The Stepmother is Unkind - Chapter 77

The crowded crowd retreated a little bit, centered on the protagonists of the incident, just to squeeze out a large space.

The gangster fell to the ground clutching his crotch, dazed from the pain, rolling from side to side.

The guards who squeezed over restrained his hands, and he couldn’t even cover it, and his eyes were gone.

The two guards grabbed his arms and pulled him up, but the villain was powerless to resist, his senses were concentrated on his lower body, his legs were always tucked, and he couldn’t stand.

Every time the people around him glanced at him, they subconsciously glanced at the woman wearing the white fox mask on the other side, swallowing saliva uncontrollably.

After the crowd, Xie Qin, who found his sisters hurried, looked at the center with his legs as if they were nailed to the same place.

His face was completely hidden behind the mask, and there was no expression at all.

Siniang Yin Mingruo and Bai Zhixu looked at each other and buried their heads deeply, not daring to openly spy on his heart.

After a while, Xie Qin stepped forward with great equanimity, patted the shoulder of the outermost person, and said in a calm voice, “Excuse me, borrow it.”

The person in front turned back and saw the white fox mask on his face, startled, and immediately retreated to the side.

“Hey! Who stepped on my foot…”

The person next to him was stepped on by him and shouted loudly. Just as he turned his head to make a theory, he turned his head to see the identical white fox mask on Xie Qin’s face, and his voice stopped abruptly as if he was strangled by the neck.

This man’s reaction was even more exaggerated. He looked at Xie Qin’s face, then looked at the other white fox mask in the middle, and then looked back at his mask. After confirming that it was exactly the same, he quickly retreated.

And his shout suddenly awakened the onlookers.

Everyone looked back, and when they saw Xie Qin’s mask, they immediately moved to the sides with the same movement as the two of them.

As if the crowd was split by something, a road appeared in an instant.

Opposite, a six or seven-year-old boy looked at Xie Qin with his mouth open, “Wow—”, pointed his finger at Xie Qin, and shouted in surprise, “Another white fox!”

As soon as he was excited, the candy man in his hand fell to the ground without a hold, and the boy came back to his senses and looked down, his face changed instantly, and he was about to cry when he opened his mouth.

But before he could scream, his elders glanced at Xie Qin quickly and hurriedly carried him out of the crowd.

Xie Qin: “…”

I never imagined that one day I would be so arrogant.

Yin Mingruo and Bai Zhixu, who were behind him, looked at each other again, pursed their mouths tightly, and clenched the ru skirt tightly with their hands to hide their inner unrest.

The Xie family’s guard shouted, “Lang Jun.”

Xie Qin stepped into the center of the crowd with a steady pace, and after carefully looking at Yin Mingyu and Xie Ce, he said sternly to the guards: “The protector is not strong enough, and everyone will receive the punishment after returning to the palace!”

The guards bowed their heads: “My subordinates are guilty.”

“Don’t teach gangsters to approach Xiao Langjun and the ladies again.”

“Yes, Mr. Lang.”

Xie Qin then looked at the villain in the guard’s hands, and said coldly, “Send it to the Jingzhao Mansion.”

The guard took the order, pushed aside the crowd, and carried the bad guy out.

Yin Mingruo and Bai Zhixu came in behind Xie Qin and went straight to Yin Mingyu and Xie Ce.

“Sister, are you alright?”

Bai Zhixu also asked with concern, “Cousin-in-law, is there any injury? Where’s Ce’er? Are you injured?”

Xie Ce was already in Yin Mingyu’s arms, staring intently at one place.

Yin Mingyu’s fast-paced heartbeat when facing the gangster had calmed down. He shook his head very calmly at the two of them, and then held Xie Ce’s hand that the gangster had just grabbed, turned it up and down, left and right, and asked him, “Does it hurt?”

Xie Ce shook his head, still staring at the ground.

Yin Mingyu and the three noticed Xie Ce’s eyes, and they looked along, and saw half a candy man lying on the ground, and they were all amused.

At this time, I was still hungry, and it seemed that nothing happened.

Bai Zhixu shook his little hand and smiled, “Does Ce’er want a candy man? I’ll buy it for you later.”

When Xie Ce heard this, he finally looked at the two of them, showing a cute and innocent smile.

Yin Mingruo had seen his timid and quiet appearance before, but in just a few months, he seemed to have changed his personality. It was not necessary to say who owed all this to him.

Yin Mingyu continued to check Xie Ce’s arm, with **** gently pinching the place where his upper arm was caught.

