Yu Wenquan looked at Shang Ruyi in surprise: "He, came to see you?"
Although Huang Gongyi, who has been by his side since he started serving, has repeatedly made military achievements and earned his deep trust, often having the chance to come and go from the Duke Mansion, still, as a soldier, visiting the Young Madam of the Duke Mansion alone—surely, that’s a joke, right?
Shang Ruyi felt a bit uneasy too. She had lost the competition today, and now Huang Gongyi came to see her. Was he going to make trouble for her, or was there another reason?
She hesitated and glanced at Yu Wenye.
Yu Wenye remained calm, thought for a moment, and said to Yu Wenquan: "Let us go see him first, then return to explain the details to father."
Yu Wenquan furrowed his brows and said: "Be quick!"
After saying this, he and Shang Ruyi got up and left the dining hall.
Once the two of them left, the others gradually put down their chopsticks, and the dining hall suddenly fell into silence.
After a while, a light chuckle was heard.
Guan Yunmu turned around to see Aunt Hui, who was directing servants to arrange the dishes, standing by with a smile, saying: "Our Young Madam is quite lively."
In such an aristocratic family, the word lively might be praise if used for a child; however, when applied to a married woman, it invariably leads one to think of another implication—
Upon hearing this, Yu Wenquan couldn’t help but slightly furrow his brows.
However, Guan Yunmu, sitting beside him, remained impassive, only smiled and placed some food into his bowl, softly saying: "Let them talk; let’s eat first."
Meanwhile, Shang Ruyi hurriedly followed Yu Wenye to the outer reception hall, where they saw Huang Gongyi’s tall figure seated in a chair, making the whole hall seem a bit cramped. His posture was upright; his stature emitted an aura of "keep away."
Upon seeing them, Huang Gongyi immediately stood up: "Young Master, Young Madam."
Yu Wenye spoke first: "Mr. Huang, why did you come here and seek Ruyi out? Couldn’t it have been said during the day?"
Huang Gongyi’s face was stern as he gruffly said: "Forgive me, Young Master."
After all, he was an elder to Yu Wenye, and being proud with a fierce temper, admitting fault directly showed he was truly backing down.
Seeing him , even Yu Wenye was somewhat surprised.
Huang Gongyi then turned to look at Shang Ruyi. Whatever expression was on his dark, shady face, it made Shang Ruyi feel even more unsettled, and she said: "Mr. Huang, what else is there?"
Huang Gongyi turned around, picked up a box from the low table beside him, and suddenly thrust it in front of Shang Ruyi.
Because his arms were too long and the action was too forceful, the box directly bumped into Shang Ruyi.
Shang Ruyi was taken aback, looking down at the exquisitely wrapped box.
"This is fruit snacks; I specifically went to the Wan Family Fruit Shop to buy them,"
Huang Gongyi said in his rough voice, "I heard that women like these things, so I went to buy them as a gift for the Young Madam. Please graciously accept them!"
Though he said to graciously accept, the act of thrusting things into someone’s arms inevitably gave the impression that if they didn’t "graciously accept," he might resort to force.
Shang Ruyi accepted the item almost instinctively, causing Huang Gongyi to smile immediately.
Shang Ruyi hesitated, unable to resist asking: "But, why is Mr. Huang giving me this?"