Chapter 157 Taking the Blame (Second Update)

"What happened?" Yao asked.

The maidservant said anxiously, "Second Miss barged into the Young Master's study and broke the late Madam's belongings! Now the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master have gone there, and the Third Young Master is clamoring to punish Second Miss!"

They actually damaged the late Madam's belongings; those three stepsons are probably going to fight Jinyu to the death.

Madam Yao had a headache: "Does the old lady know?"

The maid shook her head: "The old lady is resting, and no one dares to wake her. She should not know about this yet."

Ms. Yao decided to go and take a look.

"I'll go with you," Gu Jiao said.

"No need, you wait for me here. No, you should go back first." Madam Yao did not want to involve her daughter in the disputes of the Marquis's mansion.

"It's alright," Gu Jiao said.

It's lively, so I have to go and see.

Gu Jiao was a woman of principle, and no one could change her mind. So, Madam Yao had no choice but to take her daughter to Gu Changqing's courtyard.

Gu Changqing was still practicing his sword on the back mountain and had not yet received any news. Only Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, were in the courtyard.

From afar, Yao and Gu Jiao heard Gu Chenglin's roar: "You still dare to talk back! Did you do this on purpose? You actually broke my mother's belongings!"

"I didn't! Third Brother, I really didn't! You have to believe me! I didn't break the vase!"

It was Gu Jinyu's anxious rebuttal.

Gu Chenglin chuckled and said, "There were only you and Cousin Shuixian in the room at the time. If it wasn't you, then was it Cousin Shuixian?"

Gu Chenglin didn't actually dislike his stepsister, but he preferred the Ling family's younger sister.

Faced with a choice between his two younger sisters, he naturally trusted Ling Shuixian!

After listening for a moment, Yao roughly understood what was going on. She was no longer the weak and submissive woman she used to be. She composed herself and walked into the courtyard with a dignified and elegant demeanor.

Upon seeing her, Gu Jinyu hurried over and said aggrievedly, "Mother, I didn't break Madam's vase! It wasn't me! The vase was already broken when I went in!"

Ling Shuixian sneered, "What do you mean it was already broken when you went in! Are you saying... I broke it? I told you not to follow me here, not to go into my cousin's study, but you wouldn't listen! Now look what's happened, you've caused trouble!"

Gu Jinyu shook her head with tears in her eyes: "Mother, it really wasn't me..."

Madam Yao was exasperated: "What did I ever tell you? Why won't you listen to me?"

Gu Jinyu cried, "I know I was wrong, but... I really didn't break the vase..."

Of course she didn't break the vase.

Gu Jiao had no doubt about this.

In fact, this incident had already occurred in my miserable dream when I returned home.

The difference is that the victim is not Gu Jinyu, but herself in the dream.

After returning to the Marquis's mansion, without the protection of her mother and younger brother, she spent a lot of money to please her cousin Ling Shuixian in order to better integrate into the mansion.

Seeing that she was so generous, Ling Shuixian felt embarrassed to ignore her, and in a moment of joy, she took her to Gu Changqing's courtyard.

She thought she could befriend the elder brother, but instead of meeting him, she was framed by Ling Shuixian.

Ling Shuixian didn't intend to frame her from the beginning. She accidentally broke something in the study and lied about it because she was afraid of incurring Gu Changqing's displeasure.

Her situation back then was the same as Gu Jinyu's now; no one believed her!

However, in her dream, Ling Shuixian overturned not ordinary relics, but the urn containing her late mother's ashes.

Gu Changqing's and the entire Marquis's mansion were understandably furious.

Even Lord Gu, who was not in a good relationship with his late wife, felt that she had gone too far and his feelings for her had cooled considerably.

The moment she saw Ling Shuixian upon entering the mansion today, she was reminded of that dream.

She gave Gu Jinyu a chance.

It was Gu Jinyu who didn't want it.

So, who can we blame?

Gu Jinyu regretted it; she really, really regretted it!

If she had known this would happen, she would have been better off agreeing to go see her mother, Gu Jiao!

Now look what happened! He not only failed to curry favor with the eldest brother, but also offended his eldest, second, and third brothers!

This cousin looks respectable, but who would have thought she would be so shameless!

She is now a county princess personally appointed by His Majesty. Even if Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin are angry, they wouldn't dare to use family discipline on her right away.

But if this got out, it would ruin her reputation.

