The Daily Face-Slapping of the Junior Tutor - Chapter 2

Gu Jintang felt like she had grasped a lifeline. She hastily straightened her clothes, saying, “Thank you, benefactor. I’m lost. Could you please guide me out?”

Lu Nan suddenly found the woman’s voice and figure strangely familiar. She frowned and asked, “What’s your name?”

“I’m called…”

“Mistress—it’s bad! We’ve found traces of Gu Jintang by the lake!” A frantic voice interrupted. Hearing her name, Gu Jintang froze mid-turn.

Gu Jintang? Is that me?

“What’s going on?” Lu Nan’s expression turned stern as she glanced at her subordinate, Xiao Qi. Seeming to consider Gu Jintang’s presence, she signaled Xiao Qi to remain silent.

“Stay here and ask the woman if she needs further assistance,” Lu Nan instructed. “I’ll go investigate the situation.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Xiao Qi replied promptly. As soon as Lu Nan left, she approached Gu Jintang. “Hey, why aren’t you up yet?”

Gu Jintang kept her head lowered, avoiding eye contact ever since her name had been mentioned. If she wasn’t mistaken, the original owner of this body must also have been named Gu Jintang, and they were likely talking about her.

After all, her face was now identical to the original owner’s. It made sense that their names would be the same too.

What the fuck?! she thought. I wonder if the original owner’s enemies have come looking for her? Otherwise, it’s like I’ve just escaped the wolf’s den only to fall into the tiger’s mouth. One damn thing after another!

“Oh, right, I’ll get up right away,” Gu Jintang said, forcing her voice to sound as low as possible.

“Ugh, you’re so rough! You sound like a man,” Xiao Qi complained.

Gu Jintang: “……” Goddamn it! I want to kill someone!

******

Xiao Qi supported the unsteady woman with barely concealed disgust. She had never encountered such an affected woman—wearing her hair loose and covering her face with a cloth in the sweltering heat.

Just as Xiao Qi was mentally grumbling, the pretentious Gu Jintang suddenly spoke, her voice still strained and affected. “The young lady mentioned Gu Jintang earlier. I seem to have heard that name somewhere before.”

“No shit!” Xiao Qi rolled her eyes. “If you haven’t heard of Gu Jintang, you might as well crawl back into your mother’s womb. Listen up: she’s the Vice Minister of Justice who was demoted three months ago for corruption, favoritism, and shameless misconduct. A despicable, universally hated dog official and a pretty boy to boot.”

As Xiao Qi spoke, her tone was so venomous it sounded like she wanted to tear Gu Jintang apart piece by piece.

Gu Jintang froze completely, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. It nearly crashed her brain on the spot.

First, the original owner of this body was the infamous dog official, the Vice Minister of Justice. Second, this was a matriarchal world where women could hold official positions. Finally, this person and her mistress seemed to know the original owner and their relationship was far from friendly.

Gu Jintang immediately grabbed two more handfuls of hair, pulling it down to completely obscure her face, nearly covering her eyes as well.

“Hey, what are you doing? Why are you dodging around like that?” Xiao Qi seemed to notice Gu Jintang’s odd behavior and began scrutinizing her from head to toe.

“Speaking of which… you look familiar. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before. Why are you hiding your face?”

“I’m a bit shy,” Gu Jintang replied earnestly, continuing to shield her face. “After all, you know what just happened. I’m afraid you might be tempted by my looks.”

“Get over yourself,” Xiao Qi scoffed. “I don’t like women. Who would be like that pretty boy Gu Jintang?”

Gu Jintang flinched again, immediately asking, “What’s wrong with her?”

“Heh~ I heard that this courtesan is having an affair with the newly appointed Crown Princess. Probably selling her charms for glory, climbing the ranks with her body. But… don’t tell anyone else, okay?” Xiao Qi whispered conspiratorially.

The corner of Gu Jintang’s mouth twitched. The original owner of this body was truly remarkable even seducing the Crown Princess! Though she highly doubted the truth of these rumors.

