Chapter 41 Xie Guanlan, Don’t Leave Me
Xie Guanlan looked down at Wen Xingluo.
The girl's face was covered in dirt, like an abandoned kitten.
Her eyes were very red, and physiological tears rolled down one by one. She seemed to be almost unable to see clearly due to the smoke.
After staring at each other for a long time, he signaled Fushan to take Xie Yanchen away first.
Du Taishou's son and trusted officials were locked in the side rooms and left to die, and their cries for help echoed throughout the sea of fire.
Xie Guanlan took one last look at Wen Xingluo, his voice soft and gentle, "There are so many places to enjoy in Fangyuan tonight, but Miss Wen chose to seek death. When you reach the underworld, Miss Wen, you must make it clear to the Judge of Hell that it was Du Guanghong who murdered you tonight, and I had nothing to do with it."
His brows turned cold and he turned to leave.
Just as he took a step forward, someone grabbed his ankle.
He looked back.
Wen Xingluo lay on the ground, holding his ankles tightly with both hands.
It's like holding on to the last straw.
Her eyes were probably no longer clear, her tear-stained face looked very pitiful, her voice hoarse but stubborn: "I saved Xie Yanchen... I didn't abandon your brother, and you can't abandon me..."
Xie Guanlan raised his eyebrows.
The girl's fingertips were tightly clasped on his black boots, their thin, white and fragile fingers turning a thin layer of red from the excessive force.
The fire spread.
She choked and coughed repeatedly, her thin shoulders shaking violently like the wings of a butterfly struggling in a spider web.
Her voice became increasingly hoarse and difficult, filled with pleading: "Don't leave me... I'm scared... Please don't leave me..."
Xie Guanlan looked at her.
Ever since arriving at the Zhenbei Palace, Wen Xingluo had always appeared calm and composed. Occasionally, when he was pushed into a corner, he would bare his teeth and show him his hidden thorns, but he would only prick him slightly before quickly hiding them again.
A fifteen-year-old girl is like a handful of salty and bitter salt, or like a little hedgehog that often curls up into a ball.
Tonight, it was the first time she begged him.
It was as if a little hedgehog revealed its soft belly.
Whether it was out of consideration for her favor to Xie Yanchen, or because he was moved by her desire to survive, or for other reasons, Xie Guanlan was silent for a while, then leaned over and hugged her.
In the sea of fire, even the wind is scorching hot.
The layers of emerald green skirt brushed against the back of Xie Guanlan's hand, and a sweet fragrance penetrated into his nostrils.
That was the unique fragrance of Wen Xingluo.
She curled up in his arms, so light that Xie Guanlan's mind drifted away for a moment.
He thought, she is so fragile, like a feather that cannot be held.
He was not interested in women, had no maidservants, and did not like reading novels and gossip. The only way he knew about women was to occasionally hear some servants in the government office talking about them in whispers.
They say women are made of water.
I used to sneer at her, but tonight, when I held Wen Xingluo in my arms, I actually felt that she was as soft and gentle as spring water.
What does she usually eat?
Could it be that he eats flowers and drinks dew, so he is not like him and his brothers, whose bones, skin and flesh are hard?
Xie Guanlan held Wen Xingluo in his arms and climbed out of the wooden window, landing steadily on the ground with his lightness skills.
When Fushan and other trusted guards came forward, Xie Guanlan noticed that the little girl in his arms had fainted.
He originally wanted to hand her over to Fushan, but the little girl was probably afraid that he would abandon her halfway, so her white and slender hands tightly hugged his arms, her little face pressed against his chest dependently, and her tears unconsciously wet his clothes.
Xie Guanlan looked down at her for a long time before saying calmly, "Let's go back home."
He held her in his arms and got into the carriage in the surprised eyes of Fushan and others.
…
When Wen Xingluo woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
Xie Shian sat on the rose chair, eating melon seeds, with his crutches leaning casually against the bed.
Seeing her open her eyes, he happily threw away the melon seeds: "Are you awake? Are you thirsty or hungry?"
Wen Xingluo stared at the light red gauze tent, and his vision slowly focused.
Finally coming to her senses, she supported herself and sat up: "How did I get back?"
She clearly remembered that Xie Guanlan ordered his followers to take Xie Yanchen away, but he left her alone in the sea of fire...
"It was Big Brother who brought you back! You don't even know how tightly you held onto him last night. When the court doctor pulled you out of his arms, you scratched Big Brother's arm so hard that the blood stained his sleeves red!"
Wen Xingluo was stunned.
Xie Guanlan actually saved her at the last moment...
She scratched Xie Guanlan's arm while unconscious, but he didn't kill her.
She said embarrassedly: "He didn't blame me, did he?"
"He was busy dealing with what happened last night, so how could he have time to blame you?" Xie Shi'an yelled, "I heard from Fushan that the fire last night was set by Du Guanghong to murder my eldest brother. Who knew that my eldest brother didn't die? Instead, Du Guanghong's son and minions drank the wine with cartilage powder and burned to death! When Du Guanghong heard the news, he couldn't catch his breath and fainted! He was the one who did it himself, and he couldn't get to the bottom of it. It made him so angry!"
Wen Xingluo pondered.
Du Guanghong caused Xie Shian to be injured.
Judging from Xie Guanlan's vengeful nature, I'm afraid that what happened last night was just his revenge. He used Du Taishou's knife to kill his minions and confidants, and made Du Taishou speechless and bitter.
It was just that she and Xie Yanchen were unlucky and accidentally got caught up in their plot.
"Oh, right," Xie Shian happily held up a fish lantern. "My second brother woke up at noon and said you bought this fish lantern for me. Xingluo, you're so kind to me. You almost burned to death but you still didn't forget my fish lantern."
As they were talking, Cuicui came in with her maidservants and set the table.
Wen Xingluo was starving.
She ate a bowl of fish fillet millet porridge, then remembered something and said, "My second brother is very afraid of fire."
Xie Shian ate Wen Xingluo's meal and mumbled as he ate, "His aunt was burned to death. He was only ten years old that year, so he has a psychological trauma from the fire scene."
Wen Xingluo was even more curious: "Is his strange personality also because of his aunt?"
"It can only be considered one of the reasons." Xie Shi'an lowered his voice. "Anyway, you are my sister now, so it doesn't matter if you tell me. Back then, the imperial court sent envoys to various fiefdoms, requiring each prince to send a young man to the capital, saying that they were guests, but in fact they were to serve as hostages. Originally, it was my eldest brother who was supposed to go to the capital as a hostage, but my second brother secretly went in his place."
Wen Xingluo was stunned.
She knew that Xie Guanlan had always been very good to his three younger brothers and never differentiated between legitimate and illegitimate children.
But I didn't expect that Xie Yanchen was so good to Xie Guanlan.
She asked, "What happened next?"
"My second brother was only seven years old when he went to the capital. My aunt, worried about him, went with him. He was handsome and made many friends in the capital. I heard that even the princes and princesses were his good friends. But later, for some reason, the princes became enemies and always bullied him. He stayed in the capital for seven years. During that time, my aunt was burned to death, and the attendants and maids who had served him since childhood also died. Only he returned to Chengdu alone in the winter when he was fourteen, through the heavy snow."
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