DBB – Chapter 038: Confrontation

Gu Lan stood in the small kitchen of Cui Xuan Courtyard, watching over a simmering pot. Lately, their father had been spending more time at Jingan Courtyard with Concubine Luo, leaving Song Yiniang looking increasingly haggard. Feeling a pang of sympathy for her mother, Gu Lan had decided to prepare a nourishing soup.

Ziling entered and reported, “Young Master is here.”

Gu Lan took the handkerchief that Mujin handed her, wiped her hands, and instructed the kitchen servants to watch the fire under the clay pot carefully before stepping out into the covered corridor.

Seeing the fading redness on Ziling’s cheek, she frowned. “Didn’t you apply the medicinal ointment?”

Ziling lowered her voice. “I thought I should leave it as it was for Young Master to see…”

Gu Lan immediately scolded her. “Foolish! Do you think he has time to care about your face? What do you count as?” If a trick failed once, there was no need to repeat it. Gu Jinchao wasn’t someone who would slap Ziling’s face just for amusement.

Recalling what Qiao Wei had told her—Ziling was no longer useful and needed to be discarded—Gu Lan felt a wave of frustration. Mujin was much more clever.

She turned her gaze toward the main hall, where Gu Jinrong stood beneath the covered walkway, hands clasped behind his back, staring at a newly planted beauty pine in the courtyard.

He must be troubled.

Gu Lan knew her brother well. Whenever he was frustrated, he would be restless and uneasy.

When Gu Jinrong saw Gu Lan approaching with a smile, his heart grew even more conflicted.

Just days ago, he had excitedly told her that he would be able to stay home for his studies. But now…

“Second Sister, I came to tell you—I can’t stay home to study.”

Gu Lan was taken aback. “Why? Did Father refuse?”

Gu Jinrong gritted his teeth. “Father agreed at first, but last night, Gu Jinchao went to see him and made him change his mind!”

He clenched his fists, frustration spilling into his voice. “I don’t even interfere with her affairs! Why does she have to meddle in mine?”

Gu Lan’s expression remained composed as she consoled him. “Perhaps Eldest Sister was simply thinking of your studies… worried that staying home would hinder your progress.”

Gu Jinrong scoffed. “She’s worried about my studies? More like she’s afraid I’ll take Mother’s attention away from her! She goes to visit Mother every day, as if she’s desperate to prove how filial she is. And if I leave, won’t it be even easier for her to bully you? Someone as selfish as her—how could she possibly care about my education?”

If Gu Jinrong went to Qifang Hutong, it would certainly be to Gu Lan’s disadvantage. She sighed, “I wonder who told Eldest Sister about this… I had hoped that if you stayed, you could accompany Mother more often. Perhaps she would recover faster…”

Gu Jinrong paced angrily beneath the corridor, his frustration mounting.

After a moment, he declared, “Forget it! I’m going to confront her! She’s gone too far lately!”

Calling for Qingxiu and Qing’an, he stormed toward Qingtong Courtyard.

Gu Lan reached out to stop him but failed.

Her brother had no sense of restraint in his words—if he let something slip in front of Gu Jinchao, what would she do then?

She called after him, but he had already disappeared past the courtyard gates.

Ziling whispered hesitantly, “Miss, isn’t it a good thing if Young Master goes to confront Eldest Miss…? Why would you want to stop him?”

Gu Lan shot her a glare. “What do you understand…” She let out a sigh. Forget it. Let them tear each other apart. If they completely fall out, that would be even better.

Jinchao remained curled up on the heated brick bed, working on needlework.

The past few days had been dreary with continuous rain, making it too cold and damp to go outside.

Tong Mama sat nearby, watching her work. “Miss, what are you making?”

Jinchao replied, “Knee warmers, for Jinrong.”

Spring was approaching, but the weather remained chilly. The students in Daxing would soon switch to lighter cotton trousers, but when they sat down for lessons, they would likely feel the cold again. These knee warmers could be worn over their clothing and removed when needed.

Though her relationship with Jinrong was strained, they were still siblings, and their mother worried about them. If she indulged him a little, perhaps it would ease the tension.

She knew her own temperament was strong and unyielding, but Jinrong was the type who responded better to kindness than force.

The outer fabric was a rich cedar-colored silk, lined with two layers of silk cloth and stuffed with soft cotton. She was embroidering a motif of three victorious scholars, a traditional auspicious pattern. She had started working on this piece half a month ago, and now she was just finishing the edges.

On the altar table, incense burned in delicate curls, filling the room with a faint scent of sandalwood.

Outside, the rain continued to patter gently, making the chamber feel even quieter and more peaceful.

Suddenly, the calm was broken by a commotion outside—the sounds of Yuzhu and Yutong’s distressed voices.

Qingpu stepped beyond the screen, lifting the curtain to look.

A group of people was storming through the covered corridor. She narrowed her eyes to get a clearer look before turning back to report.

“Miss, Young Master is here with his two study attendants. It seems he forced his way in—our maids couldn’t stop him.”

Jinchao sighed. “He must be here to question me about his studies. Let him in.”

“Gu Jinchao! Are you inside?”

Gu Jinrong shouted as he strode into the eastern side chamber.

His study attendant, who had been holding an umbrella for him, stayed outside by the door.

