Chapter 51: Confrontation (Seeking First Subscription)
Madam Wen was stunned by Gu Lan's words and stared fixedly at Gu Jinzhao. She watched as Jinzhao stepped forward in equal surprise, her lips pressed tightly together.
Only now, after hearing Gu Lan's accusations, did Madam Wen realize the sheer nonsense spewing from this girl's mouth. That day, Gu Lan and Concubine Song had played their roles to perfection—one playing the hero, the other the villain. Who knew if this mother-daughter pair had slandered Gu Jinzhao just as they had slandered her!
Meanwhile, Gu Jinrong paled at Gu Lan's words. Each syllable struck his heart like a knife.
Had Gu Lan truly been vilifying Jinzhao behind his back all this time?
He had nothing to say about other matters, but when it came to his studies—it had been his own decision to go to Qifang Alley in the end! How could Gu Jinzhao have forced him?
How could Gu Lan do this? No matter what, Jinzhao was still her elder sister.
She always acted so gentle and kind in front of him—who would have guessed she was this vicious behind his back, twisting the truth so shamelessly?
Seeing how Madam Li was incensed by Gu Lan's words, Jinrong recalled how he, too, had once been swayed by her poisonous tongue. He had stormed off to confront Gu Jinzhao, demanding she stay out of his affairs, calling her a vicious woman, accusing her of being utterly malicious...
He still remembered pointing at her and shouting, "Second Sister has always been sincere and kind to you! She even urged me not to clash with you, saying Mother would be upset. For Mother and Second Sister, I’ve held back countless times! Do you... do you really think everyone is as wicked as you?"
And then there were the knee pads Jinzhao had sewn for him—stitched with such care.
If a truly kind-hearted person were to be called malicious by their own younger brother, framed and humiliated by their own sister, and then scolded for meddling when all they wanted was to help...
If he were that kind-hearted person, he would rather die than endure such pain!
The more Jinrong thought about it, the more his expression darkened, his lips trembling slightly. An indescribable bitterness welled up in his chest. He even wanted to reach out and tug at Jinzhao’s sleeve, or apologize to her. But none of it felt enough... His elder sister had been right all along—he was impulsive, reckless, never stopping to think. He had blindly believed Gu Lan’s words without ever questioning their truth.
And he had never once considered Jinzhao’s feelings!
"How... how could she act like this? Who would ever marry her now?" Madam Li exclaimed in shock. She had never seen such a shameless young lady from a respectable family!
Gu Lan sighed helplessly. "Whether she can marry or not, she’ll have to obey Father’s orders—even if it’s to a widower or a cripple!"
Jinrong took a deep breath. How dare she slander his elder sister like this? Widowers and cripples? His sister was far too good for such insults! He couldn’t take it anymore. Stepping out from behind the wall, he said coldly, "Gu Lan, shut your mouth!"
Jinzhao saw him step out and knew it was bad. She tried to stop him but failed. She sighed inwardly—why did he have to reveal himself so soon? Who knew what other shocking things Gu Lan might say now...
Hearing Jinrong’s voice, Gu Lan froze, a chill running down her spine. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating—until she saw Madam Li’s horrified expression.
"Who... who are you? Where did you come from?" Madam Li gasped."Sister, I'm here too." Seeing that Gu Jinrong had already stepped out, Madam Wen naturally straightened her already neat collar, took Jinchao's hand, and walked around the wall, stepping onto the flower hall from the stone path. With a smile, she said, "Gu Lan, why didn’t you greet me when you saw me, hmm?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Gu Lan’s forehead. Those words she had just spoken… surely they hadn’t been overheard by these three, had they?
How could they have come from behind the side rooms? Who would wander into the Lady Xiang bamboo forest for no reason! She fixed her gaze on Gu Jinzhao’s face.
Jinchao was also looking at her, seemingly incredulous, her voice sorrowful: "Lan Er, your elder sister has always felt she never wronged you. How… how could you say such things…"
Gu Lan’s mind went blank—was this really Gu Jinzhao? What act was she putting on?
After glancing at the expressions of Gu Jinrong and Madam Wen, she instantly understood, but at the same time, her heart sank even further. The words she had spoken earlier were too harsh—there was simply no room for retreat now! The only option left was to play the victim… She hurriedly stood up, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at Jinchao and said, "Elder sister, you… why are you all here? You mustn’t misunderstand what I just said! I… I only heard those words from the servants! I don’t actually agree with them!"
Gu Jinrong stepped forward, shielding Jinchao, unable to suppress his anger: "How dare you make excuses? You didn’t hear that from servants… You… you! And here I thought you were gentle and kind, never one to bully others! I never imagined you’d speak of our elder sister like this behind her back! Even if she has faults, she’s still your sister! Tell me, how did you know she forced me to go to the academy? I clearly asked Father’s permission! Elder sister only wanted what was best for me by sending me to study at Qifang Alley—don’t you dare twist the truth!"
Tears were already streaming down Gu Lan’s cheeks as she said softly, "Rong-ge… even you don’t believe me? We’ve been siblings for over ten years! How could you accuse me like this? I only heard these things from you—you said elder sister didn’t want you staying at home. I don’t know anything else!"
