Chapter 4 Seeing Fourth Brother and Scumbag Father Again
Yao’s shop had always only sold freshly baked, hot pastries. This peach blossom crisp, in particular, was her stepmother’s favorite.
Wen Xueling lowered her eyes, neither taking the pastry nor exposing his lie. Mu Qingyu’s eyes flashed with relief, praising him, “Li’er has grown up. Two years ago, he was still a sleepyhead, but now he can get up early to buy pastries.”
Not daring to look into his mother’s eyes, Wen Jinli felt a slight pang of guilt.
“Brother, when will you take Mother and me back to the residence?” Wen Xueling saw through his hypocrisy, staring at his dodging eyes, waiting for his answer.
To her surprise, he chuckled and said, “Mother, I’ve already prepared a quiet courtyard for you nearby.”
She frowned. “Brother, what do you mean by this?”
“Ling’er, Father is an upright official who offers blunt advice, and he’s made countless enemies. There are so many eyes, both overt and hidden, watching. You and Mother are defenseless; what would you do if someone targeted you? Besides, Eldest Brother is away fighting with no set return date, and Second and Third Brothers are also absent. I also need to enter the palace to serve as an imperial companion. It’s truly unsafe for you in the residence.”
He thought they still didn't know about her scumbag father’s remarriage and was trying every possible way to hide it for him. Wen Xueling’s gaze turned cold, but then Wen Jinli pulled her out of the room.
“Ling’er, the place where you saw me a few nights ago was not Father’s residence. We were just attending a banquet there. You absolutely must not tell Mother about this.”
Such false and foolish words, yet he could say them. Had his brain been steeped in a pig cage for the past two years? She stared into his eyes and said softly, “Brother, the woman kept outside is an external mistress, but Mother is the officially married original wife, isn’t she?”
“You little fool, what nonsense are you spouting!” Wen Jinli glanced at the tightly closed room door, his face extremely grim. This fourth brother, as expected, still wanted to cover for their scumbag father.
Wen Xueling exposed him, “Could it be……that there’s another concubine in the residence?”
“Shut up! What concubine or not concubine, how can you, a girl, speak so crudely!”
Seeing him defend his stepmother so fiercely, Wen Xueling questioned, “Brother, since there are no concubines in the household, and Mother and I are not afraid of danger, why can’t we enter the residence?”
“It’s just not possible,” he mumbled, unable to give the real reason, his voice laced with an inexplicable shame and annoyance.
As the two argued, a voice came from behind them. Both siblings’ hearts abruptly tightened. Even though she had seen him in her past life, he still felt like a stranger at this moment. Wen Xueling couldn’t remember much when her scumbag father, Wen Jingshu, was summoned back to the capital by the new Emperor, and he never returned after that.
The entire inn fell silent. The inn was surrounded by the Prime Minister’s residence’s soldiers.
Wen Xueling glanced at his bandaged hand. He was also observing her, but there was no warmth in his eyes or brows, as if she were just an insignificant person.
Wen Jingshu said indifferently, “You are Ling’er?”
She didn’t want to call him ‘father’ or ‘paternal parent’. But she knew that if she wanted to continue with her plans, she would have to overcome this. She simply nodded in response.
Upon seeing her scumbag father appear, Wen Jinli, who had originally felt unsure, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. He respectfully called out, “Father, you’re here. This is little sister—Wen Xueling.” This girl’s body is stiff, and her courage is too small, a mere country bumpkin. She can’t be compared to An’an.
Disappointment flashed in Wen Jingshu’s eyes as he said to his son, “Li’er, take Ling’er out for a stroll.”
Wen Xueling’s voice was firm and resolute: “I’m not going.” She would not let her mother face this unfeeling and unrighteous man alone.
Refuting him upon their first meeting, speaking without regard for propriety or respect for elders and superiors, Wen Jingshu’s impression of this daughter worsened.
Wen Jinli’s face showed displeasure. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the stairs. “Now is not the time for you to be willful. Father has something to discuss with Mother. You’ll only be an eyesore here.”
This morning, to come see them, he hadn’t even had time to eat breakfast with Mother and An’an. His stomach was empty now, and she was still throwing a tantrum in front of Father. She truly was ill-behaved and disrespectful. A girl raised in the countryside really couldn’t compare to the gentle and lovely An’an. He still preferred that sister more now.
A flicker of sarcasm crossed Wen Xueling’s eyes. The father and son were indeed of the same ilk; they didn’t take them seriously at all. She was here to scheme against them, not to be schemed against.
Wen Xueling shook off her foolish brother’s hand and met her scumbag father’s displeased gaze directly, appearing composed and fearless.
“I haven’t seen you since I can remember.”
“......But I’ve read all the books you left at home, and I’ve copied all your calligraphy practice sheets.”
Wen Jingshu’s expression paused. The books he left in Huaxi County numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands. She claimed to have read them all. Was this child perhaps exaggerating to get his attention?
“Mother said you were delighted by my birth and often held me while reading. But I’ve memorized all those books by heart, and even my school teachers praise my intelligence. Why have you never returned to see me?” She feigned disappointment, lowering her head, her eyes frosted over, acting out the melancholy and sadness of a daughter who felt unloved by her father.
“Seeing me today, you also show no sign of joy.” When she looked up again, tears gathered in her eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall. “Father, you no longer favor me, your daughter, do you?”
She fully embodied the demeanor of a daughter longing for her father.
Hearing the accusation in her words, a flicker of hesitation crossed Wen Jingshu’s distant, indifferent face. His tone softened slightly, “Ling’er, Father is not displeased with you.”
“Father just hasn’t seen you for over ten years, so it’s taking some getting used to.”
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