Hearts of Gold: 1-8 Stay True to Myself

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The discovery of the orphanage places the heavy burden of tradition on Jiaojiao and breaks her spirit. Yuan Yu invites Jiaojiao's father over out of concern, but this time, his presence triggers a strong reaction from Jiaojiao.

Info

Style: No dress-up component Rewards: 3,000 , 600 , 1 , 1 , 1 , Blueprint: Surmountable Walls

Surmountable Walls

Dialogue Choices

I get ready to scoop up some snow fungus soup using...

• Silver chopsticks
  • No change
• A spoon
  • No change

Transcript

Expand for script.

• Our plan had been carefully carried out step by step for a long time, but we almost fell at the last hurdle.
• In a time of great difficulty, Wen Rou appeared just in time to keep things going...

• Several hours have passed, and it is now sunset.
• Shen Jiaojiao: There should be a result by now...

• The Shen residence is now heavily guarded. If someone wanted to send a letter in, they'd have to get it over the walls.
• I'm sitting indoors, but my eyes are fixed on the courtyard wall.
• Sure enough, a paper ball is thrown in from the other side of the wall. I hurry forward and pick it up without waiting for Yuan Yu to get it.

Wishing you well.

• I am overjoyed.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yu, it's done!

• Yuan Yu: Miss, you can finally relax now. I'll go call the kitchen to bring up some more food.

• After dinner, I keep looking at the words on the note.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, it's getting late. If you keep staring at this paper, your gaze might burn a hole through it.

• I glare at her and hand her the paper.
• Shen Jiaojiao: You are right, I need to go to bed early so that I can have enough energy to meet Wen Rou tomorrow.

• Shen Jiaojiao: The house is settled, and finally we can bring those kids in.

• With no worries in my heart, I get a good night's sleep.

• After finishing breakfast, I call Yuan Yu and plan to go to the Wen residence. But as I try to leave the Shen residence, I see that the guards that were on duty at the main gate yesterday are still there.
• I purse my lips and feel a little hesitant. I step forward without haste, but the two guards stop me with their swords.
• Shen Jiaojiao: What is the meaning of this?

• Guard A: Miss, your father gave orders not to let you leave without his permission.

• Shen Jiaojiao: (I thought my father just wanted to stop me from being seen engaging in behavior that was inappropriate for my station. I never expected that he'd actually want to confine me completely...)

• I cautiously take a step forward, but their swords are even faster.
• Guard A: Miss, please don't cause any trouble.

• One step away from freedom, and I'm trapped here.
• One night of celebration, shattered and fragmented in this moment.
• Without hesitation, I turn around and go to my father's study.
• I keep moving forward, the folds of my skirt fluttering. Yuan Yu can only run alongside me.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, please calm down, don't be impulsive!

• Shen Jiaojiao: I want to find out exactly what I did to be confined to the house!

• Shen Jiaojiao: I've been in charge of the house since I was young, and even when there was chaos, I was allowed to go out. Yet, now I'm not.

• Shen Jiaojiao: Does my father intend to keep me locked up for the rest of my life?!

• I speak faster and faster, my feet move faster and faster, and I'm almost at my father's study.
• Shen Jiaojiao: My actions are right before heaven and earth, and I uphold the Shen family's values...

• I pause.
• Shen Jiaojiao: The Shen family's values...

• My father's study is right in front of me, and the plaque above the door was written by my father himself. It reads: "Restrain oneself and restore decorum."
• I stand not far away looking at the plaque.
• The more I look at it, the more I feel that this plaque is not above the door, but suspended in the air, filling my vision.
• I can't walk past it, even though it's just a few steps away. I'm stuck in place.
• Yuan Yu: Miss?

• Just now, I walked quickly. Now, sweat is starting to appear on my forehead. When the cold wind blows, it completely disperses all the heat in my body.
• I feel discouraged, and at a loss.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Let's go.

• I turn around and leave.

