Chapter 34 Where did she go?
Taking a deep breath, Feng Rongrong saw that Yi Mingyu was about to leave. Anxious, she quickly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve, saying urgently, "Do you know? Gu Qingsu almost shot me with an arrow. Do you know how vicious she is?"
Her eyes were wide open, filled with grievance and accusation, and her cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement.
Yi Mingyu abruptly stopped. This matter was probably known to everyone in the capital. But something must have touched a nerve. He slowly turned to the side, his usually gentle expression turning unusually serious, his eyes lowered towards Feng Rongrong with a hint of coldness.
When Feng Rongrong saw him turn around, she was overjoyed, thinking that her words had worked and he had finally seen through Gu Qingsu's true colors. A glimmer of relief flashed in her eyes, but before she could laugh out loud, Yi Mingyu's cold, icy voice clearly entered her ears.
"Miss Gu has her reasons for how she acts, and I have no right to interfere or comment on her actions."
As Yi Mingyu spoke, a hint of displeasure, which he himself was unaware of, flickered in his eyes, as if a voice in his heart was resisting, not wanting to hear anything bad about Gu Qingsu from anyone else.
Feng Rongrong stared at him blankly, as if she were looking at a stranger. The Yi Mingyu she knew wouldn't act so indiscriminately.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Mingyu turned and left without hesitation, ignoring Feng Rongrong's calls behind him, and never looked back again.
As if all her strength had been drained, Feng Rongrong staggered back two steps, muttering repeatedly, "I don't believe it, I don't believe Yi Mingyu would be so indiscriminate."
She bit her lower lip, thinking it over and over, and concluded that Yi Mingyu must have been blinded by Gu Qingsu's methods, otherwise he would not have acted this way, Feng Rongrong comforted herself.
Watching Yi Mingyu's figure gradually disappear into the distance, a resolute look flashed in her eyes. She clenched her fists tightly and secretly vowed to make Yi Mingyu see the true face of Gu Qingsu's viciousness.
A gentle breeze rustled through the willow branches, and the summer wind carried a hint of heat.
Ruan Xingzhu searched the entire courtyard but couldn't find Liang Jingye's clothes. Mu Tao, who was beside her, pretended to be searching with her, but she knew perfectly well that the clothes had long been thrown away in some unknown corner, so how could she possibly find them?
Seeing this, Mu Tao hesitated for a moment, pursed her lips, and said, "Perhaps it was dragged away by some stray cat?"
Ruan Xingzhu paused slightly, thinking carefully, and it seemed that this was the only reason; otherwise, how could the clothes have disappeared without a trace? Seeing that the clothes were indeed missing, she lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then decisively left the mansion.
Since we can't find the original one, we can just buy an identical one and return it. I just hope Liang Yejing won't mind.
After leaving the mansion, Ruan Xingzhu headed to the cloth shop. The shopkeeper, thinking she was buying women's clothes, hurriedly tried to take her to see all kinds of floral fabric skirts.
Upon seeing this, Ruan Xingzhu quickly said, "I want to buy a man's."
The shopkeeper didn't ask too many questions upon hearing this, since it was common for women in the capital to give men clothes as a token of their affection.
The shopkeeper led Ruan Xingzhu to the men's section, introducing the features of their clothing as he spoke. Ruan Xingzhu didn't listen much; her eyes eagerly searched among the dazzling array of fabrics, trying to select a garment that closely resembled Liang Yejing's.
After searching around, Ruan Xingzhu finally found one item that matched her description, so she paid for it and had the shopkeeper wrap it up.
The shopkeeper, seeing that the rather somber clothes she had chosen were too imposing, simply folded and packed them for her.
Picking up her clothes, Ruan Xingzhu hurried towards the Central Academy. She only knew that Liang Yejing worked at the Central Academy, so she could only go there to look for him.
Upon arriving at the Central Academy, Ruan Xingzhu informed the gatekeeper that she had come to see Liang Yejing, and the gatekeeper hurriedly went to relay the message shortly afterward.
Judging from the clear reading voices coming from inside, it must be class time. Does that mean she has to wait a while?
As Ruan Xingzhu pondered, she heard footsteps approaching. She thought it was someone coming to her door to ask her to wait, but when she looked up, she saw Liang Yejing dressed in scholar's robes, tall and straight, exuding an elegant and refined air as he walked gracefully towards her.
Ruan Xingzhu was taken aback, not expecting him to come out so quickly; she thought she would have to wait a while.
Liang Yejing was teaching a class when the gatekeeper came to tell him that a girl surnamed Ruan was looking for him outside. He was a little surprised, thinking it wouldn't be good to keep her waiting in the hot sun, so he hurriedly came out.
Ruan Xingzhu noticed that Liang Yejing was unconsciously clutching the clothes in his hand, and her heart was in turmoil. She wondered if he would mind that she had just bought them herself.
"Miss Ruan is looking for me?" Liang Yejing walked up to Ruan Xingzhu in a few steps, a gentle smile on his face.
“Yes.” Ruan Xingzhu quickly stepped forward and replied.
As she spoke, she hurriedly handed over the neatly folded clothes in her hands, saying in a somewhat rushed voice, "These are the clothes that Young Master Liang lent me the other day. I've brought them here today to return to Young Master Liang."
Liang Yejing took the clothes and examined them. With his keen eyesight, he immediately recognized that this was not the original garment he had received. Just as he was wondering if Ruan Xingzhu had taken the wrong one, he heard Ruan Xingzhu hurriedly explaining in rapid succession.
