Even Gu Jiufei, sitting nearby, was momentarily stunned. However, unlike Changshan and their father, he was thinking much more deeply. The suddenly changed Gu Wuyou, the Gu Wuyou who abruptly called their father “Father”… This woman had changed so much this time—what exactly was she planning?
Being stared at like this.
Gu Wuyou couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable. She cleared her throat lightly and lowered her head. “Let’s eat.”
“Yes, yes, yes, eat!” Gu Wuji quickly composed himself, though he started placing food into Gu Wuyou’s bowl even more frequently. Out of affection for her, he also began serving Gu Jiufei plenty of dishes as well.
After they finished eating…
Gu Wuyou intended to visit Third Brother and thus took her leave.
How could Gu Wuji be willing to let her go? But when it came to this daughter, he had always granted her every request. Though reluctant, he did not stop her. Instead, he turned to Gu Jiufei and instructed, “Go with Manman and light the way for her on the road.”
Gu Wuyou frowned and refused. “No need.”
That was a servant’s task—there was no reason to trouble Gu Jiufei. “I can go by myself.”
Before Gu Wuji could say anything, Gu Jiufei had already spoken, “It’s fine. I happen to be heading in that direction anyway.”
With that—
Gu Wuyou said nothing more.
The siblings walked outside, and as they left, they could still hear Gu Wuji speaking excitedly to Changshan, “Did you hear that? Just now, Manman called me! She called me!”
“I heard, I heard. Miss called you.”
Gu Wuyou felt both helpless and a little sorrowful.
Such a simple word could make their father this happy. She had truly been unfilial in the past. She sighed softly, and when she turned her head, she caught Gu Jiufei staring at her. “What is it?”
“…Nothing.” Gu Jiufei quickly averted his gaze, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, his expression cold and distant.
Seeing him like this amused Gu Wuyou. She chuckled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “If you have something to do, go ahead. I can go by myself.”
“No need.”
Gu Jiufei refused curtly, “I’m free.”
“Alright then.”
Gu Wuyou nodded and didn’t say anything else.
The two walked in silence all the way to the outer courtyard. She had assumed that once they reached Third Brother’s place, Gu Jiufei would leave. Unexpectedly, he followed her inside.
It wasn’t something that needed to be hidden, so Gu Wuyou simply glanced at him and said nothing. After the maid announced their arrival, she walked straight in. Upon seeing Gu Rong, her brows arched, and she greeted him with a crisp smile, “Third Brother!”
Following behind, Gu Jiufei also greeted, “Third Brother.”
Gu Rong had likely just bathed. His hair was casually draped over his shoulders, and he wore a white robe with wooden clogs on his feet. The room was as warm as spring, so he didn’t seem cold at all. Seeing the two of them, he smiled and said, “It’s late. What brings you both here?”
Gu Jiufei said nothing, quietly sitting to the side.
Gu Wuyou grinned. “I came to ask Third Brother for something.”
She had always been close to Gu Rong, so she didn’t bother hiding her reason for coming.
Gu Rong was pouring them tea. Hearing this, his hands paused briefly before he smiled again. “Why the sudden interest in asking me for this?”
As he spoke, he pushed two cups of tea toward them.
Though called tea, it was merely warm water with a few floating flower petals. Gu Rong was always considerate. Worried that they might struggle to sleep if they drank real tea at night, he had specifically asked the maids to prepare this instead.
Gu Wuyou had eaten a lot of greasy food earlier and had walked quite a distance, so she was indeed thirsty. She took the cup and drank several sips before answering, “A friend needs it. Second Sister said you would know, so I came to ask you.”
She had recalled this morning’s breakfast with the Great General, when she overheard him discussing the matter with Uncle Zhang. She figured that if she could help, it would be a good thing.
She used to assist the Great General in helping others all the time.
“Oh? And who might this person be?” Gu Rong asked curiously, tilting his head with a teasing smile. “Has our Manman already made new friends just after returning to the capital?”
This was something Gu Jiufei also wanted to know.
Though he had been sitting quietly on the side the entire time, his attention had never left Gu Wuyou. Now, hearing Gu Rong bring up the topic, his fingers tightened around the tea cup in his hands… Since she had come to ask Third Brother, the person Gu Wuyou wanted to help was definitely not a woman.
It had only been a few days—just who had she befriended? And why was she helping him?
“Mm, just… someone I know.” Gu Wuyou wasn’t sure how to describe it. She didn’t actually know Uncle Zhang’s son, but since the Great General had helped him, she figured she might as well do the same. As for any other reason… perhaps she simply thought Uncle Zhang was a good person.
She didn’t like lying, nor was she good at it. The more she said, the more likely she was to slip up.
So instead, she tugged on Gu Rong’s sleeve and acted spoiled. “Third Brother, just help me, alright?”
“You—” Gu Rong sighed in resignation and tapped her forehead lightly with his finger. “Your Third Brother has been so busy these past few days that his feet haven’t even touched the ground, yet you didn’t come to console me. But now that you need something, you’ve come running right away. What a little ingrate.”
Though he scoffed, he still stood up. “Wait here. I’ll go get it for you.”
“Thank you, Third Brother!” Gu Wuyou followed after him cheerfully.
The two siblings walked off together without a care, leaving Gu Jiufei behind, unsure whether to follow or remain where he was. He was still holding the tea cup, its surface filled to the brim, not a single sip taken.
