The Pampered Concubine Gu Jiao Niang

Chapter 55: Encounter

"What happened?" Second Young Master and Wang Shopkeeper walked over and asked, with Second Young Master being the one who spoke.

Just now, Second Young Master went to the opposite bank to exchange silver and when he entered the lobby, he heard Wang Shopkeeper talking about how the Hou Family's daughter lost something at the Hui Chun Tang. He and Wang Shopkeeper searched for it together, but unexpectedly saw what they saw in the private room.

This private room was a resting place prepared specifically for Gu Jiao, although she did not use it often, so no one would normally break in. When they heard the servant girl say "the thief who stole something from my lady," they thought the thief had hidden in there.

As a result, the two of them found that there were only two people in the private room - the Hou Family's servant girl and Gu Jiao.

So, was Gu Jiao the thief that the servant girl was referring to?

The little servant girl did not know Gu Jiao and immediately pointed at her when Second Young Master and Wang Shopkeeper arrived, saying, "You're here just in time! This thief stole my lady's jade pendant! She also stole my young master's jade ring!"

Second Young Master was stunned. "Could this be a misunderstanding? She wouldn't steal things!"

How could the little servant girl steal from others? She was free to come and go in his accounting room, and she had never touched any of the valuable items there.

Besides, the little servant girl had an open and honest expression, so even if she was caught red-handed as a thief, she wouldn't show any guilt.

However, Wang Shopkeeper did not think so. Although he did not go to the Hou Family that day, Second Young Master and the Old Doctor told him later that Gu Jiao saved the Hou Family's young master, so she had the opportunity to steal the young master's jade ring.

Moreover, the Hou Family's daughter had just arrived at the Hui Chun Tang today, and her jade pendant was found on Gu Jiao's table. Wang Shopkeeper couldn't help but think more about it.

The little servant girl was angry. "What do you mean she wouldn't steal things? Are you saying that I'm falsely accusing her? Who is she? Is she worth me coming all this way to accuse her?"

Although her words were not pleasant, they made sense. The little servant girl was a servant of the Hou Family and had a more noble status than many young ladies from wealthy families. If she were to make false accusations, she would have to find someone with a comparable status. Gu Jiao, a small village girl, was like an ant on the ground. She wouldn't go out of her way to step on her unless she really had stolen something from the Hou Family.

"Are you sure you didn't mistake her? There are many things in this world that are the same," the second owner still firmly believed that Gu Jiao was innocent.

"I mistook her?" The little maid laughed in anger, "Do you think the accessories used by my young lady and young master are cheap things on the street? This jade pendant was rewarded from the palace. Your entire Hu family couldn't afford it!"

The Second Young Master face turned white for a moment. If it was such a precious item, then it couldn't belong to Gu Jiao, but he still didn't believe that Gu Jiao would steal: "Doesn't it allow for counterfeits?"

Who knows if the things in Miss Gu's hands are fake!

Wang the shopkeeper worriedly glanced at the second owner. The second owner had full faith in Gu Jiao, which would undoubtedly offend the Marquis's family. He didn't want the second owner to get into trouble.

As he was considering his words and planning to persuade Gu Jiao to confess and not to offend the Marquis's family, Gu Jiao calmly spoke up, "It's not fake, it's real."

"You hear that! She admitted it!" The little maid said viciously.

"Yuru."

A gentle and noble voice sounded from outside the door.

"Miss! You're here!" The little maid quickly changed to a respectful expression and bowed to the young lady.

The young lady, wearing a black veil and a dress, slowly entered with her veil and dress held in her hands, graceful and elegant.

She used the expensive fragrant powder that only wealthy women in the capital could afford. With each light step, the fragrance of her body floated gently, making the entire room fragrant.

"Achoo!" Gu Jiao sneezed.

She was allergic to this kind of fragrant powder.

The little maid glared angrily at Gu Jiao. Seeing that her young lady didn't bow and dared to sneeze rudely, the country bumpkin was always a country bumpkin, and would never be able to come to the forefront!

The young lady spoke in her usual tone, "It is impossible for this jade pendant to have a counterfeit. The jade used in it is Kunshan goat-fat jade, which in Zhao Country, only the royal family has the right to mine. Faking things used by the royal family is a serious crime, not to mention that it cannot be imitated exactly."

"Oh." Gu Jiao rubbed her chin.

"What's your attitude?" The little maid continued to glare at her, but because the daughter of the Hou Mansion was present, she wasn't as domineering as before.

The young girl looked at Gu Jiao and said in a gentle voice, "You are the little medicine girl, right?"

"Yes," Gu Jiao replied without asking how she guessed, as it wasn't difficult to guess.

The young girl said nonchalantly, "I will give you the jade pendant and take back the jade finger ring. I will pretend this never happened."

"Miss!" The little maid stamped her foot.

The shopkeeper Wang did not expect such a surprising turn of events. The daughter of the Hou Mansion was really magnanimous. She gave such a valuable thing away and didn't announce it publicly, thus preserving the reputation of Miss Gu and the Reviving Spring Hall.

Seeing Gu Jiao remain silent, the young girl continued, "The jade pendant is mine, you can take it if you like, but the jade finger ring is my brother's, and I must take it back for him."

The shopkeeper Wang was anxiously urging Gu Jiao to agree in his mind.

Gu Jiao looked at the young girl expressionlessly and said, "You can take back the jade ring, but put down the jade pendant for me."

She had suspected that the jade ring belonged to the little master of the Hou Mansion earlier. Now her suspicion had been confirmed.

She didn't explain that the jade ring accidentally slipped into her pocket when she was rescuing the little master, firstly because she couldn't reveal the process of the rescue, and secondly because the master and servant would not believe her.

If that was the case, why waste her breath?

The young girl said, "You have a good eye for things. The jade ring is only special to my brother. It's not as valuable as that jade pendant."

Gu Jiao said, "I will give back the jade pendant because it is not yours. You must return it to me."

The little maid sneered, "If it's not my mistress's, is it yours? Look at yourself in the mirror. Can you afford to wear such a valuable jade pendant?"

"Yuru, be careful with your words!" The second master frowned.

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do," Gu Jiao said, extending her hand. "For the last time, return the jade pendant to me."

The little maid took a step back and said, "You're dreaming! This belongs to my mistress!"

The young girl pinched her fingers, suppressing her anger, and said to the second master, "You witnessed what happened today. She admitted to stealing herself. I won't report her to the authorities for the sake of Reviving Spring Hall treating my brother's illness. But I hope that such incidents won't happen again in the future!"

Throughout the whole incident, Gu Jiao only admitted to one thing: that the jade ring belonged to the little master, but didn't say that she had stolen it. However, in the other party's mouth, it became her admitting to stealing.