Chương 27: Nghe lén

Gu Jinchao then explained to her grandmother, “Do you still remember Yun Xiang, the maid who came to the Gu family as part of your mother’s dowry back in those days?”

Madam Ji Wu naturally nodded and said, “Yun Xiang grew up with your mother from a young age. After your father took in Song Miaohua, I was the one who advised your mother to let your father accept her as a concubine. Later on, she became a secondary consort, but she was unlucky; she died before even giving birth to a child.”

Jinchao smiled and said, “Although my father doesn’t seem to be particularly devoted, he isn’t the kind to just take anyone he wants… My mother said that he really liked Yun Xiang back then; otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed so easily. After Yun Xiang became a secondary consort, Concubine Song also lost favor for a while…”

Of course, these details weren’t things her mother had told her directly. It was after her mother mentioned them that she went and asked Aunt Tong about them.

Her grandmother looked at her with a somewhat strange expression and asked, “You’re thinking of…”

Jinchao nodded and continued, “Yun Xiang had two older sisters. One was Concubine Yun Jin, and the other was named Yun Yan; I heard that Yun Yan married the son of a county magistrate as a concubine. What I want to find is the daughter born to Yun Yan. I thought that if they looked similar, perhaps my father might be stirred by old feelings. After all, at this time, my father wouldn’t casually take in another concubine; not only would it affect his official career, but Concubine Song would also oppose it.”

Her grandmother was silent for a moment before saying, “I’ll call Concubine Yun over tomorrow. You can ask her where Yun Yan married off to. If her daughter is still unmarried, we could bring her back here directly. After all, it’s not a problem to take in the daughter of a county magistrate’s illegitimate child…”

What she really meant was that if they refused, they could use their influence to force their way through. Whether it was the Ji family or the Gu family, neither could afford to offend a county magistrate, especially one who was about to leave his post. Moreover, such a marriage would be of great benefit to a county magistrate about to retire.

Gu Jinchao really admired her grandmother’s straightforward and decisive personality.

After telling her grandmother about this, Jinchao felt somewhat relieved. Before coming here, she was a bit afraid that her grandmother wouldn’t support her, but it seemed that things were just as they were when she was a child; once her grandmother made a decision, she would not oppose it.

As dusk fell, Jinchao helped Madam Ji Wu to the Chuihua Hall for dinner. After the meal, Gu Jinrong even had a very pleasant conversation with Ji Yun, discussing the methods of studying mentioned by the sage Zhu.

Ji Yun was very knowledgeable and didn’t become arrogant just because he passed the imperial examinations at a young age. He spoke calmly and steadily, quoting classics in a fascinating way.

He said that Zhu the Sage was different from others: “When it comes to Zhu the Sage’s achievements, I think what matters most is not his Neo-Confucianism, as he performed well in that area, but his actions often contradicted his teachings, making it difficult to convince others… Confucianism is indeed the best. However, compared to the sages Confucius and Mencius, he’s still inferior. Since Brother Rong likes to read Zhu the Sage’s works, it might be better for him to read more of Confucius and Mencius’ writings; they are also very beneficial for the imperial examination format…”

Gu Jinrong found this strange and asked, “How does Zhu the Sage’s behavior contradict Neo-Confucianism?”

Ji Yun coughed slightly, his face turning red, and then stopped talking, shifting the topic to another subject.

Gu Jinchao glanced at him again, thinking to herself that Ji Yun seemed so rigid and dull, yet she never imagined he would be interested in unofficial histories… It is said that although the sage Zhu emphasized “upholding heavenly principles and suppressing human desires,” he himself lured two nuns to become his concubines and had an affair with his own daughter-in-law, living a life of inconsistency that drew criticism from others.

After dinner, Lady Ji Wu sent Ji Yao to the Shexian Tower to discuss matters. Jinchao went to wait for her in her grandmother’s courtyard, but due to the fatigue of the journey, she fell asleep on the arhat bed. When she regained consciousness, she saw warm red light shining through the window, and a blue cloud-patterned brocade quilt covered her body.

She sat up halfway, only to find no one in the inner room, yet voices of conversation could be heard outside.

“…This really worries me!” That was her grandmother’s voice, sounding somewhat angry.

Jinchao lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside and saw Lady Ji Wu and Aunt Song talking under the veranda.

Aunt Song tried to comfort her, “You have to give the second young master some time; after all, this happened too suddenly for him.”

Her grandmother’s voice was cold, “Isn’t there already enough time? He has grown up almost with Sister Chao since they were children. If anyone is most familiar with Sister Chao, he would be one of them. I thought he had finally become obedient over the years, but who knew he still has such stubborn bones!”

Aunt Song sighed, and after a long while, she spoke softly, “Madam, having watched for so many years… I actually don’t quite understand either. The young miss has always been greatly favored in our Ji family, and you have been particularly indulgent with her… If you had heard what people outside say about her, then you would understand why the second young master refused…”

Hearing this, Jinchao’s heart tightened. If even Aunt Song was aware of the rumors about her, then her grandmother must also know. But how could her own affairs be related to her second cousin? It made no sense to her.

