The Events After Widowhood Chapter 9

When Vivian heard Gabriel say that he wanted to drink black tea, he changed to a set of white porcelain tea set.

He likes to make tea, and he has never lost his skill after so many years. The aroma of tea is wafting out, and he feels much more relaxed. He asked Gabriel: "Why did you change the taste?"

"It's very cold at the border, and black tea warms the body." Gabriel made up this nonsense.

Nathaniel, who was on duty outside, heard this and pointed at Zhuiwu, "There is tea in the Western Territory, too, and it tastes similar to our black tea. Didn't he say it tasted bad after taking a sip?"

Zhui Wu glanced at Nathaniel and said calmly, "It tastes bad, but that's because I'm drinking it with you."

Inside the room, Vivian said "Oh" and a trace of bitterness rose in his heart again: Life at the border must be very hard, and I think he must have suffered a lot.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriel took the teacup handed over by Vivian and asked softly.

"I'm wondering what the border is like. I've never been there."

Gabriel took a sip and said, "When you have time, you can ask Nathaniel and Zhuiwu to tell you about the border. Although it is not as prosperous as the capital and the climate is worse, the people there are simple and honest. Further north are some small countries in the western border, which have opened trade with the Jin Dynasty. There are many small things in the market that cannot be seen in the interior."

Vivian was not interested in how fun the border was. Now he couldn't even leave Taining Marquis Mansion, so it was pointless to think about those things. But after hearing what Gabriel said, it seemed that the border didn't seem to be that hard, which was the best. So he said "Oh" and said no more.

Gabriel lowered his head to sip the tea. It was obvious that he was trying hard to taste the flavor of this "best tea in the world". He did not speak again.

The two of them sat opposite each other, guarding a small clay stove, and drank in silence.

It seems like such days have passed... Five years ago, or even earlier, it seems like they have happened before, but ever since Gabriel came back, there has been unrest in the mansion and there have always been troubles. There has not even been time to say a word properly, let alone sit down and slowly drink a sip of tea.

Looking at it this way, this moment seems like the past, Vivian thought as he held the teacup.

But today is different from the past...

At that time, he and Adrian were symbiotic trees, and now, Adrian is the eaves that protects Vivian from the rain.

But it's hard to change the present and it's hard to recover the past, so Vivian only has a little desire in his heart: Today, Gabriel don't call me "sister-in-law" again.

"Um..." Vivian was about to ask Gabriel how his wound was recovering.

Gabriel looked up, "What?"

Before Vivian could reply, a loud and loud voice came from the yard: "Where is Ruan? She is becoming more and more unruly now. Not only does she not come to visit you every morning and evening, but now she doesn't even know how to greet her mother-in-law when she comes to visit? Get out of here, both of you, stop using Gabriel as an excuse, and don't even look at your own status..."

Penelope's life has become increasingly difficult these days. She gave Ji Qian a grand funeral, which cost her a lot of her private money, and Zhonggong took away even more money. Now Theodore is getting more and more addicted to smoking cream, and the money in the mansion is flowing out like water, but it is difficult to come in. I looked through the account book a few days ago and found that the daily food and drink of Qiufengyuan was so expensive, even more than the main courtyard.

When I asked the kitchen, they said that it was Madam Zhou's words, the prince's intention. The whole mansion had been controlled by Gabriel, and whatever he said was what he meant, and no one dared to disobey.

Of course Penelope was also afraid, so she had endured it until today, but she had been observing for quite a few days and found that Gabriel had indeed not come recently. Before coming to Qiufengyuan, she also confirmed with the doorman: the prince would not come to the house today either.

Only for this reason did she dare to cause trouble for Vivian. After all, Vivian was not like Gabriel, who was soft-hearted, timid, and easy to control. It would certainly not be difficult to save a few bites from his mouth. However, she did not expect that the two guards at the door were not easy to deal with. They stopped her and did not even let her enter.

