Chapter 22 She Finally Appears
Wen Xueling saw his hesitation to draw the bow, but she didn’t expose him.
The power of the previous two incendiary devices was already sufficient for her to openly negotiate terms with Liang Jue.
An arrow sliced through the night sky, striking the large tree directly. Astonishment flickered in Liang Jue’s eyes, as if he were re-evaluating everything before him.
He examined the arrowhead closely; it was a mere finger-sized object, yet its ability to shatter a tree in an instant was truly astonishing.
Wen Xueling sighed faintly, her newly developed incendiary device indeed more powerful than before, though it still hadn’t met her expectations.
Hearing her words, Liang Jue’s mouth twitched slightly, and he no longer dared to underestimate her.
The trip to the city outskirts had taken too long; if she didn’t return soon, there would be no time for sleep. Wen Xueling patted Liang Jue’s arm, saying wearily, “Old Liang, I’m tired. I’m heading back to the manor now. I’ll leave this for you to handle.”
He used to be “General Liang” when they first met, but now it was simply “Old Liang.”
Liang Jue sighed, “Her temperament is indeed quite similar to that person’s.”
Inside the carriage on the way back to the city, Wen Xueling dozed lightly.
The gaze she had sensed earlier brought back memories of the seven years of humiliation she endured in her previous life.
In Slave City, there was a terrifying blindfolding torture where archers would hide in various corners. If she couldn’t detect them in time, her fate would be to be struck by an arrow and die.
It took her a full three years, from barely surviving multiple arrow wounds, to becoming alert enough to evade every single arrow.
Wen Xueling’s body trembled slightly, cold sweat beading on her forehead. Her muttering in her sleep sparked a hint of doubt in the eyes of the man driving the carriage beyond the curtain.
The carriage stopped at the Prime Minister’s Estate’s back gate.
Wen Xueling picked up the wooden box beside her, drew aside the curtain, and was about to alight when she suddenly looked up, scrutinizing the coachman before her.
Although his face was the same, she felt he was somehow different from the coachman who had driven her there.
She slowly extended her hand, “You help me down.”
The man stood beside the carriage with his head lowered, his dark, phoenix-like eyes showing a flash of calculating pros and cons.
As he slowly raised his hand, Wen Xueling smoothly placed her hand on his wrist, her two fingers briefly touching his pulse before quickly withdrawing.
The moment her fingertips touched his skin, she clearly sensed the man before her instantly stiffen.
She quickly retracted her hand, as if it were an accidental touch, but her heart continued to sink.
As she had expected, this coachman was no ordinary man.
Wen Xueling didn’t linger outside for long. The guards at the back gate had already been replaced by Liang Jue’s own people. She swiftly walked towards Folding Willow Courtyard after entering.
After her figure disappeared, the man slowly raised his head.
His cold eyes flashed with deep thought, shedding his previous wooden and reserved demeanor, now exuding a brilliance like stars illuminating the moon.
The carriage Wen Xueling had ridden in was quickly driven away. Then, a black carriage stopped in front of the man.
“Master,” a voice called.
“To the General-of-Pacifying-the-Nation’s Estate,” the man commanded.
“Yes!” came the swift reply.
Wen Xueling carefully pushed open the door of Folding Willow Courtyard. In an instant, her eyes were dazzled as a multitude of torches lit up the courtyard.
She squinted, looking into the courtyard, and met her scumbag father”s cold and ruthless gaze.
“Mmm mmm!” Tangchun and Tangxia were bound and unable to speak.
She could hear her mother forcefully banging on the door and Nanny Su’s voice trying to calm her.
Seeing that her mother was unharmed, Wen Xueling’s last trace of tension vanished.
She glanced at the open door of the adjacent room. Wen Jin’an, draped in a fox fur coat gifted by the Empress Dowager and holding a warming stove, sat on a chair, watching her triumphantly.
But in a flash, she feigned concern, “Sister, where did you go so late?”
“An’an came to bring you a newly made warming stove, but found Sister wasn’t in her room. This little sister was worried sick.”
Wen Jingshu glared at her, scolding, “Disobedient daughter! You have no resemblance to a proper young lady!”
Having not expected her scumbag father, who was supposed to be away on official business, to suddenly return, Wen Xueling lowered her head and remained silent.
Seeing this, Wen Jin’an felt even more triumphant.
She feigned surprise, “Sister, you must have gone on a secret rendezvous?”
