Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 109

“Madam is in her room. Sister Chun Xing has already gone to fetch the physician,” the servant, newly recruited from Kuizhou, hurriedly replied with a bow.

Gu Yu Qi pushed him aside without a second thought, disregarding any sense of propriety. Picking up the hem of her skirts, she ran swiftly towards Liang Huai Yu’s room. Along the way, people gave way to Gu Yu Qi, leaving her a clear passage.

When she reached the door of Liang Huai Yu’s room, Gu Yu Qi slowed her pace. She suppressed her chaotic thoughts and stepped inside.

Qiu Yue and Dong Mei were inside. Xia He was just about to carry a basin of bloody water outside. Gu Yu Qi looked at the basin of red stained water and felt dizzy again. She had never had a problem with seeing blood, but she really could not bear seeing her mother’s blood.

“How is my mother?” Gu Yu Qi walked in, trying hard to keep calm, and asked Qiu Yue with a low voice.

Qiu Yue and Dong Mei were gently cleaning Liang Huai Yu’s wounds. Both of their faces were pale. When they saw Gu Yu Qi enter, they stood up and curtseyed, then stepped aside.

Only then did Gu Yu Qi finally see Liang Huai Yu who had been placed on the bed. She must have hit her head on something hard when she fell. There was a bloody gash on her forehead and the left side of her face was scratched with a cut near her eye. Qiu Yue and Dong Mei had already removed the foreign objects from the wounds, but they were still bleeding. Blood trickled down her cheek, staining half of her clothes. Some parts of her clothes were torn and broken off, revealing parts of her skin.

Liang Huai Yu lay motionless like a rag doll. Her face was pale, her eyes were tightly shut, and her lips were also slightly pale.

Gu Yu Qi approached and cautiously sat down beside the bed. She reached out to feel Liang Huai Yu’s breath.

Her hands were trembling. She was afraid she would not be able to detect her mother’s breathing. Fortunately, she felt her faint breath brush against her fingers. The tension from the worry she had been holding onto eased slightly.

“When will the physician arrive?” Gu Yu Qi tried hard to keep calm. She looked up at Qiu Yue and Dong Mei.

“Sister Chun Xing has already gone. He should be here soon,” Qiu Yue said softly.

“Okay,” Gu Yu Qi took the damp silk handkerchief from Qiu Yue’s hand and began to clean Liang Huai Yu’s wounds little by little, taking over the task from Qiu Yue.

She struggled to maintain calm, “What happened exactly?”

“In response to Young Miss,” Xia He said, returning after pouring out the water. She had accompanied Liang Huai Yu out and hearing Gu Yu Qi’s question, she immediately explained, “Madam’s horse got frightened for some reason and ran forward wildly. The Marquis chased after her first. We and the other guards followed behind. The Marquis tried to stop Madam’s horse, but his own horse stumbled and threw the Marquis off. Madam’s horse continued galloping madly until it tripped over a tree stump in the woods. Both Madam and the horse rolled quite a distance. The horse broke its neck and died on the spot, while Madam ended up like this. We didn’t dare delay and immediately brought Madam back.”

“The horse got frightened?” Gu Yu Qi’s eyes flashed, “Has the horse’s body been brought back?”

“With such a big incident, Sister Chun Xing and this servant were too frightened to think straight. We just brought Madam back, but nobody attended to the horse. It should still be in the woods,” Xia He replied.

“Take Zhang Lan and a few others, go and bring that horse back,” Gu Yu Qi ordered, her hands not stopping. Her mind was already racing.

How could it have been frightened? Liang Huai Yu was an excellent rider, having even saved the British duchess during the Winter Hunting Festival several years ago. It was just an ordinary horse getting spooked, she should have been able to handle it.

“Which horse was Madam riding?” Gu Yu Qi furrowed her brow.

Back then, they had bought horses with good endurance along the way and they were not known for their speed.

