I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 222 - 153: Drinking with a Kindred Spirit Calls for Endless Cups
Gu Lan was halfway through eating when a roast chicken was brought to the table.
Both Marquis Gu and she had their eyes on this chicken simultaneously.
The next moment, regrettably, the chicken was torn apart, with one leg in Marquis Gu’s hand and the other leg in Gu Lan’s hand.
Marquis Gu picked up the chicken leg with satisfaction, but the leg was greasy, and the oil stained his fingertips, causing him to frown.
Greasy, he wanted to wash his hands.
Suddenly, Gu Chengzhao noticed that Gu Lan’s hand looked different from his own.
Zijin, seeing Marquis Gu’s confusion, said, "Your lordship, these gloves were made by the Young Master using sheep intestines for eating foods like this."
Marquis Gu was astonished; it turned out Gu Lan was wearing gloves! How hadn’t he thought of this?
Gu Lan turned and said, "Zijin, where’s my seasoning?"
Zijin brought over a wooden box, and after opening it, inside were neatly arranged small white porcelain bottles.
Young Master Gu sprinkled some cumin, chili powder, and minced garlic on the chicken leg, then took a box of apricot sauce, dipped a bit, and finally started eating.
Even when she used to do tasks and survived in the wilderness for half a month in the primitive forest, she would bring her own seasoning pack.
Now, even if Marquis Gu pretended not to see, he couldn’t ignore it, because—how fragrant!
He watched this young person, who resembled him three or four-fold, equally handsome and graceful, with great shock.
"Wife, wife..." Marquis Gu instinctively called his spouse, his voice growing deep.
Zhou Wanqing was setting dishes by the side and didn’t even raise her eyebrows upon hearing this: "Rest assured, this is indeed our Lan."
Gu Chengzhao took a deep breath and carefully scrutinized Gu Lan, only then connecting the silent, resentful girl in his memory with the person in front of him.
He whispered, "So what you said in the letter was true, Lan really is... quite different from before."
The previous Gu Lan would not even sit at a table with him, and even if she had to be in the same place for longer than it takes for an incense stick, she would want to flee immediately.
He waved his hand, and a nearby officer took out a cloth pouch from his tattered pocket.
Gu Lan’s nose twitched, raising her head to look at Marquis Gu piercingly.
Marquis Gu opened the cloth pouch, revealing four or five square-shaped paper packages neatly folded.
One package of chili powder, one of pepper salt, one of malt sugar... and one of the rarely seen pepper in the Capital City.
Gu Lan silently arranged her small porcelain bottles, while Marquis Gu picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in her apricot sauce, and she sprinkled pepper on her roast chicken leg.
Their actions were surprisingly synchronized, even their minor facial expressions were remarkably similar.
"What are you two up to? This roast chicken is already seasoned." Madam Zhou said, seeing through everything.
Gu Lan: "This is sophistication."
Gu Chengzhao: "This is ceremony."
Father and daughter exchanged a glance and found they saw eye to eye.
"Come, bring the wine!" Marquis Gu said heartily with a wave of his hand.
The old lady nearby said, "You’ve been fasting for days, drinking wine will hurt your stomach."
"I don’t care, today I want to drink heartily with my child."
Madam Zhou:...
Saying this, Gu Chengzhao had already pulled out two jars of fine wine from under the table, opened the lids, poured a bowl for himself, and one for Gu Lan—a tradition of Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, where wine was always stored under the table.
After the meal, Gu Lan and Gu Chengzhao formed a solid bond over wine and meat.
By the end, Young Master Gu and Marquis Gu were shoulder to shoulder, raising their wine bowls high, almost becoming sworn brothers.
"I heard Rong Shuo calls you little brother? This relationship seems a bit off."
Marquis Gu’s eyes were as clear as water but appeared even more dreamy and captivating after drinking, making him especially alluring.
Gu Lan thought her father was quite a good-looking person, with a seasoning pack just like she had. Such a person dying in the original story was truly a pity.
She had only heard about this person before, but now she had met him. If he dies, not only would Madam Zhou be sad, she would be sad too.
Maintaining her last shred of sobriety, she said, "What’s wrong with that? You call me dad, I call you brother, Prince Rui calls me little brother; it makes perfect sense."
Marquis Gu followed her words again: "What you say makes some sense; I’m your dad, Prince Rui is my brother... Come, cheers!"
Gu Lan: "Come! Fill it up for my brother! Drink!"
Madam Zhou looked at the two of them, her temples throbbing, finally unable to stand it any longer, stood up with hands on hips.
Having thought about it, she couldn’t bear to do anything to her daughter, so she reached out a hand and fiercely twisted Young Master Gu’s ear: "Gu Chengzhao, do you know what you’re doing?"