• After returning, I collapse in my chair, and the words "Restrain oneself and restore decorum" keep swirling in my mind.
• I sit like this, looking out the window. The bright morning sky has suddenly become cloudy.
• I can smell the moisture in the air. It seems like it's going to rain.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yu, what exactly is decorum?

• Yuan Yu: Miss, why are you asking such a simple question that even a child would know the answer to?

• I lower my gaze.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Is that so?

• Yuan Yu: Decorum has been passed down from ancient times to the present. In Yuanning, it's been taught since childhood, so everyone understands what it is.

• Yuan Yu: Well-bred ladies have been reciting famous poems concerning decorum since they were little... Now... What's going on?

• Yuan Yu is quite worried, crouching low, watching me. I can only give her a slight smile to reassure her.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Nothing, I just suddenly feel a bit tired.

• Yuan Yu gently pats my knee.
• Yuan Yu: If you still want to go out, why not ask your father for permission? Maybe he will change his mind.
• I shake my head.

• Shen Jiaojiao: My father sees this incident as a major violation, and it has taken root in his heart. He won't let me go.

• Shen Jiaojiao: Only the matter of the house has been settled. I don't know if Wen Rou can handle everything else on her own.

• Shen Jiaojiao: I said I would share the good and the bad with her, but in the end, she's ended up bearing all the burdens.

• The heavy rain pours down, washing away the dirt and dust of the world, with small raindrops seeping in through the cracks of the window sill.
• I reach out to catch them, but can't. It makes me feel even more discouraged.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, the kitchen has made the snow fungus soup that you love. I'll go and get some for you.

• Not long after, Yuan Yu returns. The snow fungus in the small white porcelain bowl has been stewed to crystal-clear perfection. Sprinkled with goji berries, it's a tempting red and white combination.
• Shen Jiaojiao: I think about how I'll be eating warm snow fungus soup as the storm continues, not knowing where Wen Rou is at this moment.

• I feel frustrated and anxious in my heart, mixed with some gloominess.
• I get ready to scoop up some snow fungus soup using...

Silver chopsticks

• Yuan Yu: Miss!

• Yuan Yu: Why are you trying to eat your soup with chopsticks?

• Only then do I realize that what I am holding in my hand is not a spoon, but a pair of silver chopsticks.
• Yuan Yu takes away the silver chopsticks and hands me a spoon.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, are you really alright?

A spoon

• Yuan Yu: Miss!

• Yuan Yu: You're holding it upside down...

• I look down and see that I am about to stick the handle of the spoon into the bowl.
• Yuan Yu rights the spoon in my hand.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, are you really alright?

• I shake my head and begin eating my snow fungus soup.

• My father has no intention of letting me leave. I see the two guards standing at the gate every day.
• At first, my anger seems to have turned into tranquility, but... I often use the wrong spoon, put on the wrong shoes, or call Yuan Yu by the wrong name...

• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yang, today is the fifth day I haven't been allowed to leave the Shen residence, right?

• Yuan Yu: Miss, my name isn't Yuan Yang, it's Yuan Yu...

• Yuan Yu: You've been like this for five days... This isn't good...

• I sit in front of the dressing mirror, looking at myself in the mirror. My hair is neatly arranged, and every hairpin is perfectly placed.
• It's my usual satisfactory look, but at this moment, I can't stand it.
• I glance away, suddenly hearing footsteps in the courtyard. Before I have a chance to get up, the door has already been pushed open.
• Lord Shen: Yuan Yu said you've been restless lately. Are you still worrying about that house?

• Shen Jiaojiao: (Yuan Yu actually went to talk to my father because she was worried about me. What a mess!)

• Seeing that I'm silent, he probably knows the answer.
• Lord Shen: Since you were a child, you have never made me worry, so why are you being so stubborn about this matter?

• Lord Shen: You are the eldest daughter of the Shen family! Do you really just want to see the Shen family being criticized?

• He pauses for a moment before continuing to speak.
• Lord Shen: Don't disappoint your mother.

