C9 (1/2)

At that time, the Yang family had just given birth to a beautiful pearl, and their bodies were still weak. However, under the stimulation of this fiancée, they vomited blood and became ill.

He had never stepped into her courtyard again. Instead, he doted on and was obedient to his wife. Under Lady Yao's gentle words, he didn't even visit his newborn child that often.

Yang Shi's mother-in-law, the Countess, had always despised this daughter-in-law for being born with a low background, and was unworthy to be part of the noble family of the Gu family. She also had a daughter, so she was unhappy, and did not ask about it.

Since her father-in-law had passed away, she had no one to rely on in this house.

A year later, she gave birth to her eldest son, Gu Rongqi. The entire Residence was overjoyed, and Gu Qingyuan was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling, not to mention the mother and daughter of the Yang family.

The next year, Lady Yao gave birth to a baby girl. Gu Qingyuan loved her like a pearl in his palm. He was really afraid of dying from the taste of her mouth, so he held her in his palm to prevent her from falling.

In the same year, his concubines also added a few more daughters for him. Since there were a lot of girls in the Gu Residence, no one cared about that nominal eldest young miss anymore. The position of the Yang family's second wife was already existing in name.

Lady Yang finally died when Gu Jinzhu was five years old.

Three months after her death, Lady Yao couldn't wait for Gu Qingyuan to take her on as his official wife. Although she followed the etiquette of being an equal wife, the so-called equal wife didn't seem like it in the eyes of the rich and influential of Shengjing. In the eyes of outsiders, Lady Yao was just a concubine.

With her strong personality, how could she be willing to submit to others? Especially so that his children would be born in a concubine state?

Therefore, she had endured for so long. Why was she still waiting?

At that time, Gu Jinzhu was still young and didn't know much about the twists and turns of these noble families. After her mother passed away, she had entrusted her to the care of the wet nurse, Qingniang.

Not long after, the Yao Family found a reason to chase Qingniang out of the residence and arranged for their men to be placed by Jin Zhu's side.

Gu Jinzhu's days in the Gu manor began to get worse. The servants held her in high esteem, but when they saw that she was being cruel to her daughter, they did not even put her in their eyes. It was common for her to use too much money and she would even occasionally beat up and scold her.

At that time, Gu Jinzhu was still young, and she had been in a state of panic all day. When she saw her stepmother's face, she was extremely frightened, and even her personal servant had suffered a lot.

She would occasionally cry when she met her father, but since Lady Yao only said she was disciplining her children, Gu Qingyuan wasn't at liberty to interfere. Even when her daughter cried, his heart became more impatient, feeling that she didn't know what was good for her and was becoming more and more unhappy with her.

Thus, although Gu Jinzhu was the Young Miss of the Residence of State Duke on the surface, her life was not as good as a little girl by Lady Yao's side, much less the second little sister that the entire family treated as flesh and blood.

Later on, when she accidentally dirtied her second sister's new shirt, Mrs. Yao ordered her to kneel in the ancestral hall. Unfortunately, she wasn't even six years old yet, but was locked up in the dark and cold ancestral hall.

She cried her heart out and screamed for help, but no one came even when her throat was hoarse.

That pitch-black night had become a nightmare that Gu Jinzhu would never be able to get rid of. Even now, she would often wake up in the middle of the night and stare with wide eyes in horror at the boundless darkness that enveloped her like an impenetrable net.

The next day, when Gu Jinzhu came out of the ancestral hall, her body was burning hot and she had already fainted. The door was still stained with the blood left from her desperately scratching.

For the past three days, Gu Jinzhu had been having a high fever and was constantly babbling nonsense. Many doctors had secretly shook their heads when they saw this.