When I left Wen Cheng's bedroom, the sky outside was already beginning to lighten.

After seeing her out of the courtyard, Gu Pingting asked in a gentle tone, "Madam Cheng, you've had a long night and must be very tired. Why don't you come with me to the side hall to rest for a bit and have some breakfast?"

"Madam Wen, you're too kind. I left suddenly in the middle of the night last night, and I'm sure your family is very worried. I'll take my leave now."

Cheng Ruyi refused without even thinking. She didn't want to stay there for another second and just wanted to leave as soon as possible to go home and get some sleep!

In fact, ever since she returned from Wolong Village, her mental state has been quite poor. Her rationality has been teetering on the brink of collapse. She was fine when she was at home, but after nearly resorting to violence several times last night, she was afraid that if she continued to stay here, she would not be able to suppress her inner rage, and she didn't know what would happen then.

She was trying her best to stay calm.

No one likes to be threatened or oppressed. She naturally knew that with her current strength, she absolutely could not resist the Wen and Gu families. That's why she obediently followed them and offered them the pills. However, just because she couldn't resist in action didn't mean she wasn't resentful in her heart. She would never befriend the Wen family again!

Fortunately, Gu Pingting did not insist further upon seeing this, but simply said, "It was our negligence. To express our apologies, I will escort Madam Cheng out."

This behavior was quite out of character for Gu Pingting's usual aloof and elegant demeanor. Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but glance at her curiously, suddenly realizing that Gu Pingting must have something she wanted to say to her...

With the idea of ​​resolving all the troubles at once and avoiding coming to the Wen family again in the future, Cheng Ruyi nodded in agreement and obediently followed the other party into the deep courtyard.

On the morning of the first day of the first lunar month, it was still snowing lightly. A gentle breeze occasionally swirled up the snowflakes, which fell in wisps. Combined with the antique pavilions and towers, it created a unique poetic and picturesque scene.

As the two walked to a winding bridge, Gu Pingting, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped. She stretched out a slender hand from her sable fur cloak and gently caught the snowflakes falling from the sky. Her beauty was as fair as jade and her skin as smooth as cream. Even the pure white snowflakes paled in comparison in Gu Pingting's beautiful hands.

"I still remember sixteen years ago, when I met A-Cheng on the bridge over Chenxian Lake outside Qionglin City, snowflakes were falling from the sky just like they are now..."

"When he walked across the bridge with an umbrella, I felt as if the world had lost its color, and he was the only one in my eyes and heart." After Gu Pingting finished speaking, she turned around and smiled at Cheng Ruyi. Her smile was as beautiful and dazzling as a plum blossom blooming in winter.

Cheng Ruyi, momentarily stunned, was puzzled. What was Madam Wen up to? Why was she suddenly telling her, an outsider, about her love at first sight with her husband? Her resistance to the Wen family was so obvious; was she worried that Madam Wen might fall for the talented Wen?

To be honest, in terms of appearance, family background, temperament, and talent, Cheng Ruyi was completely outclassed by Gu Pingting. Therefore, she felt that there was no way that a nobody like her could catch the eye of these two goddesses.

She was just about to explain that she absolutely had no delusions when she was stunned by what Gu Pingting said next.

"Madam Cheng, would you be willing to marry into the Wen family?"

Cheng Ruyi was stunned, unsure whether she had misheard or the other person had lost their mind.

However, Gu Pingting completely ignored the other party's reaction and continued, "Don't worry, although it's just as a concubine, our Wen family will definitely not neglect you. All the etiquette will be done according to the highest standards, and whatever your conditions are, I will agree to them. I wonder what Madam Cheng thinks?"

How did she feel? She felt like she was going to die!

"Hehe, hehe, Mrs. Wen... Mrs. Wen is so witty and humorous. This is the funniest joke I've heard all year, hehe..."

After hearing the answer, Gu Pingting's expression did not change, as if she had anticipated Cheng Ruyi's reaction. She simply turned her head to continue looking at the snowflakes in the sky and said to herself, "Just now, Madam Cheng said that the pill is your family heirloom, and the last one must never be used by outsiders. If Madam Cheng marries into the Wen family, then Acheng will naturally not be an outsider. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"

So that's how it is! So what they wanted was her medicine! They should have said so earlier, it scared me to death!

Thinking of this, Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but smile bitterly, "So Madam Wen means that she would rather have Master Wen marry me than force him to change his lifestyle and take good care of his health? Please forgive my ignorance, I really can't understand!"

"Ah Cheng... he has his own reasons for doing this, and as his wife, all I need to do is cooperate with him and help him lighten his burden. That is my duty." Gu Pingting said these words with her usual calm expression, but her tone was more firm than before.

However, in Cheng Ruyi's eyes, the Wen family were hopeless, brainwashed, and die-hard fans of Wen Cheng. She felt that even if Wen Cheng asked them to die, they would do so without hesitation, which was really hard to understand!

