What Gong Zhuoliang took Qiao Yingze to was an elegant small house planted with bamboo. It was next door to Qiao Ming and his wife. The layout of the house and one side of the wing, and the other side where the wing should have been changed into a small garden, in which there is a small pavilion for reading and enjoying flowers, and the bamboo planted around blocks the courtyard wall, making people feel more comfortable. It creates the illusion that there is a view behind the bamboo, and also makes the whole small house reveal a low-key elegance.
"The room next door is for Min Yan. I asked Ruo Lan to bring him back, and this room is a study room. The wing room on the other side is divided into a servant's room, a kitchen and a utility room. Let Han Lu and Hanxia stay here to serve, and the rough envoy's girl lives next door at Hanshu's house..."
Gong Zhuoliang accompanied Qiao Yingze to visit the house, and then sat in the small pavilion designed and built by him to rest and chat. Because their relationship still needs to be kept secret, this house is just a temporary residence that Gong Zhuoliang prepared for Qiao Yingze. When the plan is really completed, they will be able to buy a real home openly.
"… Um."
Looking at the energetic Gong Zhuoliang in front of him, Qiao Yingze's mood gradually became complicated. Although he knew that this house was only a place for him to live temporarily, he was already used to living with Gong Zhuoliang day and night, and suddenly wanted to live alone After going down, Qiao Yingze really didn't know if he could adapt, at least... Insomnia is certain.
"But tired? Let's take a rest in the room first. In the afternoon, I have to visit my ancestor... the old lady."
Gong Zhuoliang was about to ask Qiao Yingze for credit for the small house he designed and built, but seeing his lack of interest, he subconsciously wanted to lean over to hug him on the shoulder, but immediately stopped his movements after sobering up. Their current relationship But it's just brother-in-law and brother-in-law, and they belong to the predecessor, but they have to be polite everywhere.
"I'm fine, where are you staying tonight?"
Qiao Yingze also felt very uncomfortable with such an unfamiliar and awkward atmosphere between the two, and thinking that after Gong Zhuoyan 'died' as planned, he would have to mourn for a year for the sake of fame before he could truly be with Gong Zhuoliang, Qiao Yingze It's even more unpleasant in my heart.
"I... go back to my mother and live there for the time being."
Hearing Qiao Yingze ask about this, Gong Zhuoliang realized where his depression came from, and couldn't help thinking that he was confused. He was so busy with these things these days that he went to tell Qiao Yingze that he was going to move back to his mother. The matter of living at home.
Although it was said that the house was bought for Mrs. Wu, it is natural that there would be no Gong Zhuoliang's yard, but he has never lived in it, and two days before the West Mansion was sealed off, the secret passage of the study was completely blocked. Naturally, Zhuo Liang didn't need to go to that small house again. As for Qiao Yingze's current house, digging that thing was too eye-catching, so this time, the two of them really lived apart for a while.
"oh… "
Qiao Yingze responded, but didn't know what to say next, the two looked at each other hesitantly, the scene turned cold for a while, and the atmosphere became even more awkward.
"Yingze, Madam, I was placed in your name. I was afraid that someone would gossip, so I only told the outside world that it was the bonus of the bookstore that you had withdrawn in advance."
Gong Zhuoliang couldn't see Qiao Yingze's lack of energy, so he put on a smile and started looking for topics. Speaking of Gong Zhuoliang's books, there are many illustrations drawn by Qiao Yingze, especially when publishing his own booklet, Qiao Yingze's name is also listed in the author column as the artist, so it is explained in the name of remuneration and dividends Qiao Yingze has no worries about food and clothing now, and no one can find fault with it.
Of course, Qiao Yingze only drew illustrations for Gong Zhuoliang alone, and the original manuscripts of those paintings were also locked in a special cabinet by Gong Zhuoliang's treasure. This is what made Qiao Yingze famous.
"Um… "
Qiao Yingze hummed again to express that he understood. Before he could find another topic to talk about, Gong Zhuoliang suddenly stood up and raised his hand in the direction of the main house. Seeing this, Qiao Yingze had no choice but to stand up as well. Let's go inside together.
Under Gong Zhuoliang's suggestion, Qiao Yingze sent Hanlu and Hanxia to the next door to help Hanshu prepare lunch, while Qiao Minyan was played by Qiao Ming, and then the two entered the master room, and just as Qiao Yingze closed the door, It felt like Gong Zhuoliang stuck to his back, and the hands passing through his waist quickly drew the latch on the door.
"Zhuo Zhuo, if you barge in the door in broad daylight, it will arouse suspicion..."
With Gong Zhuoliang tightly hugging his waist, Qiao Yingze turned his face to look at Gong Zhuoliang, although he spoke words of advice, but the hands on the back of Gong Zhuoliang's hands did not touch the latch.
