SGEIRS -Chapter 566 A Father’s Debt, the Son Pays

Meng Jinyao slipped out of his arms and blinked at him, smiling teasingly. “I think my husband has excellent looks. If you put on a skirt and danced, you’d look absolutely stunning.”

Gu Jingxi’s expression froze. He refused flatly, “Impossible. Don’t even think about it.”

“Husband, didn’t you just say that whatever I want, you can give?” Meng Jinyao sighed lightly, glancing at him with eyes full of disappointment. “I’ve made a request and you won’t give it. So you were just teasing me? That really makes me sad.”

Gu Jingxi knew she was retreating in order to advance. His heart remained unmoved as he rejected her resolutely. “Don’t think about this. If it were something else, I might—” He stopped midway. Having learned from experience, he left himself some room and continued, “If it’s something else, I can consider trying my best to satisfy you.”

But Meng Jinyao wouldn’t let it go. “I want this.”

“No,” Gu Jingxi said firmly.

She sighed again, feigning puzzlement. “That’s strange. Didn’t you used to like it? Why are you so resistant now?”

Gu Jingxi was baffled. “When did I ever have such a… proclivity?”

“I heard Mother say,” Meng Jinyao replied, “that when you were little, you insisted on wearing your cousin sister’s little skirts, dancing like a dancer. You even went out wearing a skirt with Mother, charming other families’ young masters so much that one of them said he’d marry you when you grew up.”

Gu Jingxi felt as if thunder had crashed over his head, leaving his mind buzzing. His expression shifted before settling into one of utter despair. That really was his dear mother—telling his wife such an embarrassing story. He didn’t remember that episode at all. Hearing A-Yao mention it now, he tried hard to recall and could only vaguely remember that something like that had happened. As for who that little boy was, he had completely forgotten.

Meng Jinyao enjoyed his utterly defeated expression, holding back laughter as she continued to tease him. “What a pity. Mother said that the little young master who once vowed to marry you is now your political enemy. I wonder, when he argues with you in court, does he ever remember his old vows of eternal love?”

A political enemy?

Gu Jingxi stiffened again. He searched his mind for someone who fit the description and quickly thought of that fat, round-faced Lord Hu from the Ministry of Justice. He instantly wilted, fervently hoping the man didn’t remember such a past. Otherwise, if they quarreled again and he brought it up afterward to mock him, Gu Jingxi would truly have no face left to show anyone.

Seeing his reaction, Meng Jinyao knew he had remembered—and also recalled which family’s young master it was. When her mother-in-law had gossiped with her back then, she hadn’t asked in detail. Now her curiosity flared up again. “Husband, which family’s young master was it? Was he handsome when he grew up?”

For the first time, Gu Jingxi wished his memory weren’t so good. Such a humiliating matter from so many years ago, yet he still remembered it. Worse still, that man was now a political enemy whom he encountered at court meetings all the time. He feared he would never forget it in this lifetime. He closed his eyes, unwilling to answer, and deliberately changed the subject. “A-Yao, right in front of your own husband, you’re concerned about whether another man is handsome—aren’t you afraid your husband will get jealous?”

Meng Jinyao smiled sweetly. “My husband wouldn’t. Because in his wife’s heart, he’s the most beautiful man under heaven. All other men are just vulgar mortals.”

Gu Jingxi replied, “No, he would. He’s petty and jealous, a full-fledged jealous husband. So you’d better not mention other men in front of him, or he might lose his temper.”

Meng Jinyao gave a light snort. “Fine then. If you won’t tell me, I’ll go home and ask Mother. She’ll definitely tell me.”

The moment she said that, alarm bells rang in Gu Jingxi’s mind. Let her go ask Mother? That would be disastrous. Who knew if his mother, who specialized in embarrassing her own son, might get inspired and tell A-Yao a few more of his embarrassing childhood stories. He hurriedly said, “Don’t—don’t go.”

She wouldn’t spare him. “Just because you say don’t go, I won’t? I’m going anyway.”

“Little ancestor, isn’t it enough if I tell you?” Gu Jingxi sighed helplessly and pulled her back into his arms. Meeting her urging gaze, he answered reluctantly, “Not handsome. He grew crooked.”

She asked again, “Was he good-looking as a child?”

“I don’t remember,” Gu Jingxi replied. “But he didn’t seem fat when he was young. He’s fat now.”

Meng Jinyao nodded, murmuring softly, “Then I’ll ask around later and see which of your political enemies are fat.”

Gu Jingxi: “……”

The past was too painful to revisit, yet the two most important women in his life were determined to help him relive it in detail. If time could flow backward, he would erase some of the things he’d done in the past, so that such humiliations would never have existed.

Meng Jinyao lifted her hands to cup his handsome face, eyes full of anticipation. “Husband, will you wear a skirt and dance for me tonight?”

Once again, Gu Jingxi rejected her mercilessly. “No. Impossible. Don’t even think about it.”

“So stingy. I can’t even look,” Meng Jinyao pouted, letting go and snorting lightly.

Gu Jingxi’s mind suddenly lit up. He thought of their soft, chubby little son. They’d been raising him for several months now—it was time for him to show some filial piety. With the mindset of better a dead friend than a dead me, he coaxed her gently. “A-Yao, I can’t wear it for you, but you can have our son wear it for you. A father’s debt is paid by the son. What I owe you—you can just take it back from our son, can’t you?”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao felt it made perfect sense and was instantly led down his path. She began pondering making two little skirts for Wanwan—just looking at them would be satisfying enough. Children, after all, were easiest to coax when they were young and knew nothing. It was best to start early, when Wanwan’s hair grew a bit longer and could be tied into two little braids.

Poor little Wanwan, still unaware of anything, was sold out just like that by his own father. Thanks to his dear father, he had gained another piece of lifelong black history.

Seeing that A-Yao seemed to have accepted it, Gu Jingxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief—he had finally escaped this calamity. Hearing the shouts of shop assistants outside, he seized the chance to change the subject, lest A-Yao reflect on it later and latch onto him again. He truly feared he wouldn’t be able to withstand her soft persistence and would end up agreeing. So he said, “A-Yao, the street is very lively. Why don’t we go down and take a look, see if there’s anything you like?”

Meng Jinyao was interested as well. She nodded in agreement, instructed the coachman to stop the carriage, and then went down with Gu Jingxi to stroll around.

After getting off the carriage, Gu Jingxi didn’t mention anything from before. He took her to rouge shops, jewelry shops, pastry shops, and spice shops. Having spent so long with A-Yao, he had figured out a few tricks—these were the places most likely to capture a woman’s attention. If one shop wasn’t enough, they’d visit a few more; buy a few more items, and soon everything else would be forgotten.