Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 113

Gu Yu Qi turned and ran towards her mother’s room.

Tian Hua Pill!

This was the sacred medicine that saved Yun Ke’s life in the previous life. It was said that there were only two pills in the whole world, one of which was in Yun Ke’s hands. He actually had not hesitated to take out his own pill.

Yan Zhi was dozing off at her mother’s bedside, her head nodding up and down like a chick pecking at rice.

Gu Yu Qi’s sudden entrance startled Yan Zhi, who calmed down after realising it was her Young Miss.

“Fetch some water,” Gu Yu Qi said hoarsely to Yan Zhi, her voice sounding rough from excitement.

“Yes.” Yan Zhi never questioned Gu Yu Qi’s orders and would always do as she was told. She promptly went to fetch water. Gu Yu Qi helped her mother sit up and crushed the fragrant pill into a cup of water, feeding it bit by bit to her mother.

Then she sat quietly by the bedside, waiting.

She waited until dawn, when the morning light shone through the floral window. Gu Yu Qi checked her mother’s breathing for the nth time, and this time, a hint of joy suddenly appeared on her exhausted face.

“Go and fetch the physician!” She quickly instructed Yan Zhi.

“Yes.” Yan Zhi rushed out, colliding with Dai Mei, who was coming in to take over the shift. Both maids exclaimed in surprise and fell to the ground.

Yan Zhi quickly got up without bothering to explain to Dai Mei and disappeared in an instant without a trace.

Dai Mei got up and walked into the room. Seeing Gu Yu Qi still there, her clothes unchanged, she was surprised, “Did Miss not sleep at all last night?”

Then she extinguished the candles in the room and half drew up the curtain at the bedside. “Miss, Madam’s lips seem to have a bit of colour,” Dai Mei said in surprise and joy as sunlight illuminated Liang Huai Yu’s face.

“Is that so?” Gu Yu Qi eagerly grasped Dai Mei’s hand, “You saw carefully, right?” She felt the same, but she was afraid that after staring all night, she might have hallucinated. Now that Dai Mei confirmed it, she truly felt a surge of joy.

“Absolutely,” Dai Mei nodded firmly after another glance.

“Thank the heavens,” Gu Yu Qi almost cried with joy, repeatedly clasping her hands together and murmuring.

She did not believe in gods or Buddhas, but with all the trials of transmigration and being reborn, she could not help but believe that there might be some higher power controlling fate in the dark..

The physician invited by Gu Yu Qi had been staying in the Liang residence for the convenience of treating Liang Huai Yu. So shortly after Yan Zhi left, the old physician was dragged over by Yan Zhi.

He first greeted them with a bow and then immediately examined Liang Huai Yu.

Gu Yu Qi nervously held Dai Mei’s hand, anxiously watching the old physician . The physician furrowed his brows at first, then shook his head in puzzlement.

Gu Yu Qi felt like her heart was about to leap out of her mouth, fearing that the physician would say Liang Huai Yu was merely having a momentary final relapse before dying.

“How is she?” Gu Yu Qi asked cautiously as the physician finished his thorough examination.

“It’s quite peculiar,” the old physician stood up and cupped his fists to Gu Yu Qi, looking somewhat puzzled. Nevertheless, he smiled and said, “Congratulations, Miss. Perhaps Miss’ filial piety has moved the heavens. Madam’s pulse has stabilised, and it seems that her life is no longer in danger.”

A huge weight was lifted off Gu Yu Qi’s chest and she breathed a sigh of relief. Even Dai Mei and Yan Zhi, both usually composed maids, almost jumped for joy.

“Old Master, when will Madam wake up?” Dai Mei immediately asked.

“That…” the physician had a troubled expression, “This old man really can’t say for sure. Miss, while Madam’s pulse has stabilised, I don’t know when her head injury will heal. It’s hard to tell if there are blood clots inside. Whether she wakes up or not will depend on fate.”

