That night, snow had been falling all day.
Gu Heng’s knees were already bruised purple from kneeling, but she showed no sign of yielding.
Her beautiful, sculpted face was full of stubbornness.
“Father, I beg you to seek justice for Ah Henf and for Yiniang!”
“Yiniang was murdered—it wasn’t an accident! Please investigate and punish the true culprit!”
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Gu Heng looked up with hope, but when she saw who it was, her heart sank.
Her father hadn’t even come himself—he merely sent a lowly servant to brush her off.
“Second Miss, may I give you some advice? The weather’s cold. Best return to your courtyard. Freezing your body isn’t worth it.”
In the past, all the servants and maids treated Gu Heng with obsequious respect. But with Fu Yiniang’s tragic death, they saw her as having lost her backing—and now everyone felt entitled to trample her.
Seeing that Gu Heng had no intention of rising, the servant sneered.
“Still can’t see the truth? Then I’ll say it outright—you’re not the master’s biological daughter. If you keep making trouble over this, you might not even get a marriage proposal in the future.”
He squinted at her, scanning her from head to toe with a lewd grin.
“But then again, your looks aren’t bad. Maybe some lecherous old man will take you as a mistress. At least you’ll have something to eat.”
Furious, Gu Heng picked up a stone and hurled it at his feet. “Wretched servant! My future is none of your concern!”
Startled, the servant spat at her hatefully. “Stupid b*tch. You really think you’re someone?”
With a cold snort, he walked off.
Gu Heng ignored him and continued stubbornly banging on the door.
“Father, I beg you! Yiniang shared your bed for years—please seek the truth for her!”
Time passed.
Eventually, the door opened again, and a square-faced middle-aged man appeared. At the sight of her, his brow creased in irritation.
“Ah Heng, why are you still here?”
To her, he was a life-saving reed. She clutched at his leg.
“Father, I beg you—Yiniang’s death is suspicious!”
But the man stepped back angrily. “How long are you going to keep this up?!”
“You want the truth? The truth is you killed her! Don’t forget—when she died in a pool of blood, she was holding your favorite rose pastries. If you hadn’t been greedy, she wouldn’t have gone out—and wouldn’t have met with disaster!”
Tears streamed down Gu Heng’s face. She didn’t even bother to wipe them away with her sleeve, only anxiously explained, “No, Father, that day Yiniang was lured out by someone— Qin Momo can testify! Someone invited her to the teahouse, saying they wanted to talk to her about my origins. That’s why she went!”
The man, upon hearing this, already showed great impatience. “Ah Heng, I know you’re grieving over your Yiniang’s death, but there’s a limit to how much nonsense you can spout!”
“You’re nothing but an abandoned girl left at the foot of the mountain. What kind of identity could you possibly have? If your Yiniang hadn’t been kind enough to take you in, you’d have been dead long ago!”
At that, Gu Heng’s tears flowed even more fiercely. She opened her mouth to speak again, but the man cut her off before she could.
“At this point, kneel if you want to. If you die kneeling, so be it. That life of yours should’ve been repaid to your Yiniang long ago.”
With those cold words, the man walked away without looking back.
Gu Heng’s body lost all strength, and she collapsed onto the ground, feeling a chill seep through her entire being.
People came and went in the courtyard, whispering among themselves.
“Second Miss really has a bitter fate.”
“Isn’t that the truth? It was only because the lord favored Fu Yiniang that he showed any kindness to her. Now that she’s lost her support, her future days will be hard.”
A maid nearby sneered, “What? You pity her? She’s just a bringer of misfortune! Now that she’s jinxed her Yiniang to death, it’s already merciful that the lord hasn’t punished her. What more does she want?”
Gu Heng ignored the mocking words around her, not wanting to waste any energy on them. Suddenly, a pair of delicate shoes appeared before her eyes. Looking up, she saw Gu Yue’s arrogant face.
The next moment, a bitter gust of wind cut across her cheek—
Then came a surge of searing pain.
Gu Yue had slapped her hard, then stomped on her hand, grinding her heel into it twice.
“Oh no, Second Sister, I accidentally stepped on you. You won’t mind, will you?”
Seeing that Gu Heng remained silent with only a slight frown, Gu Yue’s heart flared with inexplicable rage.
She reached out and grabbed Gu Heng’s hair, forcing her to look up. “What are you pretending for? You think you’re still Father’s precious daughter? Now that that slut of a Yiniang of yours is dead, this whole magistrate’s manor belongs to me and my mother! I’d like to see what you have left to compete with me!”
Seeing Gu Yue about to slap her again, Gu Heng suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm.
Though her frame was thin, her grip was strong. Gu Yue couldn’t break free and instantly grew enraged and flustered. “Let go of me!”
Gu Heng stood up and took a step closer to Gu Yue, whispering so only the two of them could hear: “If I’m not mistaken, the person who sent the note to lure my Yiniang was you, wasn’t it?”
Gu Yue had never seen Gu Heng like this before. In her memory, she had always been gentle and obedient, always the one their father favored.
