Chapter 128 Showing Off (First Update)
When Yao lifted the cloth covering the birdcage, she found a fledgling eagle inside.
When Yao asked Xiao Jingkong how he knew that older brother, Xiao Jingkong recounted his rescue experience: "...I went to rescue Xiao Qi and was almost hit by the carriage, but the older brother saved me! The older brother is so amazing!"
As he spoke, his eyes were filled with admiration for Gu Changqing.
Yao and Gu Changqing had not lived together for ten years. Her impression of Gu Changqing was still from before he was eleven years old. At that time, Gu Changqing believed someone's slander and firmly believed that Yao had killed his mother.
Gu Changqing was desperate to oppose Yao Shi, and his eyes were full of resentment when he looked at her.
He wasn't good to Gu Yan either.
Gu Yan didn't understand at first and often went to see her three older brothers, but she always came back with bruises all over her body.
Whenever Lord Gu found out, he would beat his three sons severely, but after the beating, someone would complain to the old lady, and it was Yao Shi and Gu Yan who would suffer the loss.
Madam Yao knew that Gu Changqing had never physically assaulted Gu Yan, but he also hadn't rescued Gu Yan from his two younger brothers' clutches like he had rescued Xiao Jingkong.
Yao felt a pang of bitterness. She could be kind to strangers, so why couldn't she be kind to Gu Yan?
Well, ten years have passed, and she has long since let it go.
Gu Yan has Jiao Jiao, and he lives very well with her. He doesn't have to go back to the mansion to see anyone's face, nor does he have to suffer any unnecessary harm.
"Big brother is a good person!" Xiao Jingkong said, hugging the birdcage.
Yao smiled bitterly and remained silent.
Gu Changqing is a soldier of Zhao Kingdom. He has the duty to protect the people of Zhao Kingdom. He is a good person to everyone, but he hates her and Yan'er so much that he wants to eat their flesh and drink their blood.
From Xiao Jingkong's words, Yao learned that Gu Jiao had also met Gu Changqing, but neither of them knew the other's identity.
Gu Changqing didn't see Gu Yan, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to guess each other's identities.
"Has my older brother only come once?" Yao asked.
"Hmm... that's twice, including today!" Xiao Jingkong said.
The first time was when I rescued Xiao Jingkong and took him home. This time, I was probably just passing by and thought Xiao Jingkong was cute, so I brought him a little bird.
What else?
Could it be that he came here specifically to celebrate Jiao Jiao's birthday?
He saved Jiao Jiao's brother, not the other way around.
Besides, who would give a fierce little chick as a gift to their daughter on her birthday?
That's right, Gu Changqing sent over a fledgling eagle.
It is also known as the gyrfalcon fledgling, which is said to be produced only once out of 100,000 divine birds.
Xiao Jingkong didn't know anything about eagles, he just thought the baby bird was huge: "Alright, from now on you'll be called Xiao Jiu!"
"Jiaojiao! Big brother just came by! He gave me a bird!"
Little Jingkong, carrying the birdcage, went to find Gu Jiao with a clattering sound.
The alley was bustling that day. Not long after Gu Changqing left, Wu Yang arrived.
He was sent by Prince An to deliver birthday gifts to Gu Jiao and Gu Yan.
Prince An's reason was perfectly legitimate: "My prince received an invitation from Marquis Gu and originally intended to personally visit to offer his congratulations. However, he has been unwell these past few days, so he asked me to deliver birthday gifts to Miss Gu and Young Master Gu."
Since it was Lord Gu who sent the invitation first, then Prince An's act of sending gifts is understandable.
But Madam Yao vaguely remembered that the invitation from Lord Gu mentioned the Marquis's residence. How did Prince An find his way here?
Gu Jiao asked, "How did your prince know we had come to the capital?"
Wu Yang smiled and said, "The Prince is also a student of the Imperial Academy. He has seen the roster of the Imperial Academy and knows that Young Master Xiao has also come to the Imperial Academy. It took him a bit of effort to find out that he is here."
Gu Jiao grunted and looked Wu Yang up and down: "You suddenly look familiar. Aren't you the little thief from that night?"
Wu Yang shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: "I'm not! I'm not!"
Good heavens, it's been so long, how do you still remember?
I almost got recognized!
When Prince An came to visit, Xiao Liulang was not at home. Xiao Liulang heard about it afterward. Xiao Liulang's gaze was fixed on Wu Yang. Wu Yang felt strange under his gaze and coughed lightly, saying, "Is Auntie here? I'll go and say hello to her."
