Chapter 172 Farewell
"Drive away?" Gu Xixi shook her head and smiled, with honesty in her eyes.
"That is the path you should have taken, and it is also my blessing for you."
Having said all that could be said, Gu Xixi stood up and said, "Take your time eating. I'll go see Jinglan."
Mu Nanzhao watched her figure disappear behind the door curtain in silence.
"How can you be so sure that you and I will never go our separate ways?", "What if I can stay for you?"
Such words would only linger in his mind for a short time.
Because reason told him that the future was unclear and he couldn't guarantee that the promise would be fulfilled, so it was better not to make it out loud.
Gu Xixi was worried about He Jinglan, so she stood at the door and listened carefully, wondering whether to ask her to get up and eat something, or let her continue sleeping.
Just when he was in a dilemma, the door was suddenly opened from the inside.
He Jinglan stood there, her eyes clear and her hair neatly tied, it was obvious that she had not slept yet.
"Xixi? Why are you hanging around outside my door so late at night?"
Gu Xixi was helpless, "I should be the one asking you this question. The light in your room was off, and I thought you had gone to bed a long time ago."
She walked over and took a look. "Look at the dark circles under your eyes. How can you still endure from last night until now?"
He Jinglan was exposed, but she didn't try to hide it. She smiled and said, "I just turned off the lights, sat alone in the dark, and thought about something."
Gu Xixi looked at her, "Have you thought it through?"
He Jinglan nodded, smiling peacefully, "Well, I've thought it all through."
She changed the subject suddenly and asked, "I'm so hungry, is there anything to eat? Oh, and something to drink!"
"Yes..." Gu Xixi drew out the voice lovingly.
"I was afraid you would faint from hunger, so I was planning to ask you to get up and eat something before going back to sleep."
She shook her hands and walked towards the kitchen. "Come in and wait. I'll bring it to you."
In the kitchen, Mu Nanzhao had actually washed all the cooking utensils used by Gu Xixi.
Facing Gu Xixi's incredulous expression, he said calmly, "I've seen Aunt Zhang do this before. Even though it's my first time doing this, I should be able to do better than ordinary people."
Gu Xixi thought to herself: How immodest.
But when she saw the shiny iron pot and the spotless stove, she couldn't help but admire it.
Before Gu Xixi left, this area was still covered with stains of batter, and it was a horrible sight.
She was wondering how long it would take to clean up tonight.
As a result, Mu Nanzhao only needed a short while to finish it.
Gu Xixi said sincerely, "Thank you. This way, I can go back to sleep after having dinner with Jinglan."
Mu Nanzhao walked to the door, turned his back to her and said, "No need to thank me. I ate the meal you cooked, so it's only natural for me to finish it."
After Mu Nanzhao went out, Gu Xixi heard He Jinglan talking to him in the yard.
"I'm going home tomorrow morning. Do you have anything to say?"
It was a brief period of calm before the war, and these few days were relatively safe.
He Jinglan also brought a few shadow guards with her on this trip to the northwest, but she left them all in the nearest town.
If she was in a hurry to return to the capital, now was the best time.
So Mu Nanzhao did not object, "It's better to go back early. The war is imminent. Once the full-scale fighting starts, I don't know when I can leave."
He Jinglan smiled and said, "Are you worried about Xixi's safety?"
"She has me. As long as she agrees to go with me, I will take her back to Huachidu Village."
She paused, then continued, "But before we go, can you do me a favor?"
The omelet is still warm in the bowl. Just boil water on a small stove and make a pot of hot honey water.
While Gu Xixi was fanning the stove, she was listening to the noise outside.
After a while, Mu Nanzhao understood and said, "You want to visit Meng Chengping?"
He Jinglan hummed, "He took good care of me during my time in the northwest."
"Now that he's injured, I should go visit him before I leave."
Her tone was bright, completely devoid of the anger or confusion she had before.
Mu Nanzhao said, "It's not easy for a woman to join the military camp."
He Jinglan chuckled, "I know you have a way."
"Don't worry, I will only say a few words and will not stay any longer. Just go in before dawn and come out before daybreak."
After a moment, Mu Nanzhao agreed, "Okay, I'll find a way, don't oversleep by yourself."
Following the sound of Mu Nanzhao's footsteps towards the other end of the courtyard, He Jinglan shouted crisply, "Thank you!"
Gu Xixi went out with the tray and took a quick look around. Mu Nanzhao should have gone back to his room.
He Jinglan raised her chin and whispered, "Let's go inside and talk!"
She was really hungry, so she sat down and didn't rush to talk. She grabbed the omelet and started eating.
Gu Xixi poured the honey water into a bowl and stirred it gently with a small spoon.
He Jinglan ate the first pancake in big mouthfuls, and her hunger was finally relieved.
She was just feeling dry mouth when Gu Xixi handed her some honey water.
"I know you like osmanthus, so I soaked a few dried osmanthus flowers in it. Now they are warm and just right for drinking."
He Jinglan looked at Gu Xixi with emotion, pretending to cry, "Xixi, why are you so good! You always seem to understand what I think and what I want!"
Gu Xixi smiled and sighed, "Drink it quickly, or I'm afraid another one will faint."
"Again?" He Jinglan was puzzled for a moment, looked towards the window, and burst out laughing.
"You said Mu Nanzhao fainted from hunger? When did it happen?"
"No wonder you cooked in the middle of the night. Did he beg you to give him food in a weak way?"
Gu Xixi put her index finger on her lips and said, "Shh..."
"You know he is very stubborn. Just pretend you didn't hear anything about this. I saw it, but I will forget it after I wake up from sleep."
He Jinglan naturally knew Mu Nanzhao's personality.
She covered her mouth and laughed a few more times before she managed to stop. "I was wondering why he would go out in his underwear when he likes to be so neat."
"I guess he was so hungry in the middle of the night that he sneaked into the kitchen to look for something to eat. He accidentally fainted from hunger and you saw him."
Gu Xixi waited until she had laughed enough and asked, "I heard you tell him that you're leaving tomorrow morning?"
"Yes." He Jinglan faced Gu Xixi and held her hands with both.
"I have no reason to delay this time."
"Xixi, in a few days this place will be even more unstable than what we have experienced before, so please come with my convoy."
Gu Xixi hesitated, "This..."
To say that she had completed all the tasks of this trip, she had even exceeded the target of building a dependents village.
He Jinglan continued to persuade, "I'm leaving. I'm really worried about you staying here alone."
"If a real fight breaks out, it would be good enough if Mu Nanzhao can take care of himself, so I still want to send you home in person."
Gu Xixi pondered and said, "Okay, I've been out for so long, if I don't go back, Aunt Zhang will beat me up."
He Jinglan was very happy, "That's good!"
Gu Xixi saw that her expression was very different from that during the day, so she asked tentatively, "Have you thought about General Meng as well?"
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