She can't take the blame for this.

Madam Yao shielded Gu Jinyu behind her, then looked openly at Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin, saying, "Whoever broke it, I will have the Marquis investigate thoroughly when he returns. Jinyu is not only the daughter of the Marquis of Ding'an, but also a county princess personally appointed by His Majesty. You cannot punish her so easily!"

Gu Chenglin became defiant, disregarding any talk of a county princess. He stood up from his wheelchair, gritted his teeth, and pounced on Yao Shi.

Yao held Gu Jinyu protectively in her arms.

Gu Jiao calmly walked out and stood in front of Yao Shi.

When Gu Chenglin saw that familiar face, the fear of being dominated by the dark room surged into his head.

He froze completely!

Gu Chengfeng glanced at his younger brother without changing his expression, then looked at Gu Jiao with a deep gaze.

Gu Jiao said calmly, "Let's go."

Gu Jinyu left accompanied by Yao.

"The Marquis's mansion is no fun at all! My cousin even slandered me! I'm never coming here again!" Ling Shuixian felt extremely guilty and was afraid that Gu Changqing would interrogate her and expose her, so she quickly made an excuse and left.

Gu Changqing returned to the courtyard half an hour later.

He was sick, sweating profusely, but his face was still pale.

However, his demeanor remained unchanged, and his aura was as sharp as ever.

"What happened?" He looked at his two silent brothers.

Gu Chenglin embellished the story of Gu Jinyu breaking the vase and then falsely accusing Ling Shuixian. He was truly heartbroken, as it was his mother's favorite vase, and he had heard that he had even urinated in it when he was a child.

His mother couldn't stop laughing at him, and kept hugging and kissing him.

Actually, he doesn't remember any of these things.

But whenever he hears someone talk about it, he tries his best to recreate the scene in his mind.

He felt that his mother was very gentle and loved him very much; she was the best mother in the world.

Gu Chenglin wiped away his tears.

Even when Gu Jiao beat him half to death, he didn't shed this many tears.

“That’s not Mother’s keepsake,” Gu Changqing said.

"Huh?" Gu Chenglin was taken aback.

Gu Chengfeng also looked at his elder brother strangely.

Gu Changqing sighed, "The vase where you urinated has already been buried with Mother's cenotaph. How was I supposed to know you'd be crying and looking for that vase the next day? So I had someone make a replica."

Gu Chenglin: "..."

Damn it!

Was all that crying for nothing?

Gu Changqing frowned. It was strange. How did Ling Shuixian or Gu Jinyu come across the bottle on top of the display cabinet?

He went into the study.

He immediately sensed something was wrong.

On the altar, the urn containing his mother's ashes, which had been placed next to her memorial tablet, was gone.

He felt a chill run down his spine, and when he turned around, he saw that where the vase should have been, there was his mother's urn.

Someone has been here.

He swapped the position of his mother's urn with that of a vase.

Otherwise, what was overturned this afternoon wouldn't have been a replica vase, but a damn urn of ashes.

"Has anyone been in my study?" he asked the servant.

The servant replied, "There are only two young masters and two young ladies."

It wasn't them.

They had no idea that the urn had been moved.

Did someone know that the urn would be broken, so they moved it beforehand?

Gu Jiao and the other two returned to Yao's courtyard.

Gu Jinyu's eyes involuntarily reddened as she recalled the humiliation she suffered in her elder brother's courtyard: "Mother, you have to believe me. I really didn't touch my brother's things. I know you can't just go into my brother's study. I only went in to check because I heard strange noises. I was worried something had happened to my cousin. I never expected that my cousin would break the vase herself and then frame me..."

Madam Yao's expression was not good: "What does it matter whether you broke it or not? How many times have I told you not to get close to your three older brothers, or you will have endless trouble. Now it has come true?"

Gu Jiao looked at Gu Jinyu, who was crying with tears streaming down her face, with an indifferent expression.

Madam Yao continued, "If your sister hadn't stopped you today, Gu Chenglin would have already attacked you! Why were you so foolish as to go near them?"

Gu Jinyu said aggrievedly, "They are my brothers..."

Madam Yao said seriously, "You don't have an older brother, you only have a younger brother and an older sister."

It may be cruel to say this, but weren't those three thinking the same thing?

Madam Yao added, "From now on, you should no longer associate with the Ling family."

