The Rebirth of an Orphan

Zhao Xihua was stunned for a moment. The dowry she brought from the Zhao family was indeed too shabby. She thought that at most she could use the money given to her by the Third Madam to buy some decent dowry, but she also knew that was just a drop in the bucket.

But she didn't expect that Gu Lun had even considered her dowry. With these things, she would definitely be able to hold her head up high in the Gu family.

Gu Lun stood up and opened the rest of the boxes. They were all filled with gold, pearls, agate, jade, and a full set of pearl, gemstone, diamond and gold jewelry.

Zhao Xihua took a breath and said, "Thank you for thinking so carefully for me. Use these things for emergencies now, and I will return them to you later."

No reward without merit, Zhao Xihua didn't want to keep these things for herself. Although these things were enough for her to spend in several lifetimes, she also understood that delicious things were difficult to digest.

Gu Lun looked at her and raised his eyebrows: "You want to return it to me?"

Zhao Xihua smiled and replied, "These things are too valuable. What we are doing is just a show. How can I really take these from you?"

Gu Lun's expression deepened. After a long while, he came to Zhao Xi's screen and said with a smile, "Girl, I guess you don't know me well enough. I, Gu Lun, can't take back what I give away. I can afford this little money to save face for my woman. Don't waste your words and take it!"

The unquestionable tone made Zhao Xihua's heart move slightly. She was about to speak when Gu Lun's slender fingers pressed her lips.

"Listen, it seems that you have really made up your mind not to get entangled with me anymore. I gave you something but you refused it with all sorts of excuses. So...how about you return the things to me and give me your life as well? Hmm?"

His fingertips were cool and a little cold. Zhao Xihua shivered and then nodded. "In that case, I'll accept it."

Gu Lun's face lit up with joy when he heard this. He clapped his hands and shouted outside, "Come here, take these things to the young lady and send them to the club. Serve the food!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several young men in tight clothes came in and collected the things Zhao Xi had painted. Then a maid placed various dishes on the table. It was a large table full of what should be Kyoto's specialties.

Gu Lun picked up the bowls and plates and helped Zhao Xihua to pick up the dishes. Zhao Xihua felt touched. She remembered the leftovers she had at the Zhao family before, and how she and Pingshui would not have died a terrible death if it weren't for the help of Pingshui's fellow villager Aqiang when she was abused by Zhao Lingyun at the Sun family in her previous life.

She didn't know how much of the rotten food she had eaten. Now, looking at the table full of dishes in front of her and Gu Lun who had piled her bowls and plates like a mountain, she felt warm in her heart.

Zhao Xihua was really full after this meal. After being sent back to Gu Lun's private club, she drank a lot of tea, took a shower, and fell asleep early.

Unexpectedly, she was gently woken up by Pingshui and Chunfeng in the middle of the night. She asked sleepily, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Pingshui's expression was a little complicated, but she still lowered her voice and said, "Sister, it was the eldest young master of the Sun family who sent Uncle Lin to meet you in the pavilion by the river."

Zhao Xihua sat up quickly. Why did Sun Xiao come to Kyoto? Although they were close friends, he was already her brother-in-law, and she was about to get married. It was not good for him to come to her secretly on the eve of the wedding.

Sun Xiao just wanted to see why she chose to come here in the middle of the night? Was there something wrong that made her not come during the day? Even if he came to visit as a friend or asked her out, it would be better than what he was doing now, right?

Moreover, meeting in an empty pavilion by the river in the middle of the night was, to put it bluntly, a secret meeting. If this were to get out, even if Gu Lun guaranteed her entry into the Gu family, she would not be able to raise her head in shame.

She could be rebellious and ignore the secular world, but ever since she was switched on the way to her wedding that day, and she was locked up in the Taoist temple and almost froze to death when Sun Xiao didn't come, there was no way for her and Sun Xiao to go back again, and there was no possibility anymore.

In the end, he succumbed to Miss Nangong's pressure. His cowardice made the two of them come to this point step by step. In fact, Zhao Xihua did not blame Sun Xiao. She also understood Sun Xiao's helplessness.

"Sister... this matter..." Pingshui saw that Zhao Xihua was in deep thought for a long time, and hurriedly reminded her: "Sister will be entering the Gu family in three days. At this critical moment... I'm afraid it's not a good idea."

Zhao Xihua stood up and put on a coat, then said to Uncle Lin outside the door: "Uncle Lin, go tell the young master that the past is determined by fate."

Uncle Lin, who was waiting outside the door, responded quickly after hearing this. He felt a lot more relaxed and couldn't help but think of Gu Lun's changeable face. If Gu Lun knew that he was the one who came to deliver a message to the young lady and the eldest master, he would feel his skin tighten.

Uncle Lin quickly turned around and left the yard. Now that he had the young lady's reply, he didn't have to worry about what the eldest young master could do to him. After all, the young lady would soon be the young lady of the Gu family, and the Sun family couldn't do anything to the young lady.

Zhao Xihua could no longer fall asleep after being disturbed by the people sent by Sun Xiao, so she simply got up and looked through the books left by her mother at the desk.

She had accidentally found some clues hidden in the books left by her mother before, but when she tried to use clean water to see if she could make those words appear again, there was no trace at all.

It seems that the clue left behind is the only secret left to her by her father whom she has never met.

She had no choice but to go back to bed and take a nap. It was soon dawn, so she got up, washed up and had breakfast.

But when she saw the breakfast brought by the maids, she couldn't help but be dumbfounded. That exquisite breakfast with eight dishes and one soup was simply too much thought, right?

For example, the ham and bamboo shoots are made with high-quality Jinhua ham, and the bamboo shoots are from the center of the spring bamboo shoots. I don’t know how much effort it took to keep the spring bamboo shoots so fresh until autumn. It’s really troublesome.

It tasted really delicious. The maid beside her smiled carefully and said, "If you like it, eat more. These are the recipes from the chef in the Presidential Palace. Only our young master has them. Other noble families don't have them."

Zhao Xihua's expression froze, and the maid's expression quickly subsided. However, she was secretly wondering in her heart that she didn't expect that the style and demeanor of a young lady from a small place like Yuncheng would be so extraordinary.

Normally, if a woman was spoiled like this by a young master, she would have become complacent long ago. However, unexpectedly, this young lady's expression remained calm and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry. Her mind and cunning were comparable to those of the young master.