Chapter 23
Qin Su snapped, "Shut up!"
That brat's every word she said was meant to incite trouble!
“You’ve been unruly since you were little, and now that you’re older, it’s only gotten worse…”
Enraged, Gu Liaoliao crumpled the silver notes into a ball and threw them at him, pointing her finger at his nose and cursing, "You come here to bully our Gu family's daughter? Our Gu family has never fallen to such a state!"
She was so angry that her fingertips turned white.
She felt that the man in front of her was becoming more and more of a stranger each day.
She too had once happily ridden in a bridal sedan chair. They had fought side by side in the northern frontier; they were childhood sweethearts, not an arranged marriage. Unfortunately, even the deepest affection could not overcome his yearning for and constant longing for his son.
After her brother died in battle, the Lady of the Marquis of Jing'an's family became more and more disgusted with Aman, and she almost never gave her a kind look. She didn't believe that Qin Su couldn't see it.
She was mentally prepared for him to take a concubine, and was just waiting for him to tell her in person. However, what she got was the Lady of Jing'an bringing her pregnant cousin to her and declaring triumphantly: "Yaoniang is pregnant with Qin Su's child, our Qin family will have an heir."
She was left to face this absurd situation alone, completely unaware of what was happening.
For the past few months, Sun Yaoniang has been suffering from stomach aches whenever she is not feeling well, and she cries and sobs if she doesn't see Qin Su for a day, saying that he can't tolerate her.
In fact, Qin Su was in charge of the Imperial Guard, and he had to be on night duty twice a week, each time staying in the palace for two days and one night.
Qin Su would only say things like, "My cousin is pregnant and has a lot on her mind," "My cousin is young, so don't blame her," and "Mother is just anxious; things will be fine after the baby is born." I'm tired of hearing that.
Now that she's about to give birth, Lady Jing'an treats her like a thief, openly and secretly forcing her to submit.
It's utterly boring.
Gu Liaoliao took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and said in a low voice, "Aunt Sun is about to give birth. You and the Earl's wife are worried about me staying at the Jing'an Marquis's residence. It would be better for both of us if I moved back to my own home."
She didn't lose her temper; however, her calmness made Qin Su tense for a moment, and his hand suddenly tightened.
He pursed his thin lips and stood silently for a while before finally lowering his stance.
Qin Su half-squatted in front of Gu Liaoliao, looked at her and coaxed softly, "With you here, what do I have to worry about?"
"Once Yao Niang gives birth to the child, I will bring him to you to raise and register in your name. The doctor said it's a boy, so if you raise him from a young age, he will be just like your own child."
"My cousin and mother both agreed to this."
Gu Liaoliao smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
Did I agree?
"What?"
"I said, did I agree?" Gu Liaoliao clapped her hands lightly, her gaze unfriendly. "A son born out of wedlock cannot inherit a title. You've given me an illegitimate son and registered him under my name, just to claim the title of the eldest legitimate son so that he can inherit the title in the future."
"Your whole family has schemed against me so thoroughly, and you expect me to thank you in return?"
A wave of intense sarcasm washed over Qin Su, causing his heart to skip a beat. He quickly denied it, saying, "That's not what I meant!"
Gu Liaoliao brushed off the intricate patterns on her sleeves and snorted coldly: "How about this, I'll divide my property and live separately, and you can ask the emperor for an imperial decree to grant your cousin a title. Maybe your son will still have a chance to inherit the title. If all else fails, you can make more contributions to the heir apparent and ask for a favor. In short, don't expect to rely on me; it's too dirty."
These words were like a sharp blade stabbing into Qin Su's heart. He wanted to explain, but when he met those deep, unfathomable eyes, he panicked for no reason.
“Ah Liao,” he forced a smile, “you can scold me if you’re unhappy, but don’t say things like ‘separate property’ or ‘separate residence’ again.”
"Alright, it's all my fault." He picked up the crumpled silver note from the ground, gently unfolded it, and placed it on the chaise lounge. His attitude was no longer as harsh as before. "I'll talk to Mother about Fifth Brother's matter. Don't be angry."
