Chapter 11: He has been here before

The Duke of Ningguo was enfeoffed during the founding of the dynasty, and the title has been passed down for eight generations. Each generation has achieved remarkable military feats.

The current Duke of Ningguo, Jiang Shiyu, married the Princess of Anyang, elevating the status of the Duke's residence from nobility to royalty. Whether during the reign of the previous emperor or after the current emperor ascended the throne, the Duke's residence has been more splendid than before.

The young master of the Duke, at the age of fourteen, accompanied his father and uncles to the battlefield. Perhaps due to his young age and exposure to bloodshed, he appeared more somber than other boys his age.

In the past, Gu Yunjin did not particularly admire him. She had a prejudice against aristocratic families, and even though the young master excelled in both literary and military arts, in Gu Yunjin's eyes, he was still somewhat rough.

She had only seen the young master a few times during her time in the capital, and they had exchanged fewer than a hundred words. However, her initial impression of him had been firmly etched in her mind.

Nevertheless, Gu Yunjin did admire the young master. She simply did not appreciate the roughness of military men. However, coming from a military family herself, she had heard from her grandfather and father about the suffering of the common people and the brutality of the battlefield. Having seen the hardships of elderly widows, she held a deep respect for those who devoted themselves to the military.

When Gu Yunqi joined the army, Gu Yunjin did not hold him back, but tearfully saw him off as he left the capital.

Madam Wu once said that Gu Yunjin was both contradictory and affected. Gu Yunjin sneered at this, as she admired scholarly pursuits and had a fondness for learning, so how could she be both contradictory and affected?

However, when Gu Yunjin later reflected on Madam Wu's words after leaving the Yang family and escaping a difficult situation, she had to admit that her sister-in-law was half right. She was not contradictory, but she was affected.

"Miss," Nian Xia came out with a food box, smiling, "Would you like to try some now?"

Gu Yunjin could have eaten five of them in one go, but at that moment, her mind was elsewhere.

During her time in Lingbei, Gu Yunjin had seen the young master, or rather, she had seen the Duke of Ningguo.

At that time, the young master had already inherited the title, and his father had become the old Duke.

The old Duke had been injured when he was young, leaving him with a chronic illness. As he grew older, he could no longer bear the rigors of war, so he simply passed the title to his son and retired to live in the capital.

In reality, for Gu Yunjin, that chance encounter was only three or four days ago.

At that time, she was already on the brink of death, but she had a moment of clarity and could even walk around.

Gu Yunjin had asked Nian Xia to prepare a carriage, and the two of them went to a nearby Taoist temple. She believed in the Three Pure Ones and wanted to speak to them before she died, asking for a better life in her next reincarnation, to live a longer life and not die at the age of twenty-four.

When she left, she saw the young master.

The young master had passed by the Taoist temple on his way to the northern frontier and had come in to rest.

At that time, both of them were surprised by the unexpected encounter with a stranger from a distant place, although they were not acquaintances, it was still a mysterious meeting.

Gu Yunjin even secretly wondered if this was a sign from the Three Pure Ones that she would be born into a noble family and live a distinguished life in her next life, just like the young master.

Who would have known that just three days later, she would be thrown back ten years.

She was still herself, but her dreams of power and glory were no longer relevant.

In the end, the last outsider Gu Yunjin saw before her death was the young master.

Now, hearing his name, Gu Yunjin felt a sense of nostalgia.

However, what was the matter with the Xu family?

The position of a minister was not low, and with Xu Yan's qualifications, he had risen quickly. However, in a city filled with officials and nobles, a minister was not particularly noteworthy.

The Xu family had only entered the officialdom a little over ten years ago, and they had not gained much influence, not even in the households of marquises and counts, let alone the Duke of Ningguo's residence.

On the other hand, the Yang family had some old connections and a wider network, but it was still not comparable to the Duke of Ningguo's residence.

How did Xu Yan manage to attach himself to such a powerful figure?

