I sat back at the side table, picked up a honey peach from the fruit platter, and took a big bite.
Looking around and seeing no one nearby, I started talking to myself.
"Just you wait. Hu Qingluan will soon feel the effects of the alcohol."
At this moment, Hu Qingluan's face was flushed, her eyes a bit blurred. She raised her hand to stroke her forehead.
"Next, she'll stagger around, showing that she can't hold her liquor."
Hu Qingluan took a small step, and indeed, her steps seemed a bit wobbly.
"Third Master, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well and have to leave first. Please enjoy yourself," I took another bite of the honey peach and pretended to say coquettishly.
"Third Master, I'm sorry. I can't hold my liquor. I'm not feeling well and must leave first. Please enjoy yourself."
I let out a cold snort. This routine was just too cliché.
"Next, she'll walk up to Gu Yuan and suddenly faint."
Sure enough, as soon as she moved to Gu Yuan's side, she suddenly fainted and fell into his arms.
"Then, that man will panic, check on the woman, and carry her away from the scene."
"Wrong. Gu Yuan is not that kind of person. He'll just dodge."
True to my words, Gu Yuan frowned tightly, looking disgusted. Instead of letting her fall into his chest, he pushed her away with one hand, sending her into the arms of the maid beside him.
"Miss, miss," the maid was extremely nervous and quickly shook Hu Qingluan's shoulders, trying to wake her up.
"Girl, you're so amazing. You guessed it exactly right."
Only then did I realize that there was someone sitting beside me talking to me.
I quickly turned my head to look at that person. With my mouth stuffed full, I was mumbling incoherently, yet he could understand me?
"Jun... Jun He?" I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth. But I had stuffed so much that I almost choked to death.
Jun He looked surprised when he heard me call his name and immediately asked, "How do you know my name?"
I didn't have the time to chat with him. I quickly picked up the water on the table and took a few sips, wondering in my heart how someone with his identity could be here.
"Big brother, you're really brave. Do you know where this is? How dare you come here secretly?"
"Sure I do. It's the old mansion of Third Master Hu, the place with the most abundant fruits in Changbai Mountain."
"If you know, why did you come? Aren't you afraid that Third Master Hu will recognize that you're from Nine Nether?"
This really stunned Jun He.
"Who on earth are you? How can you tell that I'm from Nine Nether?"
"I also know that you're from the Land of Eternal Night. Stop talking. Leave quickly before they notice you. If you don't go soon, you'll really be seen through."
Jun He was completely dazed at this moment. He didn't know how I recognized him, nor why I was on his side. His eyes looking at me were full of curiosity.
"Wait. I didn't want to come at first. I heard that there were abundant fruits here, so I thought I'd come and steal some. But when I got to the orchard, there was nothing, not even a bad fruit with a worm in it."
"Maybe you went to the wrong place. There are plenty in the back garden. I just ate some," I finally finished all the food in my mouth and my speech became much clearer.
"I went to the back garden. There were no fruits at all. It was all a lie." Jun He picked up the honey peach on my table and took a bite.
As soon as he took a bite, his eyes widened like copper bells, as if he had never eaten anything so delicious in his life.
I looked over at Gu Yuan again. At this moment, Hu Qingluan seemed to have recovered a lot. She was sitting beside Gu Yuan, chatting with him. But it was only her talking. Gu Yuan completely ignored her. His eyes were always on me, his brows furrowed tightly, looking displeased.
I gave him an embarrassed smile and immediately lowered my head. I put all the fruits on the table back into the plate.
Then I wrapped them in the tablecloth and stuffed them all into Jun He's arms, saying,
"Go quickly. These fruits are for you. This really isn't a place for you."
Jun He held the fruits I had put into his arms and looked at me with great interest.
"What's your name?"
I didn't want to talk to him anymore, but he added,
"If you don't tell me, I won't leave."
What a reckless guy.
"My name is Chi Yu. Is that okay?" I replied.
"Chi Yu. It's a nice name. I'm sure we'll meet again."
"Of course. It seems we meet quite often," I murmured softly, turning my head.
"You're really an interesting person. See you later," he said as he slipped out with a full bag of fruits in his arms.
Fortunately, my seat was beside the door. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to slip away.
"Miss Chi Yu, have you finished all the food?" Hu Xuanfeng walked up to me with a plate of big pork knuckles, looking surprised.
I looked down at the empty table. There really was nothing left.
"Yes... yes. I was so hungry that I ate it all. Hehe."
Hu Xuanfeng put down the pork knuckles in his hand and asked again, "But where are the plates?"
"The plates... The plates. Just now, a beggar came. He looked so hungry that I gave him the leftovers, and he took the plates away too."
"A beggar? Everyone in our old mansion is one of our own. How could a beggar sneak in? No, I have to call someone to look for him quickly."
"Come on, sit down," I said without hesitation and pulled Hu Xuanfeng to sit beside me.
"You... You're holding my hand?"
"Look, your Third Master Hu is about to speak. Listen carefully," I said without even looking at him and pointed forward.
Third Master Hu cleared his throat, and everyone at the banquet immediately fell silent, waiting for him to speak.
"I'm sure everyone knows that my great-granddaughter Qingluan has been suffering from a stubborn illness. No medicine could cure her. I thought I would have to bury my descendant while I was still alive. But thanks to the blessing of the Heavenly Emperor, Doctor Liu, the third master of the Liu family, is highly skilled in medicine. Today, he actually cured Qingluan's stubborn illness."
"I'm extremely grateful. As the saying goes, one can never repay a great kindness. So, I've discussed with Doctor Liu and decided to betroth my most beloved great-granddaughter Hu Qingluan to him as his wife. In the future, if the Liu family is in trouble, I'll surely do my best to help."
As soon as Third Master Hu finished speaking, the guests at the banquet immediately cheered and clapped.
The sound rose and fell, wave after wave.
I was sitting at the back, holding chopsticks and stuffing a piece of pork knuckle from the plate in front of me into my mouth.
I felt so uncomfortable. What was this? At least I had walked in hand in hand with Gu Yuan. They didn't even take me into account.
"Qingluan, do you agree to great-grandfather's arrangement?" Hu Fujin quickly fanned the flames from the side.
Hu Qingluan lowered her head, looking shy: "I'll follow great-grandfather's arrangement."
It was obvious that she was overjoyed.
"Okay, it's settled then. Gu Yuan, in the future, we'll be family. I guarantee I won't treat you badly."
"Wait a minute. What's this? For a marriage, you Hu family just make the decision on your own? You don't even ask Gu Yuan's opinion or whether he has someone he loves?"