“Enough,” Old Madam Gu said sternly. “Get in the carriage first; we’ll talk later. Zhuo yatou[mfn]丫头 (yā tou) originally referred to a young girl (girl / servant girl / (used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment)). Depending on tone and relationship, it can be affectionate, neutral, or mildly dismissive[/mfn], come and sit with me.”
When they came, Gu Zhizhuo shared a carriage with Ji Nanke.
Now, Old Madam Gu called Gu Zhizhuo into her own carriage and sent Lady Ji to another one.
One by one, the carriages left the Imperial City, crowding the main roads of the Capital.
As soon as Old Madam Gu got into the carriage, she drank several sips of warm water.
Her mind was in a mess, and she was still in shock and trembling with fear. The uproar Gu Zhizhuo had caused in the Imperial Garden had offended both the Empress and the Third Prince. When the Empress was publicly reprimanded at the palace banquet, she was nearly scared to death.
Now look what’s happened—one’s under palace confinement, and the other’s been made to kneel for hours. This granddaughter really knows how to cause trouble!
She rubbed her forehead in lingering fear: “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Break off the engagement.”
Gu Zhizhuo answered without hesitation.
She emphasized again, just as firmly, “Grandmother, it’s time to break off the engagement.”
The Old Madam Gu was stunned for a moment and blurted out, “Nonsense! Do you know what this engagement means for our Duke Zhenguo’s manor?”
“Your granddaughter knows.”
The Duke Zhenguo’s manor had few members. After her father died in battle, the only adult male left in the Gu family was her uncle with crippled legs, while her older brother was barely a teen, and it was no easy task for such young shoulders to bear the weight of the Gu family.
This marriage, promised by the Emperor before her father’s spirit, was like a rope hanging into the water[mfn]lifelines in desperate times[/mfn] for the Duke Zhengou’s manor.
In her previous life, Gu Zhizhuo had thought the same way.
With her older brother stripped of his heir title and her younger brother, Gu Yan, not old enough to start his studies, the Gu family was on the verge of extinction.
She could only cling to the engagement, desperately holding on to that so-called “lifesaving” rope. Even if the world would mock her as ugly and malicious, unworthy of the Third Prince, and ridicule her for clinging to the Third Prince by relying on the merits of her ancestors.
Back then, she didn’t understand the intrigues at the court. She thought this alone would be enough to protect the Duke Zhenguo’s manor. But she was wrong.
This engagement couldn’t protect the Gu family.
It was nothing more than a mere pawn in the Emperor’s hand, one that would lead the Gu family step by step toward a predetermined fate.
She had already lived through all of this once before.
“Grandmother…”
Gu Zhizhuo wanted to have a serious talk with her, but she was interrupted as soon as she began to speak.
Old Madam Gu said angrily, “You are a daughter of the Gu family. It’s because of the Gu family that you live in wealth and luxury.”
“You always think only of your own likes and dislikes. You’re always so willful, so selfish, never considering the consequences!”
Gu Zhizhuo sighed and said, “Grandmother, please listen to me……”
But the Old Madam Gu didn’t want to hear any of her excuses: “His Highness the Third Prince dislikes you. He’d rather ruin your face than accept this marriage—don’t you think you’re at fault?”
Gu Zhizhuo froze for a moment. Her eyelids dropped, and a cold laugh slipped from her lips.
This mocking laugh rendered the Old Madam speechless, her face shifting between red and pale.
“What fault did this granddaughter have?” Gu Zhizhuo smiled, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Even if someone steps on my head, I’m still supposed to shamelessly go up to them, flatter and fawn over them—only then am I not at fault?”
“Old Madam.”
She deliberately changed how she addressed her: “Grandfather taught me—once your knees kneel, once your back bends, you’ll never be able to stand up straight in this lifetime.”
“Father taught me—no matter what, a Gu family member must stand tall, even in death.”
“No one ever told me that I must learn to wag my tail and beg, to flatter and curry favor with others.”
She spoke word by word[mfn]an idiom meaning she spoke ‘very deliberately and clearly,’ emphasizing each word[/mfn].
“Every brick, every tile of the Duke Zhenguo’s manor is stained with the blood of the Gu family.”
“Old Madam, you want me to be servile, to fawn and flatter for favor? You should ask if Grandfather and the others agreed with that!”
“You……”
The suppressed anger in the Old Madam Gu’s heart flared up instantly.
