When Ji Lingchuan pulled a long face, he looked intimidating.
Song Yixuan nervously clutched the corner of his clothes and replied, "I didn't mean to peek. I was just curious because I heard cheers here. Brother-in-law, don't be angry with Xuan'er, okay?"
Since he appeared, Song Nanzhe had been sizing him up with extremely contemptuous and disdainful looks. Hearing him call Ji Lingchuan "brother-in-law", he immediately flew into a rage. He took a big stride forward and pushed Song Yixuan hard.
"You good-for-nothing have no right to call him brother-in-law. He's my brother-in-law, not yours!"
Song Yixuan never expected Song Nanzhe to suddenly attack. He couldn't dodge in time and was pushed to the ground heavily by Song Nanzhe.
The sudden pain and fright made his small face as pale as a sheet. He covered his aching chest and gasped for breath.
Seeing that something was wrong, Ji Lingchuan stepped forward and blocked in front of Song Yixuan. He pressed on Song Nanzhe's shoulder and shouted, "Stop!"
His hand exerted force, holding Song Nanzhe in place, but Song Nanzhe still refused to let it go. Pointing at Song Yixuan who was gasping for breath with his mouth wide open, he roared:
"You're just pretending to be pitiful again! Your sister is a shameless seductress, and you're just a shameless little fox! Bah!"
Such hurtful words came out of the mouth of a little kid. Ji Lingchuan frowned tightly and scolded, "That's enough. Shut up!"
When he had a gloomy face, he looked just like the King of Hell. Song Nanzhe was so scared by his expression that he shut his mouth.
Ji Lingchuan looked at him coldly and said, "Fuzhou, send the young master of the Marquis of Ding'an and the others back to the Pine and Crane Hall. Repeat exactly what happened here and what the young master of the Marquis of Ding'an just said to the princess."
Hearing that what had just happened was going to be told to the Princess of Ning, Song Nanzhe only then realized that he might have caused a big problem.
He subconsciously wanted to defend himself, but when he met Ji Lingchuan's expression, he swallowed his words. Finally, he reluctantly followed Fuzhou away. Before leaving, he gave Song Yixuan a fierce glare, thinking that it was all Song Yixuan's fault.
Ji Lingchuan didn't miss Song Nanzhe's venomous look, and his frown deepened a bit more.
He originally thought that the young master of the Marquis of Ding'an's mansion was just a bit naughty because of his young age. Now it seemed that it was his true nature, and he had never been disciplined.
After Fuzhou led the people away, Ji Lingchuan squatted down and picked up Song Yixuan, saying, "Don't be afraid. I'll take you to see a doctor."
His collar was grabbed, and a very childish voice came from his arms: "No, no doctor. Xuan'er doesn't want Fourth Sister to worry."
Ji Lingchuan lowered his head and met Song Yixuan's big and clear eyes, and his steps stopped. Song Yixuan tremblingly took out a small paper packet from his bosom and whispered, "Xuan'er... Xuan'er has medicine."
Ji Lingchuan changed his direction and carried Song Yixuan towards the pavilion not far away.
The weight of the child in his arms was almost negligible. He was so light, as if he were just a piece of paper. Ji Lingchuan was extremely careful even when putting him down, for fear of hurting him.
He took the paper packet from Song Yixuan's hand and unfolded it. He found that there were sliced ginseng pieces inside. After Song Yixuan put a ginseng slice in his mouth, his complexion was much better than before, and his breathing became smoother.
He raised his head, looked at Ji Lingchuan, and whispered, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
He was so well-behaved and pitiful.
Ji Lingchuan looked down at the child in front of him. The child's face was only as big as his palm. His complexion was pale, and his lips were an unusual purple, but he was very good-looking. One could find a bit of his sister Song Yihuan's appearance between his eyebrows.
His heart suddenly softened. Ji Lingchuan sat down opposite him and asked, "Does he often act like this in the marquis's mansion?"
Beating and scolding others at will?
Song Yixuan's lips moved, and he avoided Ji Lingchuan's gaze, saying, "I'm the elder brother. I should give way to my younger brother."
That was it.
Ji Lingchuan had no siblings since he was a child. The only cousin he had was the current emperor, Ji Zihuan. He and Ji Zihuan had been very close since childhood. They supported and relied on each other. He couldn't understand Song Nanzhe's hostility towards Song Yixuan.
Since they were brothers, shouldn't they support each other and be kind to each other?
"Brother-in-law." Song Yixuan called out. He said carefully, "Can you not tell Fourth Sister what just happened? Xuan'er... Xuan'er doesn't want Fourth Sister to be sad."
Ji Lingchuan didn't understand why he didn't want Song Yihuan to know. His gaze shifted downward. He looked at the child's scraped elbow and injured palm and said, "I'm afraid it can't be hidden."
Song Yixuan smiled and said, "Just say that Xuan'er accidentally fell."
Ji Lingchuan was still pondering when he heard a very familiar call in his ear: "Xuan'er? Xuan'er? Where are you?"
His sleeve was grabbed. Ji Lingchuan met the child's pleading eyes: "Brother-in-law, okay?"
Ji Lingchuan finally agreed.
Just as he nodded, a graceful figure rushed out from behind the flower bushes of the rockery. Song Yihuan's charming and pretty face was full of panic and worry. When she caught sight of Song Yixuan in the pavilion, her bright deer-like eyes were quickly covered with a layer of mist. She lifted her skirt and ran towards the pavilion.
Ji Lingchuan subconsciously stood up and was about to say something, but Song Yihuan seemed not to notice him. She bypassed him and hugged Song Yixuan tightly in her arms.
"Xuan'er, why did you come here? You really made it hard for sister to find you."
The ending sound trembled slightly, which was really pitiful.
Her hugging movement pulled at Song Yixuan's wound. Song Yixuan couldn't help but let out a cry of pain.
Song Yihuan realized something and quickly let go of her younger brother in her arms and checked carefully. She found that the clothes on his elbow were torn, and there were shocking abrasions on his palm and elbow. Tears welled up in her eyes and dripped down. She choked with sobs and asked:
"What's going on? How could you be so badly injured? What exactly happened just now?"
Song Yixuan smiled as if nothing had happened. He held Song Yihuan's finger and shook it gently: "Fourth Sister, don't worry. It's because Xuan'er didn't look at the road just now and kicked a stone. That's why I fell and got injured. Fortunately, Xuan'er met brother-in-law. It was brother-in-law who brought Xuan'er here."
Hearing that Song Yixuan finally mentioned him, Ji Lingchuan made a fist and put it to his lips and coughed twice forcefully.
Hearing his voice, Song Yihuan stiffened and her breathing became a bit disordered.
She turned around and looked behind her. The tall, straight, cold and handsome man was standing just one step away from her.
There were still tears on Song Yihuan's face. Her eyelashes were wet, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red. She was still staring at him with a pair of frightened deer-like eyes, looking like a spirit who had accidentally strayed into the mortal world, pitiful and alluring.
Ji Lingchuan's Adam's apple rolled involuntarily. His eyes were dark, and he said, "It's really as he said. He just tripped and fell in the garden."
Song Yihuan came back to her senses and quickly saluted Ji Lingchuan. She lowered her voice and said, "I didn't know the young master was here. Yihuan was rude just now."