After Hu Tie and Bao Ya left, Gu Sui’er sat by the window and continued flipping through the account book, but she couldn’t help but think about what Hu Tie had mentioned earlier.
If Brother Shitou had left, where might he have gone? Why did he venture out to find her by himself when they had already broken off their betrothal?
Once it was broken, they had nothing to do with each other.
However, Gu Sui’er was still concerned about his whereabouts. After all, they had known each other since childhood. Even though they couldn’t marry, he was still someone she was very familiar with.
While she was lost in these thoughts, Xiao Heng returned.
Seeing her sitting by the window, sighing and frowning, Xiao Heng couldn’t help but approach her and say: “If this banquet is causing you so much trouble, we can just cancel it or keep it simple.”
He didn’t think it was necessary, but she insisted on making it grand. She didn’t want their family to be laughed at by others.
He might not be worldly-wise, but he knew that when one had nothing, others may not spare a glance even if one brought out the most exotic delicacies. But when one is successful, a mere glass of plain water from one could regarded as a treasure.
Now that he had acknowledged his lineage and was quite favored by the Emperor, there were countless people who wanted to establish a connection with him, this newly-appointed prince.
If Gu Sui’er wanted to invite the madams and young ladies of Yanjing City, everyone would probably rush to have some sort of interaction with her.
Gu Sui’er shook her head: “I’m not thinking about that. Today, when Hu Tie came back, he mentioned something about home.”
Xiao Heng: “About your home? Wasn’t everything settled there?”
Hu Tie had naturally reported everything to him first, so he knew everything went without a hitch.
Gu Sui’er sighed: “An acquaintance from my hometown left home and hasn’t returned ever since. I’m afraid something might have happened.”
Brother Shitou had spent his entire life there. He had never traveled far. It was his first time going out without anyone to take care of him, so who knew what might have happened.
Xiao Heng paused for a moment, then looked at the clear worry in her eyes.
He calmly asked: “Who is this acquaintance?”
Gu Sui’er snapped back to reality. She suddenly felt that it would not be a good idea to tell Xiao Heng about her previous relationship with Brother Shitou.
“J-just someone I grew up with.” Feeling guilty, she quickly averted her gaze.
“I see.” Xiao Heng replied lightly.
“Forget it, it’s not a big deal. If we cannot find, then we cannot find!” Gu Sui’er quickly added: “It doesn’t matter to me!”
“Since you grew up together, how can it not matter? Isn’t that person considered your childhood sweetheart?” Xiao Heng said this way.
Childhood sweetheart?
Gu Sui’er’s forehead was immediately covered with sweat: “No, cannot be considered that at all!”
Xiao Heng stared at her evasive eyes and naturally understood in his heart.
“If that person really cannot be found, I will ask Hu Tie or Jiang Zheng to search. This way, I can also give Uncle and Aunt an account for myself.”
“No!” Gu Sui’er firmly answered: “No need at all. If we can’t find, then we can’t find!”
Xiao Heng raised an eyebrow: “Then forget it.”
Seeing that he didn’t mention it again, Gu Sui’er was finally relieved. She glanced at him furtively. Why did she feel like he knew something?
However, when she first entered Yanjing City, the Shi family had already called off the betrothal with her. He shouldn’t know about it, right?
Speaking of which, Gu Sui’er was silly to not realize that if the man wanted to know something, he didn’t even need to raise his hand.
Her subconsciously feeling that he shouldn’t worry about such matters indicated that she still didn’t understand the man’s thoughts.
Xiao Heng didn’t look at her again. He went straight to look at the little Ah Chen, who was playing on the bed.
Little Ah Chen didn’t know that his parents were talking in riddles. He was focused on playing with little Furball’s1T/N: The author wrote the puppy’s name as Furball (毛球) in the earlier chapters but here, it’s Snowball (雪球). I don’t know if this is a typo or the previous name is since the puppy is both white and furry (both names suit it). However, as the previous name was Furball, I will continue it. tail.
