After Gu Qinghan left, Concubine Yun no longer had the strength to discipline Gu Lin. Clutching her chest, she lay down on the bed.
Her heart felt as if it were burning. Today, Gu Qinghan had resembled her mother so much.
Concubine Yun seemed to recall something, a trace of malice flashing in her eyes.
She called her personal maid over.
“Dongling, fetch the handkerchief from the Huanghuali cabinet for me.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The maid had accompanied Concubine Yun when she married into the household, and their bond was unlike any other. In private, the maid addressed her as “Madam,” while in front of others, she would call her “Concubine.”
The maid hurried to the cabinet, carefully retrieving the wrapped handkerchief.
The handkerchief was neatly stored in a box, and the maid handed it to Concubine Yun with both hands.
Concubine Yun slowly picked up the handkerchief, stroking the corner embroidered with the character “Ting.”
And Gu Qinghan’s father was named Gu Tingkang!
A sweet smile appeared on Concubine Yun’s face, almost like that of a young girl in love.
She whispered softly, “Tinglang, Yun’er misses you so much…”
The maid was used to this and simply stood guard at the door, giving her mistress a moment to reminisce.
The night was dark and gloomy.
Today, Concubine Yun had no time to question Gu Lin, as she was wholly preoccupied with pouring out her grievances about childbirth to the third branch’s master, Gu Pan.
The two young girls of the third branch were resting in the same bedroom.
The lamplight was dim. Gu Lin felt somewhat embarrassed—this was the first time she had lain beside Gu Rongxin.
Her fingers clutched the edge of the blanket, her body stiff.
She hadn’t treated Gu Rongxin very well. Who would have thought that one day the two of them would be so close?
In the silence, Gu Rongxin spoke first.
“Sister Han is truly beautiful~”
Gu Lin replied somewhat awkwardly, “…Yes, Sister Han is the most beautiful in the capital.”
Gu Rongxin smiled gently. She got out of bed and walked to the table, retrieving two pieces of pastry wrapped in oil paper.
Then, she opened a small drawer in the dressing table, rummaging for something.
Seeing Gu Lin’s curious gaze, she quickened her pace.
By the time she returned to the bed, Gu Lin had already turned her head away, pretending not to care.
Gu Rongxin smiled and sat back on the bed.
“Sister Lin, look.”
Gu Lin turned and saw her place the plate of pastries on the empty space beside the bed, then open her hand.
Gu Lin quickly sat up and saw two pairs of earrings in Gu Rongxin’s hand.
One pair was sapphire drop earrings with beads, and the other was red jadeite drip earrings.
Gu Rongxin spoke softly, her eyes filled with admiration. “Sister Han gave these to me a couple of days ago…”
Gu Lin immediately felt a pang of jealousy. She replied reluctantly, “Oh…” After hesitating for a moment, she couldn’t help but add, “Sister Han has never given me anything…”
Seeing Gu Rongxin struggling to hold back a smile, Gu Lin blushed.
She tried to cover it up, saying, “I don’t care anyway!”
Unexpectedly, Gu Rongxin opened Gu Lin’s fingers and placed the pair of red jadeite drip earrings in her palm.
“Sister, let me finish. When Sister Han gave these to me, she said this.”
She smiled, imitating Gu Qinghan’s nonchalant manner. “The shopkeeper delivered this season’s new arrivals yesterday. Some of them are quite lovely. I picked a few for you.”
“And for Gu Lin.”
Hearing this, Gu Lin grew excited. “Did Sister Han really say that?”
Gu Rongxin nodded and continued her imitation.
“Concubine Yun is about to give birth, and Gu Lin’s situation hasn’t been easy lately. It’s good that the two of you can support each other in the third household. She is also very simple-hearted, just forced into it by Concubine Yun.”
“If there’s anything you want or wish to buy, just go ahead.”
After Gu Rongxin finished mimicking, she noticed Gu Lin was already in tears.
Puffing out her somewhat childish cheeks, Gu Lin sobbed, “I thought Sister Han hated me terribly.”
“How could that be? Sister Han has a heart like crystal—clever, decisive, and gentle. Even when she was deceived by Gu Xu before, she never bullied anyone.”
Gu Lin also seemed thoughtful: “I also feel that Sister Han seems to have returned to how she used to be, more vibrant. In the past, when she was always around that wolf in sheep’s clothing, Gu Xu, she was like a kite in the sky every day, elusive and hard to grasp.”
Soon, the two laughed together, thinking to themselves how wonderful it was to have this happy and cherished Gu Qinghan now.
Gu Lin excitedly got out of bed and ran to the bronze mirror, eagerly putting on the earrings.
“Sister Han has such great taste—these earrings are so exquisite!”
Gu Rongxin followed closely behind, also holding the earrings up to the mirror. Hearing this, she blinked: “I was also worried that such exquisite earrings might be too flashy to wear out, but Sister Han told me that we are all from the Gu Manor…” She felt a bit embarrassed to say the next part.
Gu Lin grew impatient and couldn’t help urging, “What else did Sister Han say?”
“She said we are the most dazzling and beautiful girls in the Gu Manor, so of course we should wear the finest things.”
The two girls were stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter together.
Seeing how happy Gu Lin was, Gu Rongxin also felt moved: “This is so wonderful now. Another day, let’s go to Sister Han’s courtyard to have some snacks together. It’s truly wonderful for us sisters of the Gu family to be so harmonious.”
The bronze mirror reflected the lovely faces of the two young girls.