Tang Ning’s expression faltered for a moment, then softened.
She could sense that the man in front of her was angry, his face cold enough to freeze the air around them. Yet, despite his extreme anger, he still remembered to protect her, ensuring that her efforts wouldn’t be wasted.
The fear that had just risen in Tang Ning suddenly vanished, and she obediently addressed Madam Qin.
"Sister Qin, listen to my brother for now. Leave the medicine here. After I’ve seen the imperial physician, I’ll have Hua Wu apply it." She spoke gently, adding, "Didn’t you say you had other matters to attend to?"
"Huh?" Madam Qin was momentarily confused, but after seeing Tang Ning’s signal, she quickly regained her composure.
"Oh, right! I have another appointment to keep. I’ll leave the medicine with you. Make sure this girl applies it later, just like I told you. I’ll be on my way." She spoke rapidly, sweeping the bottles and jars from the table into her arms.
“Well then, my lord, I’ll be off!” Without waiting for Xiao Yan’s response, she bolted out the door with her arms full, shouting back, "Tang Ning, I’ll come visit you tomorrow!!"
"Hua Wu, you leave as well."
"But, my lady..."
"It’s fine. Go ahead." Hua Wu hesitated, casting a nervous glance at Xiao Yan. She was quite frightened of him, but with her lady’s insistence, she reluctantly left, lingering just outside the door, straining to hear, worried that her lady might suffer.
Now that the room was empty, silence fell. Xiao Yan quietly watched Tang Ning, uncertain of her next move.
Tang Ning rose from the couch and slowly moved toward him. Standing beside him, she nervously fiddled with her fingers and lowered her head, speaking softly, "Brother, please don’t be angry."
Xiao Yan, his long legs crossed, rested his hands on his knees but said nothing.
Gathering her courage, Tang Ning continued in a gentle tone, "I didn’t mean to scare you, Brother. I didn’t know you would come, and if I hadn’t fainted first, my grandmother would have collapsed in my residence."
"They held all the advantages, and being my grandmother and aunt, if I didn’t use some means, I would have been completely overpowered." She was all too familiar with the ways of the Song family matriarch. In her previous life, when she fainted, her aunt bore the brunt of the accusations. When the old lady coughed up blood, even though she was the one wronged, it was she who ended up being condemned by everyone.
One word of ‘respect for elders’, one word of ‘filial piety’, and the Song family could easily wash away all their previous wrongdoings, pinning all the blame on her and her aunt.
Tang Ning had no choice but to use the Song matriarch's own methods against them.
She knelt in front of Xiao Yan and carefully wiped the "blood" off his sleeve.
"I know my methods aren’t honorable, and they’re rather underhanded, but I had no other choice. I don’t want to go back to the Song family, nor do I want them to use their authority as elders to manipulate me..."
Her face was lifted as Xiao Yan’s cold gaze bore into her. "Song Tang Ning, do you know how I rose to my current position?"
Tang Ning looked up at the man towering over her.
"The first day I entered the palace, I used my own methods to kill the treasury eunuch who planned to use me as a scapegoat. In the two years I served in the imperial household, countless people died by my hands. I stepped over countless corpses to gain the emperor's favor and reach where I am today."
"There are countless people in the palace willing to do anything for power and status. To survive and to obtain what I wanted, I used every dirty trick imaginable. What you did today is nothing."
"Brother..." Tang Ning shrank back.
Xiao Yan released her, his jaw clenched as he lowered his gaze. "I’m not angry that you used such tactics. It’s just that the Song family isn’t worth you hurting yourself for."
If the Song matriarch had been any more ruthless, if that slap had truly disfigured Tang Ning’s face... The memory of rushing into the hall, only to see her lying on the ground, her face covered in blood, still sent a wave of fear through him. Even now, just recalling that moment filled his eyes with rage.
"There are many ways to deal with the Song family. You didn’t need to harm yourself..."
"I know, but I couldn’t wait." Xiao Yan furrowed his brow as Tang Ning’s bandaged hand rested on his arm. Her dark almond eyes were calm and resolute.
"I know there are many ways you could have handled this, Brother. You could have done it more thoroughly, more perfectly, and kept me completely safe. But I don’t want to wait any longer."
"I don’t want to keep getting entangled with the Song family. I don’t want to return to that place. I don’t want them coming after me again and again, drawing the attention of the entire capital to Ji Yun Alley. And I don’t want them using my name to slander you."
In recent times, the servants in the household rarely spoke of matters outside, and when they did, it was only about how the Song family was being cursed, how Song Jin Xiu was being scorned.
But Tang Ning had lived a lifetime and wasn’t deaf or blind. How could she not know that after the incident at the Qian family, Xiao Yan had also been affected, vilified by the public?
He had long been infamous, despised by many, and now he was accused of "forcibly seizing" a young lady of the Song family for his own gain.
Once he got involved in the internal affairs of the Song family, the court officials and noble families who already despised him wouldn’t miss such a perfect opportunity to attack.
"I know you would protect me, Brother. But I can’t hide under your wings forever. The Song family isn’t worth it, but you are." She looked up at him and spoke softly, "I want to protect you too."
She didn’t want anyone to slander such a good brother.
Xiao Yan stared into her dark eyes as she uttered those slightly naïve yet sincere words.
He should have laughed at her for being unrealistic, for thinking he needed the protection of a mere girl. But there was not a trace of falsehood in her clear eyes, only seriousness and sincerity.
The tension in his hand, resting on his knee, slowly eased. His lips tightened as a part of his heart gradually gave way.
Back when the massacre swept through, his mother had pushed him to flee amidst the flames. Aunt Xue had shielded him until they escaped, telling him to survive.
Everyone around him had died, leaving him alone to fight for survival, day after day, until he reached his current position.
It had been so many years since anyone had said they wanted to protect him.
After a long silence, Xiao Yan finally placed his hand on her forehead.
"Who taught you these sweet words?" She was even better at coaxing people than when she was a child.
Tang Ning’s bangs were tousled by his hand. Hearing the softness in his tone, she tilted her head and rubbed against his palm, dimples forming at the corners of her mouth.
"With such a brilliant brother, of course I had to teach myself."
"If I can’t match your cunning and strategy, at least I can sweet talk you into being happy."
Xiao Yan’s voice was low and calm, as if he were smiling. "So bold."
Tang Ning pouted.
Then, with a faint chuckle, Xiao Yan gently brushed her forehead again. "Call me ‘Brother,’ and I’ll let you be as bold as you want."
"Brother!" Tang Ning’s eyes curved into crescents, her dimples deepening into an irresistible smile.
A soft laugh escaped from Xiao Yan’s throat, like the warm sun melting the snow after winter, or a cold jade stone in the mountains catching the morning light—low yet warm and gentle.
"Good girl."
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T/N: Tangning: i’m sorry for being manipulative
XY: Baby, i’m the master manipulator
You can read ahead to chapterr 60 here
🤣
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