CMBD CH 38

Chapter 38

Apology

The young lady looked at Gu Jiao and spoke gently.

“Are you the young apprentice?”

“Yes.”

Gu Jiao did not ask how the young lady knew she was an apprentice. There was no need to ask—it was obvious.

The young lady said unhurriedly,

“I’ll give you the jade pendant. Just return the jade ring to me, and we’ll consider this matter settled.”

“My lady!”

The young maid stamped her feet anxiously.

Wang the steward had never expected things to turn out this way. The Marquis’s daughter truly had a generous heart—to simply give away such a precious item. Moreover, she didn’t publicize the matter, preserving both Gu Jiao’s and Huichun Hall’s reputation.

Seeing that Gu Jiao did not respond, the young lady continued,

“The jade pendant is mine, so it’s fine for you to keep it. But the jade ring belongs to my younger brother and must be returned to him.”

Wang the steward was so anxious he felt like he might die.

Hurry up and agree—answer quickly!

Gu Jiao looked at the young lady expressionlessly.

“Take the jade ring, and leave the jade pendant.”

She had long suspected that the jade ring belonged to the Marquis’s young master, and only today was her guess confirmed.

She did not explain that when she saved the young master, the jade ring had accidentally slipped into her sleeve. The process of saving his life could not be explained clearly in just a few words, and even if she did explain, this lady and her maid clearly would not believe her.

In that case, why bother saying anything unnecessary?

The young lady said,

“You know how to choose. The jade ring only has special meaning to my brother. In terms of monetary value, the jade pendant is worth far more than the jade ring.”

“I’m returning the jade ring because it truly belongs to the young master. As for the jade pendant, it does not belong to you, so I cannot give it to you.”

The young maid muttered,

“If it doesn’t belong to our lady, then it’s yours? Know your place—how could someone like you wear such a precious jade pendant?”

“Yuru.”

The Second Master frowned.

“Miss, mind your words!”

“Whether you believe me or not is up to you.”

After finishing her sentence, Gu Jiao extended her hand.

“I’ll say it one last time. Return the jade pendant.”

The young maid took a step back.

“Don’t even dream of it! The jade pendant belongs to my lady!”

The young lady clenched her fingers tightly, suppressing her anger, then turned to the Second Master.

“You’ve seen everything that happened today, Second Master. The apprentice admitted to stealing, but considering that she cured my brother’s illness, I won’t pursue the matter. However, I hope nothing like this happens again.”

From beginning to end, Gu Jiao had only acknowledged one thing—that the jade ring belonged to the young master. She had never said she stole anything, yet the other side had already branded her a thief.

As the two sides remained in a long standoff, all the workers of Huichun Hall came over to watch.

Only the Second Master, Wang the steward, and Physician Luo knew of Gu Jiao’s medical skills.

The rest had often seen Gu Jiao, but only assumed she was a patient’s family member.

Seeing how respectfully the Second Master and Wang the steward treated her, the workers simply thought it was because her husband was a student at Tianxiang Academy.

That was understandable—ordinary people dared not look down on any scholar from Tianxiang Academy. After all, no one knew which student might later become a local gentry member, a landowner, or even a local official.

But they had never imagined she would steal.

“She usually seems so meek, yet she steals.”

“Exactly. Stealing a jade pendant and even a jade ring—how shocking.”

“Indeed. Her husband didn’t come today, so there was no need to prepare medicine. Why would she come to Huichun Hall then? Was she targeting that young lady? Chasing after her to steal things?”

“Is she not afraid of disgracing her husband’s reputation?”

“That scholar is pitiful, marrying such a vicious woman!”

Except for the Second Master, everyone present believed Gu Jiao was guilty.

Wasn’t it obvious? She was so poor—how could she possibly own such a fine jade pendant?

“My lady, please keep the jade pendant safely.”

As the young maid spoke, she bent down and fastened the jade pendant back onto the young lady’s waist.

At that moment, Gu Jiao reached out and grabbed it.

“How dare you!”

The young maid raised her hand coldly, intending to slap Gu Jiao across the face.

But before her hand even brushed Gu Jiao’s cheek, she herself was struck instead and fell to the ground.

No one saw how Gu Jiao moved. By the time they came to their senses, the young maid was already sprawled on the floor, her cheek swollen.

The young lady also stood there dumbfounded, eyes wide open.

With her hands rough from overwork, Gu Jiao lifted the young lady’s veil and tugged the jade pendant from her waist.

She held her breath, trying hard not to inhale the fragrance emanating from the young lady.

The young lady stared at her in shock.

“H-How insolent!”

How could a mere village woman dare lay hands on a young lady!

After retrieving the jade pendant, Gu Jiao did not put it directly into her pouch. Instead, she took out a clean handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the jade pendant.

The young lady’s breathing faltered.

This village woman… did she mean that what she had just touched was dirty?

When Gu Jiao truly intended to torment someone, there was no way out for them.

The young lady felt a suffocating tightness in her chest. She could barely breathe.

Clenching her teeth, she shouted,

“Report this to the authorities!”

“Who do you intend to report to the authorities?”

At that moment, a dignified yet not unfriendly male voice sounded. The Headmaster was walking in with a stern expression.

