"You're absolutely right."
Nanny Wang looked at him. "It's been five years since Marquis Wu'an went to Xiaoshan."
She still remembered Gu Xiao from five years ago. He was overly lively and had a reputation for being a prodigal who squandered money like water.
Every time he made a mistake, he would secretly hide in the General's Mansion.
It often made his father, Gu Wu, come to the mansion with a feather duster to look for him.
Time flew by in a flash. Now he was already a 19 - year - old young man.
"How has Young Master Gu been in Xiaoshan?"
"Everything in Xiaoshan is good, but no one can cook as well as Nanny Wang."
Gu Xiao had eaten a lot of Nanny Wang's cooking in the General's Mansion before. Now that he saw her again, he missed it even more.
He sweet - talked and tugged at Nanny Wang's sleeve, blinking cutely to act coquettishly, which made Nanny Wang beam with joy. "Then Young Master Gu, stay today. Nanny Wang will cook more delicious dishes. You can eat more later."
"Okay."
"Then let's go in quickly."
The snow outside was falling faster. Although the snowflakes were small, in no time, a thin layer had accumulated.
Nanny Wang was worried that everyone would catch a cold, so she called them in.
Yan Zhao and Ning Ywan exchanged a glance, both with smiles on their lips.
The Marquis's Mansion might seem cold - blooded and terrifying to the outside world, but for them, it was a rare pure land.
"Wait a minute."
Gu Xiao suddenly stopped everyone. He compared his index fingers, looking a bit shy and sly. "Since it's lively today, I think everyone won't mind it being even more lively."
Yan Zhao had seen this coy gesture of his many times.
It was always his gesture after doing something wrong.
Yan Zhao frowned deeply. "What are you up to again?"
Ning Ywan raised her eyebrows. As if she had seen something, she suddenly let out a soft laugh.
As for Nanny Wang and the others, they were all waiting for him to explain in confusion.
Gu Xiao let out a hey - hey laugh and whistled loudly.
"Hey - er, hey - er..."
A carriage came from afar behind him. Strangely enough, there was no coachman outside the carriage.
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Yan Zhao lifted his chin. If he wasn't mistaken, the emblem on the carriage was that of the Pei Mansion.
As soon as he finished speaking, a girl came out of the carriage. She was lively and gentle. It was Pei Yunlu.
Pei Yunlu was startled the moment she saw Yan Zhao. Her feet subconsciously moved towards Ning Ywan.
On Fangshan Mountain, Yan Zhao had asked to talk to her at night.
First, Lu Jin was injured, then Yan Zhao fell into the water, and finally, there was Ning Ywan and the Zhanlong Sword. The two siblings hadn't had a private meeting until they left Fangshan Mountain.
"Greetings to the Marquis and the Marquise."
She didn't get out of the carriage alone. Another person poked his head out from behind.
He was wearing shabby hemp clothes, obviously not a noble son from a prominent family.
Especially, his face was so pale that he looked even weaker than Yan Zhao, who had been ill for a long time.
"Why is a man in the carriage with you?"
Yan Zhao's eyes narrowed sharply, and a hint of coldness flashed in them.
Pei Yunlu couldn't help but retort, "Lu Jin was injured and unconscious before."
When they were about to return to the capital, she thought that Lu Jin had no one to take care of him on the way, so she shared the carriage with him.
However, Lu Jin woke up halfway.
"So you ignored the etiquette and were alone with a man in the carriage?"
Gu Xiao had said similar things before. But while Pei Yunlu had the courage to retort to Gu Xiao, she didn't have the guts to talk back to Yan Zhao. She lowered her eyes and mumbled inaudibly.
Lu Jin coughed lightly and bowed. "Miss Pei was kind enough to take care of me, so I was able to wake up halfway."
Naturally, he didn't want Pei Yunlu to be misunderstood, so he immediately explained the reason.
Yan Zhao snorted and had nothing more to say.
But Gu Xiao curiously turned around. "Cousin seems to be very concerned about Miss Pei?"