He pulled the puppy’s tail and made a sound, waving his hand. He looked like a general fighting on the battlefield.
Little Furball endured the torment and stared at him aggrievedly, barking a few times.
Little Ah Chen couldn’t stand it anymore. How could little Furball be like this?
He indignantly grabbed a half-eaten pear he had been nibbling on and threw it at the puppy.
The half-eaten pear hit its head, and it let out a pitiful cry.
The aggrieved puppy picked up the incense burner and flung it at little Ah Chen.
The incense burner was small and light, so it fell before it could reach little Ah Chen.
However, he was still peeved. He held up the woolen hat beside him and threw it at the little Furball.
Little Furball became even angrier. It raised its tail and charged toward little Ah Chen.
…
One person and one dog were busy causing an uproar.
Xiao Heng went over and watched them fight for a while. In the end, he decided not to help and sat on the side before taking out a book to read.
Just then, Gu Baofeng arrived.
Gu Baofeng had assumed that only his sister would be here at this time, so he didn’t think much about coming. But as soon as he stepped in, he saw Xiao Heng. His expression immediately became like that of a mouse seeing a cat. He straightened his posture and stood upright.
When Gu Sui’er saw her brother coming, she remembered that she had made a new robe for him a few days ago. She wanted him to try it on so she went to get it in person.
While Gu Sui’er went out, Xiao Heng casually asked questions, such as how his martial arts practice was going recently, if he had made any progress, how the morning exercises were going, if he had been assigned any duties lately etc.
Gu Baofeng answered everything one by one in great detail.
While they were talking, Little Ah Chen and Little Furball’s fight was in full swing. They were hitting each other back and forth with their heads bumping into each other.
The puppy glared at Little Ah Chen with grievance, while Little Ah Chen shouted angrily: “Ya ya ya ya—”
Gu Baofeng looked up. He couldn’t bear to see his beloved little nephew and the dog fighting.
Just then, little Ah Chen saw his uncle and immediately became excited. He waved his chubby hand and shouted: “General, general, general, general!”
Gu Baofeng couldn’t hold back anymore. Without caring about Xiao Heng’s presence, he rolled up his sleeves and joined the duo’s battle. He picked little Furball and rescued little Ah Chen.
He was strong ah. He held little Furball up in the air while it flailed its four legs, howling and protesting.
Gu Baofeng directly threw it aside.
Little Furball rolled over, pretended to threaten Gu Baofeng a few times, and then ran away with its tail between its legs.
When little Ah Chen won with the help of strong reinforcements, he patted the rug with his little hands and babbled in excitement.
Gu Baofeng looked at Xiao Heng, who was still reading with his head down, and quickly went over to pat him on the head and comforted: “I have chased it away for you.”
Just then, Gu Sui’er entered the room carrying the robe. She happened to hear what Gu Baofeng said and almost laughed out loud.
“Ah Chen bullies little Furball all day long and often makes a scene.” Even she had long been used to it, let alone Xiao Heng. He was willing to let them two fool around.
But Gu Baofeng, on the other hand, didn’t think so. He couldn’t stand seeing that puppy bully his little nephew, even if it was just about them having fun.
Gu Sui’er looked at Gu Baofeng’s dismissive expression and couldn’t help but laugh. She handed him the robe: “Try it on. I will have to make some adjustments if it doesn’t fit well.”
Gu Baofeng took the robe and hurriedly put it on. The robe fit him perfectly. Although he wasn’t extremely good-looking, he had a youthful masculine charm. With this new outfit, he suddenly looked like a handsome young man.
Looking at her younger brother, Gu Sui’er was quite satisfied.
When he saw this, Xiao Heng indifferently commanded: “Baofeng.”
Upon hearing this voice, Gu Baofeng immediately stood straight as a ramrod and responded deferentially: “Your Highness.”
Xiao Heng: “Follow me to the study.”
Thanks for reading ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶! If you found any typo or want to suggest some corrections, feel free to do so in the comment section or on our discord server. And if you like my translation, please consider rating it on NU and supporting me on:
