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Gu Jiao didn"t think much about it, for example, why Xiao Liulang didn"t sit on the sunny side in the first place, or why he didn"t switch seats with her.
She didn"t complicate her thoughts about this matter, especially since in her impression, Xiao Liulang wasn"t that skilled at flirting with girls.
This summer seemed longer than usual, and the weather at the end of the seventh month remained extremely hot. The two of them exchanged their body heat through the thin fabric of their clothes.
Thankfully, holding the little dumpling in his arms helped Xiao Liulang maintain his rationality and refrain from making any inappropriate moves.
Suddenly, the wheels seemed to have run over something, and the carriage jolted violently, shaking both of their bodies.
Xiao Liulang quickly reached out and held her shoulder, "Are you okay?"
Liu Quan asked, "Aiya, are you two all right? It seems like we hit a stone earlier. It"s my fault for not looking at the road clearly."
"We"re fine, Uncle Liu." Gu Jiao replied.
Liu Quan felt relieved.
Xiao Liulang stared at her intently, his gaze deep and profound, like a pool beneath the moonlit night.
Gu Jiao felt as if she had accidentally fallen into that pool. She knew how to swim, but within this deep pool of his, she seemed to have forgotten how.
Xiao Liulang"s throat moved slightly, and he discreetly withdrew his gaze, looking ahead at the curtain of the carriage, "It"s good that you"re okay."
He paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you sleepy?"
"Hm?" Gu Jiao blinked in confusion. Why would she be sleepy? She was wide awake!
"You woke up early today, so I thought you might be sleepy. I was thinking..." He trailed off, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the shoulders of the two of them leaning against each other.
Gu Jiao followed his gaze and noticed his broad and st.u.r.dy shoulder.
What was he thinking?
Could it be, he wanted her to lean on his shoulder?
"I suddenly feel sleepy!" She leaned her little head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "So sleepy! I"m really sleepy!"
The corners of Xiao Liulang"s lips curled up imperceptibly, and he didn"t let go of the hand that was holding her.
When the carriage arrived at the alley, both big and small were leaning on Xiao Liulang, fast asleep. Xiao Liulang originally wanted to mercilessly wake up the small one in his arms and let him go by himself, then he would carry Gu Jiao off the carriage.
But Little Jing Kong seemed to have exhausted all his strength from taking care of the little girl and was sleeping soundly. He couldn"t be woken up even by thunder.
Instead, it was Gu Jiao who was awakened by the commotion.
Rubbing her eyes, Gu Jiao asked, "Are we home?"
Xiao Liulang could only reply, "Yes, we"ve arrived."
Gu Jiao carried the sleeping Little Jing Kong and jumped off the carriage.
Xiao Liulang watched her figure and his gaze deepened.
In fact, he wanted to say that he was capable of carrying him, but she was afraid of straining his leg.
For the first time, Xiao Liulang felt frustrated with his own leg. Why couldn"t he walk properly? How come he was still limping?
It was only after they entered the courtyard that they realized there were visitors at home, to be precise, uninvited guests—— Gu Jinyu and a pair of mother and daughter.
The mother and daughter pair was He shi and Yao Xin that Gu Jiao had seen at the Yao Residence at the beginning of the year..
Xiao Liulang hadn"t met the two of them before. They were sitting together with Gu Jinyu and Yao Shi, and there seemed to be some indescribable atmosphere between them.
Yao Shi looked somewhat embarra.s.sed. Since the beginning of the year when she took JiaoJiao, Gu Yan, and Little Jing Kong to her maiden family, she had almost severed ties with her maiden family.
She didn"t expect them to come here today.
She wondered if it would make JiaoJiao and her son-in-law angry.
"Sister, brother-in-law, I"m sorry... I brought Aunt and Cousin Xin here." Gu Jinyu stood up and said apologetically.
"Ah... He, he is... nephew-in-law..." He shi was stunned.
No one told her that their nephew-in-law was so handsome!
Didn"t they mention that he was a poor county boy... who hadn"t achieved anything... and was even a lame person?
When Xiao Liulang entered, He shi noticed that he was indeed lame, but his face was overly beautiful, leaving He shi"s mind in a daze, not connecting him to the only lame son-in-law in the family.
Yao Xin beside her blushed.
