Liang Chen Mei Jin

Chapter 55: Rebuttal

Gu Lan was led out of the study by Qiaowei, who quietly recounted everything that had happened along the way.

These days, Gu Lan had been quietly practicing her calligraphy, and much of her former impatience had faded. After listening to Qiaowei's words, she thought for a long time, her expression eerily calm.

Qiaowei whispered, "You don’t need to worry. Concubine Song will surely find a way..."

Gu Lan shook her head and replied calmly, "I’m not worried. Since things have already gotten this bad, worrying won’t help." However, she couldn’t keep relying on her mother forever. Her mother could help her temporarily, but not for a lifetime. She needed to learn to solve problems on her own.

When they arrived at the Waterside Pavilion, Gu Lan entered the inner chamber, leaving Ziling and Qiaowei outside.

Inside, Concubine Song was reclining on the large kang by the window. A tall lamp stood nearby, and she casually removed the gilded hairpin from her hair to trim the wick.

The flame flickered, dimmed momentarily, then gradually brightened again.

Gu Lan sat beside her, silently watching the lamplight. Suddenly, she spoke, "Mother, you’re still using this gilded hairpin... I remember you wore it when I was little. I always found it strange—though you’re not the legal wife, you’re still a noble concubine. Why do you often wear such a simple silver-gilded hairpin..."

Concubine Song gazed at the plain plum-blossom-patterned hairpin in her hand and sighed. "This was left behind by someone from the past. I wear it often to remind myself that one must live clearly and wisely. A single moment of confusion could lead to being harmed without even realizing it."

Harmed to death...

Gu Lan’s gaze at the hairpin grew cautious. Hesitating, she asked softly, "May I ask... which past acquaintance of yours—"

"It belonged to Concubine Yun," Concubine Song replied, her lips curving into a smile. "She was the gentlest soul. I often think of her... On the day she died in childbirth, her wails were heart-wrenching. While everyone was gathered in the side chamber, I slipped into the inner room and took this inconspicuous hairpin of hers."

"Later, your father saw this hairpin countless times, yet he never recognized it as Concubine Yun’s. That’s when I realized—no matter how much he seemed to adore her, it was all just superficial..."

Gu Lan’s voice dropped even lower. "Are you saying... Concubine Yun was murdered?"

Concubine Song let out a derisive laugh, her fingers tracing the hairpin delicately. "No matter how careless that maid was, she wouldn’t have mistaken the medicinal brew."

"Do you know Gu Jinzhao’s greatest weakness? She doesn’t care about her reputation, nor about Gu Jinrong. She doesn’t even care whether your father loves her. The only person she truly cares about is Madam Ji..."

Concubine Song’s eyes turned icy. "I may have schemed to slander her before, but I never harmed her! How her infamy came about—she knows better than anyone. Yet now she wants to pin it all on you! If she hadn’t led Madam Wen to the side chamber, if she hadn’t secretly fueled the rumors and insisted on blaming you for past incidents, you wouldn’t have fallen into this predicament!"

Gu Lan studied Song Miaohua’s expression for a long moment, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sorrow. She reached out and grasped her hand, whispering, "Mother... I don’t want to marry Mu Zhizhai.""He's so foolish and plump... I don't like him..." Gu Lan suddenly burst into tears as she spoke. Since that incident, she had cried in front of many people, but those were merely to gain sympathy. Now, she was genuinely afraid.

Concubine Song gently patted her back, and it took a while for Gu Lan to calm down. Clutching her mother's hand, she said, "I don't want to marry Mu Zhizhai. I must find a way to stop it... Mother, we need to make Madam Ji die sooner. Once she's dead, I won't have to marry!"

Her eyes, washed clean by tears, appeared unusually bright.

Concubine Song watched her daughter cry so bitterly, feeling as if her own heart were being torn apart. Back then, she had been infatuated with Gu Dezhao and, disregarding his existing wife, married him as a concubine. Lan Er, because of her inferior birth status compared to Gu Jinzhao, had suffered many grievances since childhood.

And now, she had to marry Mu Zhizhai because of it! How could Concubine Song bear it?

Gently stroking Gu Lan's hair, Concubine Song whispered, "Mother understands."

The two talked at length before Gu Lan finally wiped her tears and bid her mother farewell—she still had to return to continue copying books.

The inner chamber's elm door panels opened, and Gu Lan stepped out. Ziling, who had been standing with her head bowed, hurriedly followed, her steps somewhat flustered. Qiaowei waited until Ziling had disappeared beyond the door before entering the inner chamber.

She carefully removed the pearl hairpins from Concubine Song's hair and said softly, "Concubine, although our new elm door panels are exquisitely carved, they don't muffle sound as well as the original ash wood. People outside can faintly hear what's said inside..."

Song Miaohua removed her coral earrings and replied, "It's time to root out the spy in our midst..."

Last time, when she and Gu Lan were discussing Madam Li's affairs in the inner chamber, there had been a new young maid outside. She remembered scolding the girl a few times because she was in a bad mood... Song Miaohua narrowed her eyes slightly. "That maid called Xiuqu—where did she come from?"

Qiaowei answered, "She was selected from the attendants' quarters. I heard this maid was close to Gu Jinzhao's maid, Yuzhu, when she was there. I inquired privately and learned that an old servant saw her going to Paulownia Courtyard with Yuzhu that day."

