Dali and William were tired from practice, and the brothers stopped to rest, and they saw that their father's hands were shaking as he read the letter, and they did not know what had happened.

It turned out that the writer was Baron Paulus's lieutenant during the colonial war, Leslie Winstead, who was a general in the colonial army at the time, who commanded a dragoon brigade and was wounded in a reckless charge, and in the snow-covered wasteland, he was bleeding profusely, his horse was lame, and he lay dying on the ground.

The brave and loyal lieutenant Leslie Winsteade, who had been lightly wounded in the charge, walked back to the camp with the wounded General Paulus on his back despite the severe pain, and the blood from their wounds clotted into ice, freezing their uniforms so firmly that the medical doctor at the medical station had to cut his clothes with scissors to separate them.

Paulus told this story to his two sons countless times.

Now the lieutenant, Leslie Winsted, wrote this letter when he was seriously ill, recounting his misfortunes after being discharged from the army, and when he was dying, he begged his old boss Paulus to keep his daughter, and he begged Paulus to keep her to work at the Einfoot estate.

"No matter what job my daughter does, I just want her to have a warm and safe place to live!" So wrote the brave and loyal adjutant on his deathbed.

After reading the letter, Paulus sighed: "Oh my God! Weiss. How can I snub Leslie's daughter, I owe him my life! Fast! Bring that kid here so I can take a good look! ”

After a while, the old butler led a dirty little girl back into the hall, her coat was obviously changed from an adult's clothes, and there were still greasy marks on her mouth after gobbling it up, which made people look pitiful and funny.

Baron Paulus looked at her tenderly: "Little girl, what is your name?" ”

The girl looked like she had stepped into the nobleman's mansion for the first time, and she looked a little panicked, and she was so nervous that she kept silent.

Baron Paulus, seeing that she was restrained, did not ask any more questions, and commanded:

"Ves, you ask the maids to take her to the bathroom to wash up, and go upstairs to find a suitable dress for her to change into, I remember we have a girl's dress, the one to give as a birthday present. From now on, I want you to receive this child according to the etiquette of receiving VIPs, understand? ”

"I know what to do, sir." With that, Vis took the little girl by the hand and left the hall, showing even more respect to her.

After bathing and changing clothes, the dirty street child becomes a little angel.

Her mud-stained black hair was washed and turned into a lively red curl, and she had a lovely goose egg face, fair and delicate skin, and a straight nose and a small mouth that was tight because of nervousness under a pair of amber eyes. A dress trimmed with a lace trim made of the finest fabric and tight red wool stockings make her even more beautiful and cute.

The eldest son, Dali, saw such a gentle and lovely girl for the first time, and as a noble young master, he forgot all the courtesies that should be expected in front of a lady, and he stared at it intently, and his heart was pounding.

His younger brother William, on the other hand, was much calmer, and he was not like his brother who spent all day in his study. William often went to play with other aristocratic boys, and he had seen many delicate and beautiful aristocratic girls, all of whom were daughters of celebrities in Tagarvi City, so he didn't have any special feelings for the girl in front of him.

The girl gradually let go of her guard after being warmly received by her master's family, and at last he spoke, stumbling nervously:

"General Paulus...... My lord...... Baron? I'm sorry...... I don't know how to call you correctly."

Paulus was overjoyed to see the girl washed:

"Oh my God, you know kid? You have inherited the appearance of your father, who was a handsome young man, and your mother must have been a beautiful woman. What is your name? How old is it? Also, how are your parents doing now? ”

Tears rolled in the girl's big eyes.

"My ......, my name is Janen Winstead, and I'm thirteen years old. My mother had died two years earlier, and my father had lit the firewood in the boat and sent her away.

My father had passed away two months earlier, and he had died the night after he had written the letter and handed it to me. I couldn't afford to send my father away according to the old method, so the good Samaritans in the village brought me boats and firewood to help me send him away.

After that I came to you at my father's behest, and I begged him to give me a job as a servant, and that I could live in the stables and eat some leftovers. I'm not very good at complicated work...... I'm stupid...... But I'm willing to learn. ”

Paulus Einfoot stepped forward and hugged the girl tightly, a pair of large hands gently caressing her small, trembling body:

"Janen Winsted? What a beautiful name. Child, your nightmare is over, now that you have found me, I am your father's old boss, I swear, you will never have to worry about food and shelter again, child, from now on, this will be your home. ”

At this time, Dalí and William's mother, Lady Lea, also rushed to the hall when she heard the news, she was a kind and weak lady, and Lady Lea looked at her husband with approving eyes, waiting for his decision.

Paulus hugged the girl and clutched the letter, he had already made his own decision in his mind.

"Leia, dear, just so happened you were here. I'm sure the big-mouthed maids have told you, yes, that's the child of the brave lieutenant Leslie Winsted whom I often tell you, and you know, I owe her father's life. Now that Leslie is dead, and she's helpless, I have to take care of her, I hope you understand. ”

Lady Leia, who was obviously not in good health, covered her mouth and coughed lightly, and then said softly:

"Honey, of course I'm fine, let's keep her and let her do some light work, of course we have to wait until she is a little older to work......"

Paulus interrupted his wife:

"No, my dear, instead of taking her as a maid, my decision is to take her as my daughter-in-law, and I will allow her to keep her father's surname, and I will ensure that the honor of the Winsteades is not affected.

I want her to be commensurate with our sons as brothers and sisters, and grow up together, it just so happens that we have wanted a daughter for a long time, and you have been in poor health and can no longer have children, so don't worry. I hope you don't blame me, if you don't, I'm upset. ”

Mrs. Lea was stunned when she heard her husband's decision.

