tallest building

Chapter 222 Pitiful
The Feng family saw Wen Mingqian and his mother off onto the carriage, and the young boys were reluctant to part with them.

Feng Tianzhu wiped away his tears and said, "You must come if you can leave the palace. I won't go anywhere else; I'll just wait for you at home."

As soon as the carriage left the Feng family's gate and turned a corner, they saw another carriage parked by the roadside. They recognized it as the carriage of the second branch of the Gong family.

Gong Baoan leaned out of the car and called out "Fourth Brother" with a mixture of joy and trepidation.

"Bao'an, what are you doing here?" Gong Chang'an asked with a smile.

“I…I heard you came to the Duke of Feng’s house,” Gong Bao’an tried to get to the point quickly, but instead lost his composure. “School is closed today, and I wanted to tell you that Black Tiger gave birth to six puppies. Also…Madam gave birth to a baby girl.”

"Fifth Young Master, don't rush, speak slowly." Wen Mingqian felt a pang of sympathy for the child.

His mother committed a terrible sin and abandoned him; Gong Xu no longer favored him either.

It was good that Madam Gong was alive, as the child could be raised in her room.

With Madam Gong gone, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to stay with the eldest son's family any longer, as it would be difficult to justify his actions.

At such a young age, it's understandable that he might feel lost and confused.

Fortunately, Madam Wan was not a malicious person, and the "madam" he mentioned earlier was naturally Madam Wan.

“Bao’an, come to our car! Come with us to the palace gate, then you can take your family’s car back home.” Gong Chang’an knew that he had come all this way just to spend a little time with him.

Gong Baoan was overjoyed to hear this, turned around, picked up a dark object, and jumped off the car.

"Oh dear, this is a puppy that hasn't opened its eyes yet." Only after he climbed onto the car did Wen Mingqian see clearly what was in his arms.

"Madam, no, Lady Wen, may I carry it into the carriage?" Gong Baoan asked cautiously.

"What's wrong with that? But you'd better hold it less often in the future, otherwise the big dog will smell that the scent on it is wrong and won't recognize it."

"It's so small, it still needs to be nursed. When it grows up, you can take it wherever you want to go," Wen Mingqian said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Gong Baoan hugged the puppy even tighter, his head bowed low, making it impossible for Wen Mingqian to see his expression.

After a long silence, he finally said in a low voice, "Little Six's mother hasn't given it any milk since it was born, and I don't know why. Maybe it's because it was the last to be born and was the weakest!"

Uncle Liu said that dogs often do this; the adult dog often abandons the weakest puppy, leaving it to fend for itself.

Wen Mingqian now understood why Bai Baoan had brought the dog with him; he felt a sense of shared suffering with the dog.

"It doesn't look that small or thin to me. Are you feeding it?" Wen Mingqian asked.

"Yes!" Gong Baoan nodded vigorously. "I learned from Wang Ma to feed it goat milk. At first, it refused to eat, but later it did! After it finished eating, I had to rub its belly."

Gong Baoan spoke fluently, and his previous frustration was nowhere to be seen.

"It's alright, Bao'an. With you taking care of it, Xiao Liu'er will definitely grow up. As long as you feed it well, it will definitely grow into a majestic big dog." Gong Chang'an patted Gong Bao'an's shoulder affectionately. "It's inconvenient for me to come and go in the palace right now. When I go out of the palace in the future, I'll take you with me to play."

He then pulled a slingshot from his pocket: "Here, take this. Use it to shoot fruit off the trees when you're free. But be careful not to hit anyone."

Gong Baoan asked excitedly, "Really, Fourth Brother? That's wonderful! I thought you thought I was too young and wouldn't want to play with me!"

“We’re brothers, how could I look down on you for being younger?” Gong Chang’an said. “Master is busy with official duties, and Madam is now taking care of her younger sister and managing the household affairs. Sometimes she can’t look after you, so don’t take it to heart. A man is born between heaven and earth, and he must be self-reliant and not wallow in self-pity. Just think about how I grew up in my hometown until I was seven years old, and I got through it all. Whether your circumstances are good or bad is not a big deal. What’s important is that you have your own principles.”

Gong Baoan nodded repeatedly; he trusted his fourth brother's words the most.

Wen Mingqian noticed a bruise on the inside of his arm and asked, "How did you get hurt here?"

Gong Baoan unconsciously withdrew his hand, trying to cover it up, saying, "It's nothing, I just bumped into something."

"Liar, how could you have bumped yourself here?" Gong Chang'an pulled his hand over to examine it. "Did someone bully you?"

Gong Baoan remained silent.

Wen Mingqian coaxed him, "Just tell us what's wrong. If we can help you, we definitely will. Don't you trust us?"

“No, Madam Wen,” Gong Baoan quickly explained, “it was at the school… Liu Chuanbin…”

"Is this Liu Chuanbin the grandson of the Prince of Shoushan?" Gong Chang'an vaguely recognized him.

Gong Baoan nodded: "Yes, he only joined our school this spring. Because of his high birth, he loves to bully people. We all secretly call him Little Tyrant."

"Have you told your family?" Gong Chang'an asked.

Gong Baoan shook his head: "I'm afraid my father will blame me. He just wants me to study quietly at school and not be naughty. Besides, the Liu family is powerful, so I'm afraid he can't get justice for me."

If I were to actually speak out, it would inevitably put him in a difficult position. Even if he reluctantly stood up for me, it would only be superficial.

The Liu family is notoriously protective of its own, so a feud between the two families is inevitable, and Liu Chuanbin will only escalate his actions thereafter.

Wen Mingqian sighed inwardly upon hearing this. Bao'an was a very sensible child despite his young age.

Gong Xu was a complete bully at home, but outside he only pretended to be a gentleman, claiming to be self-disciplined and respectful, but in reality he was utterly useless.

"Don't be afraid, I'll stand up for you," Gong Chang'an said resolutely. "I'll talk to Young Master Qi right away and ask him to keep an eye on you at the school. Once I find a chance to leave the palace, I'll have a good talk with that Liu fellow."

"Fourth Brother, don't... don't offend people for my sake, it's not worth it," Gong Baoan hurriedly advised.

He now deeply regrets saying everything.

But the concern shown by Wen Mingqian and his mother overwhelmed him, and he poured out all his grievances. All he wanted was to vent; it was enough that someone was willing to listen to him.

"I'm your fourth brother, how could I abandon you?" Gong Chang'an smiled. "Just wait and see!"

After saying that, he jumped out of the car and returned to the Feng family. He couldn't leave this matter to Feng Tianzhu.

Firstly, Feng Tianzhu is ill. If he has been provoked and his illness relapses, that would be bad.

Secondly, Gong Baoan's birth mother, Song, had harmed him in the past, and Aunt Wu still harbors deep resentment when she mentions it.

Xu Mang is too impulsive. If you tell him now, he'll storm the Liu family tonight.

Therefore, Qi Ziyu is a better choice. He is meticulous and knows what is important, and he will surely be able to handle things properly.