"Qiao Ming is smart. It doesn't matter if he's watching over you. Ying Ze, we haven't parted yet. I'm already thinking about you. What should I do? I'm sure I won't be able to sleep tonight."
Gong Zhuoliang couldn't possibly see Qiao Yingze's duplicity, smiled lightly, hugged him and sat on the chair pushed aside, then lowered his head and kissed his forehead to the tip of his nose, then kissed his lips deeply, They didn't let go until they were almost out of breath.
"Zhuo Zhuo..."
The thoughts in his heart were uttered through Gong Zhuoliang's mouth, and Qiao Yingze's heart was filled instantly, but he couldn't express the sweet words like Gong Zhuoliang's blunt, and could only express himself with proactive kisses Mood.
"Master, after finishing those things, let Ye'er come over to replace Hanlu and Hanxia, and let those two girls live next door."
Gong Zhuoliang smiled and whispered in Qiao Yingze's ear, and touched the sensitive areas of his body suggestively with both hands.
"... No wonder you demolished the side rooms, and only left a servant room, Zhuo Zhuo, compared to you, I really feel that I am too slow to think about things."
Grasping Gong Zhuoliang's hand, Qiao Yingze thought for a while, and understood Gong Zhuoliang's wishful thinking, and couldn't help but glance at him with a smile.
Although Gong Zhuoliang can't stay here at night because of his reputation, but if it's because of the bookstore's business, it's okay for him to come more frequently during the day. If only Ruolan and Ye'er who know well are left in this courtyard, it's natural As long as everything is cheap, thinking that Gong Zhuoliang has even considered these things thoroughly, Qiao Yingze's previous boredom was swept away, and he couldn't help but sigh for the meticulousness and thoughtfulness of his little daughter-in-law, but compared with him, he was always taken care of by him. Myself, I really complied with the phrase 'a scholar who is useless is a scholar'.
"Yingze, a young man like you who has both ability and political integrity says you are slow, so why don't you say that someone like me who can't even memorize the four books is stupid? I'm just the cunning of ordinary people, and you shouldn't be so stupid. The shortness of oneself is longer than the length of others."
Although being complimented by Qiao Yingze is beautiful in his heart, Gong Zhuoliang still has to be humble in face. Besides, Gong Zhuoliang admires Qiao Yingze's ability and integrity from the bottom of his heart. At most, it can only be said that Qiao Yingze is less aware of mundane matters... So, Gong Zhuoliang sincerely hopes that he can block all the ugliness of the world for Qiao Yingze, so that he can live a clean life.
"Teach me, my lady."
Qiao Yingze was only temporarily emotional because of the change of circumstances. Seeing Gong Zhuoliang comforting himself so earnestly, his mood quickly turned around, and he intentionally smiled and took the initiative to kiss Gong Zhuoliang's lips. In the end, of course, Gong Zhuoliang pressed him on the chair He kissed him so hard that it was hard to breathe.
After both of them relaxed, Gong Zhuoliang went to unlock the door, and sure enough, when he looked at the door, he saw Qiao Ming coaxing Qiao Minyan to play not far away from the door, and when he saw him open the door and came out, he quickly smiled. He nodded and saluted, then handed Qiao Minyan into the arms of the couple, and he went to help him and Hanshu's house next door to serve meals.
In the afternoon, after Qiao Yingze and the others had lunch and rested, the two of them took the carriage to another house where the Qiao family's female family lived. Although Gong Zhuoliang had changed back to men's clothing, he was still not that old at fifteen. In addition, the old lady wanted to thank him personally, so he entered the main house with Qiao Yingze, and besides the old lady and Mrs. Qiao, the other three aunts brought the third eldest, Qiao Yingzi, and the fourth youngest, Qiao Yingzi. Ying Ran hid in the wing room together.
"Ze'er asks grandma and mother to greet her."
Qiao Yingze met with the old lady and Mrs. Qiao, and stared at the old lady with concern. Apart from losing weight, she was still in good spirits, and finally felt a little more relaxed. Mrs. Qiao's heart tightened, she didn't expect that proud and strong woman to be so haggard and weak now.
Behind Qiao Yingze, Gong Zhuoliang took two steps back and stood aside after inviting Ann. Seeing that the old lady was still in good spirits, she felt relieved. As for Mrs. Qiao, she just glanced over it and skipped it. .
"My dear grandson, come here and show grandma."
The old lady's eyes were already red when she saw Qiao Yingze, she hurriedly beckoned him to sit beside her, touched her face and arms and looked carefully for a long time, seeing that he was indeed not uncomfortable at all, so she put her hands together After saying a word about Amitabha, some joy finally appeared on her face, while Mrs. Qiao on the other side looked at the direction of the door with a dull expression, as if she was not affected by the close grandparents and grandsons at all.
