The Daily Face-Slapping of the Junior Tutor - Chapter 4

Gu Jintang’s heart was already overflowing with tears. Why, original owner? Why did you leave me with so many messes to clean up? And all of them life-threatening!

She must have been cursed for eight lifetimes to transmigrate into this body. She hadn’t even done anything wrong, yet she was already being hunted like a rat, and her mortal enemy had come to her door to threaten her…

Lu Nan watched her maintain a lifeless expression for what felt like an eternity, then impatiently rapped her knuckles on the table. “Hey! Stop pretending! Tell me where the Tiger Tally is, and I’ll spare your dog’s life.”

Gu Jintang flopped back onto the bed, her voice deflated. “Actually, I’m not the real Gu Jintang. That Gu Jintang is already dead, you know?”

Hearing this, Lu Nan’s lips thinned, a chilling glint in her eyes.

Xiao Qi, recognizing her mistress’s anger, quickly turned to Gu Jintang. “Lord Gu, it’s only a matter of time before the investigation leads back to you. If you don’t confess honestly now, even the Crown Princess won’t be able to save you.”

Gu Jintang began spouting nonsense, her voice growing impatient. “What proof do you have that I’m her? Just because we look alike? There are plenty of people in this world who look alike! Why assume I’m Gu Jintang?”

She rolled her eyes with righteous indignation, but inwardly she thought, No way. I can’t claim to be that corrupt official. I’d rather die than admit to being Gu Jintang. Besides, I don’t have a single thing on me to prove my identity.

“You… just look like her?” Just look like her? You’re her, aren’t you? Xiao Qi’s eyes widened, as if her record for shamelessness had been shattered yet again.

“If you’re not Gu Jintang, then why do you share the same name?” Lu Nan suddenly interjected, a bewitching curve playing at the corners of her lips, lending her an air of captivating allure.

Gu Jintang rose and studied Lu Nan for a moment before scoffing. “Listen well,” she declared. “Gu is the Gu of ‘disdaining you,’ Jin is the Jin of ‘prudent words and actions,’ and Tang is the Tang of ‘upright and honorable.’ I am Gu Jintang, and I will not change my name or surname!”

Lu Nan laughed in exasperation. “Is that so? Then let me tell you this: that corrupt official has a mole on her butt. Dare you drop your pants and let me take a look?”

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Xiao Qi’s heart jolted. “Mistress,” she blurted out, “you wouldn’t have… seen it before, would you? Peeking at someone’s rear isn’t exactly honorable behavior.”

Lu Nan’s icy beauty twisted into a furious grimace. She lashed out with her folding fan, striking Xiao Qi. “Get out!”

Xiao Qi immediately scurried out, her mind racing with thoughts of whether her Mistress had taken a fancy to Gu Jintang’s pretty-boy looks. Had she sent Xiao Qi away so the two could engage in a heated encounter in the room?

No, wait—it would be a one-sided beatdown of that pretty boy!

The door slammed shut, leaving only the two women in the room. Gu Jintang clutched her chest with one hand and her rear with the other, her large, watery eyes fluttering as she warily eyed Lu Nan, as if guarding against a pervert.

Lu Nan’s breathing quickened as she took in Gu Jintang’s defensive posture, though it was unclear whether from anger or some other reason…

She coldly retorted, “Who are you putting on this act of virtuous indignation for? Weren’t you the one who seduced my brother, stripping naked for him? Do you even realize you nearly ruined a man’s innocence with your actions?”

Lu Nan recalled the time Gu Jintang had taken her brother to a tavern, where they had been alone together in a room; clearly with ulterior motives.

Thank goodness I arrived in time, she thought. Otherwise, my idiot brother would have fallen victim to this woman’s schemes.

This incident had forged the bitter rivalry between them.

Gu Jintang felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her skull. That bastard original owner actually pulled off such a shameless stunt? Isn’t this just pushing me toward my doom?

“Strip,” Lu Nan said, rising and approaching. “Prove your identity. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about we’re both women.”

Gu Jintang never expected Lu Nan would actually demand this. “Don’t use this as an excuse to get perverted with me,” she snapped. “Get lost! My ass isn’t for you to ogle!”

Lu Nan scoffed. “I see you really have changed. If you weren’t identical to Gu Jintang, I might almost believe you’re not her. So this is the only way. Will you strip or not?”

“No! I’d rather die than strip!” Gu Jintang burrowed into the corner of the bed, clutching the quilt.

“Then don’t blame me for getting rough!” Lu Nan warned.

The bed was quite large. After a moment’s thought, she kicked off her shoes and climbed onto it. She crawled to the corner, yanked the quilt away, and found Gu Jintang huddled in a ball, her hands clamped over her rear.

The sight was so lewd that a flicker of disgust crossed Lu Nan’s eyes. With a few swift movements, she pried Gu Jintang’s hands apart. Unexpectedly, Gu Jintang lashed out with a kick aimed at her face. Lu Nan barely dodged, narrowly avoiding a blow to her front teeth.

Trembling with rage, Lu Nan watched as Gu Jintang seized the opportunity to leap off the bed, slip on her shoes, and bolt for the door.

“Damn it!” Lu Nan roared, grabbing a jade pendant from Gu Jintang’s body and hurling it with a burst of internal energy. The pendant struck Gu Jintang’s head with a loud crack, shattering on impact and knocking her unconscious. She collapsed to the floor.

