Chapter 08 Chapter 8

He said these words with a smile, and his unkind words in a kind tone really seemed to be intimidating.

Jiang Jingchun said, "I am not a child anymore."

She's not afraid.

The smile in Gu Huaisheng's eyes gradually faded, and he said, "I'm not trying to scare you."

Of course, it would be best if I could scare her.

She always says she likes him, but she doesn't even know what kind of person he is.

He just felt it necessary to let her know that he would also have blood on his body.

Gu Huaisheng turned his head back and had no intention of continuing to talk to Jiang Jingchun.

Seeing that he seemed unwilling to talk more, Jiang Jingchun stopped talking and did not continue.

The play on the stage gradually came to an end. The actors left the stage and the humming sounds disappeared. The place suddenly became much quieter. No one knew what Jiang Jingchun was thinking about, nor whether she was frightened by Gu Huaisheng's words just now, as she had not said a word.

It was not until Li called her to go home that Jiang Jingchun responded. She stood up, said goodbye to Mrs. Gu and Gu Huaisheng, and followed Li away.

After they left, only Mrs. Gu, Gu Huaisheng, and Gu Huailang were left here.

She called Gu Huai to sit beside her.

She saw a hint of fatigue in his eyes and brows, and knew that he must have left home very early today.

She asked, "Why did you go out so early in the morning? What were you busy with?"

Gu Huaisheng answered truthfully, "There was a case in the government office recently and they were keeping a close eye on it. Just now there was some progress, so I rushed over."

Mrs. Gu nodded, indicating that she understood.

The two sat in silence for a while. Gu Huailang had already put down the Kongming lock in his hand, and it seemed that he had unlocked it. Gu Huaisheng glanced at Gu Huailang, and finally saw that Mrs. Gu seemed to have nothing to say, so he was about to get up and leave, but she suddenly called him, "Fu Yan."

Gu Huaisheng turned around and looked at her with some confusion in his eyes, as if he didn't know why she suddenly called him.

Mrs. Gu thought about what had just happened and the way he walked towards Jiang Jingchun.

She found that he always seemed to be more tolerant towards her.

If she wanted him to do something that had nothing to do with itching, he would always satisfy her.

Is it really just the cousin who treats his cousin like that?

But he may not be so tolerant towards others.

Mrs. Gu herself couldn't understand her son.

He has never wanted to get close to her.

When Mrs. Gu gave birth to Gu Huaisheng, she nearly died in childbirth. After such a close call, she had no intention of giving birth again. However, Gu Huaisheng was not very close to her. When he was young, he was willing to listen to her, but after he grew up, he always liked to be alone.

Mrs. Gu then began to think about having another child.

With this idea in mind, she quickly put it into action.

Gu Huaisheng has been a thinker since he was young. He is so deep-minded that even she, as his mother, often cannot figure out what is in his mind.

Mrs. Gu thought about it and finally said, "You are old enough, already 21, and many people want to become relatives with us."

Twenty-one is indeed an old age. If a man of his age was more active, the child would be able to run and jump by now. But Gu Huaisheng is pure and has no desires. He has no thoughts about that. Last time, there was a maid who climbed into the bed. She was also very beautiful, but he let her be carried out with a blank expression.

There are quite a few people who want to become relatives with the Marquis's Mansion. The threshold of the Marquis's Mansion is about to be trampled down by people. This is not a joke.

Mrs. Gu said this jokingly, but she couldn't help but feel nervous. She observed Gu Huaisheng's expression to see how he would react.

However, Gu Huaisheng barely paused, and there was no sign of surprise on his face. He replied, "It's all arranged by my mother."

That’s all, I left this place.

Gu Huaisheng's answer was obviously beyond her expectations. She didn't expect him to be so straightforward. Mrs. Gu got the answer she wanted, and she breathed a sigh of relief and didn't keep him any longer.

It seems that she was overthinking just now.

After Gu Huaisheng left, Mrs. Gu looked at Gu Huailang with dissatisfaction and scolded him, "Why don't you get closer to your brother? Why are you so far away from him?"

