Although the weather wasn’t at its coldest, being submerged in water for so long, especially after having stopped breathing and being forcibly pulled out by Qingtuan, was a traumatic experience for such a young boy.
Even with modern medicine, with advanced medical technology, recovering from such an ordeal would be extremely challenging.
Therefore, neither the Princess Manor nor the Rongguo Duke’s Mansion would likely be concerned with matters of gratitude at this time.
They would probably wait until the young master’s condition stabilizes before considering such things.
Wen Congyan nodded, having a general understanding of the situation. Maintaining a facade of concern, he admonished,
“In the future, don’t recklessly throw yourself into situations like this, You were lucky this time, and nothing serious happened. If something had gone wrong with that young master, not only you, but our entire Yong’an Marquisate would have been unable to bear the wrath of the Princess Manor and the Rongguo Duke’s Mansion.”
While climbing the social ladder requires opportunities, one must also consider whether they can handle the consequences.
Just like when Wen Congyan first realized that Wen Ning Shuang had developed an unusual connection with the Fifth, he had spent countless hours agonizing over it in his study.
After the initial excitement, he realized that a life-saving deed was only impressive if the saved person actually survived.
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, extinguishing all his enthusiasm.”
“‘Just stay in your courtyard these days and don’t go anywhere…’ ”
Wen Congyan hadn’t realized that Wen Ninghan, who had returned to the Marquisate so many days ago, hadn’t left the courtyard at all until today. This was her first outing since returning.
Watching Wen Congyan walk away with his hands behind his back, Wen Ninghan’s expression remained unchanged, but Qingtuan looked quite indignant.
However, due to her personality, Qingtuan wouldn’t express her thoughts openly.
It was only when they returned to the courtyard and were alone in Wen Ninghan’s room that she spoke up, “Miss, the Marquis is too much.”
Just now, when the Marquis Wen spoke, he seemed like a strict father who cared for his daughter.
But in reality, he had shown no concern for his own daughter at all. He didn’t know that Miss had never stepped out of the courtyard since returning home.
He didn’t care at all about what kind of life Miss had been living in the Marquisate, and even less so about what kind of life Miss had lived in the past ten years.
Even today, the only thing he cared about when speaking to Miss was the experiences she had at the Princess residence, whether they would bring more opportunities to the Marquisate, or whether they would cause trouble.
The moment Wen Congyan realized he couldn’t gain anything from her, he turned and left without hesitation, his indifference so blatant that he didn’t even bother to disguise it.
Qingtuan couldn’t help but feel that her young mistress had been terribly wronged.
But Wen Ninghan didn’t seem to mind. She reached out and patted Qingtuan on the shoulder. “Qingtuan, have you grown taller again?”
She had originally intended to pat Qingtuan on the top of her head for comfort, but when she raised her hand, she realized she wasn’t tall enough.
In the end, her hand had to settle on Qingtuan’s shoulder instead.
Qingtuan silently looked at her mistress and thought to herself, Yes, my young mistress is indeed a bit lacking in height.
But she quickly reassured herself—her young mistress was still young, and there was still plenty of time to grow!
Wen Ninghan smiled, “I know you’re worried about me, but there’s really no need to be. One can only be hurt if they have feelings for someone. I don’t have any feelings for this Marquisate or my so-called father, and since they don’t care about me, why should I care about them? So don’t worry about it.”
There were some things Wen Ninghan couldn’t explain clearly to Qingtuan and the others.
So, in their eyes, she must have had some expectations of the Marquisate and her father, given that she had traveled all this way to return.
Therefore, they were always worried that Wen Ninghan would be taken advantage of in the Marquisate, and they kept a close eye on her.
Wen Ninghan couldn’t tell them that she would definitely not be the one who would suffer, but rather, she would make the Marquisate suffer greatly. The time for that just hadn’t come yet.
Qingtuan sighed.
Zhixin walked in carrying a bucket of water and called out, “Alright, Sister Qingtuan, Miss must be tired today. Let’s help her relax a bit. Stop pestering her with questions!”
Zhixin had been waiting at home anxiously all day. She was worried that Miss would be uncomfortable at the Princess Manor or even bullied.
And she was also concerned about the Second Miss, wondering what schemes she might be plotting.
She feared that her own Miss might be taken advantage of.
Seeing the worried expressions on her two maidservants, Wen Ninghan felt helpless.
Why couldn’t they believe her? Was there something about her that made them think she was so easy to bully?
In the evening, someone from the old madam’s courtyard came to invite Wen Ninghan to visit the Wangshu Courtyard.
This was quite amusing to Wen Ninghan. The old madam had previously mentioned that she would be devoting herself to religious practice and seclusion, and that there was no need for regular greetings.
Their only meeting had been shortly after the old madam returned from Jinyang Temple, and Wen Ninghan had thought it would be a long time before she saw the old madam again.
Unexpectedly, an incident at the Princess Manor was enough to disturb her.
Unwilling to attend, Wen Ninghan simply found an excuse, saying that she had been very tired and frightened at the Princess Manor and was now running a fever.
She would not be going to greet the old madam, lest she pass on her illness.
The message was delivered by Hua Momo, who served by the side of the old madam.
She didn’t seem surprised by Wen Ninghan’s excuse and simply smiled, saying,
“The old madam also mentioned that if the young lady is not feeling well, it would be fine for Qing Tuan to go in her place to ask the questions.”
If it were anyone else, Wen Ninghan might not have been so trusting, but Qingtuan was completely reliable.
After Qingtuan left with Hua Momo, Zhixin muttered, “I have a feeling they’re up to something. Why are they so insistent on having Miss go over at this time?”
“They didn’t force me to go,” Wen Ninghan replied, already settled in bed with a new novel in hand.
To use illness as an excuse, isn’t she afraid that the other party will come to check?
With her current medical skills, it would be easy for her to make her body exhibit certain symptoms.
But it seems that the old matriarch didn’t really want her to go.
Perhaps from the beginning, she only wanted to send Qingtuan, the other party involved today, to answer questions. Inviting her first was just a matter of face.
“If they truly had the intention of having me go, they should have sent word before dinner. At least they should have done the courtesy of a meal.”
In the end, the other party had no such intention and only came when it was almost time to rest.
Could it be that they only just found out now? Wen Ninghan didn’t believe it
Zhixin pouted and left. Wen Ninghan shook her head helplessly, wondering if she was too lenient with this girl or if she simply lacked the experience of being exposed to the harsh realities of the world.
The candlelight flickered brightly. Having finished most of her book, Wen Ninghan heard faint sounds from outside.
She knew Qingtuan had returned. She didn’t know what they were talking about with Zhixin, but both of them had lowered their voices and were whispering.
Wen Ninghan was feeling quite sleepy and was about to put down her book and pull up the covers when she felt a slight chill pass over her forehead.
Wen Ninghan: “……”
Zhi Xin shouldn’t have forgotten to close the window. Even if she wanted to keep the air circulating, she wouldn’t let the cool breeze reach her bedside. Zhi Xin wouldn’t make such a mistake.
So, there was only one explanation.
Just as Wen Ninghan was about to move, her vision blurred as a dark figure landed beside her bed. A hand silently covered her mouth.
“Shh…”
A figure clad in black with a silver mask appeared familiarly in front of Wen Ninghan.
Wen Ninghan thought to herself, ‘I wasn’t planning on making a sound anyway!’