Another formidable figure had arrived, and the workers of Huichun Hall quickly stepped aside to make way.

The Headmaster entered the room, glanced at the enraged young lady and the maid lying on the floor unable to rise, then looked at Gu Jiao with his usual expression.

Just from where he stood, one could tell what stance he was taking.

Turning his body, the Headmaster looked at the young lady with a face that was neither servile nor arrogant.

“My lady intends to report this to the authorities? What matter has made you so angry?”

His words were modest, but his tone was not deferential.

The young lady frowned and asked,

“And who are you?”

The Headmaster replied,

“I am the Headmaster of Tianxiang Academy.”

“Headmaster Ye?”

“Yes, that is me.”

Headmaster Ye’s reputation in the capital was widespread. There was no way the young lady had never heard his name. Even though he was now living in seclusion in a small town, he still held influence in the capital.

The young lady still showed him courtesy. She glanced at Gu Jiao and said,

“This girl stole my belongings and refuses to return them.”

“I did not steal anything. The jade pendant is mine.”

Gu Jiao didn’t care how the young lady thought, but she didn’t want the Headmaster to misunderstand. As Xiao Yulang’s wife, she did not wish to leave a stain on the Headmaster’s impression.

“Then what about the jade ring?” the young lady asked.

“It accidentally fell into my sleeve. I only discovered it after I returned home.”

Gu Jiao told the truth.

The young maid was furious, panting angrily.

“You didn’t say that earlier! You clearly admitted to stealing it!”

See? Since explanations would fall on deaf ears anyway, Gu Jiao had no desire to continue arguing with them.

“Let me see the jade pendant.”

Headmaster Ye said to Gu Jiao.

She handed it to him.

Headmaster Ye thought of how his own teacher possessed an identical jade pendant. Then, recalling how his teacher had sent a New Year’s gift to Gu Suosun, everything suddenly made sense.

This jade pendant had been a gift from his teacher. Whether it had been given directly to Gu Jiao, or first to Gu Suosun and then passed on to her, was unclear—but that detail was unimportant.

What mattered was that Gu Jiao had absolutely not stolen anything.

Since his teacher lived in seclusion and did not wish others to know his whereabouts, Headmaster Ye could not bring him here over such a matter.

Smiling calmly, he said to the young lady,

“My lady has misunderstood. This jade pendant does not belong to you. It was given to me by my teacher, and later I gave it to this lady’s husband.”

“H-Her husband?”

The young lady looked Gu Jiao up and down.

“This lady’s husband is my personal disciple.”

Headmaster Ye declared unilaterally.

By saying this, he could explain everything without mentioning his teacher directly.

Headmaster Ye’s mentor was the former Chief Administrator of the Imperial Academy. Before retiring into seclusion, he was deeply trusted by His Majesty. It was not strange at all for palace items to be in his possession.

Still, the young lady found it hard to believe. She had heard that countless people in the capital wished to become Headmaster Ye’s personal disciple, yet he had rejected them all. This village woman—no matter whom she married, it would surely be some poor country bumpkin—how could she have caught Headmaster Ye’s eye?

As the young lady hesitated in doubt, a worker from Huichun Hall came running in, panting.

“We found it! We found it!”

“Achoo!”

Gu Jiao couldn’t help sneezing when she smelled the fragrance powder on the jade pendant the worker brought.

The jade pendant had been found in the grass. It carried the exact same scent as the one on the young lady. Compared to Gu Jiao’s, this jade pendant looked far more like it truly belonged to her.

“Has the truth been made clear now?” Gu Jiao asked.

“Even if she didn’t steal the jade pendant, she must have stolen the jade ring.”

The maid muttered quietly.

“Yuru, that’s enough.”

The young lady stopped her, then looked at Gu Jiao with a complicated expression. Stepping forward, she bowed.

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood you.”

“My lady!”

The maid’s eyes widened in shock.

How could the Marquis’s daughter bow to a lowly village woman?

Even if she had been wrongly accused, wasn’t it enough that her innocence had been proven? Was there really a need to apologize like this?

The young lady said to the maid,

“You, too—hurry and apologize to her.”

“But—”

“Hurry!”

Her tone turned sharp in an instant. Without daring to hesitate, the maid apologized to Gu Jiao with a darkened face.

The young lady then turned to the Second Master.

“I hope this incident will not affect my younger brother’s treatment at Huichun Hall.”

The Second Master said nothing, only looked at Gu Jiao. After confirming that Gu Jiao had no objections, he nodded with a smile.

“My lady, I don’t quite understand what you mean. Our Huichun Hall prides itself on both medical skill and medical ethics. A patient’s treatment will never be delayed over such private matters.”

“Thank you.”

The young lady nodded and left with her maid, whose face was badly swollen.

Watching her retreating figure, Headmaster Ye said thoughtfully,

“The Gu family of the capital?”

The Second Master exclaimed admiringly,

“Other than the Gu family of the capital, which family could raise a young lady with such huaijin woyu—one who carries fine jade and holds virtue within?”

Anyone can make mistakes. What mattered was that she realized her mistake in time and sincerely apologized, even to someone of lower status. From her refined conduct, one could glimpse her moral character.

What Headmaster Ye did not say was that the young lady’s name was indeed Gu Jinyu