He came before Gu Xiaofeng.
Gu Xiaofeng was gnawing on a steamed bun.
Quietly.
The gatekeeper, watching him, felt a pang of pity.
Silently, he fumbled in his pocket and pulled out another piece of silver.
Gu Xiaofeng was diligently eating his bun when he noticed someone watching him. He looked up, puzzled, at the gatekeeper.
Did this uncle look familiar?
Was this the gatekeeper from the General's mansion?
"This is for you. Little one, take the silver and buy yourself some clothes. With the rest, go to a restaurant and have a good meal." The gatekeeper suddenly felt a fatherly affection he had been hiding, wanting to dote on this child before him.
In the slightly cold weather, leaning against a cold wall, wearing torn clothes, and gnawing on a dry steamed bun that might have been several days old.
This was a child who should have been cherished by his parents!
Yet, he could only beg to fill his stomach.
The gatekeeper's heart ached.
Gu Xiaofeng hadn't fully registered what was happening. "For me?"
"Yes, for you. Our young lady from the General's mansion instructed us. Our lady is kind-hearted," the gatekeeper said with a benevolent smile.
Gu Xiaofeng furrowed his small brow and finally understood. "Your young lady is kind-hearted?"
"Indeed! Our lady treats everyone in the mansion exceptionally well. Don't believe the rumors outside; they're all lies!" Seeing Gu Xiaofeng's doubt, the gatekeeper explained with a smile.
Rumors could be harmful.
Even now, many people in the capital city spoke ill of the young lady.
Gu Xiaofeng's brow furrowed even deeper. "Why would she give me silver?"
"The lady likely heard that there was a small... friend near the General's mansion and wanted to help you. Please accept it quickly, I need to return to my post." The gatekeeper felt that the little beggar before him was rather strange.
Whether a little beggar or an old one, if offered silver, they would surely accept it without a second word.
Why was this little beggar asking so many questions? And not believing their lady was kind?
Perhaps, having encountered too many bad people at such a young age, he no longer believed in good people?
The gatekeeper didn't have time to ponder the thoughts of a little beggar.
He placed the silver directly into the little beggar's palm and returned to the General's mansion.
Gu Xiaofeng looked down at the three pieces of silver in his hand.
He couldn't understand why the "bad woman" his godmother spoke of was called kind-hearted by the people of the General's mansion. And why she gave him silver.
Would a bad woman pity a little beggar?
The more Gu Xiaofeng thought about it, the more confused he became.
He forgot about the steamed bun in his hand.
Then, he thought of his godmother, who had always been good to him, and the things she had told him. That bad woman was always harming his godmother! Giving him silver now was clearly a hypocritical act for a good reputation!
The bad woman's silver was dirty; he didn't want it!
He stood up and threw the silver from his palm.
Then he ran away.
The two beggars who had been leaning against the wall, their eyes full of envy at the silver in Gu Xiaofeng's hand, were utterly incredulous when they saw him throw it away.
Was this child out of his mind?
Upon realizing what had happened, they quickly scurried to pick up the silver.
The gatekeeper witnessed this scene and his eyes nearly popped out.
"What's wrong with that little beggar? He actually threw away the silver!"
He was so angry, "When the lady returns, I must tell her that she should never think of giving silver to those little beggars again; they don't appreciate it at all!"
After Gu Xiaofeng ran far away.
He leaned against a large tree, his figure appearing somewhat lonely.
Suddenly.
A pair of small shoes appeared before him.
"Why did you throw away the silver?" the newcomer asked.
Gu Xiaofeng looked up and saw Yun Xiaojing, who had given him candied hawthorns before. With a displeased expression, he furrowed his brow. "The silver is dirty."
Yun Xiaojing's bright eyes widened. "Silver is fragrant, not dirty! Don't you need silver to buy food and clothes?!"
Most importantly, it was his mother's silver, and it had been so contemptuously thrown away. He felt very uncomfortable.
"What are you from the General's mansion?" Gu Xiaofeng asked.
He touched the poison in his sleeve.
If he were just the child of a servant in the General's mansion, he wouldn't administer poison.
But if he had any connection to the bad woman or her father, then he would poison him!
Yun Xiaojing's eyes darted around. His identity still couldn't be revealed, so he said, "The most beautiful and kindest young lady in the world, who gave you silver from the General's mansion, wants to acknowledge me as her son!"
"No!" Gu Xiaofeng's voice suddenly rose.
"Why not?" Yun Xiaojing looked at Gu Xiaofeng in confusion.
He sensed that the little beggar held strong hostility towards his mother!
There were so many people who liked his mother. He admired his mother, and Zhan Xiaoli also liked his mother. If this little beggar didn't like his mother, that was one thing, but he seemed to hate her?
Gu Xiaofeng pursed his lips. "It's just no. She will harm you! If you lack a mother and want to be someone else's son, I can help you find a mother! She will be very, very good to you!"
"I don't want that! No one else compares to her in my eyes! I only want her to be my mother!" Yun Xiaojing crossed his small arms, ready to defend Yun Shu.
He needed to understand why this little beggar harbored such hostility towards his mother!
Gu Xiaofeng hadn't expected Yun Xiaojing to be so obstinate. His lips tightened into a straight line. "You know nothing! She is a bad woman!"
If it weren't for the candied hawthorn he had given him, he wouldn't have revealed the truth.
Yun Xiaojing became angry. "If you dare to call her a bad woman again, even if you look a little like me, I'll hit you! I won't allow anyone to slander her! She is the best person in the world!"
He rolled up his sleeves.
He prepared to fight.
Gu Xiaofeng was equally angered by Yun Xiaojing's stubbornness, clenching his small fists. "You can't beat me!"
He knew how to use poison. In the past two days, quite a few bad people had tried to abduct him or bully him, but he had scared them away with poison.
"You say I can't beat you? I've been fighting people since I was little, and I've never lost!" Yun Xiaojing rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight.
Gu Xiaofeng's face turned cold. He touched the poison in his sleeve, hesitating.
He hadn't forgotten the candied hawthorn.
So, he took a step back and said coldly, "Remember what I just said, or you will surely regret it later!"
"You'll be the one to regret it!" Yun Xiaojing was furious at Gu Xiaofeng's unfair judgment.
Gu Xiaofeng knew that further words were useless. He turned and ran, leaving.
Yun Xiaojing watched Gu Xiaofeng leave and snorted, "My mother is the best person in the whole world!"
...
After Gu Xiaofeng ran away, he returned to the Regent's mansion.
He happened to see Yun Yueyin and Zhan Ming.
He was overjoyed to see Yun Yueyin and ran towards her, "Godmother!"
Yun Yueyin frowned subtly when she saw the dirty little figure running towards her. As Gu Xiaofeng reached her,
She immediately said, "You're back, why haven't you changed your clothes?"
Zhan Ming, who never had much affection for this adopted son, directly commanded in a cold tone, "Go change your clothes."
Gu Xiaofeng froze.
His burst of happiness also froze with him.