Chapter 16

Madame Gu was no longer able to stop it.

She bit her teeth angrily, put on a stern face, glared at Gu Ying fiercely, and forced out a laugh, "My granddaughter doesn't understand etiquette. Uncle Fu Gui must not blame her for that."

Uncle Fu Gui looked Gu Ying up and down and saw a lovely young girl with a palm-sized small face nestled in a snow-white fox fur collar. Her features were as delicate as a painting. He quickly laughed, "No blame, no blame."

Hearing Uncle Fu Gui's polite tone, everyone was full of doubts.

What was the Marquis Manor trying to imply?

Weren't they here to hold them accountable for the incident of falling into the water at the palace banquet?

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Gu Ying was also puzzled. After all, in her previous life, the young lord of the Marquis Manor had sent someone to cancel the engagement. For what reason did Uncle Fu Gui suddenly come this time?

Her long eyelashes fluttered as her bright eyes glanced over.

This capable steward of the Marquis Manor, she had only seen a few times at family banquets in her previous life. It was a pity that he...

But it seemed there was still time to save him in this life?

Just as Gu Ying was trying hard to recall the old man's fate in her previous life, she heard Uncle Fu Gui call her, "Second young lady?"

Gu Ying raised her eyes. Her gaze was clean. "Ah? What's the matter?"

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Uncle Fu Gui mysteriously curved his lips and raised his hand to point at the few stewards behind him.

Everyone followed his finger and looked over.

They saw four young and vigorous stewards uncover the red cloths on their hands, revealing the rosewood carved boxes in their hands, and they opened the wooden boxes one by one.

Uncle Fu Gui smiled meaningfully, "Second young lady, old madam need not be nervous. This old servant came today not for anything important. It's just that our young lord at home had nothing to do, so he found some trinkets that girls like outside, and specially ordered this old servant to deliver them personally to Earl Manor, specifically for the second young lady to play with."

Not to mention Gu Ying was shocked to hear this.

Even Jiang Yin, who was kneeling on the ground, and several elders in the room widened their eyes in shock. Didn't the young lord of Yong’an hate his dumb and useless fiancee?

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How could he suddenly become so attentive?

Those seven night luminous pearls alone were precious tributes rewarded by the emperor to the palace.

Ordinary people could not even see such treasures, yet he readily delivered them to Earl Manor for a young girl to play with?

Gu Ying was confused. Was this entire act of "doting on his wife" a result of her praying at Su Huanfeng's mother's grave?

"This... How can our Ying bear such a gift?" Liu Shi said jealously, staring longingly at the pearl jewelry, and couldn't help saying sourly, "We are the in-laws to be. Why is the Marquis Manor being so polite? By the way, Uncle Fu Gui, why didn't the young lord come in person?"

Uncle Fu Gui smiled, "The young lord originally wanted to come in person, but was worried that meeting his fiancee before the wedding would be improper, so he reluctantly didn't come."

Liu Shi was speechless again, embarrassed and unable to retort.

She resentfully and enviously looked at Gu Ying, cursing her in her heart repeatedly.

Gu Ying's small face turned slightly red. The young lord's "doting on his wife" act was so true to life that she was ashamed.

After all, she and he were both clear that this engagement would be dissolved in three months.

Even if it was to slap the Gu family’s face, it was still too high-profile now.

The higher you stand, the more miserably you will fall. She had learned her lesson already. In this life, even if she had to be low-key, she would not put herself on the edge again.

Uncle Fu Gui couldn't help but call out again, "Second young lady?"

Gu Ying came back to her senses and politely said, "Uncle Fu Gui, please speak."

An unmarried daughter was so polite and sensible to a steward.

Uncle Fu Gui really liked this young girl. He pointed to one of the stewards and gently said, "Second young lady, the young lord asked this old servant to give you this bow. In five days, at the winter hunting ground, the young lord wants to hunt deer with the second young lady."

The steward who stood out alone was very handsome, with neat and vigorous features. His long slanted eyebrows flew into his sideburns. When he smiled, his bright eyes curved slightly, the corners of his eyes tilted up, and his deep dimples were very attractive. His nose was more prominent than ordinary people's, with rosy lips, and deep eyes.

In his hands he held a bow inlaid with gems, and he just stared at Gu Ying like that, "Second young lady, please accept this."

Under everyone's gaze, Gu Ying took the long bow and recognized it with her discerning eyes, "Is this the LiWang Bow?"

"Does the second young lady recognize it?"

"I—" Gu Ying was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered as usual, smiled and said, "I've seen it in storybooks."

It was just in her previous life, when Jiang Yin took the position of Prime Minister.

Someone had offered the LiWang Bow to him, and she had seen it just that once.

Legend has it that LiWang was the guardian god of the mountain, and his bow could hunt all things. This bow was priceless, worth thousands of gold. The young lord actually gave her the LiWang Bow. What was he thinking?

Don't let it end up as giving a dumpling to a dog that won't come back.

The young steward didn't miss the astonishment in Gu Ying's eyes, but her composure surprised him a little.

After all, he had deliberately disguised himself today to see what his fiancee was really like, a real fool or a pretend fool.

Now it looked like... The young girl was graceful and dignified, neither humble nor overbearing.

Without any powder or rouge, her snow-white delicate face was naturally rosy-cheeked. Her upturned nose was moist and lovely. Her apricot eyes were clean and clear like two pools of unpolluted spring water, wet and pitiful, clearly a fairy-like beauty.

Meeting her bright smile, his heart suddenly skipped a few beats, as if something had gently bumped his heart.

"Cough cough! Alright, since the message is delivered." Uncle Fu Gui came forward in time to block the lovestruck gaze of his young lord. "We'll take our leave first."

Even after they had walked out of the inner courtyard, Su Huanfeng was still immersed in Gu Ying's gentle smile like a lotus blossoming out of clear water.

"Uncle Fu Gui, do you think she can really ride a horse in five days?"

Uncle Fu Gui walked respectfully behind Su Huanfeng and said, "The second young lady is General Gu's daughter, naturally she can ride."

The more Su Huanfeng thought about it, the more excited he became. His Yong’an Marquis Manor rose to prominence through military merits, so the daughter-in-law who married into the family must be talented in both civil and military skills.

No, she could be illiterate, but she must know martial arts.

If she couldn't even get on a horse, she wouldn't be fit to be his wife!

He looked forward to Gu Ying displaying her heroism on horseback, but also felt it would be a pity if she really was just a reckless tomboy, given her fairy-like beauty.

"Uncle Fu Gui, what is Prince Dou selling in his gourd? Why did he send night luminous pearls and the LiWang Bow to my fiancee? And have you deliver them personally? Don't tell me Prince Dou has taken a fancy to my fiancee?"

"How could that be?" Uncle Fu Gui reassured, "The prince has his own fiancée."

Su Huanfeng also remembered upon hearing this.

"How could Prince Dou compete with me over a woman? He is of a cold and indifferent disposition, completely disinterested in women. I even suspect he prefers men, and is interested in me!"

Uncle Fu Gui solemnly said, "Young lord, mind your words!"

The prince of the Duke's Residence was not one to be trifled with!

The lord and servants of Yong’an Marquis Manor soon left Dongping Earl Manor.

Huai An, who had been waiting outside Earl Manor, stroked his nose. "Go back and tell the prince the matter is settled."

...