Chapter 43

Xie Yunyan pressed his lips tightly and said, “It has nothing to do with you.”

He also hoped that Third Sister-in-law’s child could be saved—after all, that child was the Third Brother’s only bloodline and Eldest Madam Xiao’s hope for the future. Even if the child couldn’t be saved, it wasn’t Su Jinyuan’s fault. He knew all too well how dangerous the Xiao family’s situation was and how difficult it was for her to forge a path for their survival.

She was just a young girl. Who would have imagined that Wei Wanyun would be pregnant? And perhaps even Wei Wanyun herself didn’t know she was carrying a child—otherwise, how could she have hidden it and why would she have been embroiled in such a scene outside the mansion today?

Grabbing her wrist, Xie Yunyan said, word for word, “Don’t think too much. Even if this child really can’t be saved, it means he is never meant for the Xiao family—and it has nothing to do with you.”

Staring blankly up at him, Su Jinyuan asked, “But…?”

“There is no but.”

With her lips pressed together, she looked at the young man with an unquestioning glare and suddenly remembered something. She straightened her posture sharply.

No—there’s still hope!

She quickly broke free of Xie Yunyan’s grasp and urgently called out to Doctor Gao, “Doctor Gao, please do your best to keep the child in her womb alive for at least another hour—I’m going to get someone.”

“Ah Yuan!” Old Madam Xiao saw Su Jinyuan suddenly bolt out the door and called after her, but Su Jinyuan was already nowhere to be seen.

Xie Yunyan, staring at his empty hand, lowered his eyes to his severed leg, and a flash of harsh anger surged within him.

After leaving the Xiao residence, Su Jinyuan immediately commandeered a carriage and raced toward Xinglin Hall. By the time she arrived, she had rushed in in a complete state of disarray.

“Hey, miss…” The attendants at Xinglin Hall, seeing her burst in all smeared with blood, assumed she’d been injured and rushed over to help.

Su Jinyuan urgently asked, “Where is Xi Junning?”

The man paused, and when Uncle Hu, who had come out upon hearing the commotion, recognized her face, he too was momentarily stunned. “Is it you?”

He remembered this little girl clearly—from the last time she came in with a bruised, swollen face, having bought a huge amount of poison and even obtained the young master’s Heart Salvation Pills. But this time, she looked even more ragged than before.

“Miss, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. And what about your young master?”

Uncle Hu was taken aback. “My young master is in the backyard, miss. What do you… Hey, what are you doing?!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Su Jinyuan stormed in without a word.

Uncle Hu immediately rushed after her, trying to stop her, but she moved as slick as an eel—dodging several people’s attempts to intercept her—and burst straight into the backyard of Xinglin Hall before finally being caught.

“What on earth is wrong with you? Trespassing into someone else’s place without reason—get out immediately!”

Uncle Hu ordered his men to seize Su Jinyuan and take her away.
Su Jinyuan hurriedly called out loudly from inside, “Xi Junning! Xi Junning, are you there? Xi Junning!!”

Uncle Hu stepped forward to try to cover Su Jinyuan’s mouth, but Xi Junning had already heard the commotion. When he emerged from the room at the end of the corridor, he saw Su Jinyuan being dragged out by her arm.

“Uncle Hu,” Xi Junning called out to stop him. Immediately, Su Jinyuan flung away the hand gripping her arm and hurried over to Xi Junning.

“How strange—you actually came looking for me on your own?” Xi Junning raised his eyebrows as he looked at the little girl’s disheveled appearance. “What’s the matter? Have you gotten into trouble again? Or have you finally realized that you were heartless last time and now come to apologize to me?”

Su Jinyuan quickly produced a handful of silver bills from her bosom and stuffed them directly into Xi Junning’s arms.

“What for?” Xi Junning asked with a smile in his peach-blossom eyes. “I do not trade in my looks.”