“It was one that the Marquis had brought. Originally, it was to be ridden by the Marquis, but he felt Madam’s horse looked too plain and did not match her temperament, so he exchanged it for his own horse and borrowed a guard’s horse instead,” Xia He replied. She had already reached the door but stopped when Gu Yu Qi asked.

Gu Yu Qi’s hand trembled slightly. She suppressed her sudden rising anger and said to Xia He, “Understood, you may go.”

“Yes.” Xia He hurriedly left. She was in a rush and almost collided with Chun Xing, who was coming towards her.

“Has the physician arrived?” Xia He asked immediately upon seeing Chun Xing.

“Mhmm.” Chun Xing gestured to the elderly man with a white beard following her, unable to deal with talking to Xia He. She dragged the old doctor straight into the room.

“Young Miss,” Chun Xing looked ashamed, seeing Gu Yu Qi sitting in the room, “The physician has arrived.”

“Thank you, physician,” Gu Yu Qi immediately stood up and gave her seat to the old man.

The old man did not waste any time with pleasantries. He first examined Liang Huai Yu’s eyelids, then sat down and took her pulse.

Gu Yu Qi and the others in the room held their breaths, afraid that even the slightest sound might disturb the physician’s examination.

After finishing the pulse examination, the old physician stood up and said to Gu Yu Qi, “Young Miss, I need to check if Madam has any other injuries. I may need to be obtrusive with Madam.”

“Just go ahead, physician,” Gu Yu Qi hurriedly agreed. She knew the physician needed to check for any other injuries on Liang Huai Yu’s body.

The old physician apologised once more, then carefully touched Liang Huai Yu’s neck. He first checked her cervical vertebrae, then looked for any injuries on the back of her head. He examined Liang Huai Yu’s limbs, then pressed her abdomen and ribs. Finally, with a solemn expression, he stood up straight, turned to Gu Yu Qi, and bowed with cupped fists.

“Young Miss, Madam’s fall was quite serious. The main reason she hasn’t regained consciousness is because she hit her head. She has multiple bruises and scrapes on her body, which are not major issues. However, both of her legs have varying degrees of fractures,” the old physician said, then sighed softly.

“How is she? Can she be saved?” Before Gu Yu Qi could speak, a man’s voice came from the door.

The old physician looked up and saw two guards assisting a tall man into the room. The man exuded an imposing aura, dressed in black with gold embellishments, and looked impressive. However, he was covered in dirt and dust, including his outfit. His leg seemed to be injured, with one leg almost bent completely, relying on the other leg to stand and hobbling as he walked.

Gu Yu Qi’s heart froze as she looked coldly at the man entering the room, but she refrained from speaking.

“It’s really hard to say,” the old physician replied earnestly. Having been interrupted briefly by the man at the door, he then continued addressing Gu Yu Qi, “Madam’s fractures aren’t a major concern; she can recover with proper rest. However, she hit her head, so I’m afraid…”

“Physician,” Gu Yu Qi knew exactly what the two words “I’m afraid” meant from the physician. “You just do your best to treat her. Whatever you need, however much money it costs, I’m not afraid, as long as you can save her.”

“Sigh,” the old physician naturally understood the feelings of the patient’s family at this moment. What he said was already quite tactful. Liang Huai Yu’s pupils did not react at all to light. Not only did she have a large gash on her forehead, there was also a lump on the back of her head. The hope of waking her up was very slim.

“I will do my best,” the old physician nodded. “May I ask if there is any thousand-year-old ginseng in the residence? Slice it and place it under her tongue, it should revive her a bit.”

Thousand-year-old ginseng… Gu Yu Qi had just arrived in Kuizhou, so how would she have such things at hand? Back in Jiangxia, she had received a hundred-year-old ginseng, but it had long been sold.

“Where can we buy it?” Gu Yu Qi asked anxiously.

“I’m afraid there is no such good ginseng available in Kuizhou,” the old physician shook his head helplessly.

Gu Yu Qi immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Right, there were some officials from Kuizhou outside.

She originally wanted to turn around and run out immediately, but when she saw Gu Huai Zhong standing over there with someone supporting him, how could she dare to leave him here?

