Chapter Twelve: Grandmother Shen

  There is no one in this world who should be good to anyone by default, nor is there any love without reason.

  The swan behind didn't know what Qingjin was thinking at this moment, seeing her own daughter suddenly fall silent after hearing her words, she felt a little at a loss, quietly following the footsteps of the girl in front. According to her understanding of the girl before, even if the girl didn't believe her words, she wouldn't be like this. Did the girl not want her to follow her for the rest of her life? Then what should she do?

  The old lady's courtyard is already in sight, and Yuanyang can't help but frequently sneak a peek at the silent Qingjin in front of her. She feels that Qingjin doesn't seem to want to turn around and talk to her. Finally, Yuanyang musters up the courage to speak again: "Miss, everything I said just now was true. I want to follow you for my whole life. You've been silent this whole time, is it because of something I did wrong that made you unhappy? Please tell me, Miss, and I'll definitely...

  Upon hearing Yuanyang's words, Qingjin stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Yuanyang's flustered expression, saying: "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I was just thinking about some other things."

  "Does that girl mean to let you follow her forever?" Yuanyang's eyes lit up with expectation as she stared at Qingjin.

  "Of course, if I don't follow you, would I want to follow someone else?" Qing Jin smiled and replied, looking at Yuanyang's expectant eyes.

  "Yuan Yang won't follow anyone else, Yuan Yang will only follow Miss, and Yuan Yang wants to serve Miss for the rest of her life!" Hearing Qing Jin's reply, Yuan Yang couldn't hide his excitement and said.

  Qing Jin looked at Yuanyang's delighted and excited expression, Qing Jin's mood also became lighter. Anyway, she would never have the naive thoughts and ideas of her past life again. From now on, if Yuanyang wanted to follow her, she would let her be her first assistant; if Yuanyang wanted to get married, she would find a good husband for her.

  Having thought this through, Qing Jin suddenly felt refreshed and no longer had any wild thoughts. With a calm mood, she accompanied the mandarin ducks to the Chaoxia Courtyard where her grandmother, Shen Shi, lived.

  In the morning dew, Shen's personal maid, Chuying, saw Qingjin bringing in a pair of mandarin ducks and was momentarily startled. However, as an experienced senior maid by Old Madam's side, she quickly covered up her surprise and respectfully walked to Qingjin's front, making a slight curtsy. "Second Young Mistress, you've come to pay your respects to Old Madam? She's been thinking about you these past two days. I'll go inform her right away."

  Qing Jin nodded upon hearing Chu Liu's words and then politely spoke to her: "Then I'll have to trouble Sister Chu Liu."

  Chu Liu was about to turn around when she heard Qing Jin's polite words, and the look of surprise reappeared in her eyes. How come Second Young Miss is being so courteous today? Although Second Young Miss had been polite to her before, it was only because she was a senior maid by Old Madam's side, and that politeness was always accompanied by a superior attitude. Today's attitude, however, was clearly different from the past.

  Thinking of these things, Chu Liu walked into the old lady's room with a puzzled expression.

  A moment later, Yu Liu came out with a gentle smile on her face and said respectfully to Qing Jin: "Second Miss, the old lady invites you in."

  Upon hearing Chuliu's words, Qingjin led the way with Yuanyang into Grandmother Shen's chambers. Inside, Grandmother Shen was sitting upright on a heated couch, with her personal maid Wang beside her.

  Qing Jin walked in and immediately proactively saluted her grandmother Shen, who was on the warm bed: "Granddaughter Qing Jin greets Grandmother and wishes Grandmother good health and peace!"

  "Is Qingjin here? How are you? Are you fully recovered?" Madam Shen asked eagerly as she watched Qingjin pay her respects.

  Upon hearing Grandma Shen's eager inquiry, Qingjin felt a warmth in her heart and unconsciously replied with affection: "Thanks to Grandma's blessings, my illness has fully recovered!"

  "That's good, that's good. You're just fine, don't just stand there talking, hurry up and sit down next to Grandma, let Grandma take a look, how you've become so thin from one illness."

  "Qing Jin thanked Shen's mother for the seat." After hearing Shen's words, Qing Jin calmly thanked Shen and sat down at the lower seat with the help of Yuanyang, shifting her gaze to the opposite side, where a pair of eyes had been fixed on her since she entered.

  As Gu Qingjin walked in, looking at her lukewarm grandmother and then at Gu Qingxia who was showing concern for Gu Qingjin with a hint of jealousy, she saw Gu Qingjin glance over at her. She quickly hid the jealousy in her eyes, stood up, and spoke to Gu Qingjin: "Little sister is asking after second sister, second sister has finally recovered from her illness. Second sister doesn't know that during her illness, grandmother would mention second sister several times a day in little sister's ear, making little sister almost jealous to death. I wonder if grandmother also thinks of Qingxia like this when she can't see her." The last sentence was spoken with an exceptionally sour tone.

  "Xia Mei laughed and said, 'Grandma loves us all the same, you're really hurting Grandma's heart by asking that!' Gu Qingjin replied calmly to Gu Qingxia's obvious jealousy and discontent."

  When they heard Gu Qingjin's words, Shen Shi and Gu Qingxia were both surprised. Shen Shi was surprised that her legitimate granddaughter would speak so warmly to Gu Qingxia, who was a concubine-born daughter. Gu Qingxia was surprised that Gu Qingjin, who had always been proud of her status as the legitimate daughter, would be so patient and say such things to her.

  Looking at her grandmother Shen's reaction after hearing Gu Qingjin's words, Gu Qingxia saw a more gentle face, and in her heart, she let out a cold snort, filled with jealousy.

  She didn't believe that the usually proud Gu Qingjin would really be so humble, so she spoke to Gu Qingjin again: "Second sister is so gentle and warm when speaking with her younger sister today, it's truly an honor for me." The implication of her words was to remind Old Lady Gu of Gu Qingjin's usual haughty attitude.

  "That was my sister's fault in the past, no matter what, I am her elder sister. Although Xia is born to Mother's sister, she is also Mother's daughter. As the legitimate daughter of the Anji Marquis Manor, it is only natural that I have a duty to take care of my younger sister. Xia can rest assured that from now on, I will treat her like this every day. If there's anything you need or lack in the future when Mother is busy and has no time, you can always come find me." Gu Qingjin had decided not to provoke trouble, but that didn't mean she wouldn't counterattack when others came looking for it.

  When Gu Qingyan still had an indifferent expression, even more so than when she admitted her mistake in the past, Gu Qingxia had a moment of incredulity. However, upon hearing Gu Qingyan say that she was born to a concubine, she felt a surge of resentment. She hated it most when others mentioned in front of her that she was a bastard daughter.