath and not dare to look directly at him.
Wen Xingluo stood up and bowed along with Wei Si.
Xie Zhe personally helped Wei Si up, "What are you doing?"
"I made a pair of embroidered shoes for Ningning." Wei Si said softly.
Xie Zhe glanced at the pearl shoes on Wen Xingluo's feet. "Si Si's craftsmanship has improved a lot. I remember when I was young, you gave me a purse that you embroidered yourself, but the bamboo leaf pattern on it was quite ugly."
"Your Majesty actually still remembers that purse." Wei Si arched her brows. "I've been staying at the Zhenbei Palace for the past two years, and with nothing to do, I've learned some needlework from the embroiderer, and my skills have improved a lot. It just so happens that I've just acquired two rolls of dark blue Shu brocade. Shall I make a pair of boots for Your Majesty?"
"good."
Wen Xingluo looked at them quietly.
The emperor took her mother away.
They sat under the lamp and talked, looking like a loving couple.
The thin golden candles cast their shadows on the wall. The pair of black shadows looked exactly like the wandering monk and fox in the Galan Temple.
The wandering monk will kill the fox.
A cold look gradually appeared in the girl's round almond-shaped eyes.
She stared at Xie Zhe intently and subconsciously took two steps towards him.
Just when Xie Zhe realized something and was about to look over, Pei Lin quietly appeared beside Wen Xingluo and motioned her to follow him out.
After leaving the house, Wen Xingluo's feeling of depression was slightly relieved.
Pei Lin carried a lantern and personally escorted her back to Xiejin Courtyard. "Everyone says Second Miss Wen is smart and clever, but I don't think you have any sense at all. In that situation just now, Second Miss Wen should have left immediately."
Wen Xingluo's face was expressionless. "She is my mother. There is no reason in the world that a daughter cannot be close to her mother."
"She was first the emperor's new favorite, and then your mother." Pei Lin reminded coldly, "Whatever the emperor wants in this world is his. A single word can make life or death. This is the imperial power."
As they were talking, a man came out from the corner of the corridor.
Xie Guanlan stood with his hands behind his back, "Ningning."
Wen Xingluo stepped forward quickly, "Why are you here?"
Pei Lin bowed and said, "Thank you, Commander."
Xie Guanlan didn't look at Pei Lin. He wrapped the rabbit fur cloak he brought around the girl's shoulders and said, "I'll pick you up."
He and Wen Xingluo left the courtyard where the emperor was staying before he asked, "Are you familiar with Pei Lin?"
Wen Xingluo told Xie Guanlan about Pei Lin's suggestion of the sterilization tea, and then asked, "Is he your man?"
"no."
Wen Xingluo was slightly surprised.
Immediately, another thought came to my mind.
Could it be that Pei Lin is my cousin's man?
He was born with a handsome appearance and extraordinary demeanor, but he was a eunuch...
Is he also a remnant of the Wei Kingdom?
Without waiting for her to think about it, Xie Guanlan grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms, "I don't like you being with other men."
In such a cold night, she was walking alone with a strange man.
He saw it and felt very uncomfortable.
Wen Xingluo was not used to being so close to him, so she broke free from his hand and said, "Pei Lin is just a eunuch."
"Eunuchs are not allowed either."
"Xie Guanlan, you're being unreasonable." Wen Xingluo was a little angry. With a cold face, he took a few quick steps forward, thought for a moment, and then stopped and whispered, "I'm leaving Rongcheng soon, and I don't want to argue with you at this time."
Xie Guanlan followed her.
Wen Xingluo inherited Wei Si's stature, and was considered tall and slender among women. However, Xie Guanlan was too tall, standing out like a crane among chickens compared to the men in the Central Plains, making the girl look particularly frail and petite.
He stood behind her, his shadow almost covering her.
He placed his big hand on her thin shoulders and pulled her into his arms.
Through the rabbit fur cloak, his muscular chest pressed against the girl's back.
He was very hot, with the unique heat of a young and masculine man, like the brightest fire in a winter night.
The heat penetrated the rabbit fur cloak and gradually burned Wen Xingluo's limbs and bones.
Xie Guanlan lowered his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "There are countless famous and prestigious families in the capital. Perhaps among those princes and nobles, there are men who are more handsome than me, more interesting than me, more talented in both civil and military affairs than me, and of higher social status than me. In the prosperous capital, Ningning will be deliberately seduced by them and will gradually forget me and forget that there is a Zhenbei Palace in Rongcheng, Shu County."
The sourness in his words almost overflowed.
Wen Xingluo said: "I am not a heartless person."
"Even if Ningning doesn't like anyone else, the power structure in the capital is complex and intricate. I really don't trust you to go to that kind of place alone. During the past few days since Xie Zhe came, I've asked myself every night that I can't afford to lose you. So, Wen Ningning, I regret letting you go."
The sky is overcast tonight, with no stars or moon visible. The darkness extends from every corner, like an invisible black noose, dragging people into a dangerous abyss.
The palace lanterns in the corridor are dim.
The young man's fingertips, covered with thin calluses, slowly outlined the shape of the girl's plump lips.
In the howling north wind, Wen Xingluo could clearly hear Xie Guanlan's deep breathing.
Her body stiffened, and she keenly sensed something was wrong. "Xie Guanlan, you—"
Before she could finish her words, Xie Guanlan's knife landed on the side of her neck.
Her consciousness became blurred and her whole body collapsed.
Xie Guanlan picked her up and carried her sideways.
The large black mink cloak almost completely covered the girl in his arms.
He walked through the winding corridors, his gorgeous and deep eyes tinged with coldness.
He wants to hide Wen Xingluo.
As for what she wanted to do, whether it was to kill Xie Zhe or to overthrow the Zhou imperial power, he would do it for her.
…
Xie Zhe did not stay in the southwest for too long.
On the third day after meeting Wei Si, he set off back to the capital with everyone.
Wei Si learned from Xie Guanlan that Wen Xingluo was sick and couldn't be exposed to the wind. She had to wait until she recovered before going to the capital. Although she felt sorry, she didn't say anything. She just asked Xie Guanlan to help take good care of her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
