Fang Wu quickly said, “Young lady, don’t let your thoughts run wild. Be careful not to fall for those women’s tricks. By the way, why have you come to see the Protector today?”
“It’s nothing.” Chen Wuyou brushed aside the memory of the woman she had just encountered, smiling softly. “I heard Second Brother’s headaches have returned. I was worried. I remember Physician Huo said before he left that Second Brother should eat more cooling foods to dispel heat. So I prepared a bowl of snow‑fungus and mung bean soup for him to try.”
Her third brother had his wife to care for him.
Her fourth brother was careless by nature—whether anyone looked after him hardly mattered.
Of all her brothers, Chen Wuyou worried most about her second brother. Though in everyone’s eyes he was invincibly strong, few could understand her constant concern for him.
Fang Wu quickly said: “The Protector will surely be pleased. But, young lady, why are you still wearing a veil? Could it be that the prescription Physician Huo left behind hasn’t worked?”
His words struck directly at Chen Wuyou’s sore spot. She trembled slightly, lowered her head, and bit her lip without replying.
Fang Wu instantly regretted it, wanting to slap himself. The usually stern and unyielding chief steward of the Protector’s household was now flustered and awkward. “I misspoke. Young lady, don’t worry. As long as you follow Physician Huo’s instructions, your face will surely recover soon.”
Meanwhile, Wen Ning, leaving Chen Jinfeng’s courtyard, felt the last trace of pressure dissolve. Her steps grew lighter. Still, she knew Chen Jinfeng keeping her was only temporary. With his mercurial, ruthless nature, even if she behaved properly, should the Wen family stir up trouble, he might still drag her down with them. Besides, though he hadn’t denied releasing them from the household, he hadn’t confirmed it either.
Wen Ning was never one to remain passive. From the day she resolved to leave the residence, she had been thinking of ways to make it certain—and even hasten the process. If she could win Chen Jinfeng’s trust, even become someone of value in his eyes, her plan would be foolproof.
Earlier, she had offered to treat his illness not only to save her life, but also to strengthen her plan. As expected, she had run into a hard wall.
Chunxi, still worried about why the Protector had summoned her mistress, kept asking questions. After all, Fang Wu’s expression earlier had been terrifying.
Wen Ning thought for a moment. Back in their courtyard, she explained some of her current plans.
Chunxi’s jaw dropped, unable to close for a long while. “Mistress, you mean the Protector will not only let you leave the household, but also find you a good marriage?”
The Commander is actually quite good!
She had misjudged him! She had thought he was the sort of scoundrel who hogged the pit without using it.
Wen Ning: “…”
Her real focus was on the dowry, but Chunxi’s words weren’t entirely wrong.
Too lazy to correct her, Wen Ning smiled faintly. “So you needn’t worry. The Protector summoned me only because he found my medical skills curious and wanted to ask about them. As long as we behave properly, we’ll eventually leave this household.”
Chunxi grew wildly excited. “Then… then Mistress won’t have to be a concubine anymore, but can be someone’s proper wife? That’s wonderful! We must behave well, so the Protector will arrange a good marriage for you!”
Though once she had dreamed her mistress might win the Protector’s favor and lift them all to fortune, who would care to be a mere concubine, when one could be a proper wife?
Besides, with all those messy rumors about the Protector outside, and his cold attitude toward the concubines in the rear courtyard, Chunxi truly suspected—was the Protector perhaps incapable in that regard? Or did he simply not favor women at all?
Wen Ning: “…”
She finally understood. In Chunxi’s eyes, nothing mattered more than securing a good marriage. That was the generational gap between them.
Wen Ning coughed lightly, pulling the girl back from her rosy fantasies. “It’s far too early to talk about such things. For now, let’s focus on ourselves. Sleep early tonight—we’ll go to the Wen residence tomorrow.”
Still, Chunxi’s words reminded Wen Ning of something.
Even if Chen Jinfeng truly intended to arrange good marriages for the concubines, Wen Ning had no need of it. She had no interest in blind, arranged unions. When the time came, she would have to find a way to seize control of the matter—or make Chen Jinfeng abandon the idea altogether.
The next morning, she rose early, hired a carriage from the street, and headed to the Wen residence.
Both the Wen residence and the Protectors’ household were in the eastern part of the city, not far apart. In just over a quarter of an hour, she arrived.
Stepping down from the carriage, Wen Ning looked up at the grand, imposing gates, feeling a pang of emotion.
In the original Wen Ning’s memories, the Wen residence had never been a warm or happy place. Because of Madam Yu’s oppression and her father Wen Jiushan’s neglect, she and her mother and brother had lived cautiously, stumbling through hardship.
If Wen Jiushan hadn’t been desperate to send a daughter of suitable age to theProtector’s household—and unwilling to sacrifice his legitimate daughter—he would never have thought of her.
The guards at the gate were surprised to see her. “Third Miss?”
It had been so long since they’d seen her return.
Wen Ning gave them a faint smile. “My mother is at home, isn’t she?”
Servants were always prone to fawning on the powerful and slighting the weak, but they weren’t foolish enough to cause trouble without reason.
So they answered respectfully: “Madam Zhao hasn’t gone out today.”
“Good.” Wen Ning nodded and walked leisurely into the Wen residence, following the familiar path straight toward the rear courtyard. But just as she entered, a voice rang out nearby—still childish, yet filled with vicious arrogance: “…As expected, the child of a lowborn woman is nothing but trash! Wen Yu, don’t think I don’t know you tattled to Father about me skipping school yesterday! Don’t think you’re any better—I’ve seen you skip the academy plenty of times!”
The name Wen Yu made Wen Ning stop in her tracks. Wasn’t that her younger brother’s name?
The next moment, a cold yet stubborn voice replied: “I didn’t.”
“Still denying it? Who else would dare cross me? Now that I’ve caught you, don’t think you can escape! Wangcai, Fengshou—beat him hard!”
Wen Ning frowned, stepped over the shrubs in front of her, and quickly rounded a pavilion. “Stop!” she shouted.
The group of boys scuffling froze, springing apart like startled rabbits, turning to look at her.
A chubby boy in blue, who had been watching idly from the side, scowled when he saw Wen Ning. “It’s you! What right do you have to order me? Believe it or not, I’ll have you beaten too!”
It was none other than Madam Yu’s precious youngest son—Wen Shuyan.
Back then, Madam Zhao had discovered she was pregnant just a month before Wen Jiushan left Xuzhou. If Madam Yu hadn’t also conceived soon after his return to the capital, leaving her too busy to torment Madam Zhao, Wen Ning’s younger brother might not have survived.
From birth, Wen Shuyan had been cherished like a jewel by Madam Yu, and had bullied Wen Ning and her brother endlessly. Ordering others to beat her as well was exactly the sort of thing this brat would do—and indeed, he had done it many times before.