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In her previous life, Gu Jiao had never shared a bed with anyone, not even a female roommate. She thought she would have trouble sleeping, but within a short time, she fell asleep in the comforting aura.

While she journeyed into dreamland, Xiao Liulang did not fall asleep as quickly.

He looked at Gu Jiao lying beside him, the soft glow from the snow outside shining on her face through the paper window. She was lying on her side, the half of her face marked with the birthmark was pressed beneath her.

She was probably cold, her small face was glowing red. Her eyelashes were long and her features were delicate, if not for the birthmark, she would be a beautiful and enchanting young lady.

For some inexplicable reason, a sense of regret flashed in Xiao Liulang’s heart.

But quickly, he furrowed his brows, trying to discard this interloping emotion.

Xiao Liulang was a poised sleeper, hardly moving an inch the entire night.

Gu Jiao was well-behaved too, aside from moving closer and closer to Xiao Liulang, wrapping her arms and legs around him, and placing her small head on his shoulder, she did nothing else.

Gu Jiao slept until dawn. When she woke up, Xiao Liulang was already up, sitting by the window reading a book.

The daylight seeped through the paper window, illuminating his handsome face like jade. Gu Jiao wasn’t sure if she was mistaken, but it seemed like he was blushing slightly.

“You’re awake.” Xiao Liulang greeted Gu Jiao formally but without glancing at her on the bed.

“Hmm, I’m up. Good morning.” Gu Jiao rubbed her eyes and yawned softly, being freshly awake, she was slightly dazed and her voice carried a hint of laziness.

What normal man could resist this early in the morning?

Xiao Liulang felt a rise in his chest and quickly stood up, “I’ll go get breakfast!”

As he spoke, he left, leaving a perplexed Gu Jiao scratching her head.

The snow had stopped overnight, and the sun now shone brightly.

As the academy was closed today, after breakfast, the two hired a carriage and headed back to the village.

Passing the village entrance, they overheard the villagers gossiping around the well: some people returning to the village at night had slipped and fallen in the sudden snowfall, and in a neighboring village, someone even capsized his carriage into a ditch, almost losing his life in the process.

Xiao Liulang thought about their decision to hire a carriage back to the village last night. If not for her suggestion to spend the night at an inn, they might have been victims of an accident, too.

At this point, Xiao Liulang was at a loss for words.

After all… this was the third time he managed to avoid calamity thanks to her.

They got home.

The old lady in the house had already risen and was sulking in the main room.

Gu Jiao had thought they would be done with their business early yesterday and that they would be able to get back before the snowfall. Therefore, she left only one meal in the pot. Little did she expect that the scholars at the academy would occupy Xiao Liulang until the snow started falling heavily.

Evading from the fate despite her dreams, she could only persuade Xiao Liulang to stay overnight in the town.

The old lady couldn’t kindle a fire, she had eaten cold steamed buns last night, and again this morning, almost breaking her teeth.

Gu Jiao was puzzled and wondered, as an old impoverish lady, how could she not know how to make a fire? Is she an old mistress from a wealthy family, or is she the Empress Dowager?

Silently, Gu Jiao took out a pack of candied fruit and a box of osmanthus cake, “You’re allowed to have two pieces today.”

The old lady, “No! Five pieces!”

Gu Jiao, “Three pieces.”

The old lady, “Deal!”

The old lady, holding her candied fruit and osmanthus cake, turned her back and began munching eagerly.

The word about Gu Dashun and the Liao and Zhou families being arrested had quickly spread through the village, and even some from the neighboring village came to witness the excitement. They weren’t aware yet of the connection between this incident and Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao, so they ran to the old Gu Family mansion for information.

Noon arrived, and two warrant officers came to visit, looking for Gu Jiao.

As it turned out, once the Liao and Zhou families were taken to the Yamen, under strict interrogation, they truthfully confessed the origin of the silver: it fell from the person who had a fight with the little fool, and they were overcome by greed, so they pocketed the silver and returned to the village before the little fool came back.

“Ah, so that’s what happened. I was wondering why I didn’t see both of you when I went back.” Gu Jiao said with an unwittingly enlightened expression.

The officer looked at her and asked, “Why did you start to fight?”

Gu Jiao spoke coldly, “He bumped into me! Bullied me! And insulted me!”

Being bumped and insulted, she grabbed a sickle and chased after him, slashing for several streets. Girl, you’re a hero.

If anyone else had acted as such, the officers might have suspected something, but they had already heard from Liao and Zhou families that Gu Jiao was a simpleton. The actions of a simpleton can’t be judged by common sense.

Therefore, even at this stage, no one suspected that Gu Jiao was purposely waiting there to catch a thief, intentionally letting the thief escape, and leaving the silver behind for the Liao and Zhou families to covet. Even Liao and Zhou families thought that everything was an accident.

Only Xiao Liulang had a vague feeling that everything was too coincidental.

“That person might have been a thief. What happened to him in the end?” the officer asked.

“He ran away.” Gu Jiao shrugged.

“Do you remember what he looked like?” the officer went on to ask.

“He looks…um…” Gu Jiao recalled and gestured, while the other officer, an artistic officer from the Yamen, sketched the appearance of the thief, “Like this?”

“Well…” Gu Jiao frowned.

At that moment, Xiao Liulang came out with a sketch.

Gu Jiao’s eyes brightened, “Yes! It’s this man!”

The officer and the artist shared an awkward glance. The illustrious Yamen artist was unexpectedly surpassed by a student, wasn’t it like having one’s rice bowl smashed?

Once they had the sketch, the Yamen solved the case fairly quickly.

However, the Liao and Zhou families weren’t released immediately because when the Yamen officers initially questioned them about the silver, they confidently claimed it was earned from selling mountain goods.

This was a significant amount, coupled with their lies and refusal to hand over the silver. They were found guilty of embezzlement and each fined twenty taels of silver and given thirty lashes.

As for Gu Dashun, the shameful actions of his mother and his second aunt reflected poorly on his family’s integrity, and he too was nailed to the pillar of shame.