Chapter 7 He was the one who saved her
Early in the morning, Lu Ji got up just after the hour of Mao, pushed open the door of the inner room, and saw the little girl standing at his door.

The man didn't even look at her, and said coldly: "What are you still doing here? Since you are not sincere, I don't want you to be my concubine. I made it clear yesterday. From now on, just go to the stove and make fire."

Qin Xiaoning sniffed, said nothing, and just stood there.

It was still cold in early spring, and she was wearing thin clothes. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, and I didn't know if it was because of the cold or crying.

Lu Ji glanced at her, her eyes were like rotten peaches from crying. He snorted and asked, "Have you been crying all night?"

The little girl nodded. This time, she was not like the hedgehog that rolled around in front of him yesterday. She was like a pitiful kitten, honest and docile. She raised her hand to wipe her tears and said to him aggrievedly, "Master, are you really going to force me to be a fire-making girl?"

Lu Ji didn't say anything. The little girl raised her tearful eyes and sniffed, "I know, you blame me for not caring about you."

"Did I wrongly accuse you?" Lu Ji asked back.

The little girl glanced at him, lowered her eyes and said, "Of course you are wronging me. I lost my mother when I was seven years old. In this world, besides my mother, the prince loves me the most. How could I not care about you?"

That year, she was only seven years old. There was a disaster in her hometown. She and her mother, who depended on her for survival, could no longer survive, so her mother took her to the capital.

Her mother was the daughter of a criminal. She had been a slave in a powerful family as a criminal. Later, she was pardoned, left the wealthy family, and regained her freedom.

She didn't know why her mother brought her all the way to the capital, perhaps to seek refuge with that wealthy family. One day, her mother put on her best clothes, left her in the dilapidated temple, and went out alone, probably to seek a way to that wealthy family, but after three days, her mother returned in a panic.

She would always remember the frightened look on her mother's face when she returned. She asked what had happened, but her mother was very secretive and took her away from the dilapidated temple overnight, saying that they wanted to flee the capital, as if they had encountered something dangerous. She only told her that they had to stay away from it.

They fled all the way to Beijing, and their mother had already exhausted all her energy and was also frightened. Before they even walked out of the city gate, their mother fell ill and could no longer continue their journey.

Helplessly, they found a dilapidated house to live in. Seeing that all the money they had was spent, they fell into despair in the snowy and cold weather.

At the end of her rope, her mother said to her, "Before my family was convicted, I knew a noble lady. I heard that she has now married into the capital and has become the wife of the second wife of the famous Ningguo Mansion. We are at the end of our rope. Instead of waiting to die, we might as well try our luck and beg her."

At that time, her mother was already terminally ill. After explaining everything to her, she passed away. The young girl hugged her mother and cried for a long time. She was so hungry that she asked around on her own and found her way to the gate of Ningguo Mansion.

The steward at the door heard that this was the daughter of an old friend of the second wife's, so he went to report it. After hearing this, the second wife could not remember knowing such a person at all. They had only met each other a few times when they were still in the boudoir, and they could not even be considered casual acquaintances. After so many years, who could still remember her?

There are too many people who come to Gaomen to take advantage of the situation.

The second wife asked the housekeeper to give her a hundred coins as a reward to get rid of her.

She stood outside the high gate of the mansion, holding the hanging money in her hand. Her heart felt as if it had sunk into an icy cave and tears kept falling down her face.

"Madam, you don't recognize your mother. Although our mansion is a kind-hearted family, it is not a charity. Take the money and leave quickly." The housekeeper drove her away.

She also knew that her hope was slim, and that it was just a matter of luck when she was desperate. Just as she was in despair, the gate of the mansion opened wide, and a young man in gorgeous clothes rode out on a tall horse, followed by a group of followers. The young man was only about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a heroic appearance and a noble demeanor. The steward at the door nodded and bowed, saying, "Hello, my Lord."

The young man waved his silver whip and was about to ride away with his followers. He saw a little girl standing on the side of the road and said, "Little girl, please move aside. Be careful that the horses will hurt you if they run away."

The bright winter sun shone on the handsome face of the young man, his bright clothes and the fluttering horse's wings made the little girl feel dazzled.

She looked up at the young man, and said to him, "I am homeless and want to seek shelter in the mansion." "You are just here to ask for money, don't bother with me, my lord." Seeing this, the doorkeeper ran up and drove the girl away, saying, "I have already given you the reward, so leave now and don't offend our lord."

The little girl felt wronged and couldn't stop her tears from falling. The moment she turned around, she glanced at the noble young man with her watery eyes.

"Don't chase her away." The young man pulled the reins of the horse and said to the housekeeper, "It's so cold, a little girl like this will freeze to death if she is left outside. Take her to my yard."

As soon as the prince opened his mouth, she was brought into the noble family by the steward and provided with shelter. The mansion took her in and helped her bury her mother.

"If the prince hadn't brought me back to the mansion, I would have frozen to death outside. How could I be alive today?" The displacement in her childhood was the nightmare of her life. She couldn't help feeling sad when she mentioned this.

"Okay, it's all over." Seeing that she was really sad, Lu Ji finally softened his tone.

Qin Xiaoning raised her tearful eyes and looked at him, her voice choking with sobs: "I know you blame me for not accompanying you to Hexi. To be honest, I really don't want to suffer." Her voice gradually lowered, she glanced at him quietly, and said frankly: "I pretended to be sick to deceive you that time."

He had already seen it.

"If you really don't want to go, I won't force you. Why would you lie to me?" Lu Ji asked.

The young master of a mansion has a very noble status. He has been pampered since he was young, and what he hates most is being deceived.

"I'm just afraid that you'll be angry." She pouted.

"If you lie to me, I won't be angry?" he asked back.

Seeing that his face was gloomy again, she timidly grabbed his sleeve, gently shook it, and coaxed him like a spoiled child: "Okay, don't be angry with me, I promise not to do it again, and I will never dare to lie to you again in the future."

"If you have something to say, just say it nicely. Stop wasting time." Although Lu Ji's words sounded impatient, a smile unconsciously appeared on the corners of his mouth.

The little girl let go of his hand, then came closer to him and said flatteringly, "I got up early this morning and made this for you, my Lord. It's your favorite snack."

Lu Ji glared at her and said, "I won't chase you out. There's no need to try so hard to please me just for the sake of two taels of silver."

"This prince may not be interested in it." He snorted.

"Were you unhappy about the joke I made to Amber and the others yesterday?" She looked at him with her eyes flickering.

Lu Ji snorted coldly and asked back: "Are you joking? It doesn't sound like that to me."

"How can it not be a joke?" She came forward, pulled his sleeve again, and said softly: "What kind of person am I? Don't you know, my lord? I have been with you for so many years, and I have never asked you for money."

"I really don't like money, you should know me well."

　Aning: Hehehe, I knew you wouldn’t be willing to do so.

　　Lu Ji: Oh! Blame me for being too soft on you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)