u left, Ningdong, who had been waiting nearby, finally spoke up. She pursed her lips and said with a hint of displeasure: "Madam, why did you let her go to Song Mansion In the past, it was always me o...Gu Xiuming saw his father leave like that, wanting to chase after him to explain, but this kind of thing had been seen. How could he explain it

He regretted impulsively kissing Wan'er earlier. He hadn't expected his father to be so close behind them. He had just thought that there weren't many people around at night, which is why he was so bold.

Li Wan'er watched their couple's backs, and the echo of Gu Jingxi's instruction to Gu Xiuming in her mind reverberated. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt, tears welling up in her eyes, and she couldn't help but sob softly.

Gu Xiuming saw tears streaming down his beloved's face, crying like pear blossoms in the rain, and with a look of shame and embarrassment. He felt deeply distressed, and gently soothed her: "Wan'er, don't cry. It's all my fault. I was too unrestrained just now, didn't pay attention to the situation, and made you feel embarrassed as well."

Li Wan'er choked back tears and said, "Xiu Ming gege, your father will definitely look down on me even more in the future. He will definitely think I am not a good girl."

Originally, the elders didn't like her. The marquis even said she was frivolous in her behavior. Now that the elders saw this, they would definitely dislike her even more, and she would be even less favored by them.

Gu Xiuming also felt quite guilty and comforted her, saying: "Wan'er, it's my fault. Don't cry. Father's anger is just for a moment. Father is busy with official duties, and in two days he will have forgotten this little thing."

Li Wan'er was not comforted at all. Just thinking about the Hou Ye's admonishment made her feel humiliated and uneasy. Her heart ached with distress.

And there was Meng Jinyao, because Meng Jinyao was Xiu Ming's ex-fiancée, so every time she saw Meng Jinyao, she couldn't help but want to compare herself. But when she saw Meng Jinyao being dignified and composed, acting as if she didn't care about her at all, she felt completely defeated.

She hadn't noticed it before, but gradually she realized that Meng Jin Yao's every move was full of grace and dignity. It wasn't something learned, but rather a result of upbringing and family heritage. Though she had studied etiquette, she couldn't imitate the natural elegance that seemed to emanate from Meng Jin Yao.

Meng Jinyu was even more beautiful than she was, and she also had a substantial dowry, which was said to be left behind by her biological mother. Unlike her, who only had two taels of silver a month to use, she couldn't afford any jewelry she liked at the jewelry shop. Even Xiu Ming's brother only had eight taels of silver a month.

Their combined monthly silver wasn't enough to buy the hairpin she had liked at Jinyu Pavilion last time. That hairpin cost twenty taels, and compared to other more beautiful and luxurious jewelry, the one she liked was relatively inexpensive.

While Meng Jinyao had a dowry to rely on, if she took a liking to something like a hairpin, she would buy it without hesitation. This was what she envied. The young masters and ladies of the first and second rooms, if they ran out of money, their mothers still had dowry to supplement their children's expenses. Her father was a concubine's son, and according to rumors, he also had some meager assets of his own, so he wouldn't be short of money.

Who resembles her and Xiu Ming brother She had no dowry, and Xiu Ming brother had no private property to support himself. He relied solely on the eight taels of silver distributed by the government each month. Although he had a mother, would that mother use her dowry to supplement Xiu Ming brother

This is probably why the Gu family looked down on her. She had nothing, and she was an orphan. Even though the Meng family was down on their luck, they were still nobility. Meng Jinyao also had a generous dowry.

The only thing she could surpass Meng Jingyao in was by winning the heart of Brother Xiuming.

Gu Xiuming saw that she was silent and her expression was unreadable. He reached out and held her hand, using his other hand to wipe away her tears. He said softly, "Wan'er, don't think too much about it. Your father was just angry for a moment."

Li Wan'er sniffed, forcing back her tears, pushing her grievance to the bottom of her heart. She no longer wanted to think about unhappy things. She squeezed out a smile: "Brother Xiu Ming, let's go back. I don't want to shop anymore.

Gu Xiuming nodded: "Okay, let's go back first."

Over there, Meng Jinyáo and Gu Jingxi walked away.

Meng Jin Yao glanced at the man beside her, smiling and asking, "Husband, I thought you would pretend not to see it. Since you pointed it out just now, isn't this rather embarrassing"

Gu Jingxi nonchalantly raised an eyebrow and said in a soft voice, "They don't feel embarrassed doing this out of place. Are they embarrassed by just two reprimands The back garden doesn't belong to only the two of them. If they were seen by maidservants, gossiping about it behind their backs, others would only say that the children of the Gu family are unruly."

That's true as well.

Meng Jinyo nodded slightly. If this kind of thing got out, others would only say that the Gu family's upbringing was lacking, and their children were unruly. They would think that not only Gu Xiuming was like this, but also the other children.

Putting this topic aside for now, the couple returned to Weiruixuan. After bathing and changing clothes, they went to bed.

In the dim light, Meng Jin Yao could clearly see the profile of the man lying beside her. The man slept soundly, even when he turned over unconsciously, he was very quiet and basically stayed in the same position.

Meng Jin Yao gazed at Gu Jing Xi's handsome face, unable to help but recall the five words he had said this afternoon.

—is not entirely.—

She was sleepless again, these days she couldn't help but dwell on this matter, constantly trying to unravel and secretly verify it.

She shook her head, decided not to think about it anymore, closed her eyes and prepared to sleep. However, her mind was still very awake and she couldn't fall asleep at all. She could only lie in bed tossing and turning, changing her sleeping position every now and then, and gradually becoming more agitated, rolling around restlessly.

She couldn't remember when she fell asleep either.

Gu Jingxi couldn't fall asleep. He wanted to ask the little girl why she was upset, but she always replied that she was fine. He knew she wouldn't tell him, so he simply stopped asking and thought about his friend's advice, slowly comforting her.

He didn't know how long it had been, but everyone around him had finally fallen asleep. He watched the girl unconsciously roll into his arms. Her soft body pressed against him, her hands holding his waist, and her legs draped over his. The warmth of her body radiated through him, and a faint fragrance filled the air. His whole body was stiff, not daring to move.

He whispered, “Madam”

Meng Jin Yao remained unresponsive, sleeping soundly.

Gu Jingxi slightly increased his volume and called out again: "Madam"

However, Meng Jingyao slept too soundly and didn't hear his voice at all.

Gu Jingxi didn't want to wake her, so he could only stiffen his body and stay still, looking at her sweet sleeping face, but he himself lost the urge to sleep.

After a long time, Gu Jingxi also relaxed and stared at the girl in his arms. The softness and warmth in his arms made him feel a strange sensation. He could have gently adjusted the girl's sleeping posture, but when his hand touched her back, he froze.

Perhaps he was afraid of waking the little girl, or perhaps for some other inexplicable reason, he didn't want to correct her, and let her hold him to sleep.on to her rest." Her voice trailed off, then she asked curiously, "Mother, are there really ghosts in this world"Since there are people in this world, it's not surprising that there are ghosts. Sun's...