It was also the first time she had seen such an ethereal young man. Unlike those ordinary youth br.i.m.m.i.n.g with childlike innocence, he exuded a sense of maturity and restraint typically found in grown men.
Gu Jiao didn"t call the woman before her "aunt" nor acknowledge Yao Xin as her cousin.
Naturally, Xiao Liulang didn"t acknowledge them either.
This was different from Gu Jiao not calling Yao Shi "mother." Gu Jiao had accepted Yao Shi in her heart, it was just that that term of address was somewhat unfamiliar to her.
Gu Jiao swept He shi and Yao Xin with a cold look.
Xiao Liulang greeted Yao Shi, "Mother, we"re back."
Yao Shi"s heart settled hearing the word "mother" from his mouth. She felt relieved and said with a smile, "It"s good that you guys are back. It must be hot outside. Go change your clothes first."
"Okay." Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao went to the west room. After placing Little Jing Kong on the bed, Gu Jiao returned to her own room.
He shi finally regained her senses at this moment, "Your son-in-law looks decent, but it"s a pity he"s a cripple. JiaoJiao is, after all, a Marquis Estate"s daughter. How come you find a cripple to be her husband?"
Yao shi, who didn"t particularly welcome He shi and her daughter, immediately frowned upon hearing those words.
Gu Jinyu quickly intervened, "Aunt, brother-in-law is amazing. He was the top scholar during this year"s imperial examination."
He shi sneered, "A cripple can also be the top scholar? Is it that easy to become the top scholar nowadays? Then my family’s Feng can also become one!"
Yao Fengyi, the son of He shi and Yao Yuan, was two years older than Gu Jiao and Gu Yan.
Yao Shi had long held no expectations for this sister-in-law. He shi was ignorant and always self-righteous. If it weren"t for Gu Jinyu bringing her here, she wouldn"t have allowed He shi to enter their home.
He shi continued, "Also, your son-in-law is too arrogant. He doesn"t even know how to entertain relatives who came to visit his wife"s house! Maybe he thinks he"s great now that he"s become the top scholar. Does he look down on JiaoJiao? By the way, not to criticize but, JiaoJiao should find a way to cover her face. Forget that she’s ugly, but she should at least try dressing up..."
"Sister-in-law!" Yao Shi violently placed the teacup on the table. Suppressing her anger, she calmly said, "You"ve had your tea, you"ve said your piece. If you have no other business, please leave. We"re busy at home!"
"What do you mean, sister-in-law? I just arrived, and you"re already driving me away?! I"m just speaking the truth!" He shi turned to Gu Jinyu. "Jinyu, you come and judge. Did your brother-in-law even greet us?!"
Gu Jinyu softly responded, "Brother-in-law didn"t do it on purpose. He just doesn"t know aunt and cousin."
He shi sneered, "Well, he should at least know you. And yet I don"t think he even looked at you properly."
Gu Jinyu remained silent.
He shi saw that the situation was turning cold and quickly forced a smile, saying, "Alright, alright, it"s my fault. It’s me who isn’t good with words. Yao’er, don"t lower yourself to my level!"
He shi"s visit today was mainly for two things. The first was regarding Yao Fengyi"s education. She wanted to use her connections to get him admitted to the Imperial Academy. The second was about Yao Xin"s marriage.
"Just agree to it, Yao’er." He shi said brazenly.
Yao Shi replied coldly, "Agree to what? Do you think I can simply get someone into the Imperial Academy with a word?"
He shi felt choked, "You... aren"t you the Madame of the Marquis Ding’an Estate? I heard that the Old Marquis has returned. You can ask him to help and figure something out!"
Yao Shi couldn"t believe the words that just came out of her mouth, "So it turns out my sister-in-law is targeting my father-in-law with her ideas!"
He shi"s eyes flickered as she said, "A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Even though your father-in-law was dismissed from his position and the Gu Family lost their military power, he should still have some connections in the capital. Otherwise, how could the Marquis Ding’an Estate remain extravagant all these years?"
That was indeed the truth. Marquis Ding"an Estate might not have real power anymore, but it had never lacked money. The foundation was there, and it was incredibly wealthy.
He shi continued, "Besides, Fengyi is your own nephew! If you don"t help him, who will? Your cripple of a son-in-law was also pushed into the Imperial Academy by you, wasn’t it? If you can do it for him, why not for Fengyi?"Raz P."s Thoughts
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