Netizen uploaded episode 66

  The man's five senses were deep, his eyes as deep as the night, standing quietly there, a few leaves of the sea peach tree cast a slanting shadow on his face, half covering and somewhat blurry, a dark blue robe with golden embroidery, edges and corners slightly worn.

  Minglan's upper body was trending towards turning back, but her two legs were stuck there. Finally, Fu Zhangzi smiled bitterly and said: "Please take care of Er Shu, Er Shu has been well lately?"

  Gu Tingyan walked over with his hands behind his back, his eyes dark and unfathomable, slightly narrowed as he looked at Minglan. The air was so quiet it was oppressive, and Minglan lowered her head, feeling the petals of the pearl flower on her temples trembling slightly.

  "It's been a year since Father passed away."

  Ming Lan reacted quickly and said smoothly: "Second Uncle's mourning is in order."

  Gu Tingyan suppressed his twitching mouth corners and hesitated before asking: "The eldest young lady of the Yu family... did she marry well?"

  Minglan suddenly looked up, only to see him with a calm and gentle expression, but his words were slightly awkward. Minglan was confused, and Gu Tingye saw her puzzled face, raised an eyebrow, and continued: "I have always respected Lord Yu, but what happened... was not my intention."

  Minglan vaguely understood that Gu Tingye might be deliberately waiting for her here. The old man, Yu Ge, had been a just and honest person all his life, but in his later years, both of his granddaughters had fallen into the hands of the Gu family - one was married off to Yunnan, and the other died within half a year. Although it was due to Gu's greed, the current 'culprit' might also have some remorse.

  Minglan thought for a moment, then said: "Yunnan is far away, and in the past year or so, I've only received three letters from Yu sister. She's married well, her parents-in-law are harmonious, her husband is warm and gentle. Although Yunnan is not yet open to the outside world, its natural scenery is vast and beautiful, and Yu sister is living a good life."

  She also said in her letter to Yanran that Gu Tingyan left home and the old Marquis Gu passed away, he rushed back for the funeral, and as soon as the funeral was over, his wife also passed away. The pace of the accidents was very compact, and afterwards, there was no news of Gu Tingyan in the capital city.

  There were rumors that he had 'fallen' and was mixing with some of the lowest characters in the jianghu, indulging in food, drink, prostitution, and gambling, becoming increasingly unrestrained, and seemingly making a name for himself; however, such 'achievements' are not something that can be proudly spoken of in front of officials and nobles.

  Gu Tingyan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, slightly straightening his tall and well-proportioned body, and said warmly: "If she has any difficulties, please let me know; Gu will do his best to assist."

  Ming Lan struggled to keep her eyes from widening, and responded hastily, but the look in her eyes as she glanced at Gu Ting Ye was tinged with a hint of surprise. She looked up at the sun again, wondering if it had risen from the west?

  Gu Tingyan's demeanor was calm and composed, seemingly unaffected by Minglan's surprised and uncertain expression. He smiled and said: "You're Minglan, right? As it happens, we have a familial connection with the Qi family." Minglan nodded, her expression sincere, regardless of what she thought in her heart.

  Gu Tingyan humbly said: "In the past two visits, Gu Mou has been very wronged, please don't take offense, Man... it's all because Gu Mou didn't understand people clearly."

  Minglan couldn't help but look up at the sun again, what's going on?! She had only seen Gu Tingye twice before, once when he came to ask for punishment, and once when he was watching a comedy show, both times ended with Minglan fleeing in disarray; Minglan clearly remembered his sharp and piercing aura, cold smile, and words that cut deep, she wanted to slap him after just three sentences. But now... Minglan stole a glance at his handsome profile, his dense black temples had a hint of wind and frost, the white skin of the young master was tainted with a light brown color from the dust of Jianghu, his eyebrows were filled with vicissitudes, as if this year hadn't been easy for him; but looking at his relaxed expression, sincere words, and dignified demeanor, it seemed like he had suddenly become an 'upright gentleman'.

