A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

The old bachelor was surrounded by four people and could only pretend to be calm.

"What do you mean I peeked into your house? I just happened to be passing by!"

As he spoke, he glanced at He Jinglan again, almost unconsciously.

Just as he lowered his head, Gu Xixi saw his eyes darting around, as if he were in a panic.

Gu Xixi immediately recalled Liu Fuzi's previous warning, and alarm bells rang in her mind.

She didn't show it on her face immediately, but continued to ask, "So what's going on now? You've been following us ever since the Qin family's orchard."

The old bachelor's eyes flickered, and he looked up, saying, "It's not like you, Gu Xixi, opened up the village roads. How come you can walk on them but I can't? Besides..."

He grinned at Gu Xixi, showing his big teeth, "Who wants to look at a fierce woman like you who always wants to be in charge and is competitive?"

He Jinglan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

As elders, Aunt Qian and Old Qian were too embarrassed to laugh, so they awkwardly looked away and cleared their throats.

He Jinglan laughed and said, "Xixi, don't misunderstand. I was surprised that someone like him could make such a good summary. But in my opinion, these are just your least noteworthy strengths."

Gu Xixi was amused as well.

That's right, she insists on making decisions for herself and is competitive and ambitious, so what?

The old bachelor felt frustrated and defeated when he realized that his words had no effect.

Gu Xixi turned to him again, "Since you said you weren't looking at what was said, then you must be looking at her."

She pointed to the side, but her eyes remained fixed on the changes in the old bachelor's expression.

"Do you know who she is?"

The old bachelor's pupils contracted, and he subconsciously turned his gaze away from Gu Xixi.

"Her? Isn't she the distinguished guest you brought back from outside?"

Gu Xixi asked, "How did you know she was a distinguished guest?"

She emphasized the word "expensive".

The old bachelor seemed startled, his eyes darting left and then right, back and forth twice.

He had barely finished speaking when he said, "When you brought this girl into the village, you were riding in such a big carriage with such fine horses. So many people in the village saw it."

"The carriage didn't stop in your yard later, so it definitely wasn't yours."

"Then it's obvious that the girl you brought comes from a wealthy family."

"Oh?" Gu Xixi smiled faintly. "I really didn't realize you were such a thoughtful and analytical person?"

Old Qian glanced at Gu Xixi secretly.

By this time, even he realized something was wrong.

If the old bachelor had this kind of shrewdness, he wouldn't have lived such a miserable life all these years. He often couldn't even afford to eat and had to shamelessly beg for food at other people's homes.

A few years ago, some equally idle people in the neighborhood recruited the old bachelor to join them in petty theft.

But the old bachelor was kicked out early because he was clumsy.

That saved Lao Qian a lot of trouble as village chief at the time.

However, since Gu Xixi was still asking questions, Lao Qian held back for the time being and didn't rush to speak.

Suddenly, Gu Xixi changed the subject.

"You keep using the word 'esteemed' in your words, which shows how much you care about my distinguished guest."

"I believe you don't care to see me, so you admit that spying on my doorstep and following me just now were all ways of monitoring my VIP guest?"

The old bachelor's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly denied it, "I didn't!"

However, the four people in front of him frowned and stared at him, clearly not believing his story at all.

The old bachelor's breathing became erratic. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly raised his head and looked at He Jinglan with a lewd gaze.

"I've never seen such a fair-skinned and beautiful girl before, so I want to take a few more glances. What's wrong with that?"

An old bachelor chasing after a pretty girl—that's a perfectly reasonable excuse.

Aunt Qian spat angrily, "Pah, what a disgrace!"

She reached out and pulled He Jinglan to her side, saying, "Good girl, don't be afraid."

"With us here, if this bastard dares to do anything to you, we'll break his legs!"

The old bachelor thought his lie had gotten away with and was secretly pleased with himself.

He deliberately flashed a lewd smile and continued his arrogant rant, "No matter how pretty our country girls are, can they compare to rich young ladies from the capital?"

"Wait a minute," Gu Xixi interrupted him, "How do you know she's from the capital?"

Gu Xixi wanted to get the old bachelor to talk more.

As the saying goes, the more you talk, the more mistakes you make.

Old bachelors are not particularly shrewd or intelligent people to begin with, and when they lose their composure, they inevitably reveal more of their true nature.

His eyes widened in shock, his expression instantly changing drastically. He hurriedly tried to cover it up, "I... I was just guessing. The capital is rich, it's a huge place, and someone like her must be..."

"You're talking nonsense!!" Gu Xixi had already made a definite judgment and had no more patience to listen to the old bachelor's ramblings.

"You said you were just guessing, but the world under the Great Cause has so many prosperous lands."

"You don't mention Jiangnan, you don't mention the central provinces, you don't mention the East China Sea, but instead you point straight to the capital."

"It can only be that someone told you this and it left a deep impression on you."

Old Qian nodded in agreement, saying, "With his experience, he rarely even goes to Qingtian County."

"If he hadn't heard it from others, would he have known what the capital was like?"

Old Qian glared fiercely at the old bachelor and shouted angrily, "Who ordered you to do this! Speak!!"

After all, it was the village chief's authority; the old bachelor's face turned ashen, and he was sweating profusely.

His lips trembled, and after a long while he finally uttered a few words, "I dare not, they, they will kill me."

Gu Xixi looked at He Jinglan questioningly.

He Jinglan nodded.

Gu Xixi said coldly to the old bachelor, "You're right about one thing: my friend is indeed from Beijing, and her background will scare you to death!"

“You’re afraid of offending those people, but you should understand that offending my friend will only lead to a worse fate for you.”

The old bachelor was terrified, especially since the capital city was like a celestial palace to him.

Hearing Gu Xixi's exaggerated description, he was so frightened that he lay on the ground and kept kowtowing to He Jinglan.

"It was my greed that led me astray; I was blind to your true nature. Please, sir, spare my life!"

"It's all their fault! They threatened me to help them, and I was momentarily blinded by greed. Please spare me!"

He Jinglan looked down at the old bachelor with disdain, "It's easy to spare you. I can even save your life and make sure those people can't touch you."

"However, that depends on your performance."

The old bachelor raised his head, his face covered in snot and tears, and said, "I'll tell you everything I know!"

In the afternoon, at Juxian Teahouse, on the second floor.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan sat facing each other by the window.

On the table is a pot of jasmine tea, two plates of pastries, and two plates of dried fruit.

A young woman came up from the corner of the stairs and waved to the two of them with a smile.

Gu Xixi immediately stood up to greet her, "Sister Meng, this way."

She first introduced He Jinglan and Madam Meng to each other.

Both parties exchanged greetings and took their seats.

Madam Meng laughed and said, "Instead of coming to my place for tea today, you've chosen to meet outside. Besides having tea and making new friends, there must be... something else going on, right?"