Chapter 478 - 383: The Eve of Parting, Night Tour of Weishui (3)

Without meaning to, Chen Ping’an took a few extra glances.

"Brother!" The little girl looked over, her cheeks puffed out in a pout.

Chen Ping’an retracted his gaze. Seeing the little girl’s expression, he couldn’t help but smile. "What’s wrong?"

"Brother, when I go to Canglong State City, don’t you get bewitched by them! This place is a den of temptation! Even if you are going to be captivated, it has to wait until after you’ve married my sister-in-law!"

"Sister-in-law? Where is this sister-in-law coming from?" Chen Ping’an asked curiously.

He didn’t pay much mind to the first part of her warning. To others, this place might be a money pit. But to him, that was utterly meaningless.

As long as he wished it, he wouldn’t even need to show his face—just revealing the slightest inclination would be enough. Someone would have the woman he fancied packaged up and delivered personally to his door.

At Chen Ping’an’s level, what people feared most was him refusing their gifts. The chance to give him something he desired was an opportunity others couldn’t even beg for. If Chen Ping’an accepted a gift, they would be the ones thanking him for it.

"Brother, you’re still trying to trick me! I already know everything!" the little girl said, looking proud.

"Know what!?"

"That you’re about to marry my sister-in-law, of course!" the little girl said, puffing out her chest triumphantly.

"What nonsense is this!" Hearing this, Chen Ping’an’s expression darkened. "I don’t even know about it, so how could you?"

"Hmph, the rumors are everywhere! And you’re still trying to deny it!"

Seeing the utter certainty on the little girl’s face, Chen Ping’an was momentarily speechless.

’What the little girl heard must be the street rumors, the ones saying the Gu Family intends to form a marriage alliance with me and is preparing to marry off one of their noble daughters.’

’There really is something to it! I’ve even had a brief discussion with Gu Qingchan. But nothing has been decided yet! It’s far from being finalized! How did it get twisted into me being on the verge of marriage by the time it reached this little girl’s ears!?’

’Could it be that what makes a prodigy a prodigy is an especially overactive imagination?’

The little girl looked triumphant; Chen Ping’an looked completely helpless.

Inside the carriage, it was quiet for a moment before the little girl’s voice piped up again. "Oh, right, Brother, what does Sister-in-law look like!?"

A vein throbbed on Chen Ping’an’s forehead. "There is no sister-in-law! I already told you, there isn’t one!"

"Is Sister-in-law super gentle and super pretty!?"

That one sentence from the little girl made Chen Ping’an’s expression instantly soften. Something stirred deep in his heart.

A scene, long sealed away in the depths of his memory, began to surface in his mind.

"Brother, I know. It’s just, I was thinking, even if we pay off the fourteen taels of owed silver, there are still big things at home that need to be taken care of, and plenty of places we need to spend silver. I still want to save as much as we can."

"What big things?"

"You getting married, of course. Brother, you’re already nineteen. Next year, you’ll be of coming-of-age. I asked Granny Wang from Changqiao Lane, and she said to marry a wife, with all the expenses, it costs at least ten taels of silver!"

"Besides, my brother is so amazing, he can’t just marry some ordinary girl. That won’t do. So, ten taels of silver isn’t enough. For my brother to get married, the family needs to prepare at least twenty taels of silver. Mother died young, and there’s no one else at home to plan these things for you, so it’s all up to me."

"You silly girl, always acting so grown-up!"

"My sister-in-law, of course, has to be the gentlest and prettiest..."

"The gentlest, the prettiest..." Recalling the past, a tender look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he murmured to himself.

"See! You still won’t admit it, Brother, but there is one!" Seeing Chen Ping’an’s expression, the little girl looked as if she had uncovered the absolute truth.

"There isn’t, there really isn’t!"

"I don’t believe you! There is too!"

"..."

The carriage gradually rolled onward, disappearing at the end of the street, leaving only a feeling of warmth and tenderness in its wake.