• I feel a sudden shock in my heart and look at my father with disbelief.
• Mother and Father had a deep love for each other. Since her passing, no one in the household has dared to mention her.
• At first, I brought her up with my father a few times, but he either remained silent or became furious, unwilling to accept the fact that she had passed on.
• Now, now he's actually trying to invoke Mother to teach me a lesson!
• Shen Jiaojiao: Father...

• Before I can say anything, he turns and leaves.
• Still horrified, I look at the makeup box in front of me. The carved mahogany flowers are still lifelike even though several years have passed.
• Shen Jiaojiao: (Mother gave me this for my birthday.)

• Shen Jiaojiao: (I still remember how she said she wanted me to be beautiful and to live a happy life.)

• Shen Jiaojiao: (Father, do you know that Mother just wanted me to be happy?)

• Shen Jiaojiao: (She was the most decorous person there was, but she was also the most understanding.)

• I am lost in memories, unaware that Yuan Yu has been squatting beside me for a while.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, I'm sorry, I think I made a mistake by going to talk to your father...

• I pat her shoulder.
• Shen Jiaojiao: It's alright. I know you were worried about me.

• Shen Jiaojiao: Please leave me for a moment. I want to be alone for a while.

• I sit in my room all day, breaking open my memories from these years in my mind, crushing them, and slowly piecing them back together again.
• Every person I've ever been—those are all me now. That's who I am.
• I make every decision from my heart...
• My heart... From my heart... As I think about this, it's as if some kind of blessing touches my soul, and I suddenly stand up.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yu!

• Yuan Yu: Miss?

• Shen Jiaojiao: Bring me a set of your clothes! Hurry!

• Yuan Yu: What do you want my clothes for?

• Shen Jiaojiao: I want to go out! Right now, the only way to escape the guards' eyes is to pretend to be a maid.

• Yuan Yu: Miss! This won't work! You're a young lady, how could you pretend to be a maid?!

• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yu, hurry up! If we wait until the market closes, we won't even be able to use this excuse anymore.

• Yuan Yu finds a set of her clothes for me. I take down my bun, remove my hairpins, and clean off my makeup.
• Looking at myself in the mirror, dressed plainly and neatly as a maid, I smile contentedly.
• Yuan Yu: Miss, think twice, Miss!

• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yu, after I come back, I will never do a thing like this again.

• Shen Jiaojiao: But now, just this once, I have to go!

• Others may not understand, but I know in my heart that I must take this risk, I must step through this door, I must make this decision.
• Just this once, it must be done.
• Yuan Yu: Well, then I'll go with you.

• Shen Jiaojiao: No, it's too easy for two people to be discovered together.

• Shen Jiaojiao: You stay here. If Father comes, you can stall him for me.

• Yuan Yu: Miss, this... this...

• I hold onto her shoulders with both hands, forcing her to calm down, and also forcing myself to calm down.
• Shen Jiaojiao: Yuan Yu, just this once, I have to do something crazy. I promise I will come back in two hours!

• After speaking, I half-cover my sleeves and hurriedly went towards the small gate where goods are bought and sold. Coincidentally, a group of women is about to leave, so I slip out among them and successfully leave the Shen residence.

• I lower my head and walk a distance to make sure no one sees me before I let down my sleeves and look back at the courtyard wall.
• Shen Jiaojiao: (I feel indescribable joy.)

• In the pavilion above the courtyard wall, there is a small figure leaning out the window. It looks like Yuan Yu.
• I wave at her, urging her to go back, and only continue walking after the figure disappears.
• This is my first time going out alone, and asking a carriage driver for the fare.
• Shen Jiaojiao: (So this is what it feels like...)

• I lean against the window of the speeding carriage, the winter wind hitting my forehead and nose. It's freezing, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
• The scenery outside the window rushes backwards, and I feel like I am walking on a new path, as if even the wind is saying—
• Shen Jiaojiao, go.
• And somewhere I don't see, on the top floor of the pavilion, stands a slightly older figure. It's a long time before he steps away from the window.