Gu Yu was now full of regret. She felt that she must have lost her mind to get into this cursed carriage with Gu Wuyou! No, Gu Wuyou didn’t even call her; she was the one who stupidly followed and forced her way onto this carriage—
Now.
She looked at the three people squeezed together on the opposite side, then glanced at Gu Wuyou, who was leisurely sitting beside her, and couldn’t understand how things had ended up like this.
Two moments ago, at the academy gate.
Gu Wuyou raised her head and looked at Jing Yubai, her eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation. “Can I go with you all?”
“No!”
“No!”
Gu Yu and Fu Xian spoke in unison without even thinking. It seemed they didn’t expect to be so synchronized every time, and after exchanging a glance, they turned away from each other in mutual disdain.
“What are you thinking? They’re going to find Li Qinyuan—what are you going for?” Gu Yu directly pulled Gu Wuyou aside and whispered.
“I’m also going to find him,” Gu Wuyou answered without the slightest hesitation. She also wanted to ask the great general if he would come to the academy tomorrow.
“You!” Gu Yu was nearly driven mad by her. Since when did this woman get so close to Li Qinyuan?! Clearly, the two of them hardly had any interactions before!
Or could it be—
Had they been secretly meeting behind her back?
A flood of questions surged in Gu Yu’s mind, but the most urgent thing now was to stop this woman. Since she couldn’t persuade her directly, she turned to Gu Tiao. “Second Sister, try to talk some sense into her.”
Before Gu Tiao could speak,
Fu Xian had already interjected with a look of disgust. “Why is a little girl like you tagging along with us three grown men? Do you even have a little bit of—”
The latter half of his sentence was unpleasant to say, so he pursed his lips and didn’t continue. But the expression on his face made it clear that he was very unwelcome to the idea.
“What do you mean by that?!”
Right now, Gu Yu’s attitude toward Gu Wuyou was “I can criticize her, but you can’t.” The moment she heard Fu Xian’s remark, she didn’t care about lecturing Gu Wuyou anymore and turned her fury on him instead.
“If it weren’t for her, your good friend wouldn’t even be able to come back.”
“Acting all tough now—where were you before?”
“And calling yourself a grown man? What kind of grown man are you? A brat who hasn’t even grown all his hair yet, trying to act like an adult?”
Gu Yu had been sharp-tongued since childhood. Unlike Gu Wuyou, who could only repeat the same few phrases when arguing with others, Gu Yu’s scolding was even sharper than her mother’s.
“You, you…”
Fu Xian had never been scolded like this before. His handsome face alternated between red and green, his mouth opened, but he couldn’t get a word out. In the end, he could only point at Gu Yu, his face flushed red with anger.
Gu Wuyou, however, paid no attention to them. She only looked at Jing Yubai and asked again, “Can I?”
Jing Yubai smiled, still as gentle as ever, his voice warm and mild. “Of course.”
Even if this little chili pepper hadn’t spoken up, he would have found a way to mention it anyway… After all, that person wouldn’t listen to the three of them. Though, whether he would listen to the little chili pepper was also uncertain.
But it was worth a try.
His smile was as bright as the moon after rain, and when he spoke to Gu Tiao, he was respectful as always. “Miss Gu, we will bring the princess back later.”
Gu Tiao nodded and responded with a smile, “Alright.”
Gu Yu, who was still scolding Fu Xian on the side, didn’t expect even her Second Sister to be unreliable. She actually agreed just like that! Feeling displeased, she tugged at her arm and called out, “Second Sister.”
Fu Xian, on the other hand, directly pulled Jing Yubai aside, exclaiming in shock, “Dabai, what are you doing?!”
“After all, she helped Qilang. It’s only right for her to come with us and take a look,” Jing Yubai spoke as if it was the most natural thing. Before Fu Xian could respond, he added with a smile, “Besides, with you here, what could the little chili pepper possibly do to Qilang?”
Now that he put it that way, it did make some sense.
Although Fu Xian was still unhappy, he didn’t stop them anymore. In any case, with him around, no matter what schemes the little chili pepper had, she wouldn’t be able to escape his watchful eyes.
This was a good opportunity for him to have a talk with Qilang and remind him to stay away from that scheming little chili pepper!
“Alright, we all grew up together, and it’s not like we haven’t gone out together before,” Gu Tiao smiled as she tried to soothe Gu Yu. Then, in a gentle voice, she reminded Gu Wuyou, “Manman, the night is chilly, remember to go and come back early.”
Gu Wuyou nodded with a smile but hesitated slightly at the thought of her father. “What about Father…”
“I will explain it to Uncle,” Gu Tiao reassured her with a smile.
With that settled, Gu Wuyou had no more doubts. Since she usually went home with Gu Tiao, she naturally didn’t have an extra carriage. Looking at the three men—Jing Yubai, Qi Xu, whom she wasn’t very familiar with, and Fu Xian, who was always arguing with her—she ultimately chose Jing Yubai. “I’ll take your carriage.”