Song Miaohua smiled faintly and said softly, "Have her beaten to death in secret and thrown into the unmarked graves. Tell others she went home to visit family and never returned."

Qiaowei nodded in agreement, then recalled Ziling's flustered steps earlier and asked Song Miaohua, "That Ziling is utterly foolish and lacks judgment. She's hardly fit to serve the young lady... Besides, she overheard your conversation with the young lady today. What if she turns out like Xiuqu?"

Concubine Song sighed. "Though she's foolish, she's loyal to Lan Er, which is why I've kept her this long. But she clearly lacks tact—that day, she was guarding outside the side chamber and didn't even think to inform me... Never mind. She's sixteen this year. Marry her off to anyone."

Qiaowei smiled and agreed.

Ziling was also uneasy. The words she had overheard outside the door were not meant for her ears. Usually, helping the young lady deal with Gu Jinzhao was enough, but today, the young lady had even spoken about wanting Madam Ji to die sooner. She didn't know if the young lady would blame her for it...

Lost in worry, she only snapped out of her thoughts when she realized Gu Lan wasn't heading back to Cui Xuan Yuan at all—she was going to Paulownia Courtyard instead.

Ziling quickly asked, "Young lady, weren't we going back to copy books?"Gu Lan said calmly, "Since I came out under the pretense of visiting my elder sister, it would be a shame not to see her."

Although it was already dark, Jinchao had just returned from her mother's place. She had spent the entire day there. Today was the eighteenth of April, the day her mother had died in her previous life. She needed to see with her own eyes that her mother was well before she could feel at ease.

Madam Ji had tried several times to send her back. After all, Jinchao was supposed to be seriously ill—how improper it would look for her to linger here like this.

But Jinchao only smiled and refused to leave. It wasn’t until evening, when she saw Madam Ji retire for the night, that she finally returned with Qingpu. Not long after she sat down, Baiyun came to announce that Gu Lan had come to see her.

Jinchao thought for a moment, then smiled faintly. "She’s here to settle scores with me... Let her in."

Gu Lan entered and curtsied. "Elder Sister, I’ve been so worried about your long illness. I came today specifically to see you." Jinchao studied her. Gu Lan wore a lake-blue lotus-patterned beizi with a plain pleated skirt. Her hair was tied in a small bun, adorned only with a carved mutton-fat jade hairpin.

She lifted her head, her expression calm but her gaze icy.

Jinchao nodded. "It’s kind of you to care." She motioned for Qingpu to bring a brocade stool for her.

Gu Lan spoke softly, "Second Sister was copying texts in her study and came across a line that said, ‘Endure humiliation and bear disgrace, as if in constant fear.’ She thought it was very profound. Elder Sister has shown me such deep kindness, and I must remember it well. But you should also remember how you humiliated me today. In the future, you’ll understand how Second Sister feels now..."

Jinchao stood and walked up to her, smiling. "‘Endure humiliation and bear disgrace, as if in constant fear’? I believe the original passage goes: ‘Be modest and respectful, put others before yourself, do not boast of good deeds, do not refuse to bear blame, endure humiliation and bear disgrace, as if in constant fear.’ Though I haven’t studied Admonitions for Women like Second Sister, I still remember this passage."

Looking at Gu Lan’s composed face, Jinchao suddenly found it all quite laughable. "Are you saying you’re enduring humiliation? Second Sister, don’t you understand? This isn’t my humiliation of you—it’s your retribution." Jinchao’s voice was quiet. "If you truly lived by ‘do not boast of good deeds, do not refuse to bear blame,’ how could I have schemed against you? I only retaliated once. When you framed me countless times before, why didn’t I endure humiliation then?"

Gu Lan stared coldly at Jinchao and whispered, "I harmed you before because you were foolish! Don’t blame me for that!"

Jinchao sneered. "How absurd. So you’re allowed to harm me and slander my reputation behind my back, but I’m not allowed to retaliate? Second Sister, the world has never been so unjust!"

Gu Lan took a deep breath. "When I harmed you before, I never pushed you into the fire! I only drove a wedge between you and Gu Jinrong. Even if I’m partly to blame for your ruined reputation, you can’t pin it all on me! Yet you had Wen Furen spread rumors everywhere that I stir up trouble, tarnishing my name completely! Now I’ll have no choice but to marry Mu Zhizhai. You’re trying to destroy me!"

Jinchao hadn’t realized Gu Lan thought this way. She sighed. "I never asked Wen Furen to spread such things. Besides, what she said was true. If you hadn’t done those things yourself, who could have fabricated such rumors?"She thought for a moment. Although Gu Lan had harmed her multiple times, it had never truly endangered the things she truly cared about. Jinchao decided to offer one last piece of advice: "...Appearances can be deceiving. Often, those who seem dazzling on the surface are not good people. The eldest son of the Mu family may not be handsome, but he is a good match. You should think carefully about this."

Gu Lan glared at her fiercely before suddenly laughing. "I will never marry him, Eldest Sister. You'd better be careful in the future—Second Sister here may not let things rest so easily." She curtsied and left with Ziling.

Jinchao paid her no further mind and instructed Qingpu to fetch a basin of water.

Gu Lan didn’t seem to think she had done anything wrong—as if everything was somehow Jinchao’s fault.

Her prideful nature would be the death of her someday.