Chapter 120: Purity Was Lost Early

Gu Jiu Ling was instantly stunned; this radiant young girl was so domineering!

Gu Cheng's complexion darkened a few shades as he slowly said, "Cousin, why must you speak such harsh words?"

"Cousin?" Gu Jiu Ling instantly guessed who this radiant, domineering woman was—it was Lin Rujun, the legitimate eldest daughter of the Lin family and Lin Jingyuan's younger sister.

Back then, Madam Lin was disheartened by the old Duke; the old Duke had taken countless concubines, each more unruly than the last, nearly driving Madam Lin mad.

Even Lin Qingshu's own mother, Concubine Mei, almost drove Madam Lin's legitimate daughter to death; after the old lord died, Madam Lin's son inherited the title and exerted great effort to settle the household's illegitimate sons and daughters.

As for those concubines, Madam Lin sent them all to the manor; only two well‑behaved ones remained in the house to assist her.

When her son, Duke Lin, was to take a wife, Madam Lin personally declared that he was not allowed to take concubines! If he took concubines and disrespected his wife, she would smash her head to death.

As soon as Madam Lin's words spread, the noble ladies of Jing Cheng were delighted and naturally eager to marry the gentle and refined Duke Lin.

Later, he married the legitimate daughter of the scholarly Li family from Jiangnan; the Li family was also the maternal clan of the late Empress Li. In recent years, Grand Master Li of the Hanlin Academy had gradually withdrawn from court affairs to run a private academy, becoming a distinguished household.

The Lin and Li families' marriage alliance quickly became a celebrated tale.

Madam Li gave birth to a son and a daughter, Lin Jingyuan and Lin Rujun.

The siblings grew up happily in the now‑clean Lin household, though their temperaments were completely opposite.

The elder brother Lin Jingyuan inherited the Li family's refined and elegant demeanor, was gentle and modest, and was very popular among the youth of Shang Jing.

The younger sister Lin Rujun had a somewhat volatile temperament; although she had already come of age, she refused to marry, and none of the Shang Jing gentlemen caught her eye.

Moreover, she disliked needlework but loved reading—though the books she read were about governing the state and securing the realm, not the usual texts for women.

Madam Li suffered a terrible headache, fearing that she would not find a husband.

Now Lin Rujun stared coldly at the sobbing Gu Nanxiang, who was nearly fainting, and said, "Hmph! That was the polite part; I have something even less polite coming up!"

"Just now you were sitting here alone, so I sent maids and a nanny to attend to you; worried that Miss Gu the Second's health was unwell, I even dispatched several more people."

"Why did you send them all away? Once the maids and nanny left, trouble broke out here, didn't it?"

"Furthermore, you didn't fall into the water early or late, but just when my brother passed by this place you plunged into the lake?"

"Fine, now my elder brother jumped into the lake to save your life, and you instead slander my brother for ruining your purity!"

"Ha! What a colossal joke!"

"In Shang Jing, anyone who can see and hear knows your purity has long been gone!"

"Who are you putting on a show for here? Do you think the Lin family are soft melons easy to crush, or that we have 'idiot' carved on our foreheads?"

"What's that? How many disgusting tricks did you learn in the brothel's backroom? You used them all on my brother today, and even made my brother responsible for you! Heh! Look in the mirror—how old are you really?"

"Take a good look; even without water, you could still piss out a stream, right?"

"Who are you disgusting here for? You're just like your mother—an equally despicable brat!"

Gu Nanxiang let out a wail, burst into tears, stood up, covered her face, and ran toward the lake's edge.

"I would rather die than let your Lin family humiliate me like this! Wuwu…"

Gu Nanxiang truly hadn't expected Lin Rujun to be so sharp‑tongued; after all, she's a noble lady of a prestigious family, yet she speaks so crudely and viciously?

She had once been wholly devoted to Crown Prince Xiao Ting, but she knew that after Gu Jiu Ling had schemed against her, her reputation was ruined; not only would the Crown Prince not take her, even the sons of ordinary official families refused to marry her.

Yet she had always been a literary beauty of Shang Jing, the second miss of the Gu Xiang residence; how could she marry into an ordinary household? They were unworthy!

Her heart had been constantly sorrowful, and today, accompanying her elder brother to the Lin household, she was dazzled by the Lin family's grandeur and wealth.