Xie Ce whispered “pain” and ducked.

Yin Mingyu asked him to move his arm again. Seeing that he didn’t cry out in pain, he just let go.

Due to the chaos just now, the prayer dance also stopped, and their location became the center of the blockage.

Xie Qin instructed the guards to check on the people whose clothes were on fire before, and taught them to evacuate the people. When the blessing performance resumed, the queue slowly moved forward before approaching Yin Mingyu and the others.

“How are your feet?” Xie Qin hugged Xie Ce with one hand and looked down at Yin Mingyu’s feet.

Yin Mingyu gave a “tsk” and said in disgust, “My feet are fine, but my shoes are dirty.”

Xie Qin looked at her dirty shoe uppers and asked calmly, “Will you continue to visit the lantern festival?”

Chu He, who came down from the second floor to greet them, stopped abruptly and looked at Xie Qin with admiration.

His wife is so… sturdy, Xie Jingming can calmly ask if he wants to go to the lantern festival, which is very personable.

And Yin Mingyu looked at Xie Ce, Yin Mingruo, and Bai Zhixu, and asked them, “Do you want to continue shopping?”

Yin Mingruo and Bai Zhixu looked at each other, not knowing if it was too heartless to continue shopping at this time, but after the incident, they really didn’t have much fear, which was quite strange.

Xie Ce was the most straightforward, and said in a milky voice, “Mother, I want a candy man.”

When Yin Mingyu heard it, he said, “Then let’s continue shopping.”

Not far away, Chu He looked at Yin Mingyu with more admiration than Xie Qin, this is the real extraordinary person.

Xie Qin turned around with Xie Ce in his arms, and saw Chu He standing in front.

Yin Mingyu also saw Chu He. Seeing that Chu He looked at her in a strange way, and he didn’t feel strange at all, he nodded slightly at him.

Chu He immediately bowed his hands and greeted her with a more upright attitude than when he was dealing with Xie Qin.

Yin Mingyu: “…” That’s not necessarily the case.

Xie Ce also remembered Chu He and shouted enthusiastically, “Sheep! Uncle!”

Uncle Sheep?

Chu He was a little at a loss, what was this called.

Xie Qin corrected Xie Ce, “Don’t be rude, this is Uncle Chu.”

Chu He didn’t mind, he recognized it with a smile: “It’s okay, Uncle Sheep is Uncle Sheep.”

Bai Zhixu looked at him curiously, Yin Mingruo introduced Chu He’s identity in a low voice in her ear, and explained, “My sister’s sheep were given by Chu Langjun.”

Bai Zhixu suddenly realized that it turned out that the so-called “sheep of the right prime minister’s family” came from this one, and “Uncle Sheep”… also deserved its name.

Afterwards, they greeted each other and Chu He walked with them.

Xie Qin asked: “Yaoqing, you are going to leave Beijing soon, can the government arrange it properly?”

“I’m alone, I can leave without any worries.” Chu He said casually, “But only an old servant is left to guard the empty house, and I have to trouble Jingming to take care of it for me.”

He said it very casually, and Yin Mingyu’s three daughters all looked sideways.

But Xie Qin also had plans in his heart, so he just said: “I will take care of it in the church.”

Chu He didn’t think much about it, and said thank you directly.

Xie Ce was sitting high and looking far away, when he saw the candy man stand in front of him, he straightened his legs and wanted to stand up in his father’s arms. With his little hands pointing into the distance, he excitedly turned to Bai Zhixu and told her that there was candy people.

Xie Qin held him in one hand, and held Yin Mingyu’s wrist with the other.

At this moment, Xie Ce made a fuss. Xie Qin hugged him tightly while temporarily loosening Yin Mingyu’s wrist. He patted Xie Ce’s buttocks lightly, and scolded, “Be honest.”

Xie Ce put his hands on his buttocks and stared at his father with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe that his father “hit” him, then he turned to Yin Mingyu, opened his hands aggrievedly, “Mother~”

Yin Mingyu responded in a perfunctory way. Seeing that Bai Zhixu and Siniang went to buy a candy man together, he wanted to go over and take a look.

But as soon as she moved, Xie Qin held her wrist again, “Don’t walk around.”

Then he turned back to continue talking with Chu He.

Yin Mingyu looked at the guards who were closely behind Bai Zhixu and Siniang, who did not dare to get too far away, and was speechless, but it would have pulled his injured arm, so she should not struggle too much, and stood beside Xie Qin Tiptoe to see the progress of the sugar man.