  Gu Tingyan fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "If you have any difficulties or troubles, you can also tell me, maybe I can help." What kind of difficulties could a eunuch's daughter from a wealthy family have? She has her father and brothers to rely on, not to mention the whole family. Unless... unless she wants him to find someone to beat up her future husband if he cheats on her?! With the Ningyuan Marquis Manor in its current precarious state, he still dares to be so arrogant, great, he's got character! Minglan chuckled a few times and didn't respond.

  It seemed that Gu Ting Ye had seen through Ming Lan's thoughts, and he smiled slightly, saying lightly: "That kid Liang Huai is indeed chivalrous, but a bit self-indulgent. The Qi family has many people and complicated matters, but the young mistress is biased towards her own, and Qi Heng is gentle and kind, with them protecting her, it's not bad." Ming Lan took in a breath of cold air, her eyes wide with shock, stuttering: "You——"

  Gu Tingyan walked up to Minglan, looking down at the girl from head to toe, and said sternly, "You're just a child, it's better for you to listen to your family's elderly lady and not act on your own accord."

  There is no old lady by her side, and Minglan's days are very boring. In the past, she would write two characters and take them to her grandmother to show off, or embroider a few petals and leaves and go to Fang Mama's place to show off. Now... Alas, it seems that after pretending for so long, she has indeed lost her self-control? Does she need encouragement and supervision in order to continue learning?

  With nothing to do, she often went to the Hai's house to play with her little nephew. The small thing was only a little bigger than a lotus root, and its tender arms were tied up in red strings on its sleeves, waving hard. The older brother had a good temper, loved to laugh, didn't cry or make trouble, and would giggle nonstop as soon as he was teased a bit, his eyes disappearing into laughter.

  Wang's family kept reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, and fortunately, her grandson didn't look like her son with a paralyzed face. Her incense hadn't been burned in vain, and Hai's family had a son, so everything was fine. She smiled every day, her complexion was ruddy, and after she got out of confinement, she tidied up a bit, and her color was even more radiant than when she first got married.

  "Why does he keep spitting bubbles?" Minglan poked the Nth bubble on the baby's mouth with her jade-like index finger.

  "Kids are like this sometimes, and they even spit up milk."

  Minglan hugged the soft quilt and suddenly had an idea: "Has big brother ever held Quan Ge'er?"

  "Ha! He's like Zhang Fei holding a pen; after hugging his grandkids, he puts on a serious face and says something about 'hugging grandsons not sons' being the teachings of the saints."

  Minglan gently swayed the cradle, looking at the baby's small mouth that was red and puffy, soft face, closed eyes, and sleeping soundly. Minglan was enchanted, carefully counting the baby's long eyelashes.

  "Miss, give it to me, the young master is asleep, don't tire yourself." The plump and rich-looking wet nurse said with a smile. Minglan knew her own arm's endurance, so she carefully handed the child over.

  It's not good to see the wind inside, so it's a bit stuffy. Hai Shi lay on the soft couch made of woven rattan, stretched out her hand to pull Minglan to sit beside her, took a white silk fan and gently fanned Minglan, smiling: "We are all very fortunate, with three sisters, one more considerate than the other."

  The bamboo curtain outside was gently lifted, and a servant brought in a tray of fresh fruit from the well, placing it on a small table in front of the soft couch. Minglan saw that the white porcelain dish with a swallowtail pattern was filled with various colorful fruits, topped with a few silver skewers, exuding a refreshing fragrance, looking very appealing.

  "Grandma, young lady, try some." Yang Hui quickly cleaned up and then respectfully withdrew.

  Minglan watched as Yanghui walked out, then turned her head to look at Hai Shi, wanting to speak but hesitating: "She... isn't going out?"

