Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Because of what was said during the meal on the day Gu Chaoning and Gu Wen returned, the curiosity of the two young lads at home was piqued.

In the days that followed, whenever they had free time, Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan would go together to ask Gu Chaoning questions.

They had a clear split: one asked about clothes, the other about food.

Gu Chaoning got worn down by their pestering, starting from the very first day he and Gu Wen set foot in the county town.

He told them about the smooth hemp clothes that common folks wore, made of who-knows-what material, to the bamboo-green robe of the scholar sitting across from him in the exam hall.

He talked about the inn's veggie dishes—fragrant, tasty, and with a meaty taste—and the fried potato sticks on the street with long lines, fried in oil and dusted with savory spices.

He had those two boys' eyes wide with envy and mouths watering.

They wished they could just up and head to the county town right then.

Today, after Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan finished cutting pig grass, they went hand in hand to ask Gu Chaoning about the county town—but he wasn't there.

That's when they remembered Gu Chaoning and Gu Rong had gone into town together.

The Tongsheng exam results were sent to town by a messenger, but they didn't come out to the village to tell the students personally.

The students had to go to town themselves to check.

The village schoolteacher figured the timing was about right and pushed Gu Chaoning and the other exam takers to head into town to check.

Today was already the third day of waiting.

Who knew what was holding up the messenger.

Gu Chaoning and the others came out of the headman's office, and a few of them let out long sighs, unable to believe they'd come all that way for nothing again.

One of them said, "I already had no confidence, and now the messenger still hasn't shown. It's really nerve-wracking."

In his past life, Gu Chaoning had taken the exam two years later than now, and he tried to recall what had happened around this time back then.

He remembered that an inspector had come to the county town, which caused a delay.

Inspections were routine, but Gu Chaoning couldn't say that. He just said a few words to reassure them and left with the group.

The group wasn't just from Little River Village. After chatting a bit, everyone went their own way.

Besides Gu Chaoning and Gu Rong, two others from Little River Village had taken the exam too.

But Gu Chaoning wanted to pick up a few things for Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan, so he didn't head off with the other three.

Knowing those two boys would grill him again about the county town's clothes and food when he got back, Gu Chaoning changed direction and headed to the fabric shop the Gu family usually went to in town.

"County town cloth? Then it's gotta be this grass-green hemp! That soft green is just right for early spring when the grass is starting to come up."

The shop assistant, hearing Gu Chaoning's request, pulled a bolt of new cloth from the counter stacked with fabric.

But it wasn't actually from the county town—they'd dyed it themselves at the shop.

But since he claimed it was from the county town, no one else would be the wiser.

And since they mostly sold cheap fabric to regular folks, those customers were even less likely to know if it really came from the county town.

Too bad for him, the Gu Chaoning standing right there actually did know what county town fabric looked like.

He'd just come back from the county town, after all.

One look at the quality and he could tell the shop assistant was lying.

But business was business, and Gu Chaoning got it.

With other customers around, Gu Chaoning didn't call him out.

Instead, he drifted over to the counter where finished goods like hair ties, hair flowers, and handkerchiefs were laid out.

He did manage to find a hairband embroidered with a county town pattern.

But the soft pink, like peach blossoms, didn't seem right for Yin Hongxue.

Gu Chaoning asked the assistant, "Does this hairband come in other colors?"

Seeing Gu Chaoning wasn't going to buy any cloth, the assistant didn't get upset.

He came up next to Gu Chaoning and leaned in to look at the hairband he was pointing at.

It was soft pink, with a full peach blossom embroidered on one end and a bud on the other.

Along the edges were some faint leaves.

The two ends could be brought together to form a full picture.

The assistant thought about where the hairband had come from, then about Gu Chaoning asking for something from the county town. He took a quiet look at Gu Chaoning's clothes.

A scholar's gown.

In a flash, he realized Gu Chaoning must be a student who'd gone to the county town for the exam this year.

His face flushed at the thought.

"So you're a scholar back from the county town! Look at this lying mouth of mine—I oughta slap it."

He quickly pointed at the hairband. "Too bad, this one's from the county town and it's been selling like hotcakes. This is the last one."

He paused, then said, "The hairband's ten wen. If you want it, I'll knock off two wen for you."

No other colors, huh—Gu Chaoning felt a little let down.

Yin Hongxue's features were on the plain side. It was fine when he was little, but as he got older, his eyes and brows grew colder and more distant, just like in his past life.

But picturing Yin Hongxue's cold face with that bright hairband on, Gu Chaoning couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, please wrap it up for me, young man."

The assistant beamed and quickly agreed.

After buying the hairband, Gu Chaoning headed to the pastry shop.

Following the shopkeeper's suggestion, he grabbed a few of the new crispy pastries and some honey tangerine cakes.

That set him back another twenty wen, and then he headed home.

There were no ox carts at this hour, so Gu Chaoning walked back on foot. From a distance, he spotted Gu Muan at the village entrance, playing with a group of kids.

"Brother!"

He caught the little guy as he ran into his arms, then said hi to the other kids who called him Chaoning Ge.

Gu Chaoning took Gu Muan's hand and headed back.

"Where's Xue Geer?"

Those two were rarely apart when it came to playing.

Gu Muan was fiddling with a flower-and-grass necklace in his hands, but his eyes were glued to the pastries Gu Chaoning was holding.

"Xue Age and Shui Age went to Cao'erping to play."