Cousin Lin Jingyuan, though not as illustrious as the Crown Prince, was a gentle and handsome heir; if…

Just as she was lost in wild thoughts, she saw Lin Jingyuan approaching from afar; a few princes, unsure where they were going to view flowers, perhaps Lin Jingyuan had business in the mansion, hurried with his head down, focused only on walking.

The opportunity arrived in that instant; some let it slip away, but Gu Nanxiang had to seize it.

After all, she didn't have many chances left.

Lin Rujun was somewhat unfair to her; the servants' gazes were extremely cold, and Gu Nanxiang, irritated, told them to stay away. The servants also found the Lin family's daughter unsightly and were unwilling to serve her.

Now only Gu Nanxiang remained here; with such an opportunity, if she couldn't control it, she'd be a total fool.

She bit her lip and leapt into the lake, startling Lin Jingyuan as he passed by. Lin Jingyuan, ever kind‑hearted and gentle, saw someone drowning and immediately plunged in after them.

He turned pale with shock and sprinted toward the lakeshore, thinking nothing else—human life was at stake!

The protocols—no physical contact between men and women—were beyond the young heir's thoughts; he only wanted to rescue the drowning person.

To his dismay, the one he rescued was Gu Nanxiang; Lin Jingyuan's heart lurched, and he even subconsciously wanted to flee.

He had long held vivid memories of Lin Qingshu's affairs; when paying respects to his grandmother, especially when his aunt returned to her natal home, mother and daughter would have to scold Lin Qingshu a hundred or so times to vent their resentment.

Although the heir of the Duke of Dingnan married his aunt, after Aunt Lin Qingyu entered the Dingnan Duke's residence, several years passed without any children; no one knew what the issue was.

The matriarch of the Dingnan Duke's household forced her son to take concubines; those concubines were also scheming. When Lin Qingyu wept before her mother‑in‑law, the mother‑in‑law silenced her by bringing up Lin Qingshu's past.

Now Lin Jingyuan could never have imagined that he would be trapped by Gu Nanxiang, the daughter of Lin Qingshu.

He watched Gu Nanxiang, who hadn't died, start to leave, but she grabbed his sleeve and began wailing loudly, which attracted a crowd of onlookers.

With them in such a state, even if others believed they hadn't done anything, Lin Jingyuan had still rescued Gu Nanxiang, violating the no‑contact rule; there was physical contact, and the Lin family, being a prestigious house, could not afford such a scandal.

Today's incident would be hard to resolve; the Lin family would certainly have to give the Gu family an explanation.

Only Lin Rujun's combat prowess was so formidable that she berated Gu Nanxiang into wanting to jump into the lake to kill herself; Princess Changping hurriedly ordered a palace maid nearby to stop Gu Nanxiang.

Princess Changping said coldly, "Since it has come to this, let the Lin heir marry the Gu family's second miss!"

"Our Lin family cannot afford this face!" Lin Rujun said coldly to Princess Changping. "Your Highness is friendly with the Gu family; I dare not speak, but now the Lin family cannot afford to marry a Gu daughter! We dare not marry! It's filthy!"

"How audacious! You, a lady of the inner chambers, so arrogant and overbearing—what kind of decorum is that?" Princess Changping did not expect anyone in the Shang Jing noble ladies' circle to speak to her like that.

Gu Cheng's eyes flashed; sending his sister into the Gu family might also be a good solution.

As long as the Lin family is tied to him, any binding would work.

He said slowly, "If so, we juniors will not intervene. I will return to report to my father, ask him to speak with Duke Lin before the Emperor, for my sister's current state, we must give the Gu family an answer, right?"

"If we can't settle it here, let's discuss elsewhere!"

"You…" Lin Rujun, after all a young girl, became a bit frightened when father and the court were mentioned, and anxiously looked around, then pointed at Xiao Yin and asked, "What does Young Master Gu mean? Isn't Prince Rui an elder?"

"Please, Prince Rui, uphold justice!" Suddenly Lin Rujun stepped before Xiao Yin, bowed slightly to him.

Gu Jiu Ling only felt her eyelid twitching violently; how is Xiao Yin supposed to handle this matter? Tricky! No! Thorny! The kind that draws blood.