Chapter 9 Identity

Nianxia's thoughts were light, and when she saw Gu Yunjin's teasing, her lingering worries finally dissipated.

She was the legitimate daughter of the Gu family and also the eldest daughter in the family.

Nianxia's father followed General Gu into the military camp, running errands and learning some characters. He was devoted to fighting foreign enemies on the battlefield but got injured and had to return to the general's residence.

Fortunately, Nianxia was just born. After having three sons, her father finally had a tender daughter, which eased the pain of his leg injury and made him dote on Nianxia like a treasure.

If it weren't for the maid from the residence coming to pick her up, promising to send her to learn and read, her family would have been reluctant to let her go to the residence.

Nianxia and Gu Yunjin were of similar age, and in those days at the general's residence, Nianxia felt quite comfortable.

Until they arrived in the capital.

At first, she had trouble adjusting to the food, and Gu Yunjin also listened to Xu Lingjie's teachings about the elegance of a well-educated girl from a scholarly family. Despite feeling awkward, Nianxia had to follow suit.

She changed her accent when speaking, so that no one could tell they were outsiders, and learned all the intricate rules, fearing that Gu Yunjin wouldn't like her.

Recently, Nianxia had a vague feeling that Gu Yunjin was closer to Fudong than to her, which made her extremely anxious.

Now that Gu Yunjin had spoken a few words to her, Nianxia smiled and carefully said, "Miss, no matter what kind of person you are, your own comfort is the most important. I'm just afraid that I can't learn to paint plum blossoms like you. Please don't look down on me."

"Why do you want to learn from her?" Gu Yunjin pouted and smiled. "To deceive and manipulate? Or to belittle others?"

Nianxia touched her nose. She was sure she couldn't do either of those things.

Gu Yunjin hugged the pillow tightly and sighed, "She's not a good person! If she gives you a hard time, don't be afraid to stand up to her. If she dares to complain, make sure she can't get away with it."

Nianxia blinked, wanting to ask what kind of secret Gu Yunjin had on Fudong, but she swallowed her words. Her mistress must be right.

"Miss," Nianxia nodded firmly, "if you need to teach Fudong a lesson, just let me handle it."

Gu Yunjin looked at her. "What will you do?"

"I'll talk to her, and if that doesn't work, I can fight her!" Nianxia said, "I have a strong punch."

Gu Yunjin couldn't help but smile. "What about my punch?"

Nianxia looked at Gu Yunjin's hand.

Her small, fair hand with slender fingers and neatly trimmed nails. It looked good for playing chess or the zither, but it probably lacked strength for a fight.

Gu Yunjin could tell from Nianxia's expression what she was thinking. She laughed and said, "After a few days, I'll practice with you. It's no fun to have a weak body."

Nianxia was a little confused. "Do you really want to do it yourself?"

"Can't I?" Gu Yunjin glanced at her.

Nianxia shook her head, hesitantly saying, "Didn't you say that it's beneath your status to argue with servants?"

Gu Yunjin stopped smiling. She almost wanted to kick herself for thinking such nonsense at the time!

Pride in her status?

If she couldn't make people genuinely respect her, sitting high and mighty would only invite disdain and gossip behind her back.

Those who were difficult to deal with would not show respect to her face and would insult her behind her back.

In the past, Gu Yunjin had experienced this in the Yang family, despite being married into it. It was a joke.

"What kind of family are we from?" Gu Yunjin looked into Nianxia's eyes and said, "We are from a military family. When we are on the battlefield, do we need to calculate whether the person in front of us is of equal status? Do we need to consider our reputation before we can fight? If that's how we fight, what kind of soldiers are we?

If they are enemies, whether they are generals or soldiers, we fight them all the same."

Nianxia was stunned. Gu Yunjin's words made sense, but she also felt that something was not quite right, and there were contradictions. But she couldn't figure it out.

So she decided not to think about it.

After all, she was just a maid to the young lady. If the young lady said to go east, she would go east.

After the medicine was ready, Gu Yunjin drank it all and instinctively wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

This time, Nianxia was no longer surprised. She tidied up the medicine bowl, fetched water, helped Gu Yunjin wash up, and then blew out the lamp and left the tent.

Gu Yunjin slept until late in the morning and went to Xianhe Hall before Mr. Xu left the residence.

Xianhe Hall was where Madam Min lived, and Gu Yunjin rarely came here. As she entered, she happened to meet Xu Lingjie and Xu Lingyi, the eldest daughter of the Wei family, who came to pay their respects.

Xu Lingyi smiled at Gu Yunjin, while Xu Lingjie frowned and turned away.

Mr. Xu waved at Gu Yunjin. "Are you okay? I wanted to visit you yesterday, but your sister-in-law came..."

As he spoke, he glanced discreetly at Madam Min.

Gu Yunjin saw it and understood.

Mr. Xu felt guilty towards the Xu family, and even though Gu Yunjin wasn't Xu's biological daughter, he treated her well, relatively speaking.

Yesterday, Mr. Xu probably really wanted to visit her, but Madam Min stopped him.

Gu Yunjin bowed and said, "Grandfather, I'm fine. It's my second sister who was scared yesterday, I heard."

All eyes in the room were fixed on Xu Lingjie, and her frown deepened. "I feel much better after a nap."

"I just don't understand," Gu Yunjin walked up to Xu Lingjie and looked straight into her eyes. "You weren't afraid when you pushed me into the water. But now that I'm awake, you're the one who's afraid?"

Xu Lingjie's face turned pale as she retorted, "Don't talk nonsense! You didn't stand steady and fell in. How can you blame me for that?"

Gu Yunjin knew she wouldn't admit it and didn't bother arguing with her. With a sneer, he said, "Oh, right, I didn't stand steady. It must be the ghost in the pool who dragged me down to find someone to take its place. Little sister, be careful when walking by the pool in the future. Don't get dragged down."

Xu Lingjie shivered, feeling unsettled by Gu Yunjin's tone.

At this moment, Gu Yunjin couldn't throw her into the water, but his words sent chills down Xu Lingjie's spine.

Especially his deep, bottomless eyes. Xu Lingjie clenched her teeth, reminding herself to never walk near the pool. Who knows when she might fall victim to Gu Yunjin's schemes.

"What nonsense are you all talking about!" Old Lady Min slapped the table and said, "Let's invite a Taoist priest to the mansion tomorrow to perform a ritual. How about that? You've all lost your minds!"