RPAGF Chapter 685 Time Flies By
Chapter 685 Time Flies By
Two huge red lanterns hung high in front of the prefectural government office, and the stone lions at the entrance looked extremely majestic in the twilight.
Lin Jiayou stopped and stood outside the dim yellow light.
What should he say?
Who am I? Where did I come from?
As he hesitated, the heavy doors of the yamen suddenly creaked open from the inside.
A young man in a dark long gown hurried out, his expression clearly showing anxiety.
Lin Jiayou recognized him at a glance.
Gu Lu.
Gu Lu clearly saw the ragged, filthy child outside the door. He paused, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He strode up to Lin Jiayou, his gaze sweeping over him from head to toe, and his brows immediately furrowed.
"How did you come?"
Gu Lu's voice was devoid of emotion, yet it was like a needle, causing Lin Jiayou's heart to tighten suddenly.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He could only lower his head in embarrassment, clutching the hem of his clothes tightly with both hands.
Gu Lu's gaze fell on his tattered straw sandals, the soles and his feet stained with dark red blood.
He remained silent for a moment, and finally let out a barely audible sigh.
The handsome hand reached out and gently patted Lin Jiayou's thin shoulder, the tone much more gentle.
"Let's talk after we come in first."
Lin Jiayou looked up and met Gu Lu's deep eyes. He saw helplessness, but also a hint of hidden concern.
He knew that he made the right bet.
This place can be a temporary refuge.
Gu Lu led Lin Jiayou into the back hall of the yamen and directly into his small study where he usually read.
Without asking any questions, he first poured a cup of hot tea and placed it in Lin Jiayou's cold hands, then instructed the servants to prepare hot water and clean clothes.
The warm tea slid down my throat, dispelling some of the chill in my body.
Lin Jiayou changed into clean clothes and washed his face, hands and feet with hot water. When he changed his dressing, he found that he had several blisters on the soles of his feet, some of which had already broken and were stuck to his straw sandals. Every step he took felt like he was walking on a knife's edge.
When he returned to his study, he finally seemed to come alive again.
Gu Lu sat quietly in the chair behind the desk, watching him as he calmed down.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice steady.
"Tell me, what exactly happened in the capital?"
Lin Jiayou lowered his eyelids and recounted everything that happened at the Yongwang Mansion, the deaths of his mother and aunt, and how he was deceived by the bodyguard and how he escaped death.
His voice was flat, as if he were telling someone else's story.
But when he talked about the bodyguards huddled together, plotting how to kill him to silence him, his voice still trembled uncontrollably.
Gu Lu's fingers, holding the teacup, tightened inch by inch, his knuckles turning white.
"Then why did you come to Chengdu to find me?" Gu Lu put down his teacup, his gaze complicated.
Lin Jiayou raised his head, and finally, a child's pleading and helplessness appeared in his eyes.
"Qingchen said... she said you would take me in and even let me be your study companion..."
Gu Lu frowned again.
Gu Qingchen, his naive and clueless cousin, has really brought him a huge problem.
His gaze fell on Lin Jiayou's still somewhat childish face, yet filled with stubbornness, and his heart softened once again.
He thought of himself and Lan Jie'er.
My parents both died when I was very young...
Thinking about this, he suddenly realized that he and Lan Jie'er were much luckier than this child.
At least, they had uncles and aunts who cared for them unconditionally as they grew up.
What about Lin Chia-yu?
Now I am truly alone, with no relatives or friends around me.
If he doesn't take care of it, the child probably won't survive the winter.
Gu Lu let out a long sigh of relief and made his decision.
He looked at Lin Jiayou and said, "Since you're here, stay."
Lin Jiayou suddenly raised his head, and his dark pupils instantly lit up.
"But from today onwards, forget your former identity. Here, you are merely my study companion; everything else is irrelevant to you, understand?"
Lin Jiayou nodded vigorously, his throat choked with emotion, all the words he wanted to say condensed into one sentence.
"Thank you, Young Master Gu!"
Gu Lu nodded slightly, which was considered his agreement.
He took a book off the shelf and handed it to Lin Jiayou.
"Get a good rest tonight, and start reviewing your lessons first thing tomorrow morning. I'll have someone take you to buy some everyday necessities."
He paused, then added.
"From now on, this is your home."
Lin Jiayou took the book and hugged it tightly to his chest.
This was the first time he had heard the word "home" since he lost everything.
He knew that from tonight onward, everything would be different. He would live on, and start a new life here.
-
Spring goes and winter comes, time flies. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.
In the past three years, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has had another young master, named Gu Qinghong.
Gu Qinghong is beautiful and lovely, with her eyebrows and eyes resembling Chu Ruohan's, but her personality is like Gu Junze's—calm, reserved, and fond of reading.
Gu Qingchen mocked him, calling him a little old man!
She has grown into a beautiful young woman, but she is still lively and mischievous...
Gu Xuan, on the other hand, has been training in the Eastern Camp army for the past three years.
He rose through the ranks step by step through his military achievements and is now the deputy general of Dongying.
He was no longer the "Young Master Xuan" who needed the protection of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, but had earned the respect of the soldiers through his own abilities.
In the past three years, he only returned to the capital once, and spent less than half an hour in Gu Junze's study.
He did not see Chu Ruohan, nor did he see Gu Qingchen or Gu Qinghong.
He knew that the mistakes he had made could not be made up for in a short time.
He needs more time and more military achievements to prove himself.
Chu Ruohan would occasionally think of the child who used to sweetly call her "Mother," and she would remember how mischievous he was when he was little, and how he protected Qingchen.
But whenever she thought of Mei Zi's ferocious face and Gu Xuan's silence, her heart would turn cold again.
She didn't know if she and her son could ever go back to how things were before.
At Zuixianlou, the most extravagant establishment in the capital, the private rooms were bustling with the sounds of clinking glasses and lively conversation.
Dressed in a fiery red riding outfit, Gu Qingchen stood on a chair, one hand on her hip and the other waving a riding whip, excitedly recounting her "glorious achievements" to the assembled scions of noble families.
"You didn't see it! That idiot surnamed Zhou thought his 'Wind Chaser' was some kind of BMW, but my 'Crimson Flame' had barely warmed up before I left him in the dust! His face, tsk tsk, was uglier than if he were crying!"
She told the story so vividly that it drew laughter from the entire room.
Gu Qingchen is now a graceful young woman, with her features fully developed and her beauty exquisite.
But his inherent wildness was even greater than when he was a child, making him a "troublemaker" that everyone in the capital knew, dreaded, and dared not mess with.
Just as everyone was urging her to drink another cup, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a servant from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion rushed in breathlessly.
"Miss! Miss!"