In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
The weather was scorching, and without Gu daren specifically reminding her, Gu Jiu wouldn’t step out voluntarily.
Gu Jiu struggled with the summer heat, and her frail body made the hot days unbearable. She felt lethargic and spiritless all the time.
She craved something cold to eat, but Qing Mei and Qing Zhu firmly stopped her, saying that her body was weak, and consuming too much cold food would be harmful. Gu Jiu instantly felt like life had lost all its joy.
Holding a round fan, she lay on a soft couch, lazily fanning herself.
Outside, the sun was blazing, and the cicadas chirped incessantly in the branches. The leaves curled up, looking just as lifeless. Gu Jiu could relate. In such sweltering weather, who could muster any energy?
Jiang Yan walked in, holding a booklet in her hands.
“These are the characters nubi practised copying. Guniang, please take a look.”
Since returning from Tianmen Temple, Jiang Yan had officially started learning to read and write under Gu Jiu’s guidance. Qing Mei, Qing Zhu and Xiao Cui also followed Gu Jiu to learn reading and writing.
However, the three of them showed little interest in studying. Whenever they picked up a book, they claimed to have headaches, and writing felt like an impossible task.
Qing Mei even justified herself, thinking that being able to read and do the accounts was enough. It was not like she was preparing for an exam. Why take it so seriously?
Hearing this, Gu Jiu was speechless, looking up at the sky. Her painstaking efforts were wasted on these three maids who lacked ambition.
Only Jiang Yan took her studies seriously and worked hard. Apart from completing the assignments Gu Jiu set for her, Jiang Yan also practised on her own.
In just half a month, her handwriting had improved from initial ghostly scrawls to something barely presentable—a significant improvement.
Gu Jiu took the booklet from Jiang Yan and flipped through it. It was filled with Jiang Yan’s characters, reflecting her diligence and effort.
Gu Jiu nodded approvingly. “Not bad. Keep it up, and you’ll get better and better. Have you memorized the Thousand Character Classic I gave you earlier?”
Jiang Yan lowered her head, looking a bit nervous. “Replying to guniang, I haven’t memorised it well. I keep forgetting the earlier parts while trying to remember the latter ones.”
“That’s normal when starting out. Take it slow; don’t rush. Try to finish memorising it in the next couple of days.”
Jiang Yan nodded earnestly. “Nubi will remember.”
Having a hardworking and ambitious student gave her teacher a sense of achievement.
Even though Gu Jiu was aware of Jiang Yan’s aspirations and unwillingness to settle for mediocrity, she was still willing to teach her and give her a chance to climb higher.
Whether Jiang Yan could seize the opportunity was yet to be seen.
Just then, Xiao Cui entered from outside. “Guniang, da guniang and wu guniang have come to visit.”
“Da jiejie and wu meimei are here? Please invite them in,” Gu Jiu said with a smile.
Jiang Yan tactfully withdrew. Skilled with needlework, she usually worked alongside Qing Mei to make clothes for Gu Jiu.
Gu Zhen and Gu Lin were led into the east-side study.
The moment they entered, they felt the refreshing coolness.
A basin of ice had been placed in the room, exuding cold air.
Gu Zhen commented, “Er meimei’s place is far more comfortable than mine.”
Gu Jiu smiled gently. “Da jiejie, wu meimei, please sit.”
Summers in the northwest were scorching, and the fu‘s ice supply was limited.
As a shu daughter, Gu Zhen received only half the amount of ice Gu Jiu did, which naturally left her feeling a bit resentful.
Gu Zhen sat down beside Gu Jiu. “Er meimei, is your health better now?”
Gu Jiu lazily fanned herself and nodded. “Much better. Doctor Chen’s medical skills are truly remarkable.”
Gu Zhen remarked, “Hu yiniang is unwell from the summer heat. I wanted to invite Doctor Chen to treat her, but taitai prefers Doctor Xu and has already summoned him.”
Hu yiniang was Gu Zhen’s birth mother. She had given birth to a son and a daughter and held a respectable position in the fu. However, as she aged and lost her looks, she fell out of favour.
Hu yiniang kept a low profile, and Xie shi generally didn’t deliberately make things difficult for her.
Gu Jiu hid half her face behind the fan and smiled lightly. “Da jiejie should listen to taitai. She has eaten more salt than us. If she says Doctor Xu is better, she must be right.”
Gu Zhen looked at Gu Jiu. “Is er meimei being sincere? Didn’t you say before that Doctor Xu isn’t as good as Doctor Chen?”
Gu Jiu shook her head. “Da jiejie misunderstood. I’ve never said such a thing. I only mentioned that Doctor Chen is better at internal medicine, while Doctor Xu excels in surgery.”
Xie shi would certainly not invite Doctor Chen; that would be too humiliating for her.
Gu Zhen frowned. Gu Lin chuckled quietly to herself.
