Wei Shengxi carried the food box into the inner room, while Hua Yin turned his gaze to Gu Nanyan.
At this moment, Shen Bei'an was lounging on the chaise lounge, wearing a loose moon-colored nightgown. On the small table were jasmine green grape cheese mochi fries he had brought back from the auction, a fruit platter, and flower tea.
"Come in." Shen Bei'an said upon hearing the knock, his gaze deeply drawn to the dance scene in the holographic image.
"Fifth Master".
Upon hearing that noble and gentle voice, Shen Beian suddenly stood up and turned to look, "Ah... Young Master Xi."
Why is Wei Shengxi here?!
Wei Shengxi walked over in a few steps, placed the lunchbox on the small table, opened it, and took out the delicate lotus flower pastries inside. "I made some lotus flower pastries. I heard that Fifth Master likes them, so I brought some over and wanted Fifth Master to try them."
"It just so happens that Senior Hua Yin had some business with Zi Yan, so I came along with him."
"Senior Hua Yin was talking to Zi Yan outside, so I came over. I hope Fifth Master won't find it offensive."
Wei Shengxi's clear and cool voice reached Shen Bei'an's ears, and it was even more pleasant than the harmonious music in the holographic image.
"No, no, I can't." Shen Bei'an quickly stood up. "Sit down."
“I’m watching the dance performance by ‘Listen to the Wind’. Would you like to join me, Young Master Xi?” Shen Bei’an offered.
"It's my pleasure." Wei Shengxi nodded and sat down with a smile.
Shen Bei'an turned his head and saw the lotus flower pastry that Wei Shengxi had brought. It's no exaggeration to say that it was just as good as the pastry from Su Shan Dessert Shop.
"I ate?" Shen Bei'an didn't mean to treat Wei Shengxi as a cook; it was just a question asked subconsciously.
"Of course, it was originally intended for Fifth Master. Please try it and see if there's anything that needs improvement."
Wei Shengxi extended his hand in an inviting gesture, and the smile on his face was exceptionally comforting.
Without hesitation, Shen Beian picked up a lotus flower-shaped piece. Its layers were clearly defined. He put it in his mouth and found it to be crisp, sweet, and delicious, with a unique flavor.
All I can think about is how delicious it is!
"It's delicious!" Shen Bei'an smiled broadly.
Seeing how content Shen Bei'an was with just a lotus-shaped pastry, Wei Shengxi couldn't help but smile, "I'm glad Fifth Master likes it."
"Really! It's even better than the lotus flower pastry from Sushan Dessert Shop." Shen Bei'an seemed afraid that Wei Shengxi wouldn't believe him, so he emphasized it again.
“If Fifth Master likes it, I will make it for you again when there is a chance.” Wei Shengxi handed the flower tea to Shen Beian. “After all, it is a pastry, so Fifth Master should have some flower tea with it.”
"Thank you." Shen Beian smiled sweetly at Wei Shengxi and accepted the flower tea.
"No, no, no, it's no trouble at all. Aunt Wang is here! If Young Master Xi likes it, I'll have Aunt Wang cook it for you whenever you come to Biluo Xiaozhu in the future," Shen Bei'an said repeatedly.
After exchanging words for a while, Shen Beian remembered that Wei Shengxi had mentioned "Hua Yin" earlier.
"I just heard you mention 'Hua Yin', Young Master Xi?" Shen Bei'an was still very curious about this person, as there were quite a few descriptions of him in the original book.
Compared to Gu Nanyan and others, who are more familiar with the venomous beauty Gu Xingxiao, readers like Shen Beian are more familiar with Hua Yin from 711 in the book.
It seems that in the original book, Hua Yin knew both the female lead Xie Yunyu and the male lead Shen Juanqing.
The same is true here.
“Exactly,” Wei Shengxi took a sip of West Lake Longjing tea. “If Fifth Master is interested in Senior Hua Yin, he might as well go to the front hall and take a look. Senior Hua Yin should still be chatting with Zi Yan right now.”
Wei Shengxi did not ask why Shen Bei'an was interested in Hua Yin, but simply answered Shen Bei'an's question.
Their attention was also focused on the holographic dance.
"No, no," Shen Bei'an didn't expect Wei Shengxi to be so honest and refused repeatedly. "Young Master Xi, please try this jasmine tea. It was made by Cheng Yan and Sister Tian. It's very good."
She also poured Wei Shengxi a cup of flower tea.
"Thank you, Fifth Master." Wei Shengxi took the flower tea, took a small sip, and found it to be quite good.
The two enjoyed some snacks, flower tea, and watching the dance performance, having a wonderful time.
On the other side...
Hua Yin wore a bitter expression. "My lord, it's not easy for me to be alone in Western Europe. There are always open and hidden attacks that I can't guard against."
"If that viper Gu Xingxiao can stay by the Lord's side, why can't I?"
"As for friendship, I've known Rose for a long time!"
"In terms of ability, I am no better than Gu Xingxiao."
"Moreover, I am definitely better at pleasing the lord than Gu Xingxiao."
Hua Yin talked for a long time, but he only meant one thing: he wanted to switch places with Gu Xingxiao.
"You're spouting nonsense as soon as you arrive on Fuyun Island?" came a slightly sticky voice.
A man dressed in a colorful brocade robe with lotus patterns strode in. "My lord! Don't listen to this flower butterfly's nonsense. How could I not please you?"
Gu Xingxiao's steps were somewhat unsteady, showing that he was in a great hurry.
“My lord! It was your word that I returned to the capital, and it was also your decision to follow you.” Gu Xingxiao spoke quickly. “Moreover, I have already begun to take over with Young Master Cheng, and judging from your intentions, you also plan to have me take over with Lin Cheng.”
"My lord, you can't show favoritism to Butterfly just because he's your senior!"
"By all accounts, I am your cousin!"
The generational order of the direct line of the Gu family and the collateral branches is different. In Gu Xingxiao's branch, the character "Xing" corresponds to the character "Nan" in the direct line.
"What kind of talk is this, using blood ties as an excuse?" Hua Yin stood up and retorted immediately, "I'm still the Gu family's adopted son!"
"My mother is the master's butler!"
"Besides, who doesn't know that my mother spends most of her time with my great-grandmother these days?"
Each of the young masters in the direct line of the Gu family has their own steward, who has grown up with the young master since childhood.
Most of them were adopted sons who cared about their families.
The four most famous butler families in the Gu family are Feng Hua Xue Yue (Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon). The young masters' butlers are usually selected from these four families.
Like Gu Nanyan's two stewards, Feng You grew up with her since childhood, and was the steward she herself chose when she was young.
Meng Zhaojun, on the other hand, was someone she found later and became her second steward.
"Heh, you've even dragged Aunt Hua into this?" Gu Xingxiao's face was full of sarcasm, and his voice was even more contemptuous. "I wonder who lost to Brother Feng You back then, and the position of steward that should have been in their grasp just disappeared like that."
"Later, he lost to Sister Zhaojun and failed to even get the position of the Lord's second steward."
The young master of the Gu family will only have one steward; this is an unchanging tradition.
But Gu Nanyan was the exception; he had two stewards, one in the open and one in the shadows.
One of them was not from one of the four families affiliated with the Gu family.
Naturally, many people were dissatisfied at the time, and the other young masters from the four families of Feng, Hua, Xue, and Yue also proposed to fight Meng Zhaojun.
It's a pity that they all lost, including Hua Yin, who lost to Feng You last time and should have been the most qualified to become Gu Nanyan's first steward.
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