Gu Nuan woke again the next morning. She moved her body and felt that she had recovered considerably—the pain was gone.
She picked up the child beside her and kissed him, then remembered that she hadn't fed him since yesterday. Yet the child hadn't even cried!
She loosened her clothing and tried to feed him. The child, as if catching the scent, latched on and began to suckle. The first pull made Gu Nuan shudder from the pain.
Once the child was full, Gu Nuan held him upright and patted his back until she confirmed he had burped, then set him down.
Cuiniang came in and saw this scene. She glanced at Gu Nuan with a blank expression and said, "Oh, I didn't expect you to be so good at caring for children."
Gu Nuan didn't look up. She replied with a hint of mockery, "Mother, have you forgotten that I raised Fourth Brother from the time he was born?"
Fourth Brother Gu Fei had never been breastfed—Gu Nuan had hand-milked goats to feed him. How could she not know how to care for a child?
When Gu Fei was little, he used to cling to her constantly. But ever since he moved to the front courtyard at age six, he had never been close to her again.
Cuiniang glared at her. "Truly an ungrateful wolf—before you've even been thrown out of the house, you're already biting your mother."
"Mother flatters me too much. And overestimates herself as well." Gu Nuan didn't look up, tidying the worn swaddling cloth around the child.
Cuiniang snorted coldly. "Take the child to the front courtyard. Your grandfather has returned and wants to see you."
"Understood. You go ahead—I'll tidy up a bit and come over." Gu Nuan adjusted her clothes, preparing to bring the child with her.
Cuiniang looked around the room and said, "Tidy what? After your Clan Expulsion, you're not allowed to take anything from this room. Hurry up and go."
Hearing this, Gu Nuan got off the bed and walked toward Cuiniang, stopping one step away from her.
With a calm expression, she asked softly, "Is Gu Nuan really your biological daughter? Truly, you've managed to lower my opinion of you once again."
Cuiniang was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"You don't need to know." Gu Nuan paid no attention to her reaction, nor did she need her answer. Such a person was beyond saving—that question had been a pure waste of breath.
Holding the child, she followed her memory of the path toward the front hall of the outer courtyard.
The Gu family wasn't the wealthiest household in Wutong Town, but they weren't small either, with a fairly expansive estate.
Gu Nuan walked for a while before reaching the front courtyard. She looked up at the plaque hanging in the main hall and let out a light laugh. "Family virtues pure and serene"? How could they hang such a plaque without shame?
"Nuan girl, come in." A dignified voice came from within the hall.
Gu Nuan carried the child and stepped inside. The hall was full of people—her eldest uncle and her father had both returned.
She looked at the two elders seated in the center and bowed. "Greetings to Grandfather and Grandmother."
Gu Qingfeng looked at his sixth granddaughter below. She had originally been promised to the town head as a concubine—who would have thought this would happen?
It had been well concealed at first. The plan was to abort the child, let her recover, and then send her off as originally arranged. But every attempt had failed, and word had gotten out.
Gu Qingfeng's eyes darkened. "Your grandmother told me about yesterday's matter. You were far too impulsive. Clan Expulsion is no small matter—I can't easily convene the clan register for your sake."
"As a daughter, you should obey your family's arrangements. Were all your lessons on female virtue in vain? Where have your Three Obediences and Four Virtues gone? To think you'd want to convene the clan register over such a trivial matter."
Gu Nuan understood—they had no intention of letting her leave, and they were placing the blame squarely on her.
"Grandfather, it wasn't I who proposed Clan Expulsion. Grandmother made me choose between selling the child and Clan Expulsion. This child is, after all, flesh of my flesh. Naturally, I was extremely reluctant to part with him, so I had no choice but to make my decision."
The old lady slammed her hand on the table upon hearing this and angrily said, "So you're saying this is my fault."
"Your granddaughter never said that." Gu Nuan pretended to shrink her neck in fear.
Gu Qingfeng glanced at his wife and said, "Our Gu family hasn't fallen so low as to need to sell a child. The child can stay in the Gu family, but he cannot be raised by your side. Your future must not be ruined by this child of unknown origin."
