Chapter 04 Chapter 4

Of course, Jiang Jingchun's almost childish question could not get an answer from Gu Huaisheng.

He never opened his mouth from beginning to end, and just looked at her coldly as usual.

But there was a hint of unhappiness in his eyes.

He could tolerate her fighting that had nothing to do with itching, and it didn't matter to him, but it was inappropriate for her to ask such a question in front of him.

He said calmly, "Cousin, be careful with your words."

Distant words came out of his mouth. He called her cousin, but at that moment Jiang Jingchun felt that she was not even worthy of the word "cousin".

After he finished speaking, he didn't stay here any longer.

Coincidentally, Mrs. Gu also came out from the main hall, and the two of them returned to the Marquis' Mansion.

After they left, only brother and sister Jiang Runchu and Jiang Jingchun were left here.

Jiang Runchu looked at Jiang Jingchun, who was still staring blankly at the direction where Gu Huaisheng left, and frowned in dissatisfaction. He subconsciously wanted to scold her, but he saw that she spoke to him first.

"elder brother."

Jiang Runchu looked at her, his words were blocked.

He glanced away, not wanting to look at the little girl in front of him, and said unhappily, "What are you doing again?"

She asked him, "What kind of person does Cousin Gu like?"

Until now, she seemed to have never seen Gu Huaisheng show any interest in any woman. He always kept everyone at a distance.

She had thought that she was different from him.

Two years ago, when Jiang Jingchun was about fourteen years old, she was out for a trip with her friends. She got separated from them and accidentally fell down the forest. She fell into the water and no one knew where she was washed away.

She stayed at the bottom of the mountain for two whole days and thought she was going to die there, but when she was in despair, Gu Huaisheng appeared.

He picked up her who was about to die, patted her back and said "it's okay".

From then on, she looked at her cousin differently.

She never concealed her feelings, and gradually, many people knew that she liked Gu Huaisheng.

The look in Gu Huaisheng's eyes that day was so gentle, she had never seen that look in anyone else, and she remembered it for two whole years. It was also from that day that she began to wonder if he treated her differently.

But now it seems that she was overthinking.

It was just a consolation to a dying man.

Just like he helped her today, it was only because she was his cousin.

That's all.

He doesn't like her like this? Then she can just learn what he likes.

Jiang Jingchun looked at Jiang Runchu and asked, "Brother, you are close to my cousin, so you must know what kind of person he likes."

Jiang Runchu looked at her like this and said disdainfully: "No matter who I like, I won't like a young lady like you."

Jiang Jingchun is desperate and is trying all kinds of methods. You shouldn't ask anyone else.

Her face fell and she turned and walked away.

"You should stop bothering him in the future. The more you bother him, the more he will bother you..."

Jiang Run didn't stop when he first saw her, and it was unclear whether he heard what she said or not.

Jiang Jingchun walked a distance away, and Jiang Runchu's voice could no longer be heard.

She might not have heard Jiang Runchu's other words, but she kept these words in her heart.

He was indeed right. Gu Huaisheng didn't like her and thought she was like a child, so he liked someone who was obedient, sensible, mature, and not clingy?

Then she must be a bit annoying to him if she bothers him every day.

Yes, Gu Huaisheng himself attaches great importance to rules, so I think he must like girls who follow rules.

The more she thought about it, the better it seemed.

She seemed to know what to do.

*

Night fell deeply, the moon was already hanging on the treetops, bright stars gradually filled the night sky, and the cold light poured down and sprinkled into the main room through the window lattices.

After Jiang Jingchun finished his dinner, he was called to Rongde Hall by Old Madam Jiang.

She could more or less guess why her grandmother came to call her.

What happened during the day might be forgiven by others, but not by Old Lady Jiang.

She was strict, at least for her.

Jiang Jingchun went to Rongde Hall, where only the old lady was.

