Gu Zhuying was not stunningly beautiful. In the Gu Mansion, although she couldn't compare to Gu Zhengwan and Gu Yimiao, she was still above average. She was delicate and charming, and with her intelligent and quick-witted nature, she lived a better life in the Gu Mansion than Gu Jiangyue, the legitimate eldest young lady. This painting by Gu Jiangyue had captured all of Gu Zhuying's beauty, and Gu Jiangyue had even made her look a bit more attractive, which formed a sharp contrast with her current face covered in red blotches.
Things went as Gu Jiangyue had expected. Although she had stayed indoors for the past few days, she had Zhiyuan. She could hear about what was happening in the capital, including the fact that her face had been disfigured.
In the past few days, many people who wanted to watch the show had come under the guise of concern to see her. But the old matriarch couldn't hold her temper any longer. She had sent those people away, not wanting others to laugh at the Gu Mansion.
The old matriarch had climbed to her position step by step from the inner chambers of the mansion. After she learned that Gu Jiangyue's face had been disfigured, the first thing that came to her mind was that someone in the Gu Mansion had harmed her. To prevent others from being affected, the old matriarch had sent people to carefully check all the rouge and powder used by the young ladies of the Gu Mansion recently. When nothing was found, she gave up.
But just to be on the safe side, the old matriarch still replaced all the things they used with new and the best ones. Even the concubine-born young ladies had benefited a lot.
Although they couldn't say it out loud, they still thought that Gu Jiangyue's disfigured face was somewhat useful.
Gu Zhuying was naturally among the concubine-born young ladies who had benefited. She wasn't unaware that she was good-looking, but unfortunately, because of her concubine-born status, although her life wasn't bad, she never got any good things.
This time, the old matriarch had gritted her teeth and sent them all the top-quality skin-nourishing cream. Gu Zhuying's skin had improved a lot, and she was becoming more and more like the one in Gu Jiangyue's painting.
The old matriarch had been busy all her life, hoping that the children of the Gu family would make a name for themselves and marry well, so that she could spend the rest of her life in luxury. Now that Gu Jiangyue's face had been disfigured, it was impossible for the old matriarch not to be sad, but she couldn't be called heartbroken.
When the red blotches on Gu Jiangyue's face were first discovered, the old matriarch had shown concern for her. But as Gu Jiangyue's face got worse and there was no sign of improvement, the old matriarch's patience gradually wore out, and her concern for Gu Jiangyue decreased a lot. It seemed that she had already decided to completely give up on her.
But Gu Jiangyue, the person involved, didn't care about these things. She had already recognized the true nature of the people in the Gu Mansion. If it had been the old her, she would have been very sad to learn that she had been given up. But now she had completely changed.
What did it matter if she cared or not? She had never thought of relying on those people to live. She just wanted to rely on herself.
Gu Jiangyue's guess was right. Lin Yeran couldn't hold his temper any longer. Within a few days, he followed Mrs. Ye to the Gu Mansion again. But this time, it was different. Lin Yeran seemed to have brought the betrothal gifts with him to ensure that he wouldn't be rejected.
There was a long procession following the Lin family's carriage. On the carriages were all big red boxes, each with a happy character pasted on it.
Those who didn't know would really think that someone was getting married.
Their grand display had also startled the others in the Gu Mansion. They all gathered in the front hall to watch the imposing mother and son from the Lin family.
And Mrs. Ye had flamboyantly asked the servants to place the betrothal gifts directly in the courtyard of the Gu Mansion.
In the front hall, the old matriarch looked at all this, looking a bit embarrassed. She didn't know what to do. After all, Lin Yeran had come for Gu Jiangyue's face, but now Gu Jiangyue's face had been disfigured.
The old matriarch had tried her best to keep Gu Jiangyue's disfigurement a secret, and it seemed that she had succeeded. At least the Lin family had been busy these days thinking about a strategy for Lin Yeran on how to marry Gu Jiangyue, so they didn't know about this yet.
The old matriarch had originally just wanted to buy some time to think about what to do, but now she hadn't expected that the Lin family would come directly with the betrothal gifts.
Seeing the old matriarch looking worried, Mrs. Ye thought that she was unwilling. But they had already brought the betrothal gifts today. If the Gu family didn't agree, it wouldn't only be the Gu family that would lose face. The Lin family wouldn't be any better off either. But since her son had taken a fancy to Gu Jiangyue, she had no choice but to resort to this extreme measure.
Mrs. Ye spoke up somewhat unhappily.
"Old Matriarch Gu, our Lin family really wants to form an alliance with the Gu family. Today we've brought the betrothal gifts. Once the betrothal gifts are given, they can't be taken back. Isn't this enough?"
"No, it's just..."
The old matriarch quickly spoke up to refute, but she stopped halfway. It seemed that no matter what she said now, it couldn't change her current situation.
The younger generation was seeing such a grand occasion for the first time. It was already quite good that they could remain calm. No one dared to say anything casually. They could only stand aside and listen quietly.
At this time, Shen Menglan walked forward with a fawning smile and said,
"Old Matriarch, since Mrs. Ye is so sincere, I think Jiangyue will be touched. Moreover, Young Master Lin is so handsome. Why don't we call Jiangyue over and listen to her thoughts?"
This was a good opportunity. Gu Jiangyue had been stepping on her head for so long before, spending so much of her silver for nothing and making her have to save on her expenses these days. She must avenge this grudge.
Although what she said seemed okay on the surface, and it was indeed necessary to consider Gu Jiangyue's thoughts, now that Gu Jiangyue's face had been disfigured, as long as she came, the truth would be revealed.
Lin Yeran's character and temper were extremely bad in the capital. When he found out that Gu Jiangyue's face was disfigured and he had even brought the betrothal gifts to marry her, at that time, Lin Yeran would surely be furious. She wanted to see what kind of outcome Gu Jiangyue would have.
Before the old matriarch could say anything, Mrs. Ye seemed to be very pleased with these words. Especially when she heard about their sincerity and Lin Yeran's good looks, her expression was extremely happy. It seemed that she really thought from the bottom of her heart that Gu Jiangyue had no reason to reject them.
"I think it's okay."
Seeing that Mrs. Ye had spoken, the words that the old matriarch wanted to explain got stuck in her throat. It was neither appropriate to say them nor not to say them.
"Mother, I'll go find Jiangyue."
Mrs. Ye waved to the maid beside her, wanting to bypass the old matriarch directly and let her maid go and bring Gu Jiangyue over. But Lin Yeran stepped forward first and stopped the maid who was about to go out.
He tugged at Mrs. Ye's sleeve, indicating that he wanted to go himself. Mrs. Ye had no choice but to agree. She glanced at the old matriarch, and the old matriarch had no other option but to find a servant to show Lin Yeran the way.
After getting the confirmation, Lin Yeran walked out of the front hall quickly without looking back, leaving behind Shen Menglan with a smug look on her face and the old matriarch full of sorrow.
He couldn't care about anything else and rushed straight to Gu Jiangyue's courtyard. Lin Yeran couldn't wait to see her.