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Chapter 689 A Bowl of Sweet Soup, Two Kinds of Wishes

Gu Qingchen led the restless Lin Jiayou into the mansion and settled him in "Tingzhuxuan", which was not far from his own courtyard.

The butler followed up with a reply, and she then learned that her cousins, Gu Lu and Gu Lanxin, had temporarily moved into the Duke's mansion because their residence in the capital was not yet fully renovated.

The "Listening to Bamboo Pavilion" was quiet and elegant, which pleased Gu Qingchen.

As they were talking, they encountered a woman on the covered walkway leading to the garden.

Lin Jiayou immediately adopted the most humble and polite posture, stepped forward, and bowed: "Lin Jiayou greets Miss Lanxin." His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer.

Lin Jiayou had lived in Chengdu with Gu Lanxin and Gu Lu for many years and was already very familiar with them.

At this moment, his tone of addressing "Miss Lanxin" was humble yet familiar.

Gu Lanxin stopped and nodded slightly to Lin Jiayou.

Her gaze swept lightly across Lin Jiayou's face, then landed on Gu Qingchen behind him, a fleeting look passing through the depths of her eyes, so quick it was almost an illusion.

A single glance can speak louder than a thousand words.

Lin Jiayou's gentle smile held a hint of understanding. Gu Lanxin's calm eyes also concealed a tacit agreement that remained unspoken.

Gu Qingchen, however, was completely unaware of the silent undercurrent between the two.

She let go of Lin Jiayou, rushed forward, and affectionately took Gu Lanxin's arm, practically clinging to her.

"Sister Lan! I miss you so much!"

Gu Lanxin was so shaken that she stumbled, a helpless yet doting smile on her face. She reached out and tapped her forehead.

"You're still the same as ever, always so energetic and impulsive, you haven't changed at all."

Gu Qingchen looked up, not holding back his praise, "Ten years have passed, and Sister Lan has become so beautiful! She's much better than those timid young ladies in the capital..."

From an angle unseen by Gu Qingchen, Lin Jiayou's lips curled into a very faint, genuine smile.

He knew that Gu Lanxin would be the most unexpected and most important pawn in his game in the capital.

Inside the main hall, Gu Qingchen handed the cloth bag to Chu Ruohan.

Upon opening it, I found a bottle of high-quality blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment, specifically for treating old rheumatic injuries.

Chu Ruohan held the rough medicine bottle, rubbing the surface of it with her fingertips, her eyes instantly becoming complicated.

There was relief, and there was heartache...

Gu Junze put his arm around his wife's shoulder from behind, took the ointment, and placed it on the table.

He said in a deep voice, "He cares about you, but he doesn't know how to face it yet. The child is atoning for his sins in his own way, so don't push yourself too hard."

The news quickly reached Master Gu's residence.

When Gu Lu's grandfather heard that his grandson and granddaughter were not living in his own home but instead in the Zhenguo Duke's mansion, he was so angry that he smashed his teacup on the spot.

At home, he pointed towards the front door and cursed Gu Lu as an "ungrateful wretch" for currying favor with the Duke of Zhenguo and forgetting his roots, making Gu Lu lose face.

Late at night.

After settling Lin Jiayou in, Gu Qingchen smiled brightly as she left: "You get some rest, I'll take you sightseeing tomorrow!"

Lin Jiayou gently agreed and watched her leave.

As Gu Qingchen's figure disappeared behind the moon gate of Tingzhuxuan, the smile on his face vanished instantly.

Those gentle eyes turned cold, their gaze piercing through the night, looking towards the direction of "Jingsi Garden" where Gu Lanxin lived.

In the study, the candlelight flickered.

Gu Junze put down the book in his hand and asked Chu Ruohan beside him, "What do you think of that Lin Jiayou?"

Chu Ruohan was organizing the account books under the lamp when she heard this and stopped writing.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "He's too preoccupied. Qingchen is no match for him. I already have reservations about Lin Xingyao and Wei Qiming's child, but Gu Lu has been taking care of him for so many years, let's see how it goes."

She said this, and then sighed.

"Speaking of which, Lan'er is a pitiful child. She originally had a fiancé in Chengdu who was her soulmate and was a constable. Unfortunately, during the arrest of thieves... alas, that's how it was delayed, and she has remained unmarried ever since."

"Gu Lu is the same. He's already twenty-five. In the capital, people his age usually have kids old enough to run errands. But he's not in a hurry to get married at all."

Gu Junze took her hand and smiled instead.

"You're such a worrywart. Your children and grandchildren will have their own lives to live, so don't think about it so much."

The next day, Gu Qingchen got up very early and disappeared before dawn.

She pulled Lin Jiayou along and showed him the entire vast Duke's mansion.

From the martial arts training ground where she practiced martial arts to the artificial hill where she used to raid bird nests as a child, she wanted to tell him everything about her life over the past ten years.

It seemed as if Lin Jiayou was the only person left in her world.

When Qian Zhenyun arrived on the Crown Prince's orders, this was the scene he witnessed.

Gu Qingchen was pointing excitedly at a bright red pony in the stable, showing off to Lin Jiayou: "Look! This is Chiyan's son, named Huomiao'er. I'll give it to you to ride later!"

Qian Zhenyun stepped forward carrying the food box. "Qingchen."

Gu Qingchen turned around, saw it was him, and casually asked, "Gungun, what are you doing here?"

"His Highness said that you were frightened yesterday, so he specially ordered people to prepare Mantingfang pastries." Qian Zhenyun handed over the food box.

"Oh, please thank him for me."

Gu Qingchen took the food box without even looking at it, and handed it to the maid behind her. Then, she excitedly tugged at Lin Jiayou's sleeve.

"Come on, come on, I'll take you to the back garden to see the koi I keep. Every single one of them is so fat!"

Qian Zhenyun's outstretched hand remained suspended in mid-air as he watched her retreating figure, which showed no sign of lingering. The light in his eyes dimmed.

In the afternoon, Gu Qingchen seemed to remember something and rushed into the small kitchen.

"Chef Wang, quick! Prepare some of the best taro and freshly picked osmanthus flowers for me!"

She remembered that Lin Jiayou had said that his favorite food was the osmanthus taro soup made by the cook of the princess's mansion, so she became interested and decided to make him a bowl herself.

She moved a small stool and stood by the stove, sometimes complaining that the taro paste wasn't smooth enough, sometimes instructing the maid to add an extra spoonful of sugar, her mind filled with the image of Lin Jiayou's surprised and touched expression when he ate the sweet soup.

As dusk settled, the evening glow painted half the sky crimson.

Gu Qingchen carried the still-warm bowl of sweet soup himself and walked briskly toward Tingzhu Pavilion.

She didn't have her servants announce her arrival, intending to sneak in quietly and give him a surprise.

The courtyard gate was ajar, and she gently pushed it open a crack.

However, the scene before her eyes froze her in place.

Lin Jiayou was standing side by side with his cousin Gu Lanxin, talking in hushed tones.

In his hand, he held a simple handkerchief, and with focused gentleness, he wiped away a fallen leaf from Gu Lanxin's hair.

That posture, that look in his eyes, were so intimate that it made her heart skip a beat.

It was a gentleness she had never seen before, a gentleness that belonged to Lin Jiayou.

"Clang."

The food box was not held firmly by the handle and bumped against the door with a soft thud.

The two people under the tree looked over upon hearing the sound.