Gu Dezhao came to see her after leaving the government office.

Jin Chao handed him several sealed packets of tea leaves. “…These are from the Third Master for you.”

Seeing his eldest daughter return, Gu Dezhao was quite pleased. He took the tea leaves and examined them. “What kind of tea is this?”

Jin Chao told him: “I don’t recognize it either… The third Master said it’s Emei Snow Bud. He had it brought from Jiazhou in Sichuan. Buddhist tea monks harvest the leaf tips from mountain-top tea trees every Qingming Festival. The tea trees grow alongside cypress, eucommia, and other such trees, so they have medicinal properties and are very beneficial for health.”

Gu Dezhao handed the tea to a maid standing nearby and asked his daughter: “Is Official Chen treating you well?”

Jin Chao nodded, saying of course. Gu Dezhao sighed: “As long as he’s good to you, then your father hasn’t misjudged him. I now work as a Lang Zhong in the Ministry of Revenue, and my days have become quite leisurely. Even the two Vice Ministers treat me with great courtesy. The last time I presented my report, Official Chen kept me chatting longer, giving me guidance on managing granaries. He rarely takes such care… By the way, your father has something he wishes to discuss with you.”

Could it be about Gu Lan? Gu Jin Chao looked at Gu Dezhao.

Gu Dezhao gave a bitter smile and said: “You probably already know about Gu Lan’s situation… She, ah! I truly don’t know what to do. How could she have done such a thing… Now she’s not only becoming Yao Third Young Master’s concubine, but the child in her belly is also problematic.”

Gu Jin Chao asked: “Have you discussed this with Mother?”

Gu Dezhao was startled, then shook his head: “No… why do you ask?”

Gu Jin Chao then told him: “You know, some matters are difficult for you to handle…” Her words were tactfully indirect. Gu Jin Chao knew her father best—indecisive, wavering, and easily influenced by others. He understood very little about inner household affairs. In such matters, her father should be accustomed to consulting with Xu Jingyi, who was at least a very decisive person.

She continued: “You could discuss it with Mother. Having one more person think of solutions is always good.”

Gu Dezhao seemed lost in thought: “Madam Xu is indeed capable…” When Gu Xi fell ill some days ago, she had attended to him without rest. He no longer visited Concubine Luo’s quarters now; if he wasn’t with Xu Jingyi, he stayed in the front courtyard by himself. She had done so much for the fourth branch of the family, which was also a sign of his respect.

Gu Dezhao spoke again about Gu Lan: “…The Yao family will come tomorrow. I’ll take you to see her first, to speak with her. When she heard you were returning, she had been begging to see you for several days. I think she’s quite pitiful now.”

Gu Jin Chao smiled faintly. After all, Gu Lan had grown up under her father’s care. Children raised before one’s eyes, no matter how excessive their actions, still retained some emotional connection. Her father’s heart must be very conflicted… but she no longer had any sympathy for Gu Lan.

“Then let’s go see her.” Gu Jin Chao stood up. “I’ve brought some tonics back for her.”

She instructed Qing Pu to fetch items like ginseng and cordyceps.

Gu Dezhao led Jin Chao to the east wing courtyard.

They entered through a side door next to the side room. The sky had just darkened, and candles were already lit in the back chamber. A young maid who had just started growing out her hair sat on the steps, peeling buckwheat, while two elderly female servants in coarse short garments were hanging clothes to dry. The back chamber seemed somewhat neglected, with two juniper trees planted perfunctorily in the flower bed.

An elderly female servant wearing a sleeveless jacket and silver bracelets emerged from the side room. Seeing the two approach, she quickly bowed in greeting. Smiling, she said: “Fourth Master, Second Young Lady, have you come to see Third Young Lady?”

The Fourth Master often visited, but this was the first time the elderly servant had seen Gu Jin Chao. She had heard this was the young lady who had married Chancellor Chen as his second wife… She glanced up and indeed saw someone more beautiful than flowers, dressed with status and luxury. Compared to the one inside the room, they were worlds apart…

Gu Dezhao nodded, and she gestured for the two to proceed to the main hall: “…This way, please.”

The main hall was very damp, with a porcelain Guanyin statue enshrined. From the main hall, they went through open latticed doors to the second room, where Jin Chao finally saw Gu Lan lying on the bed.

For a moment, she felt somewhat disoriented.

Gu Lan’s face was pale, devoid of vitality. Her gaze was fixed on the window outside as if she hadn’t heard anyone enter at all.

…In her previous life, the final scene had been just like this.

After a moment, Gu Lan turned her head. Seeing Gu Jin Chao had arrived, she smiled: “Elder Sister has come! Quick, come sit.”

The little maid who had been standing guard beside the canopy bed immediately went to bring in a stool.

Gu Lan truly seemed very happy, and said to Gu Dezhao: “Father, could you excuse us for a moment? Your daughter wishes to speak with Elder Sister.”

Gu Dezhao moved his lips slightly, his face revealing an expression of extreme weariness. He stepped across the threshold into the courtyard.

Gu Jin Chao felt something was amiss with her… She sat down beside Gu Lan, silently watching her.

Gu Lan wore a very plain lined jacket. Her wrists were extremely slender, adorned with a jadeite bracelet. The color made her hands appear snow-white, and her face had thinned to only the size of a palm. Her eyes appeared even more fragile and pitiful, with a sickly beauty. Gu Lan also lowered her eyes to look at her, gradually raising her gaze, and smiled: “Elder Sister, look at me… I’ve fallen into such a wretched state. Are you pleased? When Mother died… you said I would certainly not fare well in the future. Look at me now, I can’t even protect my child…”

Gu Jin Chao waited for her to finish, and after a long while asked: “Do you regret it?”

