Chapter 440: Elopement (4)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Eh?! Fan Bciran was dumbfounded. He almost thought that he was hallucinating and blinked.
The green emerald jade bracelet paused in midair for two seconds before landing vertically on the ground.
“Bang!”
The jade bracelet shattered into three pieces.
Fan Bciran placed his hand on Gu Yuan’s left shoulder and was dumbfounded. He looked at the broken bracelet on the ground and then at Gu Yuan’s side profile. “Did you see it just now?” he asked in disbelief.
Was he seeing things? Or was he daydreaming?
Gu Yuan was stunned for a moment before he quickly came back to his senses. The corners of his lips curled up happily as he nodded and said, “I saw it.”
“No wonder Sister said that I was plagued with bad luck.” It was true.
Fan Bciran suddenly touched the back of Gu Yuan’s head with his right hand. Only then did he confirm that there was nothing on his head except the silver hairpin.
“Ha.”
Gu Yuan suddenly chuckled and turned to look in the direction of Zhaodc Gate. He said in a strange tone, “As expected.”
Fan Bciran followed his gaze and looked at Gu Yunrong and Chu You. The two of them were still pushing each other excitedly. One was grabbing, and the other was dodging.
Fan Bciran shook his head and repeated, “As expected!”
No wonder Gu Yuan was so unlucky. How could he not be unlucky in front of these two people?!
“Ah Yuan, let’s go. I don’t want my head to be smashed.” Fan Bciran pulled Gu Yuan away, and the two of them walked towards the Meridian Gate.
After walking out of the palace from the cast door of the Meridian Gate, Fan Bciran suddenly stopped in his tracks. He pursed his thin lips, and his expression seemed a little distracted.
“Ah Ran?” Gu Yuan called out when he saw him standing there in a daze.
Fan Bciran walked quickly to Gu Yuan’s side. He turned around and pointed in the direction of the palace door. He lowered his voice and said, “Was this… your sister’s method just now?”
Fan Bciran had long heard of the Second Lady of the Gu family. It was simply like thunder resounding in his ears. Today, he had finally seen it with his own eyes.
“Of course!” Gu Yuan raised his chin proudly and said proudly, “You haven’t seen my sister, right? She’s obedient and cute.”
Fan Bciran took the reins from the servant and got on the horse. He hesitated for a moment before saying to Gu Yuan, who had also gotten on the horse, “Ah Yuan, I want to ask your sister for a favor.”
“Favor?” Gu Yuan rode his horse to Fan Beiran’s side and raised his eyebrows.
Fan Bciran looked around and gestured for Gu Yuan to walk forward with him.
When there was no one around, Fan Bciran said, “It’s my fifth sister. As you know, my fifth sister was already engaged half a year ago.”
Gu Yuan nodded.
He remembered that the Fifth Lady of the Fan family was engaged to the Fourth Young Master of Earl Zhongqin’s Mansion.
Fan Bciran considered his words and continued, “Fifth Sister has a good temper. She’s gentle and cute, but…”
At this point, Fan Bciran pursed his thin lips and looked a little embarrassed.
After hesitating for a moment, he continued in one breath, “Recently, for some reason, my fifth sister has suddenly taken a fancy to a poor scholar from somewhere. She’s infatuated with that scholar and is devoted to him.”
“She doesn’t sleep all day and night and insists on meeting that poor scholar. She says her heart hurts if she doesn’t let me see her. Our family really had no choice, so we fed her some calming medicine. She finally fell asleep, but she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. She drew her eyebrows and eyes in front of the dressing table, scaring the maidservant on night duty.”
“She also said that she no longer wanted to marry into Earl Zhongqin’s Mansion. She wanted to break off the engagement and cried and made a fuss at home.”
“Our family really couldn’t do anything to her. We could only lock her up and plan to persuade her slowly… But this girl actually started to go on a hunger strike.”
With that, Fan Beiran sighed deeply and rubbed his eyebrows.
If not for the fact that he had a relationship with Gu Yuan since they were young, he wouldn’t dare to casually mention this to others.