They are clearly brothers, but their relationship doesn't seem as close as the one between him and Jiang Jingchun.

Gu Huailang heard his mother's scolding and said sullenly with his head down: "My brother doesn't like me. I am close to him, but he is not close to me."

He is not Jiang Jingchun. Even if others don't like him, he will still try to get close to them.

At the age of six, one is able to know things but not understand them. Gu Huailang's thoughts are naturally simple. He will get close to whoever likes him, and he will dislike whoever dislikes him.

Therefore, Gu Huaisheng didn't like him and he also hated him.

Mrs. Gu was very troubled after hearing what he said. She didn't know how to explain the reason to Gu Huailang. It was impossible to reason with a six-year-old child.

It is normal for Gu Huaisheng not to like him. No one would like to suddenly have a younger brother.

They all knew what this younger brother meant.

Mrs. Gu didn't know how to explain to Gu Huailang. In the end, she just sighed, squatted down, looked at him and said, "Your brother treats everyone like this. It's not that he hates you. You are so young, why do you want to do so much?"

Gu Huailang was not so easy to fool, and he obviously did not believe her words. He said in a baby voice, "No, he doesn't treat Jiang's elder sister like that."

Mrs. Gu tapped his head and said, "You are a smart kid, what do you know?"

She didn't take his words to heart, nor did she talk about it again. She took his hand and left.

*

The sun was setting, and the sunset parted the clouds, and the fiery red clouds gradually enveloped them. After the few people returned to Jiang's house, it was almost evening. Li wanted to take advantage of this time when they came back from outside together and take Jiang Jingchun directly back to Chongming Hall.

But Jiang Jingchun insisted on returning to the old lady, and acted coquettishly and softly with her for a while.

There was no way. Li couldn't persuade her and had to let the man go.

Lin watched the whole process from the side, and rarely did she utter a sarcastic remark. After returning to the second room's residence, she immediately went to look for her husband Jiang Cheng, and insisted that Jiang Jingfang also go to the old lady's side.

The pretext was that this was to let her learn the rules of the palace maids, but in reality, it was just that they wanted their own daughter to have what Jiang Jingchun had.

The two were in the room, Jiang Cheng sat at the table and listened to Lin's nagging.

"Why do the people of the first house have to take all the good things? Learn the rules? If Jiang Jingchun is a good person, even a sow can climb a tree. It is always better to be with the old lady than not. She is partial to you. When you and the eldest brother were together, she only cared about him. Now among the younger generation, she also sticks with the eldest brother. Are you still a man? Can you bear this?"

Lin has been talking about this matter since he came back, and he never stops talking about it.

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but frown when he heard her say such harsh words, "Can't you just speak nicely? It's my own fault that I don't have the ability to study hard. If my mother had come to distract me, then our Jiang family would have been finished."

Jiang Cheng was not a fool. He also understood that when they were starving, if only one person could continue studying, the natural choice would be Jiang Nan.

Only by going all out to cultivate Jiang Nan can their Jiang family have the chance to return to the capital.

Now it seems that Madam Jiang’s choice was indeed correct.

Jiang Cheng didn't have any big ambitions. As long as his elder brother had meat to eat, he would always let his younger brother drink soup.

How did she end up with such a useless husband? After hearing this, Mrs. Lin became even more angry and said something she didn't know for a moment, "We don't even know if Jiang Jingchun has Jiang family blood or not, and the old lady still cultivates her so much, but I don't know what she is trying to achieve!"

Jiang Cheng immediately said, "Stop saying these things. If your sister-in-law hears about them, it will be a disaster!"

"Why, you can't talk in your own room? Am I wrong? Jiang Jinghui got lost, and we searched for her for a month. She was finally found, so why did they change her name? Besides, I clearly remember that Jiang Jinghui had a birthmark on her hand, but I peeked once and Jiang Jingchun didn't have it. You say there's nothing fishy about this? I don't believe it."

Jiang Jinghui got lost once when she was three years old. Jiang Nan searched for her for a whole month but couldn't find her. During that time, Li Wanning seemed a little unwell and would pull anyone she met to ask them to return her child to her.

