Chapter 81

Immediately after saying those words, Du Ruohan knew he was done for.

He hated his mouth so much; how could he tell the truth at such a critical moment!?

Sure enough, when Prefect Luo came to stop the argument, Du Ruohan had already been "served" with the domestic punishment by Zhuang Xianzhi, to the point that even his own parents wouldn’t recognize him.

Prefect Luo asked awkwardly but still in a respectful tone, "My Lord, do you want to investigate those two people?"

Zhuang Xianzhi vetoed, "Is there even truth in that boy's mouth?"

The corner of Prefect Luo’s lips twitched: Well, Young Master Du said that your examination questions were outrageously abnormal, and that was the truth...

Gu Jiao knew nothing about the events in Pingcheng. The next morning, she was sitting on a carriage, on her way to the Hot Spring Mountain Villa.

This early morning, Second Owner came to their door in person and brought up this month's house visit, saying, "...I know that you talked about only treating patients in the medical hall before, but you’re also aware of Young Master Gu’s situation. It’s really not very convenient for him to go out."

Second Owner was still clueless about Gu Yan coming to see her not long ago, and that she had already given him a follow-up check-up.

Gu Jiao said after a brief pause, "All right."

"Eh?" Second Owner stared blankly at her. She actually agreed so easily?

Even before coming here, he had been keeping a trick or two to convince her. Was it unnecessary after all?

The weather was fine and the carriage travelled very fast, arriving at the villa in less than an hour.

The attitude of the people in the villa towards them had taken a great change. Even though the guards still kept a solemn face, they behaved very politely.

The servant girl who came to pick them up was the same person as last time, whose name was supposed to be Yu Ya'er.

Yu Ya'er led Gu Jiao, Second Owner and the old physician to the pavilion near the small garden. She said, "Young master is soaking in the hot spring at the moment. Please wait a while, I'll inform the young master."

The hot spring was close to the pavilion. Yu Ya'er wasn’t sure where the young master wanted to carry out the check-up. If he wanted to do it in the hot spring section, then she didn’t need to take them to the main courtyard.

Yu Ya'er went to ask the young master, and also ordered another servant girl to go to the kitchen and get some refreshments and tea to entertain Gu Jiao and others.

This treatment was indeed much better than last time.

Second Owner took a bite of rose cake and smiled from ear to ear.

"Is it that delicious?" Gu Jiao asked.

Second Owner smilingly said, "Food from the Marquis Estate is expensive, it's delicious because it’s not something I can normally eat."

What he was eating wasn’t snacks, but glory ah!

"Wu! Wu!"

While several people were waiting, there came the cry of something in the small garden.

The three people all heard it, and the old physician looked inside and asked, "What's that noise?"

Second Owner, who was eating the snacks, listened attentively, but couldn’t tell at all.

"I'll go and have a look." Gu Jiao said.

"Er... How about don't..." Second Owner wanted to stop her, but was Gu Jiao so easy to stop?

She got up, walked down the steps and went to the small garden.

She followed the sound and soon found the little thing trapped under the fence.

It was a newborn puppy. Somehow, it got stuck in the fence. Underneath the fence were thorns and thistles, so the harder it struggled, the more thorns pierced its flesh.

It was in great pain that its eyes were brimming with tears. Seeing someone coming, Gu Jiao didn’t know whether it was frightened or excited, but it stuck out its small tongue, which happened to licked the thorns, making it whimper in pain immediately.

"What a stupid little puppy." Gu Jiao crouched down and touched his furry little head, "Don't move."

The little puppy couldn’t understand her of course. It still moved and suffered from pain again.

To rescue it, the fence must be removed first. She could then pull away the thorns one by one from the little puppy.

Gu Jiao chose the best position and started to pull out the fence.

Just then, a servant girl dressed in an apricot-color clothing came over and said, "Who are you? Stop what you’re doing!"

But Gu Jiao didn't stop her movements.

Gu Jiao was carrying a back basket and was dressed like a girl from the countryside.

