"I'll toast to everyone!" She generously toasted all of Gu Yuan's friends one by one.
Only she herself knew that these glasses of wine were for the friendship from the previous life.
"Sister, you have a really good alcohol tolerance!" Fan Beiran gave Gu Yanfei a thumbs up.
"That's right! Don't you see whose sister Yan Fei is!" Another young man in blue patted Gu Yuan's shoulder vigorously and praised both the brother and sister in one sentence.
He smiled with a drooling face and said, "Sister Yan Fei, can you help me? My wife is about to give birth to her first child. Can you write a talisman for a smooth birth?"
"Fei Liu!" Gu Yuan slapped the blue-clothed young man on the arm, loud and clear, "You are about to be a father, but you are still so unreliable. My sister hasn't even married yet!"
When Gu Yuan said this, he deliberately put a little coldness in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes, thinking that Fei Liu was a guy who deserved a beating.
"A Yuan, beat him up, don't be polite!" Lu Si instigated.
Master Fei Liu turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to her, and winked at Gu Yanfei in a flattering way, "Sister Yanfei, for the sake of my kindness as a husband and a loving father, please help me."
"You don't know, I've seen your sister-in-law's belly getting bigger and bigger these past few days, and I can't eat or sleep well!"
At the end, he deliberately glanced at Lu Si, Fan Beiran and the others, and added in a provocative tone: "These...you guys who have never been fathers, you won't know!"
As Mr. Fei Liu wished, he was besieged by Fan Beiran and Lu Si.
Looking at the few people playing around, Gu Yanfei couldn't help but laugh, "No need for the talisman."
As she spoke, she pulled out a jade pendant the size of a copper coin from her sleeve, strung together with a red string and tied with a pipa knot.
"Take it." Gu Yanfei placed the peace locket in the palm of Mr. Fei Liu and warned, "After the baby is born, just hang this peace locket on the swaddling clothes. He will have a small disaster three days after birth, but it will be safe and sound, and he will have a smooth life from now on."
"Sister Yan Fei, I appreciate your good wishes." Young Master Fei Liu's eyes lit up and he eagerly took the peace locket. He first put it in his sleeve pocket, but then he felt uneasy and quickly put the peace locket back into his arms.
After carefully putting away the peace locket, Master Fei Liu thought about what Gu Yanfei had just said and said hurriedly, "Three days after birth? That would be the day of the third day of birth."
"Sister Yan Fei, how about asking your elder brother to bring you to my house to see your little nephew on the day of your third birthday? ... Ouch!"
Young Master Fei Liu stared at Gu Yanfei eagerly and ended his words with a cry of pain.
Lu Si rudely slapped Mr. Fei Liu on the back of his head and said unhappily, "How do you know it's a nephew and not a niece?"
"That's right!" Young Master Fei Liu's expression straightened up, and he admitted his mistake very quickly, "Sister Yan Fei, my wife is pretty, with an oval face and cherry lips. My daughter must be a beauty too. You will definitely like this little niece."
Young Master Fei Liu spoke eloquently, with an air of self-praising like Wang Po selling melons.
"Okay, I'll definitely go on the third day of the baby's bath." Gu Yanfei agreed readily, her laughter as clear as a bell, which made Master Fei Liu so happy that he quickly and attentively offered her a glass of wine.
Fan Beiran, Lu Si and the others were dazzled by what Mr. Fei Liu just said and exchanged glances with each other.
Fan Beiran picked up the wine pot and added wine to Master Fei Liu's cup, and said with a smile: "Fei Liu, among the few of us, you are the only one who is married and will soon become a father. Just for these two reasons, you must punish yourself by drinking three cups today."
"Why do you want me to drink three cups?" Master Fei Liu refused to give in. He pointed at them and said, "I'm already nineteen, older than all of you. It's only natural that I get married first, isn't it?"
Lu Si said sourly: "Oh, who told you to have a beautiful daughter soon!!"
