Guarding the Stepmother? My Mom and I Don’t Need You Chapter 42
Chapter 42 Cutting Off Fourth Brother’s Future
Crown Prince Rong Chen had been seated at the head of the table since entering.
Seeing the Wen family arguing again, he subtly furrowed his brows and turned to look at the calm Wen Xueling, who was sipping tea.
His voice was low, “Miss Wen has a point.”
“Since this prince is already here, I truly desire the Qin Tian Ink formula. Miss Wen, why not be straightforward and state your conditions directly?”
Wen Xueling looked over, meeting the Crown Prince’s clear gaze, and smiled, “I’ve heard that Your Royal Highness cherishes ink. Your humble servant would naturally present it with both hands, but alas......”
Her tone shifted, and she directly pulled back the Prime Minister’s Estate’s veil of pretense.
“Someone in the Prime Minister’s Estate withheld the rewards bestowed upon your humble servant by the Empress Dowager, and then ordered to cut off daily necessities and meals to our courtyard. Your humble servant is truly in dire need of money.”
The few people who had accompanied the Empress Dowager looked at Wen Jinli and the others in surprise.
They then compared the fabric of Wen Xueling’s and Wen Jin’an’s clothes, noticing the stark difference, and immediately came to a conclusion.
“Shut up!” Wen Jinli’s heart sank, and he sharply reprimanded Wen Xueling.
He turned and bowed to the Crown Prince, awkwardly saying, “Your Royal Highness, it’s my fault as an elder brother. I scolded her a couple of times this morning. Ling’er is narrow-minded and holds grudges, she’s deliberately speaking nonsense to vent her anger.”
While saying that the Prime Minister’s Estate would never do such a thing, Wen Jinli tugged Wen Xueling’s arm through his sleeve.
“Your Highness, I’ll have a quick word with her and be right back.”
He forcibly dragged her into the courtyard, his face dark, and angrily said, “Wen Xueling, are you trying to kill us all?!”
Wen Xueling scoffed, “If it could kill you, that would be wonderful.”
“You!” Angered by her, Wen Jinli subconsciously raised his hand to slap her, then remembered bringing her out in front of the Crown Prince.
He suppressed the anger in his chest and threw a money pouch at her, “Here’s your money!”
Truly a pauper who had fallen into a money pit, with nothing but money on her mind. How could such a person be his sister?!
While feeling disgusted, he instructed his servant boy to fetch a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
“Hurry up and write out the detailed formula!” His voice was deliberately lowered, not daring to let those in the room hear.
Wen Xueling looked at his anxious face with a half-smile, the smile on her lips widening.
Catching a glimpse of the bright yellow hem of a robe near the door, she suddenly raised her hand, covering her smiling lips with her sleeve, feigning sobs.
“Cough, cough......My wounds haven’t healed yet. Please, elder brother, don’t hit me again.”
Wen Jinli frowned, “When did I hit you......”
“Elder brother, I haven’t had a full meal in a while. Even the imperial physician said my body is weak. I just want to exchange for some money so Mother and I don’t starve. What have I done wrong?”
Wen Xueling’s voice wasn’t loud, but the library was inherently a quiet place, where even a slight sound could be amplified several times.
She didn’t tell him that the Crown Prince was behind him, witnessing his other face.
In her previous life, Wen Jinli, leveraging his status as the Crown Prince’s companion, gained many benefits and also secured many favors for his stepsister.
In this life, she wouldn’t give him that opportunity again.
As the future Crown Prince, he wouldn’t allow someone so indiscernible to right and wrong to remain by his side, inviting disaster at any moment.
His future in this life......she would personally sever!
Leaving no room for retreat.
Wen Jinli, after returning from his rest day from studies, was either doting on his stepsister or being filial to his stepmother, completely unaware that their scoundrel father had cut off the daily necessities and meals to the Small Building in the North Courtyard.
Wen Jinli genuinely felt she was slandering the Prime Minister’s Estate and sternly rebuked, “You are simply quibbling!”
“The estate is not short on money, so how could we deny you and Mother a few meals? If you continue to speak nonsense in front of His Highness, don’t blame me for reporting you to the authorities.”
