Chapter 160 Exposing the Truth (First Update)

Gu Yan sat down next to Gu Jiao with a dark expression.

Gu Jiao found it amusing: "What are you angry about?"

"Aren't you angry?" Gu Yan looked at her, puzzled.

Asking that question is pointless; how could he not sense whether she's angry or not?

Xiao Jingkong is a child and doesn't understand these intricacies, but she should know them. Gu Yan doesn't understand why she isn't angry.

Gu Jiao leaned back lazily in her chair: "What's there to be angry about? Jingkong had a lot of fun, didn't he?"

"And you?" Gu Yan looked at her.

She curved her lips into a smile: "Ayan, I don't care."

Little Jingkong ate happily, covered in food: "Jiaojiao, I'm all dirty."

"It's alright, I brought you some clothes." Gu Jiao led Xiao Jingkong into the room, washed his face and hands, and then took a small cotton-padded jacket from the small basket and put it on him.

Grandma Yao had a son and a daughter. Yao Yuan also had a son and a daughter. His daughter was named Yao Xin and his son was named Yao Fengyi.

Yao Feng is also studying in another city and is said to not be coming back this year.

The whole family sat down at the table for a meal; since they were all family, there was no distinction between men's and women's seats.

Grandma Yao picked up the biggest chicken leg and gave it to Xiao Jingkong.

Xiao Jingkong politely said, "Thank you, Grandmother, but I can't eat meat right now."

"He'll be fine when he grows up," my great-aunt said. "When he's older, he'll be willing to eat meat!"

"Then eat this." Grandma Yao placed the steamed egg custard in front of Xiao Jingkong.

This steamed egg custard was made with care; I added lily bulbs, and it looks especially beautiful.

Little Jingkong's appetite was whetted, and he happily began to eat.

The meal went fairly well.

After the meal, Grandma Yao asked Yao Xin to take Gu Jiao and the other two for a walk in the garden.

Gu Yan grabbed a small blanket.

After walking for a short while, Xiao Jingkong kept rubbing his eyes.

"Are you sleepy?" Gu Jiao asked.

Xiao Jingkong shook his head: "I'm not sleepy! I just ate a little too much."

Gu Jiao chuckled and picked him up.

Xiao Jingkong stared wide-eyed: "I'm really not sleepy, I don't want to sleep at all!"

He tilted his head and fell asleep in Gu Jiao's arms.

Yao Xin had never understood why Gu Yan would carry a blanket while taking a walk, but when she saw Gu Yan drape the blanket over Xiao Jingkong, she understood everything.

This cousin is quite thoughtful.

"Cousin, when is Cousin Jinyu coming?" she asked with a smile.

Gu Yan said irritably, "Go ask her, how would I know?"

Yao Xin was taken aback and a little embarrassed, then asked, "I heard that my cousin Jinyu went to a girls' school, is that true?"

Gu Yan was annoyed by Gu Jinyu, but this cousin kept asking her, "Is she blind to the fact that her own sister is here?"

"I'm sleepy too, I'm going to sleep!" he said, then pulled Gu Jiao away without looking back.

There was a reason why Old Madam Yao sent her three children away. She gave He Shi a wink, and He Shi said to Yao Shi, "Sister, Mother is tired. Let her rest. Come to my room and talk."

Yao didn't like this sister-in-law very much, but she couldn't refuse her, so she went to He's room.

As expected, Madam He did not disappoint Madam Yao. After a few pleasantries, she set a trap for Madam Yao: "Sister, has Jinyu been engaged yet?"

Based on Yao's understanding of He, she would never care about this without a reason.

Yao was suspicious.

Does the He family want to arrange a marriage between Jinyu and Yao Fengyi?

Madam Yao said calmly, "Not yet. Her marriage is decided by the old lady and the marquis. I don't care about it."

Madam He smiled and said, "Jinyu is a promising girl, and her future marriage will definitely be good. But no matter what, she has already come of age, so you, as her mother, should pay more attention to her."

"Hmm." Madam Yao was even more puzzled. If she wasn't after Jin Yu, then what was she doing?

Madam He smiled and said, "Xin'er is almost of marriageable age. She's not as capable as Jin Yu, so I'm thinking of arranging her marriage as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be difficult to find her a spouse when she gets older."

Madam Yao glanced at her: "Does sister-in-law want me to help Xin'er find a husband?"

That's not difficult.

After Aunt Ling was stripped of her power to manage the household affairs, Old Madam Gu was too busy to handle everything and entrusted many matters to her. She was currently preparing New Year's gifts for various households and could take this opportunity to keep an eye out for Xin'er.

