Chapter 262: The Only Reliance

Lan Zhi suddenly threw down her embroidery hoop, hugged Gu Fei, and started crying nonstop. "Little Fei, do you think I’m a burden? Do you not want me anymore?"

Gu Fei felt a headache coming on. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"How could I ever not want you?"

"I was just thinking that you’re grown up now and will have to get married sooner or later."

"It’s just that this Mr. Xu isn’t sincere. He only wants to take you as a concubine, and I’m not happy about that."

"But if you’re willing, I won’t stand in your way."

She patted Lan Zhi’s back. "If you don’t think much of Mr. Xu, I can have someone take their time and look around for you. Finding a handsome, good-tempered Scholar would be fine too."

"How does that sound?"

Lan Zhi just kept shaking her head, sobbing so hard she couldn’t speak.

A thought struck Gu Fei. "Well then, what do you think of my second brother?"

Lan Zhi wiped away her tears, tilted her face up to Gu Fei, and nodded.

Gu Fei looked at her. "Are you serious?"

No matter how she looked at it, Lan Zhi and her second brother just didn’t seem like a good match. If it had been her eldest brother, Gu Fei would have thought him worthy.

’Lan Zhi is like a timid rabbit. My second brother, while decent-looking enough, isn’t very sensitive. I’m afraid Lan Zhi will be unhappy with him in the future.’

Still, since both parties were willing, Gu Fei couldn’t really object.

Lan Zhi nodded forcefully.

’It wasn’t that she was particularly in love with Gu Erlang. It was just that after coming to this family, besides Little Fei, Gu Erlang was the first person to show her kindness.’

’Fleeing the famine on their journey here, she had seen so much and had thought a great deal.’

’In times like these, women were like rootless duckweed, drifting wherever the current took them, with little control over their own destinies.’

’A once high-and-mighty Marchioness could be reduced to an official courtesan overnight, and a scholar’s wife could abandon her husband and child just for a bite to eat.’

’And as for girls from common families like Lian’er, who knew how many had died or been sold.’

’In this world, the only person she could rely on was Gu Fei, and Gu Fei alone.’

’Getting married meant facing an unknown fate, an unknown life. That was terrifying.’

’Marrying Gu Erlang was the only way she could spend the rest of her life under Gu Fei’s protection.’

’She would rather die than leave Gu Fei.’

Gu Fei, not knowing what Lan Zhi was truly thinking, assumed she had developed some feelings for Gu Erlang. She nodded. "Alright, as long as you’re willing. My second brother might not be good enough for you, but marrying him means you’ll be able to live a peaceful and stable life."

Gu Fei took out a handkerchief and dried Lan Zhi’s tears. "There, there. Anyone who doesn’t know the situation would think I was bullying you."

She stood up. "I’m heading out to the front now. You can come out later when the lunch rush starts."

Gu Fei had arranged to have dinner with Young Master Zhou and the others at six o’clock. By this time, there usually weren’t many diners left in the restaurant.

As expected, Sister Dan arrived early. She followed Gu Fei into the kitchen and watched attentively as she stir-fried the dishes.

Gu Fei made a dish of stir-fried pork with peppers; she’d been craving it for a long time.

They weren’t large bell peppers; she used long, thin peppers sliced into strips, and the flavor felt even more outstanding.

She also made braised bream, which she sprinkled with rings of green and red peppers, making it look incredibly appetizing.

There was also a spicy flash-fried beef.

The rest were some milder dishes.

By the time the dishes were brought out, Young Master Zhu and his party had already been there for a while.

Second Young Master Zhu was dressed especially flamboyantly today, waving a folding fan about.

Only one other table of customers was left in the restaurant, so the group sat in the main hall and began to eat.

Young Master Zhu had come specifically to learn from the master; he still didn’t know how to cook with fresh peppers.