Qingguang took the bell-shaped vine ball back, calling "meow meow meow" and walked back and forth in front of Gu Yanfei, swaying it in front of her eyes.
"Good boy!" Gu Yanfei praised the cat perfunctorily, then patted the cat's head and let it go play.
Gu Yunzhen simply took the bell ball and threw it out gently. The cat jumped up again and chased the ball happily.
Gu Yunzhen squatted on the ground, playing ball with the cat, and quickly continued, "After marriage, grandpa and grandma lived in harmony. Unexpectedly, not long after my great uncle was born, my grandfather fell seriously ill, and my great-grandfather was almost scared to death."
"My great-grandfather was already old and covered in old injuries. If my grandfather had passed away at that time, I'm afraid he wouldn't have survived until my great-uncle grew up, and the Marquisate would have fallen into ruin."
"My great-grandfather went everywhere to look for medical treatment for my grandfather. He hired many doctors, imperial physicians, fortune-tellers, and Taoist priests. During that time, the house was filled with the aroma of medicine every day."
"It took a month for my grandfather to recover from his illness."
Gu Yanfei kept a half-hearted look at the rune, tracing it in the air with his right index finger, and asked absentmindedly, "What happened next?"
"Later," Gu Yunzhen caught the bell ball that Qingguang threw over, shook the ball, and then continued, "Grandfather has always been very healthy...but his relationship with grandmother is not as good as before."
"Not long after my grandfather recovered from his illness, he took my stepmother as his concubine..."
As she spoke, Gu Yunzhen's expression became a little subtle, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and her mother Yan's meaningful voice echoed in her ears: "Zhen'er, remember what your mother said, friendship is the most useless. Look at your grandmother, even if she has a mediocre relationship with your grandfather, she is still the wife of the Marquis's mansion, and no one can surpass her."
Their third branch is a concubine's branch. Since the death of the old marquis, their status in the marquis's mansion has been very awkward. It can be said that they are surviving in the cracks.
Old Aunt Sun had once specifically given advice to the Third Madam Yan, and now Yan was thinking that her daughter was about to get married, so she told her about these old stories of the Marquis' Mansion, just to give her daughter some advice.
“Sizzle…”
Another drop of candle wax slowly flowed down, and the candle flame swayed gently.
Gu Yunzhen's jet-black hair fell softly behind her, and the jade hairpin on her temples reflected a bleak luster in the candlelight.
With drooping eyelashes and half of her face hidden in the flickering shadow of the candlelight, she exudes an aura of tranquility.
Gu Yunzhen raised his wrist and threw the bell ball in his hand out again.
This simple action has a sense of desperation, as if it is venting something.
Gu Yunzhen stood up again, exhaled silently, and continued: "Fourteen years ago, my grandfather suddenly became seriously ill and died within a few days..."
"I heard from my stepmother that my grandfather seemed to know that he was going to die soon, and he told them not to call a doctor anymore."
Her last words elicited some reaction from Gu Yanfei. Gu Yanfei raised his eyes and looked at her. At the same time, the finger of his right hand drew the last stroke in the air.
For a moment, something seemed to vibrate in the air, creating circles of invisible air currents, like ripples on the water, which disappeared in a flash.
Then, Gu Yanfei slowly put down the talisman in his hand, and his mind became clear.
Sure enough, she guessed correctly.
Gu Yanfei's pupils were dark, clear and bright in the candlelight, like a deep ancient well with slight ripples.
"How pitiful." Gu Yanfei sighed softly.
Her voice was so soft that Gu Yunzhen couldn't hear it clearly, so Gu Yunzhen asked, "What's wrong?"
Gu Yanfei did not answer but asked: "Big sister, are you going to send the dowry tomorrow?"
"I won't marry." Gu Yunzhen said lightly, his tone calm.
There was neither hysteria nor indignation, but a smile on her lips, as dignified and virtuous as ever.
Gu Yanfei smiled and said meaningfully: "...I won't marry."
Gu Yunzhen was infected by her smile and started laughing too, even though she didn't understand what Gu Yanfei meant by her words.
Gu Yanfei raised his hand and brought the talisman paper close to the candlelight.
The candle flame instantly ignited the talisman paper and greedily devoured the paper. A faint black gas was hidden in the bright yellow flame.
Gu Yanfei casually threw the talisman paper into the treasure bowl used for burning paper money.
The burning talisman paper slowly fell, the flame swaying, sometimes high, sometimes low, and the flickering flame left alternating light and dark shadows on her fair little face.
"Ring, ring, ring..."
The bell-shaped vine ball was hit by the cat and rolled back and forth. The sound of the bells became more and more urgent.
The noise inside was heard by the old woman who was guarding outside.
The old woman opened the door, walked through the front hall, and hurried over, but she saw that the two sisters were not kneeling, and Gu Yanfei was still burning something in the treasure bowl. It was unclear whether he was burning paper money or keeping warm.
The old woman was startled and raised her voice to scold, "Young lady, young lady, I asked you to kneel down as punishment, not to come to the ancestral hall to play!"
"If you don't kneel down, I will tell the Madam."
The old woman took a few steps closer to the two men and puffed out her chest.
The talisman paper in the treasure bowl had been completely burned to ashes by the flames, leaving only a few pinpoints of fire.
It became much darker around, but the candle, which had been reduced to only an inch, was still burning.
Gu Yanfei yawned lazily, too lazy to argue with the old woman, and called out again: "Qingguang."
