Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 108

In the previous life, Gu Yu Qi had not paid much attention to her scumbag father, so she did not know much about his temperament.

In this life, when Liang Huai Yu was teaching her martial arts, Gu Huai Zhong would also give some pointers on the side. Gu Yu Qi felt that if he had not brought back Liu Yue to provoke Liang Huai Yu, he might have been a relatively good father. At least in martial arts and military books, he was willing to share everything with Gu Yu Qi. As long as Gu Yu Qi was willing to ask, he did not hold back anything.

It was just that this man was able to conceal a concubine taken from the border from her mother for ten years, which could be considered quite cunning.

In the previous life, her mother most likely died at the hands of Liu Yue. Gu Yu Qi could not be sure if Liu Yue’s actions were instructed by Gu Huai Zhong. After her mother’s death, he disposed of Chun Xing and the maids brought over by her mother, and after a few years, he legitimised Liu Yue as his main wife. Even if he had not acted personally, he still had been very ruthless towards her mother.

Last time in the capital, Gu Huai Zhong was already greatly embarrassed. Gu Yu Qi knew that after that night, the entire capital would be talking about the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence. They had already shattered Gu Huai Zhong’s reputation, yet he still came to Kuizhou to kneel and beg for forgiveness which truly surprised Gu Yu Qi.

Was he really repenting? Impossible. He only came because of His Majesty’s wishes.

Liang Huai Yu’s mind was also very conflicted.

She had indeed been very determined when she left and had not planned on returning to the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence.

But now, seeing Gu Huai Zhong faint in front of her door, she was still deeply shaken.

Especially in front of so many Kuizhou officials, Liang Huai Yu knew that Gu Huai Zhong was someone who valued his reputation a lot.

He did something like this for her, so it was impossible for her not to be moved at all.

Gu Huai Zhong knew Liang Huai Yu had a soft heart, which was why he used this act of feigning illness.

“Does Mother really want me to go back to the capital with him?” Three days later, Gu Yu Qi calmly asked in Liang Huai Yu’s room.

In fact, when Gu Huai Zhong pretended to faint and entered the Liang residence, Gu Yu Qi had already foreseen this result. So she was not surprised, “What about you?” Gu Yu Qi asked, “Will Mother accompany us back?”

“I…” Liang Huai Yu lowered her head, “Ah Nan, I don’t know either.” Her mood was in turmoil.

On the one hand, she hoped Gu Yu Qi would have strong support from her background. On the other hand, she did not want to return to the capital.

“Has Mother ever thought about it, would the Ding Yuan Marquis; residence really support me?” Gu Yu Qi spoke slowly, “He previously entertained the thought of marrying me, a legitimate young lady of a marquis’ family, to the imperial family as a concubine. How can Mother guarantee that he won’t entertain such thoughts again? Once I agree to return to the capital, getting out again won’t be so simple.”

“This…” Liang Huai Yu was also in a dilemma. Her pretty face turned pale and red alternately. She knew what her daughter was talking about, but how should she choose?

“Mother, think it over carefully,” Gu Yu Qi could see her mother’s hesitation. She did not urge her and just persuaded gently.

“Let me think about it a little longer, think a bit longer,” Liang Huai Yu frowned, continuously saying.

Gu Yu Qi stood up and left.

Liang Huai Yu continued to ponder over this for several days. Gu Huai Zhong stayed in the Liang residence, and the only thing he did every day was fawn over Liang Huai Yu. He knew better than anyone else that Gu Yu Qi would listen to Liang Huai Yu. As long as he could please Liang Huai Yu, everything else would be easy.

He seemed to have returned to his youth, finding various tricks every day to please Liang Huai Yu. Gu Yu Qi watched coldly but could not bring herself to say anything. She just told Chun Xing and the others to keep a closer eye.

Gu Huai Zhong found random excuses everyday to ask Liang Huai Yu to accompany him for a walk around Kuizhou. Kuizhou was located at the junction of three kingdoms and situated in the northern region. However, there were indeed several places with breathtaking scenery nearby, such as the Ganquan Temple and the Danxia Mountain.

Liang Huai Yu initially was unwilling, but she could not withstand Gu Huai Zhong’s constant nagging and pushing so she could only temporarily fulfil the role of a gracious host, accompanying him to Ganquan Temple once. Little did she know that after this first visit, there would be a second, then a third, and Liang Huai Yu had to accompany him again and again. Gu Huai Zhong seemed to be in no hurry to take Gu Yu Qi back, but rather intent on staying here and waiting until Liang Huai Yu changed her mind.

As time passed slowly, this process dragged on for another 20 days.

Gu Yu Qi paid high wages and Li Da was a practical man. After so many days, the street that Gu Yu Qi was transforming had started to take shape. The street designed by Gu Yu Qi was very wide, enough for four carriages to pass side by side. Initially, Li Da did not understand why so much space was being wasted on the road. However, as he stood on the street now, he could not help but but secretly admire Gu Yu Qi’s idea.

