Gu Qianying watched as the sky was about to fully brighten. Seeing the servants of the manor changing shifts around her, she pulled her cloak tighter and followed a small path back to her courtyard.
It seemed to have rained last night. As she passed the back garden, she found the beautiful cherry blossoms scattered all over the ground, and even the traces of last night's fight had disappeared.
She didn't dare to look too closely and returned directly to her courtyard with her belongings.
The light pink ruqun she was wearing was unwearable. Looking at the time, someone would likely come looking for her soon, so she needed to get herself ready quickly.
...
In the room next door, Ouyang Qinglin and Duan Xifeng woke up, rubbing their sore heads.
"We were tricked by that wine vendor. He said the wine wasn't that strong, but we slept for two whole days."
Yes, it was two days. They had slept for two full days. Even Duan Xifeng, who was usually very alert, felt like he couldn't wake up, remaining in a dazed, sleepy state.
However, after hearing the whole story from Xiao Yihao, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. Gu Qianying and Xiao Yihao were indeed quite amusing.
"Xiao Yihao, remember not to try to matchmake your mother again. It won't be good if you anger your mother."
These words were spoken by Ouyang Qinglin. Of course, Ouyang Qinglin was also laughing the hardest. Since he was no longer the Imperial Advisor, he had completely shed his previous constraints and was now carefree and unrestrained.
Even Duan Xifeng, who was usually stern and unsmiling, couldn't help but chuckle after hearing about these events. These two children had quite a few tricks up their sleeves. It was fortunate that Gu Qianying didn't know about these things; if she truly knew the inside story, she might have to deal with this boy severely.
"But we were drinking together, how did we get back to our rooms? Where is your mother?"
Ouyang Qinglin was still somewhat disoriented and couldn't quite grasp the timeline. However, he wanted to see what had happened to Gu Qianying. He then remembered the strong smell of alcohol on himself and felt a bit embarrassed. He went out to wash up, tidy himself, and then went to Gu Qianying's room.
In this manner, he regained his former appearance as a dashing young gentleman.
The two men walked around the screen and saw Gu Qianying having breakfast with Xiao Yihao.
"You two are finally awake. If you hadn't woken up, I would have had to prick you with silver needles."
Gu Qianying teased the two of them, as they always wanted to drink, but their tolerance was truly pathetic.
Gu Qianying shook her head helplessly and then asked, "Have you two had breakfast?"
Liang and Leng looked at each other and shook their heads.
Gu Qianying nodded, signaling for them to sit down and eat.
The two of them didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat.
"Uncle, this is the breakfast my mother personally made!"
Xiao Yihao drank a bowl of congee and looked up at Ouyang Qinglin and Duan Xifeng, proudly showing off that his mother cooked very well, although she disliked going into the kitchen.
Upon hearing that it was personally made by Gu Qianying, Ouyang Qinglin no longer held back. After all, Gu Qianying's cooking skills were rare and hard to come by.
Ouyang Qinglin drank two large bowls of congee before contentedly wiping his mouth and patting his stomach.
"How did you get back to your room last night?"
Ouyang Qinglin was a chatterbox and couldn't stay idle for long. His previous memory stopped at Gu Qianying getting drunk. Did this person not get drunk at all and was deliberately playing a trick on them?
Upon hearing this question, Gu Qianying's hand, which was holding the spoon, paused. The wound on her right arm began to ache faintly.
When she washed up earlier, she had seen the bandage on her wound. It was wrapped very meticulously, so much so that even she might not have been able to do it so carefully.
She seemed a bit lost in thought.
Duan Xifeng noticed that her expression was not quite right. For a moment, everyone at the table froze, looking motionlessly at Gu Qianying, observing her rare moment of distraction and daze.
Xiao Yihao found it strange and tugged at Gu Qianying's sleeve, "Mother?"
This sentence jolted Gu Qianying back to reality. She revealed a slightly embarrassed smile and added another bowl of congee for Xiao Yihao, saying, "Eat more."
Ouyang Qinglin felt something was amiss. He carefully observed Gu Qianying's expression, but to his surprise, Gu Qianying did not shy away from his gaze and faced him directly.
The two of them remained in a stalemate.
The spring wind was quite strong, but the weather was also warming up. Gu Qianying's room door was not closed. A gust of spring breeze blew in, rustling the beaded curtain. The crisp sound of colliding beads broke the tense silence.
"It's nothing. I wasn't like you two, getting so drunk I lost consciousness. I didn't drink much and went back by myself."
Gu Qianying's demeanor was natural. After explaining her experience, she said nothing more.
Hearing her words, Duan Xifeng and Ouyang Qinglin felt relieved. As long as she was alright, Gu Qianying was an adult and capable of making her own judgments.
Seeing Gu Qianying acting as if nothing had happened, and recalling her momentary lapse in thought earlier, Xiao Yihao had some questions in his mind.
Did his mother really meet Baili Jingxuan last night?
But he had also quietly returned later, why didn't he see her?
Gu Qianying finished her breakfast first and said, "I have something to do today and need to go collect herbs. You two are free to do as you please!"
With that, she took her medicine box and walked straight out.
Outside, there was a silk tree. The silk flowers, after being washed by the spring rain, had bloomed.
These silk flowers were also an ingredient in Baili Su's medicine. Gu Qianying's last medicinal ingredient was waiting for this flower.
Ouyang Qinglin watched Gu Qianying picking flowers outside, lost in thought.
Xiao Yihao wanted to ask something else, but his mother didn't give him the chance.
After finding an excuse last night, he had felt hungry and went back to eat some snacks. However, when he returned, no one was there.
He found it strange and thought they had already met and returned to their own courtyards.
But when he returned, he found no one in the courtyard at all. He searched the entire courtyard. Apart from the two sleeping, he couldn't find any trace of Gu Qianying.
He had been worried for quite some time, but Gu Qianying was nowhere to be found, and his heart remained suspended, not knowing what was happening. Gu Qianying was acting very strangely today.
However, he didn't dare to ask any more questions. If his attempt to matchmake Gu Qianying and Baili Jingxuan with Baili Mengran were discovered, it would be disastrous. His mother would surely give him a severe scolding.
Although Xiao Yihao had many doubts in his heart, he didn't dare to say too much to Gu Qianying, so he could only suppress his questions.
Gu Qianying, on the other hand, was unaware of Xiao Yihao's inner turmoil and was solely focused on how to continue collecting herbs.