Cao'erping was a small sunny slope where pigweed, chickenweed, and all kinds of flowers and grasses grew in abundance. The villagers all liked going there to cut fodder.

Gu Muan had wanted to go too, but he was worried about his brother, so he waited at the village entrance, playing with the other kids while keeping an eye out.

After dropping Gu Muan off at home, Gu Chaoning headed to Cao'erping to find Yin Hongxue.

Over at Cao'erping.

Xu Xiaoshui was carrying a huge basket that could almost swallow him whole, bent over cutting grass while chatting and laughing with Yin Hongxue nearby.

Yin Hongxue's basket was already full, so he was helping Xu Xiaoshui cut grass.

Off to the side, someone watched coldly and snorted in annoyance.

"Yin Hongxue, the Gu family spent money to buy you and raise you finely. If you're not going to work your tail off for the Gu family out of gratitude, fine, but spending all day waiting on Xu Xiaoshui—aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

Xu Xiaoshui got flustered and waved his hands frantically: "He's not serving me, Xue Geer isn't serving me..."

Yin Hongxue frowned: "Xu Chunmiao, quit your yapping! I already finished my chores at home, and Dad let me come out to play by myself!"

"If I came out to play on my own, I can do whatever I please!"

Hearing that, Xu Chunmiao's eyes nearly shot fire.

He'd long been sick of the sight of Yin Hongxue and Xu Xiaoshui.

Why should Yin Hongxue, bought by the Gu family as a child bridegroom, get to dress so well every day, never worry about food or drink, and not have to work from dawn to dusk!

Especially since he'd heard that back in the Yin family, Yin Hongxue had lived worse than a dog.

And Xu Xiaoshui—his family was so poor, and his own parents didn't even like him. Why would Yin Hongxue and Gu Li both want to play with him?

Fine, they played with him—but they also helped him with his chores!

He worked every day too, so why wouldn't Yin Hongxue and Gu Li come help him out!

Xu Chunmiao sneered and turned to Xu Xiaoshui: "Xu Xiaoshui, cut the act. You brought out such a big basket—wasn't that just to get Yin Hongxue to help you?"

"It's not me," Xu Xiaoshui instinctively looked at Yin Hongxue to explain, "my mom made me carry it. Xue Geer, I didn't..."

But even if he hadn't, his mother had.

Thinking of the scolding his mother had given him earlier, Xu Xiaoshui's voice trailed off.

Yin Hongxue was about to say more when Gu Chaoning's loud call came from behind.

"Xue Geer!"

Yin Hongxue turned around, eyes widening in surprise: "Chaoning Ge!"

Xu Chunmiao and Xu Xiaoshui both looked over, and seeing Gu Chaoning appear out of nowhere, they were both stunned, eyes wide.

Worried that Gu Chaoning might have heard him, Xu Chunmiao nervously gripped the basket in his hands.

But then he figured—what he said wasn't wrong.

Maybe Gu Chaoning would even agree with him, think Yin Hongxue was ungrateful, and make him work harder.

After all, everything he said was for the Gu family's own good.

The Gu family spent a fortune to buy Yin Hongxue, fed him and clothed him. If he didn't work hard for them but instead worked for Xu Xiaoshui, how much money would the Gu family lose!

The more Xu Chunmiao thought about it, the more he believed he was right, and his fear faded. He just stood there on the slope, watching Gu Chaoning and Yin Hongxue like he was waiting for a show.

Yin Hongxue ran over to Gu Chaoning with a thud, skidding to a stop just before he could throw himself into his arms.

"Chaoning Ge, you're back? How'd you know I was here?"

Gu Chaoning ruffled his hair: "An Geer mentioned it."

Gu Chaoning acted like he hadn't heard a word they said, nor noticed Yin Hongxue's basket sitting on the slope.

Gu Chaoning: "You done playing, Xue Geer? Ready to head back?"

Xu Chunmiao stood frozen, unable to believe Gu Chaoning didn't scold Yin Hongxue, but instead gently ruffled his hair and asked if he was done playing.

Whenever he'd said stuff like that before, his dad and grandpa would put others down and then praise him.

Hearing Gu Chaoning's question, Yin Hongxue nodded eagerly.

Then he turned and ran back to Xu Xiaoshui with a thud, said goodbye, grabbed his basket, and ran back to Gu Chaoning.

Gu Chaoning gave Xu Xiaoshui a nod in greeting, then casually took Yin Hongxue's basket.

Xu Xiaoshui and Xu Chunmiao stood on Cao'erping and clearly heard Gu Chaoning's bright, pleasant voice.

He said: "I got you a hairband in the county style."

The blade of grass Xu Chunmiao was holding slipped from his fingers and fell, his gaze locked on Gu Chaoning.

He just couldn't understand—why was Gu Chaoning so good to Yin Hongxue?

Was it because Yin Hongxue was his bought-and-paid-for bridegroom?

But his dad and grandpa had said that husbands and wives were stupid, prone to making mistakes, and needed to be disciplined and beaten by their men a few times to straighten them out.

Yin Hongxue had done something wrong—so why didn't Gu Chaoning discipline him?

Was it because he'd discipline him once they got home?

Or was it because he and Yin Hongxue hadn't had the wedding ceremony yet?

Xu Chunmiao couldn't figure it out. He could only think—if he were Gu Chaoning's child bridegroom, would Gu Chaoning buy him a hairband too?

If Gu Chaoning would buy him a hairband too, he'd be willing to be disciplined by him, even.