Gu Jinrong was furious: "You’ve gone too far… Even if I said that, did I ever say elder sister forced me? Have you been spreading rumors about her like this all along? You’re truly vicious…"
Jinchao took a deep breath and gently admonished him, "Jinrong, Lan Er is still your sister after all…"
Gu Jinrong snorted, "You still treat her as a sister, but I refuse to see her as one now… How could she say such things about you…"
Madam Wen, seeing that Gu Jinrong had been arguing in circles without hitting the key point, silently cursed his incompetence. She stood up and said coldly, "Gu Lan, let me ask you—since you claim not to know the full story, why were you spouting nonsense? Speaking without knowing the facts is nothing but slander! Who’s wronged you? And why are you crying? Who are you trying to win sympathy from?"
Gu Lan’s composure shattered completely, her mind now in utter panic. She suddenly remembered that Madam Wen had promised to assist her at the hairpin ceremony. Earlier, she never imagined anyone would eavesdrop, and her words had been excessively harsh. There was no way to salvage this now! Not only would the hairpin ceremony be impossible, but Madam Wen would likely despise her from now on…
She couldn’t afford to offend Madam Wen!Gu Lan's tears fell like rain: "Second Aunt... I... those words weren't truly my intention, please don't blame me!"
Madam Wen snorted coldly, "Who's your second aunt! You should address me as Madam Wen!" Then she smiled even more brightly: "Not your intention? Then whose was it? Concubine Song's? Of course! If she hadn't taught you to say those things, could you have come up with such schemes yourself?"
Gu Lan opened her mouth with difficulty, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Madam Li also stood up. Not quite understanding what was happening, she tried to calm Madam Wen: "Elder sister, this is likely just a misunderstanding, don't get too agitated..."
"A misunderstanding?" Madam Wen sneered. "Song Miaoying, let me tell you plainly—I never approached Concubine Song about assisting with Gu Lan's hairpin ceremony. It was those two who came crying to me about their pitiful situation! They even asked me to arrange a marriage for Gu Lan. And I never told Song Miaohua about your affairs with Lord Li. Use your head—given our friendship, would I ever use your secrets to cozy up to Song Miaohua? You're being used without even realizing it!"
By the time she finished speaking, Gu Lan was completely numb, feeling as if this were some terrible nightmare!
Every single word she'd just said had been heard clearly by these three women!
Madam Li pondered this and also felt something was amiss.
She had been completely consumed by anger earlier and hadn't stopped to consider whether these accusations were true...
Gu Jinrong glared fiercely at Gu Lan: "Your skill at fabricating stories grows ever more impressive! One face in front of people, another behind their backs, even framing others for things they never did... How could you become like this?"
Gu Lan realized tears would no longer help. Despite all her cunning, she was still just a fifteen-year-old girl who had completely lost her composure in this moment. She reached out to grab Gu Jinrong's hand... If she lost Gu Jinrong's support, the consequences would be disastrous!
But Gu Jinrong slapped her hand away harshly, glanced at Jinchao who was silently weeping, and left the flower hall.
Madam Wen also noticed Gu Jinzhao's quiet sorrow. She thought to herself that this Eldest Miss had it hard—clearly someone of few words who must have suffered many hidden grievances from Gu Lan over the years! If it were her, she'd have torn Gu Lan's mouth to shreds!
Once a woman's reputation was tarnished, how could she ever marry well? Her entire life would be ruined. Gu Lan had gone too far!
She took Jinchao's hand and said, "Don't be sad." Then turning to Gu Lan, she smiled: "Lan Er, regarding the hairpin ceremony assistant—I'm truly not prestigious enough for such an honor. Why don't you ask Madam Li instead? Or perhaps find a marchioness or first/second rank noblewoman? That would be more fitting for someone of your stature, wouldn't it?"
Gu Lan was momentarily speechless.
"I have urgent matters at home, so I won't be attending your hair pinning ceremony. I'll take my leave now."
Without another word to Gu Lan, she left the flower hall with her two maids.
"Second sister, think carefully about this. It truly pains me. I've never treated you poorly—why must you repeatedly scheme against me and drive a wedge between me and Jinrong..." Jinchao looked at Gu Lan and asked softly.
"When I first returned to the Gu family, you were just over eight years old. We played cat's cradle together, and you insisted on sleeping beside me rather than going back to your own room. I truly believed you cared for me... Who could have imagined you'd behave like this..."Gu Lan took a deep breath, finally stopping her tears. She no longer cared whether Madam Li was present—since things had already escalated, she had nothing left to lose!
Glaring coldly at Gu Jinzhao, Gu Lan sneered, "Gu Jinzhao, stop pretending! You must have brought those people here! You wanted to humiliate me, didn’t you? You wanted to ruin me, right? Well, let me tell you—I, Gu Lan, am not someone you can push around! I’ll pay you back for this sooner or later! Don’t talk to me about past affections—there’s no affection between us!"
P.S.
Also, the first month of a new book is really crucial for pink votes. I usually don’t like asking for them, but if you have any extra votes to spare, please consider giving them to me—just for this one month! Begging on my knees~
For every ten pink votes in the first month, I’ll add an extra chapter—comments as proof! Thank you all so much!
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