It’s just that people come and go on the long street, and people always block their sight. On the contrary, Xie Ce, sitting on his father’s arm, has a good vision. He can see every step of the sugar man clearly, and the mask can’t block it. Let him make some amazed sounds from time to time.

Xie Qin Yuguang noticed Yin Mingyu’s movements, and while talking to Chu He, he walked to the sugar man stand and taught Yin Mingyu to look closer.

The candy man was ready, Xie Qinfu loosened Yin Mingyu’s wrist again, raised his hand and said casually, “The purse is in my sleeve.”

Yin Mingyu paused, took out the purse from his sleeve, and paid.

When she was about to put the purse back, Xie Qin used his wide sleeves to hold her wrist and lead her forward.

Yin Mingyu endured and endured, and really couldn’t bear the “cuffs” around his wrists, so he approached Xie Qin, gritted his teeth and said, “Are you afraid that I will bite someone? Chain me?”

Xie Qin was helpless, “You are talking nonsense again.”

Yin Mingyu shook the hands that were connected to each other, “Since that’s the case, there’s no need to be so nervous.”

While they were talking, another passerby looked at them with strange eyes and swept their faces back and forth.

There was one person, especially exaggerated, who stared at them all the way, passed by, and turned his head to stare at them with a look of excitement and depression.

Yin Mingyu: “…”

Even knowing that pedestrians couldn’t see her face through the mask, it was still embarrassing.

She held back some expectations and asked Xie Qin, “I’m wearing a mask, no one should know it’s me, right?”

Xie Qin looked back at her and asked calmly, “What do you think?”

she feels…

Yin Mingyu looked at Chu He involuntarily.

Chu Hepburn was observing their husband and wife, and as soon as he met her eyes, he turned away as if nothing had happened.

Yin Mingyu: “…”

Since Chu He can recognize them, there is no guarantee that no one else will recognize them, and the gangster was sent to the Jingzhao Mansion by the Xie family guards…

Yin Mingyu has some bad premonitions. She has always been in the nest, but she is still very dignified and gentle outside. After today, how should rumors be heard in Beijing?

That’s all for the gentlemen, will the little ladies avoid her for fear of being too late?

When Yin Mingyu thought of that scene, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit of grief and anger in his heart, “My life is not up to me”, and he didn’t care about breaking free from Xie Qin’s shackles.

On the other side, in Xie’s house, the three elders of the Xie family received the news from the yamen of Jingzhao House, and only then did they know that Xie Ce had almost taught the gangsters to abduct them in disorder, and they all had lingering fears.

Mrs. Xie was sitting in the house and waiting for the right to wait and did not see the people who went out coming back early. She became more and more anxious, and said angrily: “What a rude heart, after such a big thing, don’t come back quickly!”

Mrs. Xie was also concerned, but she still patiently advised: “Mother, doesn’t this mean that they are all right? Otherwise, someone would have been sent back to the manor.”

“Even if it’s all right, Jing Ming should send someone back to let us know, and let’s be anxious.” Madam Xie was really worried and continued to urge people to go to the lantern festival to find them back.

At the same time, Patriarch Xie asked the cause and effect clearly, and returned to the backyard with a deep face.

Mrs. Xie knew where he went, and when she saw his expression, she felt uneasy, and quickly asked him, “But what’s wrong?”

Mrs. Xie also raised her heart.

Patriarch Xie shook his head slightly, teaching his followers to explain the situation to the two of them.

As soon as the entourage finished speaking, the conservatory was silent, and both Mrs. Xie and Mrs. Xie were speechless.

Head Xie waved back his followers with a somewhat indescribable expression, and said, “Mother, Madam, why do I see Yin’s… unusual?”

Mrs. Xie: “…”

After Mrs. Xie was speechless, her mood was inexplicably calmed down, and she said in a bad mood: “It’s rare and strange, isn’t it good? Which stepmother has a second mother who is kind to her stepson?”

Of course, the family head Xie didn’t think that his daughter-in-law was unkind, but…it was very different from his impressions. Rao was the prime minister to the right, and he had experienced a lot, and it was hard to hide his shock.

Mrs. Xie ignored him, and only asked every once in a while, “Have you not come back yet?”

After asking several times in a row, the outside finally came to report: “Old Madam, Your Excellency, Madam, Langjun, they are back!”

Madam Xie stood up and looked towards the door.

Not long after, the door curtain was lifted, and Xie Ce, with both hands full, ran in excitedly, one of them shouted again, and held up the candy man to give to the elders.