Now that she was inhabiting this body, she felt deeply uncomfortable. Criticizing the original owner felt like criticizing herself.

“Alright, I absolutely won’t tell anyone,” Gu Jintang promised readily. However, for her future survival, she steeled herself to discuss the original owner. “Has something happened to the Vice Minister of Justice recently?”

Xiao Qi glanced at her sideways and mumbled, “She did commit a capital offense.”

Gu Jintang felt a chill run down her neck. Then Xiao Qi continued, “But this pretty boy is protected by the Crown Princess, so she’s been spared the death penalty. They just confiscated her assets and stripped her of her position.”

The Crown Princess is amazing! Gu Jintang mentally gave the Crown Princess a thumbs-up.

“This corrupt official probably knows she’s lost all face and is hiding now. If she were really dead, that would be fine, but if she’s still alive… she’s made plenty of enemies. If they catch her, ha~”

The final cold laugh was dripping with schadenfreude. Gu Jintang glanced at the arm Xiao Qi was using to support her and swallowed hard.

Big sister, you’ve already caught her, but thankfully you’re blind.

Just as she was thinking this, Xiao Qi circled back to the topic. “Hey, speaking of which, you still look so familiar. Your figure… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…”

“No, don’t try to get familiar with me,” Gu Jintang denied without a flicker of emotion. “I know I’m beautiful, but that doesn’t give you the right to covet me. If you want to win my heart, you’d need to be at least on the same level as my Mistress.”

A chill ran down Xiao Qi’s spine. She shoved Gu Jintang away and staggered to the side, retching. “Damn it, I’ve never met such a shameless woman! Even Gu Jintang wasn’t this shameless!”

Gu Jintang’s vision swam with stars. She lay pale-faced on the ground, the fall having nearly killed her on the spot.

Despite her simmering anger, she forced herself to endure it, refusing to let her true feelings show to this person.

Gritting her teeth, she forced out an apology: “I’m sorry. I’m still traumatized from what happened earlier. Those women were all over me, and now I feel like everyone is lusting after me, wanting to… sob…”

She launched into a performance, sobbing dramatically. She figured she had just shattered the original Gu Jintang’s already low bar for shamelessness. After all, the original Gu Jintang had been a high-ranking official; surely she hadn’t been this shameless?

Xiao Qi’s gaze was a mix of pity and disgust, a stark contradiction. “Alright, alright, enough with that face of yours. It’s too damn beautiful. Get up. I’ll take you home. By the way, where do you live?”

Gu Jintang wiped her tears and said, “No need to take me all the way. Just drop me off at the street corner. And… do you have any money? I’m starving.”

If she didn’t eat something soon, she was going to faint.

Xiao Qi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You didn’t bring any money yourself?”

Gu Jintang shook her head. Apart from the flashy clothes she was wearing, she had nothing.

She had considered countless ways to fill her stomach, but given her current physical condition, stealing, robbing, or working were all out of the question. She was afraid that after just two beatings, she’d be done for.

So, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and ask for money.

Xiao Qi reluctantly patted all her pockets, finding only a single copper coin, which she tossed to Gu Jintang. “Here. This is all I have—one wen.”

Clutching the pitiful coin, Gu Jintang’s stomach churned with acidic hunger, making her feel even worse. She asked pitifully, “What can I buy with one wen?”

“A steamed bun. Take it or leave it.” Xiao Qi was surprised by her own uncharacteristic patience. She frowned at Gu Jintang, still sprawled on the ground. “Why aren’t you getting up?”

“I don’t have the strength…”

******

Xiao Qi carried Gu Jintang for a while, grumbling under her breath. When they reached the end of the alley, the main street stretched out before them, its myriad food aromas an invisible temptation that made Xiao Qi’s stomach growl even louder.

“Alright, I’ll leave you here. Goodbye,” Xiao Qi said, setting Gu Jintang down and turning to leave, her mission complete.

Gu Jintang smiled faintly. “Thank you. Goodbye.” As if we’ll ever meet again.