Perhaps it was because Cheng Ruyi's expression was too distorted at the moment, and the message in her eyes when she looked at Gu Pingting was too obvious: "Don't you understand!" "Are you stupid?" "Is your whole family stupid?" that Gu Pingting was amused, which was rare for her.

"In my life before I turned fifteen, every day was incredibly boring. From the moment I was born, every step of my life was already planned out. Although I had no shortage of food and clothing, it was utterly tasteless..."

Cheng Ruyi followed behind Gu Pingting, listening silently to her words. Having been born into ordinary families in both her lives, she naturally couldn't understand the lives of these super-rich second-generation heirs. Perhaps the price of never lacking material things was an extreme emptiness of the spiritual world.

After all, the Gu family is one of the four great families of Dayue. The Qionglin Gu family has stood for a hundred years, with countless branches of the main family. It is easy to imagine how many twists and turns there are.

Gu Pingting looked at Cheng Ruyi's sympathetic expression and smiled calmly, "Since you eat delicacies every day, Madam Cheng, you don't need to feel sorry for me."

Cheng Ruyi: ...I have overstepped my bounds!

"What I mean by boring is not that life is restricted and there is no freedom, but that everything is too easy for me. What I want and what I don't want are all readily available."

"Although I am not the only legitimate daughter from a collateral branch in the family, I am the best in terms of conditions. If it weren't for A-Cheng's appearance, I should be in the imperial palace in the capital right now, as another imperial concubine or the crown princess."

Good heavens! Cheng Ruyi finally realized that the other person was showing off!

So Miss Gu felt that marrying into the royal family in a straightforward manner was too easy, which is why she chose Wen Jingqing, adding some difficulties and obstacles to her smooth and successful life!

However, Gu Pingting seemed completely absorbed in her own world, ignoring Cheng Ruyi's thoughts and complaints, and continued to say to herself, "Acheng is the most special person I have ever met in my life. I can see his uniqueness at a glance. Marrying him is my greatest blessing."

"...Hehe, Madam Wen is indeed extraordinary!" Cheng Ruyi replied with a forced smile.

During their conversation, the two unknowingly walked out of the inner courtyard and into a porch.

Gu Pingting stopped and gave Cheng Ruyi a very proper bow, saying sincerely and solemnly, "Madam Cheng, thank you for saving my life today. The Wen family will definitely offer generous gifts. Also, my suggestion just now was serious; you might want to consider it."

Before Cheng Ruyi could refuse, she summoned a nanny and said, "The inner courtyard is busy, so please forgive me for only being able to take you this far. From now on, you just need to follow this nanny."

Cheng Ruyi watched the other person turn and leave with a flourish, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

After this encounter, she felt that this young lady of the Gu family seemed somewhat different from what she had previously known, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was different...

She shook her head, about to turn and leave, when she saw Gu Pingting, who had already reached the corner, suddenly stop, turn to the side, tilt her head slightly, and say to her with a half-smile: "There's something I forgot to mention. Actually... Madam Cheng, you're quite 'unique' too!"

What? ? ?

Cheng Ruyi was truly dumbfounded. What did Miss Gu mean by that? Could it be that she had figured something out?

At this moment, alarms were going off in her head: the Wen family was indeed in danger!

The next day, Wen He arrived at Lishan Villa with a car full of thank-you gifts, solemnly expressing his gratitude to Cheng Ruyi, and also bringing a letter handwritten by Wen Cheng.

Having been seriously ill for over a month and even in a coma for several days, he immediately wrote letters the very next day after waking up. Looking at the letters in her hand, Cheng Ruyi could easily imagine that this patriarch of the Wen family was definitely not getting any rest...

The Wen family's gift of gratitude was naturally extremely extravagant, including not only a thousand taels of silver, but also various precious medicinal herbs and several boxes of priceless jewelry, silks, spices, tea, and more.

Cheng Ruyi took a look and found that these items were not available on the market, and several of them even looked like imperial tributes. These were probably Gu Pingting's private stock.

It's not hard to understand why she thought that way. After all, based on the information she had, the Wen family had always prided themselves on being upright and never involved in the business world. Their family businesses all relied on rent collection, and they didn't live a particularly wealthy life. They were incomparable to the Gu family, who were incredibly rich.

Cheng Ruyi naturally accepted these gifts with peace of mind, because she felt that given the Wen family's almost blind "pampering" of Wen Jingqing, they would definitely need her to help again in the future.

After returning to her room, Cheng Ruyi casually placed the letter on the table, brewed a pot of spiritual tea with Qingling fruit leaves and Yunmeng lotus petals, and waited until she calmed down before opening the letter to read it.

Unexpectedly, Wen Jingqing's letter was written in a very concise and clear manner. Perhaps he was afraid that Cheng Ruyi would not understand it, so he did not use any complicated classical Chinese phrases, but simply explained the meaning.

Firstly, he expressed his gratitude to Cheng Ruyi for saving his life and said he wanted to repay her by asking what she needed.

Secondly, he has no special feelings for Cheng Ruyi and will never marry her, so she can rest assured.

.........

After reading the letter, Cheng Ruyi was unsure whether to be happy or unhappy.