Jing Yubai had no objections.
But Fu Xian had plenty! His home was near the Qi and Jing residences, so he usually either hitched a ride in Jing Yubai’s carriage or took Qi Xu’s. Now, seeing the little chili pepper about to sit with Jing Yubai, he quickly spoke up, “I’m taking Dabai’s carriage too!”
After thinking it over—
Leaving the little chili pepper with Qi Xu wasn’t a good idea either. Gritting his teeth, he added, “We’ll all take the same carriage!” It was better to keep an eye on the little chili pepper and prevent her from coming up with any devious plans.
Gu Wuyou didn’t mind. After all, the carriages of these noble families were spacious enough, and even with a few more people, they wouldn’t feel crowded. Once Jing Yubai and the others were seated, she also got on. Just as she was about to lower the curtain, Gu Yu, who had been hesitating outside, suddenly grabbed it.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Wuyou looked at her in confusion.
Gu Yu pursed her lips and didn’t speak. After a long moment, she clenched her teeth and said, “I’m going with you all!”
Inside the carriage.
“Are we there yet?” Gu Wuyou didn’t notice Gu Yu’s gaze. She opened the curtain and glanced outside. The carriage had already passed through the bustling streets and was now heading down a quiet alley.
It was also a hutong, but it looked unfamiliar.
“He… isn’t staying at an inn?”
“Hmph.” Fu Xian snorted heavily, clearly unwilling to answer. When he noticed Gu Yu turning to look at him, his proud expression stiffened slightly.
Qi Xu, who had no past grudges with Gu Wuyou and was also grateful for her help with Qilang, explained warmly, “Qilang has a poor relationship with his family and finds inns too noisy, so he got himself a place outside.”
As he spoke, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Although the carriage was spacious, the three of them squeezed together still felt a bit uncomfortable. Given that he was slightly plump, even speaking made him a little breathless.
Hearing this, Gu Wuyou’s heart tightened. Her grip on the curtain unconsciously clenched, and her voice lowered involuntarily, carrying an unmistakable trace of distress. “Has he always been like this?”
Among these people—
Fu Xian and Qi Xu were not particularly sharp-minded to begin with. Now, one was locked in a staring contest with Gu Yu, while the other was still occasionally wiping sweat from his forehead. Naturally, neither of them noticed anything unusual in Gu Wuyou’s words.
The only one who noticed, Jing Yubai, merely glanced at her without a change in expression. Then, he continued to smile as he lowered his head and quietly brewed tea.
“When the Shen family was still in the capital, he often went there.”
“A few years ago, when Brother Shen took Old Madam Shen away to another region, Qilang started living alone outside. He would only return home for major holidays,” Qi Xu said. Remembering something, he turned to Jing Yubai and asked, “Speaking of which, Brother Shen should be coming back soon, right?”
“Mm.”
The tea in front of Jing Yubai had already finished brewing. As he poured a cup for each of them, he smiled and said, “A few days ago, I heard my father mention it. His Majesty values Brother Shen greatly, so he’ll probably return to the capital by early spring.”
Inside the carriage, the conversation shifted to Shen Shao.
But Gu Wuyou had no mind to listen to their discussion. She gazed at the sky outside, which was still somewhat bright, and her heart was full of thoughts of her great general… She had never imagined that the brave and fearless great general had once experienced such a dark and lonely past.
After a while, the carriage stopped in front of a residential house.
“We’re here,” Jing Yubai said softly as he set down his teacup.
Gu Wuyou finally pulled herself out of her thoughts. Leaning against the carriage, she stared blankly at the house before her. It was an ordinary single-entry courtyard, lined up alongside other residences. The walls weren’t even that high—if a thief came at night, climbing over wouldn’t be much trouble.
She frowned as she examined the place, an endless worry filling her heart.
As Jing Yubai prepared to step out of the carriage, he turned to her and said, “Your Highness, besides us, no one else has ever come here before. Please wait here for a moment while I inform him.”
Gu Wuyou nodded, though her expression remained troubled.
After the three men got out of the carriage, Gu Yu and Gu Wuyou stayed seated inside. Gu Yu, looking outside with her, furrowed her brows at the sight of the house. “He’s the son of the Duke of Wei, yet he lives in a place like this?”
“No wonder people outside say he probably won’t inherit the title in the future.” She had a lot more she wanted to ask and say, but after seeing the look on Gu Wuyou’s face, she pressed her lips together and kept quiet.
Knock, knock, knock—
As soon as Fu Xian got off the carriage, he went to knock on the door, calling out loudly, “Qilang, open up!”
