Chapter 6: Performance in front of the Old Lady

The old lady nodded. "This matter, Zheng and Jinyan have their own versions, and Jinyu has his own. We can only wait for Master Lu Yan to arrive, and then we will naturally know who is telling the truth."

At this moment, a sudden creaking sound was heard.

Zheng pointed behind the old lady, unable to speak, and kept pointing.

Seeing that the vase on the shelf above the old lady's head was about to fall, Gu Jinyu, who was beside the old lady, followed Zheng's direction and saw the large vase. Without thinking, she pushed the old lady and quickly moved away.

Gu Kaiji wanted to stop it, but he was old and not agile enough.

At that moment, Gu Jinyan rushed over and quickly pushed the falling vase away.

The vase smashed to the ground, breaking into pieces, and the tea on the table splashed all over the floor.

The old lady breathed a sigh of relief and calmed her chest.

"Grandmother, were you not scared?" Gu Jinyan asked with concern, looking at the old lady.

The old lady looked at her granddaughter with genuine concern and felt warm in her heart. Normally, this girl was obedient and submissive, but when it was critical, she rushed out to protect her.

But when she looked at Jinyu, the old lady felt a bit disappointed.

They said she was the destined phoenix girl, but when she was closest to her just now, she didn't protect her. She didn't blame her, but she was still afraid that she might not be safe, so she pushed her, which was somewhat disappointing.

At this moment, the old lady couldn't blame her too much.

Her mood was not very good, but she replied, "No."

Then she thought of Jinyan's cautious nature and didn't want her to misunderstand, so she asked, "Jinyan, did you want something today? Grandmother can fulfill your wish."

And thinking that Jinyan had always been obedient to Zheng, eager to please her and gain her approval, she hinted, "You can also ask your mother to intercede for you."

Gu Jinyan met Zheng's expectant gaze and thought for a moment. "My mother has always liked to go out and about. Forbidding her to do so is like taking her life. I hope grandmother will be lenient."

Zheng nodded in satisfaction.

No matter how rebellious this girl was, in the end, she was her own daughter and had to listen to her!

The old lady was about to relent.

But then she heard Gu Jinyan, who had always been obedient, say, "My mother should observe a vegetarian diet for a month and come to serve you for two hours every day. It's best to have Aunt Qiu watch over her every day. If my mother is obedient for a month, it can be considered a minor matter."

?????

A minor matter?

"Ah?" The old lady was caught off guard. Was this considered a minor matter?

"Qiu, did you hear that? From today onwards, you personally watch over the Second Madam's vegetarian diet." The old lady immediately agreed.

Zheng glared at Gu Jinyan with resentment.

Gu Jinyan smiled contentedly and made a small request to the old lady, "Grandmother, there is one more thing I would like to ask."

Zheng stared at Gu Jinyan, afraid that she would cause trouble again.

The next moment, Gu Jinyan said, "I want to have dinner with the family on the first and fifteenth of every month, just like my cousin."

Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, and that was it...

The old lady, however, felt extremely sorry. For over ten years, Jinyu had always joined them at this time.

But Zheng had always said that Jinyan was shy, so she brought her once and never brought her again.

For so many years, she hadn't seen Jinyan a few times. She had been confined to her courtyard since she was a child.

"Today is the fifteenth, after dinner, you will come with me, Jinyan." The old lady said.

Following the customs of the Gu family, on the first and fifteenth of every month, apart from the Minister and Zheng, the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife, as well as the two legitimate young masters of the Marquis's family, Gu Xuanchong and Gu Xuanrui, would also come. The Minister only had a legitimate daughter, Gu Jinyan, and his son was illegitimate, so the illegitimate children did not have the privilege to dine at the table.

When Gu Jinyan arrived, the Marquis and his wife were surprised. They had seen her only a few times over the past ten years. Now that they saw her, they realized that she had grown up and was the same age as Jinyu.

"Jinyan is here too..." the Marquis's wife asked politely, and the Marquis just nodded slightly.

Jinyu looked at Jinyan with disgust.

At that moment, the dishes were served.

The Gu family had many rules, and although they didn't go as far as "no eating, no speaking," no one spoke.

When the dishes were all served, Gu Jinyan quickly stood up with the maids and servants behind her, ready to serve the dishes.

The old lady almost choked on her food. "Jinyan, what are you doing? Sit down and eat."

The dishes were prepared by the maids and servants. As the legitimate daughter of the Minister, there was no reason for her to do such things.

Gu Jinyan, upon hearing this, stood there at a loss, and said softly, "But when I dine with my mother, she said I should serve the dishes."

Zheng's face turned pale and green. She regretted it deeply during the day.

It turned out she was waiting for this.

Zheng suppressed the urge to slap her and quickly said, "Ayan, don't be silly. This is not the time to dine with me alone."

The old lady didn't say anything.

Zheng was her own mother, so it was not a big deal for her to serve the dishes. This girl probably hadn't been out much and didn't understand many things.

Gu Jinyan abandoned the idea of serving the dishes.

Just as everyone thought she was going to take a seat, Gu Jinyan picked up the chopsticks and bowl from the table, naturally walked to the corner, placed her own chopsticks and bowl on the servant's table, and sat down to prepare to share the meal with the servant.

She was so skilled.

The room was incredibly quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

When everyone's surprised gaze focused on Gu Jinyan.

Gu Jinyan looked up, looked at everyone with a bewildered and innocent look, and seemed a little uneasy, tightly holding onto her own chopsticks.

She fidgeted with her skirt, looking somewhat at a loss.

In the grand courtyard, the masters and servants ate separately.

Usually, after the masters finished eating, the servants would eat in a small room on the side.

But those were servants.

Gu Jinyan was the legitimate daughter of the prime minister.

The old lady looked at this, dumbfounded for a while and couldn't speak. She could explain the previous incident with the dishes, but now?

The old lady thought that it was because of such a careful speech that she had the courage to come out and protect her today.

There were some rumors about Gu Jinyan's bad behavior in the Gu family, but the old lady never expected it to be like this.

The old lady's eyes were a little red.

Madam Hou frowned even more. Zheng's actions were too much. How could she treat her own daughter like this?

"Ha~" Gu Jinyu laughed out loud.

This Gu Jinyan was really embarrassing.

She had never seen a legitimate daughter from any family who had such a hard time fitting into high society.

Madam Hou looked displeased at Gu Jinyu and called out, "Jinyan, come here, sit down and eat."