Chapter Fifteen
Gu Leyao cupped Li Heng's face in her hands, "You're not allowed to laugh."
But Li Heng couldn't stop laughing; he had actually seen through Gu Baozhu's ill intentions long ago.
However, when Le Yao got angry, she became much more lively and adorable than usual, and Li Heng couldn't resist teasing her.
Li Heng had already investigated Gu Baozhu's character and knew that although she appeared weak, she was quite cunning. He had been wary of her for a long time.
Gu Leyao was a little angry. She lifted the carriage curtain and looked out, ignoring Li Heng and not speaking to him at all.
Gu Leyao wouldn't tell her that she was actually a little scared just now. She was afraid that Li Heng, like Huo Pingyuan, would be captivated by Gu Baozhu.
The original owner stayed with Huo Pingyuan in the northern frontier for fifteen years. During that time, Huo Pingyuan participated in countless battles and suffered countless injuries in order to climb the ranks.
The original owner repeatedly pulled him back from the brink of death. Gu Leyao always felt that even if there was no romantic love between the two of them, they were still bound by a life-and-death relationship.
But Baozhu was so capable that she managed to persuade Huo Pingyuan, who was then a great general, to marry her as his concubine.
Li Heng quietly reached out a hand and gently tugged at Gu Leyao's sleeve. Gu Leyao noticed, but stubbornly refused to turn around.
Li Heng thought of Gu Leyao's previous experience, how a young girl was deliberately switched at birth and suffered countless hardships in the countryside.
After finally returning to the capital, her parents and brothers were not saddened by her suffering. Instead, they treated the adopted daughter who had taken over her place with great kindness, while treating their own daughter, who had endured much hardship, with ingratitude.
Le Yao is known for her resilience and optimism, but that doesn't mean she's not sad inside.
Li Heng felt a little guilty. He had only thought that Gu Leyao, when she was angry, was like a cute and lovable kitten with its claws outstretched. He had never intended to make her sad.
"Don't be angry. Is there any wish you want to fulfill? I can do my best to grant you one wish within my power."
Li Heng had no experience interacting with girls. He had no sisters and grew up with his older brother, both of whom were rather rough around the edges.
But Li Heng thought of the young prince Li Chong. Sometimes Li Heng had a cold and hard temper, which would make the young prince angry.
The young prince would sulk, then console himself, saying, "Uncle, grant me a wish. If you grant it, I won't be angry anymore."
Children's wishes are nothing more than toy swords, spears, and halberds.
The young prince was also very easy to coax. After Li Heng personally made him a small wooden sword and a small wooden knife, he really stopped being angry.
Li Heng thought that if he used this trick on Le Yao, Le Yao would calm down.
But in reality, Gu Leyao completely ignored him.
Li Heng was in a dilemma. Who should he ask? He had only been married for three days, and he had already angered the princess.
There's probably no man in the capital as clueless about romance as him, is there?
That day, his elder brother said he would teach him the way of husband and wife. He shouldn't have left so quickly. He should have sat down and learned this skill from his elder brother.
Gu Leyao suddenly tugged at Li Heng's sleeve, "Quickly stop the carriage, there's a puppy over there, I need to go save it."
It was drizzling outside, and the puppy was left in the ditch, breathing weakly, looking like it was about to die.
The carriage stopped, and since Li Heng couldn't get out, Gu Leyao got out first.
Li Heng instinctively wanted to grab Gu Leyao's sleeve. He wanted to tell her that they had bodyguards with them, and that they could just ask the bodyguards to pick up the puppy. There was no need for her to go out in the rain.
But Gu Leyao moved too fast; before Li Heng could even say those words, Gu Leyao had already run downstairs.
She ran quickly to the ditch outside the door. A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and the puppy whimpered helplessly. When it saw Gu Leyao, its dim eyes lit up for a moment.
Gu Leyao squatted down to check on the puppy. She found that the puppy's hind leg seemed to have been broken by something.
That's why the puppy lay helplessly in the ditch, unable to get up or move, just waiting to die.
Gu Leyao carefully picked up the puppy, and the puppy let out a small whimper.
Just then, the wooden door next to the ditch on the street suddenly opened, and a man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face sauntered out.
He had a sarcastic and mean look on his face. "Hey young lady, why did you take my dog away?"
Gu Leyao frowned. "This is your dog. Why is it in the sink? Didn't you realize it was dying?"
The man was even more sharp-tongued. "Even if my dog is dying, it's none of your business. But if you want to take my dog away, leave me ten taels of silver, otherwise leave and mind your own business."
The puppy looked at Gu Leyao with its wet eyes, which softened Gu Leyao's heart.
Gu Leyao had been sulking with Li Heng, so she lifted the curtain and stared out the window in a huff.
She was just looking around aimlessly when she suddenly saw a ditch with a small, yellow, furry ear twitching slightly inside.
As the carriage moved forward, Gu Leyao saw clearly that it was a small yellow dog, no bigger than a palm, lying in a ditch, struggling incessantly.
This scene seems familiar.
Gu Leyao immediately remembered that when she was a child living in an orphanage, she had met a stray little yellow dog.
