Chapter 15 Poor Wen Xueling
Wen Xueling didn’t know why the Empress Dowager helped her so much, but since the east wind had arrived, borrowing it gave her a greater chance of success than not.
Her unassuming yet confident eyes reminded the Empress Dowager of an old friend.
“Good, then it shall be an eight-bearer sedan chair, entering the Prime Minister’s Estate through the main gate splendidly, with the rites of a principal wife.”
With one sentence, the regulations for Mu Qingyu’s entry into the mansion were set.
Wen Jingshu’s lowered face furrowed his brows, and when the Empress Dowager asked if he had any objections, he respectfully replied, “Your subject……has no objection.”
“Father!” Wen Jin’an’s eyes were red, her voice filled with grievance and unwillingness.
He looked at her with reassurance, then lifted his gaze to meet the eyes of his other daughter. The luxurious clothes and fox fur added a radiant glow to her, making her stand beside the Empress Dowager like a princess who had wandered into the common folk.
“Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this matter is all your subject’s fault, but Siyu and An’an are innocent. The Xie family now has only the two of them left. As a husband and father, your subject cannot let them suffer such grievances.”
Wen Xueling’s expression remained unchanged, but her fingertips beneath the fox fur dug fiercely into her palm.
Wasn’t her mother the most innocent?
Her gaze pierced through the expressions of the crowd below. Hearing their admiration and regret for the Xie family army, her heart suddenly sank. Her peripheral vision caught the Emperor’s hesitation, as if he was about to speak on Wen Jingshu’s behalf.
No! Bang!
Wen Xueling knelt heavily before the Empress Dowager, making everyone frown.
Wen Jingshu’s eyes darkened. The words “Your subject is willing to atone with death” had not yet left his lips when he heard her confessing her mistakes while kowtowing.
“Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, it is Ling’er who made a mistake.”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes held admiration, and she smoothly said, “What mistake have you made?”
“Two years ago, Father returned to Huaxi County to bring his wife and children. However, Grandmother refused to come to the capital, citing her advanced age and unsuitability for the capital’s climate.
Mother was worried about Grandmother, which is why she stayed to take care of her. Ling’er should have stopped them at that time.”
Wen Xueling feigned ignorance, pretending not to know that Grandmother was enjoying a good life in the Prime Minister’s Estate, crying and laughing at the same time.
“Although Mother and Ling’er lived a poor life in Huaxi County, it was also warm, but......”
She deliberately choked up and paused, “Not long after Father took the brothers away, Grandmother suddenly disappeared. Ling’er and Mother searched for months in the snow, even with high fever, but we still couldn’t find any trace of Grandmother.”
Wen Xueling did not mention any of Wen Jingshu’s faults. Every word only revealed self-blame.
She took full responsibility for Grandmother’s disappearance and Mother’s poor health, then turned and kowtowed to her scumbag father in apology.
“Father, as long as you are willing to take care of Mother, Ling’er is willing to atone with death!”
Her crying reverberated through the Imperial Garden.
Wen Jinli frowned, “What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't Grandmother living comfortably in the Prime Minister’s Estate?”
Everyone’s faces showed varied expressions, exchanging glances.
But Wen Xueling seemed not to hear him. She looked up towards her scumbag father’s direction, curving a faint, weak smile. Her frail appearance made her even more pitiful.
Wen Xueling raised her voice: “Father, Mother is innocent. All the thousands of mistakes are Ling’er’s mistakes—”
In ancient times, loyal officials would strike a pillar to prove their loyalty.
“Ling’er knows Father has difficulties. Ling’er is willing to atone with death, only begging Father not to betray Mother’s decade-plus of dedication to the Wen family’s old and young.”
Wen Xueling did not give her scumbag father a chance to speak. After saying that, she ran towards the pillar not far from the imperial throne.
The Emperor sharply reprimanded: “Quick! Stop her!”
Knowing what angle makes injuries look most severe without actually causing much pain was a required skill Wen Xueling learned in the Slave City in her previous life.
When she was stopped by the guards, blood flowed continuously from her forehead. She looked at her scumbag father with tears in her eyes, then closed them and fainted.