Initially, the family thought that the young lady was feeling uneasy before her marriage, so she threw a tantrum. They thought that after letting her calm down for a few days, the family would be able to persuade her.
In the end, it had been a few days, but the young lady still wouldn’t listen to their advice no matter what. She didn’t eat, drink, or sleep. Last night, she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night to embroider some wedding dress. She said that Mr. Xue would marry her soon.
“My mother said that my fifth sister must have been possessed. She even specially invited someone to the residence to perform a ritual, but it was useless.”
“I also think that Fifth Sister is possessed!”
Fan Beiran tightened his grip on the reins worriedly. He drove the horse side by side with Gu Yuan and said seriously, “Ah Yuan, you’ve seen how obedient my Fifth Sister is.”
Gu Yuan had indeed seen her before.
When the Fifth Young Lady was young, she used to run behind Fan Beiran and go out with them. When they went to race, she would go too. When they went to fight chickens, she also wanted to watch. When they went to the casino, she would secretly follow them…
It was only when she was seven or eight years old that she was restrained by Madam Fan, who stopped letting her leave the manor to play with boys like them.
Fan Bciran grabbed Gu Yuan’s wrist and said anxiously, “Ah Yuan, if she continues to be so hungry and doesn’t eat, I’m really afraid that she’ll starve…”
“There’s something really wrong with her.”
“Can you ask your sister to take a look at my fifth sister?”
Fan Beiran’s helplessness when he said this last sentence was still ringing in his ears. When Gu Yuan returned to the residence and relayed his good friend’s words to Gu Yanfei, his expression was filled with empathy.
After talking about the Fifth Young Lady, Gu Yuan said, “Sister, if you’re unwilling, I’ll let Fan Bciran know.”
When she heard the name “Fan Bciran” again, Gu Yanfei was a little stunned.
She knew Fan Beiran.
In her previous life, her brother’s legs were seriously injured, and he was abandoned by the second branch. It was Fan Bciran and the others who did their best to help her brother. They invited all the doctors in the capital and even specially invited military doctors who were good at treating external injuries, but her brother’s legs were still crippled.
When her brother died, Fan Bciran and the other men cried uncontrollably. They were the ones who helped her bury her brother.
Gu Yanfei lowered her eyes to hide her emotions and said nonchalantly, “Sure, Big Brother. When are we going to the Fan Mansion?”
Seeing that his sister agreed, Gu Yuan said, “There’s no need for you to make a special trip. Fan Beiran said that he would think of a way to get her over.” He took the tea from Gu Yanfei and sat down at the side. “I’ll get Wu Tong to send him a message.”
Gu Yuan instructed Juan Bi to look for Wu Tong in the outer courtyard. He stayed in Yuhcng Garden and ate some sweets with Gu Yanfei.
The Fan Mansion wasn’t far from the Gu Mansion and was only three or four streets away. After an incense stick of time, the Fan siblings arrived.
One of the siblings was wearing apricot red, and the other was wearing peach red. They were both dressed brightly, making the room seem much brighter.
When she saw Fan Bciran, Gu Yanfei was actually not unfamiliar with him. In her previous life, she had seen Fan Bciran before. Now that they were old friends, she smiled at him kindly, and her gaze landed on the Fifth Young Lady of the Fan family.
Fan Mushuang was wearing a peach-colored dress embroidered with broken branches and peony flowers. A pair of ruby-embedded red and gold hairpins were inserted into her buns. She had a small, round face, almond-shaped eyes, peach cheeks, and an exquisite little mouth. Her facial features were exquisite and delicate. She looked obedient and harmless.
However, her face was a little haggard. Her fair cheeks were slightly sunken, and her eyes were blurry. There were also dark shadows in her eye sockets. It was obvious that she hadn’t slept well in the past few days.
Gu Yanfei sized up Fan Mushuang, and the Fan siblings were also sizing her up.
Fan Mushuang’s clear, almond-shaped eyes stared at Gu Yanfei in a daze. The first thing she said was shocking. “My second brother said that you can help me elope with Xue’er?”
Her lips curled into a smile. The corners of her lips were raised high, like the moon and hooks, with a strange yearning..