Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Nighttime, in the tent of Zhiyun Manor.

The flickering candlelight cast Xue Biqing's slender figure onto the wall.

Footsteps approached from afar, but stopped outside the door and remained motionless for a long time.

Xue Bi looked up and caught a glimpse of a skirt fluttering past through the crack in the door, casting a slender, quiet shadow on the window sill.

"The Nightingale?" He put down his pen.

Once recognized, Liu Wenying saw no need to hide anymore and pushed open the door to come in.

She rarely showed this expression; she was hesitant, uneasy, and filled with doubt and curiosity.

Xue Bi had a bad feeling, but still asked, "Is there something you want to ask me?"

He stood up and offered her his seat.

Liu Wenying didn't sit down. She pursed her lips and said, "Xue Bi, I have something to ask you."

"Wen Ying, please ask."

"You are... the Xue family prodigy who was once famous throughout the capital?"

The candle flame flickered and became even brighter, illuminating every speck of dust in the room.

Xue Bi stopped breathing for a few breaths.

He stood there like a stone statue whose outer shell had been suddenly chiseled open, revealing what he had kept hidden for a long time and dared not show to others easily.

Even paper wrapped in fire for over a decade will eventually burn through.

But he didn't expect it to come so suddenly.

Xue Bi lowered her eyes and nodded: "...Yes, it's me."

The nod was small, but it sent a shiver down Liu Wenying's spine.

She's not stupid; she figured it out quickly.

The child prodigy Xue Bi was famous throughout the capital and was as renowned as the noble Second Master.

Back then, they were all just children, yet equally brilliant and outstanding, enjoying unparalleled popularity.

Later, the Xue family fell from grace, and like a tree falling, its members scattered; the entire family was convicted.

After the child prodigy became a criminal, he fell from grace and into the mud.

But the Second Master remains the second young master of the Pei family, high above and unapproachable.

Xue Bi might even recognize the Second Master at first sight.

If he agreed to marry into the family, wouldn't his motives be impure?

She does need the status of a live-in husband, and she will give that person enough money to repay him after the matter is settled.

But ultimately, she didn't like being deceived or schemed against.

"So, when you said you wanted to marry into my family, was it because you genuinely wanted to help me, or was there another reason?"

Liu Wenying's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"It's not what you think!"

Xue Bi hurried over, even bumping his side against the corner of the table, which made him wince in pain, but he didn't care.

My feelings for you are genuine; they are not because of anyone else.

"Why? Lu Ye helped me because I helped him and Nurse Lu. What about you, Master Xue?"

She called him Master Xue, politely yet distantly, as if a needle had pierced Xue Bi's heart.

"You've been good to me, and I always thought it was because you're kind-hearted. When you said you wanted to marry into my family, I thought it was just a temporary measure, a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"After the child is born and we get divorced, I'll give you money. You can take it and live your own life. We'll be even."

Liu Wenying paused for a moment, then said, "But now it seems that's not the case."

A suffocating pain welled up in Xue Bi's heart. She wanted to keep what she shouldn't say to herself, but if she didn't, she would be met with misunderstanding and disgust.

He seemed to have staked his life on it, and after struggling, he said, "Because... I love you."

Liu Wenying hadn't expected this answer, but something seemed to be burning in his eyes, intensely hot and undeniable.

"W-When did it start? Why? I've always thought of you as Luo Luo's teacher, I never imagined..."

I never imagined you'd want to be Luo Luo's stepfather?

The second half of her words lingered on her tongue before she swallowed them back down.

Xue Bi suddenly smiled, but there was a bitterness in his smile.

"A long time ago, you appreciated my abilities at first, and later you prepared midnight snacks for me and even bought me a low couch so I could rest for the night when the wind and rain blocked my way home."

"You set up a nursing home to take in orphans without parents and provide shelter for the elderly without support, while I teach and nurture people, hoping that children can learn to read and write and have a better future."

"I thought we shared the same interests."

"Later, I don't know why, but when I was teaching you to practice calligraphy, an accidental touch would make my heart race wildly."

"For some reason, I feel jealous when I see others being too close to you."

"Until... his appearance, all the fog was blown away."

Xue Bi walked towards her and stopped three steps away.

His jaw trembled slightly, and a thin layer of water glistened in his eyes, like ice about to freeze on a lake in early winter, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

"Wenying, please don't misunderstand me like that... okay?"

His eyes were terribly red at the corners, and the light of the oil lamp clearly illuminated the moisture in his eye sockets.

Liu Wenying felt as if a hand had been inserted into her chest, causing her both soreness and pain.

She didn't know how to respond for a moment, so she remained silent.

The light in Xue Bi's eyes dimmed little by little, like a lamp blown out by the wind; the embers were still burning, but the flame was gone.

"I understand. I won't come back after I finish my errands at the manor."

Xue Bi sat back in his original position, feeling as if his bones and muscles had been removed.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over his head, and Liu Wenying took out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe the ink stains from his cuffs.

He got up in such a hurry that his sleeve brushed against the inkstone on the table, and he didn't even notice the ink stains spreading on his sleeve.

"You've always been so steady and reliable, how come you're acting so clumsy now? You're the best accountant I've ever met, you can't not come to the estate."

These words were like the last straw; Xue Bi suddenly stood up, reached out, and pulled her into his arms.

"Wenying, I don't ask for anything, I just ask that you don't push me away."

Xue Bi was trembling slightly, as fragile as a piece of paper that could be torn at the slightest touch.

Liu Wenying slowly raised her hand and gently returned the embrace.

Xue Bi hugged her even tighter.

After a long pause, Liu Wenying said, "Xue Bi, I cannot reciprocate your feelings. These are turbulent times, and there are many things to plan and manage. I really have no heart to talk about personal matters."

"Once the storm has passed and everything is settled, and your feelings haven't changed, I'll think about it again, okay?"

If in the future his feelings change and he loses his original intentions, then this entanglement will end there, which would be a relief for both of them.

Xue Bi released her, forcing a smile through her reddened eyes, "Okay, I'll wait for you. No matter what happens in the future, my feelings won't change easily."

Completely shutting down her next words, Liu Wenying sighed. Why are they all so stubborn?

Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "You still haven't told me why you know the Second Prince? Exiled people aren't allowed to enter the capital..."

"I... I sneaked into the city, but this concerns more than just me. I'll definitely tell you later, okay?"

Xue Bi wished he could swear to the heavens, "I guarantee with my life that you will be in no danger whatsoever."

His eyes were open and honest, and he had a clear conscience.

"I'm not afraid of being in danger myself, I'm afraid of being in danger for you."

"Wen Ying..." He stared wide-eyed.

Xue Bi's throat bobbed, a thousand words stuck in her chest, finally turning into a single sentence: "Thank you."

Liu Wenying smiled and her eyes were bright. "Yes, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me. I, Granny Wang, and everyone in Tanxi Village and the Almshouse will help you."

Xue Bi gently wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her neck. "Having you is enough."

…………