There was a manor house, and the owner of the manor belonged to Count Manifico.

One day, the wife of Count Manifico suddenly fell ill with a serious illness, which lasted for a long time, and finally closed her eyes forever, leaving only a young daughter. The Earl was very sad, but this sadness was eventually healed by time. Soon after, he married another wife, and the new countess married the earl with her two daughters born to her former husband.

The Countess really hated the girl born to the Count's ex-wife, and although she was still young, she could see that she would be extremely beautiful in the future. Even if she didn't want to admit it, this girl was much prettier than her two daughters.

And the Count will give her a dowry in the future, which is really ...... It's so nasty!

The Countess raised her voice, "Cinderella!"

A girl dressed in gray cloth, who was obviously the daughter of an earl, walked cautiously.

Seeing her appear in front of her, a trace of disgust flashed in the countess's eyes.

In the corner of the room sat another girl, dressed in a long yellow dress embellished with lace and a necklace set with aquamarines around her snow-white neck, and she was the second daughter of the countess, Katie.

She looked at the grizzled Cinderella, and couldn't help laughing for a while, and she hurriedly covered her mouth slightly with a feather fan, but the smile in her eyes never diminished.

Cinderella took a deep breath and spoke boldly, "Mother." ”

The Countess smiled and said to her, "My brother is coming over in a few days, so don't come out of the kitchen lately." ”

Katie also said: "Cinderella, be obedient, mother is also for your good." ”

The Countess gave Katie an appreciative look, and then she added: "My brother is a very learned and clean-minded man, and he is in a bad mood when he sees a dirty man. ”

With that, she glanced at Cinderella meaningfully.

“…… Okay, Mother. Cinderella replied.

In fact, she doesn't have anything unwilling, if she has to stay in the kitchen all the time, she only needs to do the work in the kitchen, in the past, she has to be busy in the kitchen, but also to do other work, but also to serve her stepmother and two sisters, she has the most headache to tie the crony for the two sisters, either tightened, or loosened, and in the end will inevitably be scolded.

As for her stepmother's brother, she had only seen him from afar at the wedding of her stepmother and father, but he fell ill and rested in the guest room since then, and she never saw him again, except for the only one before. Now, she has long forgotten his appearance.

……

Qiao Heng looked out of the window of the carriage with great interest, and there was a hazel forest on both sides of the road, green and dense.

I don't know how long it went, but the carriage stopped in front of the estate of the Count of Manifico. The servants of the manor brought in the carriage, and by a fountain where a maiden held water in her hands, the attendant of the car dismounted from the carriage and opened the door for those sitting behind.

Qiao Heng stepped out of the carriage, and as soon as he stood firmly, he heard the voice of his sister who was related to the body.

The Countess stepped forward happily, "Brian, it makes me happy that you have grown so big and taller than me. ”

Next to her stood her two daughters, dressed in long and gorgeous dresses, each with valuable jewels in their hair, neck, and wrists, which glistened in the sun.

The Countess glanced at her two daughters, don't be stunned, say something!

God only knows what kind of means her younger brother used to take a count title from a king who has not been knighted for a long time.

The two girls chattered at the Countess's motion.

Qiao Heng, who had just come to Earl Manifik's manor, was so blocked by the three of them that he didn't even have time to say hello.

His face showed no impatience, he bowed his head slightly, looked at the two girls, and did not interject, as if he was listening attentively to what the two girls were saying. One of the girls couldn't help but blush her cheeks under his gaze, and she spoke more cheerfully.

But until the two girls had nothing to say and stopped dryly, Qiao Heng still didn't speak.

The two girls finally realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere now.

The Countess coughed awkwardly, as if realizing that she had appeared too impatient. She said: "The two children miss you so much that they can't help but want to talk to you more, don't mind." This is Charlotte and Katie, they were young when they left, you probably don't recognize them, come, say hello to them, they like you very much. ”

Qiao Heng glanced at her with a smile and said, "I thought you didn't want me to talk." ”

The smile on the countess's face froze, and she snorted coldly in her heart, this guy is angry now, and he couldn't shake off her ass back then. Although he relied on his own skills to get the knighthood, if it wasn't for her advice, where would he have had the opportunity to meet the king?

Qiao Heng didn't look at her again, but asked the attendant to bring the gifts prepared for a few girls from the carriage. When he had finished speaking, he spoke again to the Countess, "What about the Count?"

The Countess hastened to reply, "I'm out of the house, and it will probably take four or five days to come back." ”

He divided the gift between the two girls, and then the squire had a gift box left in his hand.

He frowned slightly, and asked, "I remember when I came to your wedding to Mr. Manifico, there was another girl present, what about her?"

The Countess looked a little sad, and said, "She always disobeyed me, and ran out of the house, making herself dirty, like a child of an inferior family." I wanted to discipline her, she always thought I was a stepmother and didn't treat her as well as Charlotte and Katie. Now I don't care about her, maybe she's gone somewhere again. ”

Qiao Heng nodded and didn't say anything more.

The Countess was overjoyed, and then led him indoors with a pretense of reserve. "Your carriage will have a servant set it up for you, so we might as well go in first. ”

Just as they were about to enter the delicate building, the door was slammed open from the inside.

A dusty girl stumbled out of the door carrying a bucket of water. When she saw the Countess outside the door, she looked a little flustered, and she hurriedly explained, "I came out to pour water. ”

The Countess raised her eyebrows and said sharply, "Didn't I tell you not to come out of the kitchen?!"

Qiao Heng asked, "Who is she?"

The Countess didn't want to introduce Cinderella to him at all, and just as she hesitated how to speak, Qiao Heng had already remembered why the girl opposite looked so familiar.

"Ella?"

As soon as he spoke, Cinderella noticed his memory.

Cinderella's eyes were a little moist, she didn't expect that there were still people who remembered her original name now, and not "Cinderella", which was later changed by her stepmother.

"Yes, I'm Ella. ”

As she spoke, she looked at him, and this glance made her childhood memories come alive, especially those silver-gray eyes, which she was really impressed. The first time she saw his eyes, she felt that they were like a pair of metal covered with a layer of mist, even if the outside was covered with a soft and hazy mist, it could not hide the coldness and sharpness of the metal inside.