novelaction Chapter 1073 The Unfaithful Lover 1
Chapter 1073 The Unfaithful Lover 1
Gu Yanjin frowned slightly, showing his displeasure, but his displeasure was directed at Jiang Chunxi: "Compared to you, my cousin is indeed not up to par. Please be magnanimous and don't take my cousin's words to heart."
Jiang Chunxi lowered her head, a mocking smile playing on her lips: "Cousin, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
Jiang Chunxi then gave a proper bow and left with her maid.
"Gu Yanjin, is your cousin angry?" Yan Jialuo opened her fan and said disdainfully, "It's just a few words of truth, is it worth your cousin getting so angry? It seems that what I just said was not an exaggeration. Your cousin is really too petty."
"A woman like her would be looked down upon in Ruyang. After all, women in Ruyang are cheerful and generous, and they despise women like your cousin who are timid and petty."
Ruyang was the fiefdom of Yan Jialuo's father, the Prince of Lu. Gu Yanjin met Yan Jialuo while traveling in Ruyang and was attracted by her cheerful and unrestrained personality. He felt that she was completely different from the young ladies of noble families in the capital. Such an extraordinary woman became a fatal attraction in Gu Yanjin's eyes.
The original owner was the niece of Gu Yanjin's stepmother's family. The Jiang family were wealthy merchants in Jiangnan. The original owner's aunt looked very much like Gu Yanjin's deceased mother. When Gu Yanjin's father went to Jiangnan to handle a case, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the original owner's aunt. This led to Gu's father, who was young and had already reached the second-rank official position, asking to marry the merchant's daughter.
At the time, it caused a great sensation in both Jiangnan and the capital. After all, among officials, farmers, artisans and merchants, no matter how rich you were, you could not escape your low status. Let alone becoming the second wife of a second-rank official, you were not even qualified to be a concubine.
There was no way around it; in ancient times, merchants had a very low social status.
However, the original owner's aunt looked exactly like Gu Yanjin's biological mother, who was also his father's true love.
In short, the drama of "Wanwan resembles Qing" happened to the original owner's aunt, making her rise to prominence overnight. It also allowed the Jiang family to climb onto the Gu family's coattails. Not only did the Gu family provide the original owner's aunt with a dowry of nearly half of the Jiang family's wealth at the time, but they also sent large sums of money to the Gu family every year.
The original owner was sent to the Gu family in the capital when she was seven years old, so that she could also marry into a wealthy family in the capital.
Although they paid a large sum of money to the Gu family every year, getting on the Gu family's coattails also allowed the Jiang family's business to grow bigger and bigger, even taking their business to the capital, and making them the richest family in Jiangnan.
Having tasted success, the Jiang family naturally hoped to marry off another girl from their family to a higher social class. Most importantly, the original owner of this body was beautiful from a young age, which made the Jiang family determined to send her to the capital.
The original owner was not only beautiful from a young age, but also grew up to be so beautiful that she could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, and flowers hide their faces and the moon blush. Then, Gu Yanjin took a liking to her.
Of course, the original owner also liked Gu Yanjin. After all, Gu Yanjin was not only outstanding in his studies, but also handsome. For a simple young lady like the original owner, falling in love with Gu Yanjin was as easy as drinking water. The two of them secretly got together.
As for why it was done secretly, it's because the two of them knew very well that as the eldest grandson of the Gu family, the Gu family would never allow Gu Yanjin to marry the original owner of the body.
However, Gu Yanjin also made a promise to the original owner that he would definitely marry her. After he became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he would ask his elders to agree to his marriage with the original owner.
Indeed, Gu Yanjin possessed the talent of a top scholar, achieving the highest rank in the provincial examination at the age of fifteen.
Gu Yanjin is now eighteen years old. He went on a study tour half a year ago. He had originally agreed with the original owner that once he returned from his study tour and became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he would report the two of them to his elders.
But who would have thought that a man's heart could change so quickly? Gu Yanjin met Yan Jialuo, so naturally he changed his mind, not only breaking his vow to the original owner but also telling her not to be delusional and to recognize her true identity.
How could the original owner be willing to accept this? After all, her heart had already fallen deeply into Gu Yanjin's heart, and she would not be able to live without him.
Therefore, she abandoned her dignity and begged Gu Yanjin. She did not expect to marry Gu Yanjin as his principal wife; she was willing to be his concubine.
However, Gu Yanjin rejected her because at that time, Gu Yanjin's heart was entirely devoted to Yan Jialuo, and he felt nothing but disgust towards the original owner.
Then the original owner drugged Gu Yanjin and successfully consummated their relationship. Although she successfully became Gu Yanjin's concubine, she also made Gu Yanjin hate her completely. Therefore, after Gu Yanjin married Yan Jialuo, he allowed Yan Jialuo to torment her. In less than two years, the original owner was tormented to death by Yan Jialuo.
Here's the thing: what about the original owner's aunt? No matter what, she was Gu Yanjin's stepmother and Yan Jialuo's mother-in-law. How could she just stand by and watch her niece die at Yan Jialuo's hands?
That was, of course, because the original owner's aunt had died.
Because she was a substitute and came from a merchant family, the Gu family didn't take her seriously at all. Even the servants who had a little influence treated her badly. From this, one can imagine how difficult life was for the original owner's aunt in the Gu family.
Therefore, the fact that the original owner drugged Gu Yanjin caused great anger in the Gu family. The Gu family was unwilling to even give the original owner the title of concubine, but instead planned to take the original owner's life directly.
It was the original owner's aunt who kowtowed until her head bled, only then did she manage to persuade Gu Yanjin's father to relent, saving her niece's life and securing her the status of a concubine.
However, this incident also dealt a fatal blow to the original owner's aunt, like the last straw that broke the camel's back. The aunt fell seriously ill and soon passed away, leaving the original owner alone in the deep mansion of the Gu family to suffer mistreatment and torment.
Did the original owner hate it?
Of course she hated it, but she hated herself even more than others. So the original owner's wish was simple: she wanted her aunt to live a good life, and if possible, she hoped to get her aunt divorced and leave the Gu family, the cage that imprisoned her.
The original owner's aunt had no children and always treated her like her own daughter, even more so than her biological mother.
Therefore, one can imagine how deep the original owner's feelings were for this aunt. It is because of this that the original owner hated herself so much after her aunt died. Even if she hadn't been tortured to death, she probably wouldn't have lived a long life.
After all, carrying such heavy shackles, one would surely die of depression long ago, so how could one possibly live a long life?
"Miss, that girl was so rude," Changli, the original owner's personal maid, said indignantly. "How could she talk to you like that? She has no manners whatsoever, dressing in men's clothing and making herself look so undignified. A woman like her is simply..."