Before coming, Wen Xueling had already communicated with Liang Jue.
Liang Jue coughed, and those who received the signal immediately took action.
“The Xie family mother and daughter are innocent, but what wrong did this original wife and daughter commit? This child is determined to die.”
“Who doesn't know about the harsh and cold northern border? Anyone who has seen Prime Minister Wen's mother and four sons cannot but say their complexion is excellent. Now look at this girl......Alas!”
Speaking requires leaving room for imagination to allow people to infer more.
The imperial physician arrived hurriedly with his medicine box. After diagnosis, he said, “This young lady has been malnourished for years, and her body is riddled with cold qi. She needs proper recuperation.”
Wen Jingshu’s reputation in court over the years was completely lost today!
The Emperor found it inappropriate to interfere too much in a subject’s family matters. He turned to his birth mother, entrusting the matter to her to handle.
The Empress Dowager looked at Wen Xueling, who was intelligent and decisive, leaving no room for her own father, and a spark of admiration flashed in her heart.
She declared with imperial authority that Wen Xueling and her mother were innocent!
She not only bestowed upon them a hundred taels of gold but also issued an imperial decree ordering the scumbag father to splendidly welcome Mu Qingyu into the Prime Minister’s Estate with the rites of an original wife.
The time was set for the next day.
However, she did not revoke Xie Siyu’s title as Prime Minister’s wife, thus preserving the Xie family’s face outwardly.
From then on, the Prime Minister’s Estate had two Prime Minister’s wives.
Since it was an imperial decree personally issued by the Empress Dowager, Wen Jingshu naturally dared not raise any objections.
Wen Xueling awoke from her unconsciousness, understanding that this was already the best possible outcome for now, and quickly cried tears of gratitude.
The Winter Banquet thus ended hastily.
Wen Jingshu was detained by the Emperor for discussions, while Wen Jinli supported the overly sorrowful Wen Jin’an and walked towards the palace gate.
While striking the pillar had its techniques, Wen Xueling truly put her might into it to make it more realistic.
Supported by a palace maid from the Empress Dowager’s palace, she also arrived at the palace gate.
Wen Jinli came to pick her up only after helping his stepsister into the carriage.
After the Empress Dowager’s maid left, he looked at the white cloth wrapped around Wen Xueling’s forehead. For a moment, his heart ached. After all, she was his own biological sister.
He stood before her and sighed, “Ling'er, why go through all this trouble?”
Wen Jinli then went on to tell her how gentle and kind Xie Siyu was, how good she was to their four brothers, and even said that Wen Xueling would definitely like her once she met her.
She avoided his outstretched hand, her eyes indifferently sweeping past him, “I only have one mother.”
“You!” Wen Jinli saw that she was neither susceptible to soft words nor threats, and that moment of heartache vanished without a trace.
His tone could not hide his disappointment, and he blamed her, “Do you know how much today’s events will affect Father? As the Prime Minister bearing heavy responsibilities, his future actions will likely be even more difficult. This is all a disaster caused by you!”
Wen Xueling’s slightly lowered gaze lifted, and she stared at him, saying, “Hmm? What impact will Mother and I entering the mansion have on my brother? Is it hindering your efforts to curry favor with those two?”
Wen Jin’an in the carriage was clutching her handkerchief, feeling very relieved to see them arguing. She secretly thought: Just let them in. Since they want to enter the Prime Minister’s Estate so badly, then they shouldn’t expect to leave alive.
Anyway, I’m fine this time. I’ll just play with this pair of bitch mother and daughter later!
“Fourth Young Master, something’s wrong! Miss has fainted.”
Wen Jinli hurriedly returned to the carriage.
A moment later, Wen Xueling heard his anxious voice, sharply telling the coachman, “Quick! Return to the Prime Minister’s Estate at once!”
The night wind at the palace gate already showed signs of an approaching blizzard.
She looked at the retreating carriage, her expression calm as she faced the outcome of being abandoned by her own brother.
Wen Xueling was about to leave in another direction when a carriage suddenly stopped in front of her. The curtain was lifted, “Come on in.”
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