Miss Chu

## Lady Chu

**Miss Chu** (楚姑娘, *Chǔ-gūniang*) is a maiden who hails from Lin'an and is Gu Mang's mother. She passed away when Gu Mang was four years old.

## Appearance

### Youth

She has phoenix eyes and was a renowned beauty in her youth.

### Wangshu Manor

After she was let into Wangshu Manor, her face was burnt out of recognition. She was described as the ugliest female servant by others in the residence.

## Personality

She is described to be warm and sweet. She is also strong-willed, not submitting to Yue Juntian even after being kidnapped with her sister and having her father killed.

## History

### Youth

Miss Chu was born in Lin'an as the middle child of the family and helped her father run a little restaurant along with her older sister Chu Lian, and her unnamed younger brother. She, along with her sister, were said to be the most renowned beauties of Lin'an. Their reputation spread further and further, until even tyrannical noble lords wanted their hand. Her father did not like this and rejected their proposals, wanting his daughters to choose someone they would like on their own.

Later on, a  high-ranking noble from Chonghua took a liking to the sisters. He kidnapped them, and after their father tried to protect them, he also had him decapitated and left their younger brother for dead. The noble was later revealed to be Yue Juntian.

While her sister served and offered herself up to Yue Juntian voluntarily to trick him into letting down his guard, Miss Chu thought that she had disregarded the need to avenge their father, as she did not know that her sister was only pretending in order to find an opportunity to escape. She despised Chu Lian for this, and when Chu Lian urged her to run, she was unwilling and rejected her, saying that she would rather die than take this favor from her sister.

One day, when the nobles of Chonghua went hunting on the outskirts of Chonghua, her older sister kept her by her side and put forgetfulness powder that she stole into her water while she was distracted. After taking the forgetfulness powder and falling unconscious, Chu Lian secretly took her to the path that she was certain Murong Xuan would cross. When Murong Xuan found her, he ordered his men to rescue her.

Both began to fall in love with each other, but when Murong Xuan begged the emperor for the right to marry her, his request was denied as he was already engaged to Zhao Susu. Around this time, Yue Juntian presented a report to the emperor, saying that after investigating Miss Chu's background, he said that there wasn't a maiden with the surname Chu from Lin'an—that Miss Chu was either a spy or a devil.

Because of this accusation, Miss Chu was sent to Sishu Terrace on charges of bewitchment to be used for experiments. To save her life, Murong Xuan agreed to marry Zhao Susu.

Because of Murong Xuan and Miss Chu's relationship, the Zhao Family aside from Zhao Susu herself grew restless. They paid off the cultivators of Sishu Terrace to set a fake Miss Chu free and leave the real Miss Chu to stay as a trial specimen in Sishu Terrace.

During her time in Sishu Terrace, she was kept in the Asura Room with her body frozen using spells to avoid risking the emperor's suspicion. By this point, she was already pregnant with Gu Mang. After Murong Xuan died, she was visited by Zhao Susu who had somewhat recovered from giving birth to Murong Lian prematurely, and was rescued by her to be taken to Wangshu Manor. Zhao Susu hid Miss Chu in a secret room and brought her in a discreet midwife to care for her until she safely delivered her baby. To keep her identity a secret, Zhao Susu kept the top half of her surname and gave her the surname "Lin". Miss Chu was then referred to as "Auntie Lin".

### Wangshu Manor

Auntie Lin was made into a servant in Wangshu Manor. Because of her disfigured looks, she was mocked by the people in the residence, and children were afraid of her. The only person who she was close with was Gu Mang, who was not aware of her identity as his mother at the time.

Auntie Lin would slip him desserts, sew clothes for him, teach him how to read a few words, and sing him nursery rhymes. When Murong Lian pushed Gu Mang off the swing and injures him, she found him a few hours later and takes him to get treated. Back then, Gu Mang had a lisp, and so he would call her "Auntie Ni" instead of Auntie Lin. She would patiently teach him to pronounce it properly, even if he does not succeed or when she was laughed at by the medicine cultivator treating Gu Mang. Additionally, she would sing nursery rhymes to Gu Mang to coax him to sleep.

After Gu Mang is done getting treated, she takes him to her little house within the residence, where she is then visited by Zhao Susu. Zhao Susu questioned her why Gu Mang was injured, and then berated her, calling her brainless for letting him end up that way, to which she does not protest to and only apologizes.

Afterwards, when Zhao Susu tries to take Gu Mang away, she pleads with her to let him stay with her, saying that although he was usually rambunctious, he was actually afraid of strangers. She does not succeed however, and Gu Mang is still taken away.

Later, Auntie Lin is rendered ill with an unknown illness by the time Gu Mang was four years old. Before she dies, she tells Gu Mang to not resent Zhao Susu and Murong Lian because they were "pitiful too" and that Zhao Susu was not a vicious and jealous woman, and in truth had a kind heart for *"saving his A-Niang's life".* She passes away right after.

## Relationships

### Chu Lian

Chu Lian is her older sister. After they were kidnapped by Yue Juntian, she refused to comply with her sister's plans as she thought that Chu Lian was *"disregarding the need for patricide"*, and that she chose to offer up her body to their kidnapper instead.

### Murong Xuan

After her elder sister, Chu Lian fed her forgetfulness powder and left her on the path she knew Murong Xuan would go to, she met Murong Xuan when he was out hunting along with other noble families. As time went by, they fell in love, but were not able to marry due to her status as a commoner, and thus had to separate. She then had his child later on, Gu Mang.

### Gu Mang

Gu Mang is her son, who she had with Murong Xuan. She deeply cares for him and often worries about him, asking Zhao Susu to keep him with her as she knew that she was afraid of strangers. Up until she died, she was the only servant to take care of Gu Mang in Wangshu Manor. She would secretly slip him desserts, sew him clothes, teach him how to read, and sing him nursery rhymes. When Gu Mang is injured after being pushed off a swing by Murong Lian, she takes him to be treated.

### Zhao Susu

Despite being often berated by her, Miss Chu is grateful to her for saving her from Sishu Terrace and for allowing Gu Mang to be born, even asking Gu Mang to not resent her or her son, and saying that she was not a vicious and jealous woman and that her heart was kind in spite of her shortcomings.

## Trivia

* When Zhao Susu changed her surname Chu (楚), she only kept the top half of it, giving her the surname Lin (林).
* The nursery rhyme that she sings to Gu Mang is the same nursery rhyme that Lin Wan'er sings to Chu Lan in *The Husky and His White Cat Shizun*.

## References

2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Novel, Chapter 133: Fourteen Years of First Love
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Novel, Chapter 164: We Aren't Alone
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Novel, Chapter 157: The Hero's Ribbon He Could Never Wear
5. ↑ Novel, Chapter 165: Graveyard Meeting
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Novel, Chapter 156: Murong Lian's Memories (Part 2)
7. ↑ Novel, Chapter 157: The Hero's Ribbon He Could Never Wear (Translator's Notes)