“She has the nerve to hide away—she shouldn’t have come back at all!” Zhou Zhili was utterly furious.
Ye Lanxin began her act once more: “Sister has returned? Then I must personally go and apologize to her. If it weren’t for me and Qinzhu back then, how could she have left the Zhou Family… And Father, if he knew Sister had returned, he would surely be overjoyed.”
Zhou Zhili quickly stopped her: “Don’t tell Father-in-law for now. When they left back then, the harsh words they spoke also wounded his heart. You are both his daughters—how could he favor one over the other? It was all because Lady Ye was narrow-minded and intolerant. Since she returned without paying respects to Father-in-law and chose to stay at the temple rather than come home, there’s no need to bother with her. The most important thing right now is Qinzhu’s Ji-ji ceremony.”
Ye Lanxin wore a worried expression: “But Sister…”
“Mother, you keep calling her ‘Sister,’ but she won’t appreciate it at all. Have you forgotten how she humiliated you back then?” Zhou Yuzhi reminded her.
Just as Ye Lanxin was about to reply, she noticed Zhou Yuxiu lost in thought beside her. Sighing, she said, “Yuxiu, since you went to Xuandi Guan today and know your mother is there, you should go and bring her back.”
Only then did Zhou Yuxiu snap out of his reverie and say, “A mother’s kindness begets a son’s filial piety. Grandmother was right—she doesn’t deserve it.”
Ye Lanxin couldn’t help but think to herself that it had truly been a wise decision back then when Laofuren forcibly took away and raised the three sons born to Ye Hesheng. They were completely estranged from Ye Hesheng.
Zhou Zhili’s initial urge to reprimand Zhou Yuxiu also faded.
After complaining for a while longer, they ultimately decided to focus their attention on the Ji-ji ceremony.
The people from Xuandi Guan hadn’t forgotten what to say when they visited the Liu family. Minister Liu, having navigated the official circles for many years, was well aware that his son had been set up by the heir of Jing’an Hou this time. Fortunately, Xuandi Guan hadn’t made the matter public, only privately meeting with him to deliver a warning. While he acknowledged their consideration, he harbored a grudge against Jing’an Houfu.
Gu Ruanci stayed peacefully at the Gu residence these past two days and hadn’t gone out again.
As for Zhou Zhili disrupting the order at Xuandi Guan and causing panic among the commoners over personal matters, Chengfang Junying still dealt with it: he was demoted from captain and would have to start over as an ordinary soldier.
“Sister, that Zhou Yuxiu really got what he deserved. Eldest Brother is only a year older than him and can already guard the border on behalf of Father and Mother, yet all he knows how to do is bully women with his insignificant bit of power.”
Gu Yuxuan had been sticking close to Gu Ruanci these past two days, wanting to follow her wherever she went.
“Younger Brother, don’t you have anything else to do?” Gu Ruanci asked helplessly.
“Not at the moment. After all, the Gu family’s glory rests on my three older brothers. Isn’t it nice to enjoy life freely under their protection? Father and Mother said that as long as I abide by the law, don’t bully others by relying on my status, and don’t strive for great achievements, it’s fine.”
Though Gu Yuxuan’s tone was naive, his expression was sincere.
Having been left in Dizhou Cheng all these years, the family servants had taken good care of him, instilling in him a proper set of values.
Gu Ruanci didn’t argue. Pampering such an adorable younger brother wasn’t a difficult thing for her to do.
“Sister, there’s something I haven’t confessed to you yet…”
Gu Yuxuan slowly shuffled closer to Gu Ruanci, wearing a guilty look as if he had acted first and reported later.
“Let’s hear it,” Gu Ruanci said unhurriedly, her tone gentle.
“I made a bet with Ye Chengyun from the Ye Family—whether more people would attend her cousin’s Ji-ji ceremony or my sister’s Renqin Yan…”
Upon hearing the mention of the Ye Family, Gu Ruanci roughly guessed who the other party was.
The child of Ye Lanxin’s younger brother, the little troublemaker of the Ye Family.