When Mrs. Xie and Mrs. Xie saw that he was fine, their hearts were instantly settled, and they accepted his gift with a smile.

The head of the Xie family also got a sugar man from Xie Ce, but he was always dignified, and the sugar man in his hand was very incompatible with him, but he still stared at the sugar man with a straight face. The scene was both weird and funny.

After Xie Ce sent his grandfather Candy Man, he ran back to Mrs. Xie’s side in a blink of an eye.

Yin Mingyu, Xie Qin, and Bai Zhixu stepped in a little later, and they all froze when they saw Patriarch Xie like this.

And the three elders of the Xie family looked at Yin Mingyu among them…with complicated expressions.

Yin Mingyu changed another mask at the lantern festival, but before that, she had seen all kinds of eyes all the way.

Mrs. Xie coughed lightly and said warmly, “Second Niang, you’ve worked hard for you, go back to rest early.”

Yin Mingyu nodded softly, but did not leave immediately, but told Mrs. Xie and Mrs. Xie about the possible injury to Xie Ce’s arm.

When Mrs. Xie heard it, she hurriedly asked someone to call the doctor, and complained that Xie Qin didn’t bring Xie Ce back earlier.

Xie Qin did not argue and listened quietly to his grandmother’s rebuke.

Then the doctor came to check on Xie Ce. There were only some bruises on his arm, but his muscles and bones were not injured. However, in order to prevent Xie Ce from having a nightmare at night, the old doctor prescribed a soothing decoction for him.

When Xie Ce heard that he wanted to drink bitter medicine, even if he was bitter, Madam Xie would not cure him even if he wanted to give him back the sugar man.

Madam Xie had an idea, and when she saw Xie Qin, she immediately said to the old doctor, “Let’s take a look at him. He has to take medicine before his injuries are healed.”

Xie Qin: “…”

Bai Zhixu stood aside, lowered his head, his shoulders trembled slightly, and snickered.

Yin Mingyu glanced at her, thinking that the little lady was still pure.

Sure enough, the next moment, Mrs. Xie named Yin Mingyu and Bai Zhixu again, especially Yin Mingyu, saying that she had a broken foot.

Does Yin Mingyu not know if his foot is injured? But under Mrs. Xie’s sight, she swiftly admitted: “Yes, it’s hurt.”

Bai Zhixu had to recognize it and drank the cold medicine with Xie Ce in the main courtyard before finally being able to retire.

The head of the Xie family stopped Xie Qin: “Dalang, you can follow me to the study.”

Several people left the main courtyard, and Yin Mingyu and Bai Zhixu watched them leave first.

Later, Bai Zhixu also bid farewell to Yin Mingyu.

However, Yin Mingyu suddenly held Bai Zhixu’s hand and asked sincerely, “Cousin, sister-in-law would like to ask you something, okay?”

“Cousin-in-law asks.”

Yin Mingyu asked, “Is my cousin gentle?”

Bai Zhixu was at a loss for a moment, “Huh?”

Yin Mingyu trimmed her hair on the temples and repeated it softly.

“…” Under the gentle pressure of his cousin, Bai Zhixu nodded with difficulty and against his will.

Yin Mingyu smiled with satisfaction and patted his cousin’s hand, “Go back to rest early, if you are free tomorrow, come to the east courtyard to play with your cousin.”

Bai Zhixu was naturally willing to play with her, and agreed very smoothly.

But Yin Mingyu used Bai Zhixu to successfully deceive himself, so he left the last trace of embarrassment that he might become famous in the capital, turned around calmly, and walked back with his head held high.

On the other side, Master Xie held the candy man given to him by his grandson, returned to the study, emptied the pen holder very inadvertently, and inserted the candy man into it.

When Xie Qin saw it, he burst out and said, “Father, this is bought by my son.”

Patriarch Xie frowned slightly and looked at him seriously.

Xie Qin looked as usual, and said: “Of course, Ce’er is indeed going to give it to his grandfather.”

Patriarch Xie’s brows were slightly loosened, and he got back to business, “Someone from Jingzhao Mansion said that the gangster at the lantern festival confessed, but he just wanted to abduct the child while he was in a hurry, what do you think?”

Xie Qin disagreed, “According to Erniang, the perpetrator went straight to Ce’er to commit the murder, and there were other children around. If you just want to kidnap a child, you don’t have to choose Ce’er, which is the most difficult to obtain.”

“Furthermore, the gangster also carried a murder weapon with him. If Erniang was not alert, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

Xie Patriarch pondered.