The other young masters laughed so hard that they fell backwards and laughed so much that the melodious sound of the pipa was almost completely drowned out.
Master Fei Liu held it in for a while, but he couldn't help but burst out laughing, slapping the table and saying, "That's right, for my daughter's sake, I have to drink."
Everyone was laughing and joking, eating and drinking, but in fact, it was just a pretext for having fun.
After Gu Yanfei left, these young masters drank even harder. Fan Beiran was fined three cups because he arrived the latest today; Lu Si was also fined three cups because he failed in the game of pitching a pot.
After a while, several people's faces were stained with a little bit of alcohol, their cheeks were slightly red, their eyes were bright, and they looked a little tipsy.
The wine was in high spirits, and the sound of the pipa became increasingly urgent, like a waterfall falling rapidly, or like thousands of horses galloping...
"Wow! Wow..."
I don't know from which direction, but suddenly there was a burst of thoughtful crying sound, which came into the water pavilion through the open window. It was not very clear amid the melodious sound of the pipa. The crying only lasted twice and then stopped abruptly.
"Huh?" Lu Si's ears moved, and he looked at Fan Beiran, Master Fei Liu and others.
Is this the sound of a baby crying? Fan Beiran looked at Gu Yuan, squinting his eyes and staring at him, staring at him, staring at him...
After a while, he suggested excitedly: "A Yuan, I heard from Jiao Niang that your sister has a very cute cat. How about I bring my lion cat to breed with it?"
"The kittens they give birth to will surely be as beautiful as fairies!"
"Get lost!" Gu Yuan spat out a word and kicked Fan Beiran casually, "My Qingguang is still young!"
However, he didn't kick Fan Beiran's person, but the chair under Fan Beiran's butt.
The rosewood chair made a clattering sound and jumped when Gu Yuan kicked it. Fan Beiran was afraid that he would fall, so he quickly jumped up and said with a smile, "I'm going to play pitch pot!"
This scene made everyone present burst into laughter.
The "dong dong" sound of pitching pots came one after another.
The baby-crying sound never came again, and these young masters just thought it was the sound of a cat or the wind, and no one paid any attention to it.
After playing several rounds of pot-to-pot, Lu Si was the first to admit defeat: "I don't want to play anymore, I'm the only one drinking the penalty drink!"
"If you have the guts, let's play... play..." Lu Si racked his brains for a while, "Let's play Chui Wan!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wutong trotted into the water pavilion, walked quickly to Gu Yuan's side, and said, "Master, Master Yue Wu is here..."
"Didn't Yue Jun say he couldn't come today?" Fan Beiran interrupted Wu Tong, "Haha, then Yue Jun will be the last one to arrive today, so he has to drink three... No, six cups!"
Lu Siqi and the others started to make a fuss as if they were afraid that the world would not be in chaos.
Wutong looked strange, and quickly added: "Young Master, the Second Young Master is here too. He said he happened to run into Master Yue Wu outside, so he came over to congratulate you."
The second young master that Wutong was referring to was naturally Gu Jian’s legitimate son, Gu Xiao.
If Yue Jun hadn't been here today, Wutong would have stopped Gu Xiao, the uninvited guest, long ago.
The originally lively atmosphere in the water pavilion suddenly froze, with only the rapid sound of the pipa continuing.
All the young masters present knew that the relationship between Gu Yuan and his second uncle was very strained, and the separation of the family even alarmed the emperor. Gu Xiao probably knew that it was difficult to get in, so he just took advantage of Yue Jun and got in.
Gu Yuan said calmly: "If he wants to come, let him come."
Wutong heaved a sigh of relief and stepped back to greet the guest.
Lu Si cleared his throat and said with a smile, "Ah Yuan, come to think of it, I haven't seen your second brother for quite a while. Is that little brat still crying?"
"He stopped crying, but he was still a bit cowardly," Fan Beiran interrupted while drinking. "I saw him a few days ago, and someone slapped him in the face, but he actually endured it."
