Chapter 40 Learning Characters

Xiao Liulang didn't give him advice because they were on good terms. Since he doesn't believe it, then forget it.

Gu Jiao had initially admired the painting, but upon hearing that it was a fake, she immediately lost interest and returned it to her husband, Xiao Qin.

Seeing the look of disgust on her face, young Master Qin suddenly explained, "Don't listen to him! This painting is the original!"

Gu Jiao said firmly, "If my husband says it's fake, then it's fake!"

"you……"

Young Master Qin is really infuriating.

In the past, he wouldn't have cared what a clown thought of his paintings, but for some reason today, he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of her.

Young Master Qin straightened his back: "It's true! He's never seen the world and doesn't know anything about painting!"

"You're the one who's never seen the world!" Gu Jiao wouldn't allow anyone to belittle her son like that!

If Xiao Liulang only heard the result afterward when Young Master Qin came to Gu Jiao to get the letter last time, then now he has truly experienced Gu Jiao's indifference towards Young Master Qin.

She actually argued with him because of her.

Xiao Liulang gave Gu Jiao a deep look, and then generously reminded Xiao Qin, "If you're going to give this painting away, I advise you not to embarrass yourself."

After saying this, Xiao Liulang said to Uncle Luo, "Let's go back to the village, Uncle Luo."

"Alright!" Uncle Luo, not wanting to get involved in the young people's affairs, smiled and drove the oxcart away.

Looking at the two of them eating scallion pancakes together in the cold wind, Young Master Qin was so angry that he wanted to curse them as a pair of adulterers!

However, this incident left a thorn in his heart. When he brought the painting back to the Qin family, his father rushed up to him eagerly: "How is it? Did you find the painting?"

"We found it..." Young Master Qin hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

His father panicked: "What happened? Is it broken?"

"It's not broken...sigh." In the end, Young Master Qin told his father what Xiao Liulang had said.

His father was even tougher: "You believe what a little cripple says?"

"He is a student of Tianxiang Academy." When Young Master Qin went to Gu Jiao's house to pick up the letter, he saw Xiao Liulang. At that time, Xiao Liulang was wearing the uniform of Tianxiang Academy.

"What's wrong with the students of Tianxiang Academy?" his father said dismissively.

“They are all very capable,” said Young Master Qin.

His father dismissed it, saying, "Aren't you quite capable too? I spent so much money to hire tutors for you from the capital, how could you lose to them? Besides, they're all bookworms, they've never seen the world."

Young Master Qin thought to himself, "That's exactly what I said back then!"

Young Master Qin was actually a very proud person. If someone else reminded him like that, he wouldn't listen to a word. But Xiao Liulang's eyes and aura at that time were inexplicably convincing.

In the end, even the young Master Qin couldn't persuade his own father. He could only watch helplessly as his father wrapped up the painting and had it sent to a nobleman in the capital.

——

The heavy snow fell for three days straight, blocking all the roads in the village and making it impossible for oxcarts to move. Many villagers had planned to do some business at the market before the Lunar New Year, but the heavy snow forced them to postpone their plans.

These past few days everyone has been cooped up at home, and no one has come to visit the old lady to listen to operas. The old lady is quite bored, so she asked Gu Jiao to call Xue Ningxiang over.

The old lady was unaware that Xue Ningxiang and Gu Jiao had once had a falling out. By the time she arrived, their relationship had improved, and Xue Ningxiang had become somewhat averse to men ever since her encounter with the lecherous man.

She showed absolutely no affection for Xiao Liulang.

On the contrary, Gu Jiao was always clinging to her, which made the old lady suspect that the young widow had taken a fancy to her granddaughter-in-law!

However, Xue Ningxiang was good at needlework and combing her hair, so she was still very much liked by the old lady.

Before the New Year, my brother-in-law, who lives on the border, sent a letter home.

Xue Ningxiang was illiterate, so she took it to Gu Jiao.

Uh... Gu Jiao obviously can't read either, but what exactly gave you the illusion that I suddenly know how to read? Why did you bring the letter and ask me to read it to you?

Gu Jiao was completely at a loss!

"I...I..." Xue Ningxiang said in a panic when she saw Gu Jiao's furrowed brows. "You...you're not stupid anymore. I thought you could read too."

Gu Jiao: When did being not stupid and being literate become synonymous?

However, Xue Ningxiang didn't really want to bother Xiao Liulang. Firstly, the shadow in her heart hadn't been completely erased, and secondly... she understood that she had done wrong in the past, so she wanted to avoid Xiao Liulang even more now.

Xue Ningxiang lowered her head, unsure of what to do.

Gu Jiao scratched her head in frustration. She was the type of person who responded better to gentleness than force. Xue Ningxiang could never outmaneuver her, but when Xue Ningxiang showed weakness, she couldn't be tough anymore.

Gu Jiao felt that her heart wasn't actually that soft; it was mainly because Xue Ningxiang had helped her with a lot of needlework, making her a very useful neighbor.

She also wanted to be a useful neighbor in exchange for Xue Ningxiang helping her with all the needlework at home in the future!

Gu Jiao then took the letter to Xiao Liulang's room; she no longer needed to knock before entering his room.

Xiao Liulang has been resting in bed these past few days, recuperating from his injuries. Knowing that he needs to study, Gu Jiao made a small table that can be placed on the bed, and he is practicing calligraphy on the table right now.

The seventeen-year-old boy was slender, with a cool and aloof expression, wrists as delicate as jade, and an elegant demeanor.

How can there be such a good-looking person in the world?

Gu Jiao touched her chin.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Liulang noticed her arrival and turned to look at her.

Gu Jiao stared at him several times, and he caught her each time, but Gu Jiao was never embarrassed. She walked over confidently, sat down on the other side of the small table, and handed him the letter: "I need you to read this letter to me."

As she spoke, Gu Jiao noticed something on the small table: "Huh? What's this?"

“The red paper was given to me by Feng Lin,” Xiao Liulang said.

Gu Jiao didn't care where it came from; she asked curiously, "What's it used for?"

Xiao Liulang thought for a moment and said, "Cut paper flowers and write Spring Festival couplets."

Gu Jiao's eyes immediately brightened; she had never cut paper snowflakes or pasted couplets before.

In her past life, she often saw other people's posts and felt envious, but in her mind, those were things that only happened when a family was reunited.

She had no family to reunite with, so she never did these things.

"Do you want to write?" Xiao Liulang asked.

"I don't know how." Gu Jiao lowered her head and looked at her little index finger.

Xiao Liulang recalled how she pointed to each word on the prescription and asked him how to read it, and he also remembered how she grabbed a pen without saying a word and wanted to sign it before the surgery.

It turns out she wanted to learn to write.

Gu Jiao: No! I don't want to!

Xiao Liulang placed the books and the letter on the small table onto the bed and spread out a sheet of red paper: "I'll teach you."

Gu Jiao: "..."

Xue Ningxiang: Hey, did you guys forget something? ←_←

(End of this chapter)