The Grand Secretary's Pampered wife

Marquis Gu frowned, "It can’t be wrong since Yan'er is so close to her like that. As for the medicine supplement, the medicine in the Rejuvenation Hall is effective, for the time being so it's fine to get the supplement later. Just..."

"Just what?" Huang Zhong asked.

Marquis Gu pondered for a moment before saying, "That child grew up in the countryside and her habits are not the best. You can’t see the slightest bearing of a Marquis daughter in her behavior. When she arrives at the capital, she will be criticized. So before going back, I have to find someone to teach her well."

Huang Zhong rolled his eyes and said, "Lord Marquis... don’t you think you skipped some key steps? For example... Asking the young miss if she’s willing or not?"

Marquis Gu dusted off his wide sleeves and replied, "Humph! Is there any reason for her to be unwilling about such a thing? This Marquis is her real father! Regardless of whether she believes it or not, if this Marquis is determined to take her away, can she still stay here?"

Huang Zhong pursed his mouth. Who was hung on the tree by the young miss again?

Marquis Gu wasn't feigning more than his abilities. It was just that at the moment, he was most worried about Yao shi instead of Gu Jiao.

He didn’t know how to open it up to Yao shi in a way that the stimulation to Yao shi would be minimized.

"Where's your Madame?" Marquis Gu asked.

Huang Zhong recalled and replied, "Madame seems to be in the peony garden outside the Hot Spring Villa. This subordinate just passed by there and saw Madame."

Yao shi was really in the peony garden.

After Gu Jinyu's peony flowers were damaged, Marquis Gu had several more peony plants brought in quickly, and opened a new courtyard for Gu Jinyu to make a peony garden.

This could also be regarded as compensation for Gu Jinyu's loss of her servant girl, Yuru.

At present, Gu Jinyu and Yao shi were sitting in the center of the peony garden, playing chess.

Gu Jinyu: "Mom, it's your turn."

Yao shi was lost in thought.

Gu Jinyu waved her hand in front of her eyes and called out, "Mom, mom!"

Yao shi looked back and smiled apologetically, "Is it mother’s turn? Let Mother think how she should make her move."

Gu Jinyu took the chess piece she had just picked up, and said softly, "We’ve been playing for a long time and you must be tired. You might as well take a break and have something to eat."

"En." Yao shi nodded, asked the servant girl to remove the chessboard and brought a plate of freshly cut fruits as well as a box of osmanthus cakes made by her own hands.

Gu Jinyu ate some fruit slices and took a bite of osmanthus cake.

Yao shi could see that she didn’t want to eat too much. The reason was that Jinyu's own aunt, Imperial Concubine Shu, once said that eating too many snacks would make one fat.

Jinyu practically hadn't touched anything sweet and greasy since then.

"Mom, you look good recently." Gu Jinyu said to Yao shi with a smile.

Yao shi touched her cheek.

That’s right. After taking Gu Jiao's medicine, she felt much more relaxed. She could eat and sleep normally, and no longer got depressed so easily.

The only puzzling thing was that she kept thinking about Gu girl recently, and even just now, she was distracted because she was thinking about her again.

She really shouldn’t have been so absent-minded while playing chess with her own daughter.

"Mom, wait here a moment!" Gu Jinyu put down the osmanthus cake in her hand, walked to the nearby wing room to get a coat, and put it on Yao shi's body. She said, "It's windy nowadays, be careful of catching cold."

Her daughter was very considerate, but Yao shi thought she didn’t deserve her daughter’s thoughtfulness.

No one knew, but there was this secret she had always kept in her heart.

She used to hate Jinyu.

Since the one month confinement period after giving birth, she had always liked Gu Yan more than Gu Jinyu. Whenever she looked at the baby, she always had the feeling of being unable to feel any intimacy towards her.

When the two children were three years old, Gu Yan poured a bowl of soup on Jinyu. Jinyu was so angry that she charged at Gu Yan, threw him to the ground and climbed on top of Gu Yan.

Gu Yan was out of breath due to being pressed down.

When Yao shi found out, she quickly came over, harshly pulled Jinyu away and gave her a slap!

Gu Yan started it, and it was normal for Jinyu to fight back. Not to mention that they were only three years old at that time.

As a mother, she just needed to separate the two children; there was really no need to beat her.

She still remembered Jinyu's surprised and hurt gaze back then.

Jinyu cried for her mother, but she didn’t feel sorry for her at all, and instead, she had an impulse to leave her behind!

After such a long time, both children had lost their memories of that time, and she finally found her affection for her daughter in their day-to-day interaction.

It was just that every time she thought about that memory, she felt that she didn’t deserve to be a mother.

Everyone thought that the worries in her heart came from her relationship with the Marquis and the criticism from the other people.

Actually, that wasn’t true.

She simply couldn’t forgive herself whenever she thought that as a mother, she couldn’t love her child, and even thought of abandoning her child.

Jinyu was a perfect kid.

Even after she had hurt her like that, she still respected her mother, and she had infinite tolerance towards her younger brother who often bullied her.

"Mom, why are you crying?" Gu Jinyu noticed Yao shi's tears.

Yao shi wiped her tears and said with a wry smile, "Do you think mother hasn't treated you well enough these years?"

Gu Jinyu took Yao shi's hand and solemnly said, "How come? Mom is very kind to me. Just like Dad and grandmother, you and my little brother are this daughter’s closest people in the world, and she will love you all her life."

On their way back to Yao shi’s courtyard, Gu Jinyu was called away by a servant girl, saying another pot of peony had arrived. She had to go to inspect the goods.

Yao shi walked back to her courtyard alone, without any servant girls around her.

When passing a rockery, Yao shi heard a sound of quarrel.

"Are you seeking death? How can you spout such nonsense about this kind of thing? Be careful of people hearing you and telling your nonsense to Lord Marquis and Madame, lest you say goodbye to your little life!"

"Aunt, I’m not talking nonsense! I heard it with my own ears!"

Yao shi recognized their voices. One was Wet Nurse Fang of her courtyard, and the other was CuiCui, the daughter of Wet Nurse Fang’s cousin’s son.

CuiCui was in charge of sweeping outside Marquis Gu's study.

As the conversation between the two continued, Yao shi’s steps halted suddenly.

"I’m afraid you just heard it wrong!" Wet Nurse Fang shouted.

CuiCui shouted back, "I heard it right! That's what Lord Marquis himself said! Our young miss is a result of a mixed-up at birth! She was not born to Lord Marquis and Madame!"

Yao shi only felt a blow on her head and asked out loud, "What did you say? What do you mean by mixed-up?"

"Madame?" CuiCui and Wet Nurse Fang turned their heads around in shock.

Yao shi blankly came up to CuiCui and said, "Repeat what you just said, what's the matter? Who is not born to whom?"

Wet Nurse Fang hastily said, "Madame, don't listen to her nonsense..."

Yao shi shouted, "Shut up!"

Yao shi had a gentle temper, but even rabbits would sometimes bite when they were anxious.

CuiCui bowed her head and stammered, "The young miss... is a mixed-up child. She is not Madame and the Marquis’ biological daughter. The real young miss lives amongst the common folks and grew up in a village. She is ugly and a fool, and was often bullied. When Marquis found her, she..."

Yao shi didn't hear what she said next. She only felt her vision get dark and her surroundings spinning.

Then her eyes shut and she fell heavily to the ground.

[T/N: Grannie Fang is not the same as Wet Nurse Fang, they’re different people. The Chinese characters for their surnames are written differently but they have the same pinyin.

In case you forgot, Grannie Fang is Yao shi’s dowry maid.]