In the blink of an eye, the New Year had passed. After eating yuanzi dumplings during the Lantern Festival, it was time for the Imperial Academy to begin classes.
Gu Jinrong, accompanied by his newly selected page Zi Mo, packed his trunks to attend the Imperial Academy. Jin Chao brought two boxes of pastries he loved to see him off.
In his study, Gu Dezhao was giving him instructions: “The Imperial Academy is not like the clan school; its rules are extremely strict. Your attire, conduct, and diet must all adhere to proper decorum. The halls, dormitories, meals, and bathing all have regulations. First offenses may be forgiven, but second and third violations will be punished, and a fourth offense will result in expulsion. As a hereditary student, you must be especially careful in these matters, so as not to bring shame to the Gu family… In another month you’ll take the provincial examination. Given your young age, it’s perfectly normal if you don’t pass. Your father also took the examination twice before passing.”
Gu Dezhao, having attended the Imperial Academy himself, wanted to advise Gu Jinrong on everything, fearing he might make mistakes.
Gu Jinrong listened attentively with his hands behind his back, solemn and composed. He appeared much more mature now, with stronger features, resembling his father more.
Jin Chao felt relieved seeing this. She left the pastries in the hall and quietly returned to Yan Xiu Hall.
In her previous life, being raised by Concubine Song, Gu Jinrong never had proper manners. She still remembered how, six months after her marriage in her previous life, Gu Jinrong had been riding horses with his friends on the street and crashed into someone’s soup and noodle stall. The vendor grabbed his collar and wouldn’t let go, demanding five hundred taels of silver in compensation. Unable to argue his way out, Gu Jinrong borrowed five hundred taels from his classmate, the son of Official Jiang, to pay the vendor. Upon returning home, he asked Concubine Song for money to repay the debt.
When their father found out, he was furious and called him in for questioning: “A soup and noodle stall worth five hundred taels? Do you think the Gu family’s money grows on trees?”
She had been home for a family visit at the time and was drinking tea nearby. She heard Gu Jinrong mutter: “He wouldn’t let me leave without paying. There were so many people watching on the street, I couldn’t bear the humiliation.” Then he added carelessly, “It’s just five hundred taels. If you don’t want to pay, just take something from my room as collateral!”
Their father grew angrier: “What things in your room have you earned yourself? Taking from here or there, it’s all still the Gu family’s property!”
He then summoned Concubine Song and reprimanded her: “When he says to give him money, you just give it to him? Is this how you manage household affairs?”
Concubine Song immediately knelt and cried pitifully: “This is all my fault…”
Gu Jinrong snorted coldly: “Why blame Mother? I did this, I asked Mother for the silver. If you want to beat me, then beat me! As a real man, I dare to face the consequences of my actions!”
Their father trembled with rage: “How righteous of you…” He loudly called for Manager Li to bring a bamboo rod. Concubine Song and Gu Lan quickly protected Gu Jinrong, crying and begging their father not to hit him. Gu Lan even said: “If Rong’er didn’t want to pay the silver, he could have simply invoked the Gu family name. He was trying to protect our family’s reputation and avoid trouble, Father!”
Their father, rod in hand, couldn’t bring himself to strike.
She had watched Gu Jinrong’s punishment without saying a word.
Later, after Gu Lan accompanied Gu Jinrong out, it took a long time before her father said to her: “…if only your mother were still alive.” That was the first time in her previous life that her father had expressed longing for her mother since her death.
Gu Jin Chao closed her eyes, seemingly transported back to her previous life, to those desolate and lonely days. No one had truly been on her side. Even Gu Jinrong had started calling Concubine Song “Mother.” There had been no place for her in the Gu family. In the Chen family, she had been equally alone, with only her senior maid Liu Xiang to trust.
Just thinking about it made her feel cold all over.
When she opened her eyes, she saw daylight filtering through the Korean paper. In her ear was Qing Pu’s gentle voice: “Miss, it’s already the Hour of the Dragon. Young Master came by earlier and left you a sandalwood hairpin carved with cloud patterns.”
