The Gu family was no ordinary family. Ever since their ancestors settled on Liuxian Island, at least several hundred years had passed. No matter how much Gu Meiting was doted upon, the family rules and ancestral teachings could not be violated!

For instance, there were empty rooms in the east wing, but while the unmarried Gu Suying could stay there, the already-married Gu Meiting counted as an outsider now — as part of the Jiang family — and absolutely could not stay in the Gu family’s east wing.

Although the family head had intended to designate the main residence at the mountaintop as the head-of-family’s residence, that was still only an intention. Jun Beiyue had not yet woken, the Gu family head had not yet formally transferred his position, and the east wing remained the primary residence for now.

Never mind Gu Meiting living there long-term — even a temporary stay was absolutely out of the question, let alone sharing it with Jiang Chen!

As for the west wing, strictly speaking, it was the Gu family’s finest guest quarters, reserved for relatives by marriage or distinguished guests.

Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen’s place of residence, in truth, represented their standing within the Gu family!

Since the finest guest quarters were unavailable, only the lesser guest rooms remained — or else they would have to live among the servants.

An eldest young lady like Gu Meiting would never accept that. Besides, the ordinary guest rooms at the foot of the mountain were rather poor in condition — how could she allow her precious son to live there!

And so, she simply refused to move out of the damaged west wing, day after day chasing after the family head and Madam Gu, weeping and pleading.

Now, she had come chasing them all the way up to the main residence at the mountaintop.

After days of careful nursing, though Madam Gu’s martial abilities had been entirely lost, her health had recovered considerably. These past few days she had come to see Jun Beiyue every day, sitting with him for most of the day, personally feeding him medicine several times, and secretly slipping precious medicinal supplies to Physician Gu behind everyone’s back.

Her maternal devotion was plain to see, and both Physician Gu and Yingzi were deeply grateful for it.

At that moment, Physician Gu was carefully feeding him medicine. At first, they’d had to force the medicine down, but now, whenever Physician Gu brought the spoon to his lips and the medicine entered his mouth, Jun Beiyue would swallow it on his own!

This was enough to prove that Jun Beiyue was conscious. It was only that his body was still far too weak — he couldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t speak to them.

Perhaps he was already aware of everything happening around him.

Madam Gu sat close by the bedside, holding Jun Beiyue’s hand, gently massaging his fingers, her brow soft, her expression full of tender affection.

“Beiyue, you probably don’t remember me anymore, do you? When I went to Da Zhou to see you, you were only ten years old! And now, more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.”

“Beiyue… the Gu family needs you, your father and I both need you. Please wake up soon!”

“Physician Gu told me about the princess consort of Yao. Beiyue, do you miss your wife? Once the storm has fully passed, we’ll bring her here, all right?”

…

That gentle, loving voice left both Physician Gu and Yingzi feeling a quiet ache in their hearts. Two more days — just two more days and it would be a full five days. According to what Doctor Hua had said, their master should be waking up by then!

If the princess consort knew about this, how happy she would be!

Months had slipped by in a flash, and yet their parting felt as though it had happened only yesterday.

It felt like only yesterday that Ziqing, that foolish girl, had tried to climb aboard the carriage, only to be mercilessly turned away and left all alone in Da Zhou;

It felt like only yesterday that Ziqing had stubbornly chased after the carriage, begging their unconscious master to wait for her;

It felt like only yesterday that Ziqing had obediently gotten down from the carriage, having only truly delayed them for a moment before resolutely letting them go.

If only she could come, or if only their master could go to her — how wonderful that would be!

Now, how was that girl doing?

Just as Physician Gu and Yingzi were caught up in their melancholy, a mournful cry suddenly rang out from beyond the door.

“Mother! Mother! You have to stand up for me!”

“Mother, Father got angry with me again! Father wants to drive me away!”

…

Physician Gu and Yingzi both felt an instant headache coming on, wishing they could ask Madam Gu to step outside to keep Gu Meiting from disturbing their master. But by then, Gu Meiting had already rushed straight into the inner room, throwing herself down at Madam Gu’s feet, sobbing, “Mother, you have to be fair to me!”

Madam Gu looked utterly helpless. “The eldest young lady of the Gu family, carrying on like this — what will people think? Is there nothing you can say calmly?”

“Mother, if you don’t agree to my request today, I won’t leave!” Gu Meiting choked out.

Madam Gu sighed helplessly. “Didn’t I already say — you’ll stay at the foot of the mountain for now. I’ve already had people speed up repairs on the west wing. At most a month, just bear with it a little longer!”

“Both Jiang Chen and I can bear it, but what about Yuan’er! He’s still just a child, only six! Mother, can you bear to send your own grandson to live in a place like that — noisy and dirty, with so many bugs!” Gu Meiting complained at once.

Madam Gu listened, her heart aching, but there was nothing she could do. For the matriarch of a great family, two things mattered more than her own life. The first was the family’s reputation. The second was the family rules and ancestral teachings.

There were plenty of empty rooms in the east wing — but Gu Meiting simply couldn’t stay there.

Seeing Madam Gu fall silent, Gu Meiting quickly said, “Mother, Jiang Chen and I can live anywhere. Just let Yuan’er stay with you two.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Madam Gu refused immediately and firmly. “No!”

Physician Gu and Yingzi exchanged a glance, both suppressing a laugh. It was rare, truly rare, to see Madam Gu refuse one of Gu Meiting’s requests so decisively.

Gu Meiting seemed startled for a moment, but soon burst into loud wailing. “Mother! Can you bear it? Your grandson is sleeping in that unsafe building right now — if the roof caves in, I won’t live either!”

Seeing this, Madam Gu’s face darkened with anger, and she hurried to turn and walk out. Though only Physician Gu and Yingzi were present, this was still a family matter — she couldn’t afford to lose face even in front of them.

Gu Meiting seemed to have counted on exactly that, and deliberately refused to leave, shouting, “Mother, if you don’t agree, I’m not leaving today!”

Sure enough, Madam Gu turned back, shaking her head repeatedly. “It’s not that I don’t dote on Yuan’er, it’s the ancestral rules, Yuan’er, he… he…”

Madam Gu trailed off, only saying helplessly, “Yuan’er simply cannot stay in the east wing.”

Gu Meiting shot to her feet, shouting angrily, “Mother, are you saying Yuan’er, because his surname is Jiang and not Gu, isn’t part of this family? Are you saying you don’t want him?”

That was, in fact, exactly what Madam Gu meant — but how could she bear to wound her daughter so? How could she say such a thing aloud? She shook her head hurriedly. “That’s not it. It’s the ancestral rules — I can’t change them, and your father can’t either.”

“Ancestral rules were made by people too! You’ve always said it yourself — daughters and sons are both your children, and grandsons and grandchildren will be your treasures too in the future. So what, your son hasn’t even woken up yet, and you’ve already decided you don’t want your own grandson?” Gu Meiting retorted at once, her eyes flicking toward Jun Beiyue.

Hearing this, Madam Gu was choked with anger. No one knows a daughter better than her mother — this daughter of hers wasn’t after the east wing at all. She had her sights set on the main residence at the mountaintop!

What was she to do?