"What are you all doing?" Lu Yu heard the commotion inside before she even entered the door.
"It's all your fault. If you hadn't dragged us out for drinks yesterday, my brother wouldn't have—"
Gu Yitong was interrupted by Gu Yi tugging at her sleeve before she could finish. Gu Yi felt embarrassed to let others know about such matters, and besides, how could it be blamed on Miss Lu? It was his sister who wanted to drink.
"Miss Lu, please don't mind."
"How could I? Yitong and I are good sisters, I won't mind." Lu Yu saw Gu Yi's shyness and waved her hand at him.
Turning to look at Zheng Yu, who remained silent, Lu Yu felt something was odd. She looked at them thoughtfully.
"By the way, did you and your brother-in-law talk things through last night?" Gu Yitong, seeing that Gu Yi didn't want others to know about last night's events, snapped her fan shut and sat opposite Lu Yu, gossiping about what happened.
"I was so drunk last night I passed out. We talked it through this morning, and I'll have a good talk with him tonight. There won't be any distance between us." Lu Yu thought Gu Yitong was genuinely concerned about her and lowered her eyes to think carefully.
Gu Yitong's mouth widened in exaggeration, and she let out a long "Ooooh—", winking suggestively at Lu Yu with an expression that said, "I understand everything."
If her brother weren't here, Lu Yu would have slapped her. She could twist anything into something else. Forget it, she'd save her some face in front of her brother.
Gu Yi, having no experience, didn't understand their veiled conversation. However, he noticed Zheng Yu's ears slowly turning red and found it strange.
Seeing Zheng Yu turn to leave, Gu Yi quickly followed and escorted her to the door.
"Young Master Gu, I'm truly sorry about this morning, I..." Zheng Yu apologized sincerely to Gu Yi with a look of remorse.
"No, it's alright." Gu Yi blurted out. He hadn't intended to blame Zheng Yu, but the words sounded strange. What kind of decent man wouldn't care in such a situation? Would she misunderstand?
Seeing Gu Yi suddenly fall silent, standing there with a conflicted and regretful expression, Zheng Yu thought Gu Yi still minded her actions this morning. Her face was full of guilt. "I'm sorry, I... I will take responsibility for you."
Zheng Yu gritted her teeth and mustered the courage to say this, but Gu Yi stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do.
After a long while, he finally spoke in an almost inaudible voice, "There's no need. Mayor Zheng, you must have other matters to attend to today. Please hurry back."
Zheng Yu didn't know why Gu Yi suddenly distanced himself from her. Sensing his low mood, she didn't linger. After a bow, she left.
Gu Yi watched Zheng Yu's retreating back, looking at her expensive clothes, and felt a deep sense of inferiority once again.
She is the mayor, and I am just a man from a pleasure house. How can we be a match?
Moreover, how could I cling to her because of what happened this morning? What kind of person would that make me? Besides, he didn't need or want her to take responsibility.
He only wanted her genuine affection.
"Heh..." Gu Yi found his thoughts laughable. It was just a foolish wish.
"Why hasn't your little disciple arrived yet?" Gu Yitong asked, noticing the absence of her usual shadow behind Lu Yu.
"She's probably been delayed by something. She should be here soon." Lu Yu was also a bit puzzled. Wu Shao was usually the most punctual. Why hadn't she arrived yet today?
"Master! I'm sorry, I'm late today." Wu Shao ran in, panting, one hand on the doorframe, out of breath.
"It's alright, you don't need to rush. Come over and have some water." Lu Yu saw the sweat dripping from Wu Shao's forehead and, as she led her into the inner room, poured her a cup of hot tea.
"If you're late, you don't need to be so anxious. There weren't many customers this morning anyway."
"Yes, in this cold weather, don't catch a cold after sweating. Then our Ren Kang Tang's attending physician will have to treat you," Gu Yitong said, raising an eyebrow at Wu Shao and speaking playfully.
Wu Shao gulped down the hot tea and let out a long sigh. "Yesterday, when I went home, my brother heard about this, and this morning he insisted on coming with me to visit Master's husband. So, I first sent my brother to Master's residence, and then I rushed over."
Master Li is here? That's good. This way, I can chat with Shen Xuan and help him relax, so he doesn't have to worry and feel sad all by himself at home.
"Young Master, Master Li is here."
"Why has Brother-in-law come?" Shen Xuan had been sitting on the bed in a daze after breakfast. Hearing that Master Li had arrived, he finally came to his senses and quickly put on his shoes, wanting to go down to greet him.
"Oh dear, you should sit up in bed quickly." Wu Rong saw Shen Xuan's haggard appearance and quickly walked over, blocking Shen Xuan on the bed.
"Why are your eyes so swollen?" Wu Rong asked tentatively, seeing Shen Xuan looking listless, "Is it because of what happened yesterday?"
Hearing Wu Rong say this, Shen Xuan's tears began to fall uncontrollably again.
"Don't cry, don't cry!" Wu Rong took a handkerchief from his embrace, comforting him while wiping away his tears.
"Brother-in-law, what should I do..." Shen Xuan, having cried enough, rested his head against the headboard and asked weakly.
Wu Rong understood the situation and felt great sympathy for Shen Xuan. He absolutely must not let this matter create a rift between the husband and wife.
Wu Rong's eyes darted around, and as he thought of something, his eyes widened. He leaned close to Shen Xuan's ear and whispered.
"Let me tell you, like this... and then..."
"Will it work?" Shen Xuan was also drawn in and asked with a hint of disbelief.
"Trust me, women can't resist it. If you coax her well, it will definitely work!" Wu Rong said confidently.
"Mhm." Shen Xuan nodded with a blush, faintly looking forward to the evening.
They chatted in the room all afternoon. When they came out, Shen Xuan seemed like a different person. Apart from his still red and swollen eyes, Afu could no longer sense any trace of sadness.
This Master Li is truly a miracle worker, to be able to coax the young master, who was so dejected this morning, into this state. I'm so curious what he actually said to the young master.
If Shen Xuan and Wu Rong knew what Afu was thinking, they would surely say in unison: "You're too young to understand."
After seeing Master Li—Wu Rong—off, just as he was about to turn back to his residence, he heard a voice from the street, "Xuan'er!"
Shen Xuan recognized the voice as his maternal grandfather's and turned, smiling to greet him.
"Master Li." Afu saw Shen Xuan supporting his maternal grandfather as he approached and bowed.
"Good child, get up quickly. Xuan'er has relied on your care for so long." Master Li patted Afu's shoulder and helped him up.
"It is my duty."
"Grandfather, please come in with me." Shen Xuan interrupted their conversation at the right moment and helped his grandfather into the residence.
Shen Xuan knew that Afu, because of his father—Wang Tian—was afraid to face his maternal grandfather, feeling that their family owed his maternal grandfather, father, and himself.
They had grown up together. Normally, when facing Shen Xuan, Afu was relatively composed. But when Afu faced his maternal grandfather, he became so nervous and guilty that he dared not speak.