Chapter 75: Fury and Questions
After hearing Mama Xu's words, Jinchao's hands trembled violently. Did her mother die such a miserable death because of her father's words? What exactly had he said to her yesterday? Mother was already gravely ill—why couldn’t he have shown her some compassion?
She had done so much, tried so hard to save her mother. Why did Gu Jinrong have to tell Gu Lan about Yu Ping? Why did Father never believe in Mother? Why did all these people insist on harming her mother? Why did they all want to hurt her?
A surge of fury rose within Gu Jinzhao, but instead of losing control, she grew eerily calm. Steadying herself with Mama Xu’s arm, she slowly stopped her tears. She knew she had to do something—Mother couldn’t have died in vain. She would do something.
Meanwhile, Gu Dezhao received the news of Madam Ji’s death and, without even a moment to process his shock, hurried toward Xiexiao Courtyard.
Just yesterday, Madam Ji had spoken to him normally—how could she be dead today? The maid who delivered the news was utterly useless, stammering incoherently and unable to explain how Madam Ji had died. He had lost his temper! The servants of Xiexiao Courtyard were truly incompetent, sending such a clueless girl to report this!
When he entered Xiexiao Courtyard, no one stopped him, but neither did anyone come forward to explain. Gu Dezhao strode straight toward the main hall and demanded sternly, “Where is everyone? How did Madam Ji die? Why isn’t even a single maid here to answer?”
The door to the inner chamber was open. Hearing his voice, Mama Xu quickly stepped out and said, “Master… Madam is inside… Please, come in at once…”
Suppressing his anger, Gu Dezhao stepped into the inner chamber—only to meet Gu Jinzhao’s icy gaze. He frowned. “What are you—”
Before he could finish, he looked up and saw Madam Ji’s corpse. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Before arriving, he had assumed Madam Ji had succumbed to a sudden illness and blamed the negligence of the maids. But now, the sight of her death struck him like a physical blow. She had strangled herself to death!
Gu Dezhao staggered back, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
But Gu Jinzhao stepped forward, smiling coldly at him. “Father, you’ve finally arrived. Weren’t you about to scold me? Why have you fallen silent? Are you, too, frightened by Mother’s appearance?”
“Mother didn’t die of illness—she hanged herself. Tell me, how could someone so weak from sickness muster the strength to hang herself? She had to loop her belt around the bedpost, fasten it around her neck, then use her remaining strength to roll off the bed… and strangle herself to death.”
Gu Dezhao was speechless. He took a hesitant step forward, only to recoil again, as if terrified by the sight of Madam Ji’s body.
“She… why would she do this? How could she be so desperate? This… this shouldn’t have happened!”
Gu Jinzhao whispered, “Shouldn’t have happened? Father, after the way you wronged her, what shouldn’t have happened?”
“Mother devoted so many years to you. Even if you’ve forgotten her kindness, why treat her like this? She was already so ill—couldn’t you have spared her your cruel words?”
“Did you want to drive her to death? Would that have satisfied you?”
By the end, Gu Jinzhao could no longer hold back. As the last words left her lips, she broke down into tears.How could she not grieve over her mother's death like this! But beyond grief, she had so much more to do! Her mother could not die in vain!
Gu Dezhao's mind was in turmoil. He had thought... thought that Madam Ji was merely using her illness to make a scene, thought that out of jealousy, she had harmed Concubine Yun, thought that after all these years, she had long become unrecognizable. In truth, he had also believed that no matter what he did, Madam Ji would never resist—that with her temperament, she would only endure it meekly, pretending nothing had happened. He had always known... and so he allowed himself to act this way!
He had forgotten that Madam Ji was a woman of fierce spirit. When his cruelty toward her reached its peak, she would fight back!
And this was her resistance!
Gu Dezhao was momentarily at a loss. He had long known she might one day die. But when she truly died before him like this, he found it unbearable. After all... Madam Ji had been by his side for twenty years!
"Not everything I said was wrong. She... she harmed Concubine Yun, and she put rhubarb in her own medicine..." Gu Dezhao muttered, as if trying to justify himself.
Gu Jinzhao stared coldly at her father. At this moment, she could hardly restrain herself from rushing forward and slapping him awake! How dare he say such things while looking at her mother's corpse!
"Harmed Concubine Yun? Father, have you ever considered that if Mother truly envied Concubine Yun, would she have raised her status for you? If she had truly intended to harm Concubine Yun, would she have needed to switch the medicine? Would she have waited until Concubine Yun was eight months pregnant to act?"
"You said Mother put rhubarb in her own medicine? Let me tell you—it was I who discovered the rhubarb! My maid saw Song Miaohua's maid colluding with someone from the Affairs Office to place rhubarb in Mother's medicine and only then warned her. And what did she do? She turned around and told you, and you actually believed it was Mother's doing! How could Mother do such a thing? It was precisely because she had been mistakenly consuming rhubarb for so long that her condition kept relapsing..."
With Madam Ji's death, everything became painfully clear.
Gu Dezhao's eyes reddened as well. His lips trembled as he spoke with difficulty, "I... I didn't..."
