"Gu, Lord Gu!"
Mother Chen has always had a sharp eye. When she saw the man's head that suddenly appeared outside the window, she pointed at it and shouted.
Liu was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly looked out the window. Gu Yong's stern face appeared in front of her, with a half-smile on his face. He said to Liu: "Madam, is it lively here?"
He always called himself Madam, without even adding the word "Liu".
Although he saved her life, he had been like this for such a long time. Liu just regarded him as a scoundrel and naturally felt disgusted with him, but she was also afraid of him.
"Lord Gu, this is the backyard. You cannot come in without our master's permission." He said this bravely.
Gu Yong never expected that this dough-like woman could actually tell him to leave.
"If outsiders are not allowed to enter, then what about the person next to Madam?" Gu Yong asked back.
"This is my brother!" Liu said anxiously.
"Brother, I heard this gentleman's last name is Yang, right?"
Yang Xiucai also saw Gu Yong. Not to mention the silk and satin he was wearing, his demeanor was remarkable. He also saw that Chen Mama and Liu Shi called him Marquis. Scholars always knew the rules, so he politely greeted the Marquis and said, "I, Yang Zhengwen, greet the Marquis."
He is not younger than Gu Yong. Although he has achieved academic success, he is only a scholar, so naturally he can only be called a latecomer.
"I am the cousin of Aunt Liu from the Shen family."
Gu Yong said: "People with different surnames are cousins, and they can marry each other according to the laws of our dynasty."
Yang Xiucai became anxious when he heard it, "My Lord, please don't tarnish my cousin's reputation. I also have a wife and children. How can you--" Before he could finish his words, Li Biao beside Gu Yong suddenly pulled out a knife. The blade flashed with a cold light, and Yang Xiucai was so scared that he stepped back and almost fell.
"Uncle, be careful." Someone behind him helped him.
Yang Xiucai turned his head and saw that it was his niece Shen Qingqiu, "Thank you, thank you." After escaping from the knife edge, Yang Xiucai did not think twice about how a seven-year-old child could have the strength to help a grown man.
"Are you here to cause trouble?" Shen Qingqiu looked at Gu Yong and raised his eyelids.
Gu Yong saw her look and knew that if he nodded, they would probably become enemies. He just looked at Liu and said, "I thought that Madam and I had a life-long friendship, so we should not be considered outsiders, right?" A pedantic scholar made her look at him differently. Why was he, Gu Yong, so bad?
However, Liu lowered her head and didn't look at him; only the tip of her straight nose could be seen.
Gu Yong wanted to say something, but Shen Qingqiu said, "My mother is a concubine, so she should be careful in the courtyard." Then he looked at Gu Yong, "What on earth are you doing here? I haven't settled accounts with you for what happened a few days ago! Foster father!" Shen Qingqiu emphasized the word "foster father". Then he looked at his cousin and mother who were frightened.
Shen Qingqiu said: "Let's talk outside."
Gu Yong glanced at Liu, who didn't even look up, and followed Shen Qingqiu away.
——
Outside the Shen family's pavilion are clustered various flowers. It is summer now and the peonies are in full bloom.
Shen Qingqiu broke off a few and held them in his hands.
"Do you like flowers?" Gu Yong asked, thinking that she was similar to ordinary children in this respect.
Shen Qingqiu didn't answer, but just looked at Gu Yong, "Do you want to talk nonsense?"
Gu Yong knew that she was impatient, so he tapped his hand on the table lightly, and soon Li Biao brought a basin of something like water. Shen Qingqiu's nose moved slightly, and he knew that something had been added. Lin Biao put the water down, and Gu Yong motioned him to step back, and pointed at the red agate necklace hanging around Shen Qingqiu's neck.
Shen Qingqiu took it off and gave it to him, and Gu Yong put the agate string into the water.
It didn't take long for the color to change, from a very dark green to a bit of ink at the back.
"Some of the dirty tricks in the backyard are hard to detect. If you keep wearing this necklace for a long time, even gods can't save you."
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