A meaningful glint flashed in Xiao Liulang's eyes.
Wu Yang went to the backyard to see the old lady and gave her two boxes of exquisite and delicious osmanthus cakes.
The old lady was very pleased.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager was in good spirits, Wu Yang was secretly relieved.
In fact, Gu Jiao also sensed that Wu Yang was treating the old lady differently. It was strange when Prince An first came to visit. He kept saying that he came to apologize to her because of Zhuang Mengdie. But who would come from afar to apologize empty-handed? He only brought the apology gift the next day.
In fact, Prince An was not unaware of his own flaw, but at the time he had no better excuse. He could only pray that Gu Jiao was not so clever as to think of this flaw.
Gu Jiao always felt that the "assassination attempt" that night was also related to Prince An.
The more I look at this guy named Wu Yang, the more he resembles the man in black who shot the old lady with a cold arrow that night.
Gu Jiao was unaware that Wu Yang had missed his target and still thought they were there to kill the old lady.
Therefore, Gu Jiao was very wary of Wu Yang. When he went to see the old lady, Gu Jiao kept a close eye on him the whole time, so that Wu Yang couldn't even whisper a few words to the Empress Dowager!
Gu Jiao had Xiao Jingkong call her over once, but she returned quickly.
Wu Yang sighed and left dejectedly.
“Your Highness.” In another alley near the Imperial Academy, Wu Yang boarded a carriage and reported to Prince An.
"Did she like the gift?" Prince An asked.
Wu Yang was puzzled and asked, "Why doesn't the Prince personally deliver the gift to Miss Gu?"
Prince An sneered, "There are many people in the capital watching me. I have to be careful with my every move. If they find out about this place, the Empress Dowager will not be able to hide it anymore."
The family spent a fulfilling and happy day celebrating the twins' birthday.
It was nearly midnight when Madam Yao returned to her residence.
The household had been busy all day, and everyone was exhausted. The masters went to rest early, but the servants still had unfinished work to do, yawning as they worked.
When Yao entered the courtyard, she was surprised to find Gu Jinyu waiting for her in the room.
Madam Yao felt guilty for neglecting Jin Yu all day while celebrating the twins' birthdays.
She walked over, stroked a strand of hair at Gu Jinyu's temple, and asked, "I'm sorry, Mother is late."
She had originally planned to go back after lunch, but she was so reluctant to leave Jiaojiao and Yan'er that she stayed there for several more hours. If it weren't for Granny Fang's repeated reminders, she wouldn't have known that it was already so late.
Gu Jinyu's face showed no sign of grievance or anger; on the contrary, she was delighted: "Mother, do you know how many guests came today?"
"Huh?" Madam Yao was taken aback. Her daughter was waiting for her here in the middle of the night, not because she was upset that she was late, but because the banquet was so lively that she had been happy all this time.
Yao sat down beside her, suppressing her exhaustion, and said with a smile, "A lot of people have come?"
"Yes!" Gu Jinyu recited the names of the distinguished guests one by one as if they were old friends, and then emphasized the details of several of them: "...Lord Zheng from the Imperial Academy is also here! He is the Chief Instructor, who is also the next Chancellor of the Imperial Academy!"
"That's wonderful." Madam Yao nodded with a smile.
Gu Jinyu continued, "Although Prince An did not come to the manor in person, he still sent me a generous gift! Mother, look, these are all from him! There are so many gifts today, I could never use them all in my lifetime. My sister refused to return to the manor, so her birthday must have been very meager. Tomorrow I will select some valuable gifts to send to my sister."
Madam Yao thought to herself that it was unnecessary, but when she turned her head, she saw that the gift that Prince An had given to her daughter was indeed a valuable one, but it couldn't compare to the gift that Prince An had given to Jiao Jiao and her brother.
That's really unnecessary now.
Gu Jinyu continued to boast, "The Crown Princess also sent a birthday gift to my daughter!"
This was Gu Jinyu's most boast-worthy achievement, but Yao remembered something else.
While talking to the old lady, Wu Yang seemed to call out... "Empress Dowager".
He shouted a little softly, and the old lady couldn't hear him clearly. Yao happened to walk by and overheard it.
I must have misheard, right?
How could Liu Lang's aunt be the Empress Dowager?
The Empress Dowager not only personally made a purse for her daughter, but also personally combed her hair and gave her a coming-of-age ceremony. None of the princesses in the royal family received such treatment!