The grandeur of this street surpassed even that of Jiangxia City.

The road was paved with square yellow stones, sourced from the Danxia Mountain. The cost was not high, but the effect was remarkable. Compared to other streets in Kuizhou City, this one was simply synonymous with luxury.

Not just in Kuizhou, it would be difficult to find such a road in the entire northern region. Lamp posts with red flags were erected on the sides of the road and every few steps, there was a wind lantern hanging. Even at night, this road would be as bright as day.

On both sides of the road were neat rows of small buildings made of azure bricks, all two stories high. Not all the buildings had been renovated yet, but the overall prototype could already be seen.

Now Li Da did not need to spend all day watching over the construction site. Instead, he needed to run around the city. The roads were built, but they needed to rent out the shops to consider the project successful.

There were quite a few merchants coming from the Rouran and Liang dynasties, and they liked what they saw. However, there were not many willing to rent.

This troubled Li Da. Why was he unable to rent it out? This place was so good with wide roads and good storefronts. He had to go to Gu Yu Qi again for advice.

Gu Yu Qi revealed the truth in one sentence: there was no popularity here.

Doing business requires bustling popularity. One could not be fooled by the cleanliness of this street. What use was it if no one came? On the other hand, the original Kuizhou market three streets away was different. Despite the dilapidated roads, the shops along the street are densely packed, and all the merchants were accustomed to going there.

This worried Li Da. He had also invested a lot of money in this street. What if he could not rent out the shops? What would they do?

“If we can’t rent them out, then don’t rent them,” Gu Yu Qi said slowly with a smile.

“Don’t rent them?” Li Da nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard this, “If we don’t rent them, what’s the point of building them?”

“Relax and trust me,” Gu Yu Qi said calmly, giving Li Da a reassuring look.

Li Da did not know what Gu Yu Qi had up her sleeve, but he still trusted Gu Yu Q, so he nodded firmly. Seeing Li Da’s unconditional trust, Gu Yu Qi hesitated a bit. If her plan did not work, would she not be letting down Li Da, who had invested so much trust in her?

After all, Li Da had invested much of his wealth to work on this street with her. Otherwise, progress would not have been so rapid.

The next day, all the streets in Kuizhou City were plastered with notices. The upcoming new street was up for rent, with the rent for the first three months waived for the first three shops! Also, the subsequent shops would only have to pay one penny of rent per month for the first three months. The only requirement was that the shops had to be large enough and have enough goods. Each family was limited to renting one shopfront, first come, first served. After three months, the rent would be determined based on the average rent in Kuizhou City.

As soon as this announcement came out, the whole Kuizhou City was in an uproar.

Every day, people passing by could see the changes on that street, transforming from dilapidation to its current scale. Everyone was amazed, speculating that such good shops might not be affordable for ordinary businesses.

The merchants that Li Da had approached were concerned about this. Everyone knew that the street was built well, but without popularity and if the rent was high, they would definitely lose money. No one would engage in a loss-making deal. So even though Li Da had been busy for so long, he could not find anyone who was willing to rent.

As soon as Gu Yu Qi released this notice, Li Da’s door was immediately overwhelmed by a swarm of merchants.

One penny a month was practically giving them away for free, was it not?

Autumn was the best season for business in Kuizhou City. Furs and spices from the north, grains and fruits from the south, all were traded here. With such good conditions, who would want to stay in their original place?

Li Da could not help but smile from ear to ear. He was not just someone who looked at profits in the near future, otherwise, he would not have invested most of his family’s wealth in Gu Yu Qi. He could almost foresee how bustling this street would be in a year’s time.

With more tenants renting, there came competition. Li Da used to beg people to rent, but now people were begging him to rent out the shops. His status and position immediately underwent a big reversal.

He followed Gu Yu Qi’s instructions and copied the information of all the prospective tenants who came to inquire, then gave them to Gu Yu Qi to choose from.

Since they were looking at the long-term plan, naturally, they wanted to find reputable merchants who would be able to expand their businesses. As for those looking to make a quick profit and take advantage of others, they would definitely be excluded.

So Gu Yu Qi had been particularly busy these days. Apart from attending classes, she spent her time with Li Da screening potential tenants.

After three days of screening, they selected the merchants they believed would have a promising future and invited them to sign contracts.

All the properties on Gu Yu Qi’s side were rented out, so the landlords who had previously rented to the merchants were out of business.

Gu Yu Qi was taking their livelihoods away, so on the second day after signing the contracts, the construction site was blocked by these people. They brought thugs to block the workers outside the street and prevented them from starting work.

Li Da received the news in the morning and rushed over to take a look. Damn, what a situation, he was startled. Fortunately, he was from the martial arts world and was no stranger to such blockades and causing trouble like this.

