Keeping a mistress

When Gongye Fusu saw A Qiu's helpless expression, he immediately understood. He deliberately raised his voice and said, "Actually, I didn't necessarily want to come here, but the Grand Tutor's golden house is so well-built that it's as difficult as climbing to heaven to see you. So I had no choice but to shamelessly come here."

A Qiu, usually quick-witted, was rendered speechless by Gongye Fusu. She thought to herself: Is he helping her or insulting her?

She said awkwardly, "Of course, of course, please come again, young master." Before she could finish speaking, she caught sight of Gu Yi's figure under the eaves and immediately froze, realizing what she had just said! She had actually invited Gongye Fusu to come again!

Gongye Fusu stood up with a smile and said loudly, "Of course! If you want anything else delicious, fun, rare and novel, just let me know and I'll bring it to you next time, so you won't be left without tea or water."

Upon hearing this, A-Qiu almost wished she could disappear into the ground.

Gongye Fusu, with a smile on his face, leisurely walked away from the corridor, holding an oil-paper umbrella. As he passed Gu Yi, he didn't forget to give a graceful bow.

Gu Yi's back was stiff, and he did not turn around, but he valued etiquette and still slightly turned to the side to show his respect.

Even if A Qiu racked her brains, she couldn't figure out why Gongye Fusu, who was always gentle and unassuming, would deliberately play such a prank to humiliate the powerful and influential Junior Tutor Gu Yi.

Little did she know that among the most prestigious figures of the dynasty, Gongye Fusu was known for his eccentric nature and aversion to socializing. Even when invited as a guest, he would hide behind a silk curtain and refuse to show his face.

Now that he's encountered someone even less respectful and more unapproachable than himself, he wants to play a trick on them.

To be able to upset Gu Yi, the tutor of the most powerful man in the dynasty, is truly a great success.

As the richest man in Dayan, and the King of Wanxiang, whom so many people couldn't invite to his door, Gongye Fusu felt a surge of relief after being initially rejected at Jinlingtai and then ignored by Gu Yi. He felt refreshed and invigorated.

He laughed with extreme nonchalance, and then drifted away, holding his ink-wash paper umbrella.

The remaining one, A-Qiu, stood in the hall, her heart pounding with anxiety and harboring ulterior motives, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

She had already prepared a whole set of arguments in her mind.

For example, Gongye Fusu wasn't someone she invited to come. Nor did she intend to invite him again.

For example...

Before she could even think of another example, Gu Yi had already lifted his collar, stepped into the room, and sat down opposite her.

A-Qiu felt awkward and wanted to strike up a conversation by serving tea and water, but the problem was that as soon as she had the idea, she immediately remembered that Jinlingtai did not have tea sets or tea leaves.

If you ask her if she's busy with official business, she sounds like a wife or concubine waiting for her husband to come home.

She tried hard to recall how the disciples would greet and socialize with their master when he returned from outside the Lanling Hall.

The result of their hard thinking was fruitless. Because at that time, the senior brother had taken care of all the social skills, and Gongyi Xiu would ask about their well-being in a way that was both clever and tactful, which would also pique their master's interest in conversation, and they would also be able to hear about local customs, people, and anecdotes from the martial arts world.

She usually followed behind her senior brothers, nodding in response as frequently as a chicken pecking at rice.

However, when the disciple saw his master, he did not pester him with questions. He simply stood with his hands at his sides and answered whatever his master asked.

Before she could think of a topic, she saw Gu Yi's gaze sweep over the elegant jade-colored plum blossoms in the center of the table, then glance at the simple plum branches she had just arranged in the vase beside her. His expression remained unchanged; he simply said:

"You really like this?"

A Qiu nodded involuntarily. It would be a lie to say she didn't like it. The Gongye family was known as the "Land of Ten Thousand Fragrances," possessing its own gardens cultivating all sorts of exotic flowers. The Gongye family's maid, A Qin, had even mentioned that their hibiscus was created by Prince Fusu by combining the best qualities of various plants.

This plum blossom plant is only about a foot tall, yet its branches are uniquely elegant. After being pruned by Gongye Fusu, the main and secondary branches are clearly distinguished, creating a picturesque scene. Moreover, it is not the dead of winter, yet the branches are already covered with buds, clustered like snowflakes. This alone makes it a rare and precious sight.

Gu Yi paused slightly, then said, "This is a green calyx plum from 'Fragrant Snow Sea' in Wu, which is not easy to transport. It is also not easy to cultivate it to this size and maintain its spirit even for a moment."

A Qiu turned her beautiful eyes and said with heartfelt admiration, "Young Master really knows everything, no less than my master."

Gu Yi paused again, his gaze finally turning to her with undisguised sharpness, and said in a deep voice, "Didn't your master teach you not to take things from people casually?"

Aqiu thought for a moment and said, "He never taught that. Master only taught us that we shouldn't take things from others, and he didn't say we couldn't accept things that were offered to us."

If one cannot accept gifts offered to them, then the Second Brother's Xingfeng Hall will most likely have to close down, since a significant portion of Xingfeng Hall's income comes from the tributes and gifts sent by various land and water gangs during festivals.

However, she regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth, because Gu Yi's expression turned quite ugly.

Ah Qiu had some sense, and immediately changed his mind, saying, "Since Master says we can't take them, I'll just throw them away." He picked up the bonsai in one hand and the pottery jar in the other and walked out.

