Love is More than a Word, Chapter 57: Beware of visitors with gifts (3)...

Love is More than a Word《识汝不识丁》Shi Nu Bu Shi Ding
Love is More than a Word, Chapter 57: Beware of visitors with gifts (3)...

After Gu-She left, Tao Mo remained in the study to practice.

Seeing that it was getting late and he hadn't come out to dine, Lao Tao couldn't resist knocking on the door to enter the house.

Hao Guozi watched Lao Tao come in and whacked his left hand on his ink-worn right arm, casting him a look of distress.

"Won't the Young Master rest?" Lao Tao opened his mouth.

Tao Mo looked up, dazedly looking out at the sky and lost his smile, "I didn't realize it was so late."

When Lao Tao walked to the desk, the first thing that caught his eye is the calligraphy written by Gu-She for Tao Mo, the regular script written by Gu-She, slightly similar to the Yan style and a few points more wild and unrestrained than the Yan style, the righteousness with a few points of spontaneity, great everyone's style.


In contrast, Tao Mo's writing is reminiscent of that of a toddler just learning to write. The strokes are twisted and uneven and he can't even master the strength of his strokes, not to mention his style.

Tao Mo gripped the pen with a flourish, "I feel as if I'm getting a feel for it and I want to practice a little more."

Lao Tao said, "It takes time to write well but rather than putting all your enthusiasm into learning it all tonight, Young Master should work hard every day."

When Tao Mo heard this, his enthusiasm vanished and he put down his pen and said yes again and again.

Lao Tao was satisfied to see that he had listened in.

Coming out of the study, Lao Tao swept the corner of his eye over to the floor with some oddly placed branches, walked over, bent down, picked them up and tossed them aside and turned back to the house.

There are people waiting in the house.

Lao Tao closed the door casually and the man respectfully said, "Elder Lu."

"Hmm. Any news?"

"Wan Feng was indeed killed by Huang Guangde." The man said.

Lao Tao said, "Oh? Why?"

The man said, "The details are not yet known but it seems to be related to Yiyu."

"Him again." Lao Tao scowled in disgust.

The man said, "At first, Yiyu's ransom was secret and only after hearing that Zhang Bao had received twice as much money from him, did he let him out without telling Huang Guangde. When Huang Guangde found out, he was so angry that he lost his temper on the spot and after that, he frequently suppressed Qunxiang House and repeatedly abused Wan Feng, who was good friends with Yiyu. Evening Breeze, unable to stand it any longer, sneaks out while Huang Guangde is attending a banquet and when Huang Guangde finds out, he personally chases after him with his guards and eventually shoots him dead."

Lao Tao said, "Can there be any other movement?"

The man said, "I heard that Huang Guangde can't stop yet and is secretly investigating Yiyu's whereabouts."

Lao Tao chanted.

The man tried to ask if he needed a subordinate... "

"Do you know who's behind Huang Guangde?"

The man was startled and said, "I heard that Huang Guangde calls himself a Gu Xiang disciple."

"Gu Xiang?" In the meantime, Lao Tao's eyebrows knit together, "You can check for me, does he have any dealings with Gu Xiang lately."




"Yes." The man took the order and simply tumbled out of the window.

Lao Tao pondered in his room for a while before going out to invite Tao Mo to dine with him. When he arrived at the door of the study, he found that the room was dimly lit, so he summoned a servant.

The servant said, "The lord is out."

Lao Tao said, "Do you know where he went?"

The servant looked at him strangely and said, "My lord has been spending the night at the Gu Residence every day at this hour lately."

"I got it." Lao Tao returned to his room without a word and slowly rummaged through the bottom of his closet for his long-unused nightclothes.

On the way back to the Gu Residence, Tao Mo had mixed feelings.

From time to time he looked at his right hand, repeating in his mind scene after scene the moment when his hand was seized, as if the warmth of Gu-She's palm was still on it.

Even though he know Gu-She did it unintentionally, he can't get the mood to calm down.

He had always thought that someone as indifferent as Gu-She would be averse to human contact but he doesn't reject me.

Tao Mo dismounted from the carriage and headed straight for the hall.

Gu-She indeed waited for him in the hall.

Gu Xiaojia saw Tao Mo come in with a flourish, sitting down on his butt and getting ready to move his chopsticks and couldn't help but say, "Hands."

Tao Mo's hand stopped in mid-air, staring at him blankly.

Gu Xiaojia said, "Turn it over."

Tao Mo obediently turned over his palm, which was covered in a black ink stain. He was stunned, his ears reddened but he had been paying attention to the back of his hand and hadn't noticed the ink on his palm.

Gu Xiaojia quickly brought him water and soap horns to wash his hands.

