C9

At that time, the Yang family had just given birth to Jinzhu, and her body was still weak. Then, under the stimulation of this wife, she vomited blood and became ill.

Instead of stepping into her courtyard, he treated Mrs. Yao with all kinds of love and obedience. Under Mrs. Yao's gentle words, he didn't even pay a few visits to his newborn baby.

The Yang's mother-in-law, Old Mistress from State Duke's Mansion had always despised this daughter-in-law who was born with a low background and was not worthy to be part of the Gu family's venerable sect. Because the Yang family had given birth to a daughter, she was unhappy, so she did not ask about it.

Since her father-in-law had passed away, she had no one to rely on in this house.

A year later, she gave birth to her eldest son, Gu Rongqi. The Residence was overjoyed, and Gu Qingyuan was so happy that he could not close his mouth, much less take care of the mother and daughter of the Yang family.

The next year, Mrs. Yao gave birth to a baby girl. Gu Qingyuan really loved her like a pearl in his hand.

In the same year, his concubines also added a few daughters to him one after another. There were many girls in Gu Mansion, and no one cared about that nominal young miss anymore.

Lady Yang finally died when Gu Jinzhu was five.

Three months after her death, Mrs. Yao couldn't wait for Gu Qingyuan to take her in as his principal wife. Even though she entered as an equal wife, a normal wife would not be considered as such by the large venerable sect families. In the eyes of outsiders, Mrs. Yao was only a concubine.

With her strong personality, how could she be willing to submit to others? Especially so that his children would be born in a concubine state?

Therefore, she had endured for so long. Why was she still waiting?

At that time, Gu Jinzhu was still young and did not know much about the twists and turns of these big families. After her mother passed away, she was entrusted to the care of the wet nurse, Qingniang.

Not long after, Mrs. Yao found a reason to chase Madam Qing out of the residence and arranged for one of her men to stay by Jinzhu's side.

Lili's days in the manor had started to get worse. The servants were all praising her, but when they saw that Mrs. Yao was treating her so harshly, they didn't even put her in their eyes. It was normal for her to use too much of her money in daily situations, and now and then she would even give Jinzhu a a few punches and insults.

At that time, Gu Jinzhu was young and had been in a state of panic all day. When she saw her stepmother's face, she was extremely frightened. Even her personal servant had suffered a lot along with her.

Occasionally, when she met her father, she would cry and complain. However, Mrs. Yao only said that she was disciplining her children, so it was inconvenient for Gu Qingyuan to interfere.

Thus, even though Gu Jinzhu was the young miss of State Duke's Mansion, her life was not as good as a little girl beside Mrs. Yao, much less the Second Sister whose entire family treated her as flesh and blood.

Later on, when she accidentally dirtied Second Sister's new clothes, Mrs. Yao ordered her to kneel in the ancestral hall. Unfortunately, she wasn't even six years old yet, but was locked up in the dark and cold ancestral hall.

She cried her heart out and screamed for help, but no one came even when her throat was hoarse.

That pitch-black night had become Gu Jinzhu's never-ending nightmare. Even now, she would often wake up in the middle of the night and stare with wide eyes in horror at the boundless darkness that enveloped her like an impenetrable net.

The next day, Gu Jinzhu came out of the ancestral hall feeling hot all over her body. She had already fainted, and the door was still stained with the blood from her desperately scratching.

For the third day in a row, Gu Jinzhu's fever did not subside and her mouth was constantly spouting nonsense. Many doctors who saw her secretly shook their heads.

After all, Jinzhu was his eldest daughter. If something really happened to her, wouldn't she want others to poke his spine and say that he had mistreated her?

When she saw her grandson's appearance, the old lady's heart ached, and scolded the Gu family from head to toe.

Gu Qingyuan was in the wrong, so he was scolded to the point of being speechless. Even Old Mistress Gu looked a little embarrassed.

In the end, Old Mistress Yang risked her family's disgrace to bring along her granddaughter. At that time, Jinzhu already saw that she was getting more and more out of breath, Gu Qingyuan was afraid that his daughter might have some mishap while she was at home, so he quickly agreed.

Just like that, Gu Jinzhu followed Old Mistress Yang back to Jiangnan. Luckily, she was lucky. No matter how dangerous her illness was, she managed to survive.

From then on, he separated from the Gu Mansion for eight years.

Biwan's brisk singing came from inside the room. Yun Xiang was busy packing her things, whereas Gu Jinzhu was cold and indifferent. She went to the table and poured a cup of cold tea. Only after drinking it did she suppress the churning feeling in her heart.

If not for the incident with Chen Family, she would never have thought of returning. It would have been good to spend her entire life in this drizzling Southern River Town, but right now, she had to leave.

At some point during the night, it began to rain, and the sound of rain could be heard endlessly throughout the night, knocking against the banana leaves by the window.

Gu Jinzhu had been tossing and turning the whole night, not knowing if it was because the blanket was too thin or not, but with the sound of the rain, she felt a cold air around her, freezing her limbs and bones.

It was only until dawn that she finally fell asleep in a daze. As soon as she closed her eyes, she heard Yun Xiang call out softly into her ear. "Young miss, young miss?"

Gu Jinzhu opened her eyes and looked out at the dark sky. Her mind instantly cleared up as she asked, "Is it dawn?"

"Yes." "Yes," she answered softly. She stepped forward and pulled up the curtain, waiting on her to put on her clothes and clean her face.

Gu Jinzhu did not sleep well at night. Her face was slightly pale, and Yun Xiang was standing behind her to help her turn her hair.

She looked through the mirror and saw the neatly arranged packages on the bed. None of them had been taken to the carriage outside.

Yun Xiang hesitated slightly before asking in a low voice, "Miss, do we really have to leave?"

Last night, Jinzhu told them a little about the situation with regards to Gu Mansion, afraid that the two girls would enter the palace and find out about it.

The two girls were extremely shocked. They had wanted to go back home, but now they were at a loss, afraid that their little miss would suffer again.

"Of course we have to go back. If we really stay in the Yang Family from now on, wouldn't that be taking advantage of some people's intentions?"

Gu Jinzhu looked at the mirror and sighed. She was afraid that she couldn't keep the Yang Family after yesterday's farce.

What's more, if others' thoughts weren't good enough for her, how could she take advantage of them? In the end, she was the legitimate eldest daughter of State Duke's Mansion, how could she be driven out without a care in the world?