The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 202: 127 Group’s Pet (second update) _3

Another box of gifts was prepared by Marquis Gu and his brother from the residence; neither of them had opened it.

The last gift was from Xiao Liulang.

Everyone was looking forward to it.

He always gifts a pen or paper. The whole family knew what he would send this time. Could it be calligraphy paper?

Then Xiao Liulang took out a brocade box.

Under everyone’s eager gaze, Gu Jiao opened the box.

The result was indeed a stack of calligraphy papers!!!

Gu Jiao: “…”

Everyone: “…”

However, it seemed not to be the usual calligraphy paper; each page was a poem.

Gu Jiao felt that these poems were written exceptionally well, even though she didn’t understand what they meant.

Gu Jiao patiently flipped through each paper. To her surprise, Xiao Liulang seemed to have not expected her to review the calligraphy papers in public. He appeared inexplicably nervous.

As Gu Jiao was reaching the last paper, she found a delightful surprise. The box was specially made, and a white magnolia hairpin was embedded at the bottom.

Hmm?

Gu Jiao’s eyes widened.

Finally, this straight-shooter knew to give her a hairpin?

What Gu Jiao didn’t know was that this hairpin is also called a “ji”, and in the Zhan Country, when a girl turns fifteen, she wears a “ji”. On this day, the elders in the family would arrange her hair and present her with a “ji”, symbolizing her coming of age and eligibility for marriage.

Of course, if a girl is married before she turns fifteen, then the “ji” ceremony will take place on her wedding day, also indicating her adulthood.

No “ji” ceremony took place when Gu Jiao got married. The Gu family wouldn’t go to such lengths for someone deemed dim-witted, but Xiao Liulang remembered it well.

Upon seeing the hairpin that her son-in-law gave to her daughter, the entire picture became clear to the Yao Family matriarch. She had initially believed that her daughter had already had the “ji” ceremony, so she regarded this day as an ordinary birthday.

The son-in-law was mindful.

Gu Jiao finally understood why the fellow never gave her a hairpin. Apparently, it was too hot of an item to handle. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Without the “ji” ceremony, she couldn’t use a hairpin.

The matriarch of the Yao Family’s eyes turned red in an instant: “Jiaojiao, let me comb your hair.”

The Yao matriarch and old lady both combed Gu Jiao’s hair bun. With everyone witnessing her, Gu Jiao completed her own “ji” ceremony.

The moon was midway across the sky.

The bustling market was left behind by the galloping horse.

Gu Changqing rode his horse to a quiet alley. He dismounted and, leading his horse, walked in with a detached stride.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the familiar courtyard.

The courtyard door was half-open, and the laughter of women and children mixed with the voices of teenagers floated out from within, creating an atmosphere of harmony and fun.

Gu Changqing paused at the entrance for a while, ultimately deciding against entering, and was about to remount his horse.

Suddenly, Little Monk came running over in small steps, squeezing out of the door gap: “Big brother! Is it you?”

Gu Changqing looked at him: “…It’s me.”

“Monk, who is it?” The Yao Family matriarch opened the half-closed door and, upon seeing Gu Changqing outside, her smile turned rigid in an instant.

Gu Changqing was quite surprised to see the Yao Family matriarch here, and he was even more taken aback by her uninhibited laughter. Although it soon turned rigid, he had seen it.

He never knew this perpetually somber Yao Family matriarch could have such a cheerful moment, laughing like a child.

“You…” The Yao Family matriarch began to speak but then stopped.

Little Monk glanced at Gu Changqing, then at the Yao Family matriarch, and asked, “Benefactor Yao, do you know each other?”

“Benefactor?” This wasn’t a common address, Gu Changqing looked at the little guy weirdly, “Are you a monk?”

Little Monk explained seriously: “I was a monk before I descended the mountain! Now I am not anymore! Benefactor Yao is a patron of our temple! I often see her! We are very familiar with each other! Big Brother, are you also here to celebrate Jiaojiao’s birthday?”

Little Monk was talking from his own perspective, but when Gu Changqing heard it, he thought that the Yao Family matriarch and Little Monk’s family were merely old acquaintances.

He and this stepmother actually knew the same acquaintance. What a coincidence.

Gu Changqing seriously responded, “No, I am just passing by. Do you like birds?”

Little Monk tilted his head and thought: “I like them!”

Gu Changqing handed him a bird cage covered in cloth that was hanging on the saddle of his horse: “This is for you.”

After saying this, he rode his horse and left without looking back.

Little Monk watched the figure fade away with the wind and waved his little hand: “Thank you, Big Brother!”