Nanny Zhu hurriedly patted her chest to calm her down and said with dissatisfaction, “Eldest Young Miss, this old servant must take the liberty to say something. What kind of manners are these, shouting in front of the Old Madam? You’ve made a mistake, and the Old Madam is your biological grandmother—can’t she even scold you a little?”
Yes! Old Madam Gu nodded in anger. This girl simply has no sense of discipline.
This stubborn temper—who does she take after?!
“Shut up.” Gu Zhizhuo snorted coldly, “We, grandmother and granddaughter, are talking. What right do you, a servant, have to interrupt?”
Nanny Zhu widened her cloudy eyes in shock.
She was the old nanny in the manor and had served the Old Madam for many years. It had been years since anyone had reprimanded her like this.
“Old Madam,” Gu Zhizhuo softened her tone, “Now even the Emperor has acknowledged that the Third Prince is at fault, not me, your granddaughter.”
“You are still saying such things; are you dissatisfied with the Emperor’s decree?”
“You…you…” Old Madam Gu was shamed into anger, her face flushed red, and she shouted, “Stop the carriage!”
The coachman didn’t know what had happened but hurriedly pulled the reins to stop the carriage.
She snapped at Gu Zhizhuo, “Get out!”
“Go back to the manor yourself, and reflect properly on the way—whether you know your fault or not!”
Gu Zhizhuo’s eyes remained calm and composed, unaffected by her fury.
Suddenly, she smiled and pulled open the carriage curtain.
She looked outside: “Does Old Madam still remember the Marquis Wuying’s manor in Jiutong Alley from here?”
“The Marquis Wuying’s manor has just been raided.”
At that time in the waterside pavilion, the young noble ladies had watched with their own eyes as the Marquis Wuying’s daughter was taken away. Later, to calm their nerves, someone suggested playing the game of pitch-pot.
“It was a case personally investigated by the Eastern Depot. It’s said to be a case of treason… with both the person and the evidence being caught red-handed.”
Gu Zhizhuo then turned her face back to Old Madam Gu, her phoenix eyes filled with mockery: “Old Madam, do you think that when the Duke Zhenguo’s manor no longer has any value, will it still be…”
“Innocent and not guilty?”
She emphasized those four words heavily.
After saying that, Gu Zhizhuo suddenly stood up and called out, “Qiongfang, let’s go.”
She didn’t use the footstool—just lifted her skirt and jumped down from the carriage, and then she turned to the accompanying guards and asked for a horse.
“Go!”
Inside the carriage, Old Madam Gu shouted in exasperation.
The carriage drove away.
Gu Zhizhuo took the reins and mounted the horse first, then reached out and pulled Qiongfang up onto the saddle as well.
The two of them rode off, galloping away.
“Ah! Young Miss,” Qiongfang exclaimed, “The rewards are still in the carriage!”
Gu Zhizhuo chuckled softly: “Things granted by the Emperor can’t run away.”
That made sense! Qiongfang immediately stopped worrying and instead asked, “Young Miss, where are we going?”
“To the countryside manor.”
Gu Zhizhuo had never intended to return to the manor. Even if Old Madam Gu hadn’t kicked her off the carriage, she would have found a chance to sneak out later anyway. As long as the bandits’ matter remained unresolved, it was like having a sharp sword hanging over her head[mfn]It describes a state of constant danger, anxiety, or pressure—like you’re living under threat, always afraid something might happen[/mfn]; there was no way she could feel at ease.
After leaving the city, Gu Zhizhuo rode straight toward the countryside manor outside the Capital.
This was the countryside manor her birth mother, Lady Wang, had brought as part of her dowry. It was less than an hour away from the Capital.
The tenant farmer of the countryside manor spotted her from afar and quickly went to inform the chief steward.
Upon hearing the news, the Chief Steward Gao came out to welcome her, and his face creased with a wide smile.
Qiongfang cheerfully waved from horseback and called out, “Father!”
Qiongfang was the Chief Steward Gao’s biological daughter. Their whole families were hereditary servants of the Wang family and had accompanied Lady Wang as part of her dowry.
It wasn’t just this countryside manor; the Chief Steward Gao managed all Lady Wang’s farmland and estates in Yizhuo and the capital region.
Chief Steward Gao’s eyes were full of joy as he cheerfully greeted her, “Young Miss, what brings you here?”
Looking at the familiar face before her, Gu Zhizhuo’s expression turned slightly dazed.
In her previous life, after the bandits fled to the capital region, they looted, killed, and burned everywhere. Even this countryside manor wasn’t spared; it was completely burned in a great fire. Including Chief Steward Gao’s family, more than a dozen people on the manor perished; not one survived.