But now, her eyes were filled with hatred, bloodshot from kneeling all day and night. Strangely, it made Gu Yue feel a trace of fear.
She threw off Gu Heng’s hand and tried to compose herself. “W-What nonsense are you talking about?!”
“Your mother was just some woman from Qianchun Brothel. No matter how pretty she is, she’s still just a wh*re. You think you two are worthy of laying hands on me and my Yiniang?”
Sensing the forced calm in Gu Yue’s voice, Gu Heng gave a cold laugh. “You don’t even know my true identity, do you? You just needed an excuse to lure my Yiniang out and have her killed.”
As Gu Heng stepped closer, Gu Yue instinctively backed away—until she hit the wall and had nowhere left to retreat.
“Gu Yue, listen to me. One day, I will expose you and your mother for what you really are—and you will pay the price.”
Cornered like never before, Gu Yue’s rage turned into humiliation. She gave Gu Heng a violent shove, then fled in panic.
Gu Heng was thrown to the ground by the push.
She tried to get up but felt a wave of dizziness. Exhaustion crashed down on her.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and finally, she collapsed, unconscious.
The courtyard descended into chaos—but no one dared go report to the lord, afraid of inviting misfortune upon themselves.
In the end, Gu Heng laid in the courtyard until midnight. It wasn’t until Qin Momo noticed she hadn’t returned to her room by the Zi hour that she went out searching—and found her, already buried beneath a layer of snow.
***
Gu Heng fell ill.
After kneeling in the snow for an entire day and night, she developed a fever.
This time, it took three full days of burning before she finally woke.
When she opened her eyes, the whole world felt blurry, and her body ached as if it had been run over by a carriage hundreds of times.
A deep wave of grievance surged in her chest, and Gu Heng subconsciously called out, “Yiniang…”
The words had barely left her mouth when tears fell.
There would never be an “Yiniang” in this world again.
No one would ever love her so truly again.
Seeing this, Ziyun hurriedly handed her a cup of warm water. Only after drinking it did Gu Heng feel as though she had truly come back to life.
“Ziyun, how did I get back?”
Hearing this, Ziyun’s eyes welled with tears, her heart aching with injustice for her young lady.
“It was Qin Momo who found you in the Lord’s courtyard. When she saw you, you were nearly buried under the snow! The Lord really is heartless! Even if you’re not related by blood, you’ve called him ‘father’ for over ten years!”
Gu Heng gave a small smile, gently comforting her. “It’s alright, isn’t your young lady still lying here safe and sound? No more crying!”
Ziyun hastily wiped her tears and nodded firmly. “Now that Yiniang is gone, I will definitely fulfill her final wish and take good care of you!”
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Ziyun turned her head and frowned, asking, “Who’s coming?”
Suddenly, the door opened and a cold wind rushed in, making Gu Heng shiver and break out in goosebumps.
The person who entered was Qin Momo.
As soon as she saw Gu Heng awake, tears welled up in her eyes. She hesitated, as though there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t.
Seeing this, Gu Heng smiled softly. “Momo, please speak. I can bear it.”
“Second Miss, the Lord is truly ruthless! He actually wants to send you to live on the zhuangzi! In this bitter cold season, how can your frail body—raised so delicately—endure that?”
Before Gu Heng could respond, Ziyun slammed the table, furious.
“Second Miss has been ill for days and still hasn’t recovered. And he wants to drive her out? Does he want her dead?”
Seeing Ziyun so outraged, Qin Momo looked at Gu Heng with deep pity.
“The Lord said the old madam’s health is poor and he’s afraid you’ll bring her bad luck staying here. He also said that since Yiniang is gone, going to the zhuangzi could be seen as you observing mourning—it completes the bond between mother and daughter.”
Gu Heng stayed silent. Ziyun and Qin Momo dared not say more, fearing they’d touch a sore spot.
For a while, even the sound of snow falling outside could be heard clearly.
After some time, Gu Heng asked, “Did he say when I’m to leave?”
Just then, a sharp, arrogant voice came from outside: “A jinx like you should leave as soon as possible! You’re to leave the manor before nightfall!”
Gu Heng turned to look. It was that meddlesome Gu Yue again. She didn’t want to engage with her, but Gu Yue came right up and sat by the bed, smiling. “Sister, why do you look so unhappy to see me?”
Gu Yue took Gu Heng’s hand and smiled sweetly. “I even begged Father for a special favor—today, I’ll personally escort you to the zhuangzi. Aren’t you touched?”
At that moment, Gu Heng felt as if she were wrapped by a cold snake—a heavy sense of danger washed over her.
She tried to pull her hand away, but after being sick for days, she had no strength and had to give up.
“Big Sister, I’m grateful for your kindness, but the journey to the zhuangzi is cold and harsh. There’s no need to trouble you.”
Just as she finished speaking, Gu Yue let out a soft laugh and gripped her hand even tighter, causing her pain.
“No trouble at all, dear little sister. I’ll personally see you off.”