He spoke so righteously, yet it was all to use her formula to save Wen Jin’an.
Her face darkened, and she scoffed, “Not wanting money is fine, I can present the formula to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but......”
Staring at Wen Jinli’s eyes, which had lit up with hope, Wen Xueling raised her voice and said, “Elder brother also cannot secretly ask His Highness for other favors, how about that?”
Once again, his hidden thoughts were exposed, and Wen Jinli’s face turned ugly.
He said with heartfelt indignation, “How could I ask for other favors? You’re judging a gentleman’s heart with a villain’s mind!”
Wen Xueling suppressed the sarcasm in her eyes and bowed to the man behind him.
“Your Royal Highness, elder brother’s words are polite. Qin Tian Ink, being such a rare treasure, indeed should not be tainted by money.”
“Your humble servant is willing to present the formula freely, without asking for any reward.”
Wen Jin’an, who had followed the Crown Prince out, heard this and her eyes flashed with anxiety, giving Wen Jinli a hurried glance.
No rewards? How was she supposed to request the lifting of her house arrest then?!
Wen Jinli hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to be right behind them, his face pale, feeling as though Wen Xueling had trapped him again.
“Good. Since that’s the case, this prince shall, on behalf of all ink lovers in the realm, thank Miss Wen for her magnanimous act.”
Rong Chen gazed deeply at Wen Xueling, his interest in her growing.
It was unrelated to gender.
The Crown Prince’s words directly cut off Wen Jinli’s opportunity to make further requests, rendering his recent efforts completely futile.
He turned to look at his teary-eyed stepsister, his heart sinking: If it weren’t for Wen Xueling causing trouble, things would have gone smoothly. It’s all her fault!
Wen Xueling retrieved another formula, this time enclosed in an exquisite envelope.
She respectfully presented it with both hands, “Your Royal Highness, if you immerse the formula in water, a miraculous sight will appear.”
The attendant reached out to take it, but Rong Chen raised his hand.
He personally took the envelope from her, smiling, “Good. This prince looks forward to it.”
After seeing the Crown Prince off, Wen Jin’an immediately ran off crying.
Wen Jinli hurriedly chased after her to comfort her.
Though the sunlight hung scorching overhead, the winter wind grew increasingly cold.
Wen Xueling stood in the Prime Minister’s Estate, quietly watching the Crown Prince’s carriage disappear into the distance, no emotion visible on her face.
Inside the carriage, the attendant reported his findings.
Hearing that Wen Jingshu had indeed cut off the daily necessities and meals for Wen Xueling and her mother, Rong Chen’s dark eyes flickered, further solidifying his intention not to have Wen Jinli as a close minister.
“Have a hundred taels of gold sent to the Prime Minister’s Estate.”
Before nightfall, the Prime Minister’s Estate received the reward sent by the Crown Prince, specifically requesting that Wen Xueling receive it.
Wen Jinli tried to accept it on her behalf, but the Crown Prince’s personal attendant refused.
It wasn’t until Wen Xueling appeared and personally received it that the attendant left.
Coldly watching the wooden chest being carried away by Tang Chun and Tang Xia, Wen Jinli remembered his futile efforts, which had only served to benefit Wen Xueling, and a wave of anger surged within him.
He said gloomily, “You truly know how to ride the East Wind!”
With that, he flicked his sleeves and left.
Wen Xueling’s emotions faded for an instant, watching his retreating back indifferently.
Opportunities weren’t something to be waited for; they had to be created by oneself.
Just as......when she discovered that the ink on the wall of Mingzhu Courtyard was the Qin Tian Ink she had made for her Fourth Brother, a plan had already formed in her mind.
The wall she specifically instructed Yan Ze to blow up wasn’t chosen at random.
The Crown Prince revered ink, obsessively so.
And “Qin Tian Ink” was a rare treasure among inks, difficult to find in the world.
Even with knowledge of its production techniques, creating a flawless ink stick was no easy feat.
She had been steady-handed and skilled at carving since childhood; what was incredibly difficult for others was as easy as turning over her hand for her.
This “East Wind” from the Crown Prince did not fall from the sky.
It was meticulously plotted by her.