Xiao Yan was still dressed in his crimson official robe, the long hem of his garment brushing past the steps at the door. Sunlight filtered through the holes in the stone-carved eaves of the courtyard, casting patterns on him and accentuating the cool elegance of his profile. Yet when he reached out to support the young lady before him, his movements were gentle, and his brows and eyes couldn't help but soften. "Why are you running so fast? Be careful not to fall."
Song Tangning steadied herself, clutching his sleeve and slightly out of breath. "Brother, are you all right?"
"What could possibly happen to me?"
He glanced at her slender, fair fingers clutching his sleeve, noticing the half-exposed wrist. His gaze swept over it briefly before looking away. "I just went to give someone a hard time; you should be worried about others."
Song Tangning frowned. "Why should I worry about others?"
They weren't anything to her!
She carefully examined Xiao Yan. Seeing him seemingly amused and at ease, with no sign of reluctance on his face, the tightness in her heart finally relaxed a bit. Canglang, who had followed behind, saw this and teased with a laugh, "Miss, don't worry. The Governor just led us to ransack a household; what big trouble could there be..."
"Ransack a household?!" The breath that Song Tangning had just relaxed suddenly caught again.
Seeing the young lady's eyes widen in shock, Xiao Yan shot a glare at the talkative Canglang. "Don't listen to his nonsense. I just took people to the Lu family to retrieve some things; there was just a bit of a conflict, that's all."
Song Tangning asked worriedly, "Then did they give you a hard time, Brother?"
Canglang laughed. "Miss, aren't you a bit too biased? Why don't you ask whether the Governor gave them a hard time?"
Their Governor had a notorious reputation; whenever people mentioned him, they would disparage him first. Whenever there was a conflict, they would say he was the one bullying others. Everyone thought that if someone was at fault, it must be the Governor. But their young lady was different; she immediately assumed that the Governor had been wronged. This time, not only Canglang but even Jinyun, who had followed along, couldn't help but fall silent.
Seeing that Tangning was made a bit embarrassed by this, Xiao Yan glared at Canglang. "You and your big mouth?"
Canglang shrank his neck.
Only then did Xiao Yan turn to Tangning. "Don't worry; I would never let myself be wronged. The Lu family can't trouble me either."
Sunlight fell on Song Tangning's face, making her squint instinctively. Xiao Yan instinctively raised his hand to shield her forehead from the light. "How is Song Ru?"
Tangning's eyelashes fluttered. "She's fine. The people from the Lu family didn't hurt her bones; it's just that Aru was previously mistreated at the Song household, making her too weak. Sister Qin said she needs to recuperate well."
"Then let her rest properly. The mansion has all kinds of medicinal herbs. If you need anything, let Madam Qin get it; she knows where everything is stored."
At first, Xiao Yan didn't have much impression of Song Ru. The few times they met, she would mostly just give a proper greeting and then hurriedly leave, never being alone with him. He had thought the little girl was afraid of him, but later realized she seemed to be deliberately avoiding suspicion. Not just with him; even when Gu Helian came, Song Ru would intentionally avoid him.
She never appeared where she shouldn't, nor did she take the initiative to befriend those who were good to Tangning. She seldom even got close to Princess Cheng. The little girl just kept to her own place, quietly being Tangning's sister. Yet, despite appearing so timid and weak, she could risk everything to save Tangning when danger arose. Naturally, Xiao Yan was willing to look after her a bit more.
Song Tangning softly said "Mm," and nodded. "Okay."
Seeing her being so obedient and well-behaved, Xiao Yan said, "Since Song Ru is fine, what about your injury? Did Madam Qin take a look?"
Song Tangning was startled, instinctively denying, "I'm not..."
"Ah."
Her shoulder was lightly pinched from behind, and she immediately let out a muffled groan of pain, her face turning somewhat pale.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan released his hand and instead placed his palm over her shoulder through her clothes, pressing a few times. Seeing her brows relax and her tense shoulder loosen up, he said to her, "Although your bones aren't hurt, you still need to apply medicine. Otherwise, your shoulder will be swollen tomorrow and won't go down for several days."
He lowered his gaze to look at her fluttering eyelashes, without any hint of blame, and said softly:
"I know you don't want to worry Princess Cheng, but there's no need to hide it from me." After a pause, he asked, "Were you scared today?"
Song Tangning gazed somewhat blankly at the man gently inquiring before her. He was much taller than she, yet when he spoke, he always lowered his head to accommodate her. The large hand on her shoulder, even through the fabric, radiated a warm temperature. His sudden concern caused the grievance and fear that she had suppressed due to worrying about Song Ru to surface.
The girl couldn't help but redden her eyes. "Brother, he almost molested me."
The places where Lu Zhinian had grabbed her arm ached; where he had held her felt even more uncomfortable. Just thinking about how she had almost been kissed by Lu Zhinian made her feel waves of nausea.
Xiao Yan's sharp eyes were filled with deep anger, almost tangible. Seeing her lower her reddened eyes, he said softly, "Don't be afraid; I'm here."
Hearing his soft words by her ear, Song Tangning felt her grievance becoming harder to suppress.
She knew she shouldn't be like this; it was just a scare. Next time, she could learn the lesson and not let people get close so easily. She had already faced death once; she shouldn't be frightened by such a small matter. She should learn how to deal with these troubles. But the warmth of his hand on her shoulder and his indulgence made it hard for her to hold back.
She shed tears full of grievance. "Brother, I hate Lu Zhinian."
"Mm."
"I never want to see him again."
"Okay."
Hearing his straightforward replies, Song Tangning's grievance was replaced by surprise. She hurriedly looked up with tears in her eyes. "I was just speaking casually; don't go after him, Brother."
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes; her voice was hoarse.
"If you take his life, the Lu family will pester you endlessly. From now on, I will always have people with me and will never be alone with him."
She thought of Xiao Yan's decisive and ruthless nature in the past, fearing he might really kill Lu Zhinian because of her casual words. She couldn't help but gently tug at Xiao Yan's sleeve, her voice carrying a few threads of softness. "I was just a bit scared; it's enough if you comfort me, Brother."
Xiao Yan looked at her as she raised her tearful eyes to him. Those almond-shaped eyes were misty with tears but filled with care and concern, expressing love and hate without any concealment. The ripples in her eyes seemed to hit directly into his heart. He couldn't help but soften his expression, reaching out to touch her hair.
"Alright, Brother will comfort you."
=============
Madam Qin stood inside the room, looking through the window lattice at the tall and short figures standing in the courtyard, seeming to lean on each other. She couldn't help but frown.
"Madam Qin, what's wrong?" Hua Wu came in carrying water. Seeing her in a daze, she couldn't help but peek.
Madam Qin pressed the little girl's head back down. "It's nothing."
She just felt that this usually cold and detached Governor Xiao seemed to be a bit overly concerned about Song Tangning, his "adopted sister." And that look in his eyes... Madam Qin touched her chin and clicked her tongue, then turned to the bewildered Hua Wu and said, "Go wring a cloth to wipe Miss Ru's body. In two hours, wake her up to take her medicine."
Hua Wu nodded in confusion. "Yes, Madam Qin."
You can read ahead to chapterr 300 here
No lie, maintaining composure until someone asks if you’re ok and is nice to you and then crying resonates HARD with me…
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