Although Gu Liyue was stubborn, she was concerned about Xiao Hei in her heart. She also noticed that this man surnamed Lu, despite his cold face and rather arrogant words, was actually quite sincere. She nodded and agreed.
When Lu Jinchen approached Xiao Hei, the dog showed some resistance at first, but in Lu Jinchen's hands, its resistance only turned into a faint whimper, and then there was no more extra sound.
Gu Liyue was very worried and nervously watched Xiao Hei. Then she saw those long, well - defined hands move gently twice. Xiao Hei let out a yelp and actually started to lick Lu Jinchen's hand.
Lu Jinchen put Xiao Hei on the ground, and the dog became lively and frisky again.
Gu Liyue was so surprised that her mouth hung open halfway. It took her a while to react, and she quickly thanked him: "It's okay already? Thank you, my lord. Thank you, my lord."
Lu Jinchen's expression remained calm. He reached out and took the handkerchief from his attendant's hand to wipe his own hands.
Gu Liyue looked up and saw those hands again. They were as white as jade. Although the man seemed to be showing disgust, for some reason, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt an urge to reach out and touch those hands.
A man actually had such fair and jade - like hands...
She lowered her head and looked at her own rough and ugly hands. Subconsciously, she hid them behind her.
Lu Jinchen said in a flat tone: "We really can't afford 120 wen."
Gu Liyue waved her hands repeatedly: "No need. You saved Xiao Hei. It's enough to offset the cost of repairing the door. Thank you."
It was actually them who had injured Xiao Hei, but Lu Jinchen seemed to be in the right. He slowly nodded, then grabbed A Jie by the back of his collar and walked out of the door.
While biting on a steamed bun, A Jie turned back and said vaguely: "Sister, I still don't know your name..."
The villagers outside the door didn't know what had happened inside. They only knew that the door of Gu Liyue's house had been kicked down by these guards. They thought that the two weak women inside might have already been killed. They were extremely frightened and wanted to leave, but seeing the two teams of guards, they didn't dare to move.
There was a hint of anger between Lu Jinchen's eyebrows. He didn't ask until he walked out of the door: "Why did you go up the mountain alone?"
A Jie choked. He had only been curious about the steamed bun at first. The first few bites tasted interesting because he had never eaten it before, and he was hungry, so he could eat it. But now he couldn't swallow it anymore. However, in front of Lu Jinchen, he didn't dare to waste food, so he just stuffed the bun into his clothes.
His outer coat had been taken off by Gu Liyue. Now he was wearing Gu Liyue's thin cotton - padded jacket. It was old and in a woman's style, but surprisingly, except for the sleeves being a bit long, it fit him quite well.
Lu Jinchen glanced at him. That young girl was really thin and small.
He took off his own outer cloak and wrapped A Jie tightly in it.
A Jie's steamed bun was knocked off and rolled on the ground. He immediately cried: "Brother Lu, my steamed bun..."
Lu Jinchen was a bit impatient: "If you don't want to eat it, why did you take it?"
A Jie sobbed: "In Sister's house, this is a good thing."
He bent down to pick it up. Gu Chengzhi originally wanted to stop him, but was blocked by Lu Jinchen.
Gu Chengzhi didn't quite understand and whispered: "Jinchen, the steamed bun tastes bad and scratches the throat. It's so dirty. How can A Jie eat such a thing?"
"Let him be."
Gu Chengzhi thought that Lu Jinchen was angry because A Jie had secretly climbed the mountain and was deliberately punishing him, so he didn't say anything more.
A Jie picked up the steamed bun. Looking up, he happened to see Aunt Wang dodging around. He immediately bared his teeth and pointed at her, saying: "Brother Lu, it's her today. Sister was so tired when she carried me back. She asked her to help, but she refused. She even said that I was a bad person and that Sister was bringing a wolf into the house."
Aunt Wang would never have said such a literary phrase. A Jie must have been a bit delirious with a fever when he saw this woman making things difficult for Gu Liyue. Now he just said it casually.
"Brother Lu, tie her up!"
Aunt Wang was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud: "My lord, spare my life. My lord, spare my life. I didn't... I didn't do anything. I just..."
"My lord."
Lu Jinchen turned around. It was Gu Liyue who had come out. She was already thin and wearing thin clothes. Looking at her like this, she seemed even tinier.
No wonder she had been so struggling to carry A Jie.
By this time, the villagers finally understood. Gu Liyue hadn't done anything bad. Instead, she had saved this wealthy young master. Thinking about what they had said about Gu Liyue, adding fuel to the fire, they now regretted it so much that their intestines turned green.
The Wang woman was always a gossip. How could they have listened to her nonsense?
And Aunt Wang had already collapsed on the ground. A stench was spreading from under her.
Gu Liyue's voice was clear: "My lord, this is the medicine prescribed by the doctor. If you think it's okay, you can continue to use it for A Jie. Even if you don't want it, it's useless for us to keep it."
Lu Jinchen looked at her silently without saying a word.
Gu Liyue smiled, stepped forward and handed the medicine to the guard, and then said: "We villagers often bicker. It's normal for us. We don't really care about it that much. A Jie's fever has just gone down. My lord, you'd better take him back soon and let him have a good rest."
Lu Jinchen raised his eyebrows and sized Gu Liyue up for a while. Then he wrapped A Jie tighter, mounted his horse, and left with him.
Gu Liyue didn't say much more. She invited a carpenter from the village to repair the door, and then went home with Yunniang.
It was only at this time that Yunniang noticed that Gu Liyue was sweating all over. She hugged Gu Liyue lovingly.
Gu Liyue didn't show the strength she had shown in front of Lu Jinchen and Gu Chengzhi at all. She was almost in tears and nestled in Yunniang's arms: "Yunniang, I... I'm so scared."
Yunniang hugged her and gave her a thumbs - up.
Gu Liyue shook her head: "It's just you and me. If I hadn't stepped forward, if that little boy hadn't woken up and come out in time, we would have been killed as bad people... But I'm still so scared."
Yunniang gestured: Just now, you were just like your father.
Gu Liyue looked up: "My father?"
Yunniang nodded: Your father was just like this, strong and resolute.
Strong and resolute? That wasn't her.
Gu Liyue thought to herself that she had been weak and timid since childhood. She had been teased by Liu Qinting countless times. How could her personality change so quickly?
Yunniang: You've grown up. You're just like your father.
Gu Liyue looked up at Yunniang. She didn't know what her parents looked like, let alone what kind of personalities they had. She only remembered that her aunt always said that her mother was weak and useless. If she hadn't found a good man, she would never have lived such a good life.
It was a pity that weakness was in her nature. In the end, she had brought bad luck to her husband and then to herself.
Gu Liyue was her daughter, so she was also a bad - luck star.
She wasn't a bad - luck star.
Gu Liyue held Yunniang's hand: "Yunniang, I've grown up. I'll be stronger. I can protect you too."
Yunniang stroked Gu Liyue's cheek and smiled slightly.