He’s not a son,
He’s a daughter!
Why are they calling each other brothers? The key is... is Gu Chengzhao even that younger brother?
"I just wanted to chat with my brother, Madam!" Gu Chengzhao covered his ear and begged for mercy, barely stopping himself from considering a sworn brotherhood with Gu Lan.
Finally, Zhou Wanqing leaned next to his ear and angrily scolded him, "You’re already smelling," and only then did Young Master Gu stand up, feeling uneasy: "Then I’ll go bathe first."
These two, both have the same cleanliness obsession.
As he walked away, Gu Chengzhao didn’t forget to shout loudly: "Today, I had delightful conversations with Brother Lan."
"Me too."
Gu Lan nodded, smiled with upturned lips, leaning on the table, tipsy.
Actually, she didn’t drink much; it was Young Master Gu who drank bowl after bowl, making himself drunk.
Zhou Wanqing settled Gu Chengzhao, bringing over a cup of sobering soup in gentle tones: "Lan, drink this and go sleep, don’t mind him, your father was last back to the Capital City more than two years ago, today he’s just overly excited."
Gu Lan lazily asked, raising her eyelids: "Is it good?"
"Very good, your Aunt Wang specially made it." Zhou Wanqing said beside her, like coaxing a child.
Young Master Gu was mischievous, and Gu Lan followed suit, but Madam Zhou had already decided, once Young Master Gu sobered up, she would take it up with him.
Hearing it’s good, only then did Gu Lan obediently drink.
Zhou Wanqing looked at her, and then at the drunken or asleep Dingyuan Army in the courtyard, her eyes slightly moist.
She gently touched Gu Lan’s hair, softly said: "Lan, the things you spoke with your father about today over a meal, are more than you’ve said to him since childhood, he’s genuinely very happy."
Happy, not only for Gu Chengzhao but also Zhou Wanqing, she’s never seen how harmoniously Gu Lan and Young Master Gu sat together for a meal... although this time, the harmony was somewhat exaggerated.
Gu Lan yawned, swayed and stood up: "That might be because... Young Master hadn’t realized before that both of us need seasoning when eating roasted chicken."
Zhou Wanqing chuckled.
"By the way, several more Dingyuan Army members just returned, one who was previously in your courtyard, has returned now—"
Before Zhou Wanqing finished her words, Gu Lan’s eyes widened, the drunkenness replaced by surprise, and she quickened her pace back to her Step Lotus Hall.
Upon reaching the door, Gu Lan stopped, she saw the person in the courtyard.
In the chilly little courtyard, a familiar tall figure was sitting pitifully on the ground against a tree stump, holding a knife in his arms as if exhausted to the utmost, already peacefully asleep.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Wei Chengyuan’s eyes instantly opened, the long knife in his hand drawn, flashing a glint of cold light.
Seeing it was Gu Lan, his amber eyes gradually cleared, subconsciously and softly called out: "Lanlan..."
Gu Lan stepped forward: "Don’t take up space in the courtyard, go sleep in your room."
"Alright." Wei Chengyuan rubbed his eyes and stood up, familiarly walking toward his room.
He was wearing the Dingyuan Army’s light armor, just like those soldiers who rushed back, their armor stained with blood, full of fatigue.
Seeing the blood on him, Gu Lan raised an eyebrow and said: "You actually made it in time."
Previously, she hurried Wei Chengyuan to the Northern Territory because if not faster, the battle would be over, and there would be no talk of redemption.
As expected, it was less than half a month, and Wei Chengyuan returned to the Capital City, despite her earlier slight worry and sadness.
Wei Chengyuan regained some clarity and said:
"When I arrived at the Northern Territory, Young Master and his men had just returned victorious from the Snowfield, but Weizhou was still occupied by the Qiangrong. Young Master had me join him in attacking the city... within a day’s time, the Chanyu came out meekly, naked, yielding to Dayan."
"Then you still fought for a day."
"Only a day." Wei Chengyuan said helplessly.
"Then Young Master wanted to return to the Capital City... so I had no choice but to come back with them," Wei Chengyuan awkwardly scratched his head, "Young Master said, I used to be your protector, now I continue protecting you, call me when there’s a battle."
Gu Lan stepped forward, suddenly drawing Wei Chengyuan’s knife, a bright light flashed.
Wei Chengyuan had no reaction, just gently watched the young person before him.
He had carefully cared for this child since she was young, watched her slowly grow, her first word was ’mother’, the second, not ’grandmother’, not ’father’, but...
Yuan.
"Since Young Master said you should protect me from now on, then... draw your knife on me!"
Gu Lan tossed the knife into the air, Wei Chengyuan caught it steadily.