"Instead of enduring it, it's better to just cry and throw a tantrum!" Someone commented.
Gu Yuan made no comment, and everyone continued to play finger-guessing games, drink, and have fun.
After a while, Yue Jun and Gu Xiao came over here in big strides under the guidance of Wutong.
Yue Jun was wearing a black robe with a pattern of five bats holding a longevity flower. He was tall and straight, with a clear expression and broad eyes.
In comparison, Gu Xiao, who was two steps behind him, was only as tall as Yue Jun's shoulders. He looked gentle and thin. He was wearing a blue robe with cloud patterns. At first glance, he was also a graceful young man.
"I'm late." Yue Jun said loudly, quite self-consciously, and started to drink the penalty wine without saying a word.
Gu Xiao, who was two steps behind, also walked up to Gu Yuan and bowed politely: "Big Brother."
"I heard that big brother will be transferred to Jinwu Guard soon, so I came here specially to congratulate you." Gu Xiao said, and also presented a gift.
Nearly a month after the separation, Gu Xiao seemed to have become a little more stable. His manners, words and deeds were impeccable, but there was still a hint of disharmony and awkwardness in his expression.
"That's thoughtful." Gu Yuan's voice was very indifferent. He didn't even look at the gift from Gu Xiao and handed it directly to Wutong.
Fearing that Gu Yuan's next words would be an order to expel him, Gu Xiao quickly sat down beside him. At the same time, he bowed to Fan Beiran and the others, treating everyone politely.
"Second Brother Fan, I saw you in Tianyin Pavilion the day before yesterday. Unfortunately, you left too fast and I didn't have time to call you." Gu Xiao spoke to Fan Beiran with a smile on his face.
"Really?" Fan Beiran raised his eyebrows, feeling very surprised: Gu Xiao had always been a bit arrogant in the past, thinking that he was the future prince of Dingyuan Marquis, so he wanted others to flatter and respect him, and never bothered to condescend to him.
Gu Xiao smiled and said, "If Second Brother Fan likes to watch a play, we can go to Tianyin Pavilion together next time. I will invite Second Brother Fan to watch a play together..."
He spoke enthusiastically, but Fan Beiran, who had known him for more than ten years, inexplicably felt a strange feeling of hair standing on end, and could not help but wonder: Did Gu Xiao take the wrong medicine, or was his father too greatly hit by being stripped of his title?
Fan Beiran was distracted accidentally, and Gu Xiao's subsequent words went in one ear and out the other, until Gu Xiao repeatedly called him "Second Brother Fan" twice, he came to his senses and raised his eyebrows.
Gu Xiao's expression froze for a moment, but he soon forced a smile and pointed outside the window and said, "I seemed to hear a baby crying. Did you hear it?"
Baby?
When the water pavilion became quiet, everyone listened attentively. Faintly, they seemed to hear some crying sounds in the wind, intermittently.
Fan Beiran, Lu Si and others looked at each other.
"I know!" Gu Xiao clapped his hands and laughed, "Could it be that Big Brother has a bastard?"
"Brother, why didn't you tell me about this happy event earlier?"
For a family like theirs, having a bastard son before the son gets married is not something to be proud of. Instead, it is a scandal. Once it gets out, families with strict rules will never marry their daughters to such an unruly family.
Gu Xiao took a sip of the wine slowly and leisurely, raising the corner of his lips, waiting for his cousin to change his expression, waiting for Gu Yuan to show embarrassment on his face.
He never liked his eldest cousin. When his uncle was alive, Gu Yuan was a child of destiny, and he was just out of reach for him. Everyone asked him to learn from his eldest cousin.
Later, his father inherited the title, and he became the future son of Marquis Dingyuan. He should have been the object of everyone's attention. However, young men from well-known families in the capital, such as Lu Si, Fan Beiran, and Yue Jun, still only interacted with Gu Yuan, the son of a traitor, and never took him seriously!