“Oh,” Dai Mei could not hide her disappointment. She looked at Gu Yu Qi, who, on the other hand, remained optimistic.

No matter what, at least the Tian Hua Pill had saved her mother’s life instead of it constantly hanging precariously by a thread like before. As long as life could be kept, there was a chance of her waking up. As long as she was alive, anything was possible.

A sudden idea struck Gu Yu Qi. She immediately whispered a few words to Yan Zhi, who nodded and hurried out. Shortly after, she returned with a purse in hand.

“Old Master,” Gu Yu Qi handed the purse to the physician, lowering her voice, “Here’s five thousand taels of silver for you. Please accept it, but I need a favour from you. Don’t disclose my mother’s condition to anyone. If anyone asks, just say her condition is still precarious.”

There were many suspicious things about her mother’s fall from the horse. If Gu Huai Zhong truly cared about her mother, why would he willingly move to the Garrison Commander’s residence? Gu Yu Qi had thought and felt that Gu Huai Zhong was the person who had hurt her mother. If he found out her mother’s condition had stabilised, she was afraid he might come up with another plan. She could take advantage of the situation, but she feared her mother’s body could not withstand it. For now, she could only block the news and continue to deceive Gu Huai Zhong.

As long as he was the one who had done it, Gu Yu Qi would hold him accountable sooner or later. For now, the most important thing was her mother’s safety. Until her condition improved completely, Gu Yu Qi did not dare to act rashly. That was why she pleaded with the old physician to keep it confidential and instructed everyone who had contact with Liang Huai Yu to keep their mouths shut and not talk nonsense.

Five thousand taels! The physician felt like he was dreaming upon hearing this. Five thousand taels would be more than enough to buy him his own medical clinic.

He had been treated well here with good food and good accommodation. Gu Yu Qi had treated him like an honoured guest, with quite a bit of respect. Now, she gave him such a hefty red packet. He truly felt unworthy. He could not understand how Liang Huai Yu’s condition stabilised after just one night.

After some shirking and pushing back, he could not bypass Gu Yu Qi’s insistence and had to accept.

Gu Yu Qi asked him to help hide it, so he would. Besides, this did not violate any principles.

“Miss, rest assured, this old man won’t say a word,” the physician said and bowed deeply to Gu Yu Qi.

“Oh right, I also have five millennium ginseng roots here. Could you please show me how to use them?” Gu Yu Qi took out the boxes and showed them to the physician. Now that Liang Huai Yu’s condition had stabilised, Gu Yu Qi was not sure if she still needed to use these to boost her vitality.

The old physician could not take his eyes off them. Having lived for decades, he was considered to have seen a lot. The 800-year-old ginseng had already amazed him. Now, the young girl brought out five more roots that were a millennium old and more importantly, they were all authentic. He truly felt that his life was worthwhile. As a lifelong physician, how many people could encounter such top quality medicinal herbs in their lifetime? Even for the imperial family, acquiring five roots would be a challenging task. This girl was truly amazing.

The old physician was mistaken though. This was not Gu Yu Qi being amazing, but it was actually Yun Ke who had brought all his belongings from his treasury to Kuizhou. He had originally prepared these for refining another Tian Hua Pill, but now he had brought them all for Gu Yu Qi.

Among physicians, there was an unwritten rule that when encountering such life-saving medicinal treasures, one should pay their respects. Immediately, the old physician knelt down and respectfully kowtowed three times towards the ginseng roots that Gu Yu Qi had brought out. Only then did he examine them with great care.

“Miss, Madam’s condition has stabilised, so there’s no need to use them as before,” the old physician smiled, “However, you can take two of these ginseng roots and combine them with other precious medicinal herbs to refine some pills for Madam. They can be used to strengthen her health and vitality.”

“That’s good. Physician, please just prescribe the medicine,” Gu Yu Qi immediately said cheerfully, not caring about the cost.

As a physician, his greatest pride was reviving a dying patient with his own hands and using the most precious medicinal herbs to make medicine. Gu Yu Qi’s words filled the old physician with a sense of sanctity. He bowed to Gu Yu Qi again, “I will do my best to not disappoint Miss’ trust.”

