It was a rainy day, and Jiang Xue Ning rarely went out. Instead, she rested in the house. In the morning, she accompanied Shen Zhaoyan, and in the afternoon, she played chess in the study with Shen Zhiyun.

Shen Zhiyun twisted a white piece between his fingers and said softly, "Your mind is in turmoil."

She lost interest in playing chess, so she stood up, opened the window, looked at the heavy rain outside, and said wearily, "I've been walking on this road for too long. I'm a little tired."

"If you're tired, stop and take a rest."

The two of them listened quietly to the sound of rain outside the window, and felt extremely peaceful at this moment.

Qing He walked in softly, "Your Majesty, there is a girl at the door."

She turned back in confusion, "Who's here?"

"She said she was eleven..."

Jiang Xue Ning's pupils trembled, and she said in disbelief, "Let her in quickly."

Seeing her strange expression, Qinghe didn't dare to delay and immediately turned around to pick her up.

Jiang Xue Ning strode out, stood under the eaves and looked out into the distance with a complicated expression.

"If it's really eleven, you should be happy."

She looked at the growing storm and whispered, "I should be happy..."

Unfortunately, the timing of his appearance was a bit subtle, and it was hard for her not to think too much about it, but she had to meet him anyway.

Soon, two people holding oil-paper umbrellas approached from a distance. Qing He walked in front, followed by a woman in a light yellow gauze, whose skirt swung in a beautiful arc as she walked.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see her face clearly until she came closer and walked up the stairs step by step. Then I could see her small face. She had shallow dimples and eyes that curved when she smiled. She looked lively and sweet.

"Sister, I'm eleven..."

In a trance, she seemed to see again the little girl who held her hand and called her sister sweetly.

Gu Tangli, the eleventh lady of the Gu family, is the youngest girl of their generation and the only daughter of her fourth uncle.

Back then, led by General Gu, the three sons of the Gu family all died on the battlefield. Only Fourth Uncle Gu had a bohemian personality since childhood and roamed around the world. He had never been to the battlefield and was the outlier in the Gu family.

When the Gu family got into trouble and the entire family was executed by Helian Xuan, Fourth Uncle Gu refused to obey and cursed Helian Xuan as a tyrant. He was eventually killed on the spot, and his blood splattered all over the gate of the Gu family.

Only Gu Tangli followed her mother, who came from the underworld, and her whereabouts are unknown.

The chances of them being alive were very high, and she had been trying to find out about them over the years, but to no avail.

All we know is that the mother and daughter were hunted down by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and finally disappeared on the Mobei border, and there has been no news of them since then.

She stared at the woman in front of her. She was about six or seven years old when the accident happened. Now many years have passed and she has grown into a big girl, but she can still see some traces of her past.

Gu Tangli smiled sweetly, but her eyes were red. "Sister, don't you recognize me?"

Jiang Xue Ning smiled and reached out to hold her, "You've grown into a big girl."

Shen Zhiyun interrupted, "How do you know it's not a cousin, but a sister?"

Gu Tangli said stubbornly, "I just know that when I was little, I loved sticking to my sister the most. When I heard about Princess Mingyue's deeds, I knew that my sister had returned."

"It's raining and cold outside, come in and talk."

She led them to the study, and Qinghe served them hot tea. Perhaps because she was not warm enough, Gu Tangli told them a lot about her childhood in great detail.

Finally, she rolled up her sleeves. There was a cloud-shaped red birthmark on her left arm. She said with bright eyes, "Well, now sister believes that I am Eleven, right?"

It was hard not to believe it. Many of the things she said were things that only the two of them knew the details of. She chuckled and pinched her face. "When I saw your dimples, I knew you were Eleven. Only our little Eleven has such sweet dimples."

She still wasn't very happy, "But I don't think my sister is very happy to see me."

"I'm just surprised." Jiang Xue Ning said calmly, "I've been secretly looking for you and Fourth Aunt for a long time, but there's no news about you."

Her expression dimmed instantly, "Mom passed away..."

"It's the Gu family who let her down." Jiang Xue Ning lowered her eyes and said softly, "You've worked hard all the way here. I'll let Qing He take you down to rest."

Seeing that she was not in a good mood, she took her maid Mu Jin and followed Qinghe to the guest room obediently.

"Sister, do you dislike me?"

This question is not easy to answer, Qing He said cautiously, "Your Majesty may be too tired."

Qing He personally took care of the room, helped her take a hot bath, and lit some sleeping incense in the room. "Have a good rest."

He led his men away without causing any further trouble.

She sat on the bed, swinging her feet, and said innocently, "My sister has changed a lot. She is fierce and cold. She doesn't smile as much as before, and she doesn't like me as much as before."

The maid Mu Jin said, "It's normal for her to have so many personality changes, but no matter how she changes, she is still the young lady's elder sister. The young lady should get to know her quickly."

"Ah."

In the study, Jiang Xuening and Zhiyun continued to play the unfinished game of chess. "What do you think?"

"You may seem innocent, but you will grow up and you are no longer the little Eleven you were back then."

Back then, Gu Family Eleven was Gu Mingyue's little follower. He was pretty and sweet-spoken, very likable, and was no stranger to the people in Gu Family Academy.

She sighed, "She appeared at this time, I don't know why she came."

Whatever it was, she hoped that she would not end up turning her knife against her sisters.

Shen Zhiyun looked at her in surprise, "Are you scared?"

"Well, I'm scared."

"I hope more than anyone that more members of the Gu family survived the catastrophe. But I am also afraid to see them and I am afraid they will hate me."

If it is an outsider, no matter how strong the opponent is, she is not afraid and will rush forward without hesitation and fight with the opponent to the end.

But if it was a member of the Gu family, such as Xiao Eleven who grew up with her, and hated her so much that he wanted to come back for revenge and raise a knife to her.

She didn't know how to cope with it either.

"What happened to the Gu family is not your fault. It was the Snow Clan's careful planning. It was Helian Xuan's ruthlessness and the imperial power's cruelty." Shen Zhiyun said firmly.

After all, the affairs of the Gu family are the deepest shadow in her heart, and it is always difficult to get over it.

Qing He came in and reported, "Miss Eleven has already taken a bath, had chicken noodle soup, and went to sleep."

She held the cold chess piece in her hand and said, "Clean up Tingyu Pavilion for her to live in. Be more careful."

"Yes."

She then instructed Wu Jin, "Send someone to check her past over the years, and look in the direction of Mobei."

"How do you know she's from Mobei?"

"The style of the waist ornament on her waist is obviously from Mobei."

After that, she said with self-loathing, "It seems difficult for me to trust anyone easily now..."

Shen Zhiyun comforted him softly, "This is the only way to take steady steps. You really need to be cautious in your current situation."

She looked at the increasingly strong wind and rain outside and asked, "Eleven, why are you here..."


Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like