Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

A short while later, the imperial physician arrived with Dongmo, followed by a maid who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old and carrying a food box.

The maid looked Gu Hua up and down curiously.

Her father said she was the man the lord wanted, and before she even met him, her mind was filled with images of alluring and captivating women.

did not expect……

The young lady of the Gu family has beautiful features, and without makeup, her skin appears even more flawless.

Her attire was simple, with only a silver hairpin in her hair and no earrings, which instead accentuated her slender, jade-like neck, making her look like a swan.

She was wearing a loose, grayish-brown ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), so you couldn't tell if she had a good figure or not.

His eyes were like those of a frightened rabbit, and he dared not look people in the eye.

She's just a simple, innocent young girl.

They say she seduced the lord?

Ugh, I can't even imagine what that would be like.

The physician tried to unwrap Gu Hua's handkerchief, but found that the blisters had burst and spilled yellow liquid, sticking the handkerchief firmly to her skin. The handkerchief was also twisted into a messy ball, a truly pitiful sight. The physician's eyebrows immediately twisted into a pretzel.

"How did it happen?"

Gu Hua lowered her head and dared not make a sound.

Last night, she fought with Mu An and her palms were all scraped raw, but she didn't undo the wounds and reapply the medicine, because she wanted Wen Hanxuan's people to see it today.

The more miserable she became, the more her elder sister and Mu An's actions were criticized.

The more miserable she is, the more Wen Hanxuan's people will pity her.

Dong Mo gasped, "Didn't you apply medicine yesterday? How did it get like this? Did the young mistress make you do heavy work again?"

"No, I just accidentally bumped into it."

Gu Hua's eyes were red, and she looked aggrieved.

This kind of pain is nothing to her anymore.

Dongmo snorted.

It must be that the young mistress and young master are bullying people again.

"Please bear with it, my lady, it will hurt a lot," the physician said, somewhat reluctantly.

Gu Hua took a deep breath: "It's okay, I can bear it."

The physician carefully moistened the dried handkerchief with medicine and slowly separated it from the skin of the palm.

The young woman's eyes welled up with tears, and she bit her lip hard, trying her best not to cry. The three people present felt their hearts clench.

The physician applied the medicine and re-bandaged her wound, instructing her: "Change the dressing once a day, and don't let it get wet for at least three days. Also, don't move or touch it unnecessarily, so as not to aggravate the wound."

"Thank you, doctor." Gu Hua bowed with tears in her eyes.

The physician returned the greeting: "By the way, you need to avoid certain foods."

"Okay, I understand," Gu Hua said softly.

After the physician left, the maid opened the food box and brought out a bowl of minced chicken and lotus seed porridge, four meat buns, and a small dish of side dishes.

Dongmo smiled and said, "Madam Gu, you must not have had breakfast since you came so early. Please eat."

Gu Hua guessed that it was Dong Mo who arranged it, and bowed to him gratefully: "Thank you, Brother Dong."

"No need for thanks, it was all ordered by the lord."

Dongmo pointed at the maid and smiled, "I still have things to do. Zhilan will stay with you in the study. You can read or rest as you please."

The maid, named Zhilan, smiled and said, "My surname is Zhou. You can call me Sister Zhou from now on, Madam Gu."

In her past life, Gu Hua had met her.

She is the only younger sister of Zhou Chunyu, the head steward.

She usually helps Steward Zhou manage the household finances and does not serve others, but she holds a very high position in the Duke's mansion.

"Thank you for your trouble, Sister Zhou." Gu Hua dared not underestimate her.

"You're welcome."

Zhou Zhilan wanted to pick up the porridge bowl, but Gu Hua quickly said, "I can do it myself."

Butler Zhou's own sister is not someone you can order around casually.

"Your hand is so badly injured, let me do it, you sit down."

Zhou Zhilan pointed to the soft couch, personally ladled out the porridge and handed it to her, then stared at her curiously.

Gu Hua readily agreed, took the bowl of porridge, and ate it in small bites, letting her scrutinize her.

Yesterday, my father mentioned this young master's sister-in-law, saying she was cautious and timid, and now it seems that she is indeed so.

Her every gesture exudes an indescribable charm.

Unlike the glamorous women in the young master's room, she was as pure as a white lotus flower.

Sigh, maybe it's because she's too good-looking; she looks good no matter what she does.

Zhou Zhilan liked this kind of clean and beautiful girl.