Tao Mo felt Gu-She's eyes glued to his body and tensed, washing it a few times and still having faint ink marks on his hands.

"Tomorrow will be fine." Gu-She did.

"Hmm." Tao Mo nodded haphazardly and dried his hands off quickly.

I can finally move the chopsticks.

Whether intentionally or accidentally, Tao Mo found himself in front of the roast pork today. He snuck a glance at Gu-She.

Gu-She looked back faintly.

"Thanks." He whispered. After he said it, he then felt it was the wrong thing to say. In case the plate of roast pork wasn't intentionally placed this way, wouldn't he seem too self-conscious?

Fortunately, Gu-She didn't delve into it but simply said, "Food doesn't speak."

Tao Mo bowed his head to eat.

The table was quiet.

Tao Mo has become accustomed to eating in small bites, chewing slowly, Gu-She eats in silence and his appearance is indifferent and he tastes every dish at the table, unable to tell if he likes it or not. He had been observing Gu-She for a long time but he couldn't see his hobbies either.

After the meal, Gu Xiaojia set up the chessboard as usual.

Tao Mo falls first.

Gu-She played with the chess pieces but was in no hurry to play and asked slowly, "How's the writing practice?"

Tao Mo had the feeling of being asked about his homework by a husband, off to the side of this husband who was different from all the usual ones, which increased his pressure. He whispered, "Only fifty sheets practiced, I am not good at writing."

A faint apprehension flashed in Gu-She's eyes, then he said, "Bring the practiced words next time."

Gu Xiaojia stared so hard his eyes almost fell out.




The man in front of him clearly had the face of a Young Master and wore the clothes of a Young Master but why did he feel so strange about this person? He had never seen Tao Mo write but it wasn't for no reason that he was alluded to as to why Tangyang County's first sightless magistrate cant write. Such a person's writing he found unbearable just by imagining it. He didn't expect Young Master to take the initiative to read it, is it because a lover's eyes are full of love and even the stupid and are seen as not?

...

Gu Xiaojia was stunned by the thoughts that subconsciously flashed through his mind.

Tao Mo?

Young Master?

How is that possible?

He patted his chest, silently consoling himself. Young Master's interest in Tao Mo was just a passing interest and he felt that he was destined for him and had nothing to do with the Young Master, let alone a lover! It's one thing for him to accept that Gu-She sees Tao Mo differently, it's quite another for him to fall in love with him. In his mind, someone like Gu-She should match a golden branch like the princess, or a talented girl like Zhuo Wenjun, or at the very least, a beautiful woman with an outstanding face. This Tao Mo.... is too far behind either one.

Hao Guozi saw Gu Xiaojia standing by the side sighing sadly to himself and patted him curiously on the shoulder, "What are you thinking about?"

Gu Xiaojia was shocked to see it was him and stared at him hard, "What are you doing?"

"I'm asking what you do." Hao Guozi said, "Still not leaving?"

"Go, go, go, go, go, what?" Gu Xiaojia took a sudden step forward and stood next to the chessboard, glaring at Tao Mo.

Tao Mo was uncomfortable with his stare and said awkwardly, "Do I have anything on my face?"

"No." Gu Xiaojia said, "You just play chess. What do you care what's on your face? You're not a woman, what does it matter if your face looks good or not?"

Tao Mo was even more baffled by his snubbing and had to bow his head to continue playing chess.

Hao Guozi cracked him with an elbow and tried to pull him out.

But Gu Xiaojia just wouldn't move half a step.

They pulled at each other hard.

Hao Guozi saw that Gu Xiaojia was in tears from the pain and let go but Gu Xiaojia lost his footing and threw himself onto the chessboard.

Thankfully, it hadn't gone down a few steps yet, just hitting the coffee table and shaking it violently.

"Are you okay?" Tao Mo was busy getting up to help him.

"Nothing." Gu Xiaojia hung his head, not daring to look at Gu-She's face.

Tao Mo rounded up, "It doesn't matter, I still remember these moves." He bent down to pick up the chess pieces and rearranged the board.

Gu Xiaojia sneaks a peek at Gu-She, seeing his inscrutable face and his heart is pounding.

Tao Mo looked at Gu-She, who was slow to fall with the white in his hand and whispered a reminder, "It's your turn."

Gu-She put the pieces back in the chess bowl and said, "You go home first."

Tao Mo's heart rose with a faint sense of loss and he managed to smile, "Good. You rest early." He got up and looked at Gu Xiaojia.

At this point, Gu Xiaojia didn't want Tao Mo to go away. He had a feeling that this time it would end up more miserable than sleeping in the kitchen.

When Tao Mo and Hao Guozi's footsteps were far away, Gu-She knocked lightly on the coffee table, "What is it?"