The Ling family was the late Madam's maternal family, and they harbored great prejudice and dissatisfaction towards their branch of the family.

Gu Jinyu said with tears in her eyes, "Grandmother asked me to teach my cousin... today..."

She glanced at Gu Jiao and said, "If only my sister had been with us earlier, my cousin wouldn't have had the chance to slander me!"

Madam Yao said, "How could your sister be with you? She just entered the manor and doesn't even know the young ladies of the Ling family."

Gu Jinyu said, her voice trembling with sobs, "My cousin asked me to invite my sister to sit in the pavilion together, but when I went to call her, she wouldn't agree..."

Gu Jiao was speechless. Was this some kind of excuse about the Earth's gravity because she couldn't poop?

Why didn't she come with her when she was called to pay her respects to Madam Yao?

Also, would Miss Ling kindly call her?

Gu Jiao was too lazy to argue with her. She didn't care what others thought of her anyway. She picked up her small basket and said, "I'm leaving now."

There were three sick people in the family, so Yao couldn't keep her there.

After she left, Madam Yao turned to look at Gu Jinyu, her expression very serious: "How can you blame your sister for what happened today? What did your sister do wrong?"

Gu Jinyu was stunned: "I...I didn't..."

Madam Yao said sternly, "Your sister has never used a single copper coin from the Marquis's mansion, nor has she ever eaten a single meal from it. She has no reason to acknowledge any of the Marquis's relatives. Of course, she can refuse when Miss Ling calls her!"

"mother……"

Yao had never spoken to Gu Jinyu in such a stern tone before. In Gu Jinyu's eyes, Yao was gentle, understanding, and even somewhat weak.

But now, the Yao family is slowly becoming more assertive.

Madam Yao said, "Don't let me hear these words again. I won't allow you to slander your sister."

Even when Gu Jinyu was slandered, she felt more wronged than by this one sentence.

Aside from her younger brother, wasn't she the one her mother loved the most?

But now, the person Mother loves most... has become my older sister.

"Do you think it really was her?" Yao asked Granny Fang after Gu Jinyu left.

Granny Fang has already found out that Miss Ling fled in panic, which shows that she felt guilty.

But Granny Fang didn't say anything, only sighed, "Alas, how dare this servant make wild guesses? Even if it was the Second Miss, she must have been unintentional. She was just trying to please the Young Master."

Mrs. Yao suddenly felt a little disappointed in this daughter.

...

Xiao Jingkong finally realized that his hair had been shaved off.

He burst into tears!

I've been growing my hair out for over half a year... and it was almost big enough to tie into a little bun... and now it's all gone!

He's bald again!

He hugged his bald head, sat on the doorstep, and cried his heart out: "My hair is gone—bad brother-in-law, give me back my hair—bad brother-in-law! Bad brother-in-law! Bad brother-in-law! Give me back my hair—"

Xiao Liulang said seriously, "You asked me to shave your head."

Little Jingkong cried and kicked his legs, shouting, "I didn't! I didn't! You're lying!"

He was delirious with fever that night and had no memory of it at all. Therefore, he was convinced that he would never give up his beloved hair. It must have been his bad brother-in-law who was jealous of him and shaved his head off while he was feverish!

Xiao Liulang shrugged: "If you don't believe me, ask Jiaojiao later."

Gu Jiao is back.

The two people, one big and one small, were watching her from the doorway.

Xiao Liulang leaned helplessly against the door frame, while Xiao Jingkong sat on the threshold looking aggrieved.

Gu Jiao vaguely sensed an aura of impending doom.

"What...what happened?" she asked.

“Jiaojiao.” Xiao Jingkong looked at her with deep hurt, “My bad brother-in-law said… said I was delirious with fever that night… that I let myself have my hair shaved… and that you were there too… that you agreed… that you handed him the razor…”

He was heartbroken, his face clearly saying, "Jiaojiao, how could you just stand by and watch someone destroy my beloved little hair, and even hand them a knife? Are you still my most beloved Jiaojiao?"

Gu Jiao took a deep breath, patted his poor little bald head, and turned to Xiao Liulang, saying, "That's not right of you. You shaved it, so why are you blaming the child?"

Xiao Liulang was speechless: "...!!"

I wrote the previous chapter late at night, and there were too many bugs, which caused a bad experience for everyone. I apologize for that.

I will pay close attention to the following text.

Thank you all for your understanding and for pointing out the bugs. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)