Grabbing his sleeve, Su Jinyuan pleaded, “You have to help me save someone…”

Xi Junning stood his ground, letting her tug at his sleeve. “It seems my help is only remembered when you need me, isn’t it?”

He snorted softly, remembering that he had waited for her two hours earlier that day—and she had only given him a few scraps of silver to send him away. Now, she wants him to rescue someone.

“Dream on!” he said, pretending to shake off his sleeve and scoffing, “I won’t save you.”

“I’ll give you silver…”

“Silver only pleases me when I’m in a good mood. Right now, I’m not in such a mood, so what is silver worth?”

Su Jinyuan pressed her lips together and looked at him. “Then what will make you happy?”

Xi Junning teased, “I wouldn’t know. Perhaps if you apologize to me—admit that you were ungrateful last time for teasing me—then I might be pleased.”

“And if you want me to have you save someone, then beg me…”

“Bang!”

No sooner had Xi Junning finished his teasing remark than he saw the once-tough little girl suddenly drop to her knees before him—the sound of her knees hitting the ground echoing throughout the courtyard. Hu Bo and the others were all stunned.

“I beg you,” Su Jinyuan said, looking up at him. “Teasing you that day was my fault. I was ungrateful and unseeing of the good intentions of Young Master Xi. I apologize to you, and I beg you to be magnanimous and not hold it against me.”

Xi Junning’s smile faded. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Please, I beg you.”

“…” He burst into a laugh, half in anger, “Is your knee so worthless that you just drop to it like that? You weren’t so spineless before—but now you collapse at the drop of a hat?”

Su Jinyuan pressed her lips together. She wasn’t exactly a saint; she had once lived without any self-respect and had resorted to ruthless means to achieve her goals. Her knees were worth nothing. To save her own life and pave the way for Lu Zhuo, she had bowed countless times—yet never with as much sincerity as now.

The Xiao family must not be extinguished; that child must be saved. As long as Xi Junning agrees to help, it wouldn’t matter if she had to kneel to him once or ten times.

Xi Junning looked into the little girl’s dark eyes, which were fixed on him with unwavering determination. Her eyes glistened red, while her tiny, bloodstained, and ragged frame suddenly made him feel a pang in his heart. He reached out and helped her to her feet. Yet Su Jinyuan stubbornly insisted on kneeling again.

“Weren’t you here to save someone?” Xi Junning said in a cold tone.

“Do you agree to help me save them?”

“If I don’t help you, will you leave?”

Su Jinyuan straightened up quickly and grinned, “Young Master Xi—with your commanding presence, handsome looks, and compassionate heart—how could you ever watch someone die and do nothing?”

Xi Junning was momentarily silent. “Tch,” he muttered. This little brat speaks politely to some and differently to others!

When Su Jinyuan led Xi Junning back to the Xiao residence, she carried his medicine box on her back while Xi Junning held his fan. Turning to Su Jinyuan, who was urging him to come inside, he remarked, “You aren’t even married to Xiao Yunxi—why are you so inclined toward the Xiao family?”

“They are good people,” Su Jinyuan replied.

Xi Junning was stunned for a moment. He had intended to laugh at her for trying to fool him, but unexpectedly, he saw an earnestness in her expression that left no trace of jest.

Without further thought, Su Jinyuan half-dragged and half-pulled him inside the Xiao residence.

Outside in the hall, the Xiao family members were still stationed. When they saw Su Jinyuan return, they were all startled, and when Xie Yunyan noticed the person following her, he immediately frowned.

“Ah Yuan—this is…” Old Madam Xiao asked, puzzled.

“He’s the doctor from Xinglin Hall. He’s very accomplished,” Su Jinyuan explained.

Noticing that Xie Yunyan’s eyes looked unfamiliar toward Xi Junning—clearly, the prior claims that Xi Junning and Xie Yunyan were friends were nothing but empty chatter—she said nothing more, simply pulling Xi Junning forward.