  Hai picked up a slice of apple and stuffed it into Minglan's mouth, saying with a self-mocking tone: "In our kind of family, if your elder brother doesn't have someone by his side, it's not good; but if he does, others will say that the Hai family's daughter is jealous. Just the other day, at a banquet, someone wanted to present a concubine to your elder brother, fortunately she was there and your elder brother refused to accept her."

  Minglan puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "I'm so annoyed with those people who sent concubines! Why couldn't they send something else to show their goodwill, like gold, silver, jewels, or real estate? What's the point of sending concubines? How boring! They must not be good officials!"

  Hai smiled lightly and shook his head, saying "Don't talk nonsense." Seeing that the honey-colored brocade on Minglan's body was a bit wrinkled, he reached out to smooth it out for her, saying "This girl is honest and understands etiquette, let's keep her."

  Minglan swallowed the apple and glanced at Hai Shi, whose expression was warm and gentle. She thought to herself: The most important thing is that Yang Hui's appearance is ordinary, and she isn't particularly clever or resourceful. Long Bo hasn't visited her even once in a month, so she basically doesn't pose a threat; otherwise, why did she get rid of Shu Xiu and Zhu Hao first after entering the house?

  "Ah, sister-in-law, I have a favor to ask of you." Hai Shi thought of something and pulled on Minglan's small hand, "Last time you made that sachet for Quan Gege, what did you put inside? The scent was so clean and refreshing, and it even repelled insects when worn on the body."

  Minglan recalled, counting on her fingers: "Dried osmanthus, osmanthus oil, dried mugwort..." She couldn't recite it from memory; it was a prescription of herbal medicine that He Hongwen had written down for her, harmless to children and fragrant.

  Hai also didn't really want to know the secret recipe, so he directly said: "Make another one for your sister-in-law, last time my cousin came and saw it, she liked it very much, little sister has some free time, make three or four more."

  Minglan straightened her neck, staring with wide eyes: "Three or four?! You think that's some kind of cabbage, one row can harvest dozens! Eldest sister wants me to make more but I haven't finished yet. As for the sachet, it's not hard to make, but making a good one isn't easy."

  Hai's face feigned anger, his sharp index finger pointing at Minglan's forehead, laughing and scolding: "Bad girl, when did you get good tea and good food? Didn't I leave many for you to steal? Haven't you heard that eating from someone's mouth makes one soft? Since you've eaten mine, you must work for me!"

  Minglan stared for half a day and sighed: "Sister-in-law, you're paying off your debts too quickly, even more ruthless than the usury."

  Hai's fan covered her mouth as she smiled lightly, seemingly very pleased, and continued to make requests: "Also that flower from last time, the one with a small cicada crawling on the back of a large cicada, with a small stone standing next to it, looking quite amusing."

  Ming Lan's eyes gleamed with an unusual light: "You... all like it?"

  "Right, it's quite fresh and different from usual, and the color is good too."

  "What's the bet?" Minglan was confused.

  "You silly girl, get it?" Hai said, poking Minglan's head again. Minglan suddenly realized, so that was it, she had thought Li Da's potential audience spanned ancient and modern times.

  The author has something to say:

  I recently watched the Golden Globe-winning "The Social Network", and I don't know if it's the author's problem, but a straightforward inspirational entrepreneurial drama was somehow interpreted by me as having a homoerotic undertone. Even the extras playing roommates are handsome, let alone the main actors.

  The male lead, who is obviously just an average-looking otaku, was portrayed as being domineering and calm, with a strong presence.

  That second male lead Edwardo is really handsome.

  Number three guy Shawn, I just want to say that Justin, Xiaotian is calling you back to sing a song.

  Those two 1.9-meter-tall twin handsome men almost blinded my eyes; even the twins' roommate, that dark-skinned Indian nobleman (the actor is of mixed Western and Asian descent), also exuded a refined and fierce aura.

  Alright, I overthought it, everyone is a good kid, don't learn from the author.