“Marquis,” Gu Yu Qi walked up to Gu Huai Zhong and bowed, “Please help and ask the noble families of Kuizhou which one of their residences has a thousand-year-old ginseng. As long as they are willing to part with it, however much money they want, I’m willing to give.”

When Gu Huai Zhong heard Gu Yu Qi calling him “Marquis,” he felt unhappy.

He deliberately put on a look of distress. “Ah Nan, are you even unwilling to acknowledge your father now?”

“Marquis, now is not the time for such talk. If Marquis won’t go, then this civilian girl will go myself.” Gu Yu Qi felt a wave of sadness in her heart. At this point, he was not even immediately going to ask for help but still putting on an act. Who was he pretending for?

“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll go and ask.” Gu Huai Zhong sensed Gu Yu Qi’s displeasure and immediately changed his tone.

He signalled for the guards to help him out again.

After leaving Liang Huai Yu’s room, a sinister smile flashed across Gu Huai Zhong’s eyes.

Fight him? Little girl, you’re still too young.

Gu Yu Qi was as guarded against him as an iron bucket. Naturally, he could not do anything suspicious in the residence. Yet, having been married to Liang Huai Yu for many years, how could he not know Liang Huai Yu’s temperament and character?

These days, he had been deliberately flattering and pretending to care about Liang Huai Yu, precisely because he knew that Liang Huai Yu still harboured some residual friendliness to him.

Women, they all need to be cajoled. By constantly coaxing and pretending, Liang Huai Yu had naturally become less vigilant towards him.

As long as he could take Liang Huai Yu out of the residence once or twice, slowly she and the people Gu Yu Qi had stationed around her to guard against him would gradually drop their guards.

How many times had he failed to achieve his goals?

Unfortunately, Liang Huai Yu had not died on the spot. Gu Huai Zhong could not help but express regret in his heart.

Finding a thousand-year-old ginseng for her? Dream on. Even the aristocratic families in the capital did not have such rare things, so how could there be one in a small place like Kuizhou?

Still, Gu Huai Zhong went to the front hall under pretence and asked all the officials from Kuizhou.

When he acted, he played his part perfectly, showing extreme grief and desperation in front of those officials. He gave up his honour as the Marquis, kneeling down to beg them to save his wife.

The officials present shook their heads in sympathy, expressing regret. None of their families possessed such precious items, but they assured that if they did, they would definitely have brought it out to save Madam’s life. This delighted Gu Huai Zhong.

The many officials of Kuizhou were moved by Gu Huai Zhong’s apparent “deep affection” for his wife, saying to each other to look how much he loved his wife.

After Gu Huai Zhong left, the old physician wrote down a prescription for Gu Yu Qi. “Young Miss, first boil two servings of medicine according to the prescription and let Madam try it,” the old physician handed the prescription to Gu Yu Qi, “Young Miss, I need to set Madam’s bones. If Young Miss feels it is inappropriate, please can find an old maid to come over. I will instruct her on how to do it.”

“Sir, there’s nothing inappropriate. Saving a life is paramount,” Gu Yu Qi was not so conservative as to entrust the task to someone else. She immediately said, “Please, sir, do it yourself.”

“Very well. Young Miss, then excuse me,” the old physician bowed and said.

He then proceeded to bind Liang Huai Yu’s leg bones with clean cloth and splints, before straightening her rib cage.

“Young Miss, Madam’s fractures are severe. I cannot guarantee whether she will recover to her original state and appearance in the future,” the old physician said while binding the cloth. Assuming she could survive.

“I understand. Please do your best, physician,” Gu Yu Qi said in a subdued voice, struggling to suppress the tears that threatened to swell up at any moment. “If there’s no thousand-year-old ginseng, can we use a hundred-year-old one instead?”

“I have a hundred-year-old one on hand. If Young Miss needs it, I’m willing to provide it, but the effect of a thousand-year-old one is better,” the old physician said.