Gu Liaoliao gave a mocking sneer. Look, it's clearly not a big deal; he could handle it perfectly well. He just wanted her to bow down to the Qin family.
He carefully observed Gu Liaoliao's expression, and seeing that she remained unmoved, his tone became pleading: "If you don't want to go back today, you can stay for a few days. I'll come pick you and Aman up during our break, and we'll take Aman out of town for a walk, okay..."
At this point, an idea suddenly struck him, and he quickly said, "That's right, we can go to Taiqing Temple. I heard that Master Qingping is about to emerge from seclusion. Let's go and ask him to take a look at Aman. Aman's illness is the most important thing, isn't it?"
Yes, they also have a daughter.
With her daughter around, how could Ah Liao possibly leave him? She was just being a little temperamental.
Qin Su regained his composure and continued, "Do you still remember Master Qingping? Last year, our manor invited him to set up a feng shui formation, and at that time Master Qingping said..."
Master Qingping said that his offspring palace was afflicted by an inauspicious star, making it difficult for him to have children.
Later, his mother gave him a cup of talisman water, vowing that if he drank it, he could have a child.
He didn't believe it at the time, but not long after, he got drunk one time and mistook Yao Niang, who came to bring him hangover soup, for A Liao.
Who knew that Yao Niang would become pregnant on that one occasion?
He was approaching thirty, but he had no children. His only daughter was mute, while his colleagues and friends of similar age had sons who were already engaged. It was as if they were a generation apart.
How could he bear to give up this child, who seemed like a gift from heaven?
Alas, Ah Liao is in a fit of anger right now, and he doesn't dare to say a single word of these things.
He said vaguely, "Master Qingping truly lives up to his name. Have you noticed that after he set up the feng shui formation, many things in our household have gone smoothly..."
Upon hearing the word "feng shui formation," Gu Liaoliao immediately clenched her sleeves, her palms dripping with sweat.
She sneered, "That's right, that's right! Once this feng shui arrangement was set up, everything went smoothly for your Qin family, but my Aman has been running a high fever and ruined her voice."
Qin Su's smile froze on his face.
No! Did she mean to say that her mother had someone set up a feng shui formation to harm Aman?! Qin Su found this misunderstanding utterly ridiculous: "Your prejudice against your mother runs too deep, and besides, Master Qingping..."
"Enough! That's enough." Gu Liaoliao's breathing quickened as she shouted, "Aman won't go to see Master Qingping! You can leave now."
"Don't be unreasonable, I'm doing this for Aman..."
For Aman? In the past six months, how much of his attention has he actually paid to Aman? Now he keeps saying it's "for Aman".
Gu Liaoliao was furious. She raised her sleeve and brushed away his outstretched hand, her tone sharp and forceful: "Let's go!"
She was breathing heavily, with a strong sense of disgust.
Gu Zhizhu gave a wink, and Qingmei came up with a smile, blocking Qin Su's way and making a "please" gesture.
A sense of frustration and misunderstanding rose in Qin Su's heart.
Ah Liao's ideas are impulsive and unpredictable; what's the difference between her and ignorant women and children in the marketplace?
"Never mind." He sighed, "Ah Liao, I'll come pick you up again during my day off."
Gu Liaoliao's back was tense, as if she was enduring something.
As soon as Qin Su left, she collapsed instantly, her breathing suddenly becoming rapid, loud and shallow. Large beads of sweat instantly covered her forehead, and her hands twitched uncontrollably. In just a few breaths, her pupils gradually dilated.
Oops!
Gu Zhizhuo was the first to notice it.
This is a syncope, caused by excessive emotional excitement and rapid, labored breathing.
Extreme anger can cause physical and mental exhaustion, a critical condition (note). It can be life-threatening if one is not careful.
Gu Zhizhuo took out the silver needles and, without hesitation, inserted the first needle directly into Gu Liaoliao's throat. Gu Liaoliao's breathing immediately eased, and she struggled to speak, "Needle...needle..."
"Aunt, please believe me."
