Anyuan Houfu is no stranger to Wei Qingyan.
When she was a child, her mother was very strict with her and she was often beaten, scolded and punished. However, her sister Wanyi was treated completely differently by her mother.
She was dissatisfied and argued with her mother for a while, but she punished her by kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days.
No one is allowed to bring food.
She was seven years old that year, her father was away at war, and no one in the house dared to disobey her mother's orders. She was so hungry that she sneaked out of the house while no one was paying attention, and met Du Xueyi in the alley.
He was being pinned to the ground and beaten.
She helped him fight off those people, and he took her into the Anyuan Hou Mansion to find food.
After that, Du Xueyi followed her to practice martial arts, joined the National Defense Army, and became her right-hand man.
Wei Qingyan went to Fengxiao Courtyard looking for memories.
Opening the door, the yard showed signs of recent renovations.
Fengxiao Courtyard is the most remote courtyard in the Anyuan Hou Mansion. Ever since she stayed here for a night when she was seven years old, this courtyard has become her occasional place of respite.
The head of the Hou Mansion would not repair such a remote and uncared-for yard for no reason, but Du Xueyi, who returned to Beijing half a year ago.
Wei Qingyan's nose was slightly sour.
"Miss Chang, the Marquis ordered his subordinates to bring these."
Du Xueyi's guard A Lu came over with two maids carrying bedding and the child's change of clothes.
"Thank you." Wei Qingyan nodded.
The room was very clean and simple, with nothing else besides the bed, table and chairs, just like before.
The two maids quickly made the bed, and Alu also brought hot water, "Miss Chang, do you have any other instructions?"
Wei Qingyan turned her head and looked at him, "Look for some plaster."
She was not surprised that Alu would come here.
Du Xueyi was suspicious of her identity and asked Alu to serve and monitor her.
Seeing her undressing the child, A Lu understood and hurriedly left.
The Marquis ordered him to keep an eye on Miss Chang, but not to treat her too slowly.
"Xiaoxiaohao, let's clean up and change into new clothes, okay?" Wei Qingyan said softly.
Xiaoxiao is the nickname Du Xueyi gave her child. In the past, only Fang family called her this way.
Hearing Wei Qingyan call like this, the child's dried tears welled up again. She didn't know why this person who called herself aunt made her feel at ease knowing her nickname.
Xiaoxiao nodded his head heavily and leaned into Wei Qingyan's arms.
"Miss Chang, let me come." The maid Luliu stepped forward.
She inquired from the concierge that this lady who claimed to be the missing legitimate daughter of the house, not only did the Marquis not kick her out, but also asked Alu to take care of her, so that her identity would be true.
If you make a good impression in front of her, you might be able to be a maid by her side in the future.
Before Wei Qingyan opened his mouth, the little man in his arms shrank, and Wei Qingyan said coldly, "You guys go out."
Luliu felt bored, glared at the child without any trace, and walked out of the house.
Although Wei Qingyan has no experience in raising children, she has been cared for like a child in the past three years, so it is not difficult to clean Xiaoxiao.
What was difficult was the whiplash on the child's back. In some places, scabs had formed on the clothes.
I had to use hot water to make the inner garment wet, and then carefully tear it open. Even so, the small ball in my arms still shook several times, but did not make any sound.
Wei Qingyan's eyebrows were a little cold, and the two kicks he just kicked were too light.
"Miss Chang, the ointment is here." A Lu's voice sounded from outside the door.
"Have someone bring it in."
Even though the eldest lady was only four years old and Alu was a man, it was inconvenient for her to come in. Luliu brought the plaster in.
Wei Qingyan took it, gently applied it on the child's injury, and asked Luliu, who had not left, "Who is the cousin?"
"My cousin is the grand-niece of the old lady's mother's family."
Deliberately trying to please her, Lu Liu added in a low voice, "The old lady likes my cousin very much and intends to let her be the Marquis' second wife."
Continue?
It had only been half a year since Fang's accident, but the old lady of the Hou Mansion had already found a replacement?
Or did you have this intention from the beginning?
