Chapter 65

Unfortunately, the tears of a child did not bring back Gu Huai's conscience.

He used the excuse of disobedience to lock Gu Nian'an in the ancestral hall and said to Gu Nianxue: "The day you marry is the day your brother comes out of the ancestral hall! If you don't agree to marry Minister Fang, then your brother will never think of coming out!"

Gu Nianxue knew that Gu Huai meant what he said; he really could be that heartless!

That night, Gu Nianxue personally made some pastries and sent them to her brother.

Watching her brother finish eating, she gently wiped her brother's mouth and exhorted: "After Sister is no longer at home, you must restrain your temper. Don't get into conflicts with them easily, and be careful to protect yourself. Mother is gone, and this home has already become unrecognizable."

"Sister, did you agree to Father to marry Minister Fang? You can't marry him; I heard he is older than Father, how does he deserve to be your husband? What about Brother Ze? Why don't you go find him? Even eloping would be fine!"

"Your Brother Ze also has his difficulties. Their family has fallen out with Father, and it's impossible for them to accept me again. Nian'an, don't cry; when you cry, Sister wants to cry too. You must grow up well; only when you grow up and have the ability can you be Sister's backing and support Sister. Understand?"

Waiting for her brother to grow up, waiting for him to be able to stand on his own—everything would be fine—this was the hope Gu Nianxue set for herself in her heart.

People, as long as they have hope, can endure even the most bitter and difficult times.

Therefore, even if Minister Fang tormented and abused her after marriage, she gritted her teeth and endured it.

But not long after, bad news arrived.

Her brother Gu Nian'an went out to play and accidentally fell into the water, leaving no bones behind.

After learning this news, Gu Nianxue rushed back to the Gu house like a madwoman and questioned Gu Huai: "How could Nian'an fall into the water? He has been afraid of water since he was a child; how could he go to the river to play? Who harmed him? Tell me, tell me!"

Gu Huai slapped her: "Look at yourself, you're just like a madwoman; where is there any demeanor of an official's wife? Your brother's death was an accident; don't always think about others harming him. He is my eldest legitimate son; would I harm him?"

"You wouldn't harm him, but what about the Guo woman? Didn't she just give birth to a son recently? Was she afraid that Nian'an would compete with her son for the family business in the future, so she harmed Nian'an? Right, it must be like this; she has done such things before. Fortunately, I discovered it, she..."

"Shut up!" Gu Huai scolded, "Your mother is not that kind of person. If you dare to talk nonsense outside and ruin the family's reputation, this Marquis will never spare you!"

"My mother died long ago, angered to death by you!"

"Shut up! Men, send the young lady back to the Minister's mansion; she is not allowed to return to the Gu house without reason!"

From the moment her mother died, Gu Nianxue knew she no longer had a home, but when her father said that heartless sentence, why did her heart still hurt so much?

Were those years of deep father-daughter affection all fake?

When she was learning to walk, he protected her nervously by her side.

When she accidentally fell, he felt distressed and blamed himself, coaxing her incessantly: "My precious heart, don't cry; it's Daddy's fault, Daddy should be beaten!"

Were those fake?

At three years old, her father carried her on his shoulders to pick fruit from the tree.

Her mother shouted from behind: "Be careful, don't fall!"

After the fruit was picked, she happily shared one with Daddy, one with Mother, and kept the last small one for herself.

The taste of the fruit was so sweet; she still remembers it to this day.

Were those fake?

After her brother was born, she asked worriedly: "Daddy, will you not love Nianxue anymore now that you have a brother?"

Her father smiled and hugged her in his arms: "No matter when, Nianxue is always Daddy's most beloved eldest legitimate daughter."

Was that smile back then also fake?

If even blood kinship is unreliable, how dark must the human heart be?

The current heartlessness intertwined with the warmth of the past, true and false, making her unable to distinguish or discern.

Finally, she went mad.

