Chapter 863: Extra Story – The Beloved Daughter Script

My name is Ah Tong, and I’m Grandma’s third granddaughter.

When I first came into this world, I didn’t want to open my eyes.

Because I couldn’t accept arriving in this world without electricity or the internet, although in my past life, as a high school student restricted from playing games, life was still freer and more comfortable than here.

As soon as I was born, I heard the midwife shout that it was a girl, followed by another comment about the flower blooming before bearing fruit, and my heart shattered.

Great, it must be a family that desperately wanted a son.

I was already picturing myself living a miserable life like a cabbage in the fields, so I was even less willing to open my eyes and face this cruel world.

In my confused state, my small body was picked up by a pair of warm big hands and held like a treasure, softly calling me “precious daughter.”

It was a nice, magnetic voice.

I wanted to ask who they were, but realized my language system hadn’t fully developed, so I could only make crying sounds. The warm big hands, thinking I was hungry, awkwardly placed me in a warm, soft embrace.

I was indeed hungry, so I sucked voraciously with my eyes closed.

“Little one, slow down.”

The person speaking gently cuddled me in a fragrant and soft embrace.

The voice was incomparably gentle.

With my eyes closed, I guessed these two were my parents in this life. I wanted to open my eyes to see what my parents looked like, but remembering the midwife’s comment about the flower blooming before bearing fruit discouraged me.

The midwife said so because this pair of parents probably desperately wanted a son, and seeing I was a little girl, she used those words to console them.

I hold grudges, hmph!

So I resolutely kept my eyes closed for the first five days after birth.

It wasn’t until later that I realized I had misjudged my parents.

In the Gu Family, not just my parents, but everyone, including Grandma, pampered me excessively.

But that’s a story for later.

I took the chance, when no one was paying attention, to secretly open my eyes and observe, seeing my young and handsome father and equally young and beautiful mother.

Their eyes, full of gentleness like water, were also filled with worry and distress.

They didn’t notice because they were tense and pained that I wouldn’t open my eyes.

“…even if our daughter can’t see, she’s still our precious daughter; no matter her condition, it doesn’t affect my love for her,” my young and handsome father said.

“Boo hoo… just thinking of our precious daughter not being able to see this world makes my heart want to die. I have money; tomorrow I’ll hire the world’s best physicians to come to the house. Even if it costs all our wealth, as long as there’s a sliver of hope, we must treat our daughter,” my young and beautiful mother cried.

I suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted.

And this was different from what I thought; my parents didn’t seem sad because I’m a daughter, nor did they abandon me because I’m a blind daughter. Mother was even willing to spend all our wealth for me.

Looks like this family is wealthy. Oh right, Father mentioned inviting the Emperor’s personal physician to look at my eyes, so Father must be an official.

This start isn’t bad at all!

Besides my parents, Grandma often came to hold me.

With a strong sense of secrecy, I squinted my eyes to observe and found that Grandma was a beautiful middle-aged woman.

I thought Grandma would favor boys over girls, but unexpectedly, she was even kinder to girls.

You can’t blame me for having stereotypes; don’t all period dramas portray this?

Daughters-in-law give birth to daughters, and the mother-in-law dismissively says it’s just a girl.

I felt if I didn’t open my eyes soon, my young and handsome father would cry himself blind, and my young and beautiful mother would really spend all our wealth.

So five days after birth, when Grandma was cradling me singing lullabies, I finally couldn’t help but open my eyes.

Grandma and I made eye contact.

Hmm, I sensed a kindred spirit, and I couldn’t help but smile at Grandma.

“The child opened her eyes,” Grandma exclaimed with such excitement that she almost deafened this baby.

Father eagerly took me into his arms and brought me to Mother’s bedside. The couple waved their hands in front of my face, and I cooperated perfectly by rolling my big eyes around, and the two embraced each other tearfully.

When I was born, Grandma had four grandchildren altogether, and Brother Yaozu was the only boy.

Although Brother Yaozu was named Yaozu, he didn’t have the characteristics or treatment of a Yaozu at all.

Instead, he was completely overshadowed by our elder cousin Sister Man Er.

If anyone in this family had the treatment of Yaozu, it was naturally me.

Among the elders, whether it was my parents, Grandma, or my two aunts and two uncles and uncle’s wife, they all doted on me immensely. Among my peers, whether it was Sister Man Er, Sister Ying Er, or Brother Yaozu, they also treated me like a treasure.

Even the usually sharp and harsh Aunt Liu Yueer held me in her arms, wishing she had a beautiful daughter like me.

Apart from the Gu Family, the Lu Family, represented by my uncles and aunts, also pampered me.

Even when I later had two younger brothers, my status remained unchanged.

One could say that I received the script of a beloved character.

Father was the most illustrious Champion Scholar, Mother was the head of Lu’s Trading House, Grandma was the wealthiest woman in Dasheng, Uncle was the Minister of Revenue, little Aunt was the second in charge at Tong’s Trading House, little uncle was the Great General, and my cousin’s husband was the Imperial Tutor. Such a strong background allowed me to grow up freely, and outside, I was known as the most unrestrained and flamboyant girl in Shengjing.

From a young age, Grandma told me that as her granddaughter, I could do whatever I wanted.

Thus, I could leave the inner residence, freely enter and exit the academy, dare to stand up for justice on the streets of Shengjing, and dare to whip a horse-riding dandy causing harm in public.

Man Er and I even traveled with Grandma for business, witnessing the misty rains of Jiangnan and admiring the solitary smoke of the desert.

In the eyes of my family, I was the most adorable girl in the world. In the eyes of the Shengjing Family, I was an arrogant troublemaker.

Those who hated me cursed Father to fall from grace in court, dragging me into punishment at Yeyou Court.

Even my reputation for arrogance spread to the Gu Family in Qinghe Bay, and Great-Grandfather wrote a letter to Father admonishing him for failing to teach his daughter properly, saying a girl should be gentle and graceful. Otherwise, with my temperament, which noble family in Shengjing would dare to marry me? My reputation would implicate a host of Gu Family girls.

He even blamed Grandma Tong Huaqiong for corrupting me, listing Grandma’s “crimes” from taking little Aunt Gu Taohua into business to encouraging little aunt Gu Honglian to divorce, and finally permitting me to disregard feminine virtues and letting Sister Man Er establish a girls’ school.

Father wrote back to Great-Grandfather, expressing that Ah Tong’s disposition was quite good, and she didn’t need to compromise herself.

Grandma cursed Great-Grandfather for meddling unnecessarily.

Divorced for years, little Aunt Gu Honglian told me, “Ah Tong, don’t believe your Great-Grandfather’s nonsense. They’re all jealous of your comfortable life. When I divorced back then, the old Clan Leader and your Great-Grandfather wrote letters cursing me for implicating many Gu Family girls, but it never stopped matchmakers from breaking down the Gu Family’s doors.”

I chuckled; I didn’t take Great-Grandfather’s admonitions to heart at all.

I’ve never been to Qinghe Bay, nor have I met this old man, Great-Grandfather. Those words have no bearing on me.

When I was six, Father became the youngest Prime Minister since the founding of Dasheng.

The first thing Father did as Prime Minister was write into law that if court officials committed a crime, it would not affect the female relatives at home (provided the female relatives abided by laws).”

“Even if the female relatives had committed a crime, they would be properly tried and not sold to the brothel like before.”

Father also abolished slavery.

When the news reached home, I saw Grandma breathe a sigh of relief.