A Clash of Gods - Chapter 179
Chapter 179 To Repay the Kindness
Suddenly, the hall was silent. Yang Ning was originally a daring person, but for some reason, he felt cold sweat on his back.
The servant did not understand the reason. Seeing that Yang Ning had not spoken for a long time, he asked cautiously, “Marquis, do you want him to come in?”
Yang Ning was just about to say something when he heard Gu Qinghan say, “Guests are coming here, and they are looking for Marquis. How can we refuse guests? Hurriedly invite him in.”
The servant agreed and left.
Yang Ning turned around and saw Gu Qinghan pick up a teacup on the table. Without even looking at Yang Ning, Gu Qinghan looked at the teacup with interest. The teacup was exquisitely made, and it was painted with an ink-ink painting. It was antique, and Gu Qinghan looked like she was admiring the ink-ink painting on the cup.
Yang Ning was embarrassed and called out tentatively, “Third Auntie?”
Gu Qinghan didn’t look at him and just said indifferently, “Marquis don’t be in a rush. If guests are coming, you should receive them first so that they won’t say you’re not enthusiastic.”
The servant quickly brought over a man in his thirties. As soon as he entered, he knelt on the ground and said, “Wang Xiang greets Marquis.”
Yang Ning could only say, “Get up and talk.” When the man got up, he asked, “Why are you looking for me?”
That person bowed and took out a set of name signs from his chest and presented it to Yang Ning. He said respectfully, “Marquis, this is the name sign that Miss Xian’er sent over. Miss Xian’er said that it was her fault that Marquis didn’t enjoy himself last night. So, she has to prepare some wine to apologize to Marquis. Marquis, please come to her place for the next two days.”
Yang Ning opened the name sign and a faint fragrance wafted over. Zhuo Xian’er’s beautiful face seemed to be right in front of him. The name sign was very exquisite, with a pair of mandarin ducks drawn on it, and a line of elegant little characters, “Last night, I was rude and treated Marquis badly. I am willing to apologize and please come to my place again.”
The signature below was Zhuo Xian’er.
The handwriting was beautiful, which was written by a girl. Although Zhuo Xian’er’s writing brush was not good, it could be used to write good handwriting.
Yang Ning coughed and pretended to be serious, “Miss Xian’er and I are just strangers. As the saying goes, the friendship between noble-minded people are pure and mild as water, you can go back first.”
That person was stunned. He didn’t know if Yang Ning would agree or not, so he braved himself to ask, “I don’t know when Marquis will be free. Miss Xian’er can make some preparations in advance.”
Yang Ning couldn’t wait to slap this guy a few times. Gu Qinghan was behind him. This guy was not clever enough to realize that the atmosphere wasn’t right.
“Let’s talk about it later.” Yang Ning placed a hand on his chest to avoid Gu Qinghan’s eyes and waved it. He blinked and motioned for the guy to leave.
That person was clever this time to find out what was going on. At this moment, he also saw Gu Qinghan behind Yang Ning and knew that things weren’t looking good. He simply cupped his hands and said, “I’ll leave first.” He bent over and did not wait for Yang Ning to speak before he hurriedly left.
Yang Ning muttered to Wang Xiang’s back, “Since we’re not familiar with each other, she should not send me a name sign. It seems like I and her were acquaintances. Didn’t I just listen to her play a tune? What does she mean I don’t enjoy myself? What nonsense.” Of course, he had purposely said this to the Gu Qinghan behind him. He adjusted the expression on his face and when he turned around, a smile appeared on his face, “Third Auntie, these people don’t know what to say. They…”
However, Gu Qinghan put down her teacup and before Yang Ning could finish speaking, she shouted at the door, “Han Shou.”
Soon, someone outside agreed. An old man in his fifties came in and cupped his hands to Yang Ning. Then, he walked in front of Gu Qinghan and said respectfully, “Do the Third Lady have any instructions?”
“After Qiu Yi left, there isn’t a steward in the mansion.” Gu Qinghan’s tone was very calm, “You’re an old worker in the Marquis’s Mansion. You’re quite capable of your work. Since you’ve been loyal to the Marquis’s Mansion all these years and you’ve been working hard, from today onwards, you will take charge of this part of the work first and help the Marquis handle some chores.”
Han Shou was first stunned. He quickly reacted and said excitedly, “Third Lady, I…” Just as he was about to thank her, Gu Qinghan shook her head and said, “Don’t be anxious. Ask Marquis if he agrees to you being the steward. The Dowager handed over the Marquis’s Mansion to him. He is in charge of everything in the mansion.”
Her tone was very calm, but the more so, the more Yang Ning felt that the beautiful young woman was really angry.
“Since Third Lady said you could do it, then you can do it,” Yang Ning said, “From today onwards, you will be the steward of the Marquis’s Mansion.” He pouted and motioned for Han Shou to leave. Han Shou was very tactful and thanked him before leaving.
“The money for the Academy can be sent tomorrow,” Gu Qinghan said, “I’ve already told the cashier that you can just go and get the money.”
With that, Gu Qinghan was about to leave the house. Yang Ning hurriedly stopped her and said with a helpless smile, “Third Auntie, listen to me.”
