Chapter 217 Increasingly Intimate
Days passed by.
Gu Jingxi could clearly feel that the girl had changed recently. She would occasionally bring him lunch, seemed more lively in front of him, always had a smile on her face, and was much more affectionate when she was with him. She would also occasionally make small requests of him.
For example, right now, he was about to get out of bed when the little girl next to him tugged at his sleeve. He turned his head and saw the little girl slowly open her sleepy eyes, yawn, and stare at him with half-asleep eyes, looking like she hadn't woken up yet.
Upon seeing this, Gu Jingxi asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"ravioli."
The little girl had just woken up; her voice was soft and sweet, with a lingering tone, as if she were being affectionate.
Gu Jingxi's heart softened upon hearing this, feeling as if he had raised a little glutton. Every time he asked her to buy something, it was always food. Looking at her dazed expression, his tone unconsciously softened considerably: "Okay, is it the wontons from Lao Xu's wonton shop? I'll bring them back for you when I get back from my shift."
The little girl, satisfied with the answer, hummed in agreement and immediately drifted back to sleep.
Seeing this, Gu Jingxi smiled, pulled over the thin blanket that she had kicked off, and covered her stomach. Just as he was about to get out of bed, he found that her sleeve was being pulled away and he couldn't get it out.
Seeing the little girl already asleep, Gu Jingxi had no choice but to abandon his shirt, take off his clothes, change into other clothes, wash up, have breakfast, and then go to the yamen to go on duty.
When Meng Jinyao woke up, she found herself clutching a nightgown that didn't belong to her. She looked bewildered and it took her a while to remember what was going on. She could roughly guess why she was clutching a nightgown, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her face. She then summoned a maid to attend to her.
When Qingqiu and Ningdong entered, they saw their mistress smiling broadly, and they smiled back. They knew that their mistress had been smiling more and more lately because of the Marquis.
The Marquis and his wife have been getting closer lately. The Marquis would buy food and other necessities for his wife from time to time, and his wife was more relaxed in front of him. However, neither of the two masters took the initiative to break the ice.
This is perhaps a case of silence speaking louder than words, where everything is understood without being said?
That's true; true love isn't just something you say, it's something you prove with your actions.
The changes between Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi also reached the first and second wives' families, which surprised everyone. They knew Gu Jingxi's usual personality, so it was hard to imagine that he would suddenly treat a young lady so well.
The happiest person was none other than Old Madam Gu. She was very pleased that her clueless and oblivious son was becoming more and more perceptive, knowing how to be considerate of his wife and make her happy. The couple's relationship was getting better and better, and they were finally acting like a normal, loving couple.
Madam Gu sighed, "Yao Ling is much better than his father. His father wouldn't be so considerate."
Granny Feng said, "That's all thanks to the old lady's good teaching. You often reminded the Marquis to treat the lady well. After hearing it so many times, the Marquis naturally came to understand."
"That's true."
Madam Gu nodded in agreement. She was unlike her mother-in-law, who was incapable of teaching her son and couldn't stand seeing him treat his wife well. Occasionally, when her mother-in-law saw her husband treating her well, she would get jealous and then turn around and try to make her husband feel bad. She was so infuriating.
Of course, as long as her mother-in-law didn't see her husband treating her well, she wouldn't be jealous. For Yao Ling's sake, her mother-in-law treated her fairly well. After all, Yao Ling had been smart and quick-witted since he was a child, and her mother-in-law loved her grandson Yao Ling very much. Yao Ling was also the kind of person who would protect his mother. No matter how much his grandmother doted on him, in Yao Ling's heart, his mother was more important. How could his mother-in-law allow herself to become the object of her grandson's dislike?
Looking back now, I'm glad she gave birth to Yaoling in the tenth year of her marriage, otherwise I don't know how she would have survived. Her mother-in-law disliked her in every way, and her two concubines openly and secretly mocked her as a barren hen. Her husband never participated in the struggles between these women, remaining a bystander.
-
Song Xinning came to the Marquis of Changxing's residence to find Meng Jinyao, and also brought a jar of her homemade fruit wine to Meng Jinyao.
As soon as she sat down, she saw the gold hairpin in Meng Jinyao's hair. The begonia in the hair was so lifelike that she was taken aback at first, but then she smiled and said, "Ayao, your Lord Gu has excellent taste. You look really good in this gold hairpin, which makes you look elegant and noble."
Meng Jinyao subconsciously reached up and touched the hairpin in her hair, asking in surprise, "A-Ning, how did you know it was from him?"
Song Xinning replied truthfully, "That time at Jin Yu Ge, I ran into your Marquis buying jewelry, and there were twelve hairpins in total. The one you're wearing is one of them."
Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback. Thinking of Gu Jingxi, she smiled and looked at Song Xinning. They were best friends and there were things they wouldn't be shy about talking to each other about. So she asked softly, "Ning, why do you think he took a liking to me?"
Upon hearing this, Song Xinning's eyes widened in surprise: "Ayao, you've also noticed that he's interested in you?"
"What do you mean by 'also'?" Meng Jinyao looked puzzled, then said, "I'm not a blockhead. I can sense when he suddenly treats me so well, and I even tested him."
Song Xinning was both surprised and astonished. She stared blankly at Meng Jinyao for a long time before nodding repeatedly and saying with satisfaction, "That's right, our Ayao is indeed a smart girl."
As she spoke, her tone was filled with pride: "Our Ayao is beautiful, smart and sensible. Lord Gu isn't blind, so it's only natural that he would take a liking to you. You mustn't underestimate yourself. Not to mention him, even I, if I were a man, would want to marry you. My mother always praises you in front of me. In her eyes, you are a first-rate girl."
Meng Jinyao was taken aback: "But my little bit of cleverness is nothing compared to his."
Song Xinning spoke with the earnestness of someone who had been through it all: "Among girls, you're not considered stupid; you're one of the smart ones. Actually, sometimes a man's attraction to a girl isn't because she's smart. Look at me, I'm not smart, but Brother Shen is devoted to me. He's been waiting for me to grow up, and at twenty-two this year, he's still not married. Other men at twenty-two already have four or five-year-old children."
Meng Jinyao said, "Our Aning is also smart and very cute."
Song Xinning smiled, then asked after a moment, "Ayao, besides the hairpin, Lord Gu must have given you something else, right?"
Meng Jinyao nodded: "The dress I'm wearing is from Jinxiufang. He gave me eight dresses from Jinxiufang, and he also bought me rouge and food from time to time."
Song Xinning nodded repeatedly, feeling very gratified, and asked again, "Ayao, did you give him any gift?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was stunned. She had responded to Gu Jingxi and was usually a gentle and considerate wife, but she had never given Gu Jingxi anything.
She suddenly realized that she should give Gu Jingxi a gift in return. After thinking for a while, she quickly came up with an idea.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Song Xinning called out, "Ayao?"
Meng Jinyao said embarrassedly, "If A Ning hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it, but I'll make it up to you later."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com