His gaze remained fixed on their departing figures—or rather, on Gu Wuyou’s.
His slender fingers tightened around the cup, his knuckles turning pale from the pressure.
He couldn’t quite explain his current emotions—he was a little unhappy, and also… jealous.
After all…
He was her real younger brother.
—
Two quarters of an hour later.
Gu Wuyou walked out holding a thick stack of papers, chatting happily with Gu Rong as they walked. “Third Brother, you’re amazing!”
Gu Rong chuckled at her antics and gently ruffled her head. “Little flatterer.” He added, “The Four Books and Five Classics are standard for most scholars. These are my personal notes, along with some essay questions that have been frequently tested at the academy over the years. There’s no need to memorize them mechanically—it’s best to develop your own understanding.”
Gu Wuyou didn’t understand much about such things, but she still nodded earnestly. “I understand.”
“It’s late. You should head back now.”
Gu Rong asked, “How did you get here? Do you want me to have someone escort you back?”
“Third Brother, I will take her back,” Gu Jiufei suddenly stood up and said.
“That works too.” Gu Rong looked at Gu Jiufei and smiled.
Gu Wuyou, however, was confused by the current situation.
She hugged the stack of papers in her arms and turned slightly to glance at Gu Jiufei, who had been standing beside her silently the whole time. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke, “You don’t have to go out of your way to send me back. Just give me the lantern.”
“No need.” Gu Jiufei, still looking straight ahead, dryly refused.
In her past life, she and Gu Jiufei had eventually gotten along, but only to the extent of no longer arguing. She had always felt that back then, Gu Jiufei had only acted like a good younger brother because he no longer wanted to bother with their conflicts.
But now…
Compared to interacting with her father, dealing with Gu Jiufei was even more difficult for Gu Wuyou… She wasn’t good with words, and whenever she argued with someone, she only had two or three retorts at best. With a sigh, she simply shut her mouth.
The two walked in silence all the way.
When they were nearly at Zhaixing Tower, Gu Jiufei finally seemed unable to hold back and asked in a low voice, “Who is this for?”
“Ah?”
Gu Wuyou was startled, just about to answer when a familiar voice called from nearby, “County Princess?”
She turned her head and saw a graceful figure approaching with a lantern. Recognizing her, the woman quickly walked a few steps forward and took hold of her hand, saying anxiously, “Why did you return so late? I was about to go to the Duke’s residence to find you.”
During dinner, Gu Wuyou had remembered to send word, but when she went to visit Third Brother, she had completely forgotten. Realizing she had made her maids worry, she felt a little guilty and said, “I just went to see Third Brother for a bit.”
Only after confirming she was safe did Bai Lu breathe a sigh of relief. Then, she turned her gaze to Gu Jiufei and greeted him, “Young Master Jiu.”
Gu Jiufei only gave a slight nod, said nothing, and directly turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Gu Wuyou called after him. Seeing that while he didn’t turn around, he had stopped, she quickly handed her stack of papers to Bai Lu and then ran inside. A moment later, she came back out, slightly out of breath, and placed a hand warmer into Gu Jiufei’s hands.
“It’s cold at night, and you’re not wearing much. Don’t freeze.”
As if afraid he would refuse, Gu Wuyou immediately rubbed her hands together and ran over to Bai Lu, saying, “It’s freezing, let’s go inside quickly.”
“Oh, now you remember the cold?” Bai Lu huffed, though her tone was more doting than scolding. “This morning, I left out a hand warmer and hand muff for you, but you didn’t take either of them.”
Despite her sharp words, she still wrapped Gu Wuyou protectively in her cloak, making sure not a single gust of wind touched her.
Meanwhile, Gu Jiufei stood there holding the hand warmer, watching Gu Wuyou’s retreating figure.
The night was dark, the lanterns swayed under the wind beneath the trees and along the corridors, casting flickering shadows. The night was indeed cold—but Gu Jiufei had long grown used to this kind of cold.
Yet now, holding this one warm object in his hand, he stood there for a long time before finally pressing his lips together and turning to walk back to the outer courtyard.
—
When he arrived at the outer courtyard, the young servant was dozing off on the doorstep.
Hearing footsteps, he blinked awake, rubbing his eyes as he looked at Gu Jiufei and murmured sleepily, “Young Master, why are you back so late?”
As he spoke, his gaze suddenly widened in shock. “Young Master! Why are you using a hand warmer?!”
No matter how cold it had been in the past, the Young Master had never used one.
Even in his room, the brazier was only lit when absolutely necessary. The servant had always assumed that Young Master didn’t feel the cold.
Gu Jiufei followed his gaze to the hand warmer in his hand. He had just been about to say, “Throw it away.”
But when he opened his mouth, for some reason, the words never came out. Instead, he swallowed them back down and said faintly, “Just picked it up.”
Then, he walked inside.
“Oh, right—”
As he reached his room, something suddenly occurred to him. He turned and asked, “This morning, didn’t the gatekeeper say that Gu Wuyou left the house very early?”
“Yes,” the servant nodded. “Said she left just as the sun was rising.”
“Mm.”
Gu Jiufei placed the hand warmer on the table. His slender fingers tapped lightly against the surface.
He stayed like that for a long while before finally speaking again.
“Wake me up early tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
The young servant was momentarily stunned as he looked at Gu Jiufei’s calm expression under the flickering candlelight. It took him a long while before he dumbly responded, “…Yes.”