Chapter 685: Ten years have passed in a flash
Two huge red lanterns were hung high in front of the prefectural government office, and the stone lions at the door looked extremely majestic in the twilight.
Lin Jiayou stopped and stood outside the dim halo.
What should he say?
Who am I? Where do I come from?
As he was hesitating, the heavy door of the yamen suddenly creaked open from the inside.
A young man in a dark gown came out in a hurry, with a look of obvious anxiety on his face.
Lin Jiayou recognized him at a glance.
Gu Lu.
Gu Lu had obviously also seen the ragged and dirty child outside the door. He paused for a moment, a look of surprise flashing across his eyes.
He walked quickly to Lin Jiayou, looked him up and down, and his brows immediately furrowed.
"Why are you here?"
There was no emotion in Gu Lu's voice, but it was like a needle that pricked Lin Jiayou's heart and made it tighten suddenly.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word. He could only lower his head in embarrassment, clutching the corners of his clothes tightly with both hands.
Gu Lu's eyes fell on his tattered straw sandals, the soles of his shoes and his feet were stained with dark red blood.
He was silent for a moment, and finally let out an almost inaudible sigh.
That handsome hand reached out and gently patted Lin Jiayou's thin shoulder, and his tone softened a lot.
"Come in first and talk."
Lin Jiayou raised his head and met Gu Lu's deep eyes. He saw helplessness and a little hidden concern.
He knew that he had made the right bet.
Here, I can find shelter temporarily.
Lawyer Gu brought Lin Jiayou into the back hall of the yamen and led him directly to the small study where he read every day.
He didn't ask anything. He first poured a cup of hot tea into Lin Jiayou's cold hands, and then ordered the servants to prepare hot water and clean clothes.
The warm tea slid down his throat, dispelling some of the coldness in his body.
Lin Jiayou changed into clean clothes and washed his face, hands and feet with hot water. When he changed the dressing, he found that there were several blisters on the soles of his feet. Some of them had broken and stuck to his straw sandals. Every step he took felt like walking on the tip of a knife.
When he returned to his study, he finally felt a little more energetic.
Gu Lu sat on the chair behind the desk, looking at him quietly and letting him calm down.
After a long time, he finally spoke in a steady voice.
"Tell me, what happened in the capital?"
Lin Jiayou lowered his eyes and told everything that happened in Prince Yong's Mansion, the deaths of his mother and aunt, how he was deceived by the bodyguard and how he escaped death.
His voice was very flat, as if he was telling someone else's story.
But when he talked about the escorts gathered together and discussed how to kill him to silence him, his voice couldn't help shaking.
Gu Lu's fingers holding the teacup tightened inch by inch, and his knuckles turned white.
"Then why did you come to Jinguan City to find me?" Gu Lu put down the teacup with a complicated look.
Lin Jiayou raised his head, and his eyes finally revealed the pleading and helplessness that a child should have.
"Qingchen said...she said you would take me in and let me be your study partner..."
Gu Lu frowned again.
Gu Qingchen, his naive cousin, really brought him a huge trouble.
His eyes fell on Lin Jiayou's face, which was still childish but full of stubbornness, and his heart softened again.
He thought of himself and Sister Lan.
When I was very young, both my parents died...
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that he and Lan Jie'er were much luckier than this child.
At least, they had their uncle and aunt who took care of them regardless of the consequences.
Where is Lin Jiayou?
Now I am truly alone and have no relatives.
If he doesn't take care of it, the child might not survive this winter.
Gu Lu let out a long breath in his heart and made a decision.
He looked at Lin Jiayou and said, "Since you are here, stay."
Lin Jiayou suddenly raised his head, and light instantly appeared in his dark pupils.
"But, from today on, forget your previous identity. Here, you are just my study partner. Everything else has nothing to do with you. Do you understand?"
Lin Jiayou nodded vigorously, his throat choked, and thousands of words were combined into one sentence.
"Thank you, Master Gu!"
Gu Lu nodded slightly, as a sign of agreement.
He took a book from the bookshelf and handed it to Lin Jiayou.
"Have a good rest tonight, and start reviewing your lessons tomorrow morning. I'll have someone take you shopping for some daily necessities."
He paused and added.
"From now on, this will be your home."
Lin Jiayou took the book and held it tightly in his arms.
This was the first time he heard the word "home" after losing everything.
He knew that from tonight on, everything would be different. He wanted to survive and start a new life here.
——
Spring turns to winter, time flies, and in the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.
During these three years, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion had another young master, named Gu Qinghong.
Gu Qinghong is lovely and pretty, and her eyes and eyebrows are very similar to Chu Ruohan, but her personality is like Gu Junze, calm and introverted, and she loves reading.
Gu Qingchen laughed at him and called him a little old man!
She has grown into a graceful young lady, but she is still naughty and loves to make trouble...
Gu Xuan has been training in the Dongying Army for the past three years.
Relying on his military achievements, he climbed up step by step from the grassroots level and is now the deputy general of Dongying.
He was no longer the "Young Master Xuan" who needed to rely on the protection of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, but won the respect of the soldiers in the army with his own abilities.
In these three years, he only returned to the capital once, and stayed in Gu Junze's study for less than half an hour.
He didn't see Chu Ruohan, nor did he see Gu Qingchen and Gu Qinghong.
He knew that the mistakes he made could not be made up for in a short time.
He needs more time and more military achievements to prove himself.
Chu Ruohan would occasionally think of the child who once sweetly called her "Mom", would think of how naughty he was as a child, and would think of how he protected Qingchen.
But whenever she thought of Mei Zi's hideous face and Gu Xuan's silence, her heart would become cold again.
She didn't know if the relationship between mother and son could ever go back to the way it was before.
In the private rooms of Zuixian Tower, the most luxurious building in the capital, the atmosphere is bustling with people toasting each other and drinking.
Gu Qingchen, dressed in a bright red riding uniform, was standing on a chair, one hand on her waist, waving a whip in the other, and excitedly telling the room full of children from aristocratic families about her "glorious achievements."
"You didn't see it! That idiot surnamed Zhou thought his 'Chasing Wind' was some kind of BMW, but my 'Red Flame' had barely warmed up when it already left him in the dust! His face, tsk tsk, was uglier than crying!"
She told the story vividly, causing the whole room to burst into laughter.
Today, Gu Qingchen has grown into a graceful young lady with mature eyebrows and eyes, delicate as a painting.
But the reckless spirit in his bones is even more intense than when he was a child. He is a well-known "devil" in the capital, a headache for everyone but no one can afford to offend him.
Just as everyone was urging her to have another drink, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and the servant of the Duke of Zhenguo rushed in breathlessly.
"Miss! Miss!"
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