He smiled but remained silent.

Madam Yao's heart skipped a beat: "You wouldn't have taken a fancy to any of the young masters of the Marquis's mansion, would you? No way!"

Madam He originally intended to mention the Marquis's heir, but seeing Madam Yao's strong reaction, she smiled awkwardly, took Madam Yao's hand, and said, "Sister, let's not let the good stuff go to outsiders. I'm doing this for your own good. If Xin'er marries into the family, our two families will be even closer. With Xin'er helping you in the Marquis's household, you'll be more comfortable, won't you? It's better to resolve conflicts than to create them. Once Xin'er marries into the family, you won't be enemies anymore, you'll be mother and son!"

Yao simply couldn't understand how He could say such a thing.

She and Yan'er were being bullied to death by those three stepsons, but her sister-in-law wanted her to marry her own niece off to them.

What are you trying to solve?

She will never reconcile with the three of them in her lifetime!

Madam Yao said, "You feel you didn't get enough out of selling me, so you want to sell Xin'er instead, is that it?"

Madam He said, "Xin'er was willing herself!"

Madam Yao laughed angrily: "Her aunt has been bullied like this, and she still wants to marry the person who bullied her aunt. Sister-in-law, is this the kind of child you've raised!"

Upon hearing this, Madam He's expression darkened. "Sister, now that you've made it big, you don't care about your family anymore. If we hadn't married you into the Marquis's mansion, where would you be now, enjoying such wealth and status? For over ten years, you've ignored your family, and we've never said a bad word about you! Tell me, where else in the world can you find such a good family? Now that your own niece is getting engaged, you'd rather let an outsider have her than marry her into the mansion! What? Sister, do you really not want your family to be better off than you?"

Madam Yao sneered: "How does my sister-in-law know that she will live a better life than me after marrying into the family?"

Madam He raised her chin and said, "Our Xin'er is well-behaved, sensible, and knows how to behave. She will surely be liked by her husband and the old lady."

In the past, Yao might have argued with her and explained the reasons, but later she gradually realized that some people are unreasonable.

She only believes in her own reasoning.

She didn't care how much suffering Yao had endured in the Marquis's mansion over the years; frankly, she was selfish.

Yao got up and left.

Seeing that Yao was angry, Madam He quickly pulled her aside and apologized, "Oh dear, sister-in-law, that's not what I meant. Please don't misunderstand. I misspoke. Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart."

Madam Yao said, "I can't comment on the marriage arrangements of the Marquis's family."

Even if I told them, they wouldn't be interested.

Madam He said, "You should at least bring Xin'er to our house for a visit. Who knows, one of them might take a liking to her?"

Madam Yao: "Who does my sister-in-law expect to take a liking to? The heir apparent?"

Madam He smiled and said, "If the young master takes a liking to you, that would be wonderful..."

The Yao family was completely dumbfounded.

She actually wanted to marry Yao Xin to the heir of the Marquis's mansion?

This is simply a dream!

Looking at Yao's face, Madam He said awkwardly, "The second young master is fine... the third young master, surely the third young master will do?"

Madam Yao said coldly, "Since when has it become the Yao family's daughter's place to choose the young master of the Marquis of Ding'an's mansion?"

It wasn't that she wanted to speak up for her three stepsons, but rather that the two families were not a good match. She was only going to be someone's second wife, but Old Madam Gu disliked her in every way. Yet Yao Xin wanted to be the proper first wife.

Is this really helping her, or is it an attempt to make Old Madam Gu hate her to death?

Madam He's temper flared up again: "Didn't my sister also marry into the Marquis's mansion? My sister was still engaged back then! Unlike our Xin'er, who is so innocent! The Marquis was able to take a liking to my sister back then, why would the Heir Apparent not like our Xin'er? Aren't they both just pretty faces? Is Xin'er's face any less attractive than my sister's?"

She was illegitimate, she used her looks to please men, and she willingly married into the Marquis's household...

Good, good, very good!

Madam Yao took a deep breath and asked, "Are these your sister-in-law's words, or Mother's?"

He remained silent.

Of course, it was a joint decision between her and her mother-in-law, but her mother-in-law wouldn't let her say it.

But Madam Yao understood everything.

Change?

She was naive.

Originally, she was supposed to return to the mansion after dinner, but Madam Yao couldn't stay any longer.

"Jiaojiao, let's go back to the mansion," Madam Yao said to Gu Jiao as she entered the side room.

"Okay." Gu Jiao didn't ask why, and neither did Gu Yan.

