Chapter Thirty-Seven: That Old Man Never Dies
"I really didn't expect this. It's all the fault of the people below for their incompetence and inaccurate information."
Qi Yunwen looked innocent, yet somewhat helpless. Thinking of the conversation he had overheard, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He winked at Gu Jingxi and teased, "You old geezer, I never expected that you, who usually acts like a monk, would actually be so lecherous."
"..."
Gu Jingxi was speechless for a moment.
What happened the night before last was really a misunderstanding. I never expected that the girl would tell her best friend that he was a lecher.
As for being a "decrepit old man," he felt he was still young and had decades to go before becoming one.
Seeing his silence, Qi Yunwen was taken aback. He looked his friend up and down and saw that he was well-dressed and upright. He couldn't believe it and asked curiously, "Yaoling, you're not really a womanizer, are you? You look so upright, I really can't tell."
Gu Jingxi glanced at him: "What do you think?"
Qi Yunwen seemed to be thinking about something, and then smiled and said, "Your little wife is a close friend of my niece. She often goes to the Song family to play. I have met her a few times at the Song family. She is a rare beauty. It is hard not to be tempted when such a beauty specifically asks to marry you. It is not impossible that you will suddenly be attracted to her."
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "No."
The girl was extremely beautiful, but he certainly didn't marry her because of her looks. As for why he agreed to marry her, he couldn't explain it himself; he just married her as if by some strange impulse.
Qi Yunwen suppressed a laugh and asked teasingly, "Not what? Does it mean you're not lustful, or that you haven't been tempted by beauty?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "Neither."
Seeing his serious answer, Qi Yunwen suddenly remembered his former fiancée, who was the most beautiful woman in the capital, a talented woman who was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and prose. She was both beautiful and talented, and countless princes and noblemen were infatuated with her. Compared with his former fiancée, the girl from the Meng family was still slightly inferior.
He never did anything out of line with his ex-fiancée, so how could he possibly have lustful thoughts about that girl from the Meng family? Such lewd remarks are probably just a misunderstanding.
Qi Yunwen hesitated and said, "Could it be that you think it's the father's fault for not teaching his son properly, and that the father should pay for the son's debts, so you married her?"
"Since you've already married her, why bother digging deeper into the reasons?" Gu Jingxi didn't answer directly, but looked at him and said calmly, "Your niece has a problem with her eyesight. I think you, as her uncle, should take a look at her and take her to see a doctor, lest her condition worsen one day."
Qi Yunwen was bewildered: "What's wrong with A-Ning's eyes?"
Gu Jingxi smiled faintly, and asked in a low voice, "You are a year older than me. I am an old man. Then what are you? An old codger who is about to be buried?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Yunwen's expression changed drastically. The phrase "old codger who is about to be buried" echoed in his mind, and he felt terrible. He said with a stiff face, "My sister still needs to improve her education of her children. I'll talk to her about it next time I see her."
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly and hummed in agreement.
A moment later, Qi Yunwen's gossipy nature resurfaced, and he asked curiously, "Yaoling, after being alone for so many years, how does it feel to suddenly have a little wife?"
Gu Jingxi paused for a moment, then replied succinctly with two words: "Making a scene." He was sure he'd have plenty to argue with his rebellious son from now on.
Qi Yunwen was stunned, but after thinking about it again, he felt it was perfectly normal. It is said that birds of a feather flock together. How could a girl who can fool around with his niece not make trouble?
Despite the truth of the matter, he still earnestly reassured her: "Yaoling, she's still young, even younger than your son. It's normal for a little girl to be a bit mischievous. Just be patient with her. In a few years, she'll mature and stop being so unruly."
Gu Jingxi remained silent. He felt that the same commotion would continue in a few years. Seeing his friend's gossipy expression, he didn't want to continue the topic. He stood up and said calmly, "You continue to follow up on this case yourself. Find out the suspicious points and close the case within half a month. Don't come to me with this kind of false information again."
"ah?"
Qi Yunwen was stunned for a moment, then laughed awkwardly, "Yaoling, this was an accident. It's all the fault of the incompetent and unreliable people below."
Gu Jingxi glanced at him and said calmly, "I'm going back first. You continue with your work. I'm still on my honeymoon, so don't bother me unless it's something important."
Qi Yunwen nodded, inwardly cursing his subordinates for being unreliable and making them come all this way for nothing. If they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have made the trip themselves.
As soon as Qi Yunwen opened the door to the private room, he saw that the door to the private room on the right had opened and the person inside had come out. He was stunned when he saw the man, but the man did not notice him and walked towards the stairwell on the right.
Gu Jingxi noticed it too, and quickly walked to the private room on the right. She glanced inside and found it empty. The man from earlier was the last one to leave.
Qi Yunwen followed behind Gu Jingxi, peeked out, and saw no one. His expression changed.
Gu Jingxi turned his head to look at his friend, whose expression was subtle. He parted his thin lips slightly and said indifferently, "Very good."
"Yao Ling, this..."
Qi Yunwen looked at the empty private room and was speechless for a moment. The news was correct; they were to meet at Cha Ran Ju, but not in the private room on the left, but in the private room on the right. They had been eavesdropping on the one on the left and heard his niece's conversation with that girl from the Meng family.
Gu Jingxi asked, "Is it because your subordinates are incompetent, or because you can't distinguish right from wrong?"
"That's a good question." Qi Yunwen awkwardly touched his nose and recalled what happened yesterday. "I need to go back and check it out. Perhaps I had a few drinks with my colleagues yesterday and got a little drunk, so I misunderstood."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi's face quickly darkened, and he warned in a deep voice, "Mo Bai, drinking can easily lead to mistakes, especially for us. If we are not careful, we might get tricked into revealing information and ruin everything. Losing our official positions is a small matter; losing our lives and property is a big deal."
Qi Yunwen knew the situation was serious, but thankfully it wasn't a big deal this time. He nodded repeatedly, "Sigh, this is the only time. I will never do it again."
Gu Jingxi glanced at him and then said, "You're responsible for handling the rest yourself."
Qi Yunwen gave a wry smile and then asked, "Yaoling, it's almost noon, why don't we have lunch together before you leave?"
"Looks like you're quite free?" Gu Jingxi raised an eyebrow and said casually, "Since you're so bored, why don't you go and ponder those unsolved cases and see if you can find a breakthrough?"
Qi Yunwen was speechless.
Just then, the door to the private room on the left opened, and Song Xinning and Meng Jinyao came out.
Song Xinning came out first and was quite surprised to see Gu Jingxi. She subconsciously pulled back her leg and turned to Meng Jinyao, saying, "Oh no, Yao, your old man is here too."
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