Xie Jiuan was sitting on the couch. He looked languid, with his inky hair loosely hanging down, yet it didn't seem messy. His beautiful peach blossom eyes were bottomless. "Does Miss Gu care so much? There's nothing between me and her. Miss Gu needn't worry."
His eyes darkened for just a moment, then a smile appeared on his face again. He answered so casually that Gu Jiangyue didn't quite believe him.
Xie Jiuan's words were ambiguous, but Gu Jiangyue didn't have the time to notice.
No matter what Xie Jiuan said, there was always a hint of doubt in her heart. Seeing Mu Xia just now at the door, so confident as she said she would take her in, Gu Jiangyue originally thought their relationship was quite good.
But now, hearing what Xie Jiuan said, Gu Jiangyue was a bit hesitant.
She wanted to matchmake Mu Xia and Xie Chengrui. But whether what Xie Jiuan said was true or false, they had to go through Xie Jiuan first. What if Xie Jiuan changed his mind and couldn't bear to part with Mu Xia?
Gu Jiangyue kept calculating in her mind and decided to observe for a while before deciding whether to trust Xie Jiuan. After all, this man could be friends with the black - clothed men. He must not be that simple.
"I just met Miss Mu Xia just now and was just curious. Then I won't bother you anymore, Ninth Prince. I'm waiting for good news from you at my coming - of - age ceremony."
"Definitely."
Xie Jiuan understood what Gu Jiangyue meant. She was referring to the matter of the Lin family's bribery and hoped it could be resolved at her coming - of - age ceremony.
Only in this way could the Lin family be humiliated to the greatest extent and the Gu Mansion could gain some glory.
Xie Jiuan didn't really care about this. Thanks to Gu Jiangyue for collecting this intelligence. If it weren't for her, it would take at least another ten days or half a month to collect this information again. With Gu Jiangyue's help, the information was complete, and the rest would be easy.
Just as Gu Jiangyue was about to turn around and leave, she heard Xie Jiuan casually ask her a question.
"What kind of gift would Miss Gu like for your coming - of - age ceremony?"
Gu Jiangyue originally planned to pretend she didn't hear it and just casually brush it off. After all, her business was done, and she didn't want to have too much to do with Xie Jiuan.
But before she could take a step, Xie Jiuan, as if he never really expected her to answer, said to himself,
"Then I'll give you a hairpin."
His voice wasn't very loud, but it still reached Gu Jiangyue's ears.
Gu Jiangyue seemed to think of something. She turned around, a natural smile on her face, and said to Xie Jiuan cheerfully,
"Okay."
This smile of hers made Xie Jiuan a bit stunned. He squinted his eyes and returned a smile.
Youth is as radiant as peach and plum blossoms. A hairpin in the hair is for a gentleman.
Gu Jiangyue's smile was truly from the heart. Giving a hairpin symbolized tying the knot. If Xie Jiuan really gave her a hairpin at her coming - of - age ceremony in front of everyone, including Xie Chengrui, the scene would surely be very interesting.
She was even a bit looking forward to how Xie Chengrui, the man engaged to her, would react. At that time, she could even provoke Gu Zhengwan. Maybe she could successfully break off the engagement then.
Xie Jiuan originally just wanted to tease Gu Jiangyue. He knew about the engagement between Gu Jiangyue and Xie Chengrui. Gu Jiangyue had spent so much time trying to disrupt the forces that Xie Chengrui had painstakingly built up. This didn't seem like something a fiancé - fiancée would do.
So he originally wanted to use the matter of giving a hairpin to test Gu Jiangyue and see how she would react. He didn't expect this little girl to be so happy.
Since that was the case, he didn't want to let Gu Jiangyue go to Xie Chengrui. He was determined to give this hairpin at the coming - of - age ceremony. Not only would he give it, but he would also give the best one.
Since they had decided to cooperate, Gu Jiangyue directly told Song Zhong about the plan. Song Zhong didn't think there was anything wrong with Gu Jiangyue's approach. Instead, he admired her and thought her method was very good.
In the deep mansions, there were too many unwillingnesses. One could either swallow them all or fight back relentlessly to protect oneself.
Song Zhong, as Xie Jiuan's doctor, quickly prepared the medicine she needed after hearing Gu Jiangyue's plan.
The Lin family would surely not let it go. Gu Jiangyue estimated that with Lin Yeran's personality, he would definitely react in the next few days and come to the Gu Mansion again.
After getting along with Song Zhong for a while, Gu Jiangyue found that this old man could be trusted and wouldn't pose any threat to her. So she simply trusted him and took the medicine he prepared on time every day. She also asked Zhiyuan to quietly spread the news that she had been reluctant to go out for a long time.
In the past few days, many red marks had appeared on Gu Jiangyue's face. They were getting more and more, and more and more terrifying.
But Gu Jiangyue didn't think much of them. Instead, she needed these marks. Song Zhong had told her that since her body was weak, she couldn't use ordinary medicine. Only mild - natured medicine could be used. The medicine he prepared wouldn't really hurt Gu Jiangyue. It would only stimulate the internal heat in her body and make it show on her face.
After the matter was accomplished, he could prepare another kind of medicine to remove all these marks. After getting rid of these things, Gu Jiangyue's body would be better and less likely to get sick.
As long as Lin Yeran and Gu Zhuying followed the direction Gu Jiangyue had envisioned in advance, she was sure to gain from this matter.
During the days when Gu Jiangyue stayed in her own courtyard and didn't go out, many other young ladies in the Gu Mansion came under the pretext of visiting her, but actually to see if Gu Jiangyue was really disfigured.
They were all cunning people. Gu Jiangyue naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. She casually let them see her disfigured face. Gu Jiangyue was sure that they would spread this news, which saved Zhiyuan the trouble.
Of course, besides this, Gu Jiangyue also had to perfect her plan. Xie Chengrui's favorite things were calligraphy and paintings. In her past life, Gu Jiangyue had no achievements in calligraphy, but she had learned painting for Xie Chengrui for a long time, so her painting skills were quite good.
She only regretted that in her past life, she was blinded by love for Xie Chengrui and didn't notice that no matter how hard she tried to learn the things Xie Chengrui liked, Xie Chengrui's eyes would never stay on her.
She even believed Xie Chengrui's ridiculous words about being together for a lifetime. In this life, she would surely use the skills she had learned for Xie Chengrui to completely bring him down and let him taste the feeling of betrayal.
Since Gu Jiangyue couldn't go out anyway, she painted a portrait of Gu Zhuying. This painting was of great use.
In the Gu Mansion, besides her confidants, she couldn't trust anyone. So she painted it herself. Her painting skills were good, and the portrait was even more beautiful than Gu Zhuying in person.