The 42nd year of Yongxian.
The snow in the Capital grew heavier, and the plum blossoms planted in the main courtyard of the Gu Family's main residence emitted a faint plum fragrance in response to the snow. The pavilions, bridges, and flowing water were arranged with elegance, and although the Capital of Jinling was located in the north, the main residence of the Li Family reflected the charm of the water towns of Jiangnan.
The Madam of the Gu Family's main residence was residing in the waterside pavilion of this main courtyard.
The courtyard, which seemed as silent as if uninhabited, suddenly became noisy. Lin Youning sat beside the watershed, gazing into the distance. Although she had only reached her thirties, halfway to middle age, her appearance seemed as if she had reached her sixties, like an elderly woman. When someone rushed into the peaceful waterside pavilion, she neither moved nor turned around.
"Madam, Master said he wants to see you. The maids couldn't stop him..."
Before the servant finished speaking, she was interrupted by a cold male voice, "All of you leave. I have something to discuss with Madam."
Gu Yixuan's voice echoed in the waterside pavilion.
The once silent waterside pavilion, now invaded by Gu Yixuan, suddenly saw the emergence of a group of maids, though none knew from where they came. They wore pink silk jackets with cross-collars, white inner garments, and matching long skirts. Even though so many people emerged, there was not a hint of disorderly noise, as they stood gracefully with lowered heads, eyes observing noses and noses observing hearts, standing beside Lin Youning without moving.
Gu Yixuan was already in his forties, yet showed no signs of aging. Handsome and clear-headed, as a grandfather, his actions inadvertently revealed an air of nobility due to his identity as the second master of the Marquis Mansion, accompanied by a touch of aristocratic elegance.
"Lin Youning, if you don't want to lose the face of being the Madam of the main residence of the Gu Mansion, you may as well not have these servants withdraw." Impatience was already embedded in Gu Yixuan's voice.
Lin Youning, who had been sitting with her back to Gu Yixuan, finally gestured, and the maids standing by streamed out, leaving the two to speak alone.
The quiet of the waterside pavilion was again shattered by Lin Youning's sudden burst of coughing, each cough seemingly aimed at expelling her lungs. The impatience on Gu Yixuan's handsome face gradually faded, but disdain soon took its place.
His tone grew harsher, "I heard the matchmaker from the Duke Zhen Guo Mansion was turned away? Lin Youning, don't forget, I am the head of this household."
"Head of the household?" Lin Youning's face, aged like sixty years, spoke in a voice belonging to the age of a blossoming maiden, melodious and pleasant, yet tinged with a sarcasm that was hard to appreciate.
Gu Yixuan frowned deeply.
Faced with Lin Youning's skepticism, he found himself momentarily speechless.
Years ago, the eldest grandson of the Gu Family's main residence died on the battlefield, saving Gu Yifeng, who was not yet Dingyuan Marquis at the time. In addition, because the Madam of the Marquis Mansion respected her sister-in-law, Lin Youning was pampered as if a cherished child after being brought into the family.
Who could have foreseen such events unfolding?
Thinking of the Madam's disappointment in her, Lin Youning's heart, which had been calm for so many years, suddenly ached again.
"Married you at fifteen, shared a marital bed once and became pregnant with Brother Zong, after which you never stepped into the main residence again. I only know there's a second master of the Marquis Mansion, but I can't recall a master in our residence." Slowly turning around, Lin Youning's gaze was indifferent, devoid of any emotion, yet her aged face bore traces of the colors of her youth.
"Back then, when you carried the burden of two houses, I knew you had a legitimate daughter from the Duke Mansion as your betrothed, being childhood sweethearts. Naturally, I dared not expect you to spare me a glance. I was merely a child bride adopted by my pitiful aunt."
"Yet even without competing, my fate did not end well, being branded with infamy, ultimately enduring long enough for my son to become a top scholar. And now you assist your wife in wanting Brother Zong to wed her niece, what does my lifetime of endurance count for? Am I raising a future scholar son-in-law for my enemy?"
After uttering so much, Lin Youning was seized by another bout of severe coughing, "I'm stating it here today that, even if all the women in this world were gone, I would never let Brother Zong marry the girl from the Kong Family."
The Duke Mansion carries the surname Kong.
"What of the Duke Mansion? When Brother Zong was a child and visited your Marquis Mansion for festival greetings, how many times was he ridiculed and mocked by the sons and daughters of the Duke Mansion? Fortunately, Brother Zong is a child with aspirations, achieving top ranks at the age of fifteen. With past incidents still fresh, the Duke Mansion dares to plot Brother Zong, proving to be the most shameless people on earth."
"Lin," Gu Yixuan interrupted her angrily, his upbringing and origins intolerant of such crude speech, "You only know how to blame others, lacking remorse for your own deeds. If at the Marquis Mansion you hadn't enticed the illegitimate son of my elder brother, how would the world react to you? Why would I neglect you? You grew up under my watch. If not for such sentiments, after those incidents, you wouldn't be a daughter-in-law of the Gu Family's main residence but would have been expelled long ago. I fathered a son with you out of nostalgia. Stop holding others accountable for your insatiable heart."
Embarrassment and indignation surfaced on Gu Yixuan's face, seemingly deeply wounded.
Lin Youning found his expression amusing, her lips twisting into a mocking smile, "Second Master, you seem to be the one truly harmed, don't you?"
Gu Yixuan's gaze sharpened.
But Lin Youning was fearless.
She was no longer the Lin Youning from years ago, unable to defend herself, humiliated; these past ten-plus years she transformed from an unacquainted girl into the mother of a present top scholar through sheer endurance, nearly rivaling climbing from a pile of corpses.
"You remember I grew up under your watch? Then you should also recall I am of the same age as your brother's illegitimate son, and we both grew up in the Marquis Mansion. He used to call me aunt, how could I have an affair with him? If an affair existed, why was there none before or after, but only just when we'd gotten married?" Lin Youning's questions stunned Gu Yixuan.
Faced with Lin Youning's penetrating gaze, Gu Yixuan somewhat evasively avoided her gaze.
Gu Yixuan's silence did not cause Lin Youning to stop, "The Madam respected my aunt's integrity, my aunt praised the Madam as a remarkable woman among women. My aunt raised me from birth, and after her passing at five, I was raised under the Madam's guidance. With principles instilled by two venerable ladies, how could I fail to grasp ethical standards?"
"No need to ask the Second Master, back then it was I who didn't wish to share my husband with other women, thus orchestrating the scheme involving you and Brother Xuan. If blame is sought, send it my way." A clear female voice accompanied the sound, as a middle-aged woman with a poised bearing entered the room.