Her mother wanted to come with them at first, but was later stopped outside by the nanny beside the old lady. Madam Jiang was afraid that the old lady would punish her, so she refused to leave. Later, it was Minister Jiang who came to bring the talents and stopped the matter.

Her mother was very good to her, and had been so ever since she could remember.

Afraid she might get hurt.

The old lady was a devout Buddhist. In the middle of the main hall, she enshrined a statue of the kind-looking Guanyin. Incense was burned in front of the table every day. Now it was evening, and the incense had not been replaced with new ones. Curled ashes hung on the half-burnt incense, and the lingering aroma was faintly diffused.

The room was silent except for the sound of the old lady turning the Buddhist beads in her hands.

Jiang Jingchun sat in the lower seat, feeling somewhat tormented. She quietly looked at her grandmother with closed eyes, not knowing when she was going to speak.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the old lady finally spoke.

Jiang Jingchun couldn't quite tell whether her eyes were closed or squinting; all he could hear was her slightly old voice.

"After thinking about it for so long, I ask you, do you know that what happened today was wrong?"

She left her here for so long, it turned out to let her reflect on what happened today.

Jiang Jingchun lowered her head, her voice a little muffled, and she said, "She was the first to slander me."

Mrs. Jiang was expecting what she said. She was silent for a while, then slowly opened her eyes and winked in the direction of the Guanyin statue.

She said, "It seems that you still don't know your fault. Then kneel down in front of the Guanyin statue. When you understand clearly, then stand up again."

Jiang Jingchun didn't argue with her anymore. Her grandmother didn't love her, and if she argued again, she would probably be punished more severely.

She is always good at reading people's expressions in these matters.

But if the old lady asked her to admit her mistake, she would definitely not do so.

She stood up and knelt in front of the Guanyin statue.

She had already made up her mind to sit on her knees all night.

The girl lowered her brows and knelt upright in front of the hall, her back straight and refusing to bend, as if in silent resistance.

Old Madam Jiang saw everything she did and had no idea what she was thinking.

She knew that she was still unwilling to accept the result in her heart. Although she didn't say it on her face, she was stiff-necked and it was obvious that she was still angry.

Old Madam Jiang let her kneel for about half an hour, and finally she saw her body swaying.

The old lady asked her again, "Are you tired?"

Jiang Jingchun shook his head and replied, "Not tired."

That means you still don't know your faults.

Old Madam Jiang continued to let her kneel.

Another half an hour later, Jiang Jingchun's body swayed, and her straight waist finally bent down.

Madam Jiang asked her again, "Have you admitted your mistake?"

Jiang Jingchun's waist immediately straightened up again.

This action almost made the old lady laugh.

He wasn't so upset when he was little, but as he grew up, he became as bad-tempered as a bull. Even if he fainted from kneeling, he would probably not lower his head.

I don't know who he learned this temper from.

Jiang Jingchun wanted to be angry with her, but fortunately the old lady didn't really want to make things difficult for her today, otherwise she would have continued to kneel even if she fainted from kneeling.

The old lady did not force her to admit her fault, but said, "You think you are right, but you think that the young lady of the Lou family offended you first, and you are just fighting back against her, what's wrong with that?"

The nanny beside her had already explained to her what happened today.

The old woman's words were somewhat slow and gentle in the night, and were slowly and faintly sent to Jiang Jingchun's ears. She listened to her again.

"You said she pushed you, but did anyone see it? But she said you pushed her, and everyone knows it."

"You do things for others to see. Now that she has fallen off the stairs, who would believe what you say?"

"You say you are right, but do you have any evidence?"

Jiang Jingchun was speechless after being questioned by the old lady.

She was stubborn and refused to admit her mistakes, but in the eyes of others, she was just being unreasonable.

She said, "Grandma, do you think I've brought shame to the Jiang family?"

Her voice sounded a little muffled. He had been arguing with her for an hour and kneeling for an hour, but she refused to lower her head. However, she softened at this moment.