After Gu Hua finished her bowl of porridge, Zhou Zhilan was still staring at her. Gu Hua felt a little uneasy and looked up shyly, saying, "Sister Zhou, please sit down and eat with me. I can't finish it all by myself."

Zhou Zhilan shook her head: "Servants cannot sit with their masters."

Gu Hua said sincerely, "I am also a slave, sister, you don't need to be so polite. Wouldn't it be a waste if we couldn't finish it?"

Zhou Zhilan's eyes widened: "Are you a slave?"

"Mmm." Gu Hua took a steamed bun, lowered her head and took a bite to hide her sadness.

Zhou Zhilan didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down in front of her, her face full of gossip: "My brother said you are a concubine's daughter from the Gu family, how could you be a slave?"

Gu Hua raised her slightly red eyes: "Before my aunt sent me into the mansion, she forced me to sign a slave contract, saying it would put my elder sister at ease."

Zhou Zhilan's eyes widened: "Your own mother forced you to sign a slave certificate? Is she your own mother? Were you adopted?"

Realizing he had said something inappropriate, he quickly tried to smooth things over: "I wasn't talking about your own mother. Maybe she was forced into it by the Lady of the Marquis?"

Although the Duke's mansion had a small population, she knew quite a bit about the intricacies of aristocratic families.

Gu Hua stuffed a steamed bun into her hand and said quietly, "My mother sent me in here to be the son-in-law's concubine. No matter what, I'm still a servant."

Zhou Zhilan rolled her eyes: "The Duke of Yongguo can hardly accommodate all the women in the young master's courtyard. He doesn't lack women. Young mistress, don't you think about yourself? After all, you are sisters."

"My eldest sister is pregnant."

Zhou Zhilan knew about the young mistress's pregnancy, and when Gu Hua brought it up, she immediately understood.

It was a common practice among ladies of noble families to have their wives become pregnant and find a trusted confidante to serve as a concubine for their husbands.

“The young mistress can simply bring along a maidservant from her dowry; why humiliate her own sister? She has no face to lose.”

Zhou Zhilan was very ashamed and took a big bite of the bun, chewing it vigorously.

Gu Hua sneered inwardly.

This is where Gu Wanru's folly lies.

Her own sister became her husband's concubine, allowing herself to be humiliated. In fact, it was she who lost face.

Some people...

Born with a sense of inferiority in their very being, they could only feel at ease when the mother and daughter trampled on them under their noses.

I wonder if her biological mother would shed tears for her if she knew.

In her past life, no one had ever shed a tear for her.

No one stood up for her.

Zhou Zhilan was cheerful and quickly put aside her unpleasantness, asking Gu Hua about her preferences while eating.

Gu Hua answered them one by one.

"You even attended a private school?"

Zhou Zhilan looked surprised. "Oh right, my brother said you have beautiful calligraphy skills, and he wants me to become your student and learn from you. But I prefer using an abacus and don't like reading fancy poetry and books."

Gu Hua laughed too: "I can't be your teacher, sister."

She changed the subject: "At the private school, I have to study hard, otherwise I won't be able to do my older sister's homework. The teacher is very strict; if I don't write the assigned poem well, he'll hit my hand with a ruler. My older sister hands in the homework, but the teacher will definitely hit her instead."

She was actually grateful to her elder sister for being lazy. Originally, she was supposed to help her study, but instead, she became successful herself, learning to write beautiful characters and composing excellent poems.

"Huh? You even help the young mistress with her homework? And you even do her homework for her?" Zhou Zhilan's eyes widened in surprise.

Gu Hua's eyes showed a hint of panic. She covered her lips and after a long while said, "It's just copying books."

Zhou Zhilan frowned and glared at her. Seeing her flustered state, she realized she couldn't talk about it, so she dropped the topic.

After they finished eating, Zhou Zhilan put the bowls and chopsticks into the food box: "I'll go back to the kitchen to put these away first, and then I'll come back to keep you company in a little while. You teach me to write, or my brother will hit my hands with a ruler."

The girl winked playfully at Gu Hua.

Gu Hua smiled and said, "Okay. I guarantee Steward Zhou will give you a thumbs up."

"Okay, Ms. Ladies."

The word "Ms." filled Gu Hua with mixed emotions.

Watching the girl's cheerful figure disappear into the distance, I felt both sorrow and joy.

Sadly, she never had such a lively spirit, nor anything that could make her laugh heartily.

To her delight, she saw the sun.

It seems there is now a glimmer of hope in this life.