"Liang'er is here too, I know all about it, Ze'er is here these days thanks to your care, and we old and weak women and children, if you hadn't sent people to send clothes and food, I don't know what would have happened now, Ze'er Ah, to kowtow to Liang'er on behalf of grandma, this great kindness, our Qiao family will never forget it."
The old lady wiped the wet corners of her eyes, pulled Gong Zhuoliang over and asked Qiao Yingze to kowtow to him, how could Gong Zhuoliang endure this battle, he hurriedly supported Qiao Yingze who was about to kneel, and hurriedly told the old lady that he couldn't bear it At first, Qiao Yingze was amused by his rare look of being at a loss, and he glanced at him secretly teasingly, and then Gong Zhuoliang felt that half of his body was crisp.
Speaking of which, in order to give Gong Zhuoliang an impression in front of the old lady in advance, he took the initiative to visit the old man twice, but because he was a concubine and an "abandoned son", although the old lady didn't hate him for being handsome, He has a pleasing appearance, but his conversation is only indifferent, and it is the first time to call him by his name so intimately.
"The old lady killed the boy, how can the boy be worthy of the gift of brother-in-law."
Gong Zhuoliang pretended to be embarrassed, first helped Qiao Yingze to sit next to the old lady again, and then he obediently smiled shyly in front of the two of them.
"Don't be an old lady. If you still think highly of me as an old lady, just like your sister and brother-in-law, call me grandma."
The old lady took Gong Zhuoliang's arm and looked closely. The more she looked at it, the more she felt that she looked like her grandson's wife. Then she remembered that good girl who had been divorced by her grandson. I heard that she seemed to be seriously ill now. , she really felt sorry for her, but she couldn't tell her grandson's fault, so she could only sigh in her heart that their lives were suffering, and they were all implicated by the family.
"grandmother."
It was the first time he called out this title with his real voice, Gong Zhuoliang subconsciously looked at Qiao Yingze, and met his gaze, and couldn't help but smile at each other.
"Be good, Liang'er, how is your sister doing now?"
The old lady was pondering over her own thoughts, and didn't pay attention to the interaction between the two juniors. She just felt that the young couple had a deep relationship and didn't know if there was any chance of getting back together. Although the Qiao family was defeated now, Ze'er's With fame and the support of a younger brother like Liang'er, life will not go wrong if you think about it.
"My sister injured her leg at the beginning of the year. She thought it would be fine to rest for a few months, but somehow her body became weaker and weaker. In addition... now she is sick and groggy all day long. It is said that it is caused by old wounds that have accumulated poison inside, so we can only slowly detoxify and rest, and avoid great joy and great sorrow."
Gong Zhuoliang paid attention to the old lady's expression, knowing that she probably wanted to bring up the matter of remarriage, so he hurriedly blocked her with words, and sure enough, the old lady sighed helplessly after hearing this.
"Grandmother, my grandson has already bought this house, and let Qiao Ming come over to listen to your errands first. The maids and servants of the rough envoy are preparing to buy. Grandma will see if there is anything missing..."
When Qiao Yingze was reporting to the old lady according to the arrangement that Gong Zhuoliang said, the old lady raised her hand to prevent him from continuing. Qiao Yingze looked at the old man who seemed to have made some decision in puzzlement.
"Ze'er, grandma knows that you are filial, but now that your father is exiled to the north, it is said that it takes 20 days to ride a horse from Bocheng. Grandma really can't live here with peace of mind. Besides, now the family The head of the family is Xuan'er, he will settle down in the capital in the future, even if we don't go to the capital with him, there is absolutely no reason to stay here with you in Bocheng..."
The old lady held Qiao Yingze's hand and put it on her lap, and patted it gently. She looked at him with loving eyes. She saw Gong Zhuoliang coming with Qiao Yingze today, so she knew that his grandson would He would not be wronged in Bocheng, but if they, the old and weak, women and children, stayed in Bocheng, they would only be a drag on him.
Now that they don't have any private property, but they are all pampered, the old lady is reluctant to let her good grandson, who has worked so hard to live a little easier, bear the burden of so many people.
"Grandma, how can this be!"
Qiao Yingze was very surprised when he heard the words, and hurriedly grabbed the old lady's hand to stop it, but was stopped by the old lady.
"Yeah, grandma, Brother Xuan is already on his way back. Otherwise, after he gets home, let's discuss long-term plans..."
And Gong Zhuoliang, who was sitting next to the two of them, was also very surprised. From his angle, he could just see the anger and struggle on the face of Mrs. Qiao who was sitting opposite after hearing the old man's words. She disagreed with this decision, but when she mentioned Qiao Yingxuan, her expression changed, but she seemed to hold back and said nothing.