Of course, Gu Yu Qi knew the benefits of a thousand-year-old ginseng, but without it, there was no other option. “Please, sir, make do with what you have,” she had not expected Gu Huai Zhong to find it for her. If anyone in the mansion wished for Liang Huai Yu’s death the most, it would be Gu Huai Zhong.

If they had a hundred-year-old ginseng, it would be better to try it first.

“Mhmm. Young Miss please send someone to come back with me to fetch it later,” the old physician nodded in response.

Gu Yu Qi waited until the old physician had done everything, then she personally escorted him out.

At that moment, Gu Huai Zhong was still in the parlour, pleading with the officials of Kuizhou.

Gu Yu Qi walked past him with a cold gaze, not even sparing him a second glance.

If she found out that her mother’s fall was not an accident, she swore she would never spare this heartless and ungrateful man!

After seeing off the old physician, Gu Yu Qi immediately called for Wang Yan.

“I know you communicate with His Highness Prince An every day,” Gu Yu Qi said calmly.

Wang Yan did not offer any explanation and just listened quietly.

“Contact His Highness Prince An immediately with the utmost urgency. Please implore him to procure a thousand-year-old ginseng and deliver it to me in Kuizhou. My mother’s life depends on it. As for the price, he can name it,” Gu Yu Qi said.

Some members of the imperial family may have a thousand-year-old ginseng. She had no choice but to seek Yun Ke’s help.

If possible, she would rather never see him again.

“Yes,” Wang Yan did not say much, just nodded and left.

Gu Yu Qi collapsed into a chair as if all the strength had left her body. She covered her face with her hands, feeling overwhelmed and troubled. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her chaotic emotions a little before standing up and returning to Liang Huai Yu’s side.

Together with Qiu Yue, she cleaned Liang Huai Yu’s body and changed her into clean clothes. She sat quietly by the bedside, watching Liang Huai Yu with a blank expression.

Qiu Yue accompanied her quietly, not daring to disturb Gu Yu Qi.

The room fell into a profound silence, as if time itself had frozen there.

“Young Miss,” Chun Xing’s voice broke the silence. Gu Yu Qi abruptly snapped out of her trance and looked towards the door.

Chun Xing hurried in and knelt down in front of Gu Yu Qi with a thud. Gu Yu Qi was startled, “What are you doing?” She rushed to help Chun Xing up.

But Chun Xing refused to get up.

“Young Miss, it’s all this servant’s fault,” she had been holding back her tears. She looked up at Gu Yu Qi with red eyes, “If it weren’t for this servant’s carelessness, Madam might not have ended up like this. This servant has failed the trust from Young Miss. If anything happens to Madam, this servant is willing to follow Madam.”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Gu Yu Qi was now truly angry. She forcefully pulled Chun Xing up from the ground and tightly gripped her arms. “You’re not allowed to say such things from now on! Mother will be fine, she will wake up for sure, and you’re not allowed to have such reckless thoughts! Even if Mother never wakes up again, you’re not allowed to commit suicide! I forbid it!”

“Young Miss!” Chun Xing could not hold back her tears any longer, and they streamed down her face as she cried out, “Young Miss, you asked this servant to find the horse’s body earlier, but when this servant went, the Marquis’ guards had already burned the horse’s body first!”

“What?” Gu Yu Qi exclaimed, then quickly regained her composure.

She released her grip on Chun Xing’s arms and walked over to Liang Huai Yu’s side, sitting down beside her. “Where does Mother usually keep valuable items?” she asked after a moment of thought.

“In Madam’s study,” Qiu Yue said to Gu Yu Qi. Chun Xing was sobbing uncontrollably now and Qiu Yue went over to embrace her.

“Take me there,” Gu Yu Qi took a deep breath and stood up, leaning against the bed frame for support.

Why did Gu Huai Zhong order the guards to destroy the horse’s body? In her heart, she never truly believed Gu Huai Zhong would harm Liang Huai Yu! After all, in her previous life, it was not Gu Huai Zhong who killed Liang Huai Yu, it was Liu Yue.