He didn't understand what was so good about Gu Yuan. Since he was the descendant of a criminal, he should have behaved himself and kept a low profile, but Gu Yuan always stole his limelight.
And now, the Marquis's Mansion has lost its title because of Gu Yuan, and he can no longer be the prince! Thinking of this, Gu Xiao's eyes gradually became gloomy. Although he seemed to be smiling, his right hand holding the wine glass was tense.
He has tolerated Gu Yuan for a long time.
Facing Gu Xiao's provocative gaze, Gu Yuan smiled, his laughter clear as the pine wind, his slender fingers casually playing with the small white porcelain wine glass, calling him by name: "Gu Xiao, didn't you forget to take your medicine before you went out today?"
“……”Gu Xiao was stunned.
Before he could react, Fan Beiran, Lu Si and others had already burst into laughter with great joy, and Lu Si laughed so hard that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Gu Xiao was a beat slow to realize that Gu Yuan was saying that he was sick.
The boy's face gradually turned red.
Lu seemed to add fuel to the fire and jokingly said, "Gu Xiao, since you are sick, you can't stop taking this medicine."
"Yes, yes." Master Fei Liu nodded repeatedly, "Otherwise all our efforts will be wasted, and we might even get even sicker."
They spoke in a serious manner, as if Gu Xiao was really sick and they were just giving advice out of kindness.
Fan Beiran sighed and said, "Gu Xiao, you are only fourteen, not forty? Your memory is so bad that you can't even remember what happened last year. You should take some medicine."
Gu Xiao: “…”
Lu Si added enviously, "A Yuan was in the southwest for most of last year. He was so far away from home and had a lot of free time. He's nothing like me!"
They all knew that Gu Yuan had gone to the southwest with the army in the first half of last year and was not in the capital at all. The military regulations were strict, so how could he have the time to give birth to a bastard son!
Fan Beiran also envied Gu Yuan, "I heard that the beauties in the southwest are particularly passionate and have exotic styles, which are different from the beauties in the capital..."
"I also went to the southwest three years ago..." Mr. Fei Liu said with some nostalgia, and then he laughed and joked, "The southwest is a damn place. It's okay to stay there for a month, but half a year is simply hell on earth!"
"Ayuan, you have worked so hard!" Another young man felt the same way and patted Gu Yuan's shoulder sympathetically.
Everyone was talking and laughing.
Gu Xiao's eyes twitched and he almost crushed the wine glass in his hand.
After a moment of silence, he took two deep breaths and tried to bring the topic back to the topic: "I was just joking just now, but, Brother Fan, Brother Fei, Brother Lu, did you really not hear the baby crying?"
"I heard the crying sound seemed to be nearby..."
He put down the wine glass in his hand and said to Gu Yuan in a serious tone: "Brother, in my opinion, it is better to investigate this matter to prevent any scoundrels from sneaking into the mansion. The eldest sister and the second sister are still in the mansion and have not yet married..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but none of the young masters present were fools, and they all understood what Gu Xiao had not finished saying.
This kid is not "sick", he is "crazy".
He was looking for trouble and had nothing to do with Gu Yuan, so he threw dirty water on his cousins. Was it because he hadn't been beaten for too long? ! Fan Beiran and the others looked at Gu Xiao with difficulty.
“That’s enough!” Gu Yuan’s face suddenly hardened, as if covered with a layer of frost, and he coldly shouted at Gu Xiao, “Gu Xiao, if you can’t speak, you don’t have to say anything!”
As he spoke, a cold and sharp murderous aura overwhelmingly pressed towards Gu Xiao, and Gu Xiao shivered involuntarily.
Gu Yuan ordered Wutong, "Send him out."
"..." Gu Xiao's face turned dark and gloomy. He never expected that Gu Yuan would be so ruthless and embarrass him in front of these noble young men from the capital.
