Gu Yun always appeared like a nimble elder in front of Chang Geng, possessing a knowledgeable attitude towards everything, but his childhood remained a blank page for Chang Geng, so he listened with great interest.

"It was entertaining when the Princess wanted to hit him. He ran all over the yard, crying and howling as if something happened."

Chang Geng said: "As if? Then was he pretending?"

"Of course, he was," the old servant woman sighed as she walked, "when our little Marquis was a child, if he was not seriously punished, don't expect him to shed real tears. You could see him crying all over the yard, his mouth incredibly flexible, often acting pitiful, saying such things as, 'Mom, don't you like me anymore?', 'Don't you want me anymore?' 'Am I not the flesh that came from your body?' Or, 'Do you want to change me for a better younger brother? I will be better, please don't change me for a brother. I only have one mother, if you don't love me, I will become a stray child nobody wants…' Those who heard it all felt their hearts move; the Princess could no longer bear to punish him."

When Chang Geng imagined the scene, he laughed until he couldn't breathe. Gu Yun was a great strategist. He had known from an early age what 'truth and false coexist' and 'how to attack a person's heart' were.

The old servant's eyes wrinkled with a smile; then her voice suddenly changed: "Later he went to the frontier, and everything was different after he came back."

Chang Geng's smile faded.

The old lady recalled: "Every day he shut himself in his room, ignored everyone and did not cry either. When food was sent in, it would be returned the same way. No one was able to coax him, and he did not walk through the door. He changed entirely, at first he was a little monkey, after returning he was a little demon — it took two to three months for the old Marquis to settle the affairs in the north and return home. I say, the old Marquis's treatment of his son was ruthless. Maybe because of this, the old Marquis was afraid that he would become crippled."

Chang Geng asked softly, "How did he treat him?"

"The old Marquis kicked open his door and forcefully pulled him out of the room. Think about it: his eyes are badly injured, how could they not hurt in the sunlight? He staggered after his father with tears flowing, this time, it was true tears, but he didn't say a word." The old servant woman reached out and pointed, "It's that small pond. The old Marquis netted the whip around the Marquis's neck, pressed his head and forced him to look into the water and shouted in his ear, 'Look at your current appearance. Do you deserve to be named Gu?'"