Chapter 469 Little Fanboy (Second Update)
In the west room, Xiao Heng was cleaning up the mess Xiao Jingkong had made. Ever since he heard that he had an even bigger surprise for Gu Jiao, the little guy was convinced that his surprise was hidden in the room.
The little guy rummages through drawers and cabinets, but then doesn't know how to put things back.
We've talked to the little guy about this problem several times, and of course he always agrees verbally but forgets about it as soon as he turns around. Or maybe he doesn't forget, but he cleans up as if he didn't clean up at all.
He or Gu Jiao always had to clean it up again.
Xiao Heng was focused on tidying up and was unaware that Lord Gu had come to his house, nor that he had been bullied by his own chickens.
"Brother-in-law."
A soft call suddenly came from the doorway, tinged with a hint of caution and a touch of joy.
Xiao Heng had just picked up Xiao Jingkong's golden abacus when he heard this, so he turned around and looked at him, saying, "Oh, it's A-Yan. What's wrong?"
There were no classes at Qinghe Academy today. Gu Xiaoshun went to Master Lu and Master Nanxiang's house, while Gu Yan stayed behind, saying he wasn't feeling well.
Gu Yan stood at the door with his hands behind his back, looking a little reserved.
This is the first time Gu Yan has shown this kind of... well, Xiao Heng wanted to say shy, but he felt that Gu Yan wouldn't be so thin-skinned.
Besides, what is there to be ashamed of about him?
It's not like we just met yesterday.
"Um...may I come in?" Gu Yan asked.
Even the way they asked questions became cautious.
Isn't this a rather drastic change in attitude?
Xiao Heng gave Gu Yan a strange look and said, "It's nothing, come in. Is there any homework you can't do?"
Of the three little men in the family, Xiao Heng interacts the most with Xiao Jingkong. Firstly, they sleep in the same room; secondly, Xiao Jingkong talks more; and thirdly, Xiao Jingkong has the most homework and tutoring.
He had relatively little interaction with Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun; basically, the two of them came over at this time just to ask about their studies.
Gu Yan's answer surprised Xiao Heng. He shook his head and said, "I have something I want to show my brother-in-law."
"What?" Xiao Heng asked.
Gu Yan approached Xiao Heng, hesitated for a moment, then took out his fist hidden behind his back, revealing a smooth and warm jade thumb ring.
If Gu Jiao were here, she would definitely recognize that this was the jade thumb ring that she accidentally slipped into her sleeve when she first tried to save Gu Yan.
Gu Yan once cherished this jade thumb ring very much, and no one was allowed to touch it. Once, Gu Jinyu accidentally touched it, and Gu Yan got very angry.
Gu Jiao is special; if Gu Jiao touches him, it's the same as him touching her, and Gu Yan doesn't mind.
Xiao Heng looked at the jade thumb ring in his palm, not knowing what it meant.
Gu Yan took in his expression, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes. She lowered her gaze and said resentfully, "You really don't remember."
“I remember it was your jade thumb ring,” Xiao Heng said, unsure if he was right.
Gu Yan said sullenly, "No, it's yours."
"Mine?" Xiao Heng asked in surprise.
This sentence can have two meanings: one is that it originally belonged to him, and the other is that Gu Yan intended to give the jade thumb ring to him.
Based on Gu Yan's series of changes in demeanor after entering the room, Xiao Heng felt it was unlikely to be the second possibility.
Otherwise, Gu Yan wouldn't have said, "You really don't remember."
"Was it a gift for you?" Xiao Heng asked, then paused and added, "When you were little?"
After becoming Xiao Liulang, he did not remember giving Gu Yan any jewelry, so it must have been before he and Gu Yan left the capital.
If he remembers correctly, Gu Yan went to the hot spring resort in Youzhou when he was four years old.
“It was before I went to the hot spring resort,” Gu Yan said dejectedly. “My older brother at home wouldn’t play with me, so I ran away from the mansion by myself.”
He slipped out of the mansion by crawling through a dog hole, having shaken off the servants.
This way of leaving the manor was a bit embarrassing, so Gu Yan automatically skipped over it.
"I got lost, and then I met you."
He felt lost at the time, but now that he thinks about it, he wasn't really lost at all; he didn't even wander out of the back alley of the Marquis of Ding'an's residence.
Xiao Heng pointed to the jade thumb ring in his palm: "And then, I gave you this?"
Gu Yan shook her head and whispered, "You didn't give it to me, but I wanted it."
Xiao Heng: "..."
I can't believe you used to ask strangers for things when you were a child.
Gu Yan: "I ran away from the manor and couldn't find my way back, so I cried loudly. You happened to pass by and had the servants stop the carriage. You said, 'That child is cute, take him back and make him my little brother.'"
Xiao Heng: No, isn't this your exposing my past misdeeds? How did it become my dark history?
