Chapter 78: Honesty 78
Besides Huang Zhong, his bodyguard, there were no others around Marquis Gu.
Gu Jiao ruled out the possibility that he was here to capture her.
But if he wasn’t here to capture her, why had he appeared?
Gu Jiao had no penchant for this haughty marquis who thought of commoners as insects. Holding her little Junior Pure Land tightly, she watched him with caution.
If he dared to hurt them, she wouldn’t mind claiming his life right there and then.
Marquis Gu noticed Gu Jiao’s hostility. He cleared his throat and sternly said, “I’m not here to capture you. I bear no ill will.”
Despite his declaration, Gu Jiao remained wary of him.
Marquis Gu’s emotions were complex. He was struggling with accepting that this girl who had repeatedly outsmarted him, was, in fact, his long-lost blood. He also felt remorse over their past grievances.
Regardless, since he had come, he needed to speak his mind.
Marquis Gu gestured to Huang Zhong, who retreated to a distance.
Marquis Gu brushed his wide sleeve and said, “My family name is Gu. I am the Marquis Ding’An, the Ding’An Marquis of Warm Spring Villa.”
Gu Jiao had long guessed his identity. During their first encounter, Gu Jinyu was in his carriage.
She recognized Gu Jinyu’s voice.
There could not be a second person who sat in Gu Jinyu’s carriage and referred himself as the Marquis.
In another encounter in the woods, she saw his face up close. His face bore a striking similarity to Gu Yan. Even she wouldn’t believe if he wasn’t Gu Yan’s biological father.
Even though he had not confessed, Gu Jiao chose to keep her knowledge to herself.
Marquis Gu: “About today…”
Gu Jiao cut him off: “If you’ve come to apologize, save it. I’m not interested.”
Marquis Gu’s eyes narrowed: “No, I…how could you speak so disrespectfully? Are you oblivious of your manners?”
He had indeed come with a sliver of remorse. However, he was a marquis, how could he apologize to a mere girl?
Didn’t she realize all parents should be respected? She was ill…
Frowning, “True, Yao Shi and I didn’t teach her.”
Gu Sanlang and Xun Shi had departed too soon to impart any teachings on her either.
The rumor was she had been a fool, and the illness had only just receded.
This consideration prompted Marquis Gu to leniency towards her.
Fighting his rising anger, he told her, “I came to see you because I have something to tell you. You might not believe me, but you…and I…we…”
Why was it so hard to spill the truth?
Marquis Gu sighed inwardly.
“You and I, what?” Gu Jiao racked her brain but couldn’t figure out any probable relation between the man and her. Although she had lived two lifetimes and encountered peculiarities, she posed hesitantly, “You don’t happen to be infatuated with me, do you?”
Despite her scarred face, Gu Jiao was still petite. Some men might prefer women like her.
Marquis Gu stumbled, nearly falling into the well in front of him!
What in the world did she think of him? Did she have to defame her own father to this extent?
Marquis Gu, struggling to control his hot-tempered nature, burst out, “Do you know who I am? I am your—”
Fifteen minutes later, Marquis Gu, with a limp in his stride, a bruised face, returned to his carriage.
Huang Zhong came over. Seeing Marquis Gu’s condition, he was baffled: “My lord, were you…beaten up? It couldn’t have been by Missy, right? You couldn’t beat Missy?”
Marquis Gu roared: “I merely overlooked her behavior!”
There was no way he would admit he couldn’t beat her!
It was simply too disastrous. Even Huang Zhong couldn’t bear to witness it. In the ten-plus years of his service, he had never seen the Marquis in such disarray.
Huang Zhong asked: “Missy was so harsh? Didn’t you tell her that you’re her father?”
Upon hearing this, Marquis Gu’s anger flared up: “Didn’t I tell her?”
Huang Zhong was confused: “How… did you say it?”
An indignant Marquis Gu said: “I said I was her old man! She accused me of insulting her and then assaulted me!”
And she was particularly ruthless!
Marquis Gu had never been so wronged in his life!
Huang Zhong: Didn’t you think to refer to yourself as her father? Didn’t you like the term “daddy”?
Having beaten up Marquis Gu, Gu Jiao took Junior Pure Land, who was sound asleep, home.
Xiao Liulang was away, taking exams in the Provincial City and would only return the following month.
With one person absent, the house seemed quieter.
Though quiet when at home, spending most of his time in his room, every time Gu Jiao opened the door to the western room and didn’t see the young man studying at his desk, she felt oddly uncomfortable.
She placed Junior Pure Land on the bed, covered him with a blanket, and then proceeded to prepare dinner in the kitchen.
Junior Pure Land had had his fill in town, so Gu Jiao did not wake him but opted to dine with the old lady in the main hall.
Gu Jiao asked: “Huh? Xiaoshun didn’t come?”
Gu Xiaoshun would always eat dinner before returning to the Gu Family’s old residence.
“He said he would stay at the academy for a while,” the old lady replied, picking up a piece of braised pork.
With both Liulang and Little Simpleton gone, the braised pork lacked its usual aroma!
Gu Jiao asked curiously: “Why did he suddenly decide to stay at the academy?”
The old lady replied: “I don’t know. But he left in quite a hurry.”
Gu Xiaoshun had disrupted the Gu family’s plans, causing Marquis Gu’s couple, and Liao Shi to dread him and he had taken refuge in the academy to avoid punishment.
The academy didn’t allow outsiders. The only person from the Gu family who could enter was Gu Dashun. So, if the Gu family was able, they could have Gu Dashun beat him up. But it seemed Gu Dashun couldn’t beat him either!
“I’ll send him some silver tomorrow,” Gu Jiao worried that Gu Xiaoshun wouldn’t have enough to cover his meals.
“I already gave him some money,” said the old lady.
“Where did you get the silver from?” Gu Jiao asked.
When the elderly lady first arrived, she was penniless. Nowhere near being able to afford silver, she didn’t even have a copper plate to her name.
During the New Year, Gu Jiao had indeed given her a large red envelope, but that contained only banknotes.
The old lady grunted: “You think I tell stories for free?”
Bewildered, Gu Jiao asked, “You’re setting up a sideline business while at home?”
Keeping a straight face, the old lady said, “Besides, there were your medicines. You said you didn’t need them anymore, so I sold them.”
Gu Jiao asked curiously: “What medicine?”
The old lady replied, “Golden Sores Medicine! You meddled with it for several days at home, you thought I didn’t know?”
Gu Jiao: “Oh, so you knew.”
She made the medicine during the day at home while Xiao Liulang was out. The old lady was present, but considering that the old lady wouldn’t know about Golden Sores Medicine, she didn’t bother hiding it from her.
She had high standards for the quality of her medicinal products and had produced a dozen or so bottles, keeping only the three with the best efficacy.
When the remaining containers disappeared, she didn’t mind, assuming that the old lady had thrown them away. Who would’ve thought they were secretly sold by the old lady?
From the sound of it, Gu Jiao was convinced the old lady was a veteran: “Have you done this kind of thing before?”
“Do you mean selling medicines? Hmm, maybe! But I don’t think I sold Golden Sores Medicine,” the old lady seriously reflected, retrieving a name from the sparse memories, “It seems it was an aphrodisiac.”
Modern records state that the virtuous Empress once peddled aphrodisiacs and manipulated the palace’s concubine ranking system.
The Virtuous Empress’ famous quote: “Don’t talk to me about feelings, your majesty, the highest bidder gets the bed!”