Shen Guiyan stood at the entrance holding the food box, looking at the woman’s silver gauze white dress that trailed on the ground. She smiled with great delight, her eyes bright and teeth white, gazing at Gu Chaobei with eyes full of affection.

She was a very beautiful girl.

“My wife has arrived?” After quite a while, Gu Chaobei seemed to finally notice her at the entrance. He no longer called her “wife” intimately, only asking this question.

Starting from last night, this person seemed somewhat unhappy. She hadn’t expected the aftereffects to last this long. He had clearly asked her to bring the food, yet he ate someone else’s first. Didn’t that make her journey here on an empty stomach, carrying the food box, just like a fool?

Laughing lightly, Shen Guiyan lowered her eyes. “This wife was afraid Husband would be hungry, so I brought lunch. Since Husband has already eaten, then this wife will take it back.”

She still didn’t show any sign of anger. Gu Chaobei was very displeased in his heart, though his face still wore a smile. “My wife came all this way—you certainly haven’t had time to eat yet. Why not eat at this table?”

Her steps paused. Shen Guiyan glanced at the woman beside him. Hearing Gu Chaobei’s form of address for her, the woman had already obediently withdrawn to the side, eyes downcast and demeanor submissive. At her waist was a red jade pendant with the character “zui” on it.

This was probably the Miss Baihu from the Drunken Flower’s Shade that Baoshan had mentioned. Her name was bold, and she herself seemed to know how to advance and retreat. If Gu Chaobei liked her, it wasn’t strange.

Since he had already said so, Shen Guiyan didn’t decline. She was hungry and wanted to eat.

“Thank you for your consideration, Husband.” After performing a courtesy, Shen Guiyan sat down at the table. Baihu had already cleared away the used dishes. She took out her own dishes and arranged them, eating quietly.

Even with two pairs of eyes staring at her from the side, Shen Guiyan’s movements remained elegant and unhurried, making no sound. Baihu nodded slightly at the sight.

Truly a lady from a great household.

Gu Chaobei glanced at the dishes—they were indeed the ones he had written down. They were prepared with bright, fresh colors. He had clearly just eaten, yet he was hungry again.

No, he had to stick to his position. How could he be won over by just two dishes?

Scanning Shen Guiyan’s calm expression, Gu Chaobei reached out and pulled Baihu into his arms. “You cunning thing—no wonder you’re a fox. Seeing my wife arrive, you don’t dare speak or move? What happened to how seductive you were earlier?”

Baihu was startled. Though her body yielded and softened into Gu Chaobei’s embrace, her eyes still watched Shen Guiyan. This was the legitimate wife—she was merely a courtesan dancer from the pleasure quarters who couldn’t afford to offend her.

But Shen Guiyan had no reaction and continued eating silently with her head lowered.

“My lord,” Baihu called out softly.

Gu Chaobei held the beauty in his arms, but from the corner of his eye he kept glancing over here. Seeing Shen Guiyan show no expression, he became even more annoyed and pulled Baihu closer. “I’m here.”

Baihu bit her lip and looked into his eyes. “My lord, were you not full from eating just now? The dishes your wife brought are plentiful—you could eat some more.”

Gu Chaobei snorted lightly and turned his head. “I’m already full. Having eaten such exquisite cooking from you, how could ordinary cooking still appeal to me?”

Baihu smiled and gently grasped Gu Chaobei’s lapels. In broad daylight, the two of them embraced intimately in this rest room at the training grounds.

However, no one would come to reprimand them. Gu Chaobei’s disregard for rules wasn’t something new—whether they had official rank or not, everyone who saw him turned a blind eye.

So Gu Chaobei became even more wanton and bold.

Shen Guiyan felt she had eaten her fill. She cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks and said, “This wife will head back first.”

“Leaving so soon?” Gu Chaobei raised an eyebrow.

“Husband has a beauty in his arms—naturally this wife need not be an eyesore here.” Shen Guiyan turned back with a slight smile. “Come home early tonight.”

“Mm.” He responded unconsciously, and Gu Chaobei almost bit his own tongue in chagrin. He quickly put on a stern face. “I won’t be coming back tonight. You don’t need to wait.”

Pausing slightly, Shen Guiyan lowered her eyes. “Very well.”

Still no reaction. All his punches kept landing on cotton—it was indescribably frustrating. Seeing that she had already walked out, Gu Chaobei released Baihu and said with utter deflation, “Look at that—no matter what I do, she remains unmoved. Does she seem like a wife to you?”

Baihu stood to the side with a knowing smile. “My lord cares so deeply for your wife. When did you become so childish, scratching your head trying to see a different expression from her?”

Gu Chaobei snorted. “Who cares about her? I’m just finding it amusing.”

The more he spoke, the less conviction he had. After humming and hawing twice, he fell quiet. Baihu laughed softly twice, standing beside Gu Chaobei and keeping to her proper place without saying more.

Baoshan saw her young lady emerge from the training grounds and hurried forward. “How was it? Did Young Master say it was delicious? Even this servant was tempted by today’s dishes.”

Shen Guiyan’s face was slightly pale. She gave a faint “mm,” stuffed the food box into Baoshan’s hands, and got into the carriage.

The food box was still just as heavy—had nothing inside been touched? Baoshan opened it curiously to look. It had been touched, but very little had been eaten.

“Young Master had no appetite?”

Shen Guiyan shook her head. “He’s perfectly fine. We don’t need to worry about him. He’s just having some strange fit and wants to make things difficult for me. No need to pay attention to it.”

Having a strange fit? Baoshan was bewildered. Holding the food box, she got into the carriage. Just as she was puzzling over this, Shen Guiyan said, “Don’t go back to the Prime Minister’s residence yet. Let’s go out to clear our minds.”

From this tone, her mood didn’t seem very good.

The coachman respectfully asked, “Where would Young Madam like to go?”

“Just go look around the outskirts of the city.”

Taking a deep breath, Shen Guiyan leaned against the carriage wall and rubbed her temples.

Were all men this fickle? Earlier, Gu Chaobei had been perfectly fine, but now he deliberately brought a woman before her to vex her. She had thought he would always be casual and frivolous with others but would be more serious with her. Now it seemed nothing stayed unchanged for a lifetime.

Pressing her lips together, Shen Guiyan took a deep breath. When she had been involved with Gu Chaodong before, she had never felt this way in her heart—this stifled feeling tinged with aching sourness, sour enough that tears might fall if she wasn’t careful. Being with Gu Chaodong had been proper and without constraints or worries.

But being with Gu Chaobei—he clearly told her she didn’t need to follow the rules, yet it seemed to make her worry more and feel hurt for longer.

If only she had known earlier not to give her heart. How foolish she was to fall for such a philanderer.

Lost in troubled thoughts all along the way, she didn’t know where they had gotten to when Baoshan suddenly screamed, “Miss!”

The carriage stopped abruptly. Shen Guiyan wasn’t sitting steady and lurched forward, nearly falling out.

“What is it?” Lifting the curtain, Shen Guiyan looked outside.

Ahead was Sixi’s village. However, today was somewhat strange—paper money was flying all over the village entrance.