“I must be overthinking it,” Yao said, shaking her head.
"Mother, what did you say?" Gu Jinyu didn't hear clearly.
Yao came to her senses and said, "Oh, it's nothing. I meant that since these are gifts from guests, you should keep them safe."
Gu Jinyu insisted, "How can that be? I want to share it with my sister!"
Madam Yao was very tired. She patted her hand and said, "No need, you can keep it yourself. She doesn't have many rooms there, so she can't fit it all."
Gu Jinyu still really wanted to send it to Gu Jiao. She wanted Gu Jiao to know that even though she was a daughter she had brought home, she was still incredibly glamorous and no one could look down on her!
"Sigh." Thinking of something, Gu Jinyu sighed, "The only regret is that my elder brother was in the military camp all day and couldn't come back to attend my coming-of-age ceremony."
Madam Yao couldn't bear to tell her that her older brother had just gone to Jiao Jiao's house...
The Imperial Academy is not far from the Marquis of Ding'an's residence. If Gu Changqing were willing, he could definitely make it back to attend Gu Jinyu's coming-of-age ceremony.
This only shows that Gu Changqing has not truly accepted Gu Jinyu in his heart.
Madam Yao's impression of Gu Changqing was not good at all; he was a heartless person: "Don't go looking for your older brother unless you have to."
"What's wrong?" Gu Jinyu asked, puzzled.
Madam Yao held her hand and said earnestly, "Listen to your mother, your eldest brother will not accept us."
"Oh," Gu Jinyu replied, lowering her eyes.
She readily agreed, but the next morning, upon hearing that her elder brother had returned to the manor, she immediately went to wander around Gu Changqing's courtyard.
When Gu Changqing came out after finishing his sword practice and saw her, he asked in a cold voice, "What is it?"
"Um..." Gu Jinyu shyly and nervously took out a purse from behind her back, "Thank you for the birthday gift, brother. This is my return gift to you! I made it myself!"
The birthday gift was prepared by Aunt Ling, and Gu Changqing had long forgotten about it.
He didn't reach out to take it.
Gu Jinyu said in a low voice, "I know I'm not Father's biological son. I don't deserve to call you 'elder brother.' I stole the life that should have belonged to my sister. If I could, I would rather we hadn't been switched at birth. All the wealth and glory of the Marquis's mansion belongs to my sister. I shouldn't have taken her place!"
Gu Changqing harbored some resentment towards Gu Jinyu, but since she was not Yao's biological daughter, he had been blaming the wrong person all these years.
Gu Changqing took the purse: "You're so thoughtful."
My older brother actually accepted her gift!
Gu Jinyu was incredulous and incredibly excited!
"Is there anything else?" Gu Changqing asked.
"No, no! I'm going to pay my respects to Grandmother!" Gu Jinyu suppressed her excitement, bowed respectfully to Gu Changqing, and happily went to find Old Madam Gu.
The Imperial College held its examinations on October 27th, and on the 22nd, Feng Lin arrived in the capital.
He first went to the Imperial Academy to register, was assigned a dormitory, inquired about Xiao Liulang's address, and then rushed to find Xiao Liulang.
He didn't go alone; he was accompanied by an acquaintance.
The one who opened the door was Xiao Jingkong.
Xiao Jingkong looked at the people outside the door and exclaimed, "Brother Feng Lin! Brother Chengye!"
That's right, Lin Chengye is here too.
He was also a student of the Imperial College in this year's session.
However, Lin Chengye neither passed the imperial examination on his own nor was he recommended by the local county government to enter the imperial academy. He was specially admitted to the imperial academy because his family donated a building to it.
The two met on the way, and then Feng Lin and the Lin family's convoy entered Beijing together.
Upon hearing that Feng Lin was coming to see Xiao Liulang, Lin Chengye said he also wanted to pay a visit to his young mentor.
The two were very happy to see Xiao Jingkong.
Feng Lin shifted Xiao Jingkong's buzz cut: "You've grown taller in just a few days!"
Xiao Jingkong's face immediately darkened.
He clearly doesn't have any! He measures it every day!
Lin Chengye pinched his little face: "You've gotten fat."
Little Jingkong's face got even darker!
He's not fat!
He's not fat!
He doesn't grow horizontally!
The air quality was so bad it made kids grit their teeth; this generation of adults is really driving kids crazy!
(End of this chapter)
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