Chapter 420 My Second Cousin is Still the Best to Me

Everyone was reluctant to talk about his illness and lifespan, as if afraid that saying too much would upset him. So, people were careful when speaking to him, and even their eyes were always filled with pity and sympathy.

Moreover, no matter what mistakes he made, everyone would tolerate and forgive him without limit, and no one would blame him.

Only Gu Qianhan never indulged him, nor did she shy away from discussing matters of life and death with him.

Gu Qianhan only treated him like an ordinary person, letting him say whatever he wanted and do whatever he wanted. Even though he was terminally ill and unable to get out of bed, Gu Qianhan still insisted on dragging him out of bed to go horseback riding and playing football with him, making him almost believe that he could jump and leap again.

Gu Qianhan never looked at him with pity. In fact, when Gu Qianhan looked at him now, her eyes seemed to be throwing knives, as if she wanted to chop him up.

Pei Lin'an didn't know how he could have offended Gu Qianhan by lying at home all day, but the feeling of being treated like a normal person by Gu Qianhan made him feel very good.

He smiled and said, "Aunt, I'll go sit in my second cousin's courtyard first, and then I'll come back to keep you company."

Madam Gu was not at ease letting him go with Gu Qianhan. She hurriedly said, "No, your second cousin likes to act recklessly. You are taking medicine now, how can you drink alcohol? Don't go anywhere, just stay here and have a good talk with me."

As she spoke, she pressed down on Pei Lin'an's wheelchair, preventing Gu Qianhan from touching it.

Gu Qianhan didn't struggle for the wheelchair. He said calmly, "A'ning knows that the Crown Princess has arrived and has been waiting anxiously in the courtyard. Mother has been waiting for so long and still hasn't let her go. Anyone who doesn't know the situation would think that you are making things difficult for her."

Madam Gu glared at him: "What do you know? The longer I keep the Crown Princess here to chat, the better it is for her! She's come all this way, and she's so charming, so naturally I want to talk to her a little longer. Go tell A-Ning to wait a little longer."

"She said she couldn't wait any longer; her chest hurt, apparently because she had swallowed water when she fell into the water earlier, and it hadn't gotten better. She wanted to ask the Crown Princess to take a look at her."

Mrs. Gu asked suspiciously, "Really?"

"If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself."

Madam Gu was not entirely convinced, because after her daughter fell into the water, apart from having a high fever for a day, she didn't feel any discomfort afterwards.

The publicized serious illness was merely a pretext to put pressure on the emperor and the crown prince—the fact that the marriage was still not taking place was very suspicious.

However, it cannot be ruled out that Gu Qianning might genuinely be feeling unwell.

Madam Gu still felt sorry for her daughter and quickly released her: "Since A-Ning is also looking forward to seeing the Crown Princess, then you can take the Crown Princess with you. Oh, by the way, you can also take Lin'an with you. He hasn't seen A-Ning for a long time and must miss her too."

Gu Qianhan nodded indifferently: "Understood, Princess Consort, this way please."

Shen Wantang nodded to Madam Gu and left with Gu Qianhan.

The servant pushed Pei Lin'an in front, with Shen Wantang and Gu Qianhan behind, and the three of them went to Gu Qianning's courtyard together.

On the way, Gu Qianhan said in a light voice, "No matter what my mother said, you don't need to take it to heart. Once you've heard it, just forget about it."

Shen Wantang's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that she had guessed correctly. Madam Gu had specially invited Pei Lin'an to see her.

Madam Gu was quite unique. When Xiao Qingyuan mentioned divorcing his wife once, she took it seriously and insisted that he marry her off to Pei Lin'an.

While others were too busy looking down on divorced women, Madam Gu seemed completely unconcerned, even showering her with such enthusiasm that she found it hard to resist.

Shen Wantang was somewhat helpless. She glanced at Pei Lin'an in the wheelchair in front of her and said softly, "Okay, I understand."

Seeing that she was looking at Pei Lin'an, Gu Qianhan said again, "He's dying, you don't need to look at him anymore."

Shen Wantang: "..."

Isn't being so blunt a bit hurtful? He seems to have a lot of issues with Pei Lin'an!

Pei Lin'an turned around: "Second cousin, could you please say this behind my back? My health isn't very good, but my hearing is still fine."

Gu Qianhan: "Then let the imperial physician prescribe some medicine for you. Let's treat the problem of your hearing first."

Pei Lin'an was both amused and annoyed: "My second cousin is still the best to me. This trip was worthwhile; my ears are almost deafened."

His life had come to an end, and he knew he was waiting to die, so his soul had long since withered and dried up.

In the past two years, there have been very few people who can evoke his emotions and make him happy; Gu Qianhan is the only exception.

Because of his childhood illness, he was exceptionally sensitive and thoughtful, and adept at observing people. When he saw Gu Qianhan and Shen Wantang walking side by side, and heard what Gu Qianhan had just said, a thought popped into his mind—his second cousin probably had taken a fancy to Xiao Qingyuan's crown princess.

But he thought this was normal. The Crown Princess was exceptionally beautiful and knew how to behave appropriately. Even after Madam Gu had praised her for a long time, she remained calm and composed, showing herself to be a wise woman.

It's a pity that such an outstanding woman is already married.

Pei Lin'an had originally given up all hope of living, but now he inexplicably wanted to live for two more years because he really wanted to see if his second cousin would take the person away from him in the future.

Unfortunately, he probably won't be able to see it.

He chuckled softly: "Second cousin, if you have any good things happen to you in the future, remember to write a letter and burn it for me. I want to know what you will be like in the future."

Gu Qianhan knew that Pei Lin'an might have guessed his feelings for Shen Wantang, so he deliberately revealed a hint of it in front of Pei Lin'an to prevent Pei Lin'an from losing his mind and actually falling for Shen Wantang.

He glanced at Pei Lin'an indifferently: "So much trouble."

He only complained that he was too fussy, but did not deny that there would be "good things". Pei Lin'an then understood that his second cousin really liked Shen Wantang, and that he would probably really try to take her away.

Pei Lin'an smiled happily, feeling that his illness had improved by three-tenths.

Xiao Qingyuan, oh Xiao Qingyuan, we used to laugh at him for being sickly, but now look what's happened! His lawfully wedded wife is being coveted by this weirdo Gu Qianhan, and he's going to be in trouble!

The group quickly arrived at Gu Qianning's courtyard. Upon seeing Shen Wantang, Gu Qianning immediately smiled, but when she saw Pei Lin'an, she was taken aback: "Cousin, what brings you here?!"

Pei Lin'an smiled at her: "I heard you fell into the water and got sick, so I came to see you and, by the way, asked my second cousin for a drink."

Gu Qianning looked at him with suspicion: "My cousin is all better? He can even drink alcohol now?"

Pei Lin'an's tone revealed a sense of open-mindedness: "I'm not better, but this is the worst that can happen, so having a drink won't hurt. As the ancients said, life is unpredictable, so seize the day and enjoy life. I'm going to put that into practice."

Before he could even finish speaking, Gu Qianhan had already stepped forward and pushed Pei Lin'an out, saying, "You guys chat, we're going to have a drink."

Gu Qianning couldn't help but look at Shen Wantang: "It's strange, why did my cousin come? Mother clearly said that my cousin can't stand the wind, but today he's acting like nothing happened. Did he take some kind of super tonic?"