The expressions of Yan Zhao and Pei Yunlu just now were a bit strange.
It seemed like they had known each other for a long time.
But when he looked closely at their faces, their expressions quickly turned distant.
He quickly put aside his suspicions and resumed his role of an on - looker.
After all, no woman would like to see her husband showing concern for other women in front of her.
It would be great if the disliked Ning Ywan got jealous!
Actually, after his feelings for An Xingzhi faded, he shouldn't have had any more conflicts with Ning Ywan.
But Gu Xiao still had a grudge against Ning Ywan. Not only was Ning Ywan never polite to him, but in his opinion, a woman who had been raised in the wild countryside since childhood was simply not worthy of his elegant and noble cousin!
Therefore, his dislike for Ning Ywan didn't diminish at all.
However, there were only smiles, jokes, and familiarity on Ning Ywan's face, but no trace of jealousy.
What was going on?
A doubt welled up in Gu Xiao's heart. Could it be that Ning Ywan was so confident in her appearance that she didn't care about Pei Yunlu at all?
He took another look at Pei Yunlu. Although her appearance was quite delicate.
But she was kind - hearted, straightforward, well - read, and a noble daughter of a prominent family. She was exactly the type of daughter - in - law that the noble ladies in the capital liked the most and was most suitable to be a mistress of the family.
Fortunately, his mother hadn't returned to the capital yet. Otherwise, she would surely have taken a fancy to Miss Pei.
After all, his mother liked such a dignified and virtuous young girl the most.
Was Ning Ywan really so bold and reckless that she didn't mind at all?
Not only was Gu Xiao muttering to himself, but Nanny Wang also stared wide - eyed, looking back and forth between Ning Ywan and Pei Yunlu.
What was wrong with Zhao'er?
How could he show concern for another woman in front of the Marquise?
Although Miss Pei was the granddaughter of Minister Pei, and Minister Pei had once been Zhao'er's teacher.
But his question just now clearly showed that Zhao'er had overstepped the mark!
"Minister Pei is my teacher. It's only reasonable that I should protect his granddaughter."
Yan Zhao wasn't worried that Ning Ywan would misunderstand. They had already been honest with each other about this matter.
"However, how did you get to know Miss Pei?"
It was true that Gu Xiao and Pei Yunlu were cousins, but Pei Yunlu was wearing a human - skin mask on her face now. Gu Xiao couldn't have recognized her identity.
"On Fangshan Mountain, Miss Pei and I hit it off right away."
Gu Xiao casually put his arm around Yan Zhao and walked towards the Marquis's Mansion. He also secretly winked at Pei Yunlu, signaling her to follow.
He thought he had done a good deed.
Pei Yunlu was a girl. It wasn't proper for her to always be with a man. She should be afraid of ruining her reputation.
Since the relationship between Ning Ywan and Pei Yunlu was also close, why not bring Pei Yunlu and Lu Jin to the Marquis's Mansion for a short rest first.
By the way, he could let someone take good care of Lu Jin. After Lu Jin recovered, he could let them go back to their respective homes.
However, Young Master Gu's character was different from his reckless self in the capital five years ago. After five years of experience in Xiaoshan, he had become a bit overbearing.
Pei Yunlu didn't care about her reputation, but he "kind - heartedly" and "very much" cared.
Therefore, regardless of Pei Yunlu's refusal, he led the Pei family's carriage directly to the Marquis's Mansion.
Yan Zhao turned around. "A San, go to Minister Pei's mansion and tell Miss Pei's family that she will return later."
But then he saw Gu Xiao wave his hand. "No need. I've already sent the Pei family's coachman back to report."
No wonder there was no coachman on the carriage just now.
Yan Zhao was speechless: You're really full of good intentions.
Pei Yunlu secretly stamped her foot: Judging from my brother's expression, he must have a worse impression of Lu Jin. It's all Gu Xiao's fault!
Only Gu Xiao still held his head high, thinking that he had done a good deed.
"It's really cold outside. Let's all go in!"