The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 11
Gu Ershun was stunned by Gu Jiao’s kick.
Although his status in the Gu family was not as high as Gu Dashun’s, he had been pampered by Madam Liu since he was young. Usually, she could not bear to let him do farm work, so she only let him study in the house like Gu Dashun.
Only the Heavens knew if anything he studied stayed in his head, but it was true that his body was delicate.
He lay on the ground, motionless, for a long time.
What’s with that fool today? She actually dared to kick me? He really wanted to rush up and give her a tight slap, but he would never admit that Gu Jiao’s kick had actually scared him.
“You, you… just you wait!” Leaving those harsh words behind, he clutched his stomach and fled.
Gu Jiao bolted the door and entered the house. She immediately spotted Xiao Liulang standing in the central room, looking at her, clearly trying to get a read on her.
She thought for a moment and said calmly, “He tripped and fell by himself.”
Xiao Liulang: “…”
Originally, the Gu family was waiting for Gu Ershun to bring Gu Jiao over so they could give her an earful, but in the end, Gu Ershun returned alone. Covered in dirt and clutching his stomach, he looked as if he had been beaten up.
Madam Liu hurriedly walked forward. “Ershun, what’s wrong? Where’s that girl?”
Gu Ershun exaggerated what had happened in front of Gu Jiao’s door. “…I kindly persuaded her to come over and make things clear and apologize to Big Brother, but she didn’t listen and even kicked me. Since she was my little sister, I couldn’t retaliate…”
Madam Liu blew her top when she heard this. “That little b*tch! She must be raised by a whore! She’d even kick her own brother!?”
In comparison, Madam Zhou was much calmer.
That girl dares to raise her hand against Dashun; what’s Ershun even to her?
However, she was still a little puzzled. That silly girl has been behaving rather odd recently.
“Outrageous!” Madam Liu could not take it anymore. She rolled up her sleeves and slapped Gu Xiaoshun. “You! Go teach that little hussy a lesson! Avenge your brother!”
“No way I’m going.” Gu Xiaoshun rolled his eyes at Gu Ershun. “Who knows what he actually did there?”
Gu Ershun said indignantly, “I didn’t do anything! I was just speaking to her nicely! Who would’ve guessed that she would kick me out of nowhere!? She’s a fool, a lunatic, and a jinx!”
“Who are you scolding?” Gu Xiaoshun stood up defiantly.
Gu Ershun quickly hid behind Madam Liu.
“You’re even speaking up for that jinx!? Who’s your real sibling here?!” Madam Liu was so infuriated that she wanted to beat Gu Xiaoshun up, but with Old Master Gu around, she did not dare to hit his grandson.
She turned around and gave her husband a look. “Why don’t you say something!?”
What could Gu Changlu even say? When that girl had not come to eat for a few days, nobody had gone to ask on her. Yet, now they all wanted to denounce her.
He did not want to go.
It was not because he felt injustice for Gu Jiao; rather, it was because he was the most cowardly among the three brothers. When the youngest Third Brother got into trouble, he had been by Third Brother’s side; if he had helped Third Brother out, Third Brother might not have died.
However, the flood had been too fierce. Frightened, he turned tail and fled, leaving Third Brother behind.
He did not dare to tell anyone about this; only the old master knew.
He had always felt a little guilty towards the third branch.
“Changhai.” Old Master Gu called for his eldest son. “Go over.”
Gu Changhai hesitated for a moment before saying, “Father, Jiao’jiao’s not right in the head, so I think we should just forget about this matter. If this blows up, the villagers will start gossiping that we’re being mean to Third Brother’s child.”
Madam Liu exploded. “How can we let it go just like that? It wasn’t your Dashun that was injured! Didn’t you see how badly Ershun was kicked?”
Gu Ershun held his stomach in grievance.
The jinx truly did not go easy on him; he was still in pain.
Old Master Gu mulled with a dark expression on his face.
Gu Changhai said softly, “Father, if this blows up, it won’t be good for Dashun’s reputation.”
