"Why is she always against you?" asked Song Yanzhao, the second elder brother, as the children gradually dispersed.

  At the last banquet, Hu Jie also picked on Gu Jinzhi like this, and Song Yanzhao saw it.

  Hu Jie is very pretty, with a rosy and fair complexion, which makes people like her. However, since learning that she doesn't get along with Gu Jinzhi, Song Yanzhao has been dissatisfied with Hu Jie.

  "There was a time when I splashed tea water on her face in front of many people..." said Gu Jinzhi.

  Song Yan was shocked and amazed.

  Big brother Song Yanwei and third sister Song Yanfan were also shocked on the side.

  Gu Jinzhi then briefly recounted what had happened back then.

  After finishing speaking, all three children laughed.

  "She was only five or six years old at that time, and she still remembers it to this day." Song Yanzhao shook his head, "And yet they call her a noble lady from the Marquis's household, how laughable."

  Hu Jie always calls herself the thousand gold of the Marquis's manor.

  It's just their family and Yong Xi Hou Fu Hu Jia, the relationship has become much more distant.

  Yanling Prefecture had only heard that they were the Marquis Yongxi's household of Hu, and did not know the specific circumstances.

  Gu Jin would not say anything more to expose it.

  Children have a sense of vanity when they are young, which is inevitable. As children grow up gradually, these vanities are gradually suppressed or dissipated.

  This process cannot be rushed.

  "It was also she who provoked her cousin. But her cousin had a way, if they were to seriously quarrel or fight, the two of them would look even worse." Eldest brother Song Yanwei was sixteen years old, his words were mature and steady, and he had a deeper understanding.

  Third sister Song Yanfan's eyes sparkled: "If I had encountered this, I would have cried to find my mother, but my cousin is more formidable."

  She has always admired Gu Jingzhou, no matter what Gu Jingzhou does or says, she admires him very much.

  Other children in the Song family also surrounded Hu Jie and asked her why she had conflicts with Gu Jinzhi.

  Hu Jie pretended to be profound and refused to say more.

  Unconsciously, the children had divided into two factions.

  While they were talking, the guests had all arrived. The maidservants came to report that the meal was ready and they could start eating.

  The adults were chatting and laughing as they took their seats. The eldest maternal aunt came over to arrange the seating for the children, only to find that they had sat down randomly without regard for gender.

  First Older Paternal Male Cousin, Second Older Paternal Male Cousin, Third Older Paternal Female Cousin, Fourth Older Paternal Male Cousin, Fifth Younger Paternal Male Cousin, along with Gu Jinzhi and Gu Xuanzhi, all sat at one table.

  Hu Jie and Hu Zhuo siblings sat at a table with other Song family children.

  Among these children, except for the eldest Song Yan who is sixteen years old, the others are all twelve or thirteen years old, and they are all at an age where they are ignorant and unaware of things.

  Except for the children of the Hu family, all the others are from the Song family.

  The great aunt looked at Hu Ji and Gu Jin's disagreement, so she didn't say anything about rearranging the seats, letting the children sit randomly, regardless of the rule that ten-year-olds shouldn't be seated together.

  It's just an ordinary family dinner, all relatives, no need to be so formal and strict. As the children grow older, there will be more and more constraints, how many years can brothers and sisters be close like this?

  However, Lao Er Song Yan Zhao sat next to Gu Jin...

  Mrs. Song thought for a moment, but in the end didn't say anything and turned around to leave.

  Second brother Song Yan Zhao wanted to say something to Gu Jin Zhi, but seeing his big brother and others around, he swallowed his words back. The look of wanting to speak yet stopping himself was seen by Eldest Song Yan Mo, who found it both amusing and helpless.

  After dinner, Mrs. Song arranged for Le Yu to tell stories.

  The children lost interest and ran back to the courtyard. The Song family's mansion was very large, with a spacious backyard that grew many rare and precious flowers and grasses.

  Hu Jie couldn't sit still either and wanted to go see the blooming flowers in the backyard, so she pulled along her third cousin Song Yanfan.

