A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Chapter 383 Clarification

Gu Xixi looked at Jiang Mingyuan and did not refuse his gift of thanks.

He Jinglan watched from behind, her eyes unfathomable.

Dou Rongshan said, "Thank you for saving my life. I hope the next step is for you to say you're willing to repay me with your body."

Jiang Mingyuan opened his eyes slightly, but when he straightened up, he had already regained his calm and composed demeanor.

An Qinghe said unhappily, "Miss Dou, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

"If someone overhears and misunderstands, it won't be good for anyone."

Dou Rongshan didn't seem to care, saying, "There's no one else here."

She turned to He Jinglan, "Right?"

He Jinglan glanced at her sideways and said with a smile, "Our family is relatively well-organized."

"Even if the servants hear something, they will never gossip about it."

He Jinglan turned to Jiang Mingyuan, "Miss Dou is the beloved daughter of General Dou from Sichuan."

"She has recently been reading books circulating in the market, and it's inevitable that she will bring the things in the stories into reality."

"Please don't take it to heart, Top Scholar."

Jiang Mingyuan smiled, "Miss Dou is witty and humorous, how could Zichu take a joke seriously?"

He spoke as gently and kindly as ever.

Even when looking directly at other women, his gaze maintains a perfectly appropriate distance, with clear boundaries.

Anyone who looks at him would feel that his attitude is only friendly and respectful, without the slightest hint of ambiguity.

Even though He Jinglan was picky, she couldn't help but admire her in her heart.

He truly is a virtuous and upright gentleman, open and honest.

As the hostess of the flower-viewing banquet, she still had to finish her formalities.

He first expressed his apologies again, and then exchanged pleasantries.

Jiang Mingyuan replied politely, saying that his falling into the water was not the fault of the He family.

Instead, he, as a guest, recklessly fell into the water, ruining everyone's enjoyment of the flowers.

It was really wrong of me to cause trouble for the owner.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the matter was finally put to rest.

He Jinglan hesitated for a moment, then took the opportunity to ask, "I wonder why the top scholar fell into the water?"

Fearing that Jiang Mingyuan might have other hidden reasons, he didn't want to reveal them.

He Jinglan continued, "Oh, I was thinking that if the stones on the shore are not slippery enough, or if there are gaps that could easily trip people, we should quickly find a craftsman to remove these potential hazards."

Jiang Mingyuan was unsure whether he had figured out what He Jinglan really wanted to ask.

He smiled and said, "Your garden is exquisite in every way and there are no hidden dangers."

He Jinglan opened her mouth, but was momentarily at a loss for words.

At this moment, Gu Xixi spoke up, "I have something to say to Brother Zichu."

"You guys go outside and wait for me, okay?"

He Jinglan felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She grabbed An Qinghe's sleeve with her left hand and Dou Rongshan with her right, dragging the two men with piercing eyes out of the room.

Then, not forgetting to thoughtfully close the door behind them.

Outside the door, He Jinglan solemnly instructed her maid, "Go out and keep watch; no guests are allowed to approach the guest rooms in the east wing."

She thought for a moment, then lowered her voice and added another sentence.

"If it is the Regent who comes, find an excuse to delay him, and send someone to inform me first."

Green Wax was startled, and looked troubled. "Ah?"

He Jinglan understood. "I didn't ask you to lie to him, nor did I ask you to forcefully stop him."

"It's just about saying a few words to stall for time, understand?"

Green Wax nodded with difficulty and turned away.

He Jinglan breathed a sigh of relief, full of confidence.

Although we haven't figured out what's going on yet, it's always good to take precautions.

To avoid escalating the conflict if the rival meets again later.

Only Gu Xixi and Jiang Mingyuan remained inside.

Gu Xixi sat down at the table and gestured for Jiang Mingyuan to sit down as well.

Jiang Mingyuan turned around and first pushed open the window on the side facing the corridor.

He was honest and open-minded, unafraid of gossip, but he felt responsible for Gu Xixi's well-being.

When the window was opened, the three people who were squatting under it were startled.

Once Jiang Mingyuan had walked away from the window, He Jinglan breathed a sigh of relief, then complained:

"What are you two doing crowding in here? Move over a bit!"

An Qinghe didn't hear it at all; he pressed one ear against the wall, his expression one of grave danger.

Dou Rongshan covered her mouth with one hand and whispered, "Of course I'll listen to whether Sister Xixi sides with my cousin or the top scholar."

He Jinglan was furious, "I shouldn't have agreed to stay!"

Unfortunately, she couldn't make any big moves at this time, so He Jinglan could only let Dou Rongshan eavesdrop on her.

Inside the room, Gu Xixi watched Jiang Mingyuan walk over and said with a smile, "Brother Zichu, are you sure you want them all to listen?"

Jiang Mingyuan said, "There is nothing between Xixi and me that I have to hide."

The three people standing by the wall all tensed up.

An Qinghe suddenly left from under the window without saying a word, crouching low.

Although he never intended to be a gentleman, he also did not want to be a despicable person.

Having agreed to compete fairly with Jiang Mingyuan, Xixi also wanted to speak with him alone.

If he were to shamelessly listen, wouldn't that be despicable?

He Jinglan and Dou Rongshan, having nothing to do with these competitions, continued to squat steadily.

Jiang Mingyuan spoke first, "I did fall into the water by accident."

"Although the Regent was present at the time, I did exchange a few words with him."

"But he didn't lay a hand on me, nor did he push me."

Gu Xixi looked directly into Jiang Mingyuan's eyes. "I know."

Jiang Mingyuan and the two people eavesdropping outside the window were both taken aback.

"You really trust him that much?"

Perhaps Jiang Mingyuan himself didn't realize that he said those words with a hint of jealousy.

Gu Xixi said, "They fight and scheme against each other because of jealousy and jealousy."

She couldn't help but laugh a few times. "Childish tricks, how could he possibly do that?"

Outside the window, He Jinglan and Dou Rongshan nodded in unison.

That's right, how could he possibly push someone into the water with something so trivial!

With that kind of skill, why didn't he just kill him to silence him?

He Jinglan finally realized that her previous worries were unnecessary.

Dou Rongshan added insult to injury, "You've been my childhood friend for years, but you don't know my cousin as well as Sister Xixi does."

He Jinglan glared at her, signaling her to shut up and continue listening.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Mingyuan said, "Aren't you curious about what he said to me?"

Gu Xixi shook her head. "If I want to know, I'll just ask him."

She smiled at Jiang Mingyuan, "But Brother Zichu should already know that the Regent has another name in Huachi Ferry Village, right?"

Jiang Mingyuan looked at her with a complicated expression. "He is that Chen Fang."

At that time, Gu Xixi's fiancé ran away, which happened to be the starting point of their relationship.

Later, he fell in love with her and once thought it was a match made in heaven that brought her to his side at just the right time.

Unexpectedly, Chen Fang had always existed, only now he had transformed into Regent Mu Nanzhao.

Despite Jiang Mingyuan's reluctance to admit it.

But the truth is that Xi Xi's connection with the Regent predates that of the Regent, and there must have been many entanglements that he could no longer participate in.

Thinking of this, Jiang Mingyuan still spoke with reluctance:

"Xixi, the apricot blossom I gave you..."

She didn't return the apricot blossoms, perhaps...

However, Gu Xixi took out the wooden box containing apricot blossoms from her small cloth bag.