They didn't steal her child, so how could they return the child to her?

Later, when Jiang Nan took Li Wanning and Jiang Runchu to the temple to burn incense and pray, they unexpectedly found the abducted Jiang Jinghui in the temple.

However, the master in the temple said that Jiang Jinghui was not a good name as it would bring many disasters and misfortunes, so Jiang Jinghui changed her name to Jiang Jingchun.

Whether the Jiang Jingchun who was found is Jiang Jinghui, probably only the people in the first wife know this.

Jiang Cheng obviously didn't want to continue talking about this matter. "Okay! Stop being suspicious. Why do you think about these things all day long?"

"Okay, then it doesn't matter if she has it or not, anyway, Jiang Jingchun has it, so my daughter should have it too!"

Jiang Cheng was finally cornered by Lin and had no choice but to go find the old lady.

*

The night is shrouded in darkness, and the full moon hangs high in the sky.

It was already the hour of Xu, and Lin was afraid that the old lady would go to bed early, so she urged Jiang Cheng to go to Rongde Hall quickly.

After arriving at Rongde Hall, Jiang Cheng saw that the lights in the inner room were still on, so he knew that the old lady had not yet gone to bed. He hesitated at the door for a long time, walking back and forth, but did not go in.

The maidservants beside him couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Second Master, are you going to see the old lady for something?"

Jiang Cheng was brought back to his senses by this call, and he knew that he could not delay any longer. If he didn't finish the matter, Lin would make trouble again. He sighed, waved away the maid, and went to the inner room.

As I walked in, I ran into Jiang Jingchun coming out.

She was holding an empty bowl in her hand, and one could vaguely see that there was still some unfinished porridge in it.

The two bumped into each other head-on, and Jiang Jingchun called him first, "Second Uncle."

Jiang Cheng touched his nose awkwardly, said "eh", responded to her question, and then asked: "Is mother's stomach disease coming back again?"

When the old lady had a stomachache, she refused to eat, not even porridge. Fortunately, Jiang Jingchun had some skills and managed to get her to drink some porridge.

Jiang Jingchun replied, "I was ill, but after eating the porridge, I feel better. I am resting inside now."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Jiang Cheng stopped talking and went into the house.

Old Madam Jiang was lying on the couch, resting. Her face was a little pale and she didn't look well.

Jiang Cheng entered the room and called softly, "Mother."

Although the old lady felt better, she still felt a little sour in her stomach and felt a little uncomfortable. She didn't blink and just said "hmm" as a response.

Jiang Cheng saw that her brows were slightly frowned, and knew that she was still feeling uncomfortable.

But he still spoke and explained his purpose, "Mother, I see that Jingchun has been with you for a while and has made a lot of progress. I want Jingfang to learn some manners from you and gain some skills. What do you think?"

After hearing what Jiang Cheng said, Old Madam Jiang squinted at him, and it was hard to tell whether she was happy or angry in her eyes.

"What does your wife mean?"

Jiang Cheng said hurriedly: "She didn't mean anything else, she just wanted to do it for the good of the child."

The old lady snorted and said, "For the good of the child? Jingfang already knows everything I taught Jingchun, so what is she going to learn? Let her come, will she be willing?"

She had lived to this age, so how could she not understand the twists and turns between them?

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and said, "I heard from my mother that there is a nanny from the palace here. I think I can learn something from her."

Old Madam Jiang understood that he was determined to give the person to her today.

"I'm not feeling well right now. It's been a long spring, and I'm already feeling a bit tired."

Still unwilling.

But Jiang Cheng didn't want to go back and quarrel with Lin again, so he had to resort to the last resort. He said, "Mother, Jingfang is also your granddaughter."

This statement seems to imply that she is biased.

Madam Jiang's eyes grew a little colder, but she still agreed to his request in the end.

"Okay, I only cared about your elder brother and not you. That was my fault. If you want Jingfang to come, then let her come. Otherwise, she will say that I treated you harshly. But I have to say this in advance. It is not a blessing to come to my place. If she can't stand it, don't make trouble with me."

