Eavesdropping (continued)

After finishing her business, it was already afternoon. Gu Wanning took Er Ya and Zhi Nu out for a quick meal, then went back home and collapsed into bed, exhausted.

In the middle of the night, she was awakened by the sound of a fight outside.

Yes, that's the sound of fighting.

"Who are you?!" Er Ya stormed out angrily, "Coming to my house to fight. Do you think we're easy to bully? Let me tell you..."

Then Er Ya seemed to fall silent, as if she had been silenced.

Gu Wanning's heart tightened. Had Er Ya been kidnapped?

"No, it was me," Fourth Concubine said. "I just arrived, and then I felt someone was acting suspiciously. I thought it was a bad person, but I didn't expect..."

What a bad person.

Xu Weibei.

Xu Weibei's face turned ashen.

When Little Flower saw him, she felt a great sense of kinship and spat out her saliva without restraint.

Gu Wanning was speechless at this farce.

"You two want to fight? Is the Marquis's Residence's mansion not big enough to accommodate both of you?"

What kind of fight are you having in my yard?!

These two are living ancestors.

She got up, put on her coat, and without combing her hair, simply gathered it up and let it hang down her back. She went out with a hint of helplessness. "My Marquis, Yaya, what are you doing?"

Xu Weibei blushed.

Could he say that he simply couldn't resist coming to see someone in the middle of the night, only to be caught red-handed by Zhou Yaya the moment he arrived?

No, he can't say.

"I'm here to arrest her." Xu Weibei pointed at the Fourth Concubine. "What are you planning to do, sneaking out of the manor in the middle of the night!"

Zhou Yaya's face turned red with anger. "My Marquis, you are Marquis, you can't just lie through your teeth! You arrived before me, and you say you're here to arrest me, do you even believe it yourself?"

"I knew you would come here, so I came here to wait for you," Xu Weibei suddenly said, as if struck by a sudden inspiration.

Zhou Yaya: "You, you're just making excuses."

"You'd better think about how to handle things when you get back," Xu Weibei said sinisterly. "Don't think your senior brother is omnipotent."

Zhou Yaya was speechless and looked to Gu Wanning for help.

Gu Wanning had a headache, ignoring her pleading look, and said, "It's too late, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, you two..."

Love and hate

Let's change the date.

It's Chinese New Year, can you all please stop making a scene?

Can't we all just have a peaceful and quiet Lunar New Year?

This was the first time she had seen Xu Weibei since their divorce, but she didn't feel that he had changed at all.

"Zhou Yaya, you should know what happens to a runaway concubine." Xu Weibei didn't want to leave, but he had no excuse to stay, so he could only shift the blame and control the "hostage."

"What will their fate be? Drowning in a pig cage!"

"Kill him!"

Gu Wanning's head was throbbing with a buzzing pain.

You two, stop messing around, it's so annoying!

"My Marquis, I asked Yaya to come and help today."

"What do you need her help with? For food?"

"My Marquis, you've eaten before. How can you pick up a bowl to eat my dumplings and fried chicken, and then start cursing as soon as you put it down?" Fourth Concubine grumbled.

Gu Wanning couldn't stand it anymore and chased these two troublesome kids away.

Perhaps because she had slept too much, she was no longer sleepy and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

She knew that Xu Weibei didn't want to let go.

But she won't turn back.

She had already said everything she needed to say, and Xu Weibei hadn't explicitly stated that he wanted to pursue her, so saying anything more would just be pretentious.

Ugh, this is so annoying.

Why is there a dating component?

Why can't you just focus on your career?

Especially Xu Weibei, does the Ministry of Revenue have any money? You're a man with important business to attend to!

Gu Wanning couldn't sleep, and neither could Xu Weibei.

Today, he finally mustered the courage to see Gu Wanning, and saw her writing under the lamp, her profile just as before...

Unfortunately, before he could even take a few glances, that idiot Zhou Yaya caught him red-handed!

Xu Weibei still felt there was more to say.

So on New Year's Eve the next day, the emperor held a banquet and invited everyone to the palace. Xu Weibei said that he had caught a cold and could not even get out of bed, so he would not go and upset everyone.

Xu Weibei, who was "seriously ill," wandered into the Gu family's courtyard in the middle of the night, only to find the Gu family celebrating the New Year together, but Gu Wanning was nowhere to be seen.

Gu Wanning was in her house, eating hot pot with Zhi Nu and Er Ya.

There are no outsiders at home, so I don't have to think before I speak, and I can lounge around without any regard for my image after a full meal—how wonderful!

Furthermore, according to custom, married women are not allowed to return home for the New Year, as it is said that they will bring bad luck to their brothers.

Then let's break up quickly. Don't blame her for everything that happens later; she can't handle that.

Moreover, she didn't want to see Gu Xiaoxiao; she was the kind of disgusting person who made you lose half a bowl of rice.

Red-hot charcoal, a sizzling pot, a dazzling array of ingredients, fragrant sesame sauce—what could be more satisfying than enjoying a steaming hot pot meal?

"Girl, this mutton is delicious." Er Ya gasped as she was burned, but still couldn't help praising it.

"The lamb from the west is delicious," Gu Wanning said. "It's not gamey."

This was a gift from Gu Yuanshi's students.

Gu Yuanshi doesn't accept gifts during the New Year; at most, he might accept some local specialties from his students.

This sheep is already the most expensive one.

He Shi gave her almost half of it.

"Zhi Nu, eat more," Gu Wanning said with a smile. "After dinner, your aunt will play chess with you, and we'll stay up all night to welcome the New Year together."

"Oh right, we haven't prepared the red envelopes yet!" Er Ya said. "Don't forget them later."

Gu Wanning is also an elder, so she should give red envelopes to her nephews.

Moreover, her four concubines said they would be coming to wish her a Happy New Year tomorrow, so she needed to be prepared.

They had made plans to go to the temple fair together.

"Good."

Inside, the meal was being eaten in a lively atmosphere, while outside, Xu Weibei braved the wind and snow, his stomach growling with hunger, yet he was reluctant to leave.

Even just listening to her talk about everyday things made him very happy.