“Oh, Sister, why are you so confused! If two hearts are in love, you could simply ask Father to arrange a matchmaker. Why bother not returning home at night?”
After speaking, Wen Jin’an didn’t forget to display her sisterly affection in front of her scumbag father.
“Father,” she pleaded, “Sister grew up in the countryside and has never seen the capital’s splendor. She’s easily deceived by the sweet words of scoundrels. Father, please forgive Sister this time. Don’t use family punishment.”
Hearing her words, Wen Jingshu became even more displeased.
His brows were tightly furrowed, openly displaying his disdain for Wen Xueling.
“Still not speaking! Who exactly did you go to meet?”
Wen Xueling’s eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling, “Father, I didn’t go to see outsiders, I just……”
Having finally caught her weakness, Wen Jin’an naturally wouldn't let go easily.
She immediately interrupted Wen Xueling’s unfinished words, feigning righteousness, “Sister, stop trying to explain. Hurry up and admit your mistake to Father.”
She then added, “A secret rendezvous is something condemned by thousands and scorned by all; it brings too much shame to the Prime Minister’s Estate.”
Her two seemingly casual sentences made it sound as if she had personally witnessed Wen Xueling’s secret meeting with another man, pushing her scumbag father’s anger to its peak.
The moment the long whip lashed towards Wen Xueling, her body seemed to freeze.
In a trance, the whip before her overlapped with the one from Slave City in her previous life.
Back then, it was also a whip this long, lashing fiercely across her face, whip after whip, leaving intertwining scars.
“Wen Jingshu! You must not harm my daughter!”
Mu Qingyu furiously shouted her scumbag father’s name, banging on the door with a chair.
Her voice was like a long sword cleaving through the darkness. Wen Xueling’s rationality returned, and she feigned a fall to dodge the whip.
At the same time, she also loosened her grip on the wooden box.
A familiar silver hairpin fell out.
Wen Jingshu’s eyes flickered slightly, and his grip on the whip loosened.
Seeing her scumbag father’s obscure expression, the half of Wen Xueling’s eye hidden in the darkness glinted sharply.
It's working!
“Father, you are heartless!” she cried loudly, sitting on the ground.
“After Father left, Grandmother forced Mother to go into the mountains to gather herbs for money, and brewed nourishing soup for her every day. Mother cared for Grandmother for over a decade without complaint or regret, but before entering the capital, she even stole the silver hairpin Father gave Mother!”
Wen Xueling practically screamed.
She spoke with increasing grievance, crying so hard that even Tangchun and Tangxia thought she was telling the truth.
“Mother didn’t bother about Grandmother stealing the hairpin. She just secretly shed tears at night. I, I just couldn’t bear to see Mother crying all the time, so I drew a picture, wanting an outside silversmith to make a similar one.”
Wen Jingshu was shaken by her words. His gaze was complex, and his voice low and hoarse, “Then why did you have to go out at night?”
“Because, tomorrow is Mother’s birthday……” she choked.
“I drew many pictures, but the finished product was never quite like the hairpin Father gave Mother. This one today is the most similar, though it still has a slight flaw. So, I thought I’d find a silversmith tonight to modify it again, tomorrow I could give Mother a surprise.”
Wen Jingshu picked up the silver hairpin from the ground and rubbed it carefully.
The hairpin he gave Mu Qingyu was also a birthday gift, crafted personally by him using the payment he received for writing family letters for others.
Wen Jingshu extended his hand to her, “Get up.”
Her expression paused, a hint of disgust flashing imperceptibly in her tear-reddened eyes, then quickly vanishing.
“Father, Ling’er knows her mistake.”
Her scumbag father sighed deeply, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Wen Xueling placed her hand in his palm, her long eyelashes trembling, looking both aggrieved and innocent.
Just as she was about to use his help to stand up from the ground, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.
“Husband……”
Hearing the voice of his beloved, Wen Jingshu’s grip on her suddenly slackened. He let go without hesitation, fearing he might upset her if he delayed even a moment.
Wen Xueling fell to the ground again, completely unprepared, a piercing pain shooting through her lower back.
It was Xie Siyu! She slowly turned her head, meeting the woman’s feigned gentle gaze, her fingertips digging deeply into her palm, relying on the pain to maintain her rationality.
After hiding in the Prime Minister’s Estate’s back garden for so long, she had finally chosen to appear!
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