After taking her leave, Gu Youning hurried away, lifting her skirts as she went.
She was afraid of Prince Duan—she wished she could run a great distance in one breath. Even being slightly near him made her heart flutter with panic.
Only after walking a long stretch did she finally stop, panting, in a quiet spot shaded by flowers.
When she had seen Prince Duan earlier, fear had gripped her so badly that she could barely speak properly and her mind could hardly function. Now that she had calmed down, her thoughts cleared, and she began to ponder his words—and what lay beneath them.
He had been angry about her copying books, saying she was defiling the sages' writings. The words were unpleasant, but Gu Youning had to admit they were true.
He had let her off—that was the magnanimity of one in power. But before she left, he had deliberately called her back to give her a few more instructions, and Gu Youning felt this was what she truly needed to think over.
"Behave yourself." What did behaving yourself mean?
She mulled it over for a while and vaguely realized it was a warning to stay in her place and not overstep.
What would count as not behaving? Clearly, she could no longer go to the study to copy books. But was there anything else?
Gu Youning recalled the arrogance and disdain in his expression.
A prince of his standing had become entangled with a servant woman like her—he must feel vexed about it inside. So he wanted her to keep quiet about it, to hold her tongue?
Gu Youning also thought of the three years of mourning. It was a matter bearing on reputation. If word got out, it would greatly damage his name, so of course it had to be kept hidden from everyone.
Having reasoned it all through, Gu Youning actually felt somewhat relieved. That night's accident was something both of them clearly wished to forget. Now they had an unspoken understanding to pretend it never happened—that was the best possible outcome.
Just then, a few maids happened to pass by. Afraid they might notice something amiss, Gu Youning quickly composed herself, greeted them as if nothing were wrong, and then hurried to her parents' home. She stuffed the few pages of the book into Gu Yueqiu's hands and turned to leave.
Prince Duan had mentioned Gu Yueqiu today, and seemed to think somewhat well of him. But she dared not bring this up, fearing Gu Yueqiu would raise hopes for nothing, and if it came to nothing, he would only be hurt.
To her surprise, Gu Yueqiu caught her sleeve. "Sister, that Miss Shu Juan—I happened to run into her on the back street yesterday."
Gu Youning was slightly startled. "What? How did you run into her?"
Gu Yueqiu's legs were bad, and he rarely liked to go out. For him to finally go out once and run into Miss Shu Juan—it was far too much of a coincidence!
Gu Yueqiu's face was cold. "I grew suspicious, so I had someone make inquiries beforehand. Knowing she leaves the residence every day, I arranged to run into her."
Gu Youning could hardly believe it. "What did you say to her? Don't tell me you offended her!"
She remembered how Prince Duan had caught her copying books, and she feared this matter might bring trouble on the Shu family. She already felt guilty about it—and now Gu Yueqiu had gone and met her too. She was terrified he might have said something improper.
Gu Yueqiu said, "Sister, in my view, she is no innocent. One look and you can tell she harbors ill intent. Be careful, Sister—don't let her deceive you."
Gu Youning nearly stamped her foot. "How can you say such things about her? What do you know? Her temperament is excellent, and she's helped me so much. If not for her help, how could I have copied the books at all? How can you speak of her this way!"
Gu Yueqiu said, "Sister, she's simply taking advantage of your eagerness to copy books. It's true that I long for that book, but if it means you get deceived and fall into some trap because of it, then I'd rather never read a book again in my life!"
Hearing this, Gu Youning was nearly furious. She had just humbly and carefully begged before Prince Duan—all for the sake of his future—and yet he said such things. How could she not be angry?
She said hatefully, "Though you have some learning, you're young and reckless, offending people like this. Go and apologize to her at once!"
Gu Yueqiu grew anxious. "Sister, with just a few probing words, Miss Shu Juan revealed a flaw. She must want something from you. I only regret that my legs are bad, or I'd find out what her aim is!"
Gu Youning felt both pained and vexed.