Jiang Cheng always brought up the past incident over and over again, hoping to get something from the old lady. Perhaps because she really felt she owed him something, she always indulged him, giving him whatever he asked for.

Over the years, it has worked every time.

Jiang Cheng knew he was in the wrong and felt embarrassed by her words. He wanted to speak up to explain himself, but the old lady said, "You all have no conscience."

"What are you talking about, mother?"

"Your inner thoughts."

Although the old lady was unhappy, Jiang Cheng finally completed the task assigned to him by Lin. He was choked by what the old lady said, and he got up and went out without saying anything.

From today onwards, Jiang Jingfang also came to Rongde Hall and followed Jiang Jingchun.

When Jiang Jingfang woke up and heard that her mother was going to send her to the old lady, she felt like the sky was falling.

She doesn't want to suffer.

Besides, she had already mastered needlework, tea art, etiquette...

What did she do at Rongde Hall?

She didn't want to go, but Lin forced her to go.

At first, she was reluctant, but later, she always saw Jiang Jingchun making mistakes and being punished in Madam Liu's class, which made Jiang Jingfang happy and she stopped resisting. But later, Jiang Jingchun went from being punished at the beginning to gradually not making mistakes, and then, her homework was catching up with hers, which made her alarm bells ring, and she began to compete with her secretly.

But fortunately, apart from this, no unnecessary trouble has occurred for the time being.

*

The days passed slowly, and soon it was April 18th, the old lady's sixtieth birthday.

After all, Minister Jiang was the head of the Ministry of Personnel, and he was from a family of upright officials with a good reputation, so many people came to curry favor with him. Today was the old lady's 60th birthday, and many people came. More or less, the noble families in the capital showed up. The banquet was set up in the main room of Rongde Hall, with golden and jade curtains and foils making a sound, and guests coming and going. Jiang Nan and Jiang Cheng were outside to greet the male guests, while Li and Lin were among the ladies entertaining each other.

Jiang Jingchun has been following the old lady all these days and finally has some free time today.

The banquet had not started yet. On this day, the old lady wore a first-grade imperial robe, which was rare. She sat in the inner room. Many guests came in to greet her, but no one had time to pay attention to her.

Chen Muqing also came today, and her mother is now at Li's place.

Jiang Jingchun took advantage of this opportunity to slip outside and mingle with her.

As the two were chatting, they heard the sound of boots, and then a young man with a ponytail popped his head over and asked, "Hey, Jiang Jingchun, where have you been these days? Why don't you go out?"

The two men were startled by the sudden sound and turned their heads to look.

The man who came was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a light fur coat and precious belt, and had a handsome face.

It’s Song Xuan’an.

Song Xuan'an was a mutual friend of the two. His grandfather was the elder of the inner chamber. Song Xuan'an was only two or three years older than them. The three of them were like-minded and of similar age. They often hung out together.

But recently Song Xuan'an discovered that Jiang Jingchun had not gone out for a long time. So what was she doing staying at home all day?

"I'm busy learning the rules." Jiang Jingchun replied, and then said: "Don't bother me these days."

Learn the rules?

Song Xuan'an raised his eyebrows, as if he found it interesting. He was about to make a joke when he suddenly heard Jiang Jingchun say to him, "Song sir, the nanny said that men and women should not touch each other. We should keep some distance between us."

Her voice was a little loud, and many people noticed it immediately.

The two men, Jiang Jingchun, were confused by what they said. In the past, they used to play outside and stay out all night, but now they are saying "no physical contact"? They must have learned so much about rules that their brains are broken.

Song Xuan'an was about to speak when he heard the sound of servants bowing from the door.

His gaze moved towards that place.

A man walked in from outside, wearing a narrow black brocade robe. The brocade pattern on the belt was simple and elegant. The loose robe and wide belt made the wind blow back the snow. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a cold expression, but he showed a different kind of character. As soon as he appeared, he attracted many people's attention.

Gu Huaisheng glanced in their direction, obviously noticing what was going on here.

Song Xuan'an understood. No wonder he suddenly became ill. It turned out that Gu Huaisheng had come.