The coachman saw the girl he was supposed to escort walking away on her own. He then asked, "Young master, shall we go home?"
Yu Zixi thought of his badly beaten face and sighed, "Take me to the Night Fragrance Pavilion."
The coachman grumbled to himself: It's not appropriate to go to a brothel looking so disheveled and scare the girls there, right? But he didn't dare to say a word and drove the carriage straight to the red - light district.
Early the next morning, Qi Jinxuan was extremely worried when she saw Wei Dongling's reopened wound. She quickly invited the doctor again to clean and re - bandage it. What surprised her even more was that Wei Dongling's hands had swollen so much overnight! She quickly ordered the maids and old women to come in and watch over Wei Dongling, fearing that she would secretly go to the martial arts school to practice boxing. She also asked Lvkou to stay with Wei Dongling to keep her company and relieve her boredom.
"Did the Crown Prince break his leg?" Wei Dongling asked in surprise, "When did that happen? Wasn't he fine when he last came to our mansion?"
"Indeed!" Lvkou replied, "On the day you had your accident, the Crown Prince escorted the Empress Dowager out of the palace. On his way back, he fell off his horse and was badly hurt."
"Is it serious?"
"Alas! He limped right away. We don't know if he'll ever recover properly." Lvkou whispered to Wei Dongling, gossiping, "I heard someone framed him."
"What?" Wei Dongling was shocked. How dare someone frame the current Crown Prince?
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Yu Zixi's pig - like swollen face last night. She felt a sudden uneasiness. Could the Crown Prince's limp be related to Yu Zixi?
Finally, after two days of Qi Jinxuan's meticulous care, Wei Dongling was finally allowed to get out of bed and walk.
Wei Dongling staggered to Qi Jinlan's remote small courtyard.
Qi Jinlan was sitting in the room, embroidering with her head down. When she saw Wei Dongling come in, she greeted her coolly, "It's really rare. Why does Steward Wei have time to come to my courtyard today?"
After all, Qi Jinlan was the biological daughter of Second Master Qi.
Wei Dongling silently sighed in her heart. She sat down on the stool beside Qi Jinlan and said, "I haven't seen my cousin for a long time, so I came to visit you."
"I heard you were injured. Are you feeling better?" Qi Jinlan's tone was distant, and she still held the needle and thread in her hand, embroidering.
"Thank you for your concern, cousin." Wei Dongling stared at Qi Jinlan's fair and delicate hands absent - mindedly and said calmly, "I remembered a lot of things during these two days when I was lying in bed."
Hearing this, Qi Jinlan was stunned for a moment, then continued embroidering as if nothing had happened, "Really?"
"Do you still remember when you were eleven years old and asked me to go with you to the back mountain to look for the eldest miss's kite?"
Qi Jinlan froze all over. She threw down the needle and thread in her hand and stared fiercely at Wei Dongling, "What on earth do you want to say?"
Seeing Qi Jinlan showing her true ferocious self, Wei Dongling couldn't help but find it a bit funny, "I've always known that it was you who pushed me from behind that year, causing me to fall off the cliff and be half - dead."
"I didn't!" Qi Jinlan flatly denied.
Wei Dongling's heart ached faintly.
That thirteen - year - old Wei Dongling back then was really killed by this vicious little girl!
But what could she do? The Qi family had been kind to her. She didn't want to make Second Master Qi embarrassed, nor did she want to make Qi Jinxuan sad.
Moreover, she had no evidence. She couldn't very well tell everyone about her time - travel, could she?
"I've never blamed you." Wei Dongling said to herself, "Over the years, I've been living under the Qi family's roof. I'm truly grateful to Second Master Qi. I've always been thankful to the entire Qi family."
"Hahaha..." Qi Jinlan put down the needle and thread in her hand. She laughed so hard that she bent forward and backward, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, "Wei Dongling, you really should be grateful!"
Wei Dongling lowered her eyes, "Although I don't know why you've never liked me, I've never thought about exposing you."
Qi Jinlan's laugh was full of desolation, "Why? You actually ask me why?"
"Ever since you entered the mansion when I was six years old, my father and sister Jinxuan only had eyes for you! Whether it was food, clothing, or the rewards from the palace, my father always gave them to you first! What was left over or unwanted by you was given to me and my mother!"
"Do you know, Wei Dongling? Sister Jinxuan is the legitimate eldest daughter of the Qi family. From childhood to adulthood, she never even gave me a second look! But as soon as you came, she gave you those precious clothes that I never even dared to dream of without blinking an eye! The bird's nests and deer antlers rewarded by the palace, my mother and I couldn't even get a taste of them once a year. But she! She sent them to you every now and then!"
Wei Dongling was shocked. She had no idea it was like this!
Qi Jinlan continued to laugh miserably, "I can accept Sister Jinxuan. But over the years, my father has always taken good care of you. He taught you to read and write with his own hands, taught you to practice boxing, taught you to keep accounts, and taught you to manage all the affairs of the Qi family. Do you know if he ever cared about me? I was well - behaved and sensible, but did he ever praise me once? Did he ever even glance at the characters I wrote! Do you know how the servants talked about me behind my back? They all said..."
"They said I was like an adopted child and that you were like my father's biological daughter!"
These words stabbed at Wei Dongling's heart like a knife. Seeing Qi Jinlan laughing almost maniacally, Wei Dongling grabbed her little hand guiltily and said lovingly, "Cousin, I had no idea about all these things! From now on, I'll be even nicer to you..."
But Qi Jinlan suddenly shook off Wei Dongling's hand and roared, "Who's your cousin?"
Wei Dongling's heart skipped a beat, "Qi Jinlan! You... What do you mean? Explain it clearly!"
Qi Jinlan gritted her teeth and roared, "Wei Dongling, do you really think you're my elder cousin?"
Wei Dongling froze on the spot. She heard Qi Jinlan say through tears, "One night, my father and mother thought I was asleep. I heard my father tell my mother to save money in advance for your dowry when you turned thirteen. He demanded that my mother prepare it according to the standard for the eldest miss, and it should be no less than mine!"
"My mother felt wronged for me. Then I heard my father say, 'The orphan of my benefactor shall be my daughter.'"
The orphan of my benefactor shall be my daughter!
Wei Dongling's heart was bleeding, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Qi Jinlan was almost crazy. She roared at Wei Dongling, "He may be a man of great righteousness, but what about me and my mother?"
"Wei Dongling! Tell me why you woke up? Why did you take away my father's love?"
Why? She couldn't answer.
Wei Dongling silently shed tears. She took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom and gently placed them beside Qi Jinlan. She choked with sobs, "I know I can't make up for the pain in your heart. Here are five hundred taels. Consider it a little token of my appreciation." Saying this, she got up and left.
Qi Jinlan picked up the silver notes and threw them at her, roaring, "Get out! Who wants your dirty money!"
Wei Dongling left without looking back.
In the study, Second Master Qi was frowning and poring over the accounts. When he looked up, he saw Wei Dongling standing outside the door with tears all over her face.
"Dongling?" Second Master Qi was startled. He quickly threw down the ledger and walked out quickly, asking, "What's wrong with you? Does your wound still hurt?"
Wei Dongling looked at Second Master Qi with tear - filled eyes and choked with sobs, unable to say a word.