At first, perhaps she had also doubted Miss Shu Juan, but after spending this time together, the other had been gentle and kind, well-read and reasonable, teaching her to read and praising her handwriting. All of this had left Gu Youning deeply grateful—she was truly a one-of-a-kind good girl in this world.
And yet her own brother failed to recognize a kind heart!
She said hatefully, "If you keep this up, I'll truly be angry. You've only spoken a few words with her, yet you make such a sweeping judgment!"
Gu Yueqiu: "Sister—"
Gu Youning refused to listen to him, instead slapping those few pages down. "I'm nothing but a lowly servant—what is there to deceive? Besides, I've copied this now. These few pages alone couldn't be exchanged for ten of me. If she really means to cheat people, then everyone would only wish to be cheated by her like this! Reflect on yourself!"
With that, she stomped off in a huff.
Watching her retreating figure, Gu Yueqiu was so anxious he wanted to chase after her, but with his bad legs, how could he catch up? He nearly fell over instead.
Gu Youning returned home fuming. The moment she got home, the little hen Gugu circled around her, with its fluffy little head and fluttering little wings…
Gu Youning's anger eased somewhat. She crouched down, stroked Gugu's head, and sighed, "How can he be so immature? How could he know that for the sake of his future, I've put in so much effort, begging people everywhere on his behalf…"
She thought of kneeling and pleading before Prince Duan, of her humbleness in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh.
In truth, she vaguely understood why she was angry at Gu Yueqiu. It wasn't just because of his words—it was also because Prince Duan had truly frightened her today. Having barely escaped disaster, she needed some comfort; she needed to know that her efforts were worthwhile, not to hear Gu Yueqiu's words of giving up so easily.
She was venting her own frustration and unwillingness at Gu Yueqiu, when really there was no need…
She wanted to go back and say something conciliatory, but couldn't bring herself to lower her head. In the end, she let it go, thinking she'd find a chance tomorrow—after all, siblings never hold grudges overnight.
After playing with Gugu for a while, she saw Sun Feng'an return. Sun Feng'an was very excited. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, word had already come down from Prince Duan's residence that the stewards were to procure all the necessary items. The medicinal materials alone required a long list—realgar, cinnabar, mugwort leaves, calamus, and so on—every item to be genuine and clean, with not the slightest adulteration permitted.
Purchasing medicinal materials was naturally a matter of first importance, and Sun Feng'an had also recruited a few assistants to be responsible for buying the agarwood the prince's residence needed.
He said with great enthusiasm, "You wouldn't know this, but just this one item—agarwood—costs a great deal of silver. The prince's residence wants only the best of everything, and agarwood is no exception. It must be carefully selected. It's finally my turn to show what I can do."
When Sun Feng'an's Mother and Sun Yue heard this, they were overjoyed and kept saying how wonderful it was. In Prince Duan's residence, everything used for festivals, holidays, and seasonal offerings followed old established rules. The money came from public funds allocated by the palace—the flow of money was large and the accounts were loose. Even those who did their duty honestly without embezzling would naturally pocket a bit of easy profit in the course of handling things. How could Sun Feng'an fail to benefit?
Hearing this, Gu Youning was naturally happy for Sun Feng'an as well. Still, that evening she gently and softly counseled him to be careful in all things.
"You've only just gotten this position, and everyone in the residence knows you're the head steward's son. Who knows how many eyes are watching you. Now that Father-in-law is away on official business and won't be back for a while, even though there are old connections to rely on, if anything really happens, distant water can't put out a nearby fire. It's best to be cautious in everything. We don't seek merit—only to avoid fault. Carefulness keeps the boat safe for ten thousand years."
These words softened Sun Feng'an's heart, and he coaxed her gently, "I know everything you've said. Rest assured. Follow me, and I'll make sure you live a good life for the rest of your days—gold and silver, silks and satins, you'll want for nothing."
Gu Youning smiled and sighed. "Enough. I don't hope for so much. If I can just live a peaceful, steady life, I'll be content."
Whatever this man was really like, at least he knew how to talk sweetly. Gu Youning discovered that honeyed words were actually quite valuable—for this moment at least, she felt comforted.
