"Miss Lu."
"Miss Gu."
Approaching the two, Gu Yi and Shen Xuan spoke in unison, both nodding in greeting.
"Wife, I just saw Miss Zheng here too, why did she leave?" Shen Xuan knew Gu Yi wanted to ask about this, but felt it was inappropriate to ask in front of Gu Yitong. It would be better for him to speak up.
"She went toβ" Lu Yu was about to answer when Gu Yitong interrupted.
"Her, she's back to..." Gu Yitong was about to say Zheng Yu had returned to her residence, but then remembered they hadn't seen each other for a long time. If she said that, Gu Yi would be sad, so she quickly changed tack.
"She went back to the carriage."
Upon hearing this, Shen Xuan secretly winked at Gu Yi and then turned to Lu Yu, "Wife, shall we go first?"
Lu Yu saw her husband's subtle little gesture and responded cooperatively, "Yitong, we two will head back now."
Seeing the two leave, Gu Yitong led Gu Yi towards the direction where Zheng Yu's carriage was parked.
Zheng Yu sat by the carriage, her eyes never leaving the group. Seeing the two approaching, she quickly jumped down from the carriage, tidied her clothes, and stood there obediently, but her eyes kept flicking towards Gu Yi.
Gu Yitong saw this, opened her mouth as if to say something, then noticed Gu Yi's gaze also on Zheng Yu. She swallowed her words and sighed.
"Young Master Gu." Zheng Yu still dared not be presumptuous in front of Gu Yitong, and obediently nodded to Gu Yi.
Gu Yi finally reacted, his face slightly flushed, and he also bowed to Zheng Yu, "Miss Zheng."
"Alright, alright, you don't have to be like this in front of me." Gu Yitong rolled her eyes at Zheng Yu. "You have to pick up Uncle Zheng home later, so we'll be going now."
"It's fine, my father's carriage is over there, it's not the same carriage as mine."
Gu Yitong followed the direction Zheng Yu pointed and blinked in surprise. As expected of the town mayor, he had many carriages. Even though she had come, he still insisted on another carriage to pick up Uncle Zheng.
"I'm here to pick you up, get in, I'll take you home." Zheng Yu said with a smile.
Nonsense! You knew I was coming? Just say you're here to pick up Yi'er alone.
However, if there's freebies, why not take them? Since there's a free carriage to take me home, it would be foolish not to ride it, and it's my future sister-in-law, so there's no need to be polite.
"Yi'er, get in the carriage." Gu Yitong, sensing Gu Yi's questioning gaze beside her, spoke directly.
Gu Yi had hesitated to move because Gu Yitong was present. Seeing Gu Yitong agree, he happily got into the carriage.
Watching Gu Yi's cheerful back, Gu Yitong felt a pang of bitterness. Was Zheng Yu's carriage really better than hers? He had never seemed so happy riding in a carriage before.
The carriage was spacious, so even three people could fit without feeling crowded. There were seats on three sides. Gu Yi sat in the middle, facing the door, while Gu Yitong and Zheng Yu sat facing each other, creating an awkward atmosphere.
"I owe my safety this time to you all. I'll treat you to drinks another day." Zheng Yu racked her brain as the carriage was too quiet and thought of this topic.
"Okay, I'll be waiting." Gu Yitong followed up on this, as it was better than remaining silent, especially since it was difficult for Yi'er.
"Lu Yu has been the most hardworking these past few days. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have found out these things. And Wu Shao, although she seems unreliable on weekdays, she's quite useful at critical moments."
"In three days, the academy will have a day off. In three days, I'll invite all of you to Baoshan Tower for drinks."
The male academy, like ordinary female academies, had one day off every ten days. Ten days constituted a "xun," and they could rest three days a month.
Upon reaching Gu Yitong's doorstep, Zheng Yu was about to instruct the coachman to leave when Gu Yitong unexpectedly spoke, asking Zheng Yu to stay.
"Do you have any official business to attend to tonight?"
"No, I'll head straight back to my residence." Zheng Yu hadn't yet understood why Gu Yitong asked this.
"Then don't leave yet, come in and sit for a while." Gu Yitong then walked into the courtyard herself.
Hearing this, Zheng Yu was overwhelmed with joy and looked at Gu Yi, who was standing beside her, equally stunned.
"My sister wants you to come in, let's go in." By the time Gu Yi reacted, Zheng Yu had already gotten out of the carriage and walked to his side, speaking somewhat flusteredly.
Zheng Yu only responded with a low hum and followed Gu Yi inside. She knew that although Gu Yitong had entered first, her attention was still on the two of them. This was a critical juncture, and Gu Yitong's willingness to keep her meant she had agreed. She absolutely could not mess up at this moment.
"Yi'er, you go back to your room first." As the three reached the main hall, Gu Yitong gestured for Gu Yi to return to his room.
Gu Yi knew what Gu Yitong intended to do. He subconsciously glanced at Zheng Yu, who was sitting upright beside him, his eyes filled with obvious worry.
"What? Do you think I'll eat her?" Gu Yitong was annoyed by Gu Yi's worried gaze. Did her own sister not trust her that much? Would she do something to Zheng Yu against his wishes? Besides, Zheng Yu could dodge it herself.
Zheng Yu looked back at Gu Yi with a reassuring gaze, and only then did Gu Yi leave with peace of mind. Gu Yitong's anger intensified upon seeing this scene. She suppressed her anger, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. Calm down, stay calm.
"You know what I want to talk to you about, right?" Gu Yitong turned to Zheng Yu after Gu Yi had completely left and got straight to the point.
"I know." Zheng Yu nodded. "I will definitely treat Young Master Gu well. I swear."
"There's no need to swear. Oaths can only fool others, not oneself. I want you to carefully ask your heart if you can be good to him for a lifetime, and never let Yi'er suffer any grievances?"
"I definitely can. I guarantee it with my life. As long as I am alive, I will absolutely, absolutely not wrong Yi'er."
"What you're saying is just empty talk. Even if your heart is like this now, it doesn't guarantee that your heart won't change in the future. Perhaps you love him to the bone now, but it doesn't guarantee you'll feel the same way in the future. People are like that."
"Time will prove what you've said, and I will see it little by little. You don't need to rush to assure me of these things now. You just need to let your own heart know."
"I will not obstruct the feelings between you two. I have only one request in calling you here today, Zheng Yu. Given our long-standing acquaintance, you must agree to this matter."
"If for any reason you marry another man in the future, you must respect Yi'er's wishes. If he still wishes to stay by your side, you must not mistreat him. If he no longer wishes to continue with you, I hope you will not force him to stay, but give him a divorce letter, let him return with dignity, and do not make things difficult for him."
"You know, I only found him back less than half a year ago. I originally didn't want him to marry too early, but I didn't expect you two to have fate."
"You are already nineteen, it's time for you to marry a husband. I will not overly obstruct your meetings in the future. It's always good to get to know each other better before marriage."
"However, you must always be proper and not overstep your bounds."
Zheng Yu was deeply moved that Gu Yitong could say so many heartfelt words to her at once.
"Yitong, don't worry. Even if we get married in the future, you will always be Yi'er's sister, and also my good sister. I will not confine him to the inner courtyard, and we will all be like we are now."