Chapter 224 She did it on purpose
It was late at night, and the courtyard was quiet.
Most of the lights in the courtyard were off, with only a few left on for illumination.
However, tonight is a full moon night, and the moonlight is so bright that people can be seen clearly even without a lamp.
The bright moonlight streamed through the window, making the room bright enough that one could move freely without needing to turn on the lights, and wouldn't bump into anything because of poor visibility.
Meng Jinyao lay quietly with her back to Gu Jingxi. The joy in her heart made her mind a little excited, and she couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Based on Gu Jingxi's behavior, she had previously guessed that Gu Jingxi was interested in her, and she also liked Gu Jingxi. They got along very well, but she sometimes felt a little uneasy and unsettled. Now that the veil of doubt has been lifted, she finally feels at ease.
When feelings are out in the open, it seems like she has more confidence in doing many things. Before tonight, even if she wanted to be affectionate with her sweetheart, she lacked confidence and even felt that she didn't have the right to.
She wasn't asleep, and neither was Gu Jingxi. Looking at her graceful figure with her back to him, he knew the girl wasn't asleep and was probably thinking about something, so he didn't disturb her.
A moment later, Gu Jingxi saw the little girl's previously motionless body move. She turned over, her eyes still closed, but her eyelids twitched, clearly indicating that she was pretending to be asleep.
He was puzzled. If he wasn't asleep, why was he keeping his eyes closed?
A moment later, he saw the little girl turn around again, seemingly moving closer to him.
In that instant, Gu Jingxi understood something. That explained why the little girl would unconsciously roll into his arms lately. Sometimes he was almost asleep when a delicate girl would suddenly roll into his arms, instantly waking him up.
He hadn't noticed before, thinking the little girl was just a restless sleeper, but now he understood—she wanted him to hold her.
Gu Jingxi watched the little girl roll over again, and the softest part of his heart was touched. He softened completely and simply reached out and pulled the little girl, who was about to roll into his arms, into his embrace. He chuckled and teased, "Did you do that on purpose before, Madam?"
Meng Jinyao was stunned for a moment when he pulled her into his arms. The next moment, she heard these words in her ear. Instantly, she forgot about pretending to be asleep, opened her eyes abruptly, looked up at him, met his gentle and smiling eyes, and asked in a stammering voice, "What are you doing on purpose?"
Gu Jingxi said gently, "You deliberately rolled into my arms."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at Gu Jingxi. Her cheeks flushed visibly, her heart raced, and she quickly lowered her eyes, too ashamed to meet Gu Jingxi's gaze.
The first time she pretended to roll into Gu Jingxi's arms unintentionally, it was just to test him. Her subsequent actions were mixed with her own little secret. She liked being around him, and now that he had seen through her act, she felt extremely embarrassed.
She stammered, "Husband, please don't talk nonsense. Just now, it was clearly you who wanted to hug me."
Gu Jingxi knew that the girl was shy and didn't dwell on the matter, so he smiled and said, "Yes, it was your husband who took the initiative to hug me. I'm used to it, and I can't fall asleep without being hugged."
Meng Jinyao's lips moved, but she simply pretended to be dead and didn't reply. However, she was puzzled. On the way home, he said he didn't know how to get along with girls, but now he didn't seem to know. In fact, he was even more affectionate towards her. Gu Jingxi had never said such things to her before tonight, but now he could say them off the cuff. Did the sachet she gave him have such a great effect?
Nestled in Gu Jingxi's arms, her mind racing with thoughts, she finally drifted off to sleep after a long while, overcome by drowsiness.
Gu Jingxi heard even breathing beside him, and when he looked down, he saw that the little girl had fallen asleep peacefully in his arms. He smiled and thought that God must have taken pity on him, which was why he had a girl who did not mind his body.
-
The next morning.
When Gu Jingxi woke up, the person in his arms was still fast asleep, with their arms wrapped around his waist and one leg tucked between his legs, clinging to him like an octopus.
He smiled helplessly, gently separated the person in his arms from himself, covered her with the blanket, got out of bed, dressed, and was about to go to the bathroom to wash up when he noticed the sachet on the table, which the little girl had given him last night.
If he doesn't wear the sachet the young girl gave him, wouldn't that be going against her good intentions?
He thought for a moment, then hung the sachet on his waist, completely oblivious to how incongruous it was that his dignified crimson official robe was adorned with a light blue sachet embroidered with mandarin ducks, a symbol of tender affection.
When Qingqiu and Ningdong were serving him breakfast, they noticed the sachet he was wearing at his waist as he finished eating and was about to leave. The color of the sachet was very different from the color of his official robe, making it easy to spot.
Both of them were taken aback. They recognized the sachet; it was made by the madam. Even if the madam hadn't said anything, they knew it was definitely made for the Marquis. They hadn't expected the Marquis to wear it now. They guessed that the madam had given it to him yesterday.
After Gu Jingxi left, Ning Dong's face lit up with joy, and she whispered, "Qingqiu, did you see that? The sachet that Madam gave you, the Marquis is wearing it. If it had other patterns embroidered on it, that would be fine, but if it had mandarin ducks embroidered on it, anyone would know what it meant. But the Marquis wears it with him all the time, which shows how much he cares about Madam. That's wonderful. The Marquis and Madam have such a good relationship. With the Marquis loving and protecting her, Madam will definitely be happy. Madam has suffered for so many years, and finally, her suffering has come to an end."
As Ningdong spoke, her eyes welled up with tears. A woman's happiness depends on her parents before marriage and on her husband after marriage. Because in the inner courtyard of a mansion, no one protects her. She has to rely on her own strength to carve out a path, which is extremely difficult, unless she is lucky enough to get some opportunity that can change her fate.
Their mistress was a smart woman, but in the years she had lived in the Yongchang Marquis's mansion, she had a hard time. It was good enough that she could survive. To live well was as difficult as climbing to heaven. Her elders could punish her for any reason, leaving her with no way to defend herself. She could only be careful and live her life frugally.
Qingqiu gave her a reproachful look: "Ningdong, this is a good thing, don't cry."
Ning Dong forced a smile and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, it's a good thing, we should be smiling."
Just then, the sound of a bell came from the inner room. They paused for a moment, then said in unison, "Madam has woken up."
They hurried into the inner room and indeed saw that their mistress had already woken up and sat up in bed. They quickly curtsied and then went to help their mistress get dressed. They also called Chunliu and Xiazhu to bring water in to help their mistress wash up.
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