Gu Yunjin couldn't understand and asked Nian Xia, "Did the Duke and the young master come to the mansion yesterday for the banquet?"

Nian Xia widened her eyes, "I don't know. When we return to the mansion, I will inquire about it."

Gu Yunjin nodded, but she already had an answer in her heart.

The young master must have come.

In her dream yesterday, the pair of dark, concerned eyes she had seen clearly belonged to the young master.

When they had met at the Taoist temple, the young master had an old injury in his left eye, a thin scar from the corner of his eye to his cheekbone.

However, the eyes in her dream were unblemished.

It was this difference that made her fail to recall the person she had met just a few days ago.

The sedan chair continued on to North Sanhu Tong.

Gu Yunjin bit into the crystal oil bun. She was dissatisfied with the Xu family, but she had never thought of ruining them. However, if the Xu family managed to attach themselves to such a powerful figure and continued to prosper, it would truly be irritating!

North Sanhu Tong was long and narrow, inhabited mostly by businessmen from other provinces, and each household was relatively well-off, so the entire alley was not chaotic.

Madam Wu came out to greet her, and seeing her finish the crystal oil bun and even lick her fingers, she couldn't help but smile inwardly. She was truly a child, but her appetite showed that she was not seriously ill, which put Madam Wu at ease.

When they opened the door, Old Lady Shen hurried out and went straight to Gu Yunjin, examining her up and down, "Miss, you suffered yesterday."

Gu Yunjin's nose suddenly felt sour.

Old Lady Shen was brought up by Gu Yunjin's birth mother, Madam Su.

When Madam Su was still alive, Old Lady Shen was her trusted confidante, and Gu Yunjin had particularly trusted her when she was young.

When Madam Xu entered the mansion, Old Lady Shen followed her to serve her and had never left since.

Gù Yúnjǐn had once resented Shěn Māmā, believing that she had betrayed her old master and was bought off by the Xú family.

With resentment spreading to everything associated with Shěn Māmā, Gù Yúnjǐn took all of her care and concern as insincere.

Before marrying into the Yáng family, Shěn Māmā had once disregarded the boundaries of master and servant and had angrily scolded Gù Yúnjǐn.

"It's clear that you detest Madam, you clearly can't wait for Madam to drop dead, yet you are close with Madam's family, and even want to marry into Madam's sister's family. If you truly cannot stand Madam, then cut off all ties with Madam's relatives, or else don't harbor enmity towards Madam daily and still depend on Madam's relatives for your livelihood. If you want to stand on your own, this is not the way to go about it."

The words were extremely harsh, and Gù Yúnjǐn was completely bent out of shape and unable to listen to a single word.

After all, in Gù Yúnjǐn's thinking, the relationship between Xú Shì and the Dìláng Mansion was probably even worse than the relationship between her and Xú Shì.

Mǐn Lǎotài detested Xú Shì, and it was to spite Xú Shì that Gù Yúnjǐn was allowed to live in the Xú family. And Yáng Shì arranged for her to marry Yáng Xīyù because she liked Gù Yúnjǐn as a person, not because of Xú Shì.

By the time Gù Yúnjǐn had figured this out, she couldn't see Shěn Māmā anymore.

She fell "ill" at the Yáng family, and Shěn Māmā came to the Yáng family to make the case, but how could the Yáng family pay attention to a servant? After driving her out, they even beat Shěn Māmā with a stick.

At her age, how could Shěn Māmā withstand that? She dragged on for half a month before passing away.

The more Gù Yúnjǐn thought about it, the more upset she became, throwing herself into Shěn Māmā's arms and holding her tightly.

Shěn Māmā couldn't bear to see Gù Yúnjǐn with red eyes. She comforted her while speaking hoarsely, "Our young lady has suffered, she has suffered. Don't cry, if there's anything that's troubling you, just tell Māmā and I will help you."

Gù Yúnjǐn sniffled, "Everything's troubling me, but most of all, my heart is the most troubled..."