She had slept an entire day. After she got up, Cai Fu and Bai Yun brought in a padded jacket and a copper basin filled with hot water to help her wash up. Gu Jin Chao asked Qing Pu: “Has Rong’er already left?”
Qing Pu smiled and replied: “He left before dawn.” She showed Jin Chao the sandalwood hairpin.
The cloud pattern was exquisitely carved.
Jin Chao smiled and asked Bai Yun to put it away in the trunk.
She noticed Cai Fu had pinned a red gold hairpin inlaid with turquoise in her hair, and asked: “Why use such a hairpin? Where is my usual plain silver hair clasp?”
Cai Fu smiled and said: “You’ve forgotten, today is the full-month celebration for our Eleventh Miss.”
When they had first returned to the Gu family, their rankings had not been reassigned. Lady Feng hadn’t mentioned it, so naturally, no one else had brought it up. However, the day after returning from Baoxiang Temple, Lady Feng called them all over and said that since the Fifth Madam had also given birth to a child, and Gu Dezhao’s branch had returned to the ancestral home, they should rearrange the rankings. After the rankings were sorted out, the Fifth Madam’s newborn became the Eleventh Miss.
And Gu Jin Chao became the Second Miss.
However, within each household, they still used the original forms of address, as habits of over ten years were not easily changed.
Lady Feng’s rearrangement of the rankings had truly allowed Gu Dezhao’s newly returned branch to breathe easier. Gu Xi had once told her privately: “Elder Sister, when I used to hear the maids from Grandmother’s rooms call me Miss Xi Tang, I always felt uneasy, as if we were just relatives visiting for a meal… Now it feels much better.” She was now ranked eighth and was very pleased with this position.
Gu Jin Chao understood that they had always felt anxious staying at the ancestral home, especially since they didn’t interact much with Lady Feng’s household.
The next day, she had taken Gu Xi and Gu Yi to pay their respects to Lady Feng, who had rewarded each of them with a pair of pearl flowers.
“…Has the shop in Baodi sent over the golden lock?” Gu Jin Chao asked. She had already given the Eleventh Miss a pair of gold anklets, but fearing they might be too heavy for the child, she thought a gold lock engraved with the child’s name would be better.
Cai Fu said it had been delivered yesterday evening and showed it to Jin Chao.
After finishing her preparations, Gu Jin Chao headed to the east courtyard.
Today was the Eleventh Miss’s full-month celebration, and not only would the ladies and misses from families friendly with the Gu family come, but the Marchioness of Changxing would also visit, bringing small jackets, swaddling clothes, bibs, and rattles for her granddaughter. Even the Chief Academy Scholar of the Hanlin Academy, Grand Secretary Gao, had sent the Fifth Madam’s maternal aunt. The Gu household was soon filled with a steady stream of visitors, with carriages filling the front courtyard and servants rushing about busily.
Lady Feng moved from the east courtyard to the west courtyard to receive guests, with six tables set up in the reception area for the female guests to converse.
The Marchioness of Changxing, Lady Gao, brought a note and told Lady Feng: “…This is a character chosen by Mian’er’s maternal great-grandfather. It’s for you to use only if you find it suitable.” When she unfolded it for Lady Feng to see, it showed the character “Tang.”
Gu Jin Chao’s ears perked up at this. Mian’er was the Eleventh Miss’s milk name, and the maternal great-grandfather mentioned was the current Chief Academy Scholar and Minister of Rites, Grand Secretary Gao. The Marchioness must have asked her father to choose a name for the Eleventh Miss. As the eldest legitimate daughter of Gu Fifth Master, she should follow the generation name “Jin” just like herself, so she would be called Gu Jin Tang—a lovely name indeed…
But Lady Feng might not be pleased.
Lady Feng’s expression revealed neither joy nor sorrow. After receiving the note, she praised it and handed it to Fu Ling, then continued her conversation with the Marchioness of Changxing.