Xie Qin continued: “My son even suspected that the riot was deliberately caused by someone, but there were too many people at the lantern festival to verify.”

Patriarch Xie didn’t speak for a long time, and suddenly sighed softly: “The capital is becoming more and more unstable.”

Xie Qin considered for a moment and said, “Father, the Xie family may not be able to survive alone…”

Xie Patriarch was noncommittal, and turned to say: “You said earlier that you want to go out, is there any tendency?”

“If my son wants to make a difference, it’s okay to be far away.”

The head of the Xie family said: “You think about it, and it is no better than the capital.”

“nature.”

Patriarch Xie showed a look of relief, “If you think about it, I will inform Your Majesty, and when there is a suitable vacancy, I will arrange for you to go out.”

Xie Qin bowed his hands and bowed, “Hard father.”

Head Xie turned his gaze to Sugar Man, his brows gathered again, embarrassed.

Later, Xie Qin returned from the study in the front yard to the east yard. He wanted to discuss the release with Yin Mingyu, but seeing that she had fallen asleep with the quilt without any worries, he temporarily pressed it down and said it later.

In the west courtyard, the head of the family Xie and Mrs. Xie were lying on the couch side by side, and they were also talking about Xie Qin’s release.

“If father and son don’t get along for a long time, it will be unfamiliar, which is inappropriate.” Madam Xie said calmly, “If Dalang is released, there are only two choices, Erniang and Ce’er will be released together with Dalang, or both of them will stay. in Beijing.”

In fact, they both tended to go out with Xie Qin, but at this time there was another question, “How to convince mother?”

The husband and wife looked at each other and could only wait until Xie Qin’s release was confirmed before making plans.

After all, it’s just a discussion at their home, and I don’t know if it can be released. It’s useless to talk about it.

In the main courtyard, Mrs. Xie didn’t know about the discussions between her children and grandchildren. She was worried that Xie Ce had drank the tranquilizer and was still dreaming at night, so she personally placed Yin Mingyu’s peach wood sword beside his pillow.

Afterwards, Madam Xie touched her great-grandson’s sleeping face peacefully and smiled kindly, “You are lucky…”

The next day, Xie Ce had nothing to do. When he got up, he saw the peach wood sword beside his pillow, and he was running around the room with the peach wood sword, whistling while running, like a hero.

Madam Xie asked him with a smile, “Will Ce’er grow up to be as good as his grandfather and father?”

Xie Ce’s eyes were bright, and suddenly he kicked out a kick, and said crisply: “Like a mother!”

Madam Xie choked for a moment, and after a long while, she smiled reluctantly: “It’s not bad to be like your mother, but don’t imitate her bad, you see she’s too embarrassed to go out.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yin Mingyu opened the door and walked in with a smile, “Grandma, do you want to go out?”

Mrs. Xie: “…”

underestimate her.

But in the first month of the month, Yin Mingyu didn’t plan to go out.

But she didn’t go out, but her legend spread all over the streets and alleys of the capital.

At first, it was only said that at the lantern festival, there was a lady wearing a white fox mask, who captured the kidnapper, and then became a white fox woman.

But soon, more and more witnesses told the facts of what they saw with their own eyes, and many people saw the miserable state of the gangster on the day of the lantern festival, so it became the white fox woman who lost one. man.

When the Jingzhao government office has another report about the gangster’s injury, this rumor is more and more corroborated.

Later, the rumor that the white fox woman was Mrs. Xie’s young lady intensified, and within a few days, the whole capital decided that Mrs. Xie was the rumored white fox woman.

Because Yin Mingyu has a stepmother who protected her stepson, although she has a reputation for being fierce, she is generally praised.

The Xie family did not respond to this matter, and they stayed in the house waiting for the rumors to go away.

Only the head of the Xie family, who went to Dianmao in those days, would always face different colleagues with different joking tones to ridicule the white fox heroine of the Xie family.

Who said that a group of officials in their tens of years is stable? When they watch people lively, they don’t know how to hold back.

The highly official Xie Youxiang never thought that such a thing would one day cause an accident in his majestic image. Even the low-level officials with deep barriers in the past saw that he had a different look.

Even Emperor Zhao heard about the rumors of the Lantern Festival. After going to court one day, he teased Patriarch Xie: “Before the autumn hunting, I only thought that Xie Qing’s daughter-in-law was very good at Cuju.

Xie Patriarch has been able to deal with it very calmly: “Your Majesty is too honorable.”