Da jiejie is so naive. Why go against er jiejie? There’s no benefit in it. Does she really think that making things difficult for er jiejie will earn her favour with taitai? That’s wishful thinking.
Xie shi has her own daughters. Why would she care about a shu daughter?
As for Hu yiniang, she’s old and low-key. While she doesn’t cause trouble, she also can’t offer Xie shi much help. Taitai never valued Hu yiniang, she could even guard against her. After all, Hu yiniang had given birth to a son.
Gu Lin felt smug. After all, her own yiniang had always understood the situation clearly.
Gu Zhen frowned and asked, “Is that so?”
Gu Jiu nodded firmly. “That’s indeed what I said.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhen smiled. “It seems I misunderstood er meimei. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“Da jiejie is too polite,” Gu Jiu replied with a light smile.
Gu Lin seized the opportunity to ask, “Er jiejie, I heard taitai received an invitation from the prefect’s furen for a garden party. Will you be attending?”
Gu Jiu was unaware of this. “When is it?” she asked.
“In ten days. I heard the prefect’s furen specifically borrowed the garden of the general’s fu for the occasion,” Gu Lin replied.
The general’s residence Gu Lin spoke of was the official residence within Jinzhou of Lu hou Pei Ren, the commander of the western forces.
It was said that the general’s residence had a stunningly beautiful garden, meticulously maintained by dedicated caretakers.
Lu hou Pei Ren usually stayed in the military barracks, leaving the mansion unused since it was built.
Before Gu Jiu could respond, Gu Zhen interjected, “Wu meimei, who told you this? Why don’t I know about it?”
Gu Lin pursed her lips with a smug expression. “My yiniang told me. This morning, while serving taitai, a maid from the prefect’s fu delivered the invitation. I heard the prefect’s furen specifically requested that all the daughters of the fu attend to add to the lively atmosphere.”
“Is that so?” Gu Zhen snorted inwardly. She didn’t know about this, yet Gu Lin did. Hmph! She then remarked sarcastically, “It must be hard for Bai yiniang these days to serve taitai daily. It must be exhausting.”
Gu Lin’s face turned pale as she clutched her handkerchief, forcing a smile. “It’s only right for her to serve taitai.”
Gu Zhen sneered. “To think Bai yiniang has been in this fu for over a decade and still has to be disciplined daily. That’s truly exhausting. I’ve never heard of a yiniang being disciplined after ten years in a fu—unless, of course, they’ve made a mistake and angered taitai. Wu meimei, perhaps you should ask Bai yiniang what she’s done wrong to warrant such discipline.”
Gu Jiu glanced between them. Gu Zhen really had a lot of pent-up resentment toward Gu Lin.
Gu Jiu had heard about Xie shi disciplining Bai yiniang recently, likely because Gu daren had been spending too much time in her quarters, angering Xie shi.
As a result, Xie shi decided to set rules for her as a way of venting her anger. Xie shi’s soft yet ruthless tactics were truly impressive.
Just yesterday, Qing Mei mentioned running into Bai yiniang, who looked terribly haggard—gaunt and pale, as though she had endured significant torment. Who knew what kind of torment within such a brief period had reduced her to that appearance?
Gu Lin became anxious, her chest rising and falling. She replied loudly, “Da jiejie, why don’t you stop embarrassing yourself with such ignorance? Do you think yiniang are never disciplined after a decade?”
Gu Zhen looked at Gu Jiu and said, “Er meimei, tell me, did I say something wrong? Isn’t it true that yiniang only get disciplined if they’ve angered taitai?”
“You’re speaking nonsense! My yiniang did nothing wrong!” Gu Lin’s eyes glistened, tears threatening to fall.
Gu Jiu cleared her throat. “This matter should be taken up with taitai. No one knows better than she does. Also, matters between taitai and the yiniang are not for us to comment on. Da jiejie, wu meimei, please stop arguing. Let’s focus on what to wear to the prefect’s furen’s banquet.”
“Oh no!” Gu Zhen exclaimed. “I’ve already worn the new dress I made at the start of the month twice. It’s not suitable for the banquet. What should I do? Will there be enough time to make two new dresses in ten days?”
Gu Lin sneered. “Da jiejie, you should first ask taitai if she’s willing to let you make new dresses.”
Gu Zhen laughed. “Taitai is always generous. Of course, she’ll agree. But you, wu meimei, don’t go wearing old dresses to the party. Oh, wait—you should first see if taitai will even let you attend. Imagine if we all went to the party and you were left behind in the fu. How pitiful! Hahaha!”
Gu Zhen covered her mouth, laughing mockingly at Gu Lin. Unable to bear it, Gu Lin burst into tears and ran out, covering her face.
Gu Jiu sighed inwardly: What a mess.
How did these two end up quarrelling in her room?
Leave a Reply