Wei Qingyan applied the ointment, dressed Xiaoxiao, placed him on the bed, and asked casually, "When did this cousin come to the Hou Mansion?"
Luliu was about to reply when she heard Alu's voice outside the door, "Miss Cousin, there are guests of the Marquis inside. You are not allowed to break in at will."
"My great-aunt is ill now. There are guests coming to the house. My cousin is not free, so I have to entertain him well." A soft and charming voice sounded.
Then, there was the sound of the door being pushed open.
Wei Qingyan took the person who suddenly slipped under the quilt into his arms and patted her back to comfort her.
His eyes were still looking at Luliu, waiting for her reply.
Luliu wanted to please Wei Qingyan, but she also didn't want to offend her cousin, so she couldn't talk about her in front of her, so she hesitated and kept silent.
"What do you call the girl? Which cousin is she related to?" Guan Yu'er walked to Wei Qingyan with her maid and looked at him with eyes.
I heard that the Marquis took a woman to the backyard, and the woman also took the little bastard away.
Her people couldn't find out the specific reason, and the yard was guarded by guards and couldn't enter.
She felt uneasy, so she wanted to come and see what was true.
Wei Qingyan glanced at her lightly, then looked at A Lu behind her.
"The mother-in-law told me earlier that she was instigated by her cousin to torture and laugh. Is the cousin in the mother-in-law's mouth the one in front of me?"
A Luzheng was angry that Guan Yu'er dared not touch her because she was a woman, so he stepped forward and pushed the door open. He was not prepared for Wei Qingyan to ask such a direct question.
Subconsciously, "It's her."
"What kind of beating? What kind of instigation?" Guan Yu'er's eyes quickly filled with tears, as if she had been greatly wronged, and she looked at Wei Qingyan angrily, "It's the first time we've met, and there's no grievance or enmity. Why did you wrong me like this?"
But in my heart, I was panicked.
She came here because she was worried that the child's injuries would be discovered, and wanted to find a reason to take him away. After all, the Marquis didn't care about the child because of Fang's affairs.
Once he was taken away, she would have a way to cover it up.
Unexpectedly, she came a step too late.
Wei Qingyan didn't seem to hear her words. He looked at the child in his arms and asked softly, "Tell aunt if she asked someone to bully you. If so, aunt will fight back for you."
Hearing the words with a smile, he looked up at her, his eyelashes trembling, as if he was confirming whether the words were credible, or weighing whether this aunt who treated her well like a mother could fight against the person who harmed her.
A person of unknown origin dared to say such things. Guan Yu'er felt that the woman in front of her was extremely arrogant, but feeling the fierce aura on her body, she somehow felt that she would really do this.
"My aunt is in poor health. She entrusted this child to me. I didn't even have time to love her. How could I instruct others to beat her?"
She forced herself to calm down, "There must be some misunderstanding. I don't know who the girl is, but you have to leave anyway, and this child and I will get along for the rest of our lives.
You provoke our relationship like this, and you will tell us how to get along with each other in the future. "
Rather than saying it to Wei Qingyan, she said it was for her children.
My great-aunt is currently ill, and she is using her filial piety to pressure the Marquis to agree to marry her as his second wife. She must not be disturbed by anyone.
It's also her fault that she was too impatient. She should wait until she got married before getting rid of this little eyesore.
She lowered her eyes, hiding the murderous intent in her eyes.
Fortunately, this little thing is timid. After hearing what she said, he would definitely not dare to say anything nonsense.
Thinking about it this way, she was no longer so anxious.
Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he reached out to hug the child.
Then I heard the child's low voice say, "She said that I was a wild child who took the title of the eldest daughter while I was still alive. She asked my servants to beat me and not give me food..."
"Auntie knows."
Wei Qingyan rubbed her head, frowned, grabbed Guan Yuer's outstretched wrist, applied force, and broke it with a click.
How could she not hear Guan Yuer's threat?
Guan Yuer's half-breath of relief was stuck in her throat because of the child's words, and the severe pain from her wrist made the remaining half of her breath stuck in her throat.
Her face turned red, whether from suppressing it or from pain.
While Wei Qingyan covered the child's ears, Guan Yu'er let out a shrill scream...
