Chapter 208 Soft Jade and Warm Fragrance
Seeing his father leave like that, Gu Xiuming wanted to chase after him to explain, but since this had been seen, how could he explain it?
He was secretly annoyed that he hadn't been able to resist kissing Wan'er earlier, but he hadn't expected his father to be not far behind them. He had only thought that there wouldn't be many people around at night, which was why he had acted so recklessly.
As Li Wan'er watched the couple's retreating figures, Gu Jingxi's words reprimanding Gu Xiuming echoed in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt, and tears welled up in her eyes as she sobbed softly.
Seeing his beloved's tears streaming down her face, her face streaked with tears, and her expression one of shame and embarrassment, Gu Xiuming felt a pang of heartache. He gently coaxed her, "Wan'er, don't cry. It's all my fault. I was reckless just now and didn't pay attention to the occasion, which made you feel embarrassed too."
Li Wan'er choked up and said, "Brother Xiuming, your father will definitely look down on me even more in the future. He will definitely think I am not a good girl."
The elders didn't like her to begin with, and the Marquis even said that she was frivolous. Now that the elders have seen this kind of thing, they will definitely look down on her even more, and she will be even less favored by the elders.
Gu Xiuming also felt quite guilty and comforted her, "Wan'er, it's my fault. Don't cry. Father's anger is only temporary. Father is busy with official duties and will forget about such a small matter in a couple of days."
Li Wan'er was not comforted. Just thinking about the Marquis's reprimand made her feel extremely embarrassed and distressed.
Then there's Meng Jinyao. Because Meng Jinyao is Xiu Ming's ex-fiancée, every time she sees Meng Jinyao, she can't help but compare them. But when she sees Meng Jinyao's dignified and indifferent demeanor, as if she doesn't take her seriously, she is completely devastated.
She hadn't noticed it before, but gradually she did. Meng Jinyao's dignified elegance in every gesture was something she had cultivated since childhood, a family tradition that she couldn't learn. Although she had learned etiquette, she couldn't replicate Meng Jinyao's seemingly innate grace.
Meng Jinyao was even more beautiful than her, and she also had a generous dowry, which was said to have been left by her birth mother. Unlike her, who only had two taels of silver a month to spend, she couldn't afford any beautiful jewelry she saw in the jewelry shop. Even her brother Xiuming only had eight taels of silver a month.
Their combined monthly allowances couldn't even buy the hairpin she had her eye on at the Golden Jade Pavilion. That hairpin cost twenty taels, and compared to other more beautiful and luxurious jewelry, it was relatively inexpensive.
Meng Jinyao, who had a dowry to rely on, could buy any hairpin she fancied without hesitation. This was something she envied. The sons and daughters of the first and second wives, if they didn't have enough money, their mothers would provide them with dowries. Their fathers, though born out of wedlock, were said to have some property of their own and were not short of money.
Unlike her and Xiuming, she had no dowry to rely on, and Xiuming had no private property of his own to support her. They relied on the eight taels of silver allocated by the Duke each month. Although she had a mother, how could her mother use her dowry to support Xiuming?
This is probably why the Gu family looks down on her. She has nothing and is an orphan, while the Meng family, no matter how poor they are, are still nobles, and Meng Jinyao has a generous dowry.
The only thing she could do to surpass Meng Jinyao was to win Xiu Ming's heart.
Seeing that she was silent and her expression was inscrutable, Gu Xiuming reached out and held her hand, and used the other hand to wipe away her tears, saying gently, "Wan'er, don't overthink it, Father is just angry for a moment."
Li Wan'er sniffed, forcing back her tears and suppressing her grievances. She stopped thinking about unhappy things and forced a smile: "Brother Xiuming, let's go back. I don't want to shop anymore."
Gu Xiuming nodded: "Okay, let's go back first."
-
Meanwhile, Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi walked away.
Meng Jinyao glanced at the man beside her and asked with a smile, "Husband, I thought you would pretend you didn't see it. You just brought it up. Isn't that awkward?"
Gu Jingxi raised an eyebrow dismissively and said in a low voice, "They didn't feel embarrassed doing such things regardless of the occasion, but they feel embarrassed after being scolded? The back garden doesn't belong to just the two of them. If the maids see it and gossip about it behind their backs, people will just say that the children of the Gu family have no manners."
"That's true."
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly. If this got out, people would only say that the Gu family's upbringing was poor and that the children they raised were unruly. They would think that it wasn't just Gu Xiuming who was like this, but the other children as well.
Leaving that topic aside for now, the couple returned to Wei Rui Xuan, and after bathing and changing their clothes, they went to bed.
In the dim light, Meng Jinyao could clearly see the profile of the man lying next to her. The man was very still when he slept, and even when he turned over unconsciously, he remained quiet and basically stayed in that position.
Looking at Gu Jingxi's handsome face, Meng Jinyao couldn't help but recall the five words he had said that afternoon.
She's having trouble sleeping again. Lately, she can't help but dwell on this matter, and she can't help but try to unravel the mystery and investigate it on her own.
She shook her head, deciding to stop thinking about it and close her eyes to sleep. However, her mind was wide awake, and she couldn't fall asleep at all. She could only toss and turn in bed, changing her sleeping position every now and then. Later, she became increasingly agitated, rolling around in and out of bed.
She had no recollection of when she finally fell asleep.
Gu Jingxi couldn't fall asleep. He wanted to ask the girl what was wrong, but she always answered that nothing was wrong. He knew she wouldn't tell him, so he simply stopped asking and thought of the method his friend had suggested to coax her gently.
He didn't know how much time had passed before the person beside him finally fell asleep. He looked at the girl who had unconsciously rolled into his arms. Her soft body was pressed against his, her hands were wrapped around his waist, and her legs were draped over his. Her warm body temperature wafted over him, and a faint fragrance filled his nostrils. He was stiff all over and dared not move.
He called softly, "Madam?"
Meng Jinyao showed no reaction and was fast asleep.
Gu Jingxi raised his voice slightly and called out again, "Madam?"
However, Meng Jinyao was sleeping too soundly and didn't hear his voice at all.
Gu Jingxi didn't want to wake her, so he just stayed still, watching her sweet sleeping face, but he himself couldn't fall asleep.
As time went by, Gu Jingxi relaxed and stared blankly at the girl in his arms. With her soft and fragrant body in his embrace, he suddenly had a subtle feeling. He could have gently corrected the little girl's sleeping posture, but he stopped when his hand touched her back.
Perhaps he was afraid of waking the little girl, or perhaps for some other inexplicable reason, he didn't want to correct his behavior anymore and let the little girl hold him while he slept.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com