Chapter 236:
She did not want the two men to fight to the death for her sake, so his family’s delicate younger sister abandoned everything on her own and left alone.
On the way, she also encountered…
Xie Yanyu moved his lips, asking in a trembling voice: “On the ferry that night, …how did you escape with your life?”
Having never seen her own elder brother in such a shocked and aftershock-fear-stricken state, Xie Wanning felt somewhat guilty and earnestly recounted everything that had happened that night.
Upon hearing that she had jumped out the window, the faces of the two brothers—one direct and one cousin—across from her both changed simultaneously.
“When I boarded the boat, I saw an iron chain hanging under the window,” Xie Wanning smiled faintly, pretending to be relaxed as she said: “It didn’t take much strength to go to the next room.”
Thinking of the tragic state of that mother and daughter next door, even though half a year had passed, Xie Wanning still felt unwell.
She was about to continue saying something when Xie Yanyu across from her pressed on: “Why did you come to Bianzhou? Did you encounter anything else on the way?”
As he spoke, his gaze drifted downward to his younger sister’s slightly bulging abdomen. His lips moved, but considering there were others around, he ultimately did not ask whose child was in there.
Just then, Xie Wanning was also about to mention this matter and smoothly said: “That day on the boat, when I had nowhere to hide, I received a kindness from that mother and agreed to her dying wish, which is why I came to Bianzhou. I encountered no dangers on the road.”
In reality, she had followed a well-regarded caravan the whole way, and nothing like what happened on the boat that night occurred again. Midway, they did encounter bandits twice, but the caravan had already made arrangements, so there was no further trouble.
Moreover, the further south they went, the better the public order became.
Seeing how casually she spoke of it, Xie Yanyu glared at her.
Just then, the carriage stopped. He quickly alighted and turned to help his younger sister down, saying to Ji Chengfeng beside him, “Have Chengqian summon the estate doctor.”
Without needing his explanation, Ji Chengfeng had already planned to do so.
In the deep winter, traveling from north to south with all the hardships along the way, and now pregnant—who knew what she had been through.
Even if her complexion looked decent, no one knew if there were any deficiencies inside.
Along the way, the two men’s full attention had been on Xie Wanning, completely neglecting Chen Xi’er beside them.
And Xie Wanning herself, upon suddenly seeing her elder brother, was so excited that she forgot the time and place, nearly forgetting even her own pregnancy, let alone anything else.
It was not until her own elder brother was helping her up the steps that she suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly pulled Chen Xi’er beside her, saying to Xie Yanyu: “Elder Brother, let me introduce you to a younger sister.”
Xie Yanyu was stunned and finally shifted his gaze from his own little sister to look at Chen Xi’er.
Originally thinking this was a friend his younger sister had made in Bianzhou, he frowned slightly upon noticing the familiarity in her eyebrows and eyes.
Xie Wanning said to her two elder brothers, “This is our cousin, born to our aunt, named Chen Xi’er.”
As she spoke, she pulled Chen Xi’er over and introduced: “This is my blood-related elder brother, and Cousin Ji from our second aunt’s family.”
Concerning the cousin’s reputation and to avoid unnecessary complications—and since it was not exactly a respectable good deed—Xie Wanning omitted the matter of Chen’s father offering his daughter to Lu Ziyan, and Lu Ziyan then passing her to Pei Yuqing. In a few words, she simply explained Chen Xi’er’s background.
It was just that Xie Wanning truly did not know Chen Xi’er’s birth mother’s ranking among the young ladies of the previous generation in the Zheng Family, so she did not elaborate.