"Who dares!" Gu Xiao was so angry that veins popped out on his forehead. He slapped the wine table and shouted almost hysterically.
He held his chest high and didn't believe anyone would dare to drive him away!
Gu Xiao completely forgot that things were different now and this place was no longer the "Dingyuan Marquis Mansion" of a month ago.
Although Gu Xiao was not appointed as the crown prince in the past, he was the only legitimate son of Marquis Gu Jian. Everyone in the mansion felt that this was a matter of time, and the servants were all very respectful to him, far more respectful than Gu Yuan.
And now, this mansion still belongs to the Gu family, but it is no longer controlled by the second branch.
The house returned to the hands of the eldest son's family, and now the owner of the mansion is Gu Yuan.
At Gu Yuan's command, several guards from the Gu Mansion immediately came over, looked down at Gu Xiao, and stretched out their hands as if to ask for permission.
"Second Young Master, please." The captain of the guards said politely, reminding Gu Xiao with words that he was no longer the second young master of this mansion, and that the mansion had been divided into two families.
"..." Gu Xiao almost said "outrageous", but finally bit the two words on the tip of his tongue.
Gu Xiao's face turned even worse, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, and he stared at Gu Yuan unhappily.
The chief guard urged again: "Please."
"Ha!" Gu Xiao laughed, his thin lips tilted crookedly.
There was undisguised malice in this smile.
"Let's go!" Gu Xiao stood up, waved his sleeves and walked away, gave Gu Yuan a sinister look, and strode away with his head held high.
Even after Gu Xiao walked out of the small garden, he could still hear laughter coming from the direction of the water pavilion behind him.
Obviously, they were not affected at all by Gu Xiao's coming or going. They ate, drank, played, and cheered as usual...
Gu Xiao gritted his teeth hard, paused for a moment, and then continued walking forward at full speed. Under the escort of several Gu Mansion guards, he went out of the west corner gate of the mansion.
“Boom!”
The corner door slammed shut, causing Gu Xiao's heart to tremble slightly.
This was clearly his home, but it was taken away by his elder brother Gu Yuan, and he was driven out. He was turned away.
The muscles on Gu Xiao's face were tense, and there was a hint of frustration in his angry expression. He gritted his teeth and his eyes were fierce.
He got on his own carriage and told the driver, "Go to the Northern Pacification Office."
The driver was stunned and his expression changed slightly, but he still agreed.
The whip was cracked and the carriage sped away, heading all the way to one of the most feared places in the capital.
The plaque of "Beizhenfusi" is hung high on the gate. Just looking at it makes people feel a chill down their spine. This place is like the gate of hell. Outside the gate is the human world, and inside the gate are the eighteen levels of hell.
As soon as the two Jinyiwei guarding the gate saw Gu Xiao, they drew their swords and stopped him.
"The Northern Pacification Division is an important place, not everyone can trespass!" One of the square-faced Jinyiwei looked down at Gu Xiao from the steps, his face expressionless and his eyes cold, as if he would pull the knife out of the sheath and make Gu Xiao bleed to death on the spot if they disagreed with him.
Gu Xiao took a deep breath, straightened his chest, mustered up his courage, and said loudly: "I'm here to report it!"
"Gu Yuan, the son of the former Dingyuan Marquis Gu Ce, is harboring a wanted criminal of the imperial court!"
His voice was quite loud, and he hoped that people inside and on the street could hear it.
The Jinyiwei naturally knew who Gu Yuan was, and they also knew that Gu Yuan had just been ordered by the eldest prince to be transferred from the Luanyiwei to the Jinwuwei, and would take up his post early tomorrow morning.
It was obvious that the eldest prince wanted to entrust Gu Yuan with an important task.
The square-faced Jinyiwei's eyes flashed, but he still kept a straight face and asked indifferently, "Who is hiding?"
"The remnants of the Yu family."
Gu Xiao said these four words with great force.
(End of this chapter)
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