If he was a legendary swift horse that could run for a thousand miles, then Gu Yu Qi was Bo Le*. He never expected that at this late stage of his life, he would still be entrusted with such an important task. Now, he would do his utmost to prepare the medicine even if it cost him the rest of his life.

(TLN: Bo Le, “伯乐”, is a renowned famous horse tamer and judge of horses in Spring and Autumn period which lasted approximately from 770 to 481 BCE.)

Few civilian physicians like him, who had never entered the imperial palace, had the opportunity to use millennium ginseng in medicine.

He felt fulfilled with his life.

With Liang Huai Yu’s condition stabilised, Gu Yu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. After washing up with the hot water brought by Dai Mei, she staggered back to her room.

As she approached her room, she saw Bai Fu standing there, biting her lip in a lost daze. Even as Gu Yu Qi got closer, she did not seem to notice at all. There was a mix of joy, sweetness, and worry in Bai Fu’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Yu Qi walked closer and asked.

Bai Fu seemed startled by Gu Yu Qi’s sudden quiet approach. Her shoulders visibly tensed up. Upon seeing it was Gu Yu Qi, she quickly lowered her gaze and curtseyed, “Miss.”

“Why are you in a daze here?” Gu Yu Qi asked, puzzled. Her footsteps had not been light. Bai Fu was not usually so absent-minded, so there must have been something preoccupying her mind for her to be like this. A trace of panic flashed in her eyes as she lowered her face. Had she done something wrong and was trying to hide it from her? Gu Yu Qi looked at Bai Fu suspiciously.

“Miss,” Bai Fu bit her lip, suppressing her turbulent emotions, “There’s someone in the room.” She spoke cautiously, stealing a glance at Gu Yu Qi. Did Miss already know that Prince An was here?

Just now, she had come to deliver water to Gu Yu Qi for face washing. She had pushed the door open only to find a black-clad man sitting inside. She was so frightened that she almost knocked him on the head with the basin of water. Upon closer inspection, her face turned red involuntarily. It turned out to be His Highness Prince An.

Ever since she had met His Highness Prince An at the Huiguo Temple, he had left a lasting impression on Bai Fu. Later, after being noticed and scolded by her mistress, she had felt wronged and embarrassed, but she did not dare to think too much about it. When she met him again in Jiangxia City, she could not help but feel her heart race uncontrollably every time he was near and she would feel feverish and weak all over.

When she saw Prince An just now, Bai Fu felt like she was dreaming.

When he glanced up at her, Bai Fu felt as if her whole body had gone numb. Her hand slipped and the basin almost fell to the ground. Just as she thought she was about to embarrass herself in front of Prince An, his figure flashed and he swiftly reached out and caught the basin before it could hit the ground. He calmly used the hot water she had brought to wash his face. His martial arts skills were so high that she admired him even more.

“You’re called Bai Fu, right?” After wiping the water droplets off his face, he turned to look at her and asked slowly.

At that moment, Bai Fu felt like her heart had stopped beating. His words echoed in her ears. Before her stood the handsome figure of the man and he actually knew her name. After a moment, an overflowing wave of happiness washed over her heart, filling it to the brim as if it were about to burst.

Bai Fu felt foolish for standing there dumbly, forgetting to curtsey and everything else.

“This prince will wait here for your Young Miss to return. If you have nothing else to do, you may leave,” Yun Ke spoke again.

It was as if Bai Fu finally snapped out of her daze. She hurriedly took the basin of water away, and remained lost in thought until Gu Yu Qi returned.

“Someone’s in the room?” Gu Yu Qi frowned lightly. Then she sighed softly. She knew who was in the room.

“Alright, you can go now. Bring some food, and don’t mention this to anyone,” Gu Yu Qi instructed Bai Fu.