Gu Yi, who had been sitting extremely upright, couldn't help but cover his face with his sleeve and cough lightly, saying, "That pottery jar is mine."

As if waking from a dream, A Qiu exclaimed "Oh!" and hurriedly turned around, carefully placing the jar back on the table before going to throw away the bonsai.

Gu Yi said calmly from behind her, "No need to throw it away, keep it. If you... like it, that's fine."

When A Qiu heard that he could stay, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Young Master. This branch in the jar is a gift for you. I will take it to your room now."

When Gu Yi came in, he had already seen the pile of broken branches on the table. Hearing her say this, he looked incredulous and said, "You actually gave me the scraps that someone else had cut?"

Ah Qiu, emboldened by some unknown source, immediately retorted, "Normally, there isn't even a single broken branch in your Jinling Terrace. This broken branch was brought to the palace by Prince Fusu in his magnificent carriage, which he personally carried in his arms. So please don't complain about it."

Gu Yi stared at her incredulously. Little did A Qiu know, Gu Yi was thinking about something else entirely.

So far, she has given him two things. The first was a flower on her forehead, a tasseled flower with gold feathers and a crescent moon. But she said... that it was originally a token of love that her senior brother had tricked from a Hu woman in Luoyufang.

The other item is this discarded branch that Gongye Fusu pruned, which she actually inserted into his Warring States period artifact, the Seven Star Jar.

After barely managing to overcome his initial discomfort, Gu Yi began to seriously consider a question: Had she never seen anything good in her life?

Seeing that Gu Yi remained silent, A Qiu felt that she had successfully persuaded him. So she picked up the seven-star pot with plum blossoms in it and headed to Gu Yi's bedroom.

She had only taken one step when she looked up and saw Gu Yi already blocking the doorway.

His dark eyes stared directly at her, and he said imposingly, "Besides these plum blossoms, what else did you ask the Gongye family for?"

A Qiu was utterly astonished. She had never asked Gongye Fusu for anything! She didn't know beforehand that Gongye Fusu would come to Jinlingtai to find her, let alone ask him for plum blossoms to bring them.

She immediately realized that this was all a trap set by Gongye Fusu before he left, saying that she could let him know in advance if she wanted anything else next time. And Gu Yi indeed fell for it.

A Qiu stood there, stunned, her expression a mixture of innocence and helplessness. Gu Yi, upon seeing this, assumed he understood.

He took the Seven Star Jar from her hand with one hand and pulled her out with the other, saying in a deep voice as they walked, "Come with me to West Market Street. Buy me anything else you want."

A Qiu was suddenly pulled by him and almost bumped into him. Before she could come to her senses, Gu Yi stopped and said steadily, "I'll go change my clothes first. Wait for me for a moment."

When A Qiu and Gu Yi arrived at the West Market, they found it brightly lit and bustling with people. The shops, each with its own unique style, sold spices, ingredients, clothing, jewelry, and other goods from all over Dayan and even from various Western Regions countries.

Gu Yilin changed his clothes before going out. A Qiu wondered at the time, "He's not a woman, does he need to dress up before going out?" When she saw that he had changed into a simple black outfit, A Qiu realized that if he had gone out in that expensive gold-feathered black cloak, along with his signature silver-haired black hair, he would have been recognized by onlookers in no time, and there would have been a huge crowd.

The streets were bustling with people, and A Qiu kept pulling on Gu Yi's arm to keep herself from getting lost. Feeling the warmth of Gu Yi's arm as she walked through the vibrant, brightly lit market, A Qiu suddenly felt as if she had stepped into another world.

It felt as unreal as a dream.

Amidst the surging crowd and bright lights, Gu Yi suddenly leaned down towards her and whispered in her ear, "Have you decided what you want?" His voice was so close, and his gaze never left her face.

A Qiu felt slightly embarrassed, but she knew that Gu Yi was being considerate of her current loss of internal strength. In such a noisy environment, she wouldn't be able to hear him unless he spoke very close to her ear.

She raised her head and whispered in Gu Yi's ear, "There are so many things here, I can't think of them all right now."

Her breath ruffled a strand of hair near Gu Yi's ear, and Gu Yi suddenly trembled, subtly avoiding her lips. A Qiu then realized: it was she who had lost her internal energy, not Gu Yi; she didn't need to speak so close to him, he could have heard her anyway.

Gu Yi hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head again and whispered in her ear, "Then you can look and think as you go. But I have to go to court tomorrow, so you can't wander around until dawn."

As A Qiu felt Gu Yi's breath close to her ear, her heart suddenly raced. Just as she was about to answer "okay," her eyes lit up as she was drawn to a figure in the crowd.

It was the figure of a Hu woman, tall and graceful, with exquisite and slender curves, standing out from the crowd and catching everyone's eye.

The reason why A Qiu stared intently was because the figure seemed familiar; he must have seen it somewhere before.

Seeing her suddenly staring intently at something, Gu Yi followed her gaze. He paused for a moment, then hesitated before asking, "You like this?"

The woman seemed to sense someone watching her from behind, and immediately darted into the crowd, disappearing in an instant.

A Qiu looked up and met Gu Yi's gaze, asking in surprise, "What?"

A gentle smile suddenly appeared on Gu Yi's lips. He said, "If you like this, then take it. Come with me."