Gu Lan seemed bewildered: “Regret? What are you referring to?” She shook her head and said, “I don’t regret it. If I couldn’t marry Yao Wenxiu, I would have had to marry Scholar Zhao’s son. If his son had passed the provincial examination, that would have been acceptable, but what if he hadn’t? Their family relies solely on rent from three hundred mu of farmland to live. The two three-section residences were part of Madam Zhao’s dowry… Scholar Zhao still has two sons and one daughter. What kind of life would I have led with him? Serving him all day, being a dutiful wife and educating children, waiting for the day he might pass the examination so I could bask in his glory?”

“Elder Sister, you know as well, ‘in poverty, a hundred sorrows assail a married couple.’ Without money, what good life could there be…”

Gu Jin Chao remained silent. Three hundred mu of farmland and two three-section residences, while not extravagant, certainly ensured a surplus. Gu Lan had been pampered since childhood, casually rewarding servants with several taels at a time. How could she understand the bitterness of splitting a single copper coin in half to make it last?

As Gu Lan continued speaking, she began to cry, her lips trembling: “I just never expected there would be a child…”

This child had come at the worst possible time. When she first realized she was pregnant, she felt joy followed by terror.

At that time, she wanted to keep it secret, to hide it until she married into the Yao family, and then everything would be fine. But how could such a thing be concealed? Madam Feng had already tried to poison her with medicine; if she were pregnant as well, she would have no chance of survival. When Madam Feng confined her to the small courtyard, she sent an old woman to force red flower medicine down her throat. She clenched her teeth with all her might but still choked some down…

Madam Feng had people force-feed her three times a day. If this continued, the child would certainly not survive.

Gu Lan couldn’t bear it. This was her child! It couldn’t just die like this.

If people wanted to kill her, she had to fight back or lose any chance of survival! That night she devised a plan, smothered the old woman, and escaped through the side door. When killing, she was terrified, her hands and feet ice-cold, pressing down on the old woman with determination, not daring to relax, so nervous she could hardly breathe.

Finally, she had secured her chance to survive!

Now, seeing Gu Jin Chao, she had a chance to live.

She grabbed Jin Chao’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears: “Elder Sister, you’ve never been a mother, you don’t understand this feeling… I just want to protect my child. Everyone in the Gu household wishes this child dead…”

The feeling of being a mother… She had carried Chen Xuanlin for ten months but only raised him personally for a few months. Before he was even a year old, he was taken to be raised by Old Madam Chen. Little Lin cried and sought her out, clinging to her and refusing to let go, but Gu Jin Chao complained that his sticky little hands, having grabbed candy, had dirtied her skirt. As Little Lin grew older, she regretted her actions deeply, but the child no longer felt close to her.

After Old Madam Chen died, Lin was raised by Chen Xuanqing. When he was eight years old, Gu Jin Chao secretly went to see him. At such a young age, he was already so serious—children without parents’ companionship always matured earlier…

Gu Jin Chao sighed: “What exactly are you trying to say? After causing such a scene, who did you intend it for?”

Gu Lan shook her head: “No, Elder Sister… Everyone thinks I’m foolish, creating such a huge commotion and allowing rumors to spread. Even if the Yao family knew, they wouldn’t protect the child. I was waiting for your return! Gu Lian is about to marry Yao Wenxiu, so you will certainly come back!”

Gu Lan was waiting for her return? What exactly did she want to do? Did she think she would help her?

Gu Jin Chao said softly: “Lan’er, you should know that my not kicking you while you’re down is already more than you deserve.”

Gu Lan let out a long sigh: “Elder Sister, you still have a vulnerability in my hands.” She looked at the juniper tree outside the window and continued, “About your affair with Chen Xuanqing, I wrote it all down in a letter. When you met him, what gifts you gave him, everything in detail… After my incident, Madam Feng dismissed the maids who served me, and I took the opportunity to have Mujin take the letter away… I told her that if I didn’t send someone to retrieve it within three months, she should deliver the letter to someone close to the Chen family… Of course, I can’t tell you who this person is.”

She smiled faintly: “I also know that given my current situation, even if I wanted to tell others, I probably couldn’t even leave the east wing… You definitely wouldn’t let me go, after all, if such a scandal were revealed, you couldn’t remain in the Chen household. At this point, I just want to live well… If you help me save my child, I’ll tell you where Mujin fled to, and you can retrieve the letter yourself…”

Gu Jin Chao’s heart skipped a beat as she looked up at Gu Lan.

Her affair with Chen Xuanqing… That was something that absolutely could not be revealed! Moreover, now that she had married Chen Yanrun, this matter could ruin his reputation. If the Third Master found out she had once had feelings for his son, what would he do… Gu Jin Chao’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, tightened.

She had done such a thing, and Gu Jin Chao couldn’t change that fact.

Public opinion is fearsome—even things never done can be said to have happened, let alone what she had done!

Gu Jin Chao could only make her voice sound as calm as possible: “You are indeed clever, having calculated all this… I can help you protect the child, but I also have conditions. Even if this child survives, you cannot be the one to raise it. Grandmother would never agree. Besides… is there only one letter? What if you have countless demands in the future? What should I do then? I might as well just let you release the letter. Although public opinion is fearsome, it hasn’t reached the point of becoming reality, and I can still manage.”

She had to make her attitude clear and firm. She couldn’t let Gu Lan blackmail her. After all, Gu Lan was certainly more desperate than she was right now.