"Well, Young Master Liang's clothes were accidentally torn a bit. That's why I bought a new one and sent it over." Ruan Xingzhu didn't dare to say directly that the clothes had been lost. After all, the other party had kindly lent them to her, and she not only didn't cherish them but also lost them. She really couldn't bring herself to say it.
Hearing Ruan Xingzhu's voice, which was tinged with urgency and nervousness, Liang Yejing was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Ruan Xingzhu to be so thoughtful and sensitive. It was just a piece of clothing; it wouldn't have been a big deal if she hadn't brought it.
He quickly put on a reassuring smile and comforted her, saying, "Miss Ruan, there's no need to blame yourself. It's just a piece of clothing; you don't need to take it to heart."
Seeing that Liang Yejing not only showed no sign of blaming her, but also comforted her instead, Ruan Xingzhu felt a pang in her heart.
Thinking back to that day, it was this very garment that covered her soaked body. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Young Master Liang, for that day."
Liang Yejing smiled and said calmly, "It was nothing, Miss Ruan, you're too kind."
Looking back, it seems that Liang Yejing has helped me several times without my knowledge, but I have only thanked him verbally a few times.
Ruan Xingzhu kept her head down, lost in thought. Completely unaware, in a corner she hadn't noticed, Gu Yun'an had been standing quietly for a long time, intently watching her every move.
Gu Yun'an just happened to be passing by. At first, he thought he was seeing things. How could Xingzhu be standing with a strange man?
But when he saw the clothes the man was holding, he couldn't help but think of the clothes he had told Mu Tao to throw away. Mu Tao certainly wouldn't pick up the clothes she threw away, so the one Liang Yejing was holding was most likely something Ruan Xingzhu had bought separately.
A surge of anger rose within Gu Yun'an. It was just a tattered garment, yet she went to such lengths, searching for it repeatedly, and finally even personally buying a new one to deliver to a stranger. It seemed she still hadn't taken her words to heart.
His expression instantly turned icy, his eyes filled with a chilling intent. Just as he was about to stride over, he saw Ruan Xingzhu and Liang Yejing nod and then turn and leave.
When his subordinates saw Gu Yun'an suddenly stop, they thought something had happened and quickly rode over, asking respectfully, "Is there something wrong, Lord Gu?"
Gu Yun'an tightened his grip on the reins, coldly withdrew his gaze, and uttered two words: "Nothing."
He suppressed his anger and continued walking forward.
After returning the clothes, Ruan Xingzhu breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, she would have felt like she owed the person a favor.
The temperature has been very high these days, and dinner time is not as early as in spring. Gu Qingxu was still getting ready when Ruan Xingzhu went to Huaiju to wait for Gu Yun'an to return so they could have dinner together.
As the sun set, Gu Yun'an returned to the Gu residence that evening and saw Ruan Xingzhu sitting quietly at the table, looking at the food on the table, seemingly lost in thought.
The maid said that she had prepared the meal early in the morning and was waiting for her.
Her obedient waiting made Gu Yun'an, who had been holding back his temper all day, unable to lash out for a moment.
"Fourth brother, you're back." As soon as Ruan Xingzhu saw him, her eyes lit up. She quickly stood up and said with a joyful expression, "I've been waiting for you for so long, fourth brother. Please sit down."
Her soft-spoken manner eased Gu Yun'an's initial displeasure, and he sat down, letting her arrange things for him.
Ruan Xingzhu did not notice anything unusual about him today, and simply prepared food for him with a smile on her face.
"Fourth brother is busy with official duties, you must be tired, please eat more."
Seeing this, Gu Yun'an really couldn't spoil her mood. After taking a couple of bites, his doubts and dissatisfaction made him unable to help but ask in a low voice, "Where did Xingzhu go today?"
Ruan Xingzhu continued eating, feeling a little puzzled as to why Gu Yun'an was asking this. She simply replied casually, "I didn't go anywhere."
Hearing Ruan Xingzhu's obvious lies, Gu Yun'an's face darkened. He slowly put down his chopsticks, looked directly at her with a scrutinizing gaze, and decided to give her another chance. He uttered two words in a deep voice.
"real?"
Ruan Xingzhu swallowed a mouthful of food, feeling that Gu Yun'an was acting strangely today. Without thinking too much about it, she said hesitantly, "Really?"
As Ruan Xingzhu finished speaking, Gu Yun'an slightly pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and a hint of frost instantly appeared in his eyes. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Ruan Xingzhu with his dark, abyss-like eyes, as if they wanted to swallow her whole.
As soon as she spoke, Ruan Xingzhu suddenly remembered that she had gone out earlier that day to deliver clothes to Liang Yejing. However, she felt that it probably didn't matter whether Gu Yun'an knew about it or not.
But when she inadvertently met Gu Yun'an's piercing gaze, her heart skipped a beat. She paused for a moment, then subconsciously changed her words, saying, "No, I went out today."
Ruan Xingzhu bit her lip slightly, looking troubled, and said softly, "Today I went to buy a new set of clothes that a kind person lent me the day I fell into the water and returned them to them. After all, I couldn't let them down."
She was afraid that Gu Yun'an would overthink things if he knew it was Liang Yejing, so she didn't mention his name.
Hearing her say that, the darkness in Gu Yun'an's eyes faded slightly, but he still asked in a low voice, "Is Xingzhu just trying to avoid owing favors to others?"
"Of course." Ruan Xingzhu looked bewildered and felt a little confused. She had only bought the clothes to send over because she didn't want to disappoint the person's kindness.
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