Chapter 279: Death
Gu Deyuan's embezzlement charges were confirmed with solid evidence, and he was officially detained by the Court of Judicial Review for trial yesterday.
When Gu Lian heard the news, she was utterly distracted. Even while serving Lady Yao breakfast, her mind was elsewhere. Lady Yao preferred steamed buns, but Gu Lian absentmindedly placed a crispy pastry in her bowl. Lady Yao set down her chopsticks, her expression darkening instantly. "Gu Lian, where is your mind right now?"
Gu Lian snapped back to attention. Across from her, her elder sister-in-law was delicately sipping porridge, while the second sister-in-law peeled an egg for the little girl sitting in her lap. Neither spared her a glance. Gu Lian's face flushed crimson as she moved the pastry to a small side plate. "This daughter-in-law simply didn't sleep well last night."
Lady Yao gave her a cold look. "The pastry crumbs have fallen into the porridge. Couldn't you at least replace the bowl? Can't even serve properly?"
Gu Lian bit her lip. Before her father's downfall, Lady Yao would never have spoken to her so harshly.
She had no choice but to fetch a fresh bowl of porridge and focus on serving Lady Yao through breakfast, not daring to let her thoughts wander to her father again.
After breakfast, she had to assist Lady Yao with needlework and dyeing her nails. Even when Lady Yao played mahjong with the other ladies, Gu Lian had to stay by her side, arranging the tiles. It wasn't until evening that she finally sat down to dine with Lady Yao.
Noticing her father-in-law's absence, Gu Lian grew curious—he usually visited Lady Yao at this hour. She ventured to ask, "Mother, is Father too busy with court affairs today? He hasn't come for dinner."
Lady Yao replied leisurely, "Lord Chen's son is getting married. Naturally, he went to attend the banquet." Yao Ping and Third Master Chen were not particularly close, and Lady Yao had no ties to the Chen family, so they hadn't gone together. She glanced at Gu Lian and asked with a smile, "Isn't Third Madam Chen your elder sister? How come you didn’t know about this?"
She had nearly caused Gu Jinzhao to miscarry—how could she dare inquire about such matters?
Of course, she couldn’t say that. Gu Lian forced a smile. "I’ve been preoccupied with my father’s affairs lately and forgot."
Lady Yao said nothing more. Soon, the second sister-in-law arrived with her child, who immediately clamored for Lady Yao’s embrace.
Delighted, Lady Yao coaxed her granddaughter, who had just begun speaking, to call out to her. After a while, she turned back to Gu Lian. "That Concubine Lan… You said she tampered with your pastries. How do you plan to deal with her?"
Gu Lian replied, "This daughter-in-law isn’t sure… But for such an act, I can’t possibly let her off lightly!"
Lady Yao handed the child a rattle drum, shaking it to a rhythmic beat.
"You must learn to be more composed. As a wife, you shouldn’t burden your husband with petty grievances. Serve where you must—you’re no longer a young maiden free to indulge in moods. Understand?"
Lady Yao must have known about her quarrel with Yao Wenxiu… Gu Lian swallowed her words and nodded silently.
Once back in her own quarters, Gu Lian hurled a glazed teacup to the floor in fury, her face dark with rage as she panted heavily. The maidservant quietly gathered the shards and fetched a broom to tidy up. At least now, when angered, she knew to hold her tongue—that was progress.
The matron approached Gu Lian and whispered, "Concubine Lan has been asking to see you… She’s begged for two days now. Will you receive her?"
"What could she possibly say?" Gu Lian retorted. "Anything from her would just be excuses. I don’t want to hear a word from her!"The old nanny smiled. "Concubine Lan said it's related to Gu Jinzhao and insisted on telling only you. She said you’d find it useful... She wanted a chance to live. There’s no harm in hearing her out—who knows, it might actually help?"
Gu Lian thought back to the day she had locked up Gu Lan.
At first, Gu Lan had pleaded and wept. Yao Wenxiu had come to speak on her behalf, defending her. But Gu Lian remained stubborn, convinced it was Gu Lan’s doing, and reported the matter to Madam Yao. Enraged, Yao Wenxiu moved to the outer courtyard to live alone. Seeing no hope of exoneration, Gu Lan’s demeanor shifted abruptly. She cursed Gu Lian viciously, sneering, "Gu Lian! You only dare to blame me! Sooner or later, you’ll be killed too... With your stupidity, you deserve to be toyed with!"
Furious, Gu Lian ordered her maids to pin Gu Lan down and slapped her several times.
Stunned by the blows, Gu Lan burst into muffled sobs.
Gu Lian was surprised to see her cry—she had thought someone like Gu Lan would never yield.
Soon after, she had Gu Lan imprisoned, ordering daily rations of food and water. But when it came time to actually kill her, Gu Lian hesitated. After all, she was a living person! The nanny disapproved of her indecisiveness, advising her to think it over for a few more days—Gu Lan would die sooner or later anyway.
Already agitated, the thought of Gu Lan only made Gu Lian more uneasy.
Her mother had said that if Yao Wenxiu refused to forgive her, she should select a pretty, obedient maid from her entourage to serve him.
Men were fickle creatures. Once the new favorite gained his affection, Yao Wenxiu would forget all about Gu Lan!
Gu Lian’s gaze swept over her maids. Among the five she had brought as part of her dowry, Lan Zhi and Ye Zhi were the most beautiful. Lan Zhi had grown up with her, while Ye Zhi had a fiercer temper... Both had fair skin and graceful figures.
