Gu Jiu stepped forward and helped Gu Zhen up by holding her arm. “Da jiejie, let me help you up.”
Gu Zhen felt like she had become a clown and had lost all face.
Hearing Gu Jiu’s voice, Gu Zhen raised her head and suddenly threw herself into Gu Jiu’s arms, crying uncontrollably. “Er meimei, what should I do?”
In front of so many people, losing face like this, she would become the laughingstock of everyone.
Wuwu… She couldn’t face anyone anymore; it was better to die.
Gu Jiu said, “Da jiejie, your clothes are dirty. Let me take you to change into something clean.”
Qing Mei stepped forward and helped Gu Jiu support Gu Zhen.
But Gu Zhen refused to let go of Gu Jiu’s embrace, not wanting to stand up.
She couldn’t face everyone’s gaze. She didn’t dare to even stand up, let alone leave this place.
It would be better to act like an ostrich and bury her head in the sand, pretending that nothing had happened.
Gu Zhen cried, despising her own cowardice.
But she really didn’t have the courage to get up. It was too humiliating.
Gu Jiu frowned slightly and casually glanced around, seeing Gu Yue and Gu Shan hiding in the crowd, both frowning with disdainful looks in their eyes.
Especially Gu Yue, her feelings of disgust were almost impossible to conceal.
It was so embarrassing; she didn’t want anyone to know that Gu Zhen was her half-sister. If anyone found out, she would be embarrassed too.
Gu Yue thought to herself, then whispered to Gu Shan, “Si meimei, what should we do?”
Gu Shan frowned, thinking for a moment. “Let er jiejie handle it. She can deal with this.”
Gu Yue sneered, “That sickly one…”
“Don’t call er jiejie sickly,” Gu Shan interrupted Gu Yue unceremoniously.
The sickly one could repeatedly outsmart their mother in their battles.
Even if she was really sickly, it was only her body that was sick, but er jiejie‘s mind was sharp.
Gu Yue stared at Gu Shan, unable to believe that Gu Shan had dared to interrupt her.
Gu Shan, however, stared back at her without fear.
But Gu Yue’s glare was too frightening. Remembering how their mother doted on Gu Yue, Gu Shan suddenly felt a bit afraid and unwillingly looked away, giving in.
Gu Yue snorted coldly, gritting her teeth and lowering her voice, “Si meimei, you’d better understand that I am your real sister.”
Gu Shan reluctantly nodded, “I understand. Please, san jiejie, don’t hold it against me.”
“Hmph! That’s more like it.”
Seeing Gu Shan back down, Gu Yue stopped pursuing the matter.
Gu Jiu bent down, lowered her head, and whispered in Gu Zhen’s ear, “Da jiejie, you know that more and more people are looking at us now. If you don’t leave soon, it will only get worse. Who knows, taitai might be alerted. If taitai comes, have you considered the consequences? Don’t you fear that she’ll make things harder for you right away?”
Gu Zhen shivered when she heard Xie shi’s name. Not caring about her shame, she hurriedly wiped away her tears and, with Qing Mei’s help, stood up.
“Thank you, er meimei.”
“Da jiejie, let’s leave quickly.”
Gu Jiu took Gu Zhen and quickly left the scene.
Throughout the entire process, Gu Zhen kept her head down, too ashamed to look at anyone.
She feared seeing mockery and disdain in the eyes of others.
Wuwu… It was so embarrassing.
Gu Jiu led Gu Zhen to a guest room not far away.
As soon as they entered, Gu Zhen’s maid, Luyi, quickly knelt down to apologise.
“It’s all nubi’s fault, guniang, punish me.”
Gu Jiu frowned slightly and said to Luyi, “Now is not the time to argue about right and wrong. Quickly get clean clothes and help your guniang change.”
Luyi looked at Gu Zhen.
Gu Zhen had yet to recover from the blow to her pride.
She only nodded at Luyi. “Do as er guniang says.”
Luyi hurriedly got up and went to the cart to fetch the bundle.
Gu Zhen’s dress was covered in tea stains. When she fell, a lot of dirt got on her back. Her hair was also a bit messy.
Gu Jiu asked Qing Mei to help Gu Zhen comb her hair and also had Qing Zhu bring a basin of clean water for Gu Zhen to wash her face.
Gu Zhen cried her heart out, and her makeup was ruined, so she had to reapply it.
While cleaning, she said, “It’s all thanks to er meimei today. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what to do. Thank you, er meimei.”
“Da jiejie, there’s no need to thank me.”
Then Gu Jiu curiously asked, “Da jiejie, why wasn’t Luyi by your side earlier?”
“Luyi’s dress got tea spilt on it, making it unsightly, so I told her to go clean it up. Who would have thought that when Luyi left, a worm crawled onto me. I… I’m terrified of worms.”
As she spoke, Gu Zhen couldn’t help but cry again, probably remembering the terror of the caterpillar.
Gu Jiu took out a handkerchief and gently wiped Gu Zhen’s tears.
“Luyi was fine, how could she have gotten tea spilt on her?”
