Dai Yunjin

Although Dai Huabin is the legitimate son of the White Tiger Duke, his status is far inferior to that of Xia Linyuan.

Although Xia Linyuan was adopted by the Molong Duke, he is the first-in-line heir to the Molong Duke Mansion; as long as he doesn't court death, the Molong Duke Mansion will be his sooner or later.

In the White Tiger Duke Mansion, however, Dai Huabin has his older brother, Dai Yueheng, looming over him like a heavy mountain, pressing down so hard he can barely breathe.

Which is heavier and which is lighter is clear at a glance.

Dai Huabin said coldly, "Xia Linyuan, you're still as meddlesome as ever. When did it become the turn of an outsider like you to discipline me for punishing a servant of the White Tiger Duke Mansion?"

"If it were someone else, I might turn a blind eye, but since it's you..." At this point, Xia Linyuan's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled. "Simply put, I just don't like you. What are you going to do about it?"

Hearing Xia Linyuan say this, both the people from the Molong Duke Mansion and Dai Huabin's attendants felt cold sweat break out on their backs.

They had always heard that the son of the Molong Duke was born with a wicked nature, and today they had finally seen it for themselves.

"You!" Dai Huabin was instantly choked with anger. "Xia Linyuan, don't go too far!"

"Too far?" Xia Linyuan chuckled. "As far as I'm concerned, as long as it's you, nothing is ever too far."

Hearing Xia Linyuan say this, Dai Huabin felt his blood run backward, a surge of frustration clogging his chest and making him incredibly furious. But looking at Xia Linyuan's "what are you going to do about it" expression, he couldn't do anything and could only bottle that rage up inside.

"Xia Linyuan, what are you doing at my White Tiger Duke Mansion?" Dai Huabin asked belatedly.

"What am I doing? The Duchess invited me and my father here. What do you think I'm doing?" Xia Linyuan smiled and gave a vague, dismissive answer.

People on the Douluo Continent mature early; even though Dai Huabin is only six years old, he knows Xia Linyuan is provoking him. However, not knowing how to retort, he could only snort coldly, flick his sleeves, and leave in a huff with his men.

Watching Dai Huabin leave, Xia Linyuan, whose eyes had been narrowed into slits, slowly opened them and looked at the girl who had been bullied by Dai Huabin.

Because she was still young and not yet fully grown, the girl wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was very cute, especially those lively, deep blue eyes that sparkled like the brightest stars in the night sky, making her very endearing.

The only flaw was that, due to long-term malnutrition, the girl was sallow and thin. The clothes, which should have fit a six-year-old, looked somewhat loose on her, and her exposed skin was covered in several dark purple bruises.

Seeing Xia Linyuan looking at her, the girl suddenly lowered her head, her small, thin body shrinking back out of lingering fear.

Xia Linyuan's golden eyes narrowed slightly, and then he suddenly beamed.

Strangely, even though his smile was bright and hearty, it made the accompanying guards feel a sense of hair-raising dread.

He walked up to the girl and reached out his hand. "My name is Xia Linyuan. What about you? What is your name?"

Hearing Xia Linyuan's voice, the girl suddenly raised her head, her gaze toward him filled with disbelief.

"I, I..." After stammering for a long while, the girl finally said, "My name is Dai Yunjin."

"Dai Yunjin?" Xia Linyuan chewed on the name, then smiled and said, "Yunjin? 'Who sends the brocade letter from the clouds?' A very beautiful name."

Although he said that, he was thinking that in the White Tiger Duke Mansion, the only people with the surname Dai were members of the White Tiger lineage, right?

Although Dai Huabin is arrogant, domineering, and vengeful, he wouldn't target a little girl who hadn't offended him and posed no threat to his strength or status for no reason. In other words, this Dai Yunjin before him was likely an illegitimate daughter of the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao.

Just like Huo Yuhao, whose mother was a personal maid favored by Dai Hao and who became pregnant after a drunken encounter, leading to jealousy and suppression from the Duchess. Influenced by his mother, Dai Huabin would find trouble with Huo Yuhao from time to time.

As for this Dai Yunjin, she looked scrawny, but her clothes were decent. While not as good as Dai Huabin's, they were at least better than what the servants in the White Tiger Duke Mansion wore. Therefore, her mother's status should be slightly higher than that of Huo Yuhao's mother. Plus, being a girl, the Duchess and Dai Huabin wouldn't bully her as excessively as they did Huo Yun'er and her son.

In just a moment, Xia Linyuan had a rough guess about Dai Yunjin's situation.

Ultimately, this little girl was very likely one of the candidates for his future concubine, and since their ages were "similar," the probability was even higher.

Looking at the incredibly brilliant smile on Xia Linyuan's face, Dai Yunjin was momentarily stunned.

In the White Tiger Duke Mansion, besides her mother, no one had ever smiled at her sincerely.

Little did Dai Yunjin know, beneath what she thought was a sincere smile lay something incredibly wicked.

Seeing Dai Yunjin dazed, Xia Linyuan reached out and pulled her up from the ground, laughing, "Am I that good-looking? You'd rather sit on the ground than stop looking at me. Since that's the case, why don't you marry me?"

Hearing these words, the guards behind Xia Linyuan widened their eyes in disbelief, their mouths hanging open in extreme shock, unable to close them.

What had they just heard?

Their young master, who had just turned six, had actually said "why don't you marry me" to a little girl he was meeting for the first time. How truly wicked!

Listening to Xia Linyuan's teasing, joke-filled words, Dai Yunjin's small, pale face, already slightly blue from malnutrition, turned bright red. She struggled, trying to pull her wrist away from his grasp.

Xia Linyuan didn't pester her further and simply let go, allowing Dai Yunjin to run away.

The second Dai Yunjin left his line of sight, the smile on Xia Linyuan's face vanished instantly, returning to his usual indifferent expression.

Ignoring the guards whose mouths were still hanging open in shock, Xia Linyuan headed straight back to the carriage.

Just as they arrived at the gate of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, they saw the White Tiger Duchess leading dozens of servants to welcome them, her face beaming with a brilliant smile.

Seeing his mother "fussing over" Xia Linyuan as if he were dearer than her own son made Dai Huabin's expression turn ugly. However, thinking of what his mother had just told him, his gloomy face finally softened a little.

Because only Xia Linyuan's father, Xia Yanqing, could handle the matters, but Xia Yanqing had been called away by the Xingluo Emperor halfway through their journey, the Duchess could only entertain Xia Linyuan first and wait for his arrival to discuss the details of the marriage alliance.