Jinchao rose from her seat and picked up a nearby cloak, but before she could hand it to him, Gu Jinrong had already stepped past the screen.

He was dressed in a slate-blue scholar’s robe, his hair slightly damp from the rain.

His sharp, youthful features were clouded with anger as he stared darkly at her.

Jinchao, however, remained unbothered. She approached him with the cloak in hand. “You came all this way in the rain…”

Gu Jinrong shoved her hand away. “I don’t need your fake kindness!”

Jinchao retracted her hand, smiling. “Then put it on yourself. If you catch a cold, you won’t be able to leave for Daxing.”

“Who said I’m going to Daxing?!” He glared at her. “Why do you insist on meddling in my affairs? Why did you run to Father and interfere?! Are you afraid that if I stay, Mother will love me more than you? Or are you worried that if I stay, I’ll get in the way of you scheming against Second Sister?!”

With each question, his voice grew louder, until it echoed through the chamber.

Tong Mama and Qingpu were both taken aback.

Baiyun and Caifu barely dared to breathe.

Jinchao slowly set down the cloak in her hands and gazed at Gu Jinrong for a long moment before finally asking, “Is that truly what you think? Do you really believe that I am this kind of person?”

Gu Jinrong let out a cold laugh. “If you’re not, then who is? Me? Second Sister? You drove Liuxiang insane and cast her out of the household. You had Qingpu slap Ziling just because she pleaded on Liuxiang’s behalf. You even forced Father to take a concubine! If you’re not that kind of person, then what am I? What is Second Sister? These are your affairs—I never interfere. But stay out of mine! I will study where I choose, and I don’t need your meddling!”

Jinchao felt her heart go completely cold.

Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. “And who told you all of this?”

Gu Jinrong continued, “Don’t even try to say that it was Second Sister slandering you! I asked around myself! How could you think so poorly of her? She has always treated you with sincerity. She constantly tells me not to argue with you because it would upset Mother. I’ve held back so many times for their sake! Do you really think everyone is as malicious as you?”

Jinchao cast him a side glance before returning to the heated brick bed and picking up the knee warmers she had been making.

“So, someone still had to tell you first before you started asking questions?” she said casually. “If Gu Lan truly wanted us to get along, would she have told you these things? Would she have ‘accidentally’ led you to investigate?”

Her voice was calm and steady, yet in the quiet room, it seemed to carry an unmistakable weight.

“If she truly had your best interests at heart, would she encourage you to stay home and study? Would she lead you down a path that will ruin your education and leave you with nothing?”

Gu Jinrong froze.

“She wants to hold you back so that, in the end, you become nothing more than a useless noble son. And tell me—why would I need to compete with you for Mother’s affection? Mother has always favored you the most. While you grew up at her knee, I was far away at the Ji family residence.”

Jinchao’s voice remained level, yet every word landed like a sharp blade.

“As for your accusation that I am trying to harm Gu Lan… I am the legitimate eldest daughter of the Gu family. What could I possibly need from her? What do I have to gain by plotting against her? Have you even figured out who is scheming against whom?”

She didn’t wait for his response. Instead, she let out a soft laugh. “From Jingan Courtyard back to Cui Xuan Courtyard, would Ziling normally pass by Jingfang Pavilion?”

Gu Jinrong suddenly stilled, his anger momentarily forgotten.

“She was waiting there for you.”

He had expected Jinchao to glare at him fiercely, to shout back at him as she had before.

But she didn’t.

She didn’t even look at him.

Outside, the rain continued to drizzle lightly, and through the open wooden lattice window, he could see the newly built grape trellis in the courtyard.

Jinchao turned her face toward the window, her soft profile as still as calm water.

The fire in his chest suddenly extinguished.

He replayed her words in his mind.

She made sense.

A chill crept up his spine. No, it couldn’t be… Second Sister had always been kind to him. She would never scheme against him!

His voice weakened. “You… You’re trying to slander Second Sister.”

Jinchao remained silent for a moment before responding in a hushed voice, “I am your elder sister. Why would I ever want to harm you…?”

Her voice faded into quietness.

Gu Jinrong finally saw her turn back toward him—and it was then that he realized…

She was crying.

For a moment, he was completely stunned.

He had never seen Gu Jinchao cry.

He had always believed that she did not know how to cry. She was arrogant, domineering—who could ever make her cry?

A distant memory surfaced in his mind.

When they were ten years old, Gu Jinchao had insisted on playing on the swing with them. Gu Lan had taken a fall, tears streaming down her face, and immediately, their father and the concubines had rushed to comfort her.

Even he had gone to find malt sugar candy to cheer her up.

Gu Jinchao had only stood aside, watching them coldly, before turning away and leaving.

Later, everyone had searched for her, only to find her hiding alone in an abandoned side room.

Their father had scolded her harshly for wandering off, but she had simply stared back at them with stubborn eyes, refusing to admit any distress.

She had spent the whole night alone in the cold, yet had never shed a single tear.

“You—”

Gu Jinrong opened his mouth, wanting to say something—perhaps even to wipe away her tears.

But before he could speak, Jinchao turned away.

“I’m tired. Young Master, you should leave now.”

With that, she rose and walked toward the inner chamber.

Qingpu followed behind her, closing the door firmly behind them.