“Mhmm,” Bai Fu nodded before turning to leave, feeling a slight sinking feeling in her heart. Miss was not surprised at all! Could it be that Miss already knew that Prince An had come? Did Miss arrange for Prince An to come to her room? A complex mix of indescribable emotions spread through her heart and Bai Fu’s steps felt heavy as she walked away.

Gu Yu Qi spent quite some time psyching herself up in front of her room door.

She had actually met Yun Ke late last night, but at that time, her shock at seeing him had been completely suppressed by all the things he had brought. Now, she did not have the courage to open this door.

What should she say to him once she entered? Gu Yu Qi did not think she had anything to say to him. She had already said enough to him in her past life.

Yet last night, he had brought life-saving medicine. Gu Yu Qi was once again indebted to him. How could she repay him? With what?

She briefly recalled the times she had spent with him in this life, from initially avoiding him subconsciously to her current confusion. It was quite contradictory. She had sworn not to see him again, yet she kept running into him.

Gu Yu Qi could only lament at the tormenting whims of fate.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open, but was momentarily stunned. Then she immediately turned around and slammed the door shut tightly with a bang.

What had she seen? Gu Yu Qi almost screamed at the heavens, how could she be so stupid? Why had she not asked if it was okay to come in? But this was clearly her own room! She was so used to coming in that she had not even thought about it… Damn it, Gu Yu Qi cursed inwardly.

Yun Ke was half undressed. He slowly turned around, watching the clothes fluttering out of sight and the door trembling slightly as it was forcefully shut. A silent smile crept onto his lips.

It was not like they had not seen everything in their previous life. He was not embarrassed at all and did not know why a woman as shameless as she was should be in such a hurry to leave. Besides, he had not exposed anything important, he had merely revealed his bare back.

In her past life, she had been bold enough to perform a dance called “pole dancing” in front of him, with moves that were both fiery and provocative. It had been really vulgar to the extreme. At that time, although he was watching, he felt extreme disgust in his heart deep down. How could a decent young lady from a noble Marquis’ family resort to such lowly seduction techniques unless she was inherently a fox at heart?

In his slightly lowered eyes, there was a hint of melancholy dissipating his faint smile. He wondered when in this life she would be able to fully express herself in front of him again. He did not even want to see another “pole dance”; he just wished she would hold his hand again and whisper in his ear, “Qilang, I love you.”

Yun Ke regained his composure and calmly changed his clothes. “Come in,” he said to the person outside.

Gu Yu Qi responded dejectedly. Then she pushed the door open once more and walked in. This time, she immediately lowered her head and curtseyed to him, “This civilian girl pays her respects to His Highness Prince An.”

“Mm. Please rise.” It was really distant enough, listening to Gu Yu Qi’s calm tone. Yun Ke could not help but inwardly smile self-deprecatingly in his heart. In his past life, he had always spoken to her in that tone. Perhaps there truly was karma in this world and now the roles were reversed.

Even after travelling such a long distance and exhausting two horses, he could not elicit even the slightest smile from her.

Suddenly, Yun Ke felt a bit resentful. That Lou Xiao had left, yet he left behind something? He had been sitting in Gu Yu Qi’s room for so long, waiting for her all night, how could he not notice the thick handwritten book lying next to her pillow?

“The Local Records of Rouran,” authored by Lou Xiao!

Yun Ke could tell at a glance that Lou Xiao must have put his heart into writing this book. Although he knew of Lou Xiao’s existence from Wang Yan’s letters, he had no idea that this person was so knowledgeable and talented. As he casually flipped through it, he could sense his character between the lines. Most importantly, he turned to the last page and saw a painting.

In the painting, a man and a woman were sitting in a waterside pavilion. The man was playing the zither with lowered eyes, while the woman sat beside him, frowning as she gazed into the distance. Every detail of the young woman’s expressions and her pose was depicted to perfection. At first glance, it was clearly Gu Yu Qi. If not for careful observation, how could it be portrayed so vividly? As for the man, he exuded a dignified and distinguished air, like a distant mountain, with an outstanding appearance. This painting was undoubtedly drawn by the author of the book. Damn Wang Yan, he had not even told him that Lou Xiao was so handsome.