Gu Xiaojia pretended to be a little child and hung his head in frustration, "I was careless."

Gu-She knocked on the coffee table with a heavy force.

Gu Xiaojia's body followed with a jump.

Gu-She didn't say anything but the invisible pressure almost overwhelmed Gu Xiaojia.

"I, I'm just jealous that Young Master is too nice to Tao Mo." Gu Xiaojia never dared to say what he had just thought. Apart from the fear of Gu-She having an erection, he was vaguely worried that Gu-She wouldn't have an erection. And the consequences of the latter were obviously far more terrifying than the former.

Gu-She said, "Oh?"

Gu Xiaojia saw that Gu-She didn't seem as angry as he had been earlier and thought he accepted his excuse, said in a hurry, "Not only does Young Master teach Tao Mo writing himself, he also cares about his schoolwork, much better than he does about me."

Gu-She chimed in, "You really think so?"

Gu Xiaojia nodded his head vigorously. Could it be that Young Master also sensed that he was doing something wrong and wanted to turn back? He thought joyfully.

Gu-She said, "Is it just this one spot?"

Gu Xiaojia tried to think, "Young Master even chucked food at him." But this he envied because Gu-She never ate at the same table as him. There were big rules in the prominent family, unlike Tao Mo and Hao Guozi, who ate together at the same table as long as no one else was around.

Gu-She said, "Go on."

Gu Xiaojia thought that Gu-She was introspecting himself and immediately poured out all the words that had been pent up for a long time.

This includes sending Tao Mo to the magistrate's office early in the morning, helping him out, accepting Sang Xiaotu without saying a word, etc.

This talk took a full incense burn.

Gu-She listened without saying a word, looking nonchalant.

Gu Xiaojia had nothing to say before he stopped and looked at Gu-She with his eyes, just waiting for him to say, "I'll have an inch of cloud in the future".

But after waiting half a day, Gu-She still had no indication.

"Young Master?" he called tentatively.

Gu-She said slowly, "You think I'm good for him?"

"Of course it's good. It simply tops good, so good." Gu Xiaojia didn't notice the smile in Gu-She's eyes that was so faint as to be barely visible and trailed off, "It's simply too good to be true." This kind of goodness from Gu-She might not seem like much to an outsider but he had served Gu-She for so many years that he certainly knew that this kind of goodness from an outsider that was nothing special to Gu-She was more than just a different kind of goodness, it was simply pushing the envelope.

Gu-She nodded in satisfaction and stood up, "That's good."

...

Gu Xiaojia stared dumbly at his departing back, not returning to his senses for a while.

Although Gu-She has always spoken in a profound way, never has a sentence been as confusing as this one.




The next day, Tao Mo was ready to go to the magistrate's office early in the morning.

The reason he went to the county magistrate's office was not only to handle official business but also to spend a little more time practicing his calligraphy. When Gu-She asked him to show him the handwriting he'd finished last night, a flame burned in his heart and he couldn't wait to progress a thousand miles a day and write a good handwriting immediately.

He was out early and only the eastern half of the sky hinted at light.

Hao Guozi yawned as he drove the carriage over but he saw Peng Xiang standing beside Tao Mo and his hazy sleepiness suddenly woke him up. He practically flew off the carriage, rushed to Peng Xiang and said in an evil voice, "What are you doing here?"

Peng Xiang's eyes were red and puffy, I don't know if he hadn't slept well or was crying a lot but he looked at them with a pitiful look, "I came to beg Master Tao to take pity on my family Young Master."

Hao Guozi said, "Your Young Master has arms and legs and a roof and a carriage, what is there to pity?"

Peng Xiang said: "The death of Wan Feng has hit Young Master very hard. Young Master cried all night yesterday and the water didn't come in.

Hao Guozi scoffed, "Longer? Then you might as well wait until your Young Master can't survive this long."

Tao Mo cast a disapproving glance at him and said to Peng Xiang, "Death cannot bring a lost one back to life, so I ask Young Master Yiyu to be gentle with me. Although he and I are old friends, we know very little of each other and I'm afraid I can't do much about it. I can only ask you to look after him more."

"No! Young Master is deeply in love with your Excellency, if your Excellency were to take action, he would be able to set Young Master right!" Peng Xiang grabbed Tao Mo's sleeve with a death grip, the stance as if Tao Mo had said no and he'd immediately kneeled down.

Tao Mo frowned in embarrassment.

Hao Guozi couldn't take it anymore and pulled his hand away viciously, "If your Young Master was really that fragile, he wouldn't have survived a few hundred times in Qunxiang House long ago! I think he just has nothing to change his mind about!"





~ Love is More than A Word ~



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