Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

When Su Qianrou came out of the private room, an hour had passed, and Gu Mingxuan had been waiting outside for a long time.

Su Qianrou was somewhat surprised to see him, but she didn't think much of it. "What a coincidence, Brother Mingxuan is here to dine as well."

"No, I came here specifically to find you."

"Find me."

"Ok".

Su Qianrou looked at him with some confusion.

Gu Mingxuan was unsure how to begin, and after hesitating for a while, he asked a pointless question: "You will be returning to the capital the day after tomorrow."

"Ok".

"You..." Gu Mingxuan had a thousand words in his heart, but they were all stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say a single word.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Su Qianrou asked blankly, "What's wrong with me?"

"You..." Gu Mingxuan wanted to say, "Can you wait for me? Wait until I pass the high school entrance exam, and then I will marry you." However, he didn't have the courage to say it. In the end, he could only take out a jade pendant from his sleeve and hand it to her, "This is for you."

Su Qianrou didn't accept it. "Why did you suddenly give me a jade pendant?"

"I'll leave you with something to remember me by," Gu Mingxuan could only say the last part in his heart.

"I can't accept this; it's too expensive."

"It's just an ordinary jade pendant."

Su Qianrou was still somewhat hesitant.

Seeing this, Gu Mingxuan simply stuffed it into her hand, "Take it, it's nothing valuable. If you feel embarrassed, treat me to a meal next year when I go to the capital for the imperial examination."

“Okay, no problem,” Su Qianrou readily agreed.

"Then it's a deal. I'll come to the capital to find you next year. Don't go back on your word."

Am I that kind of person?

Gu Mingxuan smiled but didn't say anything, though his eyes were full of reluctance as he looked at her.

Then, Su Qianrou said, "I'll go first, I still need to go back and pack my things."

"it is good".

Then, Su Qianrou left with Chunzhu.

Gu Mingxuan watched her leave, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

At this moment, Xu Linlin came out of the private room, stood next to him, glanced at Su Qianrou, and said, "You like her, but you don't dare to say it. Gu Mingxuan, you're such a coward."

Gu Mingxuan glanced at her and said stubbornly, "Who told you I like her?"

"You're being stubborn. If you don't like it, you'll give her your personal jade pendant."

Gu Mingxuan was somewhat surprised, "How did you know that was my personal jade pendant?"

"I'm not blind. You wear it every time, how could I not see it?"

"You are not allowed to tell Rou'er."

"I'm not trying to be mean, but are you stupid? She's going back to the capital, and you're not going to tell her yet? Aren't you afraid she'll get married by then?"

"You don't understand."

"I don't understand, but you do. You'll regret it later," Xu Linlin said, then ignored him and left.

Gu Mingxuan was also very anxious, fearing that Su Qianrou would fall in love with someone else after returning to the capital. However, at the same time, he felt that he was not good enough for her, so he was conflicted.

Qifengyuan

Su Qianrou had just sat down and hadn't even had a chance to drink her tea when Li An walked in and knelt down in front of her.

Su Qianrou was stunned for a moment, then quickly told him to get up, "Li An, what are you doing? Get up quickly."

Li An remained unmoved, kneeling upright, pleading, "Please, Miss, take me back to the capital."

"You must come back with us."

"Yes, I was originally a refugee who fled here during the famine. If it weren't for Miss's kindness in taking me back to the manor, I probably would have starved to death long ago. So, from the day I stepped into the manor, I swore that I would stay by Miss's side for the rest of my life to repay Miss. Besides, I have no relatives left. If I stay here, I will be all alone. It would be better to go back with Miss."

Su Qianrou thought for a moment and then agreed, "Then you can come back with us."

After receiving her consent, Li An was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Miss."

"Alright, get up now. A man's knees are worth their weight in gold. You're not allowed to kneel down so casually anymore, do you hear me?"

"Yes, I understand. I'll head out now."

"Ok".

Then, Li An walked out happily.

Then, Su Qianrou asked, "Where is Granny? I haven't seen her."

"I guess she's in the kitchen. These past few days, she and Qiulan have been spending almost all their time in the kitchen, saying they're researching supplements for you," Chunzhu replied.

Su Qianrou couldn't help but think of all the tonics she had eaten in the past few days, such as bird's nest, shark fin, sea cucumber, deer antler, etc. She never dared to dream of them before, but now she eats them every day. It's true that different people have different fates. She then said, "Have the nanny come over. I need to talk to her."

"Yes".

A moment later, Granny Chen came in. "Miss, you're looking for this old servant?"

"Granny, please sit down."

"No, this old servant will be fine standing."

Su Qianrou didn't press the matter and asked, "How old is Granny this year?"

"I'm thirty-seven."

“The old woman has two sons.”

"Yes".

"And he is also filial."

"Thanks to Miss, she is quite filial, and her two daughters-in-law are also good."

Seeing that her smile was genuine and not fake, Su Qianrou was relieved. "That's good. I can rest assured that they will take care of the nanny in the future."

"What you mean, Miss, is... not to take this old servant back to the capital."

"The capital city is far from Yangzhou, and it's not easy to come back. If you come to the capital city with me, you probably won't be able to come back for several years. So it's better for you to stay here."

"It's alright. Now that my two sons are married, I don't need to worry about them anymore. So I can go to the capital with you, Miss."

“You also have grandchildren. If I remember correctly, your eldest grandson is only three years old this year, and your youngest grandson is not even one year old.”

Granny Chen hesitated for a moment, but quickly made a decision: "They have their own mothers to take care of them, and this old servant's duty is to take care of the young lady."

"Grandma, you have taken care of me for more than ten years. Now that I have grown up, it is time for you to enjoy your retirement."

"Is Miss tired of this old servant?"

“How could you think that way, Granny? You have been so devoted to me, how could I possibly dislike you?”

"Then why won't Miss let this old servant go to the capital? Chunzhu, Juxia, Qiulan, and even Li An, Miss agreed to let him go back with you, but only this old servant can't."

“Of course I also hope that you can come back with me, but Chunzhu and the others have no relatives and no ties. But it’s different for you, my dear. Your family is all here. I can’t be so selfish as to take you away. Besides, I have something to trouble you with.”

"What's the matter?"

“I was planning to set up an orphanage, and I want a nanny to take care of their daily needs. I don’t trust anyone else to do it.”

“This… Miss trusts this old servant, so this old servant is naturally willing. However, this old servant has a request.”

"You said."

"After you get married and become pregnant, this old servant will have to take care of you."

"That's no problem. Even if the nanny doesn't say anything, I'll ask you for help later."

"Then this old servant will stay in Yangzhou for now, and will go to the capital when Miss needs it in the future."

"Okay, thank you so much, Granny. You're the best to me," Su Qianrou said happily, holding Granny Chen's hand.

Granny Chen couldn't help but smile, looking at her with doting eyes. Over the years, she had long regarded Su Qianrou as her own child, even better than her own children.