Chapter 3: Phonetic Script

Mr. Xu has no siblings. He has two sons, but neither of them has produced any offspring. After each having a son and a daughter, they have remained childless.

The Xu family is new to the officialdom, and their family is not considered prosperous. Mr. Xu is very regretful about this, although he doesn't say it out loud.

He believes that if he can raise a son to become a high-ranking official, he can also raise a grandson to become a scholar. Therefore, he is very strict about the studies of his two grandsons.

Mr. Xu invited a famous scholar from the capital to come to the Xu family to teach the grandsons.

A few years ago, Xu Yan and Mr. Xu suggested bringing the children of their in-laws to the official's residence to study together, which would not only benefit each other but also make things livelier.

Mr. Xu agreed, and now living in the residence are Yang Xiyu and Wei You, the nephew of Wei Shi, the second uncle of Gu Yunjin.

Because there is a precedent for relatives to live in the residence, Mr. Xu wanted Gu Yunjin to live in the residence. Mrs. Min grumbled for a few days but reluctantly agreed.

If Gu Yunjin were to say, the root cause of this is mainly because she and the Xu family do not get along.

Mrs. Min is annoyed with Gu Yunjin and hates the Xu family. As long as it makes the Xu family unhappy, Mrs. Min is willing to do it.

When Gu Yunjin was still in her maiden days, she didn't think much about these things.

It wasn't until she experienced bitter days in the Yang family that she understood the intricacies of it all.

The Yang family treated her well, only because she was the daughter of the General of Zhenbei. Yang Xiyu was the same.

In the past, Gu Yunjin should have "liked" Yang Xiyu.

When she was in her maiden days, apart from the two brothers of the Xu family, she was only familiar with Yang Xiyu and Wei You. She only occasionally met other children of the capital and could only recognize them.

Compared to the casual Wei You, the gentle and considerate Yang Xiyu was like a warm spring breeze, making people feel warm from the bottom of their hearts.

The pleasing gifts during festivals and the gentle words when speaking, every move and every word were the scholarly and elegant qualities that Gu Yunjin liked the most, which made her happy.

Xu Lingjie told her that this was the feeling of admiration.

Gu Yunjin was confused, and Xu Lingjie found a pile of books of famous scholars and beautiful women for her. Those books should be kept in the small drawer by the bed now...

Thinking about it, Gu Yunjin sat up and found a copy of "The Story of the Western Wing" from the small drawer.

The thin wooden piece was carved with a hollowed-out orchid and scented with fragrance, making it into a bookmark.

Gu Yunjin liked these little trinkets. She opened the page marked by the bookmark, which was about Yingying writing a letter to arrange a meeting with Zhang Sheng under the moon. Gu Yunjin pursed her lips. So she was reading these things before she fell into the water.

She flipped through the bookmark with her fingers. At that time, Xu Lingjie often talked to her about Yang Xiyu, and she heard a lot about it. Gradually, she also thought about it more. When she got married, Gu Yunjin was truly happy and satisfied, thinking that she had married a perfect husband.

But all that genuine affection was wasted!

The gentle spring breeze blew towards someone else, leaving her with bone-chilling cold. From then on, Gu Yunjin avoided Yang Xiyu and left for Lingbei with a heavy heart, relieved of unnecessary sadness.

Once, Nian Xia hesitantly asked her if she had no feelings for Yang Xiyu.

For any woman who has given her heart, who could be like her.

Gu Yunjin didn't know the answer.

Her birth mother passed away early, and her father remarried. She didn't like Xu Shi, and when she was in the General's residence, she didn't like it when others mentioned Xu Shi in front of her. So Gu Yunjin didn't understand how her father got along with his two wives.

After entering the capital, her elder brother, Gu Yunqi, went to the military camp, leaving his sister-in-law to take care of the family. Gu Yunjin didn't understand their relationship either.

Apart from the elderly Mr. Xu and Mrs. Min, the only people she had truly interacted with were Xu Yan and his wife, Yang Shi and his wife, Xu Chi and Wei Shi, and the couples in the Yang family after she married into it.