Old Madam Jiang looked at Jiang Jingchun who was kneeling in front of her, and at her back, she somehow recalled the past.

The old lady suffered a lot when she was young. Life in the south was very difficult. After Mr. Jiang died, she raised three children by herself, and they were not well clothed or well fed.

A bowl of rice was divided into four parts. Among the four people, mother and children, she, as an adult, ate the least.

She was so hungry at that time that her stomach got damaged. Even though her life is getting better now, her damaged stomach has not gotten better. Sometimes the pain is so unbearable that she vomits acid.

When her stomach disease flared up, the old lady could neither eat nor drink porridge. She stayed in her room in such discomfort that she couldn't stop crying.

The younger generation around her only greeted her twice at most.

But one time, she had a stomach attack and when she returned to the inner room, she saw a tiny Jiang Jingchun waiting for her in the room with a bowl of porridge. She was in so much pain that she had no intention of paying attention to her.

But a child about seven or eight years old ran to the bedside and stretched out his little hands to rub her stomach. She was in so much pain that she looked unhappy and wanted to chase her away, but she stayed there stubbornly and watched her drink the porridge before leaving.

The old lady remembered that the child had always been so stubborn.

This is true from childhood to adulthood.

She actually liked this little granddaughter very much. The other younger generations were afraid of her, but when it was cold and she had a stomachache, only Jiang Jingchun was willing to lean on her, an old woman.

When I get older, I always like to reminisce about the past.

The candlelight flickered, and the old lady came back to her senses from a trance.

Jiang Jingchun asked her if she thought she was bringing shame to the Jiang family.

She replied: "What I mean is, next time you are bullied, you can fight back, but do it behind your back."

Jiang Jingchun thought that since Lou Yanyan pushed her and she also pushed Lou Yanyan, they were even.

She was spoiled by her mother and became a little ignorant of the world. She thought the world was divided into black and white and that everyone would stand by her and listen to her explanations.

But in reality, things don't always go as planned.

Jiang Jingchun suspected that she had heard it wrongly. She turned around in surprise. Their eyes met and the old lady repeated what she had just said.

"If no one offends me, I will not offend anyone. If someone offends me, I will not tolerate it. But if someone attacks you secretly and you fight back openly, you will suffer a great loss."

Although her tone did not convey any emotion, Jiang Jingchun already understood what she meant. She quickly stood up and wanted to go to her side, but she fell down because her legs were numb from kneeling for so long.

The old lady subconsciously wanted to get up, but she held back.

She watched Jiang Jingchun stagger to his feet and run to her side.

There was a smile in his eyes, but he still scolded her lightly, "You have no manners."

Jiang Jingchun knew that she was just being hard on the outside but soft on the inside, so she approached her shamelessly and said, "Grandma, I was wrong."

Just now he was planning to kneel here and fight to the death, but now his attitude has changed so quickly.

Old Madam Jiang saw her expression change like turning a page. Although she found it interesting, she still said in a deep voice, "Your cousin will help you this time. He is loved and respected by everyone, but he will not help you every time."

Jiang Jingchun said: "I didn't want to cause trouble for my cousin today. I didn't know he would come..."

She didn't know that Gu Huaisheng would come to the Jiang family today. If she had known, she would not have gone to play polo at the old house.

The old lady didn't care about this. "It's not a big deal. It's a big deal to you, but it's nothing to him."

It was just a matter that could be resolved with just a few words, so Gu Huaisheng would not just stand by and watch.

Although he was indeed cold towards Jiang Jingchun, he was not that cruel at heart.

But what does it matter? The most he treated her was that of a cousin, nothing more.

Old Madam Jiang is old, and after watching for so many years, there is nothing she doesn't understand.

She said, "You and your cousin are not of the same kind."

One has a deep mind, the other has a shallow mind.

How can we get together?

"Grandma, do you also think there is no possibility for my cousin and I?" Jiang Jingchun asked her, looking up.