Chapter 7 Playing with People

Even though she cursed Gu Yunjin in her heart, Mrs. Yang still smiled and said, "Alright, alright, my child, whatever you say is fine. Let the doctor prescribe the medicine first, then we'll have someone fetch the herbs and brew the medicine. It will take an hour or two, and you need to drink it before you sleep. We can't delay it."

After speaking, Mrs. Yang signaled to the maid.

The maid understood and quickly said to the doctor, "Prepare the ink and paper in the room."

Gu Yunjin did not stop her.

Mrs. Yang intentionally didn't let the doctor listen, and found a solid reason. Gu Yunjin saw through her intentions, and just smiled at the doctor and said, "Thank you then."

The doctor, meeting her sweet smile, subconsciously nodded.

Although she was eager to hear the story, she couldn't stay, so she reluctantly left, muttering to herself as she walked, "There are so many messy things in the official's house. Such a beautiful cousin was pushed into the water. The one who pushed her must not look good!"

Even after writing the prescription, the doctor still remembered Gu Yunjin's smile.

She was truly beautiful!

She had seen many young ladies and noblewomen, but none were as beautiful as Gu Yunjin.

Especially the two dimples at the corners of her lips when she smiled, they could almost suck a person's soul in.

Ah, truly outstanding!

Gu Yunjin naturally didn't know the doctor's thoughts. She said to Mrs. Yang, "The prescription has been written. Aunt, please go and invite my second sister."

With no unrelated people around, Mrs. Yang felt a little relieved. She cleared her throat and said, "It's getting late today. How about we call her tomorrow? I won't hide it from you, after you fell into the water, your sister was also frightened and went to bed early."

"She was frightened?" Gu Yunjin raised her eyebrows, and seeing Mrs. Yang nod, she smirked, "What frightened her? Was she afraid I would drown and become a water ghost, haunting her in the middle of the night? But I didn't die."

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Mrs. Yang frowned, looking like a kind mother. "Children should mind their words! You shouldn't say such things, it's not auspicious."

Gu Yunjin blinked. She wasn't a child who didn't know any better. What did she mean by minding her words?

Mrs. Yang had her own thoughts.

Gu Yunjin looked at Nian Xia and gestured to her discreetly.

Nian Xia looked hesitant, glanced at Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Wu, but in the end, she couldn't resist Gu Yunjin's request and left quietly.

Mrs. Yang noticed her actions and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to prepare the medicine for Miss," Nian Xia said and quickly left.

Mrs. Yang felt like she had been played. Gu Yunjin had no intention of letting Nian Xia prepare the medicine.

This girl was just toying with them!

Mrs. Yang cursed inwardly while saying, "Good child, Aunt knows you are sensible. You and your sister should have a good talk. Aunt will leave now and come to see you tomorrow."

Gu Yunjin nodded as if she was being cooperative. Before Mrs. Yang left, she said to Huamei, "You should get up too."

Huamei lowered her head, her eyes filled with resentment. Gu Yunjin was truly annoying, wanting to play the role of a good person and a bad person at the same time. It was infuriating.

Mrs. Wu escorted Mrs. Yang out.

Gu Yunjin adjusted the pillow behind her and felt more comfortable.

She wasn't stupid. She didn't expect Xu Lingjie to come tonight.

Mrs. Yang didn't intend to confront her directly, so there was no need for Xu Lingjie to come. Even if Nian Xia went to Xu Lingjie's room, she wouldn't be able to persuade her.

Furthermore, even if Xu Lingjie came, did she want to argue with her like a four or five-year-old child in the middle of the night?

Xu Lingjie had only pushed her. It wasn't like she had slapped a black handprint on her back. Gu Yunjin couldn't be bothered to argue with Xu Lingjie like a child.

Besides, there was no point in arguing.

Gu Yunjin felt relieved to see Mrs. Yang's frustrated expression. She knew Mrs. Yang wanted to scold her but could only smile.

When Mrs. Wu came in again, she saw Gu Yunjin half-lying on the bed, looking listless.

"Yunjin," Mrs. Wu moved a stool to the bedside and sat down, "are you still feeling unwell?"

Gu Yunjin looked up at Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Wu also looked at Gu Yunjin, and she had always been more tolerant of this little sister-in-law.

The Gu family in Beisan Hutong was indeed a strange household.

The legitimate daughter, the second wife who entered the family, and the grandmother who was not in Beijing, three people with no blood ties living together, made Mrs. Wu feel at a loss.

If Gu Yunqi were in Beijing, as the elder brother, he could manage Gu Yunjin, but with only Mrs. Wu in charge, there was nothing she could do.

Moreover, Gu Yunjin almost always stayed at the residence of the Minister of Rites, and it was rare for Wu Shi to see her a few times in a month.

What comforted Wu Shi was that she got along extremely well with Xu Shi, her mother-in-law. Although Gu Yunjin was not pleased with her for this, Wu Shi had already made up her mind. It was difficult to serve a difficult younger sister-in-law, and it was not her duty to serve her. When she got married in a few years, everything would be better.

But despite thinking this way, seeing Gu Yunjin like this still pained Wu Shi.

Gu Yunjin spoke first, asking, "Sister-in-law, did the madam not come?"

Wu Shi thought for a moment and truthfully replied, "The madam has not been feeling well for the past few days. She coughs whenever she catches a cold, but she is very concerned about you. She heard that you fell into the water and couldn't come herself, so she urged me to come and check on you."

"The madam is unwell?" With that said, Gu Yunjin vaguely remembered.

When she was sent to Lingbei that year, the last time she saw Wu Shi, her sister-in-law mentioned Xu Shi's illness. She was usually fine, but in the spring, she would cough when exposed to the wind.

Xu Shi's health was already poor, and enduring this for a whole season was quite a hardship.

Thinking that Gu Yunjin didn't believe her, Wu Shi hurriedly said, "I'm not lying to you. As soon as I received the news, I rushed over. Chen Mama told us that the household forbids us from knowing about your fall into the water, and they didn't allow anyone to come."

Gu Yunjin nodded and said, "I understand. Many guests came to the residence today, and I fell into the water. She wanted to use her reputation to control me."

Wu Shi's face turned pale.

A girl's reputation was important, especially since Gu Yunjin would come of age next year, and the Gu family was in such a situation. It was already difficult to arrange a marriage, and adding this incident made it even more challenging.

"Did many people see it?" Wu Shi asked.

Gu Yunjin smirked and said, "The male guests were separated from us by a whole pond. They only knew that I fell into the water and couldn't see anything else. Xu Lingjie didn't want to kill me. She pushed me into the water and had Mama fish me out after I drank a few mouthfuls."

"That's not good either..." Wu Shi sighed.

Gu Yunjin sat up and whispered to Wu Shi, "It's not good, but isn't there still Xu Lingjie? I think that old midwife really wants to hear the story."

Wu Shi's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Gu Yunjin with a tense face. "Are you... you've already angered your aunt enough today, do you want to offend her to death?"

"Are you afraid of her?" Gu Yunjin pouted. "They're both plotting against me."

Wu Shi's eyebrows twitched, and she blurted out, "I'm not afraid of her at all!"

Gu Yunjin giggled and propped up her cheek, saying, "I'm not afraid either."