After a long while, she heard her grandmother’s voice again, “Of course I know… Back in the day, when Han'er grew up by my side, I didn’t have the heart to take care of her, so the previous madam raised her to be delicate and timid, afraid to do anything. After she married Gu Dezhao, who had so many concubines, did she ever manage to stand up to them? Just because of a single word from Master Qingxu, Sister Chao had no choice but to leave her mother’s side and be raised by me! Before she even had the chance to return, her father already had a second, then a third daughter…”

“When Sister Chao was five years old, I took her back for a visit. At that time, Han'er had just had Rong Geer, and Gu Dezhao already had a well-behaved and sensible daughter named Gu Lan; no one wanted to hold her. When I came back from a walk, I found Sister Chao hiding alone in the dark room, too afraid to go out… I decided then that I would never let anyone mistreat my Sister Chao. After returning, I indulged her even more, unable to bear to see her suffer in any way…”

Hearing this, Aunt Song’s heart turned sour, “I know you love Sister Chao, and I have watched her grow up; I also know that she is actually a person of pure intentions… But what will happen to her in the future…”

Bà ngoại thở dài: “Vì vậy tôi đã nghĩ trước rồi, đợi đến khi Chao cô ấy đủ tuổi, tôi sẽ để Yao cậu ấy cưới cô ấy về nhà mình, dưới sự chăm sóc của tôi, xem ai dám bắt nạt cô ấy nữa.”

Mẹ Song lại nói: “Vậy bà không bao giờ nghĩ đến điều này sao… nếu cậu thứ hai không muốn…”

Bà ngoại cười lạnh: “Lúc trước anh ta còn chẳng muốn quan tâm đến những chuyện của gia tộc Kỷ chút nào cả, bây giờ anh ta không phải đang làm rất tốt sao? Anh ta cũng là do tôi nuôi dưỡng lớn lên, tôi hiểu rõ tính cách của anh ta, chỉ cần ép anh ta đồng ý, anh ta sẽ không bao giờ hối tiếc nữa, anh ta sẽ cố gắng làm mọi thứ một cách tốt nhất có thể. Chính vì vậy, tôi mới dám tin tưởng giao Chao cô ấy cho anh ta…”

Nói xong, bà lại thở dài: “Thật đáng tiếc, tôi muốn bảo vệ Chao cô ấy thật tốt. Nhưng mọi người trong gia tộc Cố đều không muốn… Hôm nay Chao cô ấy kể cho tôi nghe những chuyện đó, tôi mới nghĩ ra, làm sao cô ấy lại hiểu được những mưu mô này. Chắc chắn có người đã bắt nạt cô ấy…”

Cố Kim Triều buông rèm xuống, từ từ đi đến bên lò sưởi, khuôn mặt cô ấy không thể che giấu được sự sốc.

Cô ấy dựa vào bức tường che, tay kia lại che miệng mình, nước mắt đã tràn ra.

Lúc trước cô ấy chỉ nghĩ rằng bà ngoại rất yêu thương mình, không ngờ rằng thực ra bà ngoại đã sớm lên kế hoạch cho tương lai của mình, bà muốn bảo vệ Chao cô ấy một cách chu đáo suốt đời.

Tư duy của Cố Kim Triều nhanh chóng xoay tròn, những chuyện trong kiếp trước mà cô ấy không thể hiểu được, bây giờ đã có lời giải thích rõ ràng!

Một tháng trước khi mẹ cô qua đời, Kỷ Dao đã đến cầu hôn với cha cô.

Lúc đó cô rất bối rối, anh họ thứ hai của cô thường không thích cô, đối xử với cô cũng không khác gì với người khác. Hóa ra là theo lệnh của bà ngoại, anh ta mới đến cầu hôn cô, vậy có nghĩa là sau này Kỷ Dao vẫn sẽ bị bà ngoại thuyết phục.

…Đúng là thế, làm sao Kỷ Dao có thể chống lại được những thủ đoạn của bà ngoại!

Không lạ gì, ngay cả anh họ thứ ba của cô cũng đã có vợ chính, con cái cũng một tuổi rồi. Anh họ thứ hai là con trai cả của gia đình, nhưng lại không có một người tình nào, tất cả đều được chuẩn bị sẵn cho cô ấy!

Những nghi ngờ trong lòng Cố Kim Triều về bà ngoại cũng tan biến hết.

Trong kiếp trước, cô có tình cảm với Trần Huyền Thanh, mong chờ anh ta nhìn mình một cái… Chỉ cần anh ta nhìn mình một cái, cô đã rất vui mừng rồi! Vì vậy khi Kỷ Dao đến cầu hôn, khi cha cô hỏi ý kiến của cô, cô đã thẳng thắn từ chối. Sau này Kỷ Dao cưới được cô ba của gia tộc Vĩnh Dương Bá Phủ, cuộc sống vợ chồng họ rất hạnh phúc.

Cô Kim Triều tiếp tục suy nghĩ về những điều đó, và cảm thấy ấm áp trong trái tim mình.

Bà ngoại không khỏi đau lòng: “Hàn Nhi bây giờ bệnh nặng lắm... Cháu gái phải tự bảo vệ mình, chỉ hy vọng cháu gái của bà dì Vân kia chưa lấy chồng, thì mọi chuyện sẽ ổn thôi..."

Chào mừng các bạn đọc đến với chúng tôi! Những tác phẩm được cập nhật mới nhất, nhanh nhất và hot nhất đều có tại đây!