Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 119

The Virtuous Consort was at her wits’ end with Yun Yi. For several days in a row, he came to the palace, each time bringing a new assortment of gifts. Normally, a mother should be pleased when her son visits and presents her with gifts. However, the Virtuous Consort found her son’s behaviour profoundly unsettling.

She had scolded him and shouted at him, and had even thrown things around her room at her son in frustration, but Yun Yi remained resolute, kneeling steadfastly, demanding to marry Gu Yu Qi.

The Virtuous Consort was so infuriated she almost choked on her own breath.

What was so good about this Gu Yu Qi?! No matter how many times the Ding Yuan Marquis had saved the Emperor’s life, he was still a new noble from a humble background, so how could he compete with the great families of the Qi dynasty? Moreover, causing such an argument with her over a woman only made the Virtuous Consort despise Gu Yu Qi more and more.

But so what if she disliked her when her son liked her?

This went on for five or six days. The Virtuous Consort felt an urge to flee every time she saw her son approach.

“Enough!” she finally said, standing firmly at the entrance to her palace and barring Yun Yi from entering, “You can stop with all this nonsense. I’ll just agree.”

Yun Yi, who had expected another round of “fighting” with his mother, had not expected his mother to surrender so quickly and was overjoyed.

“Thank you, Consort Mother,” he said, letting out a long sigh and bowing deeply to the Virtuous Consort. “When will Consort Mother speak to Father the Emperor about this?”

“You child!” the Virtuous Consort felt as if her entire life was dedicated to repaying debts to Yun Yi. She must have owed him a great deal in a past life. She glared at him with irritation, “I’ll go right now!”

“Thank you, Consort Mother,” Yun Yi beamed, following closely behind the Virtuous Consort.

“However, there is one condition,” the Virtuous Consort stopped abruptly after a few steps and turned slightly to face her son, “Although I’ve agreed to let that girl marry into your household, that girl is wild and hard to discipline, so you must be strict with her. Also, you must not spoil her lawlessly just because you’re fond of her. She’s already defied the Ding Yuan Marquis in his own house. If she commits any serious offences once she’s in your household, it will be you who suffers the consequences. You need to be careful! Her status cannot be too high. At most, she can only be a Noble Concubine. If you allow her to overstep her bounds and bully your princess, don’t blame me for dealing with her harshly.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Whatever you say, Consort Mother. I will listen to everything,” Yun Yi was willing to comply with any demand, as long as it meant he could have Gu Yu Qi.

The Virtuous Consort snorted coldly, “You say that now, but if you truly listened to everything I said, I wouldn’t need to go to your Father the Emperor.”

“No, Consort Mother. I’ll agree to anything else, just not this… Please, say yes to this one request,” Yun Yi pleaded, clinging to the Virtuous Consort’s hand like a child.

Seeing her son behaving so pathetically over Gu Yu Qi, the Virtuous Consort sighed inwardly in helplessness.

She could not fathom what kind of magic potion this girl Gu Yu Qi had fed Yun Yi. Fortunately, Zhang Wan Yi, this daughter-in-law, was not someone who was easily pushed around. When Gu Yu Qi arrived, at least there would be someone to keep her in check, otherwise, the Virtuous Consort would be really uneasy about Gu Yu Qi.

“Remember this as well, Wan Yi hasn’t had any signs of pregnancy yet. Once the girl from the Gu family is brought into the house, you must not let her get pregnant before Wan Yi. You must always remember who your main wife is,” the Virtuous Consort still warned worriedly. If a concubine’s child was born before the legitimate wife’s, it could bring endless unrest to the household.

Her son had never made her worry about other matters, but this matter with Gu Yu Qi had caused her such worry.

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Yun Yi nodded vigorously. “Consort Mother, go quickly. I’ll be right here, waiting for Consort Mother’s good news,” he urged her impatiently.

The Virtuous Consort gave him a resigned glance, tidied her appearance slightly, and then with all her grace, headed towards the southern study.

Entering through the grand doors of the southern study, she knelt and bowed before personally presenting a bowl of nourishing soup she had brought from the imperial kitchen to the Emperor.

She stole a glance at the Emperor’s expression. He seemed to be in a good mood, so she smiled, “Your Majesty, I’ve come today to ask a favour.”

The Emperor was indeed in high spirits. Princess Ping Hu had just come and resolved an issue for him, leaving him feeling quite at ease.

“Go on,” Emperor Jing said, smiling down at the words he had just written on his desk.

“I’ve come to ask Your Majesty to grant someone to Yi’er,” the Virtuous Consort said, bowing to Emperor Jing.

“Yi’er?” the Emperor looked up at his beloved consort with confusion, “Who?”

“Your Majesty mentioned a few days ago about rewarding the girl from the Gu family?” the Virtuous Consort smiled, “I was thinking, since she has done such a great service to Your Majesty, why not keep her within the imperial family? It’s just that the girl’s reputation has been somewhat damaged before. I was thinking, how about having her marry into Prince Jing’s palace as a Noble Concubine first, to quell any outside gossip. Later, we could elevate her to the status of a secondary consort. This way, firstly, everyone will remember Your Majesty’s generosity. Secondly, the Ding Yuan Marquis and Your Majesty have always been close. Wouldn’t it be better to strengthen your relationship by having the children marry so you become in-laws? This way kills two birds with one stone. Your Majesty won’t have to think about any other rewards for that girl. What reward could be greater than becoming part of the imperial family?”

