My Royal Stepbrother's Obsession - Chapter 3 - Lady Wen Really Is... Delicate

Xie Shian leaned closer to her face. The young lady’s eyes were red at the corners, her lashes damp with moisture, indeed showing signs of tears. She was truly beautiful, with full and round cheeks, twin braids hanging down with goose-yellow silk ribbons, and slender white fingertips resting on his sleeve, flushed with a thin layer of red from exertion.

She wasn’t good at studying, and neither was he. Xie Shian felt a sense of closeness with her and patted her head, “Don’t worry, when we get home, if Father wants to scold you, I’ll definitely stand up for you!”

Wen Xingluo: “…”

What was with his sympathetic expression? Who wanted to share sympathy with him over such matters?

Wen Xingluo looked at his righteous face, recalling how in her previous life, the Fourth Young Master of Prince of Zhenbei’s Manor would soon have his legs crushed by a collapsing tavern, turning from a spirited youth into a man with no will to fight. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on her handkerchief.

Perhaps she could help Xie Shian avoid disaster.

Outside the carriage, Xie Guanlan’s concerned voice sounded, “Did Lady Wen really cry?”

Xie Shian, like a little dog, poked his head out of the window, “Yes, Brother! She came last in the exam and cried so sadly!”

Wen Xingluo couldn’t see Xie Guanlan’s expression but heard his low chuckle, “Lady Wen really is… delicate.”

It was like the tone of an elder brother doting on a younger sister, yet it contained an inexplicable hint of schadenfreude.

…

Back at the Prince’s Manor, Xie Shian and Wen Xingluo were summoned to the study by Prince of Zhenbei, Xie Jing.

Xie Shian was beaten and ran around the courtyard, yelling, “No! Father! She came last in the exam! Wen Xingluo came last! Why am I the one getting beaten?!”

Xie Jing, tall and broad-shouldered, wielded a ruler, his beard bristling with anger. He chased Xie Shian, “So what if your sister did poorly in the exam?! She’s new here, so what if she did poorly?! She can choose whichever rank she wants! I’ve hired so many teachers to tutor you, yet you still perform like this!”

Wen Xingluo stood quietly to the side, watching the spectacle unfold. She knew very well that as a stepdaughter, even if Prince of Zhenbei was displeased with her exam results, he wouldn’t lay a hand on her.

Xie Jing, exhausted from the beating, turned to Wen Xingluo with a sheepish smile, “Sorry for the embarrassment.”

Wen Xingluo shook her head and asked, “Is Mother still unwell?”

Since marrying into the family, her mother had always claimed illness, never interacting with the Matron or other women in the manor, nor caring for the child she brought along. Wen Xingluo felt her mother never truly liked her or her siblings.

Xie Jing stroked his beautiful beard, his face full of concern, “Your mother’s health is weak. I’ve already invited a divine doctor to treat her. The doctor said she needs to rest quietly. You and the Fourth Young Master should go to Grandmother’s courtyard for dinner; we won’t be joining.”

When Wen Xingluo and Xie Shian arrived at Pinecrest Courtyard, Xie Guanlan was already there. The Matron arranged for Wen Xingluo to sit beside her, asking with concern, “Why aren’t you wearing the pair of gold bracelets I gave you? Do you not like them anymore?”

Wen Xingluo touched her empty wrist, glancing at Xie Guanlan. He was dining, his demeanor elegant. She didn’t mention it was because of Xie Guanlan that she wasn’t wearing the gold bracelets, only softly replied, “The gold bracelets Grandmother gave are too precious. I’m afraid of losing them, so I took them off.”

“You child,” the Matron laughed, “if you lose them, you lose them. We can afford it.”

She called Granny Chen over. Granny Chen handed a brocade box to Wen Xingluo, “These are items from the Imperial Consort’s dowry. There hasn’t been a Young Lady in the manor, so they haven’t been used. It’s just right to give them to you.”

Inside the brocade box were a pair of ruyi-patterned gold bracelets and a gold phoenix-tail hairpin. They were solid gold, intricately carved, and dazzlingly bright, clearly valuable.

Xie Shian was the first to protest, “Grandmother, why does Wen Xingluo get rewarded for coming last in the exam without being punished?! I don’t agree!”

The Matron glared at him, “She’s a young lady, delicate and tender, how could she be punished?! You’re tough-skinned, a few beatings won’t hurt! Besides, you’re a boy, what do you need gold bracelets and hairpins for? Would you wear them?!”

“But they’re our family’s property!” Xie Shian clutched his chest in distress, “How can they be given to an outsider?! Grandmother, I don’t agree with her taking our inheritance!”

“You-”

The Matron, infuriated, picked up her dragon-headed cane and started hitting him. The elderly lady was vigorous and swift!

Xie Shian was beaten, jumping around and crying out.

Leaving Pinecrest Courtyard, the sky had completely darkened. Wen Xingluo wanted to return to her own courtyard but encountered Xie Guanlan in the corridor. She held the brocade box, curtsying, “My humble respects, Your Highness the Heir Apparent.”

Xie Guanlan stood with his hands behind his back, his voice still gentle, “Grandmother is very fond of Lady Wen.”

The night was as dark as ink. He stood under the corridor’s lantern, a gold hairpin half holding up his hair, his tall figure adorned in a crimson robe, making his appearance strikingly beautiful, yet his brows and eyes exuded a faint cold danger. Like a ghost of a spring night.

Wen Xingluo maintained her curtsy. She knew very well that Xie Guanlan did not welcome her, nor her mother. In her previous life, her sister was hastily married to a petty official, and it was hard to say Xie Guanlan didn’t have a hand in it.

She presented the brocade box with both hands, sincerely expressing her intentions, “I only wish to leave my former home, read some poetry, and live peacefully. I’ve never sought the wealth of the Prince’s Manor. Since the Heir Apparent is displeased, I am willing to return the Imperial Consort’s gifts.”

Xie Guanlan didn’t take it, smiling faintly, “Lady Wen jests, I have never been displeased.”

He never asked Wen Xingluo to rise. Wen Xingluo lowered her eyes, her legs slightly sore.

“Since they are gifts from Grandmother…” Xie Guanlan slowly extended his hand, pressing it against the brocade box, “Lady Wen must take good care of them. Don’t lose them and chill Grandmother’s heart.”

The spring night was silent. With a “plop,” the brocade box was thrown into the pond outside the corridor by Xie Guanlan.

Wen Xingluo abruptly raised her head. Their eyes met. Behind Xie Guanlan were the dancing shadows of trees, like countless fierce ghosts wildly waving their claws, seemingly about to tear apart the corridor’s splendid lanterns.

He slowly curled into a smile, his voice extremely gentle, “Isn’t that right, Lady Wen?”