Ah Yuan stood there, stunned, watching his young master's departing figure and muttering, "Kitten? Where's the kitten?"
He then quickly followed.
......
When Pei Yao reached the bottom of the merchant ship, several burly men swarmed in front of her and blocked her way.
"Don't let anyone near." The person who spoke didn't even glance at Pei Yao before shouting sternly with disgust.
Two teenagers stood in a teahouse not far from the merchant ship, one of whom was looking in Pei Yao's direction.
"Cousin, what are you looking at so intently?" Gu Mingqian, who was next to Lin Shaoqing, asked when he noticed that Lin Shaoqing was staring at a girl in coarse linen clothes not far away.
However, when he saw the woman's face clearly, he was also stunned; it was her.
Yesterday, Gu Mingqian also looked at the woman that Gu Renhan had been looking at on the deck, and then looked at Lin Shaoqing beside him.
He asked, "Does that girl's cousin know her?"
Lin Shaoqing turned to look at Gu Mingqian and nodded: "I know him."
Seeing the understanding on his expression, Gu Mingqian smiled slightly and said, "Shall we go over and say hello?"
Lin Shaoqing looked away: "No need, business is more important."
After saying that, she looked away and continued her previous conversation with Gu Mingqian.
Gu Mingqian was her mother's cousin. Her mother had come to Lingnan with the Gu family to collect goods, and that's when she met Lin Shaoqing's father.
......
Pei Yao had no choice but to force a smile and explain to the burly man that she was a merchant from the neighborhood.
"Brothers, this is some homemade lychee wine. Would you like some...?"
Before Pei Yao could finish speaking, she interrupted one of the burly men, saying, "The person receiving the goods is over there, go away."
Before Pei Yao could turn around, he suddenly shoved her, causing her to slip and fall backward.
Pei Yao was afraid of dropping the lychee wine in her arms, so even when she fell, she didn't forget to protect the wine tightly.
The wine was saved, but Pei Yao wasn't so lucky; she landed hard on her bottom.
Pei Yao was speechless, thinking to herself, "Can't these people just talk things out? Why do they have to resort to violence?" But when she looked up and faced the burly men, Pei Yao didn't dare to speak her mind, even if she was angry.
The disparity in strength is too great...
After all, a wise man doesn't suffer a loss when he's already at a disadvantage, so he could only rub his sore bottom and grimace as he prepared to get up.
He also made sure to check if there was anything wrong with the wine in his hand.
Suddenly, a pair of large, fair hands reached out from behind and helped Pei Yao up: "Miss, are you alright?"
After Pei Yao got up, she distanced herself from the person who had helped her. When she turned around, she realized that the other person was a handsome young man with a delicate face, a pair of peach blossom eyes with slightly red corners and watery eyes, a delicate and high nose bridge, and skin so fair that even Pei Yao felt inferior to him.
Upon seeing him, Pei Yao immediately thought of the phrase "handsome young man with a jade-like face." His black robe accentuated his slender figure, making him appear even more delicate than many women.
"Thank you for your help, young master."
"You're too kind, young lady. These servants were reckless and offended you. Are you alright?" Anger crept onto the young man's gentle face as he looked at the burly men.
The burly man who had pushed Pei Yao earlier showed no fear of Gu Renhan's anger.
"Second Young Master, we brothers were just following orders. We never expected this young lady to be so frail. She fell over with the slightest touch. It's not my fault."
Although the man addressed Gu Renhan as "Second Young Master," he showed no respect in his speech, instead speaking with disdain.
Gu Renhan looked at him expressionlessly, but A Yuan couldn't help but speak up first: "You're just a dog raised by the Gu family. How dare you speak to the young master like that?"
The burly man sneered, looked at A Yuan, and said mockingly, "Aren't you one too?"
"you!"
Gu Renhan was used to being mocked by these servants, so he wasn't angry at this moment. He just lowered his head, and when he looked up again, the coldness in his eyes was impossible to hide.
She looked at the man with a sly gaze, then suddenly laughed and said, "Yeah, it's just a dog, yet it dares to bark."
The young man's tone was indifferent, yet filled with chilling intent. The man immediately felt a shiver run through his body and a sense of fear arose in his heart towards this second young master, who was the least favored in the mansion.
But he quickly dismissed it, realizing that he was nothing more than a discarded pawn, not even as good as the servants when he was with the Gu family.
Pei Yao watched this scene from the side, holding a wine jar, and roughly figured out what was going on.
The burly man addressed the young man before her as the "Second Young Master," which suggested the young man should be of high status. However, the man's attitude towards him was quite different. Based on her years of experience watching melodramatic TV dramas, she suspected that this "Second Young Master" held a low position in the family and was being suppressed by the "Eldest Young Master" the man spoke of...
"Why did you come down?" A voice suddenly came from behind, interrupting Pei Yao's thoughts.
"Miss Pei, are you alright?"
Lin Shaoqing followed closely behind and walked to Pei Yao's side. She hadn't originally planned to come over, but she saw Pei Yao being pushed down, so she came over.
"Young Master Lin, you're here too. I'm fine," Pei Yao greeted him.
Over there, Gu Mingqian frowned as he looked at Gu Renhan, his eyes deep as he gazed at his younger brother. He really was disobedient.
"Young Master." Gu Renhan's face showed little expression.
Gu Mingqian forbade him to call him "elder brother" outside, so he called him "elder son" just like the servants in the mansion.
"Hmm." Gu Mingqian responded coldly, then turned to look at Pei Yao and the wine jar she was holding.
Pei Yao was also looking at him. If she wasn't mistaken, there had been a flash of disdain in his eyes when he looked at her just now...
Lin Shaoqing introduced, "Miss Pei, this is Gu Mingqian, a wealthy businessman from the capital."
Lin Shaoqing didn't recognize the boy next to Gu Mingqian who looked about five-tenths like him. Although they were relatives, they were far apart. Judging from their appearance, Lin Shaoqing guessed that the boy was probably a brother from a collateral branch of the Gu family.
“Cousin, this is Miss Pei... Miss Pei. The ice jelly I brought you earlier was made by Miss Pei.”
Lin Shaoqing suddenly realized that he didn't even know Pei Yao's full name, only that her surname was Pei. He thought that he must ask her full name when he had the chance in the future.
Gu Mingqian's initial disdain for Pei Yao largely vanished after he learned that the ice jelly he had praised earlier was made by Pei Yao.
However, he still looked at Pei Yao with some hesitation. This girl looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. Could she really make such delicious food?
Pei Yao was the first to realize that Lin Shaoqing was acting as a go-between for her.
She cupped her hands in greeting to Gu Mingqian: "Hello, Mr. Gu."
"Did you really make that ice jelly?" Gu Mingqian asked again.
Pei Yao wasn't annoyed by his distrustful tone. Instead, she confidently raised her head, looked him straight in the eye, and nodded calmly.
"yes."
Seeing the girl's confident demeanor and tone, Gu Mingqian actually began to believe her a little.
"Let's talk on the boat, there are too many people around." After hearing this, Gu Mingqian led the group directly onto the boat.
Pei Yao passed by Gu Renhan, who was looking down and seemingly lost in thought, and whispered, "Second Young Master Gu, thank you for what you just said."
Pei Yao could tell that this Second Young Master Gu had been silent ever since the First Young Master Gu arrived.
Gu Renhan looked up at her; the girl's bright face was beaming with a smile that dazzled him.
His eyes darkened as he watched the girl's departing figure. "You really don't remember me...?"
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