Hearing this, the Emperor looked intently at his beloved consort. This made the Virtuous Consort feel uneasy, wondering if she had misspoken.

After a long pause, the Emperor finally smiled, “You needn’t trouble yourself with the girl from Gu Huai Zhong’s family.”

The Virtuous Consort’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly asked, “Has Your Majesty already given a reward?”

“Princess Ping Hu came just now,” the Emperor said, picking up his brush. The attendant eunuch beside him immediately laid a fresh piece of paper on the desk. As the Emperor began writing, he continued, “I’ve already instructed the Ministry of Rites to prepare an edict to allow Gu Yu Qi to be Xiao Qi’s second wife. You know Xiao Qi’s princess passed away quite a long time ago. Xiao Qi is a reserved child and doesn’t talk much. He has a young son at home but no woman to take care of him. I feel quite sorry for him. Princess Ping Hu mentioned that while Xiao Qi was in Jiangxia City, that Gu girl took care of him and even saved his life. It’s a match made in heaven, don’t you think?”

The Virtuous Consort was surprised for a long moment. Then she quickly smiled, “Yes, yes, Your Majesty is absolutely right. Now that it’s been mentioned, it’s true. Xiao Qi’s life was saved by the Gu family’s daughter after all. It’s truly a wonderful story. Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

“Haha,” the Emperor laughed, feeling relieved, “Xiao Qi was practically raised by you. Now that he’s taking a second wife, you’ll need to help oversee things.”

“Of course, I will not let Your Majesty down,” the Virtuous Consort replied, curtseying deeply. After chatting with the Emperor a little longer, she took her leave.

Since when did Yun Ke and Princess Ping Hu become so close?

As she left the southern study, the Virtuous Consort frowned. This was not a good sign. Princess Ping Hu, that widow, liked to meddle in everyone’s business. Now she had managed to get ahead of her. Though the Virtuous Consort did not want Gu Yu Qi to enter Prince Jing’s palace and Princess Ping Hu’s actions should be considered helpful to her, it was also intercepting her. This made the Virtuous Consort unhappy, very unhappy. It was one thing for her to abandon the idea herself, but to have someone else intercept felt as unpleasant as swallowing a fly.

Yun Ke, that boy, had not come to her for help but had gone to find Princess Ping Hu instead? Was he trying to distance himself from her?

A cold glint flashed in the Virtuous Consort’s eyes. Yun Ke, that ungrateful brat. Was he now thinking he could spread his wings and fly away just because he had gained a little favour from the Emperor? Did he think he could escape her control?

Haha, if it were that easy for Yun Ke to slip out of her grasp, she would not be the Virtuous Consort.

Yun Yi was waiting happily in the Virtuous Consort’s chambers. Seeing the Virtuous Consort returning at a distance surrounded by attendants, he rushed to meet her, asking eagerly , “How did it go, Consort Mother?”

Seeing the hopeful look in her son’s eyes, a surge of anger welled up in the Virtuous Consort’s heart. “How did it go? That old widow Ping Hu beat us to it!” she spat, dismissing the attendants around her.

“What do you mean?” Yun Yi said anxiously.

“Your father the Emperor has already decreed that Gu Yu Qi is to marry your dear younger brother as his second wife!” the Virtuous Consort rolled her eyes at her son.

“What?” Yun Yi felt as if he had been struck by lightning when he heard this. He stumbled back dejectedly, staring blankly at his mother, “Father the Emperor has betrothed Gu Yu Qi to Yun Ke? How is that possible? If Yun Ke had any intention of marrying Gu Yu Qi, why didn’t Consort Mother know, and why didn’t I know?!”

“Ha, don’t ask me, go ask your precious brother!” the Virtuous Consort replied sarcastically

“You’re right!” Yun Yi’s whole body suddenly shook with rage. His anger surged to his head, and he flung his robe dramatically. “Consort Mother, I’m going to Yun Ke right now to ask what’s going on!”

Before the Virtuous Consort could say anything further, Yun Yi hastily bowed and strode out of the room.

“Someone,” the Virtuous Consort rushed to the door and called out to Yun Yi’s guards, “Follow your master and ensure he doesn’t cause any trouble!”

The Crown Prince’s men were always watching closely and the last thing she needed was Yun Yi to fight Yun Ke at such a critical time.

The Virtuous Consort was naturally worried about her son.

However, she was also keen to see how Yun Ke would end this. If the boy had indeed harboured such rebellious thoughts, she would not allow him to stay.

She had nurtured Yun Ke all these years to support her own son, not to become an obstacle.

Yun Yi, seething with rage, had stormed out of the palace and rode directly to Prince An’s residence. He did not even wait for the gatekeeper to announce him and galloped straight in.

“Yun Ke!” Yun Yi shouted as he rode up to Yun Ke’s study, “Come out for this prince!”

The door to the study creaked open and a tall, graceful figure appeared. “Hello, Fifth Brother,” he said, walking out of the study and bowing to the furious Yun Yi.