If Gu Yunjin were to say, it seemed that there was not much difference between her and Yang Xiyu.

The deep affection and the feeling of being separated for three autumns as described in the books, Gu Yunjin had always thought of them as just stories written in books.

When Nian Xia suddenly asked about it, Gu Yunjin couldn't come up with an answer. After a while, she only vaguely replied, "Aren't all couples like that?"

Nian Xia was a widow who had just gotten married, and when it came to matters of the heart, she was no different from Gu Yunjin.

This topic was meaningless, and the two of them stopped talking about it.

However, before she died in her previous life, Gu Yunjin remembered her birth mother saying "the lock of the same heart" and "the affection of the hair," but it all seemed hazy. For Gu Yunjin, it was the same as the stories in the books.

Putting away the bookmark and the books, Gu Yunjin thought that since she had returned here, she would never listen to Xu Lingjie's nonsense again.

After all, in her previous life, until Gu Yunjin went to Lingbei, she didn't think that Xu Lingjie's married life was any "clearer" than hers.

During the New Year, Xu Lingjie was always full of complaints and grievances. Gu Yunjin said she loved to make trouble and was never satisfied. Xu Lingjie retorted, "Every family has its own difficulties."

Gu Yunjin had no interest in Xu Lingjie's difficulties. In this life, she just wanted to live a comfortable life.

Oh, and while she was at it, she would settle the score with Xu Lingjie. She coaxed her to the edge of the pool and pushed her in, although she was pulled out shortly after. But this account had to be settled.

As she thought about it, tiredness overwhelmed her, and her eyelids grew heavy. Gu Yunjin fell asleep.

When she woke up again, the sky outside had darkened considerably.

Gu Yunjin lifted the curtain and called out, "Nian Xia."

Nian Xia quickly walked in with a look of anger on her face and said, "Miss, as per your instructions, when no one came to Beisan Hutong, I sent someone to urge them, but they were being difficult, dragging their feet as if they had broken their legs. However, I made an agreement with Chen Mama to pass on a message for me."

Chen Mama was a rough servant in Lan Yuan, and she was off duty tonight, about to leave the mansion to go home.

Gu Yunjin nodded slowly and asked, "What time is it?"

Before Nian Xia could answer, a loud noise of footsteps came from outside, as if a group of people were rushing in.

The visitors entered the room directly, and the pearl curtain swayed as Yang Shi, leading the group, came in from behind the screen.

Meeting Gu Yunjin's eyes, Yang Shi waved her handkerchief and said in a mournful tone, "My child! You've finally woken up!"

As she cried, she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Gu Yunjin into her arms.

Gu Yunjin didn't resist, and she glanced at Huamei standing beside her, then spoke to Yang Shi in a calm tone, "Aunt, I woke up when Huamei came in. Judging by the sky, I've been awake for almost two hours, longer than I was unconscious."

Yang Shi was taken aback, her crying stopped, and she secretly sized up Gu Yunjin.

Gu Yunjin had always been obedient and sensible in front of her, never speaking so sharply.

Although the words were not pleasant, they were not particularly mocking. Yang Shi felt uneasy because she was upset about Gu Yunjin falling into the water, so she quickly comforted her, "My child, there were guests in the mansion today, and Aunt couldn't leave. I've been worried about you, so as soon as the guests left, I came to see you!"

"I know Aunt has been worried about me," Gu Yunjin raised her eyebrows and looked at Huamei, "unlike in Beisan Hutong, where no one cared about me at all. Huamei said she would pass on the message, but she's nowhere to be seen now, showing that she doesn't care whether I live or die."

Huamei suddenly met Gu Yunjin's dark eyes and inexplicably felt a tingling sensation on her scalp, so she awkwardly smiled.

Gu Yunjin raised her voice, "Huamei, did you go or not?"

"No..." Before she could finish her sentence, Huamei was startled by the sharp look from Yang Shi and quickly changed her words, "How could I not have gone? Beisan Hutong is just a short distance from the Marquis's mansion. Miss urged me to go, so I went early."

Gu Yunjin smiled with pursed lips.

What a load of nonsense!