Gu Liyue was deeply shocked. All her self - restraint over the long years crumbled at this moment. How could she not believe? The moment she saw him, her heart had been fluttering like a frightened deer. But knowing it was impossible, why hurt herself? It was better to seal away those feelings early on. If the feelings didn't ferment, it wouldn't be so hard to bear.
Tears rolled down her face. Unable to stop herself, she covered her face and cried.
Lu Jinchen stood up and hugged her, whispering, "I don't have much affection for that family. I stayed there before just to find out some things. Liyue, I love you, always have and always will."
Gu Liyue sobbed and shook her head. "But I..."
Lu Jinchen squatted down, reached out to wipe her tears, and forced her to look up at him.
"Liyue, there's no such thing as a good match or a bad match in this world. If you're willing to go back with me, I'll fight to the death to keep you safe. If you're not, I'll take you far away. Anywhere is fine, as long as we're together. Okay?"
Gu Liyue felt as if something had flown out of her chest. She had always been timid, but this time, she wanted to take a chance. She had fallen in love, for the first time. Even if it was just like a moth flying into the fire.
Lu Jinchen's rough fingers gently stroked her lips.
The noise outside the door came in. A guard rushed in in a hurry. "My Lord..."
Lu Jinchen glanced back sharply, immediately stood up, and stood in front of Gu Liyue to block her. "Get out!"
The guard flinched, quickly stepped back, and said carefully, "My Lord, General Gu is here."
General Gu was Gu Chengzhi, who had a very good relationship with Lu Jinchen. Moreover, last night Lu Jinchen had sent a letter to Gu Chengzhi, stating his determination to leave the capital with Gu Liyue. Probably Gu Chengzhi couldn't sit still, so he came to find him early in the morning.
Lu Jinchen took Gu Liyue's hand and walked out. "Don't be afraid. Chengzhi and I grew up together. He has a bit of a temper, but he has a good heart."
Gu Liyue whispered, "I should also thank Lord Gu. If it weren't for him yesterday, I'm afraid... It's my fault. He wanted to avenge me whole - heartedly, but I disappointed him."
The guard hesitated for a moment, then hesitated and said, "He... He brought a lot of guards."
Lu Jinchen frowned. The Gu family was originally a military family and still had their own soldiers. But after the old Lord Gu got old, the Lu family army was all handed over, and the soldiers in their hands became family guards. Gu Chengzhi had at most a dozen people. Could it be that he brought the capital guards here?
The guard whispered, "General Gu... is also here."
What was the old Lord Gu here for?
Lu Jinchen and Gu Liyue glanced at each other. Then they heard the noise outside the door getting louder. The old Lord Gu had already entered the yard and was walking in this direction.
Behind him were all the men of the Gu family: Lord Gu, the second master Gu, the three young masters of the Gu family, and Gu Chengzhi.
Lu Jinchen pulled Gu Liyue behind him. He was very surprised. Even if they came to persuade him not to give up, there was no need for so many people from the Gu family to come. Didn't they have duties today?
The old Lord Gu saw Gu Liyue behind Lu Jinchen at a glance. His eyes immediately turned red again. He hadn't slept all night. He was sad to learn that his third son had been dead for ten years. And when he heard that his granddaughter had suffered so much because of her parents' death, he felt even more self - blame and pain.
If he hadn't been so stubborn back then, if he had listened to his wife, how could his granddaughter have ended up like this? When she came to the capital, he didn't even know she was his granddaughter.
He had interrogated Chengzhi all night last night, listening to him talk about the few times he had seen Liyue and the little details that Tangyuan had mentioned. He just felt extremely guilty. Liyue must have known her own background, but why didn't she look for them when she came to the capital? Even if she didn't know everything, she never asked anyone to find out.
Probably, she was disappointed in them.
The old Lord Gu staggered a bit. Only with Lord Gu's support could he barely stand steady. He took two steps forward, ignoring Lu Jinchen's guarded look, and tremblingly called out, "Liyue?"
Gu Liyue's heart skipped a beat. She peeked out from behind Lu Jinchen and looked at the old man in front of her. His hair and beard were all white, and his eyes were red. But it could be seen that he exercised regularly and didn't look very old.
Who was this person? Why did he call her so affectionately?
The old Lord Gu saw his granddaughter's small and pale face. He felt that his hard - heartedness for a lifetime had all melted at this moment. He had three sons and four grandsons in his life, but there were no girls in the family. Before, when the side - branch relatives brought their cute little girls to visit, he was extremely envious.
It was all his fault.
His tone softened a bit more. "Liyue, grandfather is here."
Gu Liyue was startled. She quickly shrank back and grabbed Lu Jinchen's clothes. He said he was grandfather? Was he her father's father?
Gu Chengzhi walked to Lu Jinchen's side and craned his neck to look at the little girl. He was overjoyed. This was his younger sister.
"Liyue, don't be afraid. You're the daughter of our Gu family. We're here to take you home."
Go home?
Lu Jinchen frowned and asked, "How did you know? Just because her surname is Gu?"
Gu Chengzhi quickly shook his head and looked back at the old Lord Gu. "Grandfather, where's that pendant?"
The old Lord Gu quickly and carefully took out the pendant from his bosom and stepped forward. "Liyue, this is yours, isn't it?"
Gu Liyue was completely stunned. She had lost that thing last time. It turned out that Gu Chengzhi had picked it up.
She turned around and ran into the house, then slammed the door shut.
Lu Jinchen immediately stopped Gu Chengzhi, who was about to chase after her. "Just based on this one thing, you say she's your granddaughter? What if it turns out she's not later?"
Gu Chengzhi was stunned. Those behind him wanted to push Lu Jinchen away. "Let her come out. My grandfather will ask her, and the truth will come out."
But the old Lord Gu just shook his head. "No, why ask? Her face is exactly the same as her mother's, and her eyebrows and eyes resemble her father's. If she's not the child of my third son, whose could she be?"
Lord Gu also quickly came over. He walked to the door and almost called out in the gentlest voice of his life. "Liyue, don't be afraid. I'm your uncle. We're here to take you home."
There was no movement inside. Lord Gu's voice became a bit colder. "Also, we will never let the Liu family and the Jiang family off for what they did to you. We were all thinking about how to find you home last night. Now that we've found you, don't worry. We'll settle these scores one by one."
Hearing this, Gu Liyue opened the door a crack and peeked out. She looked at the imposing Lord Gu in front of her and said carefully, "I... don't blame them."
Seeing that she was willing to speak, Lord Gu was even more overjoyed. He quickly said, "Okay, if you don't blame them, we won't pursue it. But, come home with us, okay? Your grandmother misses you every day. She got sick last night because she was too excited when she learned about your existence. Liyue, do you want to see your grandmother?"