Chapter 61 Key
61 Key
“Xia Lian, go and get the key,” Gu Yunrong instructed the maidservant in a low voice.
Stunned, Xia Lian bowed and accepted the order before turning around and entering the inner room.
After a while, she slowly walked out with a copper key. When her gaze swept past Gu Yanfei, there was a hint of indignation in her eyes.
“Miss.” Xia Lian handed the copper key to Gu Yunrong, wanting to say something. In the end, she swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
!!
Gu Yunrong turned around and handed the key to Gu Yanfei. “Second Sister, this is the key.”
Gu Yanfei accepted it without another word and planned to go over and take a look.
She had something on her mind and was about to leave when she heard Gu Yunrong say, “Second Sister, I know it wasn’t easy for you to live in Huaibei in the past. It’s only right that you don’t like me.”
“But that incident back then… I was also innocent. At that time, I was just a newborn baby. I didn’t know anything and was even more helpless.”
“Second Sister, I’ve returned everything I can to you.”
“Be it your ident.i.ty, brother, engagement… or this key.”
Gu Yunrong stared at Gu Yanfei with a solemn expression and said word by word, “I don’t owe you anymore.”
Recalling the scenes in the Benevolent Harmony Hall, Gu Yunrong’s expression became even more determined. The dust had settled in her heart. Gu Yanfei had returned with hatred and could not even tolerate her grandmother, so how could she tolerate her?
Suddenly, a cold wind whistled in through the half-open window and extinguished an octagonal palace lamp near Gu Yunrong.
Half of the room was dark, except for another lamp on the other side that was still quietly emitting light.
Half of Gu Yunrong’s face was dark, and the other half was bright. Her usually smiling face was solemn at this moment.
Xia Lian quickly relit the extinguished lantern, turning the house as bright as day again.
As the lights lit up, Gu Yunrong returned to her usual self and said gently, “If you still can’t get over the hurdle in your heart, we’ll mind our own business from now on.”
She would not back down again, nor would she put on any sisterly act.
So much for that.
Gu Yanfei tilted her head with a faint smile and pursed her lips into a faint smile. She asked calmly, “You said you’re innocent, but what about the person who swapped us?”
Gu Yanfei was naturally referring to Mother Su.
Gu Yunrong’s throat seemed to be choked up with something, and she was rendered speechless.
Ever since she was young, Mother Su had been by her side as a wet nurse. She took care of her clothes, food, accommodation, and transportation. She even paid attention to her emotions and cared about her every frown and smile.
Mother Su might have let Gu Yanfei down, but she was extremely good to her.
Gu Yanfei continued, “Is she dead?”
“Has she been turned over to the court?”
“Where is she?”
Gu Yanfei threw out three more questions in a row. They were concise, but every word hit the nail on the head.
Gu Yunrong’s expression turned unnatural as she pursed her lips and her eyes darted around.
Half a year ago, after the matter of the real and fake daughter broke out, Madam Gu was originally going to drug Mother Su, but she stopped her and spared her life…
Gu Yanfei took a step forward and looked down at Gu Yunrong, who was sitting on the chair. Her voice was cold and firm as she continued, “Is she still in the residence, living a life with a little maidservant serving her?”
Gu Yunrong looked straight into Gu Yanfei’s eyes with her lips pursed and said righteously, “Second Sister, do you want her to die? That’s a living life!”
In this era where imperial power reigned supreme, human life was as worthless as gra.s.s.
The main family could kill the servants at will and throw the corpses into the ma.s.s grave without any responsibility. Even if the family of the deceased reported it to the authorities, it would be useless and they might even be beaten up.
Gu Yanfei, who had grown up in Huaibei, should understand this very well. She should know the helplessness and inferiority of the commoners at the bottom the best.
Gu Yunrong looked at Gu Yanfei with an indescribable gaze and sighed in her heart. Indeed, humans were the most forgetful animals. As soon as Gu Yanfei returned to the capital, she completely forgot about her past self and put herself back in the position of superiority, looking down on all living beings.
“The mistake has been made. Even if we kill her, time can’t turn back.” Gu Yunrong first tried to reason with her, then tried to persuade her with emotion. “Second Sister, back then, she brought you and me out of the battlefield in Yangzhou. Even if she made a mistake, she still worked hard…”
“Mother Su is in the wrong, but everything she did was for me… Although all of this was not what I wanted, I have already thought of ways to make it up to you.” Wasn’t that enough?!
These words were exactly the same as what Gu Yanfei had heard from Madam Gu in her previous life.
She smiled as the image of Mother Su acting as a superior benefactor in her previous life appeared in her mind.
Gu Yunrong bit her lip slightly, her fingers curling around the handkerchief.
Gu Yanfei’s eyes were clear and cold. “You said you’ve already returned everything to me…”
“What about my father? I should have been with him for six years.”
“And 14 years of my dislocated life. 14 years in heaven for you and in h.e.l.l for me.”
“The Gu family has shaped the current you. Even now, you still enjoy everything the Gu family has given you with a clear conscience and refuse to let go… You can’t repay me!”
Every word she said rendered Gu Yunrong speechless.
Gu Yanfei did not want to listen to Gu Yunrong’s excuses anymore and said the last sentence calmly, “Gu Yunrong, listen carefully. I’m the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Mansion, and you…”
“You’re just the daughter of a slave.”
After saying that, she ignored Gu Yunrong’s reaction and left with the key.
The curtain rose and fell, swinging back and forth, as if laughing mockingly.
Gu Yunrong froze in place, dumbfounded. It was as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on her shoulders and back, preventing her from moving.
Gu Yanfei’s words pierced Gu Yunrong deeply and her face gradually lost its color.
Xia Lian did not send Gu Yanfei off. She looked at the swaying curtain in front of her and said indignantly, “My Lady, the Second Lady really doesn’t know what’s good for her. To think that you treated her so well and said so many good things for her in front of Crown Prince Fang. You even gave her First Madam’s dowry…”
Xia Lian really felt aggrieved for her lady.
...
Gu Yunrong pushed open the window again and let the bleak cold wind blow against her face. From the window, she could see Gu Yanfei’s back gradually disappearing into the night.
She had retreated again and again, giving way to Gu Yanfei only because she felt that she was the beneficiary in this matter. However, this did not mean that she was a punching bag.
It did not mean that Gu Yanfei could rely on her concession to lord over her.
The night air was cooler, the sky darker, and the silver moon bent like a hook.