Gu Zhizhuo dismounted, suppressing the surge of emotion welling up in her eyes, and smiled as she greeted, “Chief Steward Gao, it’s good to see you.”
“Aiyo!” Chief Steward Gao laughed even more heartily. “Haven’t seen you for a few months, Young Miss—you’ve grown taller again!”
Gu Zhizhuo covered her mouth with a smile: “It’s going to rain soon. Let’s go inside first and talk.”
Is it going to rain? Chief Steward Gao looked up at the clear sky. Still, if the Young Miss said so, there must be a reason! Chief Steward Gao readily agreed without principle, saying, “Yes, yes, it’s going to rain soon. Young Miss, please go inside first; don’t let yourself get caught in it.”
“I’ll have someone catch a fish. The fish in the pond have grown nice and plump this year. I was just thinking of sending some to the manor in a few days for you to taste,” Chief Steward Gao said happily. “Qiong yatou, go tell your mother to make vinegar-marinated raw fish[mfn]醋生鱼 (cù shēng yú) > couldn’t find the example, you can look for it yourself ^^[/mfn] for the Young Miss—it’s her favorite.”
“I also want to eat oil-braised spring bamboo shoots[mfn]油焖春笋 (yóu mèn chūn sǔn) > https://m.xiachufang.com/recipe/106139057/[/mfn].”
Just thinking about the taste of those oil-braised spring bamboo shoots made Gu Zhizhuo’s appetite stir.
Chief Steward Gao readily agreed, “Yes, yes, yes! Spring bamboo shoots are at their most tender this season.”
Gu Zhizhuo led the horse and walked forward.
The pond was shaded with green, the chirping of kingfishers, and camellias bloomed brilliantly in the spring—all of it overlapped with Gu Zhizhuo’s memory of that scorched manor.
The countryside manor was large, and Gu Zhizhuo usually stayed in the main courtyard on the east side.
As she stepped through the hanging-flower gate, the hundred-year-old wisteria above her head had its branches and leaves drooping down, its vine full of buds about to bloom, hanging densely.
“Young Miss, if you come again next month, the wisteria will be in full bloom.”
Chief Steward Gao spoke warmly.
“The rain has been good this year. The wisteria will definitely bloom beautifully.”
This year their Young Master and Young Miss had completed their mourning period, so Chief Steward Gao, hoping for a good omen, had people begin last year to care for the vines more meticulously than usual—pruning the branches, fertilizing, and maintaining them. Now that spring has just begun, the buds were already thriving, and once they bloom, they’ll surely be beautiful.
Gu Zhizhuo said nostalgically, “My mother loved this wisteria the most.”
In the past, when the wisteria was in full bloom, her mother would bring her and her older brother to stay here for a while.
Her mother would also personally make wisteria cakes[mfn]紫藤饼 (zǐ téng bǐng) > https://m.xiachufang.com/recipe/1092277/[/mfn] for her to eat.
In her distant memory, Gu Zhizhuo could almost still recall the sweet fragrance of the wisteria cakes.
She couldn’t help but say, “When the flowers bloom, have someone come and tell me; I want to eat wisteria cakes again.”
Chief Steward Gao readily agreed and added, “Young Miss, the Chinese toon[mfn]香椿 (xiāng chūn): Chinese toon (Toona sinensis), a deciduous tree whose young leaves are used as a vegetable[/mfn] are tender this time of year—would you like some toon cakes[mfn]香椿饼 (xiāng chūn bǐng) > https://m.xiachufang.com/recipe/106135327/[/mfn] too?”
Gu Zhizhuo cheerfully agreed.
Walking along the small pebble path into the house, Nanny Wan had already instructed the young maids to prepare water.
After helping her wash her hands, Qiongfang took a clean white handkerchief, removed her veil, and carefully cleansed her face.
Gu Zhizhuo, with her face still misty with moisture, sat refreshingly in the round-back armchair[mfn]圈椅 (quān yǐ) > https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%9C%88%E6%A4%85?timestamp=1747059899532&fromModule=search_box[/mfn], and the eastern pearl on her hairpin cast a faint shadow on her cheek.
After instructing Chief Steward Gao to prepare paper and ink, she added, “Chief Steward Gao, find me a reliable young man. He needs to know martial arts, be quick-witted, and, most importantly, be loyal. I have an urgent matter that requires him to make a trip.”