"You want to say you didn't know? Or that you didn't mean to?" Tears streamed down Gu Jinzhao's cheeks as she spoke slowly, "Father, she spent twenty years with you. Do you know the saying 'Song Hong did not abandon his wife of humble origins'? You don't even understand Mother's character, yet you dare speak with such certainty?"
Gu Dezhao clenched his fists tightly, looking at Madam Ji's body curled beside the bed railing. She had not been a small woman, but after being ill for so long, she had withered to such frailty, curled up into a tiny bundle...
"It was my fault..." Gu Dezhao finally sighed, his voice hoarse.
Jinchao couldn't help but interrupt him, "Of course it was your fault!"
Through her tears, she said, "I had already arranged with Changxing Marquis's Heir to have Mr. Xiao, who treated him, come to cure Mother. He would have arrived soon... And at this very moment, you... you drove Mother to hang herself in anger..."
So Changxing Marquis's Heir had come to see her about Madam Ji's illness!
Hearing this, Gu Dezhao couldn't help but say, "This... you should have told me earlier..."
Jinchao bit her lip in fury. "If I had told you earlier, would you have stopped misunderstanding Mother? Would you have refrained from saying those things? Would Mother still be alive?"Gu Dezhao listened to her increasingly loud accusations, his mouth opening and closing as he remained silent for a long time.
He clenched his fists tightly, his face ashen: "If... if saying these things makes you feel better, then go ahead."
"What's the use of me saying anything! Do you truly regret it? Would you even grieve for Mother?" She began crying again as she spoke, clutching his sleeve. "Give me back my mother! She was the only one in this household who truly cared for me. You and Jinrong both favored Lan Er—no one liked me. I only had Mother... give her back to me..."
Hearing Jinchao's words, Gu Dezhao could no longer hold back his tears: "Chaojie, don't say such things! I'm your father—how could I not care for you!"
Jinchao shook her head at her father. "Lan Er slandered me behind my back... and you only punished her by making her copy books. I didn't grow up by your side, and you never once spoke to me gently. The way things are between me and Lan Er now—you played no small part in that! You failed as a husband... and you failed as a father too!"
Her words were utterly rebellious! Yet Gu Dezhao didn't even seem to notice. He stood frozen after hearing Jinchao's accusations, his face deathly pale.
After speaking, Jinchao couldn't bear to look at Gu Dezhao any longer. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the inner chamber. Seeing the clear blue sky after the rain outside, she gradually calmed down.
Someone still needed to handle her mother's funeral arrangements. If she couldn't take charge, who else would? Most importantly, she had to settle accounts for her mother's death—justice had to be served.
Mama Xu had been waiting nearby. Seeing Gu Jinzhao remain silent for so long, she didn't dare speak either.
Jinchao turned and asked Mama Xu: "Have you sent word to my sisters and the concubines about Mother's death?"
Mama Xu shook her head. "This servant hasn't yet. I feared the news would spread—only Moyu and I know of it for now. I've sent all the maids and servants to the back courtyard to keep them occupied with other tasks."
Jinchao replied coolly, "Good. Have the maids inform each concubine to come now... they'll have to know eventually."
After a pause, she added, "Also, send someone to the outer courtyard to ask Guard Xue to deliver the news to Grandmother in Tongzhou. Then dispatch someone to Qifang Alley to summon Gu Jinrong back... After all, I'm still unmarried and shouldn't oversee Mother's funeral arrangements. Go personally to our ancestral home and invite Second Madam over to help manage things."
Though Jinchao's eyes were still swollen and her face haggard, Mama Xu could see she had regained her composure enough to give orders. She bowed. "This servant will go at once."
The maids from Xiexiao Courtyard went to deliver the messages to each concubine and young mistress's residence.
Song Miaohua was having breakfast with Gu Lan when the messenger arrived. The news startled her so much she dropped her bowl of lotus seed and barley porridge.
"Madam has passed? What exactly happened?"
The messenger was just a young maid from Xiexiao Courtyard. "This servant has been busy in the back courtyard and truly doesn't know the details. Perhaps the concubine should go see for herself... Xiexiao Courtyard is in complete chaos right now. This servant must take her leave."
Hearing of Madam Ji's death, Gu Lan was equally shocked. But after the initial surprise came relief. With Madam Ji gone, she now had grounds to refuse marriage to the Mu family's eldest son! Still, Madam Ji's death was strange—though her health had been frail, she hadn't seemed truly at death's door!Gu Lan was about to ask Concubine Song something when she noticed her expression looked quite unpleasant. She shook her hand gently and whispered, "Mother, why do you seem not very happy... Isn't Madam Ji's death a good thing?"
Song Miaohua let out a sigh. "Though that may be so, I can't help feeling uneasy. Her death was too strange... We don't even know how she died." She then glanced at Gu Lan's pink xiangfei-colored skirt with ruyi patterns and said, "Hurry back and change into something plainer. I'll go to Xiexiao Yuan first—come quickly after you've changed!"
Not daring to delay, Gu Lan hurried back to Cui Xuan Yuan to change her clothes.
OpenNovel