“What’s going on?” Li Da walked over with Zhao Wu, casually asking someone to pull up a chair and sitting in front of those people, “Are you causing trouble?!” With Zhao Wu backing him up, Li Da had the courage.

Today, Zhao Wu had brought all the guards from the residence, so Li Da naturally felt confident. He had personally witnessed these guards killing so many bandits and assassins, so a dozen or so street thugs were not enough to intimidate them.

“Your boss isn’t giving us a way to survive!” The market store owners knew that Li Da had the powerful Liang residence backing him. Even the Ding Yuan Marquis had knelt in front of the Liang residence. Therefore, they did not dare to be overly disrespectful or resort to violence. They simply blocked the pathways on both sides of the street, preventing the workers from starting construction.

“It’s all just business,” Li Da chuckled, “Everything is negotiable.”

Gu Yu Qi was actually there too, standing in a small building by the street. She was looking out through the floral windows.

She had been feeling uneasy since early in the morning, perhaps because she had slept badly last night.

Two days ago, Gu Huai Zhong had pestered Liang Huai Yu to go fishing with him, and today he had pestered her to go horseback riding. They had left the Liang residence early in the morning, and Gu Yu Qi had not even seen Liang Huai Yu. Chun Xing and Xia He had gone with them, so Gu Yu Qi had brought the residence’s guards here.

She had expected this to happen. After all, she had truly snatched away someone else’s business. With such low rental prices and the promise of rent based on the average rent of shops in Kuizhou City after three months, anyone with a bit of sense would choose Gu Yu Qi’s side.

Some leases were about to expire, so those tenants naturally would not renew them. Other leases still had not expired yet, but the tenants were willing to return the shops in advance because, compared to Gu Yu Qi’s terms, it was still not as good a deal. The market was bustling so the rent there had been increasing every year. In order to make profit, the market store owners refused to sign long-term contracts with the merchants to facilitate rent increases. They only signed one-year leases, so they could raise the rent annually. Now, these shopkeepers were regretting it deeply.

Gu Yu Qi had investigated these situations in advance. That was why she had issued the notice accordingly.

When she issued the notice, she had already discussed it with Li Da. If the shopkeepers from the market came to cause trouble, it would be up to him to step forward and handle it.

After all, Gu Yu Qi was just a young girl. Among this group of men, her words would not carry much weight.

Li Da remained calm and composed. According to Gu Yu Qi’s instructions beforehand, he had chairs brought in and he asked all the market store owners to sit down.

Although the market store owners were angry, they could not do anything against Li Da’s strong backing. They could only sit down after bracing themselves and negotiate with Li Da.

Gu Yu Qi’s solution was simple. They would let the market store owners invest through shares for the renovation plan to transform the market. As long as they were willing to use their land to buy shares, Gu Yu Qi would cover all other renovation costs. The ownership of the renovated street would still belong to them but for other things, such as the final say in how it would be used, would be up to Gu Yu Qi.

Upon hearing this, the market store owners all wondered, could there really be such a good thing? They looked at each other and none of them could believe their ears. Had they heard it right? Was this not just like a pie falling from the sky? They looked at the street behind them, imagining their own shabby buildings and the dirty, narrow streets turning into a similarly grand and magnificent scene. No matter how they thought about it, it felt like a dream come true.

Seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces, Li Da knew that Gu Yu Qi’s next plan was likely to succeed. He truly admired Gu Yu Qi’s intelligence. How could she come up with so many brilliant ideas, each one a potential gold mine?

If Gu Yu Qi’s plan could be successfully implemented, Li Da figured he would not even have to bother bending down to pick up a copper coin that fell in front of him in the future. The time he spent bending down would be worth more than the copper coin he would pick up.

Gu Yu Qi had simply borrowed from the modern commercial real estate operation model, which she considered commonplace. However, in ancient times, it was unheard of.

Li Da explained Gu Yu Qi’s plan in detail and the market store owners began to calculate with their fingers.

“Would you like a few abacuses?” Li Da asked politely as he watched them with an amused expression.

“Yes,” someone nodded.

Li Da had anticipated this and had Zhao Wu bring over a few abacuses to give to the market store owners.

Those who were skilled with the abacus swiftly calculated on the beads and their faces lit up with joy after a few calculations.

“Is what Brother Li said true?” someone asked tentatively.

“Of course it’s true, more real than pearls!” Li Da laughed.

The market store owners huddled together, discussing among themselves. Finally, one of them stepped forward, clasping his fists towards Li Da, “After discussing with my brothers, we’ve decided to join Brother Li!”

He spoke so determinedly that Li Da also felt cheerful. He stood up immediately and clasped his fists towards everyone, “Then let’s find a place to discuss the details!”

