Chapter 11 Pei Jian feels like a complete fool
Pei Jian felt that he was completely stupid.
Gu Ci's wooden box for jewelry is inlaid with pearls and jade, and decorated with gold and embroidered phoenixes. It is very fancy and eye-catching.
In the short distance from the carriage to Gu's house, he attracted everyone's attention.
It made him want to ask his attendant to throw away the dressing box in his hand at any time.
If it were the old Pei Jian, he would definitely not agree to help Gu Qu go to Zhenbao Pavilion to make the girl happy. In his opinion, such a boring thing is just a waste of time and has no meaning at all.
Now, he is willing to be more patient with his friends.
The servant said that Gu Ci was in the small flower hall, with a girl beside him.
Pei Jian understood.
He was going to hand the dressing box to Gu Ci's younger cousin in person and wanted to see the girl's expression. How long had this girl known Gu Ci?
To be able to coax Gu Ci into this state shows that he is frivolous and has no taste.
He was familiar with the routes in the Gu Mansion. To get to the small flower hall, one had to pass through the large garden on the east side. Pei Jian didn't want to attract attention in front of others, so he took the small path.
Passing by a flower wall, I heard a woman gossiping inside.
He didn't want to pay attention until -
"What is the origin of that woman that makes General Gu value her so much?"
"More than that! Haven't you seen the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo and several married ladies, all of them are surrounding her?"
"Looking at her coquettish appearance, I know she is not a good person. It is said that she was transferred back to Beijing after her family was appointed. Her father is not a high-ranking official. His surname is probably Wen. Is his name pronounced as Xi or Dong?"
Wen...Nianxi?
Pei Jian was stunned on the spot, and even his breathing became unusually clear for a moment.
He suspected that he was hallucinating.
These days he had been racking his brains for a way out of the disaster at the Gu Mansion, which led to the hallucination.
Otherwise, how would Nianxi be connected with Gu Cisheng?
The attendant behind him was holding a dressing box and looked at Pei Jian, who seemed to be frozen, with confusion.
The flower wall is still going on.
"I saw with my own eyes that Gu Liulang went to the small flower hall with her. You said that this vixen is really restless. She dared to seduce the young master in the mansion. If the wife of the Duke knew about it, she would definitely not let her have a good time."
"Why don't we catch the adulterer?"
The chattering of a group of women sounded ridiculous to Pei Jian's ears.
Caught in adultery?
Who are you catching raping?
Wen Nianxi and... Gu Ci?
"Shi Zhang, why are you here?" Qin Lang appeared from nowhere, his face full of excitement, "Aunt said Qingye is in the garden, let's go. I'm so curious about his little cousin."
When the ladies inside the flower wall heard that there were people outside the wall, they dared not talk nonsense anymore and left in shame.
Outside the wall, Wen Qingheng also stepped forward, "Shi Zhang, let's go."
Qin Lang grinned and turned to Wen Qingheng, "Wait until you see your little cousin, then go visit our sister."
Qin Lang was not a frivolous person, he just liked to tease people. Wen Qingheng was unwilling to call her "baby sister" easily, but he was good-natured and smiled without responding.
Pei Jian closed his eyes for a moment.
Qin Lang was already in a hurry to move forward.
Wen Qingheng was about to leave, and Pei Jian suddenly asked, "Jinghe, did your sister come to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion today?"
"I came and saw my mother just now, but my younger sister is no longer with me."
Pei Jian has always been prudent and upright, so Wen Qingheng did not doubt him and continued, "She probably went to the garden with her little sister to catch butterflies. My sister has been loved since she was a child, and there are always many people around her."
Pei Jian originally wanted to test the situation, but when he heard Wen Qingheng's words, he knew nothing about it and said no more.
…
In the flower hall, the table was filled with fruits, snacks, and most of all drinks, juice, and even cheese.
Nian Xi looked at Gu Ci.
Gu Ci coughed lightly, his ears reddened, "I bought all the drinks I could find on the market, but none of them tasted as good as yours."
"These are barely edible. I thought since you made them, you would like them. There are hot and cold drinks here, but the yogurt is cold, so you can taste it."
Gu Ci is very caring and considerate of every aspect.
Nian Xi smiled and thanked him, "You are so nice."
Gu Ci's ears turned even redder. He poured her some water and handed her some fruit. "This drink tastes sweet and sour. It's hot today, so I went to the well to drink it."
Nian Xi took the kumquat snow bubble he handed over with a smile.
“It’s delicious.”
Qin Lang felt annoyed by the two people behind him who were dawdling, so he quickened his pace and approached.
When he was still some distance away from the brothel, he saw Gu Ci standing very close to a woman. He didn't know what Gu Ci had just said, but she smiled brightly, with starry eyes and white teeth.
No wonder——
This was Qin Lang's first reaction when he saw Nian Xi.
No wonder she was so obsessed with Gu Ci.
Those beautiful eyes were moving, with a layer of ripples in the dark pupils, a faint smile, and light ripples on the cheeks. Coquettishness and charm were naturally connected, like a rose with dewdrops.
Gu Ci coughed heavily, with a warning in his voice.
Then he turned to look at Nian Xi, "This is Qin Lang, my classmate from the Imperial College. He lives in the same courtyard."
Qin Lang had come to his senses by now.
As a man himself, he certainly understood men's terrible possessiveness, especially towards such a beautiful woman.
So he straightened his expression, just nodded to Nianxi without even looking at her again.
Then he yelled at Gu Ci, "I've already put all your things away for you. Why do you want to move them again?"
"Of course there is a need."
The two of them talking aside gave Nian Xi some time to calm down.
In fact, when she saw Qin Lang for the first time, Nian Xi was more dazed than he was.
Of course she knew Qin Lang!
Later, Pei Jian was promoted to the position of Left Prime Minister, and Qin Lang was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and was considered Pei Jian's right-hand man.
Qin Lang's wife was a very talkative woman, and it was from her that Nian Xi learned that Pei Jian and Qin Lang had lived in the same courtyard in the Imperial College.
If Gu Ci and Qin Lang also lived in the same courtyard, then Pei Jian...
"Where's Pei Jian? Why hasn't he come yet?"
The next moment, Gu Ci asked.
"He and Jinghe were behind, talking slowly and I couldn't tell what they were saying."
As soon as Gu Ci heard Wen Qingheng's name, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
He first introduced Pei Jian to Nianxi, "He is my brother who grew up with me. I mentioned him to you before. There is one more thing, Jinghe, I mean your brother, he actually lives in the same courtyard with me. But he doesn't know that we... know each other yet."
"Really?"
Nianxi felt that her voice was a little floating.
It's like a storm going on in my head.
When she found out that Pei Jian and Gu Ci lived in the same courtyard and were brothers who grew up together, her brother's affairs were not worth mentioning.
She had known Pei Jian for thirteen years, but she had never known that he had a friend as close as a brother - Gu Ci!
Even though Pei Zhen entered the officialdom soon, she knew little about the affairs of the Imperial College, but the circle of dignitaries in the capital was so small that she had never heard of Gu Ci's name, whether in palace banquets or private banquets.
She didn't even have the slightest impression of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Could it be that her rebirth caused her memory to be distorted?
In fact, the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion and Gu Ci have always existed, but she just forgot about them?