With the help of servants, Old Madam Yao chased after He Shi and scolded her, telling her not to hold it against her. She then took out the gifts she had prepared for the children.

Gu Yan sneered and knocked over the gifts he and Gu Jiao had given each other in front of everyone.

What appeared to be a red envelope rolled out of Gu Yan's box, which contained the same snacks.

Gu Jiao had nothing.

There is no small cemetery.

However, the box that Yao brought to Gu Jinyu also contained a red envelope.

After seeing the gifts from the four children, Yao was so angry that her face turned white.

With Xiao Jingkong asleep, Gu Yan became too lazy to continue making excuses.

He took Xiao Jingkong's gift and threw it into the river!

He threw away Gu Jinyu's too.

If you want to curry favor, do it yourself; don't dirty their hands!

...

On the carriage back to the manor, Gu Yan also fell asleep.

He lay on Yao's lap, while Xiao Jingkong nestled in Gu Jiao's arms; both of them were fast asleep and snoring.

"I'm sorry, Jiaojiao, I shouldn't have let you come today," she said guiltily.

Gu Jiao said, "I think it's great."

"Hmm?" Madam Yao was slightly taken aback.

Xiao Jingkong kicked off the blanket, and Gu Jiao pulled it over to cover him up, saying, "Now that I know where Madam lived before, I was very curious."

Madam Yao stared blankly at Gu Jiao and asked, "Jiao Jiao...why are you curious?"

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. I'm just curious. I want to know about Madam's past and how she lives every day."

Yao covered her mouth, unable to believe what she was hearing.

Has her beloved Jiao Jiao started to care about her?

"Jiaojiao..."

"Does Madam regret it? Regret marrying Lord Gu?"

When Yao and He were arguing, Gu Jiao was in the garden not far away, and with her keen hearing, she overheard some of it.

Without hesitation, Yao shook her head: "No regrets."

"Why?" Gu Jiao asked.

Madam Yao lowered her head and stroked Gu Yan's cheek, then looked at Gu Jiao with affection: "Because if I hadn't married the Marquis, there wouldn't be you and Yan'er. You are the most precious gifts I have ever received."

Gu Jiao didn't understand this kind of feeling.

Her childhood experiences caused her to shut down her emotional system at a young age, a self-protective mechanism to prevent her from collapsing from the harm inflicted by her parents.

But at the same time, it also made her lose the ability to deal with relationships dialectically.

In her world, liking is liking, and disliking is disliking; it's all black and white.

But Yao's experience is more like a gray area—she had a child she really wanted with someone she didn't want to marry.

Seeing her daughter's bewildered expression, Yao chuckled.

Her daughter is so sweet and adorable.

All of Yao's unhappiness disappeared.

Yao first escorted Gu Jiao and the other two back to Bishui Hutong before returning to her own residence.

Gu Jinyu spent the entire day with Consort Shu in the palace before returning to the Marquis's residence at nightfall.

...

With less than ten days until Lunar New Year's Eve, Qinghe Academy is on holiday, while the Imperial College's elementary school still has one day of classes, and the Sixth Hall has three more days of classes.

Gu Jiao went to the clinic early in the morning.

The old lady and several neighbors were playing dominoes inside the house, while the old priest stood aside with a dark face, taking out money and serving tea!

Gu Xiaoshun was tapping wood in the backyard.

Gu Yan quietly arrived at the front yard, first looking around at the door, and then looking around at the alley entrance after a while.

The alley connects to Chang'an Avenue.

People came and went in a constant stream, and the shops were decorated with paper-cut window decorations and couplets, creating a joyful atmosphere.

He waited expectantly, when suddenly a tall, dark shadow enveloped him.

"What are you doing?"

It was Gu Changqing.

He wore a fine fur coat and sat astride a tall, handsome horse, looking dashing and dashing.

Gu Yan was startled and shuddered. He turned around and said calmly, "Anyway, I wasn't waiting for you!"

Gu Changqing: "..."

Seeing that he had his hands behind his back, Gu Changqing asked again, "What are you holding in your hands?"

Gu Yan hesitated for a moment, then took her hand out from behind her back and handed it to him: "Here."

Gu Changqing took it.

It is a wood carving.

The carvings... are a bit hard to describe.

Gu Changqing: "Monkey?"

Gu Yan bristled: "What monkey? Open your eyes and look carefully! Is there such a handsome monkey in the world?!"

What a waste of all those days and nights he spent learning from Gu Xiaoshun; his hands were even blistered from all that effort!

This guy doesn't even know what he's talking about!

They call him a monkey!

(End of this chapter)