freenovelworld Chapter 696 Sold out, and still eagerly counting the money for the other person.
Chapter 696 Sold out, and still eagerly counting the money for the other person.
The newcomer was tall and handsome, but his brows carried a sense of aloofness that came from someone who had long held a high position.
Lin Jiayou saw the person in the bronze mirror. His hands continued moving, and a smile, not quite a smile, appeared on his lips.
"Young Prince, what brings you here? Are you just passing by?"
Lin Jingchuan ignored the sarcasm in his words, looked him up and down, and walked straight in, sitting down at the table.
"I've grown up, and I've gotten taller." Lin Jingchuan's voice was very calm, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.
"You're looking more and more like your mother. If she were still alive, she would be very happy to see you like this now."
Lin Jiayou stopped wiping, put down the cloth, turned around, and looked at the other person calmly.
Lin Jingchuan poured himself a cup of tea, skimming off the foam with the lid, making a crisp sound.
"Why don't you go back to the Prince's Mansion? Why do you insist on living in the Gu family's house? Your mother is a princess personally appointed by the imperial court. Why do you have to live under someone else's roof?"
These words were like a needle, precisely piercing a boil.
The smile on Lin Jiayou's face vanished completely. He interrupted Lin Jingchuan, his voice as cold as ice.
"Even my mother, that princess, is a fake. Wherever I live, am I not just living under someone else's roof?"
He raised his chin slightly. "I'm fine the way I am now."
Lin Jingchuan knew the child harbored resentment. He tightened his grip on the teacup, but ultimately changed the subject.
"I heard you've already passed the imperial examination at the county level. Will you be participating in next year's autumn examination?"
Lin Jiayou didn't speak, but just looked at him silently, as if he were looking at a stranger.
Lin Jingchuan seemed not to need his answer and continued, "You must have learned a lot from Gu Lu over the past ten years. The imperial examination is the right path. If you can pass with flying colors, your mother in heaven will surely be happy for you."
"uncle."
Lin Jiayou suddenly spoke, but his pronunciation of those two words was extremely stiff.
"I heard that my uncle remarried in recent years and has several children. Congratulations!"
Lin Jingchuan froze, his hand still holding the teacup, and a crack finally appeared in the calm mask on his face.
He felt a chill in his heart. He asked himself if he had done anything wrong to the child, but Lin Jiayou had never asked about his maternal grandparents...
He put down his teacup with a soft sound.
After a long silence, he stood up, his Adam's apple bobbing, before finally letting out a sigh.
"If you've had enough of staying at the Gu family's place, then come back."
After saying that, he didn't look at Lin Jiayou again, turned around, lifted the curtain, and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.
Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered slightly.
Lin Jiayou sat back down in front of the mirror, looking at the face in the mirror that resembled his mother's. The gentleness in his eyes had vanished, leaving only unfathomable ambition.
Come back? Go back to that "home" where there isn't even a memorial tablet for my mother?
Because of Gu Qingchen's injury, the hunt had to be ended hastily.
The carriage of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion returned to the residence.
Gu Qingchen had just been helped off the carriage by a maid and was still limping when a loud, reprimanding voice came crashing down on him.
"Look at the state you're in!"
Gu Junze, dressed in a black casual suit, stood with his hands behind his back on the steps, his face ashen.
He looked at his daughter's swollen ankle and disheveled appearance, a fleeting pang of heartache crossing his eyes, which was quickly replaced by even stronger anger.
Gu Qingchen was already seething with anger, and when his father yelled at him, his grievances welled up inside him.
"Dad! I'm injured, and instead of comforting me, you scold me!"
"I'm talking about you!" Gu Junze stepped down the stairs, pointing at her. "Reckless, easily angered, and lacking self-control! If you had any brains at all, you wouldn't have been so easily manipulated into losing your composure and falling into such a simple trap!"
"I didn't!" Gu Qingchen retorted stubbornly. "It was Wang Ruoyu who was despicable and shameless, using underhanded tactics to injure my horse! If Lin Jiayou hadn't arrived in time, my daughter would probably be standing here talking to you right now!"
She brought up Lin Jiayou again, her tone full of protectiveness, "He risked his life to save me, this is the second time!"
"Lin Jiayou?" Upon hearing this name, Gu Junze laughed in anger, "I think you've been sold out, and you're still eager to count the money for the seller!"
Seeing his daughter's stubbornness, he spoke to her in such a stern tone for the first time, speaking frankly and bluntly.
"Qingchen, you need to hone your judgment of people. What you saw today may not be the truth."
These words were like a thorn, piercing deeply into Gu Qingchen's heart.
This is so similar to Qian Zhenyun's skeptical attitude towards everything!
"The truth? The truth I saw was that Lin Jiayou saved me!"
She retorted defiantly, "Father, why do you, like Qian Zhenyun, harbor prejudice against him?"
This was the first time she had argued so fiercely with her father over a stranger.
Gu Junze was so angry at her words that his chest heaved. He flicked his sleeves, turned around and walked up the steps, leaving behind a cold and harsh remark.
"You're confined for a month. You're not allowed to step out of the mansion until you learn to think for yourself!"
Having said that, he went into the mansion without looking back.
Gu Qingchen stood there, rolling her eyes. A month is fine, it's not the first time she's been grounded anyway.
It's quiet at night.
Only one lamp was lit in Qian Zhenyun's room, casting a dim, yellowish glow.
Watching the pebble spread out in his palm hit the black bear's left eye, he gained the crucial moment to fire his second arrow.
He ran his fingertips along the rough surface of the pebble, his mind replaying the scene in the forest during the day.
He didn't take Wang Ruoyu's underhanded scheming seriously at all.
A fool blinded by jealousy has the guts to trip someone up, but he has neither the guts nor the ability to scheme against a bear.
The black bear's appearance was too coincidental.
It's so coincidental that it seems like a stage was deliberately created for someone to play the hero and save the damsel in distress.
An unarmed scholar charged at a raging black bear. This wasn't bravery, it was foolishness, it was suicide.
Unless, he is certain that he will not die.
Qian Zhenyun's gaze darkened, his eyes turning icy cold.
He slowly clenched the pebble in his palm, the hard edges digging painfully into his hand.
This matter is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface.
The hunt ended abruptly, Gu Qingchen was punished with confinement, and Lin Jiayou was "seriously injured," leaving the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion with two more "patients" who needed to recuperate.
Gu Qingchen's ankle was swollen like a steamed bun, and he walked with a limp, but he didn't care about his injury at all.
All she thought about every day was Lin Jiayou, who lived in the guesthouse.
"Are you feeling any better? This is a soup I had the kitchen make to nourish your blood and qi. Drink it while it's hot."
Gu Qingchen held the soup bowl, carefully blowing on it to cool it down, and fed it to Lin Jiayou spoonful by spoonful.