Sometimes, she was foolish and silly, shouting at everyone she met: "Daddy, let's go pick fruit. Pick fruit, one for Mother, one for Daddy, and the last one for the baby!"

It seemed her memory had stopped in her childhood, when both parents were alive and Daddy was doting on her.

Sometimes, she would suddenly wake up, shouting: "Nian'an, Nian'an! Sister has come to save you; Sister won't let you die! Men, go save the young master, hurry!"

Minister Fang had also long since grown tired of her and locked her in the back courtyard, not allowing her to go out, so as not to lose face.

Although the time she was awake was short, she still hadn't forgotten her brother.

She took out all her money and handed it to the trusted nanny and maid, telling them to find people.

The nanny cried and said: "Young lady, keep some money for yourself for self-defense; the Gu family doesn't care about you, and the son-in-law isn't a good thing either. You don't have any heirs to rely on; what can you do in the future? It's been so long and we haven't found anyone; the young master... he's probably gone!"

Gu Nianxue refused: "How can you say someone is dead without finding the body? He is not dead; I dreamed last night that he asked me to save him! Take the silver notes, take the jewelry, take it all! Take it all! Find Nian'an, you must find him!"

Later, Minister Fang was convicted and dismissed from office and exiled.

When Gu Nianxue was taken back to the Gu house, she had lost so much weight she was unrecognizable, and even Gu Huai almost didn't recognize her.

But the daughter's miserable state still couldn't elicit the slightest pity from him. He took Gu Nianxue back and helped her cut ties with her husband's family, just because he was afraid it would implicate his own reputation!

How ridiculous! Someone who has done so many sordid things cares most about his reputation!

Fortunately, heaven was kind; just a while ago, Gu Nianxue actually found her brother. Gu Nian'an actually hadn't died!

It turned out that he had been saved by someone back then, only to be sold far away by bad people again.

Deep in the mountains, he tried to escape several times but was caught back, and then in the repeated abuse and beatings, he gradually learned to submit and lie low.

Until he grew up and had the strength and opportunity, he finally escaped the fire pit.

Only he had no money, and relying on begging along the way, it took him two or three years to finally reach the capital...

The siblings met in private.

Seeing his sister, Gu Nian'an recalled many things from his childhood, and the siblings hugged and cried.

Perhaps because of her brother's appearance, it rekindled her hope, and her madness also lessened a lot.

She knew that the Gu family was a place that ate people, and Gu Huai only valued interests and not family affection, not to mention he didn't lack sons now. If Gu Nian'an returned to the Gu mansion, he would definitely be plotted against again. Rather than maneuvering in that wolf's den, it would be better for the siblings to leave together.

Thus, Gu Nianxue didn't tell anyone else in the Gu family about her brother. She continued to pretend to be mad, making the Gu family members even more annoyed, and later claimed to have taken a fancy to a house slave and wanted to elope with him.

This enraged Gu Huai, who eventually drove this mad daughter out of the house, agreeing never to see each other again until death.

For these years, she had been used as a bargaining chip for interests, and had seen enough of the ugly faces of those people. What aristocrats, what poor families—wherever there are people, there is nothing clean!

She was tired, weary, and didn't want to be used as a chess piece anymore; she just wanted to take her brother far away and live a peaceful life.

Unfortunately, the trees want to be still, but the wind won't stop.

Just a few days ago, Gu Huai went out to select this year's tribute tea and didn't return for several days.

Gu Nianxue thought that since he wasn't home, it was a good time to take her mother's relics, but ended up bumping into the affair between the Guo woman and Steward Gu, and even the Guo woman's son was the steward's seed!

The Guo woman was afraid that Gu Nianxue would expose the affair to Gu Huai, so she hardened her heart and hired a killer. After strangling Gu Nianxue, she disguised her as having hanged herself.

When Gu Nian'an returned, he just happened to witness them disguising Gu Nianxue's corpse as a hanging.