“Move aside,” Gu Qinghan said coldly.
Although Yang Ning still wanted to say something, Gu Qinghan said angrily, “If you don’t make way, I won’t be polite to you.” She raised her hand and pushed it against Yang Ning’s chest. She didn’t have much strength, but Yang Ning knew that she was really angry. He couldn’t go head-on and could only dodge to the side. Gu Qinghan didn’t even look at him. She twisted her waist and walked away quickly.
Yang Ning watched Gu Qinghan’s figure disappear and sighed.
He didn’t tell Gu Qinghan about what happened last night. He was originally afraid Gu Qinghan worried, but who knew that things would turn out like this? He just felt that women weren’t easy to deal with.
He knew that this was the time when Gu Qinghan was the angriest. To persuade her at this time was undoubtedly asking for trouble, which would be hitting the nail on the head. Now, he could only wait for Gu Qinghan to calm down and then coax her.
As he was indeed very tired, he returned to his room and fell asleep. He slept until evening. He washed up, put on clean clothes, and went out of the courtyard. He thought that it was almost a day and Gu Qinghan’s anger should have been reduced, so he went to coax Gu Qinghan.
After walking along the gravel path, he arrived at a stone arch. However, he saw a person leaning against the wall. The sun was setting in the west, which was shining on that person, making him black.
“Ugly man, why are you here?” Yang Ning smiled when he saw that person. He walked over and squatted down, “How are you? Have you eaten enough recently?”
This person was the ugly man with the black cloak Yang Ning brought back from Jiangling.
Since the ugly man with the black cloak had saved Gu Qinghan in a time of crisis, he could be considered Gu Qinghan’s savior. When returned from Jiangling, Yang Ning had brought him back with him. When he left, he had asked his uncle Gu Wenzhang to find out if the ugly man had a family. If his uncle had any news, Yang Ning would send the ugly man back.
Since there were hundreds of people in the Marquis’s Mansion, they could naturally feed the ugly man.
When the ugly man with the black cloak arrived at the Marquis’s Mansion, he would naturally have three meals a day. If there was anything in the mansion that required strength, he would have the ugly man with the black cloak do it. With Gu Qinghan’s instructions, the entire mansion would not bully him because of this person’s intelligence.
This guy had nothing to do, so he would randomly find a place in the mansion to bask in the sun and sleep. Anyway, the Marquis’s Mansion was very large, and any place was enough for him to have a good sleep. The Marquis’s Mansion had originally arranged a place for him to stay, but this guy did not like to sleep in the house. He always liked to stay in some strange places at night. At first, he was always scaring others, letting others think that there was a ghost in the mansion. These days, people in the Marquis’s Mansion had gotten used to having such a person.
The Marquis’s Mansion had already changed his clothes. Since winter began, they had also equipped him with cotton clothes. However, no matter what clothes he wore, he would always wear his bear-skin black cloak outside.
Yang Ning saw that he was wearing a cotton robe under his black cloak. The cotton robe was newly distributed, but in a short period, it was stained and greasy.
The ugly man with the black cloak was leaning against the wall and basking in the sun. When he heard Yang Ning’s voice, he opened his eyes and saw Yang Ning. He sat up and grinned.
The right half of his face was covered in muscle, which was very ugly. When he smiled, the half of his face was even uglier. However, Yang Ning could tell that the ugly man’s smile was very simple and sincere.
Suddenly, the ugly man thought of something and reached into his arms. Quickly, he took out a steamed bun and handed it over with his stained hand. He even shook it as if he was indicating for Yang Ning to take it.
Yang Ning smiled and shook his head. The ugly man took the steamed bun back into his arms and fumbled a few more times. He took out a chicken leg from his arms. Since it was already quite cold, the chicken leg was covered in a layer of frozen oil. Yang Ning was stunned for a moment, but the ugly man handed the chicken leg over and said with a silly smile, “Eat. Eat.”
Yang Ning thought to himself, could it be that you’re not giving up your black cloak for the sake of hiding something? The black cloak seemed to have become his food warehouse.
Gu Qinghan knew that the only requirement of this ugly man with the black cloak was to eat, so she ordered the people in the mansion to give the ugly man enough food to eat. When this ugly man ate, he secretly took the food. Everyone saw it clearly, but no one said anything about him.
Yang Ning knew that ugly man was so hungry for food not because of his natural greed, but because he had once suffered from hunger. Only by personally understanding what hunger was could one be filled with boundless desire for food.
To the ugly man in the black cloak, no matter if it was gold or silver, or a beautiful woman, they were all inferior to a steamed bun. In his eyes, food was naturally the most precious thing.
He was able to take out the food he had hidden and give it to him, just like sharing his most precious things.
“I know what you mean.” Yang Ning reached out to push him back and said softly, “I’m not hungry right now. Keep it to yourself. If it’s too cold, get someone to help you warm it up. You don’t have to hide the food. With me around, you won’t starve in the future.” He stood up and patted the ugly man with the black cloak on the shoulder, “You know how to repay the kindness. You’re much better than many people. Just this point will make too many people less than you.” He sighed and looked at the setting sun, murmuring, “But who are you? Where did you come from?”