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After becoming Xiao Liulang, he didn't remember ever giving Gu Yan any jewelry. Therefore, it must have been before both he and Gu Yan left the capital.
If he recalled correctly, Gu Yan had gone to the Hot Spring Villa in You Province at the age of four.
"It was before I went to the Hot Spring Villa." Gu Yan said in low spirits. "My older brothers at home didn't want to play with me, so I ran out of the Marquis Estate."
He shook off the servants and sneaked out of the estate.
The method he used to leave the estate was a bit embarrassing, so Gu Yan simply skipped over it.
"I got lost, and then I ran into you."
Getting lost was how he felt at the time, but looking back now, he hadn't really gotten lost at all. He hadn't even made it out of the back alleys of the Marquis Ding'an Estate.
Xiao Heng pointed to the jade thumb ring in Gu Yan's palm, "And then, I gave you this?"
Gu Yan shook his head and said in a small voice, "No, I asked for it."
Xiao Heng said: "..."
I couldn’t tell you used to ask strangers for things when you were a child.
Gu Yan continued in a subdued tone, "I sneaked out of the estate and got lost. I wanted to go back but couldn't find my way, so I cried loudly. You happened to pass by and ordered your servants to stop the carriage. You said that the child was cute and decided to take me back to be your little brother."
Xiao Heng: Hold on. Isn't this supposed to be your embarrassing past? How did it turn into my dark history?
I don't have a habit of kidnapping children, don't make things up!
Xiao Heng cleared his throat, "I must have just been joking back then, right?"
Gu Yan continued in a melancholic tone, "After that, your servant took me away."
Xiao Heng: "..."
Xiao Heng awkwardly remarked, "You must have been scared at the time, right?"
Gu Yan shook his head, "No, I was quite happy. But you regretted it after a while and said I wasn't fun, so you sent me back."
Xiao Heng: "..."
Xiao Heng had absolutely no recollection of this incident.
At that time, Xiao Heng was only seven years old. Although he had reached the age of forming memories, picking up Gu Yan had been a passing whim, and he hadn't really thought much of it.
He saw so many people every day, how could he possibly remember a child he had only played with for a short while?
Gu Yan, on the other hand, was different.
He had always been frail since childhood, and both Yao shi and Marquis Gu had raised him very cautiously, never allowing him to leave the estate. The number of children he had seen could be counted on one hand.
Xiao Heng gave him candy to eat, toys to play with, and even gifted him such a beautiful jade thumb ring, so he was naturally engraved deeply into Gu Yan’s mind.
However, over the years, his young mind couldn't retain the exact facial features and contours of the other boy, and he could only remember the name Xiao Heng and the title ‘Little Marquis of Zhao.’
It was also thanks to Xiao Heng's widespread fame. Gu Yan often heard about him from the servants, which could be considered a way of indirectly refreshing his memories of the past.
Xiao Heng was truly unaware of this shared experience between them. Even someone who didn’t believe in fate like him couldn't help but marvel at the mysterious nature of fate.
The two men’s conversation was interrupted by the restless sounds coming from the yard. When they opened the window, they saw that Marquis Gu had arrived, and he was accompanied by their family’s dog, seven chickens, and gyrfalcon.
Marquis Gu was a martial arts practitioner, so he was certainly capable of handling a dog and some chickens. However, the dog was his son's pet, and the chickens were poultry that Yao shi took care of every day. While he had no qualms about the gyrfalcon, this particular bird was just too good at flying, and he couldn't catch it...
Xiao Heng and Gu Yan went to the yard to put an end to the chaos. By then, Marquis Gu was covered in chicken feathers!
Marquis Gu was furious, wishing he could kill those infuriating chickens!
Especially the smallest one!
It had left several droppings on him!
Gu Yan couldn't help bursting into laughter at the sight of his own father's sorry appearance.
Marquis Gu: "..."
You little brat, do you still remember that I'm your father?
Gu Yan's laughter continued until Yao shi returned. She was due to give birth next month, and Gu Jiao had calculated her expected delivery date to be the first day of the coming month. There was still about half a month to go.
Her limbs were slightly swollen, making her movements a bit uncomfortable.
Marquis Gu immediately forgot about Gu Yan and rushed over to help her, "Why did you go out again? How is Grannie Fang looking after you? Be careful!"
Yao shi's action of stepping over the threshold really scared him.
Was it fine for a pregnant woman to walk so vigorously?! Ling shi at that time certainly didn’t dare!
As a matter of fact, Yao shi felt that this pregnancy was easier compared to her first. If it weren't for her age, she should have been able to handle it easily.
She had seen peasant women working in the fields with their pregnant bellies, and compared to them, she considered herself quite delicate. However, when compared to the ladies from affluent and noble households, she was more robust.
"Lord Marquis, how did you end up like this?" Yao shi looked at him in surprise.
Marquis Gu couldn't admit that he had been bullied by a few chickens. He couldn't lose face in front of his wife. He cleared his throat and said, "It's nothing. The chickens got out, and I went to catch them."
Yao shi replied, "I let them out to catch bugs in the vegetable garden."
Chickens raised in other households occasionally eat vegetable leaves, but theirs didn't. They only ate bugs, and they were especially well-behaved.
Marquis Gu awkwardly said, "I see. Then, I'll let them out again later."
Yao shi looked at her little vegetable garden and said, "No need. They caught enough today. Lord Marquis, go change your clothes quickly."
Marquis Gu went to the carriage to change into a spare set of clothes and then returned to the backyard to talk with Yao shi.
He had come today for two reasons: to visit Yao shi and to share some good news. He said, "Our son-in-law has been promoted."
Yao shi's eyes brightened, and she turned to look at Xiao Heng, who was chopping wood with Gu Yan near the kitchen, "Liulang, you’ve been promoted?"
Xiao Heng had received the official document in the afternoon and hadn't had a chance to tell his family yet.
“You’ve been promoted, brother-in-law?” Gu Yan looked at Xiao Heng excitedly.
“Yes.” Xiao Heng nodded his head as he held a firewood knife.
"What official position? What official position?" Gu Yan, the little fanboy, asked eagerly.
“Hanlin Academy Reader-in-Waiting." Xiao Heng answered.
“Heh.” Marquis Gu chuckled disdainfully. "I thought it was quite an important official position, so it’s just a Hanlin Academy Reader-in-Waiting. An Junwang, on the other hand, is about to become a secretariat in the cabinet."
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