  Third sister-in-law then looked at Jing and said: "Why don't you go together with your cousin?"

  "I'm going too! I'm going too!" Second Brother Song Yanzhao said as he mounted his horse.

  Gu Jin did not want to go.

  She likes this kind of singing and storytelling. The songstress's throat is long and winding, the three strings are lingering and whispering, much better than those who claim to be ancient style singers in later generations. Whether it's the singing voice or the music, they are all clean and pure, without any impurities, like a gentle mountain spring, refreshing the heart.

  She counted the two girls beside Hu Jie, as well as Hu Jie's brother Hu Zhuo, and Song Yanshao and Song Yanfan. She said: "You five or six people, isn't that enough? I'm not going."

  Song Yan's eyes dimmed slightly, and she subconsciously bit her lip, feeling very disappointed.

  Big brother Song Yan Wei looked at him and shook his head.

  Hu Jie hurriedly pulled, and her third sister-in-law Song Yanfan was also indecisive, so she was dragged away by Hu Jie, and a group of people left the flower hall.

  Second Brother Song Yan Zhao reluctantly followed, turning his head to glance at Big Brother.

  The big brother was speechless about this younger brother and could only say: "So many people have gone, what are you following to join in the excitement?"

  Song Yan Zhao smiled and turned back.

  Gu Jinzhi was already holding Gu Xuanzhi's hand and sat down beside their mother to listen to the storyteller.

  Song Yan Zhao wanted to go over, but was pulled back by his elder brother Song Yan Wei. The two brothers also left the flower hall.

  "What are you doing following your cousin around all the time?" Song Yanmo asked his brother.

  Song Yanzhao was startled and immediately denied: "No!" with a guilty conscience.

  Big Brother Song Yan Wei just rolled his eyes at him.

  "As you grow older day by day, why are you still like a child? Whatever is in your heart is on your face." Song Yanwen scolded his younger brother. "You always follow your cousin around, unclear and ambiguous, what do Mother and Aunt think, what does your cousin think?"

  Song Yan Zhao is not clear about it.

  "What's on your mind?"

  "What are you thinking?" Song Yanxi said, "My cousin will be twelve years old in August..."

  Gu Jizhi was born on Mid-Autumn Festival day, August 15th.

  Song Yan Zhao still hadn't reacted.

  Song Yan'ao didn't continue speaking, but instead looked at his brother with a gaze that was as sharp as iron.

  Song Yan Zhao was slow to react and only realized his brother's unspoken meaning after a beat, his face suddenly turning bright red. He hastily waved his hand: "I didn't, I didn't! I... I haven't even passed the imperial examination yet, how could I... how could I think of those things?"

  "Then don't always think about whispering to your cousin! You two are not six or seven years old anymore. You're being too secretive, who knows what others might think." Song Yanmo saw that he didn't seem to be lying, so he put on a stern face and said, "What exactly do you want to tell her? I've seen you doing this multiple times!"

  "Anyway, I have something to say!" Song Yanzhao rolled his eyes and didn't look at his older brother.

  Then he ran away alone like a fugitive.

  Song Yan's heart was simple and pure, originally didn't think much about it, but his brother's words made a corner of his heart slowly open, he felt a bit strange and uncomfortable.

  Will my cousin think so too?

  Song Yan Zhao rubbed his head vigorously!

  The banquet broke up, but Song Yan Zhao still hadn't come out.

  Gu Jin followed her mother and brother back to Ma Yuan Lane.

  In just two days, I heard that Hu Jie had fallen ill. Her throat was swollen and painful, she couldn't swallow a drop of water, medicine couldn't be administered, her face was completely swollen, breathing was difficult, as if she were choking, her life was in danger.

  Her illness came on suddenly, with no warning signs, and was extremely severe from the start, leaving doctors who were used to treating illnesses that progressed gradually at a loss.

  She suffered from laryngitis.

  ************

  Seeking recommendation votes~~