It was having a lot of fun. Its emerald green cat's eyes sparkled in the candlelight, flashing an alluring glow that instantly captured the old woman's heart.
"Little cat," the old woman bowed down, looked at the calico cat with attentiveness and flattery, rubbing her hands and asking ingratiatingly, "Do you want to warm yourself by the fire? I will get you some charcoal."
Gu Yanfei threw a purse to the cat, and the cat took the purse and handed it to the old woman, then wagged its tail in the direction of the candle.
The old woman took out a small dried fish from her purse and immediately understood what she meant. She said consciously, "I will help you roast the dried fish."
"The best dried fish are roasted strip by strip by candlelight."
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gu Yanfei took Gu Yunzhen's hand and walked towards the front hall of the ancestral hall.
Gu Yunzhen was still a little reluctant to leave. As he walked away, he looked back and sighed enviously, "I want to help Qingguang roast the dried fish, too!"
"There will be a chance." Gu Yanfei answered her casually, and then changed the subject, "Big sister, come with me to Yuheng Garden to rest tonight."
Gu Yunzhen: “…”
Gu Yunzhen was taught to be gentle, dignified and obedient since she was a child. Today, she was punished to kneel but she didn't kneel. She was not used to it. Now she has to sneak away, which makes her feel even more uncomfortable.
Seeing what Gu Yunzhen was thinking, Gu Yanfei smiled and took her hand and walked forward: "It's okay, we can come early tomorrow, before everyone else comes."
"Not good." Gu Yunzhen said this, but his body honestly followed Gu Yanfei away.
When he stepped out of the ancestral hall gate and stood under the eaves, Gu Yunzhen still felt as if he was in a dream.
She really came out?! This was the first time in Gu Yunzhen's life that he did something so outrageous.
Facing the night wind blowing in his face, Gu Yunzhen shuddered, but smiled. Instead, he felt very comfortable and refreshed.
It seemed as if the breath that had been held in my chest for a long time was suddenly cleared, my eyes suddenly became clear, and I felt refreshed all over.
The two sisters walked eastward hand in hand. Gu Yunzhen looked at the stars and the moon in the night sky and said, "Yan Fei, when I told Madam Tai that I would not marry, I was actually a little scared."
But she knew she was not alone.
She knew that even if her mother didn't stand on her side, her second sister would.
The silver moonlight poured down softly from the night sky, casting a faint halo on the two people and casting two long shadows on the ground.
Two graceful figures snuggled up to each other.
It feels good to know that there is someone who will stand by her side! "I like the second sister the best."
Gu Yunzhen leaned her face intimately on Gu Yanfei's shoulder, and smiles like stars spread in her eyes.
The girl under the moonlight has a pair of soft, curved eyebrows, like a wave cutting through the clear water. When she smiles, her eyes are graceful and soft.
Gu Yanfei also smiled, with the same bright light in his eyes, which was instantly full of brilliance, and an indescribable joy surged in his heart.
Her elder sister should have been like this, gorgeous and elegant, like a bright camellia blooming in the cold wind, instead of withering prematurely just after the flowering period like in her previous life.
Gu Yanfei's heart was filled with ripples. He took Gu Yunzhen's arm and said excitedly, "Big sister, let's not sleep anymore. Let's go drink!"
Huh?! Gu Yunzhen was still a little confused and looked at Gu Yanfei with a bewildered look on his face.
When did they talk about drinking?
"I got a jar of the best plum blossom wine from Qiongfangzhai a few days ago." Gu Yanfei said with a bit of playfulness, pride, and boasting, "It's a limited edition wine, there are only twenty jars in total."
"..."Gu Yun really couldn't drink. In fact, she was moved by Gu Yanfei's carefree and little fox-like appearance, and her heart softened.
Anyway, she has already gone so far today, so she might as well continue to go so far.
"Okay!" Gu Yunzhen nodded with a smile, "Let's go drink!"
The two sisters talked and laughed happily all the way, and soon returned to Yuheng Garden.
When the maids saw Gu Yanfei coming back, they hurried to inform Juanbi. After a while, Juanbi came running to greet him, smiling happily.
There is a warm pavilion in the backyard of Yuheng Garden. According to Gu Yuan, it was rebuilt by his father for his mother when his mother was still alive.
At Gu Yanfei's command, Juanbi and other maids took action, lit the stove in the warm pavilion, brought in a windproof screen and two high-backed chairs, and brought a small red clay stove and a basket of charcoal to heat the wine.
Plum blossom wine is not a strong liquor and has a very light taste. Gu Yanfei would not get drunk even if he drank a whole jar of such wine, but Gu Yunzhen's alcohol tolerance was obviously not that good.
After three glasses of wine, Gu Yunzhen's fair cheeks were flushed with peach blossoms, as if she had put on rouge, and her eyes were rippling with the sparkling water color, making her charming and attractive.
As soon as she was drunk, she began to recite poems, reciting those verses related to wine one by one, from "A pot of wine among the flowers", to "Laughing when meeting wine" ... and then to Emperor Taizu's "Asking the sky with wine".
Juanbi was read so much that she felt drowsy, but the first person to fall asleep was the drunk Gu Yunzhen. Gu Yunzhen fell down and fell asleep on the table in a daze.
Gu Yanfei didn't sleep, and his clear eyes after drinking seemed to be dotted with stars.
She smiled at Gu Yunzhen for a moment and said softly, "Don't worry, tomorrow's wedding won't be possible."
(End of this chapter)
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