At the end of the day, Gu Ershun was the one who was kicked, not Gu Dashun. Gu Dashun had only been yanked around by Gu Jiao in front of everyone and was slightly embarrassed. However, Gu Dashun did not get injured and was not delayed for his exam, so there was no need to implicate his good reputation simply to vent their anger.
At this moment, Gu Dashun also realized that reputation was the most important to a scholar; otherwise, the Gu family would not have forced Xiao Liulang to submit back then. He could not afford to make a mistake on this matter.
He said gently, “Forget it, Grandpa. Sister is stupid, so if we bicker with her it will make us seem petty.”
Madam Liu was so angry that she stumbled backward. And why didn’t you say so earlier? If you really don’t mind, then you should’ve stopped Ershun from going over just now!
Old Master Gu was obviously very satisfied with his eldest grandson’s words. “Sensible words. You should learn from your eldest brother, don’t squabble with that girl so much that you forget your position as an older brother.”
The last part was naturally directed at Gu Ershun.
“And you, don’t go out and cause trouble. You’ll implicate your big brother’s reputation.”
Gu Xiaoshun did not go scot-free either.
Of course, Gu Xiaoshun did not take it to heart at all.
—
Gu Jiao did not know that there was a ruckus at the Gu family because of her.
She had made a small fortune in town today and bought a lot of things. Granted, she had also used up a lot of things—one shot of anesthetic, two blood clotting agents, some sutures and other trauma medicine were all gone.
Gu Jiao took the salt, star anise, fennel, and other ingredients to the kitchen and started boiling some water. Then, she lit a brazier with the firewood in the stove.
She brought the brazier towards Xiao Liulang’s room.
It was close to the twelfth lunar month, and the night was still very cold. While she could go to bed early, Xiao Liulang still needed the light at night to work on his books. Furthermore, his leg had to be kept warm to avoid making the injury worse.
The door was ajar. Gu Jiao knocked on the door. “It’s me.”
“Come in,” Xiao Liulang replied.
Gu Jiao pushed the door open and entered.
Xiao Liulang was bent over the desk, copying from a book. There was only a small oil lamp beside him, and the light was very dim.
Gu Jiao placed the brazier on the ground, and walked over to turn the oil lamp up to the brightest. After thinking for a while, she also went to get the oil lamp from her room. “It’s too dark, you’ll hurt your eyes.”
Xiao Liulang’s eyes flickered. “Take the brazier.”
“I won’t feel cold if I’m asleep,” Gu Jiao said.
After a pause, she seemed to have thought of something and said, “Can I come to your room to warm up before I sleep?”
“…Yes.” Xiao Liulang nodded as he sat up straight, and continued to copy the book on his desk.
Gu Jiao knew that he earned money by copying books for others. It was honest work, but he still earned two taels a month. However, the Gu family would take one tael from him each month, on the basis that he was paying for the original Host’s food.
The Host did not know that he had been paying for her meals in the Gu family, and thought that the Gu family was genuinely being good to her.
To be fair, Xiao Liulang only had a bad attitude towards the Host because the two of them had a bad relationship, and not because Xiao Liulang had a poor character.
Gu Jiao paused and said, “You don’t have to give the Gu family money anymore. I’ll eat at home in the future.”
Xiao Liulang’s hand that was holding the pen paused.
Gu Jiao brought over the wet mattress and clothes to roast.
Her movements were very light, and her breathing very quiet. If Xiao Liulang had not seen her from the corner of his eye a few times, he probably would not have felt that there was another person in the room with him.
When the clothes were done, she suddenly asked him before she left, “By the way, what’s your classmate’s name?”
“Feng Lin.” Xiao Liulang replied.
Xiao Liulang copied books until midnight. When he got up, he realized that Gu Jiao had dried his clothes and placed them neatly on the chair.
He picked up his clothes and was about to keep them in the cabinet when he saw a new pair of shoes at the bottom.