At that time, Gu Leyao was only eight or nine years old. Gu Leyao really wanted to raise that puppy, but she herself was an orphan raised by the director of the welfare home. How could she afford to raise a puppy?
Gu Leyao helped the cook at the orphanage cook every day, and the cook liked her a lot. Sometimes she could get some leftovers.
She would sneak out of the orphanage and give the leftover food to the puppy. The little yellow dog was very intelligent, didn't bite, and was very affectionate.
When Gu Leyao gently stroked its head while it was eating, it would only make a comfortable purring sound.
Over time, Gu Leyao and the little yellow dog appeared at the same time and place every day. If there were leftovers, she would feed it some; if there were no leftovers, Gu Leyao would save her own food and feed it to the dog.
But one day, the puppy suddenly disappeared. Gu Leyao was frantic that day. She went to ask the adults in the neighborhood where the puppy had gone.
The adults said they saw a man take the puppy away. The man was probably a dog meat vendor. He gave the puppy a sausage, and after the puppy finished eating it, it collapsed on the ground a little while later, and the man picked it up.
Gu Leyao remembered that she cried for a long time that time. She felt it was all her fault that the puppy was taken away by someone else.
If she hadn't made a promise with the puppy to eat there, the puppy wouldn't have gone there, wouldn't have been caught by the man and taken to the dog meat restaurant, and wouldn't have been eaten.
Even after Gu Leyao earned enough money to raise a puppy, she didn't dare to.
Gu Leyao snapped out of her reverie and stroked the soft yellow fur of the puppy in her arms. The puppy rubbed its head against Gu Leyao's arm.
Even though this little dog was the man's, he threw it into the ditch and left it to die.
Gu Leyao would never give money to someone like that.
Gu Leyao looked at the man again, "This is a dog I picked up from the sink, it's not your dog, I can't give you money."
After saying that, she turned and left. The man seemed to be a street thug. Seeing that Gu Leyao, a delicate young lady, dared to act like this, he got angry and reached out to grab Gu Leyao's shoulder.
But before his hand could even touch Gu Leyao, his hands were twisted behind his back, grabbed, and forced to kneel on the ground.
This was followed by a soft rebuke from inside the carriage, "How dare you!"
Li Heng's voice was cold. Gu Leyao had never seen Li Heng like this before, and she was momentarily stunned.
Seeing her looking at him, Li Heng said, "Do whatever you want with him. Don't worry, I'll cover for you."
He told me not to be afraid, saying he would cover for me... Gu Leyao felt her heart pounding for a moment.
After being abandoned by her father, Gu Leyao lived in fear for a long time, afraid of being disliked and abandoned again.
But now that she's in ancient times, a man has told her that he'll cover for her.
Gu Leyao was a little dazed. She forced herself to shift her attention away from Li Heng and walked over to the rogue. She instructed Li Jiu, who was standing behind the rogue, "Give him a good beating. He might be the one who injured the puppy's leg!"
Li Heng waved his hand, instructing Li Shi to search the man's house. They found the house filled with dog skins, and scattered on the ground were pale dog bones with dark red blood streaks. There was also dog meat stewing in a pot, bubbling with white steam.
The reason this little yellow dog didn't die is probably because it was too small and didn't have enough meat, so it was left in the ditch in front of the door to die.
Gu Leyao's eyes reddened, and she kicked the scoundrel hard. She said to Li Jiu, "Give him a good beating, just don't kill him."
Gu Leyao carried the little yellow dog onto the carriage and said to Li Heng, "Let's adopt it. Look at it, isn't it adorable?"
Li Heng looked at Gu Leyao in silence, then at the disheveled little dog with its wet fur and filthy body, and couldn't see anything cute about it.
However, Li Heng had just angered Gu Leyao, so he wouldn't do anything foolish again this time.
He nodded in agreement, echoing Gu Leyao's words, "She really is cute."
The carriage started moving again. Gu Leyao wiped the puppy clean with a dry white cloth, and gently touched the puppy's bones. "It seems that the hind leg bone is broken."
Speaking of which, the original owner was a really good person. She practiced medicine in the northern border region all her life and accumulated a lot of experience. Before she left, she left all these memories to Gu Leyao.
She was afraid that Gu Leyao, who came from the modern world, would not live well here, so she left all her memories to Gu Leyao in the hope of helping her.
Li Heng remained silent for a long time before suddenly saying, "If you want a puppy, the palace's cat and dog kennels have Shih Tzus. They have big eyes, soft fur, and friendly personalities. I'll have someone pick a healthy one for you and send it over."
As a noble breed, the Shih Tzu was only kept by the nobility. However, it is extremely popular in Beijing and loved by people of all ages and genders.
Gu Leyao shook her head and covered the little yellow dog's ears. "Don't say things like that in front of it, it can understand!"
Li Heng was speechless.
"We're destined to be together, aren't we? Happy?" Gu Leyao patted the puppy's head. She decided to name this little yellow dog Happy, so that it would be happy every day after it entered the palace!
Gu Leyao lifted up the puppy's intact yellow paw, gently shook it, and said to Li Heng, "Kaixin, say hello to Daddy!"
The little yellow dog really did shake its paw.
Li Heng remained silent this time, not uttering a word on the way back.
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