Li Qinyuan was probably asleep. The knocking went on for quite a while before he finally strolled out, his face still carrying the look of someone who had just woken up. His usually neat clothes were a bit disheveled, and when he saw the three of them, he frowned, leaning against the doorframe with his elbow, pressing a fingertip against his tired brow. His hoarse voice carried a hint of irritation as he said, “Didn’t I tell you not to come?”
“Did you skip another meal?” Fu Xian frowned as soon as he saw him, concerned. “If I’d known, I would’ve packed some food from the restaurant first.”
“It’s fine. If I get hungry later, I’ll just go out and buy something,” Li Qinyuan yawned. “Come inside.”
He was about to step aside to let them in when he noticed that Jing Yubai, still standing at the doorway, hadn’t moved. Instead, Jing Yubai just smiled at him and said, “Qilang, we brought someone else with us.”
“Hm?”
Li Qinyuan froze for a moment, then blurted out without thinking, “Old Xu came back?” As he spoke, he glanced outside—and his gaze immediately collided with Gu Wuyou’s, who was sitting in the carriage, holding the curtain open.
The moment he locked eyes with those apricot-like eyes, he thought he must still be half-asleep and failed to process what he was seeing.
But when he rubbed his eyes and found the scene unchanged, he suddenly cursed under his breath and quickly ducked behind the door, lowering his voice as he hissed, “Why did you bring her here?”
Fu Xian, seeing his reaction, immediately felt a sense of shared indignation and said, “She insisted on coming herself.”
He knew it—Qilang didn’t like that little chili pepper. Look, he was literally hiding from her! His mood instantly brightened.
Jing Yubai glanced speechlessly at Fu Xian, who was suddenly delighted, then shook his head. They had grown up wearing the same pair of pants—how could he not know what Fu Xian was thinking? This blockhead actually thought Qilang was unhappy to see the little chili pepper.
Clearly—
He glanced at Li Qinyuan, who was hiding behind the door, fiddling with his clothes and fixing his hair. The corners of his lips curled slightly upward. Clearly… he was just shy.
He cleared his throat lightly and said, “The little chili pepper gave something to Dean Xu. Dean Xu has already expelled Zhou Changbai from the academy and told you to return tomorrow.”
“What?”
Li Qinyuan stopped what he was doing and leaned out from behind the door, frowning. “What did she give him?”
Jing Yubai shook his head with a smile, looking as if he genuinely didn’t know. “No idea. She wouldn’t tell anyone, and Dean Xu didn’t say either. Why don’t you… ask her yourself?”
Now that she was already here—
It wasn’t like Li Qinyuan could actually refuse to let her in. Besides, when he saw the little chili pepper’s eyes just now, they seemed moist, as if she was about to cry but holding back. Just looking at them made his heart ache.
“Qilang, if you don’t want to see her, I’ll have the coachman take them back home,” Fu Xian suggested from the side. The best option was to send her away immediately!
The little chili pepper was annoying.
The little chili pepper’s sister was also annoying!
“Forget it, let her… them come in,” Li Qinyuan said, deliberately lowering his head to check himself as he spoke. Hmm, he had tidied up enough—at least he looked presentable.
“Alright, I’ll send them away right now.”
Fu Xian happily strode outside, but halfway there, he suddenly froze. His neck stiffened as he turned his head back, his voice drifting uncertainly, “Qilang, you… what did you just say?”
Li Qinyuan ignored him. Instead, he glanced once more at the carriage outside and saw that the little chili pepper was still staring at him. He cleared his throat, awkwardly withdrew his gaze, and pretended to be looking at something else—though the tips of his ears had already turned red. “I’m going to boil some water.” With that, he turned around and went back inside.
Fu Xian wanted to say something, but Jing Yubai just smiled and pulled him aside. “Alright, go invite them in.” Then, pulling Qi Xu along, he also entered the house.
“You, you guys—”
Fu Xian stood at the doorway, watching them leave one after another, his face filled with disbelief. They just left him behind like this?!
He stood there for a long moment before finally resigning himself. Gritting his teeth, he turned around and walked to the carriage, looking extremely unhappy as he grumbled toward the inside, “You… come in.”
“You should’ve let us out earlier!”
Gu Yu had been suffocating inside the carriage. The moment she heard him speak, she immediately lifted the curtain and hopped out. As she passed by Fu Xian, she even deliberately shoved him and snapped, “Move aside.”
“You—!”
Fu Xian glared at her, but after repeating to himself several times in his mind ‘Women and petty people are hard to deal with’ he barely managed to swallow his frustration. In the end, he just left behind a curt, “Go in yourselves,” before storming inside angrily.
Gu Yu glanced at his retreating figure, unconcerned, and curled her lips in disdain. After Gu Wuyou got down, she turned to her and said, “Let’s go.”
“Mm.”
Gu Wuyou nodded.
But she seemed a bit quiet, not as cheerful as when they had arrived.