Working in an aristocratic mansion with an elegant living environment and a large commission, and the ability to escape the family's heavy farm work, this servant job was the dream of most commoner children.

She wanted the old butler Weiss to train the child to become a maid, but she didn't expect her husband to suddenly take her as a daughter-in-law. Leia was a delicate and delicate lady, and although she had a gentle and kind temperament, she suddenly made a hasty and abrupt decision to give her a daughter whom she had never met.

The most painful thing for her was that her husband's words pointed out that she could not get pregnant again due to poor health, which poked at Mrs. Leia's weakness, and she wanted to add a sister to Dali and William! It's just that I haven't been able to do it because of physical reasons. She just wants to have another biological daughter, not a righteous daughter. Faced with her husband's excited look, she couldn't bear to raise objections, anger and grievances were held in her heart, and she said a little angrily:

"It's up to you, just be happy. I wasn't feeling well and went upstairs first. With that, he grabbed the escalator and left the hall in a huff.

Madame's indifferent answer made a look of disappointment flash across the baron's face, but after thinking about it, it was her own gaffe that mentioned Madame's sadness, but a kind person like Leia would definitely love this child in the future, she just couldn't accept it immediately. Thinking of this, he turned his head again and smiled and held the girl's hand.

"I have decided, son, that from now on you will be the goddaughter of my Paulus Einfurt, and that you will be called Janine Winsted, for this is the name that your brave and faithful father gave you, and you must cherish it.

You're going to have to call those two boys brothers, they're my sons, they're all great guys!

Dali is two years older than you, and William is a year older than you. Go over and meet them and hug them. ”

Unlike his mother's shock and unacceptability, the eldest son Dali on the side was overjoyed when he heard his father's decision to adopt his daughter.

Janine Winsted's big amber eyes and fluffy red curls attracted him deeply, and the girl in front of him was beautiful, cute and weak, and he couldn't help but have a strong desire to protect and love her. There were certain qualities about her that seemed to possess magical powers, which deeply attracted the eldest son of this aristocratic family.

She's simply the most heartwarming girl in the world, at least that's what Dali himself thinks. But his introverted personality made him afraid to speak because of his shyness, but his younger brother William preemptively hugged the girl.

William stepped forward and hugged the girl tightly: "Hello, Janening, my name is William Einfurt. In the future, you will be my sister, whoever dares to bully you, let him taste the power of my fists! ”

The girl was moved to tears: "I...... I don't know what to say, thank you for taking me in, I will do what I can to repay your kindness with my life! ”

Dalí looked at them jealously, his younger brother was quite popular in the local circle, many aristocratic girls admired the strong and enthusiastic William, and the thin and mediocre-looking and little-spoken self could only be stuffed in the study, and now the younger brother took the lead, and he couldn't say anything so wooden, thinking like this, Dalí also walked up and hugged the girl, and the fragrance of her body intoxicated him:

"My good sister, Janening. I...... I...... I love you! Dali didn't know why he said such a thing, he was so ashamed that his brother William laughed when he heard it.

Baron Paulus also smiled: "Haha, good boy! Well said, I hope you will love her as you love her as your own sister. Take her around, boys! “

Watching his sons rush to invite Janine to his room, Baron Paulus's heart was filled with infinite relief and happiness.

He carefully put away the dirty letter and kept it in a drawer, and then he took another letter he had just received, which, according to the old butler Weiss, had been sent by a suspicious stranger, and the envelope was intricately painted, and the fire paint was also emblazoned with the ornate coat of arms of a certain family, presumably from a dignitary.

Baron Paulus could not remember which family coat of arms it was, he opened the letter, read it, his expression changed from shock to pleasure and finally gradually calmed down, and he read the last paragraph:

"I strongly recommend that you leave the county of Herbes and join our duchy with your family.

To sum up, the current situation is really rare in a century. The millennium-long division of our Valsta nation is expected to change within a decade.

I am deeply impressed by your performance during the colonial wars, and I sincerely invite you to join us in the great cause of national unity in Valstad.

This is not an unattainable delusion, but a well-planned and well-thought-out rational undertaking, and the Duchy of Valstad will surely sweep across the peninsula with unstoppable force and restore the former glory of our nation!

If you would like to respond to my invitation, I will do my best to recommend you to the Duke and help you to become a high official in the Duchy of Valstad, and your family will be given the best possible living conditions.

I look forward to your reply, whether we are comrades or enemies in the future, I sincerely wish you good health and success in your family.

- Your old friend

President of the National Military Academy of the Duchy of Valstad

Simon Gallieni

Written at home on December 3, 1693"

After reading the letter, Baron Paulus Einfurt was silent for a long time, the contents of the letter made his blood surge, and something in his mind was unconsciously ignited, and he sat down and said to himself:

"Do you run this estate in peace, or move to the Duchy to join the new storm? It was a tough choice. Well, today is a big day, and I don't want to think about that for now. ”

He instructed the butler beside him:

"Ves, prepare the room for my daughter, keep the cooks busy, I'm going to see the turkey and roast suckling pig at the table, and the children's favorite fruit and honey drink, let's have a family dinner tonight and celebrate!"

"As you wish, sir, I'll let people purchase ingredients and retire."

Looking at the back of the old butler as he hurried away, Baron Paulus clenched the splendid envelope and stationery into a ball, and threw it into the fireplace, watching it curl and blackened until it turned to ashes.