I don't have a penchant for kidnapping children, don't talk nonsense!
Xiao Heng coughed lightly: "I was probably just joking, wasn't I?"
Gu Yan continued in a muffled voice, "Then your servants took me away."
Xiao Heng: "..."
Xiao Heng said awkwardly, "You must have been very scared back then, right?"
Gu Yan shook his head: "No, I was quite happy, but you regretted it after a while, saying I wasn't fun, and sent me back."
Xiao Heng: "..."
Xiao Heng had absolutely no recollection of this matter.
Xiao Heng was only seven years old that year. Although he was old enough to remember things, taking Gu Yan away was just a whim and he didn't really take it to heart.
He sees so many people every day, how could he possibly remember a child he only played with for a short while?
Gu Yan was different. He was frail from childhood, and Yao Shi and Lord Gu raised him very carefully, never allowing him to leave the mansion. He had seen very few children.
Xiao Heng gave him candy, toys, and even a beautiful jade thumb ring, so he naturally remembered the other person well.
However, after so many years, his little brain could no longer retain the other person's appearance and features; he only remembered that his name was Xiao Heng and that he was the young marquis of Zhaodu.
This was thanks to Xiao Heng's fame; he often heard about him from the servants, which indirectly helped him review his past memories.
Xiao Heng had no idea that he and Gu Yan had such a past. Even though he didn't believe in fate, he couldn't help but marvel at how wonderful fate truly was.
Their conversation was interrupted by the commotion coming from the courtyard. When they opened the window, they saw that Lord Gu had arrived and was having a fight with their dog, seven chickens, and a gyrfalcon.
Lord Gu was a martial artist, so he shouldn't be unable to kill a dog and a few chickens. However, the dog was his son's pet, and the chickens were poultry that Madam Yao fed every day. He didn't care much about the bird, but unfortunately, the bird was too good at flying, and he couldn't catch it...
Xiao Heng and Gu Yan went to the courtyard and stopped the chaos. By then, Lord Gu was covered in chicken feathers!
Lord Gu was so angry that he wished he could kill those wretched chickens!
Especially the smallest one!
There were several clumps of chicken poop on him!
Looking at his father's disheveled appearance, Gu Yan suddenly couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Lord Gu: "..."
You brat, do you still remember that I'm your real father?
Gu Yan's laughter continued until Yao returned. Yao was due to give birth next month, and Gu Jiao had calculated her due date to be the first day of next month, which was about half a month away.
Her limbs were slightly swollen, making it seem like she had some difficulty moving around.
Lord Gu immediately forgot about Gu Yan and came over to help her up: "Why did you go out again? How was Granny Fang keeping an eye on you? Be careful!"
The way Yao stepped over the threshold really startled him.
Is this how a pregnant woman walks?! Back in the day, the young Ling family wouldn't have dared to do this!
In fact, Yao herself felt that this pregnancy was easier than her first. If she weren't older, it would have been much easier.
She had seen pregnant peasant women working in the fields in the village. Compared to them, she was quite delicate. However, compared to the ladies and mistresses of wealthy families, she was still more robust.
"My lord, what happened to you?" Madam Yao looked at him in astonishment.
The old lord couldn't very well admit that he had been bullied by a few chickens; he couldn't be so humiliated in front of his wife. So he coughed lightly and said, "It's nothing. The chickens ran away, and I caught them."
Yao said, "I released them so they could catch insects in the preserved radish."
Other people's chickens occasionally eat vegetable leaves, but theirs don't; they only eat insects and are very well-behaved.
Lord Gu said awkwardly, "Then, then I'll release you in a bit."
Madam Yao glanced at her own small preserved vegetables and said, "No need. We've caught enough for today. My lord, you should go and change your clothes."
Lord Gu went to the carriage to change into spare clothes, and then went to the backyard to talk to Madam Yao.
He came today for two reasons: first, to visit Madam Yao, and second, to announce some good news to her: "Our son-in-law has been promoted."
Madam Yao's eyes lit up, and she subconsciously turned to look at Xiao Heng, who was chopping wood with Gu Yan at the kitchen door: "Sixth Brother, have you been promoted?"
Xiao Heng received the document in the afternoon and hadn't had time to tell his family yet.
"Brother-in-law, you got promoted?" Gu Yan looked at Xiao Heng excitedly.
"Hmm." Xiao Heng nodded, holding the wood-chopping knife.
"What official position? What official position?" Gu Yan's little fanboy asked eagerly.
"A reader in the Hanlin Academy," Xiao Heng said.
"Ha." Lord Gu laughed disdainfully, "What great official position do I hold? I'm just a Hanlin Academy Reader. Prince An, on the other hand, is about to enter the cabinet as a Grand Secretary."
(End of this chapter)
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