Meanwhile, at Gu Youning's family home, Gu Yueqiu hurried to chase after her, but she was already far away. His legs had always been bad, and now he limped out without even his cane, forced to support himself awkwardly against the wall.
Standing there with such difficulty, sorrow welled up inside him.
He knew perfectly well that his sister only meant well for him, but she was somewhat naive after all, always believing the best of people. If she fell into someone's trap because she was trying to help him, how could he ever live with himself!
Just as he was thinking this, he heard a voice at his ear—a soft, warm voice with a smile in it: "Little Gu brother, why have you come out here all alone? Shall I help you?"
Gu Yueqiu looked over. It was that Miss Shu Juan.
Today she had a half-open rose pinned at her temple, wearing a moon-white silk padded jacket and a dark green satin sleeveless vest, her skirt hem embroidered with a few sprigs of tender orchids. With her hands clasped behind her back, she stood to one side, lips pressed together in a smile.
Clearly up to no good!
Gu Yueqiu flushed red. "When did you get here? What did you see?"
Shu Juan, hands still behind her back, deliberately drew out her words, smiling. "Why do you ask? Could it be you've done something wicked behind everyone's back that you're afraid I might have seen?"
Gu Yueqiu glared at her in exasperation and ignored her, leaning on the wall as he limped home.
Shu Juan said, "Aiyo, you're such a young thing, yet with such a temper. I only said one word, and you're already this upset."
She shook her head. "What a temper!"
Gu Yueqiu flushed red to the ears and glared at her resentfully. "What exactly are you after? If you have the ability, come at me openly and honestly. What kind of skill is it to bully my elder sister?"
Shu Juan looked surprised. "I bullied your elder sister? Sister Gu and I are as close as sisters. We get along wonderfully. When have I ever bullied her?"
Gu Yueqiu sneered. "You think I don't know? One look and I can tell you're up to no good!"
Shu Juan said, "Then tell me, how am I up to no good? Tell me, what could I possibly be scheming to gain from your family?"
At this, Gu Yueqiu was struck speechless.
He truly could not figure out what Shu Juan was after. His family were merely household servants of the prince's residence, with no power or influence.
Though his elder sister had married a head steward of the residence, the connection through marriage was hardly significant—and just recently his mother had even quarreled with his sister's mother-in-law. So it made no sense that she would try to use his family's connections to ask the Sun family for any favors.
—Though naturally clever, he was still young and knew little of human hearts. Born a household servant, his experience of the world was limited. How could he know what calamity his elder sister's beauty might invite?
Shu Juan looked at Gu Yueqiu before her and restrained her smile. "'The dog bites Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a kind heart'—that's you, isn't it?"
With that, she turned to leave.
Gu Yueqiu watched her retreating figure and couldn't help calling out, "You—"
But he didn't know what to ask. His instincts told him there must be a reason, but what could he do if she wouldn't admit it?
Shu Juan, however, stopped and turned back. "You once wrote an essay titled 'On Virtue, Rites, Governance, and Punishment,' didn't you?"
Gu Yueqiu was puzzled. "How do you know that?"
Shu Juan pressed her lips into a smile. "Why wouldn't I know? When you studied under that Mr. Lu, going by seniority, that Mr. Lu would have to respectfully address my family's old master as 'senior brother'!"
At these words, Gu Yueqiu suddenly recalled an old story his revered teacher had once mentioned. In his early years, his teacher had studied under Eldest Master Sun, who had taken only two disciples—one was him, and the other was surnamed Shu.
He suddenly understood. "So that's how it is."
He had never known they had such a connection.
Shu Juan said with amusement, "So young, and yet able to write such an essay—I had imagined you to be some remarkable figure. But now that I've met you, I'm quite disappointed. You're so childish and pedantic. It seems you've only read flowery prose without understanding how the world works. You're nothing but a bookworm!"
With that, she lifted her skirts and hurried away.
Gu Yueqiu wanted to call her back, but in the end made no sound.
Standing there alone, he pondered Miss Shu Juan's words, and what his elder sister had done for him, and stood dazed for a long while, unable to collect himself for a long time.