Chapter 354 Insightful Understanding
On the painted boat.
Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi had dinner on the painted boat and stood by the window to enjoy the night view of the river. Although it was not a holiday, the capital was bustling everywhere, and the river was still quite lively. They could even hear the sounds of string and wind instruments coming from the painted boat across the river.
The stars twinkled in the dark sky, their brilliance dazzling, and were reflected on the river's surface. Ripples spread across the water, and the starlight scattered like broken gold on the river, creating a magnificent spectacle.
Meng Jinyao leaned against the window, enjoying the gentle breeze from the river and admiring the night view. With her beloved by her side, she was in a very pleasant mood, and the smile on her face never faded.
A moment later, Meng Jinyao glanced at the man beside her out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that he was looking at her tenderly, her smile became even brighter. Without making a sound, she reached out and gently scratched the man's palm with her fingertips.
Gu Jingxi suddenly felt an itch on his palm, like a feather brushing against it. He subconsciously looked at his wife beside him and saw her smiling at him, still tickling his palm with her fingertips.
My palms feel tingly and itchy.
Gu Jingxi quickly grabbed the mischievous little hand in his palm. Seeing her smile freeze and her face show displeasure, he pulled her close, hugged her from behind, and said, "It tickles, don't be naughty."
Meng Jinyao gave an "Oh," and didn't cause any more trouble. She leaned against him as if she had no bones, looking up at the starry sky above. She suddenly asked, "Husband, what do you think the world outside the capital is like?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "It's basically as described in the book, but even more exciting. Let's go see the world outside of Beijing sometime."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was overjoyed, but thinking of his usual busy schedule, her joy quickly faded, and she sighed, "That will be a long, long time. At least until you retire."
Gu Jingxi paused. As a Beijing official, he really couldn't leave the capital to go far away without the emperor's permission, unless the emperor asked him to go to other places on business. Otherwise, he would have to wait until he reached a certain age and retired to live at home.
A moment later, a smile reappeared on Meng Jinyao's face as she turned to look at him: "But it's alright, the capital is quite nice too. It's the most prosperous place in Zhao."
Gu Jingxi lowered his head and kissed her forehead, saying gently, "In our lifetime, I will take Ayao to see the world beyond the capital."
Meng Jinyao nodded with a smile: "Okay." As she spoke, she added, "Actually, as long as we are together, it doesn't matter where we are. It doesn't matter whether we go to faraway places or not. If we have the opportunity to go, it's fate. If we don't have the opportunity, it's okay too."
Gu Jingxi said, "Life is long, there will be opportunities."
-
The Changxing Marquis's Residence.
The couple returned to the Marquis's residence, and Meng Jinyao went to take a bath, with Qingqiu following her in to serve her.
Gu Jingxi noticed that his wife was acting strangely today. Based on his years of experience in handling cases, his intuition told him that A Yao had probably encountered something today, but it shouldn't be anything serious; it was just that her mood was affected.
Regardless of whether it was a big deal or not, he was still worried, so he privately asked Ningdong, "Ningdong, did anything happen to Madam today?"
Ningdong shook her head gently, and asked in confusion, "My lord, nothing happened today, why do you ask that?"
Gu Jingxi then asked, "What did Madam do today?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Dong became even more confused, but she did not hide anything. She told him that her master had learned how to manage the household from the First Madam in the morning, met with her cousin in the afternoon, and then went to the Dali Temple to pick him up. These were the three things her master had done that day.
Having heard nothing useful, Gu Jingxi continued, "Has she had a falling out with the First Madam?"
Ningdong shook her head and said truthfully, "My lord, the madam and the first madam get along quite well. The first madam answers all of the madam's questions. However, the first madam tentatively asked the madam if she was planning to take over the management of the household affairs, but the madam said frankly that she had no such idea and just wanted to learn."
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi didn't think there was anything wrong with it, and asked again, "When Madam went to see Young Master Biao, did anything unpleasant happen?"
Ning Dong paused slightly, remembering what her cousin had said to her wife, which was something she absolutely could not tell the Marquis. So she said, "Nothing unpleasant happened between my wife and my cousin."
Gu Jingxi noticed Ning Dong's subtle changes in expression and knew roughly where the problem lay. He then asked, "How long did Madam and Young Master stay at Cha Ran Ju?"
Ning Dong replied truthfully, "It will take two quarters of an hour."
Two quarters of an hour?
Gu Jingxi narrowed his eyes slightly. The day before yesterday, he heard from A Yao that she had a good relationship with this cousin. Since they had a good relationship, and the cousins hadn't seen each other for more than a year, they must have a lot to talk about. Why would he leave in just a quarter of an hour? If he could leave in such a short time, something unpleasant must have happened. But Ning Dong was A Yao's person. Without A Yao's permission, Ning Dong wouldn't tell him what happened, and A Yao wouldn't tell him either. Otherwise, she would have already told him in the afternoon.
Seeing that he remained silent, Ningdong asked nervously, "My lord, is there a problem?"
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "It's nothing. You must not mention our conversation to Madam. Do you understand?"
Although Ningdong was puzzled, she felt an invisible pressure coming towards her, and she nodded hurriedly: "Yes, Lord Marquis."
Gu Jingxi said, "You can go out now."
Ningdong curtsied and withdrew from the room. After leaving, she carefully considered her conversation with the Marquis. She felt there was nothing wrong with the conversation, and she hadn't said anything she shouldn't have. But why did the Marquis suddenly ask her these questions? Could it be that the Marquis was jealous because he was concerned that his wife was seeing other men? But that didn't seem like jealousy. His wife's visit to the cousin was at the Marquis's behest.
Unable to figure it out, Ningdong shook her head and stopped dwelling on it, since she hadn't said anything she shouldn't have.
After taking a bath, Meng Jinyao wrung out her hair and lay down on the bed, waiting for Gu Jingxi to return.
Not long after, Gu Jingxi returned from his bath. As soon as he entered the inner room, he saw his wife on the bed looking at him. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed when A Yao took the cotton towel he was using to wring out his hair.
Meng Jinyao took a cotton towel, sat up, and while wringing his hair dry, she told him some interesting stories about other people's families that she had heard from the maid.
They started off chatting and laughing, but as they talked, it's unclear who seduced whom first, but their lips met, silencing each other's next words.
After a long while, their lips parted. Gu Jingxi's lips hurt a little, and he could still taste a faint, sweet, and metallic flavor. Without even looking in the mirror, he knew that his lips were broken, and the culprit was the person in front of him.
He looked at his innocent-looking wife sitting on his waist and said with a mixture of affection and helplessness, "Ayao, did you do this on purpose?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com