The servant girl only felt that her appearance looked familiar, but she didn't pay further attention to it. She strode over and grabbed Gu Jiao's back basket, saying, "Didn't you hear me when I told you to stop?"

Gu Jiao turned around slightly, her cold gaze as sharp as a knife, scaring the servant girl into trembling and retracting her hand at once.

A moment later, the servant girl finally recognized her, "It’s you?!"

Gu Jiao also recognized the other party. It was the servant girl who rummaged through her pouch in the Rejuvenation Hall and slandered her as a thief, the personal servant girl of Gu Jinyu, whose name was Yuru.

"Why are you here?" Yuru frowned, and then remembered hearing just now that the physician from the Rejuvenation Hall had come to examine the young master again. Her face sank and she said, "You’re just a medicine girl, you don't have to follow the physician here every time!"

Gu Jiao didn't bother to talk to her and merely continued to pull out the fence.

Yuru shouted, "What are you doing? That place is full of the young miss’ flowers! Can you afford to compensate for it?"

"Wu! Wu!" The little puppy barked in pain.

Yuru looked at it and sneered, "Just for an ugly dog? Is it your dog? Sure enough, what kind of person matches what kind of dog! Do you know how much money a peony there is worth? Even if you sell yourself and your dog..."

Noisy.

Gu Jiao frowned impatiently as she finally separated the fence from the ground.

"You—— " Yuru’s expression changed and she charged at her.

In fact, when Gu Jiao pulled out the fence just now, she avoided the peonies, but Yuru suddenly charged at her in an attempt to stop the fence from being pulled out completely, causing the end of the fence to swing, breaking one of the peonies.

And it was the one that bloomed beautifully the most to boot.

Yuru's face turned white.

She jerked back several steps, moving far away from the scene. Then she covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at Gu Jiao with the other, saying, "You... you broke the young miss’ flowers!"

"It was you who broke it! Don’t blame others!"

It was Yu Ya'er's voice.

She just came back after reporting to Gu Yan, and Gu Yan asked her to bring people to the hot spring section, but she happened to encounter this scene upon coming back to get them.

"Shameless!" Yu Ya'er said.

Yuru was Gu Jinyu's personal servant girl, and several servants in the villa dared not talk to her in such a way.

Yuru's face turned black and she said, "She broke it! She pulled out the fence! Ask... Ask them! They all saw it!"

No one knew when exactly these several servants came, but they were all watching the fuss at the moment.

Yuru asked them to testify.

Yu Ya'er rested his hands on her hips and said, "Fine, you guys tell me! Who broke it?"

Everyone bowed their heads.

Behind Yuru was Gu Jinyu. It was obviously not worthwhile to offend her for a humble medicine girl.

Not that people weren’t afraid of Gu Yan, but Yu Ya'er's actions were not Gu Yan’s instruction at all! Who didn’t know that the young master hated these cats and dogs the most?

Yuru sneered, "See? It was her who broke it!"

Gu Jiao, who was pointed at by Yuru, didn't pay any attention to the noise around her. She took the thorns off the little puppy and wrapped it in a clean handkerchief.

The handkerchief was soon dyed red by the blood on its body.

"Wu... Wu..." The little puppy was in tears with pain.

At this moment, Second Owner and Grannie Fang arrived at the same time.

Grannie Fang still had a fresh memory of Gu Jiao climbing the young master’s bed, and she didn’t have a good impression of Gu Jiao. Especially seeing the bloody puppy in her hand, she was even more impatient, "Why are you not throwing it out quickly?"

This question wasn’t only for Gu Jiao, but also for Second Owner.

Second Owner knew Gu Jiao would likely not throw it out.

This little girl was amenable to coaxing but not coercion, talking to her like that was no good, no? Did she really have to yell at her? It was over.

"Give it to me, I'll put it in the carriage." Second Owner reached for the little puppy.

But Gu Jiao didn't give it to him.

Grannie Fang said coldly, "I repeat, throw this little animal out! Otherwise, she can get out of here as well!"

"Who are you telling to get out?"

Along with the voice that was neither salty nor light was the arrival of Gu Yan in his soft sedan chair, which was carried by the servants.