A moment later, the child was brought out by her wet nurse. After more than a month of nurturing, she was now plump and fair. The ladies gathered around to see the newborn child. The baby was precious, so no one would casually hold her, and after half an hour, she was taken back to the Fifth Madam’s chambers.
The ladies then rose to visit the Fifth Madam.
Lady Feng called for the Gu family to return with her to the east courtyard.
Gu Jin Chao noticed an unfamiliar young woman standing behind Lady Feng. This young woman was quite tall, wearing a scarlet jacket embroidered with flower branches, a dark green twelve-panel skirt, a pair of gold gourd-shaped earrings, and her hair arranged in a peony bun adorned with two red crepe silk flowers. Her complexion was very fair, but her features were not particularly refined—her cheekbones were slightly prominent, her chin long and pointed, giving her a somewhat harsh appearance.
Gu Jin Chao heard Gu Lian whisper to Gu Lan: “…She looks like a country girl who’s come to the city. Who is she?”
There had been too many people in the reception hall earlier for anyone to notice her.
Lan Zhi, who stood beside Gu Lian, whispered: “Miss, she’s a relative from the Old Madam’s family. This morning while I was receiving gifts in the front courtyard, I saw an old man in his seventies ride in on a donkey cart, and this young lady alighted from it, saying she was a cousin from the Feng family.”
Gu Lian found this amusing and spoke with even more contempt: “…Could she be a poor relative coming to beg for favors? She should go to the Feng family, what is she doing at our house… Our mansion has never had donkey carts enter before!”
Lan Zhi continued with a laugh: “Indeed! The cart driver wanted to drive the donkey cart into the stable, but the donkey became stubborn, pulling at its rope and refusing to enter. Everyone receiving gifts laughed at the sight… The cart driver had no choice but to tie the donkey to the ginkgo tree outside the stable.”
Gu Lian and Lan Zhi whispered together, laughing heartily.
Lady Feng entered and sat on the arhat bed, pulling the young woman before her. She beckoned them over and said with a smile: “…This is someone from Grandmother’s family, surnamed Cheng, given name Bao Zhi. She is a generation above all of you, so just call her Cousin.”
Gu Jin Chao glanced at Cheng Bao Zhi. Though being held by Lady Feng’s hand, she didn’t appear particularly intimate but quickly put on a smile to respond to everyone.
Lady Feng’s family was merely a scholar-official family from Liangxiang. While they might have been a top family in the countryside, after marrying into the Gu family, Lady Feng felt her status was insufficient, which was why she was particularly reserved. Later, her relationship with the Feng family gradually grew distant, and they no longer associated with the Fengs, let alone their relatives…
Why would Lady Feng treat this Cheng Bao Zhi with such intimacy? She didn’t seem to have any qualities worth elevating. And why would she especially call them over to introduce her? It was truly puzzling.
Cheng Bao Zhi then began conversing with everyone.
The maids brought in several plates of treats—Buddha’s pineapple candy, dew cakes, small flower fruit pastries, and an assortment of almonds, dried longan, and other delicacies. Seeing this, Cheng Bao Zhi couldn’t help but exclaim: “The households in the capital are truly grand, to serve so many delicacies.” She turned and flattered Gu Lian, saying, “I wonder if my niece has heard of a famous dessert called pea cake? I heard it’s sweet and refreshingly delicious. I wonder if I’ll have the good fortune to taste it during my visit to the capital!”
Everyone’s expressions turned strange upon hearing this. Pea cake was just an ordinary dessert in the capital, and most prestigious families wouldn’t serve it to guests.
Gu Lian couldn’t hold back anymore and said with a laugh: “Cousin, please enjoy these treats. These pastries are even more rare—even the Emperor enjoys them in the palace!”
Cheng Bao Zhi might have realized she had said something wrong, as she fidgeted with her collar, looking uncomfortable. Lady Feng said flatly: “If you want to eat it, we can have it made. But now is not the time—you can only have it in summer.”