While she was throwing a tantrum, Gabriel finished the tea in the cup, said to Vivian, "It's cold outside, don't go out", and pushed the door open and walked out.

Penelope was stopped at the gate. When she saw Gabriel, she was stunned for a moment, but she didn't lose face and just stuck out her neck and shouted, "I'm looking for Vivian! Where is he?"

Gabriel naturally would not answer such a question from her. He just wanted to make a quick decision, so he opened his mouth like thunder, "I killed the rooster in your yard. If you crow again, do you believe I will kill you too?"

Penelope's eyes were blank and she was stunned for a long time. Suddenly she squatted on the ground and started crying loudly, cursing Gabriel in her tears.

God knows clearly that there were no wounds on the rooster's body. She thought it had some acute illness and had died like her beloved darling. She was sad for several days. Only today did she know that it was that ba5tard Gabriel who killed it!

"You're making so much noise!   Throw him out," Gabriel ordered coldly, then turned and went back to the room. The flimsy wooden door made a dull sound.

After a while, the noise outside died down, and the chrysanthemum charcoal in the stove made a slight sound. Vivian, who had heard everything in the inner room, remained silent.

Gabriel thought about his actions and for the first time in such a peaceful atmosphere, he felt a little regretful. It was not that he regretted what he had done to Penelope, but he regretted that he should not have done these in front of Vivian.

He cleared his throat, but still didn't have the confidence to speak again. He asked Vivian: "Did you get scared?"

Vivian shook his head.

At this point, Gabriel didn't know what to say. Seeing that the pot was empty, he raised his hand and added some water.

Vivian took the pot from Gabriel, poured tea, and lowered his head and said, "Aren't you going to suppress the rumors outside?"

Although he is now a penniless person with nothing to rely on, Vivian grew up in a wealthy family after all, and knows the ins and outs of the rumors. With Gabriel's current status and position, it is too easy for him to suppress him.

However, it is obvious that he did not interfere in the matter, otherwise, this matter would never have reached his ears.

Gabriel's men paused, not expecting Vivian to suddenly ask this, and then they laughed, thinking that not only did I not suppress the situation, I also added fuel to the fire.

The gentleman's conduct may seem like a good reputation, but it is actually a shackle. Gabriel looked down on these, but he was happy to leave a bad reputation to deter certain villains.

Gabriel peeled pine nuts slowly, "Those who believe in me will believe me no matter what; if you don't believe in me, it's useless to talk too much."

These red pine nuts were all sent from Changbai Mountain. Each one was plump and still simmering by the stove. The aroma was fragrant but very hot. Gabriel's hands were covered with calluses but he didn't feel anything. When he had collected half a handful of pine nuts, he looked up at Vivian and said, "What about you? Do you believe me or not?"

As soon as Gabriel said this, he regretted it. Why did he have to ask him when he had just beaten Xu? It was really not a good time. If he lied, he would be unhappy; if he told the truth, he would be even more upset.

Why?

"I believe it," Vivian stretched out his hand to warm the fire, without looking up, his voice was not loud, but very firm, "Adrian, you are a good person."

Good man? Gabriel raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He, Adrian, could definitely not be called a good man. Which good man would covet his widowed sister-in-law every day?

To be honest, Adrian is just a complete lunatic.

But he didn't dare to say this, as it would really scare Vivian. But after hearing what he just said, he felt relieved. He poured a handful of pine nuts into Vivian's hands, stood up and prepared to leave - he had already drunk enough tea and couldn't say anything else.

Vivian didn't expect that Gabriel spent so much time peeling the pine nuts and gave them all to him without eating a single one. Before he could even react, he saw Gabriel was about to leave. He hurriedly stuffed the pine nuts into his sleeve pocket, chased after him and called out to Gabriel.

Gabriel looked back.

Vivian took out the ointment he had been holding and handed it to Gabriel, "Scar removal ointment."

Gabriel was extremely proud, but he had to ask one more question, "For me?"

"Yes," Vivian smiled and raised his sleeves to indicate, "It's a thank you gift."