Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Was That Night You?

Yu Zhu’s face changed. She tried to shut the door, but Gu Yuan Jia braced one hand against it so she could not close it no matter how hard she pushed. He looked at her with dark eyes and lifted the corner of his lips: “Long time no see, Yu Zhu.”

She let go like someone resigned to fate and said quietly, “Young Master Gu.”

She was no longer a maidservant of Gu Manor. She was married now. Even if Gu Yuan Jia wanted to take her back, he could not.

Her mind was a mess, and she forced herself to calm down. Just then, Nian’er made a sound. Yu Zhu turned at once, wanting to block the little girl from view, but it was already too late. Following Yu Zhu’s gaze, Gu Yuan Jia saw the pink-cheeked child. He smiled, but there was no warmth in it: “Is this your child?”

Yu Zhu answered, “Yes.”

He studied her for a long moment before speaking: “I have been looking for you for a long time.”

He had searched from Linshui Town to all four directions. Until he saw her at the Mu household today, more than a year had already passed. With only a back view, he had recognized Yu Zhu. Yet she kept hiding from him, hiding so long she now even had a child. Counting the days, she must have left the Gu Family, married right away, and given birth for the child to be this big.

He held her gaze and asked, “You insisted on leaving the Gu Family, leaving me, just to live like this?”

He meant a cold old house in a narrow alley, a mother-in-law who scolded all day, and a baby crying to be fed.

Yu Zhu did not know what to say. After a long pause, she pressed out the words: “I am an ordinary woman. When I reach the age, I marry, have a child, and live an ordinary life. There is nothing wrong with that.”

His eyes stayed on her: “Where is your husband?”

She lowered her head and said, “My husband is a guard in the palace. He is on duty today.”

Gu Yuan Jia was silent for a while, then asked, “Does he treat you well?”

She said, “Of course he treats me well.”

Right then, Yu Zhu smelled something burning. The rice porridge on the stove was about to scorch, so she hurried over and stirred it with a spatula.

Gu Yuan Jia stayed where he was and met the eyes of little Nian’er sitting nearby. The baby babbled at him. He did not understand a word, but the moment he saw this little girl, he liked her. He stepped toward her.

Yu Zhu rushed over and stood in front of the child, her nerves plain to see: “Young Master Gu, Nian’er is shy with strangers. Please don’t frighten her.”

He glanced at the little girl stretching her hands toward him and lifted his thin lips: “Shy? She looks quite friendly to me.”

Yu Zhu could not understand why Nian’er, who was always shy, was so eager with Gu Yuan Jia. [Is it really the pull of blood between them?]

Gu Yuan Jia took off the jade pendant at his waist and placed it in Nian’er’s hand as he said gently, “First meeting, let this be your gift.”

Yu Zhu did not want to accept it, but Nian’er grabbed the pendant at once and tried to chew it. Yu Zhu stopped her: “Nian’er, you cannot eat that.” The child blinked, then held it up and offered it back to her mother.

Yu Zhu took the pendant and handed it to Gu Yuan Jia: “This is too precious. Nian’er cannot accept it. Please take it back.”

He said, “Yu Zhu, you know me. I never take back what I give.”

She had served by Gu Yuan Jia’s side for four years and knew his temper well.

He added, “Besides, this is for the child. You cannot refuse on her behalf.” As he spoke, he kept his eyes on Yu Zhu. After more than a year, she had not changed much, except that when she saw him now, she no longer came forward with a smile.

Before she could answer, he asked, “What is the child’s name?”

She said, “Ji Nian.”

He pinched the little girl’s cheek and said, “Little Nian’er. When you were small, you must have been even cuter.”

Yu Zhu said nothing. She had long forgotten what she had been like as a child. She only knew that the brocade-clad Gu Yuan Jia standing in this shabby house looked completely out of place.

She drew a breath and told him, “Young Master Gu, I am a married woman. My mother-in-law will be back soon. It would not be good if someone saw you here.”

He acted as if he had not heard and kept teasing Nian’er. Yu Zhu had to remind him again: “Young Master Gu…”

He still did not move to leave. Just then, Mother Ji’s voice sounded in the yard. A neighbor asked, “Why are you home so early today? Don’t you usually play cards until it’s dark?”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Mother Ji said at once, afraid Yu Zhu would hear. “When have I ever played until dark? I am at home taking care of the child every day.”

The neighbor laughed twice and said no more.

Hearing footsteps outside, Yu Zhu grew anxious and said to Gu Yuan Jia, “My mother-in-law is back. Please go.”

He did not budge: “You and I are clean and innocent. What are you afraid of?”

“You…” She wanted to say more, but Mother Ji had already pushed the door open. Sweat broke out on Yu Zhu’s forehead from worry. Gu Yuan Jia slipped behind the door.

Mother Ji came in to get some silver. She looked through the window toward the kitchen and, seeing no outsider, called out loudly to Yu Zhu: “A’Xuan will come back tomorrow. I’m going to buy some food.”

Yu Zhu answered, “All right.”

Mother Ji took the silver and went out again. Her footsteps slowly faded, but Yu Zhu’s heart still pounded.

Watching her, Gu Yuan Jia said, “So afraid of your mother-in-law? It seems she doesn’t treat you very well.”

Yu Zhu said, “Young Master Gu, a woman’s reputation is everything. Your visit today truly should not have happened.”

In the past, she would never have dared speak to him like this. But Mother Ji’s sudden return had scared her, and Gu Yuan Jia’s strange bond with Nian’er made her heart hang high with worry. She only wanted him to leave quickly.

He also felt her resistance to him. Back in Gu Manor, Yu Zhu had not been like this. Everything had changed after she left.

He walked up to Nian’er and studied the girl’s face. Nian’er did not look much like Yu Zhu. Her fox-like eyes looked a little like his. The more he looked, the more doubts grew in his heart. Yu Zhu’s sudden change toward him and this child who felt so close both made him think.

Yu Zhu saw him staring and stepped forward with the bowl of porridge to stand between them. While feeding her daughter, she urged him to go: “I will keep the jade pendant for Nian’er. Thank you for your generous gift. You can leave now.”

Gu Yuan Jia kept his eyes on mother and daughter, then asked all of a sudden: “That night, was it you?”