Chapter 11 Roommates

Gu Ershun was completely stunned by Gu Jiao's kick.

Although his status in the Gu family was not as high as Gu Dashun's, he was still spoiled by Liu Shi and was reluctant to let him do farm work. She only let him study at home like Gu Dashun.

Whether he actually absorbed the knowledge or not is anyone's guess, but it's true that he's physically delicate.

He lay on the ground, motionless for a long time.

What's gotten into this little idiot today? How dare she kick him? He really wanted to rush up and slap her, but he wouldn't admit it—Gu Jiao's kick had scared him half to death.

"You, you, you...you just wait!" he threatened, clutching his stomach as he fled.

Gu Jiao bolted the door, turned around and went inside. She immediately saw Xiao Liulang standing in the main room looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

She thought for a moment, then said with utmost composure, "He fell out on his own."

Xiao Liulang: "..."

The Gu family was originally waiting for Gu Ershun to bring Gu Jiao to be reprimanded, but only Gu Ershun returned, looking disheveled and clutching his stomach, as if he had been beaten up.

Liu hurriedly stepped forward: "Ershun, what's wrong? Where's that girl?"

Gu Ershun embellished the story of what happened in front of Gu Jiao's door: "...I kindly advised her to come over and make things clear, and apologize to my older brother, but she wouldn't listen and even kicked me. I treated her like a younger sister, so I didn't fight back..."

Upon hearing this, Liu's scalp tingled: "You little slut! You son of a whore! You even kick your own brother!"

In contrast, Zhou was much calmer.

That girl dared to lay a hand on Da Shun, let alone a mere Er Shun?

But deep down, I had some doubts. This girl had been acting a little strange lately.

"Outrageous!" Liu was furious that her son had been beaten. She rolled up her sleeves and slapped Gu Xiaoshun, who was standing to the side. "Go! Teach that little brat a lesson! Get revenge for your brother!"

"I'm not going." Gu Xiaoshun rolled her eyes at Gu Ershun. "Who knows what he did?"

Gu Ershun said righteously, "I didn't do anything! I was just talking to her nicely! Who knew she would kick me like that? I think she's an idiot, a madwoman, and a jinx!"

"Who are you cursing?" Gu Xiaoshun stood up with a roguish air about him.

Gu Ershun quickly hid behind Liu.

"You're still defending that jinx! Who's your real brother?!" Liu was so angry she wanted to hit Gu Xiaoshun, but with Old Master Gu there, she didn't dare to lay a hand on her grandson.

She turned to her husband and gave him a wink: "Why don't you say something!"

What dare Gu Changlu say? No one asked her about the girl's absence from meals for several days, but now she's suddenly making a scene.

He didn't want to go.

It wasn't that he felt sorry for Gu Jiao, but rather that he was the most spineless of the three brothers. When the third brother got into trouble, he was right there beside him. If he had helped the third brother in time, perhaps the third brother wouldn't have died.

But the flood was too strong, and he was terrified, so he abandoned his third son and ran away.

He didn't dare tell anyone about this; only the old man knew.

He always felt a little guilty about the third wife.

"Changhai," Old Master Gu called to his eldest son, "go over there."

Gu Changhai hesitated for a moment and said, "Dad, Jiaoya isn't very bright. I think we should just let this matter go, so as not to make a big fuss and let the villagers gossip, saying that we are being mean to our third son's flesh and blood."

Liu exploded: "How can you just let this go? So it wasn't your Da Shun who was hurt? Didn't you see how badly Er Shun was kicked?"

Gu Ershun clutched his stomach, feeling wronged.

That kick from that jinx really hit him hard; he's still in pain.

Old Master Gu hesitated with a sullen face.

Gu Changhai said softly, "Father, if this gets out of hand, it won't be good for Da Shun's reputation."

Ultimately, it was Gu Ershun who got kicked, not Gu Dashun. Gu Dashun was only shoved by Gu Jiao in front of everyone, which was a bit embarrassing. But Gu Dashun wasn't injured, nor was his exam delayed, so it wasn't worth ruining his good reputation just to vent his anger.

Gu Dashun finally realized that scholars value their reputation most; otherwise, the Gu family wouldn't have been able to force Xiao Liulang to submit. He couldn't afford to be confused about this matter.

He said gently, "Never mind, Grandpa. My sister has a mental illness. Arguing with her would only make us seem unreasonable."

Liu was furious. Why didn't you say that sooner? If I didn't care, you would have stopped Ershun from arresting her earlier!

Grandpa Gu was clearly pleased with his eldest grandson's words: "You are a sensible person. Learn more from your eldest brother and stop arguing with a girl all day long, as it would be unbecoming of your elder brother status."

The last few sentences were naturally addressed to Gu Ershun.

"And you, don't go out and cause trouble, or you'll tarnish your brother's reputation."

Gu Xiaoshun was not spared either.

Gu Xiaoshun let it go in one ear and out the other, not taking it to heart at all.

Gu Jiao was unaware that the Gu family had made a scene because of her.

She made a small fortune in town today, bought a lot of things, and of course, used up a lot of things as well. She ran out of one vial of anesthetic, two vials of clotting agent, and some sutures and other wound medications.

Gu Jiao took the salt, star anise, fennel, and some other ingredients to the kitchen, boiled some water, and finally lit a brazier with the firewood from the stove.

She handed the brazier to Xiao Liulang.

As the twelfth lunar month approached, the nights were still quite cold. She could go to bed early, but Xiao Liulang had to stay up late to read, and his injured leg couldn't be exposed to the cold.

The door was ajar. Gu Jiao knocked on the door and said, "It's me."

"Mm," Xiao Liulang responded.

Gu Jiao pushed open the door and entered.

Xiao Liulang was copying a book at his desk, with only a small oil lamp lit beside him, the light dimmed.

Gu Jiao placed the brazier on the ground, walked over and adjusted the oil lamp to its brightest setting. After thinking for a moment, she went to fetch the oil lamp from her own room as well: "The light is too dim; it will hurt your eyes."

Xiao Liulang's eyes flickered: "You can use the brazier."

"I won't be cold if I sleep," Gu Jiao said.

After a pause, as if remembering something, he added, "Could I come to your room to warm myself by the fire before I go to sleep?"

“…Hmm.” Xiao Liulang nodded, sat up straight, and continued copying the book beside him.

Gu Jiao knew he earned money by copying books for others. Although he didn't earn much, he still made about two taels a month. However, the Gu family wanted to take one tael from him, euphemistically calling it "paying public taxes for the original owner of this body."

The original owner was unaware that she had paid for her meals at the Gu family's house and still believed that the Gu family was genuinely kind to her.

To be fair, Xiao Liulang's attitude towards the original owner was simply bad, and that was because the two of them didn't get along well, not because Xiao Liulang was a bad person.

Gu Jiao paused for a moment and said, "You don't need to give the Gu family any more money. I'll eat at home from now on."

Xiao Liulang paused, his hand holding the pen still.

Gu Jiao took the still damp mattress and clothes and dried them.

She moved very quietly and breathed very calmly. If Xiao Liulang hadn't caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye several times, he probably wouldn't have noticed that there was another person in the room.

The clothes were dried in the oven, and as she was leaving, she suddenly asked him, "By the way, what's your classmate's name?"

“Feng Lin,” Xiao Liulang said.

Xiao Liulang was copying books until midnight when he got up and found that Gu Jiao had dried his clothes and neatly folded them on the chair.

He picked up the clothes, intending to put them in the closet, but at the very bottom he saw a pair of new shoes.

Matching shoes, get them!

(End of this chapter)