Following Gu Yu Chen’s instructions, Song Shiyue retrieved the jade thumb ring hidden on her person and handed it to the gatekeeper. After glancing at the carriage, the servant immediately went inside to report.
Soon, two figures came rushing out.
The young man leading the way halted abruptly upon seeing the veiled Song Shiyue. He whispered toward the carriage behind her, “Is that our young master?”
Gu Yu Chen inside the carriage immediately recognized the speaker’s voice. “Liu Si, bring the carriage inside first.”
Hearing the voice from the carriage, the young man called Liu Si and the middle-aged steward following behind him were overjoyed.
Liu Si directly took the reins from Song Shiyue’s hands. “Auntie, please follow me into the manor to talk.”
Auntie?
Song Shiyue instantly protested, “Are you blind? Even with my face covered, with this lithe figure of mine, you actually call me auntie?”
In her fury, Song Shiyue began to pull down her face veil.
Gu Yu Chen quickly called out, “Madam, don’t!”
Song Shiyue had already loosened the veil when she heard Gu Yu Chen’s warning. Remembering their purpose for coming here, she reacted swiftly by covering her face with her hands and dashed straight into the manor.
The middle-aged man lifted a finger and tapped Liu Si’s arm. “Why are you standing there dumbstruck? Hurry and drive the carriage inside.”
Liu Si snapped out of his shock from hearing “Madam” and jumped onto the carriage seat, driving the vehicle into the manor.
With the manor gates closed, blocking outside view, the middle-aged man instructed Liu Si to drive the carriage directly into the inner courtyard.
He bowed respectfully to Song Shiyue, who stood nearby with hands on her hips.
“Madam, please follow this subordinate.”
Seeing the middle-aged man’s attitude, Song Shiyue didn’t make things difficult and followed him into the inner courtyard.
As Liu Si lifted the carriage curtain, the first thing that caught his eye was the wheelchair, followed by his master.
“This wheelchair…?”
Gu Yu Chen said irritably, “Liu Si, could you first lower the wheelchair? Wait until I get down before asking questions.”
“Oh.”
The arriving Song Shiyue sneered, “This subordinate of yours isn’t very bright.”
Liu Si wanted to glare at her, but remembering his master’s earlier form of address, he quickly sealed his lips.
The middle-aged man personally stepped forward and said to Gu Yu Chen in the carriage, “Young master, you’ve finally returned.”
He extended his arm, intending to carry Gu Yu Chen down from the carriage, but was surprised when his master slowly walked out on his own, supporting himself on his arm to disembark.
So the young master could still walk. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Liu Si looked at the crude wheelchair. “Young master, do we still need this wheelchair?”
“Burn it. Have a new one made.”
He couldn’t completely abandon the wheelchair yet, but since Steward Quan had seen their current appearances, they would need to change their disguises to appear openly in Jing City, including their identities and the wheelchair.
“Uncle Da, please arrange a room for Yue girl to rest first.”
Why was she Yue girl again? Uncle Da realized it might have been a temporary measure outside earlier and didn’t question further.
But Liu Si became confused. “Is she Madam or Miss?”
“She is your young master’s lifesaver. Show more respect to Yue girl.”
Gu Yu Chen had no choice but to issue a warning to his slow-witted subordinate.
Song Shiyue glared at Liu Si before following Uncle Da to the guest room to rest.
Meanwhile, Liu Si helped Gu Yu Chen into his private quarters.
As soon as Gu Yu Chen was seated, Liu Si knelt and kowtowed. “Master, we’ve let you suffer.”
“Rise.”
Although this time was extremely perilous, fortunately, the item had been obtained and he had survived.
“What about the others?”
“We didn’t dare inform the Old Master about your perilous situation. Everyone is still searching for you outside. But where were you rescued? We’ve nearly combed through every village along the way but found no trace of you.”
“I was at Qingyun Mountain the whole time, and I didn’t see Liu Wu and the others on my way back to Jing City either.”
Liu Si was stunned. How could they have missed each other so perfectly? He had no idea.
Gu Yu Chen, however, had a theory—perhaps they had also missed each other because they were avoiding the five men surnamed Quan.
“Do you know what happened to the people who went with me?”
Liu Si lowered his head. “No one survived.”
Gu Yu Chen clenched his fist and said gravely, “Give their families more silver.”
“Uncle Da has already done so.”
Gu Yu Chen nodded. He trusted Uncle Da’s ability to handle matters.
“Recall Liu Wu and the others.”
Liu Si was about to carry out the order when Gu Yu Chen stopped him.
“Get some women’s dresses and jewelry.”
“Is it for the Madam? Oh no, is it for that young lady?”
“Yes, it’s for her.”
As for whether to call her “Madam” or “young lady,” even Gu Yu Chen himself wasn’t sure.
It wasn’t until Uncle Da came to brief him on the various news and situations in Jing City over the past few months that Gu Yu Chen also told Uncle Da about his relationship with Song Shiyue.
“Young Master, in my humble opinion, it might be best to let the mistake stand. Given the current circumstances, it could help avoid a lot of trouble.”
Gu Yu Chen also thought this was the best option, but he wondered what that girl would think.
It was all his fault for running his mouth—why did he have to say they could divorce after arriving in the capital?
Gu Yu Chen frowned deeply, worried. Getting that girl to cooperate wouldn’t be easy.
Uncle Da didn’t know the exact nature of the relationship between his master and his lifesaver. Seeing him so troubled, he instinctively felt the young lady must be difficult to deal with.
Afraid of making a mistake, Liu Si bought a chest of dresses for young ladies and another chest of dresses for young married women.
As for the jewelry, he had the manager of their family shop match them according to age, thinking this way he couldn’t go wrong.
Song Shiyue really wanted to praise Liu Si’s competence, but when she picked up those dresses, she couldn’t feel happy.
Since arriving in this world, she had never worn such complicated clothes. Her master had let her choose for herself, and she only knew how to wear simple tops and pants. How was she supposed to wear these layered dresses, with their inner and outer garments? And what was that rectangular piece of cloth with long, delicate ribbons for?
When Gu Yu Chen came to discuss matters with Song Shiyue, he found her staring blankly at the dresses and jewelry.
“Don’t you like these dresses? I’ll have them replaced.”
Song Shiyue slowly turned her head to look at him. “Which eye of yours saw that I don’t like them?”
“Both my eyes saw your unhappy expression.”
“Please, use your brain. I’m a wild child who grew up in the deep mountains, raised by the Crazy Old Taoist since I was young. No one ever taught me how to wear women’s dresses, especially such exquisite and elaborate ones.”
Gu Yu Chen smiled awkwardly. He had indeed overlooked this.
“I’ll find two maids to help you right away.”
When Gu Yu Chen saw Song Shiyue again, he was utterly stunned.
Her face, cleansed of cosmetics, remained radiant and dazzling without a trace of rouge or powder. Adorned with a maiden’s hairstyle, she wore only a simple pearl hairpin. Her lotus-pink dress paired with small white boots embroidered with golden threads made her appear full of youthful vitality, exuding a soft, luminous glow.
Song Shiyue had already seen her reflection clearly in the mirror moments earlier. Now, noticing the awe in Gu Yu Chen’s gaze, she understood that her appearance was considered exceptional in this era.
She had chosen to reveal her true looks to Gu Yu Chen to avoid encountering the five individuals she had met on the road after arriving in the capital. Before finding her master, she wanted no unnecessary trouble from idle strangers.