Prince An did something he had never done in two lifetimes. He picked up the bronze mirror in Gu Yu Qi’s room and examined himself, then compared himself to the Lou Xiao in the painting.

In comparison, Prince An felt that he was slightly superior.

If in her past life it was his appearance that caught Gu Yu Qi’s attention, then in this life, he must also take care of his appearance a bit.

Prince An smiled bitterly in his heart. When did he have to resort to such a disgraceful tactic as using his handsome looks?

When he saw the last message, Prince An could not contain himself any longer. He had suddenly jumped up from his chair.

He had thought Lou Xiao’s name sounded familiar, but he had only considered him as a tutor hired by Liang Huai Yu for Gu Yu Qi so he had not paid much attention to it. Now, seeing the address Lou Xiao left for Gu Yu Qi, Yun Ke suddenly remembered who Lou Xiao was!

His name was not Lou Xiao, but Xiao Nan Lou!

He was the future emperor of Daliang.

This realisation hit Yun Ke like a bucket of cold water, chilling him from head to toe.

Yun Ke remembered that in his past life, it was only after Xiao Nan Lou ascended the throne that he became curious and sent someone to investigate his background. By then, Gu Yu Qi had already turned to ashes and was unaware of Xiao Nan Lou’s existence.

Xiao Nan Lou had ascended the throne 12 years after himself. Previously, he had always been the sickly crown prince of Daliang. Yun Ke had learned from the secret archives that he had once used the name Lou Xiao, and the address he left behind was none other than the Guang Ping County Prince’s palace in Daliang. He was the prince of the Guang Ping County of Daliang, not an imperial prince. By calculation, the current emperor of Daliang should be his paternal uncle. So Yun Ke found himself somewhat interested in his eventual rise to power.

If he himself had ascended to the throne by stepping on the corpses of his brothers, then Xiao Nan Lou had climbed over the bodies of his own kin.

The fact that someone as patient and cunning as Xiao Nan Lou had been by Gu Yu Qi’s side as a tutor for so long made Yun Ke feel a chill down his spine. Xiao Nan Lou had gone to such lengths to write something like this for Gu Yu Qi. His motive was truly devious. Did he mean to make Gu Yu Qi remember him at every moment?

Yun Ke found that he really did not like the future emperor of Daliang at all.

However, Yun Ke regained his composure. Gu Yu Qi was right in front of him now, and he could not afford to mess up his own position first.

“How is your mother?” Yun Ke tried his best to ask in a tone that he thought was gentle enough.

“Thank you, Your Highness. The Tian Hua Pill was very effective. The physician said my mother’s condition is stable now,” Gu Yu Qi replied, bowing her head.

“Stability is good,” Yun Ke nodded, “Regarding her fall, you think…”

“It’s not an accident!” Gu Yu Qi did not wait for Yun Ke to finish speaking before she spoke directly. She lifted her eyes to look at Yun Ke. The sudden anger flashing in her red-tinged eyes sent a shiver down Yun Ke’s spine. “This civilian girl assures Your Highness, Mother’s fall was deliberately caused.”

“Do you have any evidence?” Yun Ke asked after a moment of thought.

“No,” Gu Yu Qi shook her head slowly, her voice filled with hatred, “But this civilian girl will definitely find evidence.”

“If you need, I can help you,” Yun Ke said without hesitation.

Gu Yu Qi fell silent and Yun Ke watched her with embarrassment. In the morning light, the contours of the young girl’s face became even more profound. Her tightly pursed lips lacked a bit of colour, and a small crease appeared between her eyebrows. Yun Ke suddenly had the urge to reach out and pull her slender figure into his arms, whispering softly that she did not have to be so strong, that she could allow herself to be vulnerable and let him take care of all her problems.

This life, he would make up for everything he had neglected in the past.