She raised her hand to insert the second needle, but Gu Liaoliao grabbed her arm and struggled to finish her sentence: "Aman is afraid of needles, she'll... she'll get a high fever and have seizures..."
Afraid of needles?
Gu Zhizhuo subconsciously looked at Aman. The little child seemed to sense something and ran towards them with tiny steps.
She immediately shielded the silver needles with her back and called out loudly, "Aman, could you go pick a crabapple blossom for your cousin? Please help her choose one carefully; Aman has the best eye."
"Mmm! She'll choose!" Aman nodded excitedly and ran off, with her wet nurse and maid following closely behind.
Gu Zhizhuo continued to insert the needles.
"Follow me. Exhale—inhale—"
Gu Liaoliao slowly adjusted her breathing, and her hands quickly stopped twitching. She forced a smile and asked, "Yaoyao, when did you learn medicine?"
Gu Zhizhuo's hands were steady as he held the needle.
She knew that the things of "medicine, divination, and astrology" had many flaws. Someone like Shen Xu could find out clearly in less than three days, even by just snapping his fingers, how old she was when she pretended to be sick and how old she was when she climbed onto the roof and removed the tiles.
At first, she thought about "accidentally" meeting Master Wuweizi and going through the apprenticeship ceremony again, so that everything she had learned and done would have a source.
However, she didn't know where the real person was now. Since her rebirth, one thing after another had happened, leaving her no time to fake anything.
Geese leave traces as they fly by, and the wind leaves its sound as it passes.
Nothing in this world can be done without leaving a trace.
It's better not to explain at all than to be easily exposed as a lie.
Gu Zhizhu didn't even raise an eyebrow, but smiled smugly: "Aunt, well, I'm just blessed by the gods, I know a lot of things."
Are you feeling much better?
Gu Liaoliao nodded. She didn't know what was wrong with her; she had spoken too hastily, causing her breathing to become erratic, and then her vision went black, making her dizzy and lightheaded.
Seeing that her breathing was even and her face was rosy, Gu Zhizhuo quickly removed the needle.
Just as I put the needle case down, Aman rushed in excitedly, carefully holding a bright red crabapple blossom in her palm.
She skillfully climbed onto Gu Zhizhuo's lap and showed her the flowers she had carefully selected.
Gu Zhizhuo clapped his hands immediately: "So beautiful!"
"None of the flowers in the whole yard are as pretty as this one."
"Ah Man has such good taste."
Ah Man proudly tucked the crabapple blossom into Gu Zhizhuo's hair.
She covered her mouth with her two chubby little hands and laughed heartily.
Gu Zhizhuo hugged Aman tightly and said bluntly, "Aunt, I have examined Aman's pulse. Her muteness is in her heart, not in her throat." She put it more bluntly, "She is unable to speak because she has suffered a great shock."
Do you remember what happened to her before she developed a high fever?
"Shocked!?"
Gu Liaoliao felt a tightness in her chest, and almost couldn't catch her breath.
"Of course I remember."
She lowered her head and murmured to herself, "A year ago, the Lady of Jing'an invited Master Qingping to set up a feng shui arrangement for the mansion, and had Aman taken with her. At that time, your grandmother suddenly suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma. I rushed back and left Aman with the wet nurse and nannies."
At that time, her relationship with Qin Su was quite harmonious. Lady Jing'an was her grandmother, so she had no worries about letting her take care of Aman for a day.
“Your grandmother’s condition improved by the next day, so I went back. But then, Aman developed a high fever the night before, which didn’t go down. The wet nurse said it was because she caught a chill.”
"After three days of recurring high fever, Aman was unable to make a sound after waking up."
"It must be the Qin family who did this!"
Gu Liaoliao's heart pounded wildly, her heart aching terribly.
Gu Zhizhuo frowned. No wonder his aunt turned against the Qin family after Aman became mute. It wasn't just because of Sun Yaoniang's appearance, but also because of the thorn hidden in her heart.
A note from the author:
Note: From the *Huangdi Neijing* (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic)
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