Chapter 29

Inside the room, with no outsiders around, Lady Gu put aside her dignified and noble image, twisted her body, and began to shed tears, throwing herself into Lord Guogong's arms with a sense of grievance: "My lord... I am so miserable."

Lady Gu's words were delivered with "three twists and turns," making the listener's skin crawl, but Lord Guogong was precisely the type who fell for this act. Lady Gu glanced at Lord Guogong from the corner of her eye and, seeing that he was not repulsed, continued her sob story.

"My lord, people say it's hard to be a stepmother, and today I finally understand. How I treat Qiancheng, my lord, you have seen with your own eyes. Whatever Qianxue has, Qiancheng must have; what Qianxue doesn't have, Qiancheng also has. I live in constant fear, not daring to make the slightest mistake, for fear that others will say I mistreat Qiancheng. But look at Qiancheng, she... she dared to show me a bad face right in front of the old master and in front of you. It feels like needles are piercing my heart."

"Enough, enough, Qiancheng is just a child." Lord Guogong, thinking of last night's incident, felt very uncomfortable and wanted to push Lady Gu away, but seeing her cry so sadly, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

After all, she was the woman he liked!

When a man's heart softened, the woman had an opportunity. Lady Gu, of course, wouldn't let the opportunity slip away. She leaned weakly against Lord Guogong's chest, continuing to clear her name while putting the blame on Gu Qiancheng.

"My lord, although Qiancheng's treatment of me makes me feel terrible, I am also happy for her. Qiancheng is grown up, smart, and capable, far better than I am. Yesterday, the old lady said she would send Qiancheng away, and I begged her for a long time to no avail. I never expected that in just one night, Qiancheng would manage to get the old master to take her back. Qiancheng is so clever, I am truly happy for her. Her sister can rest in peace."

The "sister" Lady Gu referred to was naturally Gu Qiancheng's birth mother. Lady Gu knew very well that whenever she mentioned Gu Qiancheng's birth mother, Lord Guogong would become displeased.

Sure enough, a quick glance from the corner of her eye revealed Lord Guogong's furrowed brows and a look of disgust. Lady Gu was secretly delighted but showed a worried expression.

"My lord, while I am happy for Qiancheng, I am also somewhat uneasy. Last night's incident was strange in every way. I am still afraid. A little bit of my suffering is nothing, but what did Qianxue, that child, do wrong..." Lady Gu, as she spoke, began to sob again: "My lord, the imperial physician said Qianxue's child cannot be saved, and Qianxue's body is injured, so it's unknown if she can have children in the future. Prince Chu was also frightened. I am really worried that King Zhao will be dissatisfied, thinking that our Gu family does not take Prince Chu and his offspring seriously."

Speaking of this, Lady Gu was both angry and resentful. Although she didn't know how Gu Qiancheng did it, Lady Gu was certain that last night's incident was related to Gu Qiancheng. Otherwise, why would the man she had prepared to defile Gu Qiancheng end up in her bed, and why would the drugged food intended for Gu Qiancheng be eaten by Prince Chu?

Gu Qiancheng, even though she was already ruined, still wouldn't let Qianxue go, which was truly despicable.

While Lady Gu was crying and trying to gain Lord Guogong's sympathy and affection, Gu Qiancheng had already been sent back to her small courtyard by the servants. Although Lady Gu immediately ordered the courtyard to be cleaned, it was so dilapidated that it couldn't be tidied up in a short time.

Lord Gu's people seemed not to notice, placed Gu Qiancheng down, bowed, and left. Soon, Sun Mama, who had been taking care of Gu Qiancheng, returned and, seeing Gu Qiancheng covered in blood, tears streamed down her face: "My poor young miss, it's all the old woman's fault. If I had begged the old master earlier, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

Seeing the wound on Gu Qiancheng's forehead, Sun Mama felt even more guilty: "It's all the old woman's fault, my young miss, you have suffered."

Sun Mama cried like a teary-eyed person, taking all the blame on herself. At the same time, she cleverly took the responsibility for begging the old master, to avoid making Lady Gu suspicious of Gu Qiancheng.

Gu Qiancheng was moved by Sun Mama's sincerity. She wanted to stop her and comfort her, but after the mental and physical strain of the confrontation with the old master in the flower hall, she could only weakly hold Sun Mama's hand and say, "Mama, don't worry, I'm fine... When the doctor comes, remember to wake me up."

After speaking, Gu Qiancheng fainted. Sun Mama was both heartbroken and guilty, wishing she could hug Gu Qiancheng and cry for her, to express the grievances and unfair treatment she had endured.

However, the people sent by Lady Gu were only responsible for cleaning the courtyard and did not think of serving Gu Qiancheng. Sun Mama had to put aside her sorrow, fetch water to clean Gu Qiancheng's face and hands, and change her into clean clothes and bedding.

Despite her age, Sun Mama was quick and efficient. She usually took care of Gu Qiancheng alone, always maintaining the dignity of a young lady and never letting Gu Qiancheng do these things herself.

"Although the old woman doesn't understand big principles, I know that young ladies are pampered. No noble daughter has to do these things herself. Even if doing it privately is fine, if she does it every day, she will get used to it, and people will laugh at her."

No matter how tired she was, Sun Mama would never let Gu Qiancheng suffer. She always did her best to take care of Gu Qiancheng, but as a servant, she could only do so much.

Sun Mama had not slept all night and was worried about Gu Qiancheng's situation, which kept her in a state of high tension. After finishing these tasks, she was exhausted. When the imperial physician arrived, Sun Mama focused on listening to his instructions and asking how to care for Gu Qiancheng, completely forgetting to wake her up.

Even if she remembered, Sun Mama wouldn't have the heart to wake Gu Qiancheng.

Gu Qiancheng slept until nightfall. When she woke up, she found her room had changed, becoming much more refined, with many new and elegant decorations on the shelves.

On a small table in the room, a dim lamp was lit, and Sun Mama was leaning on the table, watching over her.

Sun Mama, who devoted herself entirely to Gu Qiancheng, even though she knew she was different from the original, did not have any doubts and served her wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, the original Gu Qiancheng was not sensible.

Gu Qiancheng sighed softly, touching the wound on her forehead, knowing that the imperial physician had already come and Sun Mama had not woken her. She was not angry, understanding that Sun Mama wanted her to rest more, as her appearance was truly frightening.

Gu Qiancheng supported herself with both hands and sat up without disturbing Sun Mama. In the dim light, she undid the bandage on her foot...

Even without removing the bandage, Gu Qiancheng knew that the imperial physician had not treated her with care. If she didn't understand medicine and let the physician treat her like this, her left foot would be crippled, and the injury would be severe enough to be obvious.

"Is it the physician's lack of skill, or has he been bought off?"

Gu Qiancheng hoped it was the former, but she was not a fool. It was just a dislocated bone. Even a physician with basic medical knowledge would know that simply applying medicine and bandaging it would not work; the bone needed to be set correctly, or it would affect future walking.

"Must I be crippled and have my future destroyed for you to be satisfied?" In the darkness, a cold smile flashed in Gu Qiancheng's eyes.

"I, Gu Qiancheng, will not let you have your way!" As she spoke, Gu Qiancheng gripped her injured leg, turned her head to look out the window, and with a movement of her shoulder, a crack was heard. Gu Qiancheng, in pain, fell back onto the bed...

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