Fine words, but it was nothing more than thinking I still had some use value.
Gu Nuan worked hard to squeeze out tears and said, "This is the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to. How could I abandon him and not raise him? No matter who his biological father is, Nuan'er wants to raise him herself. I beg Grandfather to grant this."
Gu Qingfeng's face darkened and he did not speak. But the eldest aunt, seated below, spoke up instead: "Nuan girl, this is not just your own matter. The entire Gu family has lost face because of you, and it nearly affected the marriage prospects of several of your sisters. You cannot let the small matter ruin the big one."
"Eldest Aunt, what exactly counts as not letting the small matter ruin the big one? Is it only by sending the child away, as you suggested yesterday, that it doesn't count as letting the small matter ruin the big one?"
"You were willing to let go of Cousin Wenli because he is the eldest grandson of the Cheng family. The Cheng family would naturally not mistreat him."
Cheng Wenli was Gu Yujin's eldest son. When she requested to return to her natal home, she did not bring him back, nor would the Cheng family have let her. So she left her eldest son behind and brought Cheng Wenjing back to her natal home.
Gu Nuan saw Gu Yujin's face turn pale, and continued with a bitter expression: "But my child is different. He was never liked by anyone to begin with. No matter whose household he is raised in, he will inevitably suffer. Nuan'er naturally cannot bear to part with him."
"Nuan girl, your eldest aunt is thinking of you. Why must you rub salt in your eldest aunt's wounds?" As she spoke, Gu Yujin dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
"Eldest Aunt, how have I rubbed salt in your wounds? Cousin Wenli is the Cheng family's eldest grandson. Staying with the Cheng family is only proper. How can that be called rubbing salt in your wounds?"
"You have repeatedly wanted to sell my son—that is what's called flaying my skin and pulling out my bones. Eldest Aunt, what grudge do I have against you that you would treat me this way?"
Gu Yujin's expression changed. Only now did she sense that Gu Nuan was different. Earlier, when Gu Nuan chose Clan Expulsion, she had only thought Gu Nuan was a first-time mother who could not bear to part with her child. The current Gu Nuan was completely different from the timid, weak girl she had been before.
What had given her such courage, made her so sharp-tongued, daring to offend her elders?
Could it really be as Cuiniang guessed—that she knew who the child's biological father was, and that the child's biological father's status was no ordinary one?
If Gu Nuan knew about the drama she was imagining, she would surely laugh out loud. Giving herself such a good reason to change her personality—she really ought to thank her properly.
Gu Yujin adjusted her expression and said with a very gentle smile, "Nuan girl, your eldest aunt made that suggestion for your own good. Since you don't agree now, naturally I won't force it."
"If you're really uneasy, you can leave the child with your eldest aunt to raise. Your eldest aunt's courtyard only has your cousin Wenjing, so I can take perfectly good care of this child." As she spoke, she rose and moved to take the child.
How could Gu Nuan let her have her way? The scheming in her eyes might have gone unnoticed by others, but that didn't mean Gu Nuan hadn't seen it.
Who can guess just how vicious the heart of this white lotus is? If the child is left with her, who knows what he might become.
Besides, she herself had no intention of staying in this den of wolves, so it was even less likely she would leave the child here.
Gu Nuan took a step back and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Auntie, but I still want to raise the child myself."
She then looked toward Gu Qingfeng and said, "Grandfather, things have already come to this for me, and no one will marry me anymore. So please let me raise the child myself. This child can be said to be your granddaughter's only hope of survival. Please, Grandfather, grant me this."
"So you're determined to go against your grandfather's wishes?" Gu Qingfeng's expression was extremely unpleasant. Up to now, no descendant of his had ever dared to defy him.
Gu Nuan, pale-faced, lowered her head and said again, "Please, Grandfather, grant me this."
Gu Qingfeng slammed his teacup onto the table with a pa and stood up, saying, "Atao, Cuiniang, lock her in the firewood shed to reflect properly. She is not to be let out until she has reflected enough."
With that, he left the main hall.