Father Gu had a heart-to-heart talk with Sister A-Ran. Deep down, A-Ran felt a visceral resistance toward her biological parents. No matter how wealthy or powerful they might be, she had no intention of fawning over them or seeking their favor. Even if she were to end up destitute or with nothing to her name, she remained firm: she was Gu Ranran of the Old Gu family, and that was all.
Later, the father and daughter wept in each other's arms. Father Gu had no real desire to part with A-Ran, and A-Ran had feared that he, too, was learning from her biological parents to abandon her, which would have left her truly without a single kin in the world. Afterward, A-Ran packed her belongings into a bundle and hid it in the bedroom cabinet, choosing to keep it out of sight and out of mind.
The next two days were full for A-Ran. She went up the mountain with Xiaohua to pick fruit, cut grass to feed the horses, and tried her hand at embroidery. She soon discovered that holding an embroidery needle was far more difficult than wielding a blade; the bamboo she attempted to stitch turned out crooked and slanted, earning her a long bout of teasing from Xiaohua. Meanwhile, after three days of taking her medicine, the swelling in Father Gu's legs had visibly subsided.
Chapter 46