Gu Zhen was very unhappy. “Isn’t it because wu meimei’s maid was clumsy, and couldn’t hold the tea cup steady?”
Sure enough!
It was that maid, Cui Liu, from wu meimei’s side, who was behind this.
Now everything made sense.
Cui Liu had spilt tea on Luyi’s dress deliberately to send her away.
Once Luyi left, Cui Liu must have placed the caterpillar on Gu Zhen, causing her to embarrass herself in front of everyone.
Cui Liu must have known that Gu Zhen was terrified of caterpillars, and so she came up with this plan.
But Cui Liu was actually a maid from Bai yiniang’s side. So this meant that Cui Liu’s actions were likely instructed by Bai yiniang.
But why would Bai yiniang do this? Had Gu Zhen offended her?
Qing Mei tugged at Gu Jiu’s sleeve and pulled her aside, whispering, “Guniang, don’t you remember? Last time, da jiejie and wu meimei had a quarrel at Zhilan Yuan.”
Gu Jiu suddenly realised.
She whispered to Qing Mei, “So, Bai yiniang is venting for Gu Lin?”
Qing Mei nodded and lowered her voice, saying, “Bai yiniang only has wu guniang as her child, and she protects her like her own eyeball. That day, da guniang said such harsh words to wu guniang, and wu guniang ran out crying. Bai yiniang wouldn’t bear for wu guniang to suffer, so she surely wouldn’t let da guniang off. But who would have thought Bai Yiniang would let Cui Liu take action at the banquet?”
What a Bai yiniang.
All that innocent and gentle appearance was just a façade. When it came to striking, she was ruthless and accurate, no less than Xie shi.
Making Gu Zhen embarrassed at the banquet was the perfect way to damage her self-esteem and pride.
At that moment, Luyi returned with the bundle and helped Gu Zhen change clothes.
Gu Zhen, now in a new dress, walked out from the inner room.
She looked nervously at Gu Jiu. “Er meimei, is this okay?”
Gu Jiu smiled and nodded, “Looks great.”
“But… I’m too scared to go out. I can’t face anyone,” Gu Zhen lowered her head and almost cried. “I want to go back.”
Gu Jiu said, “But taitai isn’t leaving, so we can’t either. Da jiejie, don’t worry too much. These things will be quickly forgotten by everyone. No one will keep laughing at you.”
Gu Zhen shook her head. “No, everyone will remember how I embarrassed myself today. Er meimei, I really can’t go out. Please, help me. How about I stay here and wait until the banquet ends? You can send someone to call me.”
Gu Zhen grabbed Gu Jiu’s hand, looking at her with pleading eyes.
Gu Jiu asked, “Da jiejie, are you really not going out?”
Gu Zhen nodded. “I… I really don’t want to go. It’s not even interesting anymore.”
Gu Zhen’s mood was low, and she had lost all interest in the banquet. She just wanted to leave quickly.
Gu Jiu said, “Alright, I’ll leave someone to guard you here.”
Gu Zhen turned her frown into a smile. “Thank you, er meimei. Luyi will stay with me, so no need to arrange anyone else. Just notify me when the banquet is over.”
Gu Jiu said, “Da jiejie hasn’t eaten yet, right? I’ll have someone bring some food over for you.”
“Thank you so much, er meimei.”
Gu Jiu returned to the banquet with a few maids.
She asked Jiang Yan to pack some food, which she sent over to Gu Zhen.
Gu Lin came over to Gu Jiu’s side. “Er jiejie, where’s da jiejie? Wasn’t she with you?”
Gu Jiu remained calm and said, “Da jiejie wasn’t feeling well, so she’s resting in the guest room.”
Afterwards, Gu Jiu looked at the maid, Cui Liu, who was behind Gu Lin.
Cui Liu looked humble and submissive, appearing very reliable.
Gu Lin noticed Gu Jiu’s gaze. “Er jiejie, why are you looking at Cui Liu? Did she upset you?”
“No, I was just admiring wu meimei’s capable maid.”
Gu Lin smiled. “Cui Liu is my yiniang’s maid. She’s here to keep an eye on me today.”
“I see,” Gu Jiu smiled back.
It seemed like Gu Lin knew nothing.
Cui Liu looked nervously at Gu Jiu, her palms sweaty. Had er guniang figured it all out?
How could she have?
Cui Liu reviewed everything in her head, sure there were no flaws, and no one should suspect her.
She secretly glanced at Gu Jiu, only to meet her sharp gaze that seemed to see through everything.
Cui Liu quickly lowered her head, feeling very guilty.
Had er guniang really seen through everything?
Gu Jiu said to Gu Lin, “Wu meimei has such a capable maid, I can rest easy. But when a maid is too capable, it can sometimes be a bad thing. Cui Liu, don’t you agree?”
Cui Liu dared not speak.
Gu Lin linked her arm with Gu Jiu’s, “Er jiejie, don’t care about Cui Liu. She follows me just for today, she’s usually serves my yiniang.”
At that moment, Gu Yue, Gu Shan, and Xu Yuanniang approached them.
Gu Jiu and Gu Lin stood by the pond.
Gu Jiu glanced at the pond and a plan formed in her mind.
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