Closing her eyes, Gu Lian said wearily, "Nanny, I want to sleep. If I must see her... let it be tomorrow."
The nanny smiled and didn’t press further, calling for maids to bring in water for washing.
Her sleep was heavy and muddled. Gu Lian was shaken awake, opening her eyes to Lan Zhi’s anxious face. "Madam, something’s happened to Concubine Lan..."
Gu Lian was slow to react. "What... what could have happened to her?"
"She hanged herself," Lan Zhi whispered. "Nanny Zhang has already gone over."
Now fully awake, Gu Lian sat dumbfounded as maids brought her clothes. "Yesterday, she said she had something to tell me—how could she hang herself today? When did this happen?"
Lan Zhi didn’t know either; the messenger had been a young, inexperienced maid who hadn’t explained the details.
After dressing, Gu Lian hurried to the rear annex of the side courtyard.
Lanterns hung outside the annex, and the two matrons guarding Gu Lan knelt trembling at the door, terrified.
The predawn wind was biting. Ye Zhi draped a cloak over Gu Lian, who tucked her hands inside and peered into the room... The body had already been taken down, leaving only a shadowy figure on the floor. Gu Lian shuddered!
It wasn’t that she pitied Gu Lan—it was just that anyone would be shocked to see someone so recently alive now a corpse.
Trembling, she asked the matrons, "What happened here?"The maidservant in the blue cotton-padded jacket said, "It was this servant who discovered... the corpse was already completely stiff. She must have died last night. I found it strange that the meal sent in last evening remained untouched. When I went further inside, I saw the Concubine had already hanged herself."
Nanny Zhang came out and nodded at Gu Lian before addressing the maids and elderly servants: "The Concubine took her own life out of fear of Madam's punishment. You all witnessed this!" The servants hastily agreed. Nanny Zhang immediately instructed two older servants to carry away Gu Lan's body.
Gu Lian had heard that those who died by hanging looked terrifying. She stood in the corridor waiting for the servants to remove the corpse but accidentally caught a glimpse of Gu Lan's purplish face. Quickly pulling Nanny Zhang aside, she asked, "How... how could she have hanged herself?"
Nanny Zhang also found it strange—didn't Gu Lan still have things to say? She shook her head: "Madam, let's not concern ourselves with this. Her death is for the better. Saves you the trouble of eliminating her."
"But... with her dying like this... won't people suspect I was behind it?"
Nanny Zhang pressed Gu Lian's hand and sighed: "You were going to do it anyway."
Gu Lian seemed distracted, her limbs icy cold.
Nanny Zhang reached out to support her: "Soon it will be time to pay respects to Tai Furen. You can inform her about this matter then..."
...
Gu Jinchao slept poorly that night and woke at chen hour (7-9 am). Turning her head, she saw Third Master Chen lying facing outward. She couldn't tell if he was awake.
As she quietly turned over, his voice came: "Awake?"
His clear tone suggested he'd been awake for some time.
Gu Jinchao made an affirmative sound, and he turned to embrace her without speaking.
She asked him, "Will you be returning to the yamen the day after tomorrow?" His injuries had actually fully healed half a month prior, yet he hadn't mentioned resuming duties at the Grand Secretariat. Living with Third Master Chen was quite comfortable—he always arranged matters in advance, sparing her any worries. The thought of him returning to his early departures and late returns made her somewhat unaccustomed.
Instead of answering, Third Master Chen asked, "How was managing the main kitchen yesterday? Did anyone give you trouble?"
"I learned from my mother at home, then later from grandmother. Handling these matters presents no difficulty," Gu Jinchao replied softly.
Dawn hadn't yet broken as she curled in Third Master Chen's arms, their conversation nearly whispered.
Gu Jinchao took his hand—a scholar's hand, elegant with distinct knuckles and slender fingers, though the palm was slightly rough.
"What are you doing?" he asked, letting her manipulate his hand.
"I'm reading your palm," she said. His life line was shorter than hers, ending at the palm's center—a sign of early demise... In his previous life, he had died in Sichuan before forty.
"Your life line is short. This palmistry often indicates kind-hearted people..." And those prone to early death.
Gu Jinchao hesitated, finding it inauspicious to mention early demise.
Chen Yanyun asked, "Do you think I'm kind-hearted?"
Of course she didn't think so, though outwardly he appeared quite gentle. She nodded: "You seem decent enough."
Chen Yanyun smiled without comment, resting his chin atop her head. "What else do you see?"Gu Jinzhao said, "The court is treacherous, and people's hearts are hard to fathom. Your fate line looks ominous—you must be careful." She tightly grasped his hand.
She didn’t want this person beside her to die. Gu Jinzhao had thought herself hardened enough, but deep down, she cared deeply for Third Master Chen.
She turned and embraced him, murmuring, "Otherwise... perhaps you shouldn’t contend for it." The moment she said it, she knew it was inappropriate. Third Master Chen was ambitious and resolute, the kind of man with unshakable willpower. At this stage, it wasn’t as simple as stepping back—others wouldn’t just let him go. It was truly a woman’s naive thinking.
Third Master Chen looked down at her, only to hear her add, "I spoke thoughtlessly—please don’t take it to heart."
He sighed. "I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."
After all, behind every general’s success lie ten thousand bones.
Perhaps the assassination attempt had frightened her. Third Master Chen held her quietly in his arms.
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