Lu Nan’s heart lurched. Did I just kill her?

She scrambled off the bed, not even bothering with shoes, and rushed over. The sight was worse than she’d imagined. The corrupt official’s head was clearly injured, a pool of blood spreading across the floor.

Just then, Xiao Qi opened the door. “Mistress, are you alright?” Her gaze fell on Gu Jintang’s pale, unconscious form. “Mistress, did you knock her out?” she asked in astonishment.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Lu Nan snapped. “I just hit her head! Now hurry and fetch a doctor!”

Xiao Qi flinched and scurried off, thinking to herself that her mistress was truly too ruthless, reducing people to such a state.

Lu Nan glanced at Gu Jintang on the floor, her brow twitching. She bent down and carried Gu Jintang back to the bed, still uneasy. Lifting the woman’s head, she saw a large bump swelling on the back of her skull.

Knowing that lying on her back would put pressure on the injury, Lu Nan carefully turned Gu Jintang onto her side and propped a pillow behind her to keep her in that position.

Lu Nan glanced at Gu Jintang’s face and had to admit she was more beautiful than any man she had ever seen. Her current frail and harmless appearance only intensified the protective instincts in many people.

Lu Nan stared at Gu Jintang’s face in a daze. When she snapped out of it, she reminded herself, Of course, this pretty boy could never charm me…

Xiao Qi rushed in with the doctor. After examining the wound and taking Gu Jintang’s pulse, the doctor stroked his chin, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly. Lu Nan grew impatient with the doctor’s theatrics.

“The injury isn’t serious, is it?”

“Not serious? Look at this wound!” the doctor frowned. “A blow to the head like this could be fatal! Look at the swelling, the blood, and listen to her faint breathing…”

“Enough! Just heal her quickly!” Lu Nan snapped impatiently.

The doctor’s expression twisted as if his own son had been violated, his face contorted with anger. After finishing the bandaging, he huffed at Lu Nan, grabbed his medicine chest, and stormed out.

Lu Nan wore an expression of disbelief. Everyone usually treated her with utmost respect, yet here she was, being disrespected by a commoner.

Forget it, she thought. I won’t lower myself to argue with such a person.

******

The next day, when Gu Jintang woke up, she stared blankly and asked, “Who am I? Where am I? Who are you?”

These three questions nearly stunned Lu Nan. She immediately sent Xiao Qi to fetch the doctor from the previous day. “Doctor,” she asked, “how did she end up like this?”

The doctor took Gu Jintang’s pulse, examined her eyes, and tapped her head before sighing. “This condition is likely a consequence of the head injury. She’s lost her memory.”

He glanced at Gu Jintang’s innocent, blank gaze and added with a pained expression, “Not only has she lost her memory, but her mental state seems to have regressed to childhood.”

Lu Nan pressed her lips together, her eyes lowered as she pondered something.

Xiao Qi scratched her head. “Can’t you cure her? She can’t lose her memory!”

The doctor shot them a sidelong glance. “Is that something I can decide? Spend time with her, tell her stories from her past. Maybe she’ll remember. To be honest, in all my years, I’ve never encountered a case of amnesia before. I have no experience with this. You’ll have to figure it out yourselves.”

“Ah, what a tragedy. You’ve beaten this perfectly fine young woman to such a state, ruining most of her life…” The doctor picked up his medicine chest and, as he passed Lu Nan, let out a sarcastic hum.

Lu Nan’s scalp tightened as she glared at the doctor’s retreating back, her eyes burning with murderous intent.

Once he was gone, she strode over to Gu Jintang, grabbed her by the collar, and roared, “Gu Jintang, stop pretending! You definitely haven’t lost your memory, have you?!”

Gu Jintang flinched, her eyes immediately welling up with tears. Her dark pupils shone like two glossy black grapes, and her long, curled lashes fluttered as if she were too frightened to meet Lu Nan’s gaze. Her face paled, her body trembled, and she bit her finger, whimpering, “Sc-scary…”

Xiao Qi stared in disbelief before scrambling outside to vomit.

Lu Nan wasn’t faring much better. She stared blankly at this woman, unsure if she was mad or simply acting foolish. The Gu Jintang she knew had been shameless and despicable, but she would never have revealed her vulnerability to outsiders, let alone feigned helplessness.

Could it be… she really did knock her senseless?

Just as Lu Nan was thinking this, Gu Jintang grabbed her hands with both of hers. “Eat… food…” she mumbled before biting down on Lu Nan’s arm.

A vein bulged on Lu Nan’s forehead. “Are you a dog? Let go immediately!” She yanked her arm free without mercy, only to see a row of bloody teeth marks and a patch of clear saliva on her skin. Lu Nan nearly stomped her foot in fury.

How disgusting! How infuriating! Her fist clenched again.

Lu Nan raised her fist, ready to punch Gu Jintang in the face, but then she remembered the state of Gu Jintang’s head. Another blow would likely kill her outright.

After a long struggle to restrain herself, Lu Nan slowly lowered her fist. Take it slow, don’t get angry. I’ll save this dog official for later…

Just when she had finally calmed down, Gu Jintang leaped off the bed and threw herself against Lu Nan’s chest. “Eat… milk…” she whimpered.

Support The Daily Face-Slapping of the Junior Tutor