When Xie Jiuan hugged Gu Jiangyue just now, he noticed the silver notes in her hand. Gu Jiangyue had neatly folded them, and she was simply holding them in her hand.
Xie Jiuan naturally knew where these silver notes came from and where they were supposed to go. But he didn't lack money. He reached out and tugged at the silver notes in Gu Jiangyue's hand.
However, Gu Jiangyue held on tightly, and Xie Jiuan failed to pull them out. He found it quite amusing, but he was also afraid of waking her up. So he tried to move her fingers aside one by one before finally taking out the silver notes.
He turned to look at Gu Jiangyue. Her eyes were still tightly closed. Maybe she had been too tired at Huayan Tower these days. She didn't even wake up from this and was sleeping so soundly.
Xie Jiuan put the silver notes in Gu Jiangyue's jewelry box. He didn't need the money and wouldn't take what she had earned with hard work.
He had only provided the house. Gu Jiangyue had done most of the work. This was the silver she had earned and should be in her hands.
Xie Jiuan turned around and was about to leave. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a painting hanging on one side. The person in the painting was dressed in white, with a jade - like body and a pair of charming peach - blossom eyes. Xie Jiuan stepped forward and looked at the painting.
Gu Jiangyue would write some calligraphy in her spare time. Xie Jiuan had seen it when he came before. Gu Jiangyue had also inscribed on this painting, so it should be her own work.
Xie Jiuan admired the painting for a while. Seemingly quite satisfied, he nodded, then took the painting off the wall, rolled it up, and took it away in one smooth motion. Since it was a painting of him, it was his.
Moreover, although Gu Jiangyue had painted him very handsomely, he was a real person right in front of her. Wasn't it more convenient to look at him? So he might as well take the painting for her.
Xie Jiuan's figure disappeared into the night.
When Gu Jiangyue woke up the next day, she was a bit dazed when she found herself in bed. But when she saw that familiar black outer robe, she understood what had happened.
Gu Jiangyue only remembered that she seemed to have fallen asleep while waiting for the man in black. It seemed that the man in black had come, put her on the bed, and left. She instinctively looked at her palm. The silver notes were gone.
Had the man in black taken them? Gu Jiangyue was a bit suspicious. Normally, shouldn't she have tried to persuade the man in black for a long time before he took the money? Why was the man in black so self - aware today? Gu Jiangyue couldn't help but think more, but as long as the man in black was okay, it was fine.
Gu Jiangyue quickly called Zhiyuan to help her with her makeup. She had been really tired these days, but there were still many things waiting for her to do at Huayan Tower. Even while having her makeup done, she was a bit sleepy.
"Hey? Miss, aren't these the silver notes you exchanged at the bank before? Why are they here?"
Zhiyuan's confused voice pulled Gu Jiangyue's thoughts back. She looked at the jewelry box and sure enough saw the silver notes lying quietly inside.
Without much thought, Gu Jiangyue understood where the silver notes came from. There were many creases on these silver notes, which were left unconsciously by Gu Jiangyue last night when she was waiting for the man in black, too anxious.
These silver notes must have been left there by the man in black.
Gu Jiangyue looked at the silver notes, let out a soft sigh, and then found it a bit funny. How could there be someone who didn't care about money? She couldn't find out where the man in black was, so she had no choice but to put the silver notes away properly to avoid losing them again.
After Zhiyuan finished helping Gu Jiangyue with her makeup, Gu Jiangyue rushed to Huayan Tower. Huayan Tower was as busy as usual with many people. Although it was busy, Gu Jiangyue felt at ease. Finally, she didn't have to live under someone else's roof and live a tight - fisted life relying on the monthly allowance from the Gu Mansion.
Recently, Zhiyuan had been helping Gu Jiangyue deal with things at the Gu Mansion, so there had been no major incidents there. That was why Gu Jiangyue had some free time to go to Huayan Tower.
But recently, Xie Jiuan thought Gu Jiangyue was too tired, so he simply sent a few people to Huayan Tower to help. There were also new arrangements at the Gu Mansion. Although Gu Jiangyue was free, she hadn't visited the Grandmatriarch for too long. If she delayed any longer, there might be problems.
Now, many of the servants in the Gu Mansion were already gossiping, saying that Gu Jiangyue had won the favor of the Ninth Prince and was being arrogant, not even going to pay respects to the Grandmatriarch.
In order to dispel the rumors of the past few days, Gu Jiangyue got up early today. She asked Zhiyuan to put on a weak - looking makeup for her and specifically wore the hairpin that Xie Jiuan had given her on her coming - of - age ceremony. Then she went to the front hall where the Grandmatriarch was.
Gu Jiangyue wasn't late, but there were already many people gathered in the front hall. Gu Jiangyue quickly scanned around and found that everyone who should be there from the Gu Mansion was present, except for one person, Gu Zhengwan.
On normal days, Gu Zhengwan would always snuggle beside the Grandmatriarch, chatting and laughing with her. But today, Gu Jiangyue didn't see that familiar pink figure and felt a bit unaccustomed. A sneer appeared on her lips. Was Gu Zhengwan's leg still not healed?
Gu Jiangyue only remembered that Zhiyuan had told her that except for not being able to dance, Gu Zhengwan's leg was almost fully recovered. Zhiyuan had also heard from Gu Zhengwan's personal maid that the skin on Gu Zhengwan's leg didn't look good. It was said that there were many scars caused by coagulated blood stasis, and no amount of medicine seemed to work.
Gu Jiangyue guessed that this was probably why Gu Zhengwan didn't want to go out and see people. Recently, Huayan Tower had become well - known in the capital for its beauty and health - preserving recipes. Naturally, this news had also reached the ears of the Gu family ladies.
A few days ago at Huayan Tower, Gu Jiangyue had seen several familiar faces from the Gu family go to buy cosmetics. She had avoided them and asked Xiyun and He Yunyan to receive them. Among them was Gu Zhengwan's maid, who had bought things several times.
At that time, Gu Jiangyue had guessed that besides not being able to dance, there must be something wrong with other parts of Gu Zhengwan's body. Gu Jiangyue secretly laughed in her heart. Gu Zhengwan deserved what she got.
While thinking, Gu Jiangyue had already reached the front of the front hall. Different from normal days, the Grandmatriarch didn't ask Gu Jiangyue to announce her arrival today. The servant directly motioned for Gu Jiangyue to go in.
As soon as Gu Jiangyue stepped over the threshold, she heard a familiar voice. The tone was as sarcastic as ever, saying words of concern but without a hint of real concern.
"Oh, I wondered who it was. It's our Ninth Prince's Consort. The consort has been absent due to illness for so many days. It scared your Second Aunt so much that she almost wanted to find a doctor for you."
Shen Menglan put her hands on her hips, her tone sharp and mean.
Gu Jiangyue let out a scoff. If she hadn't been out of touch with the people in the Gu Mansion for so many days, she might have forgotten their true faces.