She hadn’t expected that her own scoundrel of a maternal grandfather hadn’t shown up, but his descendants had made an appearance.
“Then you’ll probably lose. What’s the wager?” Gu Ruanci said directly.
Gu Yuxuan was taken aback. “Sister, why?”
“Because on the day of the Zhou Family’s Ji-ji ceremony, Little Medical Immortal will appear.”
Gu Ruanci’s tone remained steady. Now that the Zhou Family was using such lies to build momentum, she was quite pleased to see it.
“But that’s not for Zhou Qinzhu’s sake,” Gu Yuxuan muttered.
Thinking of the rumors about Little Medical Immortal, he indeed felt the bet was somewhat uncertain.
Gu Ruanci added, “You still haven’t told me what your wager is.”
“Whoever loses has to sweep the entrance of the other’s house, and they have to let the commoners see it, and say they enjoy sweeping for them…”
“It’s fine. If you really lose, I’ll go with you.”
“Sister, will we really lose?” Gu Yuxuan was still unwilling to accept it.
Gu Ruanci nodded. “Yes, the Zhou Family has been deliberately spreading the word that Little Medical Immortal will appear that day. Even I’m tempted to go see, let alone others.”
Gu Yuxuan fell silent. After a moment, he said, “Sister, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have used your affairs to make a bet, but this trouble is of my own making. I can’t let you bear it with me. It’s just sweeping, right? I’ll accept the loss. Losing face once is less terrible than breaking trust.”
Looking at Gu Yuxuan’s earnest expression, Gu Ruanci felt unexpectedly moved.
“Yuxuan, don’t worry. This time, Ye Chengyun definitely won’t want to face the outcome of his own victory.”
“Why?” Gu Yuxuan didn’t quite understand.
Gu Ruanci smiled mysteriously. “You’ll know when the time comes.”
By now, the streets and alleys of Dizhou Cheng were abuzz with the news: Little Medical Immortal had entered the city and would appear on the day of the Zhou Family’s eldest daughter’s Ji-ji ceremony, presenting the Zhou Family with a grand gift.
Many people wanted to catch a glimpse of Little Medical Immortal’s elegance, regretting only that they hadn’t received an invitation from Jing’an Hou.
In contrast, at Shouguo Gongfu, they hadn’t concealed Gu Ruanci’s background, so aside from close acquaintances, people’s interest in this young lady of the Gu Family was certainly less than their curiosity about Little Medical Immortal.
“I knew they would pull something like this…”
Zhuang Hefeng, who was preparing for the Renqin Yan, was also aware of the current trends in Dizhou Cheng. Today, when Gu Congyun returned from court, he mentioned how many officials had gathered around Zhou Zhili—some thanking him for the invitation, others hinting that they wanted to attend but hadn’t yet received an invitation from the Zhou Family.
At that time, Zhou Zhili’s smug expression was the very picture of a dog relying on its master’s power.
“Mother, why get upset over such things? Those who still come to our Gu Family despite the temptation of Little Medical Immortal’s reputation must be genuinely congratulatory. Right now, the Zhou Family is only saying that Little Medical Immortal will visit their home. They haven’t yet said that Zhou Yuzhi might become Little Medical Immortal’s disciple.”
Gu Ruanci wasn’t flustered. All of this was within her control.
The current public opinion also had her pushing it along behind the scenes.
“There’s such a thing? Little Medical Immortal would actually take a member of the Zhou Family as a disciple? How come I haven’t heard about it?”
Zhuang Hefeng was taken aback. Wouldn’t this make the Zhou Family even more arrogant?
“Perhaps the news hasn’t spread widely yet. I heard it from Nong Chun as well.”
Gu Ruanci casually tossed the question aside, and Nong Chun hurriedly explained, “That’s right, Madam. I only happened to hear about this by chance…”
Zhuang Hefeng’s expression shifted slightly, but in the end, he said with a carefree tone, “Never mind. If Little Medical Immortal wants to flatter those neither human nor dog creatures of the Zhou Family, it won’t affect our plans to formally introduce our daughter to the distinguished figures of Dizhou…”