Gu Yu Qi’s intention was indeed to let them become shareholders, but they would not be involved in any subsequent operations. Instead, they would receive dividends based on the amount of land each of them had contributed.

These market store owners originally just rented out their properties and collected rent, so they naturally would not care about how the businesses were run. As long as they received their money, it was fine. However, they could not just say that during the negotiations. Gu Yu Qi wanted Li Da to explain to the market store owners in detail what the transformed market would look like and what functions it would serve.

The market store owners were speechless and up until Li Da finished speaking, they were still trying to process everything.

According to Gu Yu Qi’s idea, the original market was to be transformed into a food and entertainment district, complete with a musical establishment.

Kuizhou was at the junction of three kingdoms so it attracted a large number of merchants. However, due to its poor conditions, it was not considered prosperous. However, after Gu Yu Qi’s transformation, the situation would change drastically. With a clean and tidy market, along with a few high-quality inns and restaurants offering a variety of cuisines, plus dance and music performances featuring musicians and dancers from different empires, business was bound to flourish.

If the current street played the role of a stepping stone for attracting visitors, then the transformed market would be the rope binding merchants from all over the world to Kuizhou.

On the current street, Gu Yu Qi owned all the properties but she only leased them out and collected rent without participating in the management of the shops. The upcoming market would be owned by the original owners, with Gu Yu Qi personally dispatching people to manage it. With two different models operating on the two streets, Gu Yu Qi would reap abundant profits.

As long as these two streets could be successfully operated, Kuizhou would become the most prosperous commercial and trade centre in the region, gradually attracting all the surrounding merchants. It would gradually attract merchants nearby. Then, Gu Yu Qi would gradually transform other streets in different ways.

Before long, Kuizhou would become the most important town in the northern region.

This was the vision Gu Yu Qi initially showed Li Da, and now Li Da was sprinting towards this goal.

While Li Da negotiated outside, Gu Yu Qi sat quietly inside, listening. Before they knew it, it was already noon. Li Da’s negotiations went smoothly, and not only did the market store owners dismiss their hired thugs, but they also insisted on treating Li Da to a meal. Li Da did not refuse and went along. Only then did Gu Yu Qi step out of the room.

“Young Miss, shall we return to the residence?” Zhao Wu asked as he followed behind.

“Mhmm, let’s go back,” Gu Yu Qi nodded.

They had just descended the stairs when Bai Fu rushed over, looking panicked, “Young Miss, something terrible has happened!”

“What’s wrong?” Gu Yu Qi felt a sudden heaviness in her chest, causing her to feel dizzy. She reached out to grab onto the staircase railing, overcome by a ominous foreboding feeling. What was happening to her? She had been feeling uneasy since early in the morning.

“Madam… Something happened to Madam!” Bai Fu gasped for breath.

Gu Yu Qi felt her body sway slightly. Her vision darkened for a moment and she almost fell down the stairs, “What happened to Madam?” She struggled to steady herself, her voice urgent.

“Madam and the Marquis went horseback riding in the outskirts. Just now, the Marquis’ guards rushed back in a panic, saying that something had happened to both the Marquis and Madam,” Bai Fu said anxiously.

“Exactly what happened?!” Gu Yu Qi felt her insides being torn apart and even her breathing became rapid. She quickly ran down the stairs and grabbed Bai Fu’s arm, her fingers almost digging into her flesh.

“The Marquis fell off his horse and broke his leg,” Bai Fu said, “Madam…” She faltered, unable to meet Gu Yu Qi’s gaze.

“Speak!” Gu Yu Qi felt like she was about to die from anxiety!

“Madam’s horse was startled and threw her off to the ground. Madam is unconscious and won’t wake up,” Bai Fu said. Her arm was suddenly released. Gu Yu Qi had already rushed out, her figure disappearing into the distance.

“Where is Madam now?” Gu Yu Qi asked as she ran outside.

“Madam has been brought back to the residence,” Bai Fu hurriedly replied, following behind immediately.

Gu Yu Qi did not even know what was going through her mind. Her thoughts were blank, except for five words flashing relentlessly in her mind: mother has had an accident.

She had no time to think about why things went wrong, she just wanted to get home right away. She was really scared. After all, her mother’s life was something she had stolen. No wonder she had been restless these past few days, haunted every night. Especially today, she felt her heart beating faster than usual.

She had only been away for a morning, how could something so big happen?

How did the horse get startled? Was it Gu Huai Zhong’s doing?

She did not have the energy to consider these anymore. She just wanted to see Liang Huai Yu as soon as possible.

When Gu Yu Qi returned to the Liang residence, several sedan chairs were parked at the Liang residence’s gate.

Officials from Kuizhou had also received news that the Ding Yuan Marquis had fallen from his horse and was injured. They had rushed to the Liang residence one after another.

“Where’s my mother?” Gu Yu Qi grabbed a servant from the residence and asked urgently.