227 A Man’s Heart

Dang Gui handed the bulging bag to Yu Niaoniao and said.

“These are wild fruits I just picked. Sis, try them.”

Yu Niaoniao first looked at Dang Gui in front of her, then at Lu Yao, who was talking to the little attendant not far away. A meaningful smile gradually appeared on her face.

“Were you with Young Master Lu just now?”

Dang Gui did not think too much about it and replied frankly, “Yes, he told me about his experience studying abroad. It was quite interesting.”

Yu Niaoniao picked up a wild fruit and ate it.

“It’s all thanks to Young Master Lu leading the way for us this time. As thanks, give him a portion of these wild fruits.”

Dang Gui agreed. “Yes!”

Since she was going to give her a gift, she couldn’t be too shabby.

She especially returned to the car and chose a beautiful empty box. She picked some beautiful wild fruits and filled the box before carrying it to Lu Yao.

“This is a thank-you gift from my sister to Young Master Lu. Thank you for leading the way.”

Lu Yao took the heavy box. “It’s nothing. You don’t have to be so polite.”

The gift had been delivered. Dang Gui’s mission was complete.

She turned to leave but Lu Yao suddenly stopped her.

“If you want to hear more about my travels in the future, you can come to me anytime.”

Dang Gui’s eyes lit up and she replied crisply, “Okay!”

She was a person with no past, so she enjoyed listening to other people’s wonderful stories. It was as if she had been through those things with them.

The carriage set off again.

In the next few days, as long as there was a chance, Dang Gui would run to Lu Yao to listen to the story.

They became close quickly and the little attendant saw that the situation was not good.

After Dang Gui left, he immediately leaned over and whispered to Lu Yao, “Young Master, don’t forget that you’re already engaged to the eldest daughter of the General’s Mansion.”

Lu Yao’s good mood immediately turned bad.

He frowned unhappily. “Can you not talk about this awful thing?”

The little attendant said, “I know you don’t like Miss Tang, but this marriage was personally decided by Master. It can’t be annulled. Don’t do anything stupid for Dang Gui.”

These words hit Lu Yao’s sore spot.

His face darkened. “Shut up.”

The little attendant was also afraid that he would really anger the young master. He knew when to stop and obediently shut up.

Although Lu Yao was the eldest son of the Prefectural Governor’s Mansion, he had two younger brothers under him who were both restless. In the past, when he was at home, those two younger brothers had caused him a lot of trouble.

In the years he had been away from home studying, those two brothers would definitely seize the opportunity to please his father.

If he insisted on breaking the engagement, he would definitely anger his father and push him to the side of his illegitimate brothers.

Whether it was for his mother’s expectations or his own ideals, he could not fall out with his father.

His only choice was to listen to his father’s arrangements and marry Tang Guixi to complete the marriage arrangement between the Tang and Lu families.

Seeing that it was almost dark, they found a guest house near the official road.

After dinner, Dang Gui brought the small dessert that Yu Niaoniao had personally made to Lu Yao, wanting to continue listening to his story.

When she knocked on Lu Yao’s door, he had no intention of letting her in for a while.

He spoke calmly, “I’m a little tired today. I want to sleep early.”

Dang Gui could sense that the other party’s attitude was a little cold. However, she was too embarrassed to ask for the reason, so she could only agree obediently.

“Then I’ll leave you to rest.”

She handed over the dessert.

“This is my sister’s egg pudding. It’s delicious. Try it.”

Lu Yao did not want it at first, but in the end, he could not bear to refuse. At last, he reached out and received the egg pudding.

“Rest well. See you tomorrow!” Dang Gui waved at him and turned to leave.

Lu Yao closed the door. He put the egg pudding on the table. Looking at the cream-colored egg pudding, his mood returned.

After a long time, he picked up his spoon and scooped up a small piece of pudding. In the warm yellow candlelight, the pudding trembled in the spoon. Its surface was moist. He took a bite. It was soft and smooth and had the sweet smell of eggs and milk.

It was a dessert he had never had before. He took one bite after another and quickly finished the small bowl of pudding.

He put down his spoon with a small sigh. If only he wasn’t engaged to another woman.

Yu Niaoniao was very surprised to see Dang Gui back so quickly.

“Didn’t you go to listen to Young Master Lu’s story?”

Dang Gui sat down at the table and rested her chin on her hands. “Young Master Lu said that he was tired and wanted to rest early, so I came back.”

Yu Niaoniao sensed that she was not in high spirits and took the initiative to ask.

“Did you have a conflict with Young Master Lu?”

This was what Dang Gui did not understand. She frowned and said.

“We didn’t have a problem. We were fine before, but when I went to him just now, he acted cold. It was strange.”

Hearing her say that, Yu Niaoniao found it strange. “A man’s heart is hard to understand.”

Dang Gui nodded in agreement.

Yu Niaoniao leaned over and asked, “You often go to chat with Young Master Lu these days. Have you heard him talk about his identity and background?”

Dang Gui shook her head. “No. He only shared about what happened when he was traveling. He never mentioned his identity. He rarely even said anything about his family.”

Yu Niaoniao was a little disappointed. “The little guy is quite strict. It seems that the honey trap doesn’t work on him.”

Dang Gui’s eyes widened. “A honey trap?”

Yu Niaoniao did not hide it and told the truth.

“I originally wanted you to take the opportunity to get information from Young Master Lu when you interacted with him.”

Unfortunately, the results were unsatisfactory.

Lu Yao was even more cautious than she had expected.

Dang Gui was a little depressed. “I was useless and disappointed you.”

Yu Niaoniao reached out and rubbed her head. “What are you talking about? It has nothing to do with you. That Young Master Lu is too difficult to deal with.”

Dang Gui clenched her fists. “I’ll think of a way to approach him later.”

“Forget it. Since his attitude is cold, there’s no need for you to rush to curry favor with him.”

Dang Gui hesitated. “What about the information?”

Yu Niaoniao said, “I’ll think of something else.”

She went to find the shopkeeper of the guest house, planning to replenish some dry food and water and find out about Liaodong County.

The shopkeeper immediately spoke when he learned that they were going to Liaodong County.

“Then you have to be careful. It’s best if you hire some strong guards to follow.”

Yu Niaoniao was puzzled. “Why?”

The shopkeeper lowered his voice slightly.

“You might not know this, but there are many bandits in Liaodong County who rob passersby everywhere.

If a young lady like you went to Liaodong County, you would definitely be harmed.

I advise you to either change course and not go, or bring more men.”

Yu Niaoniao said, “If there are so many bandits, doesn’t the government care?”

The shopkeeper shook his head and sighed. “Who knows? We commoners can’t interfere with the government.”