She lifted her eyes to survey the street. Though she had long since accepted this world, the sight of the bustling thoroughfare still struck her with a sense of awe.

The street was wide and straight, lined with shops on both sides and dotted with various stalls.

The crowd surged in chaotic waves, a mix of men and women. The women, however, wore revealing outfits, their arms and legs bare, their behavior were bold and unrestrained. Some even appeared deliberately unkempt. In stark contrast, the men were meticulously dressed, their faces painted with delicate makeup, dabbing their cheeks with handkerchiefs in feigned shyness.

This is truly an eyesore, Gu Jintang thought, averting her gaze. Clutching the life-saving copper coin in her hand, she headed toward the steamed bun stall, passing a crowd gathered around a public notice board.

She glanced casually at the notice board and suddenly saw her own portrait plastered prominently in the most conspicuous spot. Four bold characters declared: “Substantial Reward Offered.” How much? Ten thousand taels of gold!

Holy shit! Who the hell has so much money to burn?

Her eyes dropped to the reward poster’s issuer: Lu Nan!

Could this Lu Nan be my enemy?

“I heard Gu Jintang even ran to Yunzhou to hide. What a jinx!”

“Jinx? Whoever finds her gets ten thousand taels of gold! They would never have to worry about food or clothes again!”

“True enough…”

Gu Jintang, her face hidden, carefully edged past the group. Then she heard a mocking voice: “Heh~ So this is Gu Jintang? What kind of person is she? What terrible deeds has she committed? Can anyone enlighten me?”

She froze, stopping to listen. She was desperate to know what unspeakable crimes the original owner of this body had committed.

“Young hero, you’re unaware of the truth. Gu Jintang is a treacherous official, a corrupt villain who framed the entire House of Marquis Zhenyuan for treason. Marquis Zhenyuan and his husband died in prison to prove their innocence. Ah, our Marquis Zhenyuan was a founding hero of this nation! To be killed by such a villain! It’s truly a sin!”

“What’s even more infuriating is that Gu Jintang, that bastard, got away scot-free! I swear, I wish I could find her and tear her limb from limb!” The old aunt clenched her fists, her voice trembling with righteous anger.

Gu Jintang quietly moved a little further away from the old aunt’s clenched fists.

“And who is this Lu Nan?” the other person’s voice rang out again.

“You don’t even know that? Lu Nan is the Grand Tutor; the most brilliant, valiant, handsome, and accomplished person in the entire court!”

The old aunt shot a disdainful glance at the nosy woman, wondering where she had crawled out from. What a clueless bumpkin!

Gu Jintang felt deeply resentful at the public’s wildly contrasting opinions of her and Lu Nan. One praised to the heavens, the other vilified to the depths. She spat viciously at the mention of Lu Nan’s name.

So this Lu Nan is the Black Widow who’s coming to arrest me? Even if I’ve been demoted, I’m not a fugitive! Why post wanted posters?

This must be some personal vendetta. That young woman is just making trouble out of nothing, with a heart the size of a pigeon’s egg. Brilliant and valiant, my ass!

In her mind, she flipped Lu Nan the middle finger.

“Then thank you all for clearing up my confusion,” the woman said, as if preparing to leave.

Gu Jintang lowered her head, ready to slip away and figure out how to evade the Black Widow’s search later.

Just as she was thinking this, someone suddenly bumped into her. Her frail, willow-like body couldn’t maintain its balance, and she stumbled backward. A hand landed precisely on her lower back, steadying her.

“Young master, are you alright?” It was the same woman who had been asking questions in the crowd earlier.

Gu Jintang shook her head to clear her daze, clutching her churning stomach and frowning. “I… I’m fine.”

But she felt the bile rising in her throat, threatening to spill over.

The woman helped her regain her footing, smiled, and was about to say something when Gu Jintang’s expression suddenly changed. “My money! Where’s my money?”

The single copper coin she had been clutching tightly in her hand was gone! That was her lifeline! She remembered her earlier panic… she must have loosened her grip.

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