Why would he do something so cruel to his former wife? At the beginning, Gu Yu Qi might have believed the horse’s fright was just an accident, but she really did not think such coincidences existed in the world.

She had sent Chun Xing to retrieve the dead horse to verify if the incident was indeed an accident. Yet, Gu Huai Zhong had actually ordered the guards to destroy the horse’s body. Was this not leaving no evidence behind after a murder case?

Why did Gu Huai Zhong want to harm Liang Huai Yu? Even though they had a bitter breakup and Liang Huai Yu had essentially slapped him hard in the face by divorcing him, they had already separated. They were far away from the capital. What could be so serious that it warranted a life-and-death struggle?

Gu Yu Qi’s mind was racing with these thoughts.

There was only one possibility. Liang Huai Yu possessed something that Gu Huai Zhong feared. He was afraid that something would be passed on from Liang Huai Yu’s hands, hence he tried everything to kill her. That was why the sacrificial soldiers had appeared on the road! Gu Yu Qi’s mind was suddenly clear and opened up. When the sacrificial soldiers appeared, she had found it strange. Their targets were clearly her and her mother. She and her mother had not offended anyone significant. Now she understood everything.

Gu Yu Qi and Qiu Yue searched through her mother’s small study and bookshelf together, but they found nothing out of the ordinary.

She slumped down in the chair in the study and thought hard, but was unable to recall anything particularly significant.

Yun Ke received Wang Yan’s urgent letter three days ago. When his secret guards came to report that there was an urgent message from Kuizhou, he could not help but feel alarmed. His first reaction was that something had happened in Kuizhou, otherwise, Wang Yan would not have used the urgent letter channel to send a message. This was the channel used to convey the most critical information and was not usually used.

After reading the letter, Yun Ke could not sit still any longer.

“Summon Du Xia,” Yun Ke instructed the secret guards on duty.

Shortly after, Du Xia entered and knelt before Yun Ke.

“From now on, you will disguise yourself as this prince and go on an inspection tour to Huzhou. Remember, once you arrive in Huzhou, you must immediately claim to be ill and shut yourself in, refusing to see anyone until this prince reaches Huzhou,” Yun Ke instructed.

“Yes,” Du Xia glanced deeply at the urgent letter in Yun Ke’s hand and responded calmly.

“Make sure not to reveal any suspicious behaviour,” Yun Ke’s eyes flashed as he spoke to Du Xia, “I will send Li Meng to assist you.”

“This servant understands,” Du Xia’s heart sank as he responded.

Yun Ke had become suspicious of him. Although he returned from Kuizhou on time after meeting Gu Yu Qi last time, he could sense that Yun Ke seemed to have noticed something. Du Xia silently sighed in his heart. Seeing as Yun Ke ordered him to disguise himself, Du Xia had already guessed that Yun Ke intended to go to Kuizhou.

The urgent letter had been sent from Kuizhou with the fastest possible speed. If it was not for an emergency in Kuizhou, why would Wang Yan have used this special channel?

What had happened to her?

After that night, Du Xia did not know how he had returned to the capital. All he knew was that after returning and reporting, he had fallen into a deep sleep for two days.

He was really exhausted, both physically and mentally, and he felt a deep pain in his heart. It made him really want to just sleep in peace.

When he woke up, he took out a hairpin that he had kept in his clothes. The first time, he did not have the courage to give this hairpin away. The second time, he did not have the chance to give it to her before he was driven away.

He stared at the hairpin for a long time, feeling an urge to destroy it. In fact, his hand had already bent the hairpin hard, but he still could not bear to do it. The sharp tip of the hairpin pierced into his palm and the pain brought him abruptly back to reality.

Yes, he could not bear it.

If she felt he was not worthy to stand by her side, then he was willing to stand behind her.

He carefully straightened the hairpin again, then tucked it back into the folds of his clothes. His hand pressed against his heart where the small jade pendant was, pressed against him.