Chapter 31 Has the white jade earring been given away?

When Pei Jian returned home, the sun was setting and it was already the end of the evening.

Gu Ci came uninvited and was sitting in his study, flipping through the books on the desk.

"Why are you back so late?" Seeing him approaching, Gu Ci spoke first, "Nian'er and I went to Ningbi Pond and came back much earlier than you."

Hearing Nianxi's name, Pei Jian glanced at him and asked, "What's the matter?"

There was weariness in his voice.

The candlestick beeped and a large flower burst out.

Gu Ci picked up the copper scissors beside him and cut the wick, without raising his eyebrows, "The lights are bursting, it seems that something good is going to happen. I have been busy with the dragon boat race recently, and I haven't come to see you for a long time."

After the death of the old Duke Zheng and his wife, Pei Jian moved out of the Duke Zheng's mansion and lived alone.

At that time, he was still young, and Gu Ci's mother, Lady Wang, was worried about him, so she often sent Gu Ci to bring him things, including food, clothing, and daily necessities. As time went by, Gu Ci occasionally complained, "In fact, I was picked up, and Shi Zhang is your biological son."

This caused Mrs. Wang to chase after him and hit him with a hammer.

Sometimes, when Gu's remarks made Mrs. Wang angry, she would hide in his place to avoid the limelight.

It can be said that Gu Ci is just as familiar with this place as he is.

Pei Jian suppressed his troubled thoughts and said, "I bought a house."

"Buy a house?" Gu said in surprise, "What are you going to buy a house for? Get married?"

As if he had said something happy, Gu Ci himself started laughing first.

Pei Jian turned a deaf ear to his teasing, still looking stern, "It's a coincidence that we met, not bad."

In the previous life, when he married Nianxi, they initially lived in a two-story house.

Actually, it's quite small.

He had no shortage of money. His mother's dowry was generous, and with the "compensation" from his grandfather, a large mansion with four or five courtyards was not a problem for him.

But land in the capital is extremely expensive, and buying a house that satisfies your taste requires both timing and luck.

Second Aunt Liao tried her best to invite him to move back to the Duke of Zheng's Mansion, "Your courtyard has been empty all the time, please repair and expand it as soon as possible, it will be perfect for your new bride to live in."

Naturally he refused.

Afterwards, he picked a house with four courtyards, which was the residence of an old official who had retired and returned to his hometown. Except for its remote location, it was good in all other aspects.

But Nianxi said she liked the two-entry one because it was more exquisite.

"We are the only two people living in this house, why would we need such a big house? It looks lonely."

At that time, he had just entered the officialdom. His career was going smoothly and he had a beautiful woman by his side. He felt less anxious and was able to joke lightly, "It's not easy to feel lonely. Why don't you just have a few more boys?"

Nian Xi blushed and spat at him.

Later he found out that Nian Xi chose the small one because it was closer to where he worked in the government office, only two alleys away.

In the government office, the cloud cakes made by Lao Zhang in the kitchen were excellent, moist, soft, sweet but not greasy, and Nianxi liked them very much. Whenever the kitchen staff made them, he would send them back to her while they were still hot so that she could eat them.

In that little home, they were once sweet and happy.

Because the house was small, the front yard and the backyard were only separated by a moon gate, so they were very close. Whenever Nianxi broke a vase in the house, he could hear the noise in the study.

He buried his head in his desk processing official documents, and sometimes he could hear Nian Xi assigning household chores. There were only a few servants in their family, and she had arranged everything very clearly, with each person having a clear division of labor.

If you hear a gentle tune, it must be that your wife is in a good mood and is tending to the flowers and plants on the porch. Those pots of flowers are her treasures.

If you ever hear her raise her voice, it goes without saying that she is training Snowball, her dark cat who likes to destroy her flowers and plants when no one is paying attention.

Every time I heard her threaten Snowball, "If you do it again, I will sell you by your four legs. Do you hear me..."

He couldn't help laughing.

How could there be such a lovely girl who is so gentle and patient towards animals? She says exactly the same words every time she gets angry and has no intimidation at all.

No wonder Snowball isn't afraid of her...

But soon they moved out and lived in a bigger house with a better location.

Because the house was so large, there were more people to serve, and even two flower rooms were set aside to grow flowers and plants, with dedicated maids to look after them.

There are more people, but the house seems emptier.

But by then he had no time to care about anything else. In the front yard, outside his study, people sat day and night waiting for him to summon them to discuss matters. Further outside, there were his guards and servants who served him...

And Nian Xi was in the inner house far away from him.

They lived in the same place, yet seemed to be separated by the Chu River and Han River, with clear boundaries.

After leaving Qingshui Pavilion, Pei Jian walked aimlessly. The mistakes of his previous life had been avoided, and he had a lot more free time. Until he accidentally walked to Chunxiao Street, their former home, and saw that the house was for sale, he bought it without thinking.

The past that he thought he had left behind was actually hidden deep in his memory. When he walked into the house, he remembered it bit by bit, scattered in every corner, and he had never forgotten it.

In front of Gu Ci, Pei Jian put the deed into the secret compartment in the study.

Gu Ci watched his movements and asked, "Today's dragon boat race was very lively. Did you go?"

Pei Jian closed the secret compartment without making a sound, his eyes dark, "I'm gone."

Gu Ci's smile froze, and he quickly covered it up, "You are indeed my good brother. Are you impressed by my graceful performance on the dragon boat?"

Pei Jian lowered his head to sort out the books on the desk, his eyebrows were not raised, and he answered irrelevantly, "You still have to be on duty tomorrow, go back and rest early."

Gu Ci was silent for a while, then nodded in agreement.

As he turned around, he swept the desk with his sleeves and dropped several books to the ground.

They both bent down to pick it up.

“Pah—”

A small wooden box slipped out from Pei Jian's sleeve and fell right in front of the two people.

It was a very delicate box, and Gu Ci was not unfamiliar with it at all; it was a jewelry box from the Treasure House.

The smile on Gu Ci's lips froze, and the entire study room fell into deathly silence.

Staring at the small box, neither of them moved.

"ha--"

Gu Ci broke the deadlock first, picked up the wooden box on the ground, opened it, and inside was a pair of tortoise shell earrings.

"Another earring?" He took it in his hand and played with it, smiling, "Why don't you change it? Do you like buying earrings for girls so much?"

Pei Jian picked up the book on the floor and put it away, then turned around and took the earrings. The light in the study was dim, and Gu Ci could not see the expression on his face.

I only heard Pei Jian say, "Yes, I like it."

Gu Ci's hands, which were placed behind his back, had veins popping out instantly, but his tone was still calm, "The white jade earrings have been given away?"

Pei Jian's thick and long eyelashes covered his eyes, and he did not raise his head. Unlike his usual stern appearance, at this moment he exuded a chilling aura, like the ice and snow on the top of a mountain, unattainable.

"What do you think?"

Gu Ci is not as cunning as Pei Jian, nor is he as cunning as Nian Xi, who can easily poke at his sore spots. He is a real young man who has not yet reached adulthood, and has the passion and impulse that is expected of a man of this age.

At the same time, he has a soft and tolerant heart.

"How should I know?"

Pei Jian finally raised his head, his dark eyes filled with heavy emotions that Gu Ci couldn't understand. He stood there for a long while, then slowly shook his head, "No, she doesn't want it."