Chapter 401 Not yet discovered
In a pavilion at the Wei residence.
A servant boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old was sitting on a stone bench, fast asleep with his head resting on a stone table. An older servant boy saw him sleeping in the pavilion and quickly went over to wake him up.
"Fugui, wake up and get to work! Otherwise, if the manager sees you, you'll get a good scolding."
Fugui slowly woke up, opened his eyes and saw his friend Aji. He was stunned for a moment, and after looking around, he found himself in a pavilion. He was even more confused. How did he wake up in a pavilion?
Right, he seemed to have seen a man in black last night, and then he lost consciousness. Now he woke up in the pavilion. But if he had really encountered a bad guy, he would definitely be dead by now. Could it be that he was dreaming last night? But he clearly remembered that last night he found that the purse Xiaolian gave him was missing, and he went out to look for it late at night.
Seeing him staring blankly at him, Aji asked, "What are you staring at? Did you go thieving last night? Were you that sleepy? You were lying in the pavilion sleeping like a pig."
Fu Gui asked hesitantly, "Is it possible that I really did encounter a thief last night, and then the thief left me to sleep in the pavilion?"
Aji laughed and said, "If you had encountered a thief, would you still be alive? You would have been killed by the thief to silence you long ago. Besides, there was no commotion in the manor last night, so where would any thief come from? Alright, stop rambling on. Get to work now that you're awake, otherwise if the steward sees you slacking off, you'll not only get a scolding, but you might also have your monthly wages deducted."
After hearing this, Fu Gui also felt that he might have been dreaming last night. He guessed that he was too tired when he went out to look for the purse last night, and in a daze, he went to the pavilion to lie down and sleep. After sleeping all night, he had another dream about bad people.
A moment later, Fugui asked, "By the way, have you seen a blue cloth purse?"
Aji replied truthfully, "No, what's wrong?"
Fu Gui shook his head, then couldn't help but recall carefully. He clearly hadn't walked towards the pavilion last night, but he woke up in the pavilion. Was he dreaming or what?
Aji hurriedly said, "Get ready to work quickly, the foreman is coming this way."
Upon hearing this, Fu Gui immediately put the strange matter out of his mind and went to work. He would think about the seemingly dreamlike thing from last night later.
-
Meanwhile, Lord Wei went to the Gu residence to visit Gu Jingxi, in order to find out when Gu Jingxi would return to the capital. He always felt uneasy when Gu Jingxi was in Huzhou.
However, he didn't bring Mei Qingyun along this time, lest he see the two former lovers flirting and causing him distress. Besides, Mei Qingyun knew too much, and if she suddenly lost her temper and let something slip, the consequences would be severe.
At first, Gu Jingxi thought he knew something and had already thought of a plan and words to say. But when she met him, she found that he knew nothing and was just asking when she would return to the capital.
Since that's the case, Gu Jingxi said, "I was originally going to return to the capital a few days ago, but unfortunately I fell ill. Now I'm fine and will set off for the capital tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Lord Wei was secretly delighted, but on the surface he said, "It is rare for Lord Gu to return to Huzhou Prefecture, and he has also been ill. Why not stay a few more days to recuperate? I heard that the students of the academy will be taking an exam in a few days. I would like to invite Lord Gu to go and watch it with me."
Gu Jingxi said regretfully, "That's a real pity. I was busy with official duties in the capital, and I had to take leave to come back for this ancestral worship. I couldn't stay long. Now that I'm much better, it's time to set off back to the capital."
Afterwards, Lord Wei chatted with Gu Jingxi for a while before leaving satisfied. He would be at ease as long as Gu Jingxi returned to the capital; otherwise, he would always be on edge, feeling as if a sharp sword was hanging over his head these past few days.
After Lord Wei left, Yu Chuan immediately went to find his master and asked about what happened last night: "Lord Marquis, did Lord Wei find out about what happened last night and discover that the account books and those letters were missing, so he came to you to find out what was going on?"
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "No, he just wants to know when we will return to the capital. It seems he doesn't know about last night's events, and that servant probably doesn't remember seeing you either."
Upon hearing this, Yu Chuan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Luckily, I acted quickly. Otherwise, if he had realized what was happening, he would have remembered it when he woke up today and then told Lord Wei, which would have been terrible."
Gu Jingxi said, "But we can't let our guard down. We should go back and prepare, and set off for the capital early tomorrow morning."
Yu Chuan nodded hurriedly: "I understand."
-
Steward Liu had originally thought that the Marquis would stay a few more days. After all, the Marquis had been so seriously ill a couple of days ago, suffering from a high fever and falling into a coma. He should at least get some rest before setting off back to the capital. But today, the Marquis announced that he would be setting off tomorrow.
Steward Liu hurriedly followed the list given by the Marquis and had people prepare in advance the things that the lady liked to eat, such as fruits, snacks, and various Huzhou specialties, so that she could take them with her on the road.
Meng Jinyao also instructed her maid to pack their luggage. They hadn't brought much when they came to Huzhou, but they brought quite a lot back to the capital, including new things she liked and gifts for relatives and friends.
Seeing Gu Jingxi return from the front yard, Meng Jinyao stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Husband, how is it? Did he discover something by suddenly coming to see you?"
Gu Jingxi shook his head slightly: "No, we haven't found it yet, but we estimate we'll find it soon. These kinds of ledgers are reconciled monthly, and it's almost the end of the month now."
Meng Jinyao breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. By the time he finds out, we'll already be on our way back to the capital."
Gu Jingxi asked gently, "Ayao, we're setting off back to the capital tomorrow. Would you like to go shopping today? If you see anything you like, buy it. Who knows when we'll be able to go back to our hometown again?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao immediately agreed: "Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking."
"Let's go now. The coachman has already hitched up the carriage, and we're just waiting for Madam's order to depart." After saying this, Gu Jingxi reached out and took her hand, holding her small hand in his palm, looking at her tenderly.
Meng Jinyao was taken aback: "Husband, you've already had everything prepared? If I don't go, wouldn't all the preparations have been for nothing?"
Gu Jingxi smiled and said, "Since it was my suggestion, we should definitely make the arrangements first. If you don't go, there's no loss. We can stay home and do something else to pass the time."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's lips curled up. In the past, A Ning always said that the truth is revealed in the details. Whether a man cares about you or not can be seen in some insignificant little things. Now her husband is just like that. There are no grand gestures between them, but their affection is in the details.
Meng Jinyao originally just wanted to go out for a stroll, but after going out, she ended up spending all her money on Gu Jingxi, buying almost everything for him.
The reason was simple: just looking at his face made me want to dress him up, so I bought him jade hairpins, accessories, and shoes, and then dragged him to a clothing store to buy more.
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