Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 121

Gu Yu Qi sat blankly by her mother’s bedside, the imperial edict scroll having fallen to the floor. Her mind was in chaos, unable to make sense of anything.

A secondary consort? Gu Yu Qi wanted to laugh. In this lifetime, she had made some progress compared to the previous one. At least she now had some status.

While Gu Yu Qi sat in Dan Xia Courtyard, accompanying her mother, the rest of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence was being flooded with visitors coming to offer congratulations.

The Ding Yuan Marquis came from a humble background, but luck was on his side. Not only did he marry the daughter of the War God General Liang, but he also saved the current emperor’s life twice. Now, he had become the emperor’s in-law, it could be considered a promotion and he had entered the ranks of the imperial family.

Although Gu Yu Qi was only a secondary consort, Prince An had no main wife. It was possible that this secondary consort would be promoted to the main wife in the future.

Gu Huai Zhong suddenly became a well-known figure in the capital and his popularity was temporarily unparalleled.

Gu Huai Zhong felt both happy and worried. He could not fathom Gu Yu Qi’s thoughts. Even if he wanted to win her over now, he did not know how.

After sending off the guests, he paced around outside Dan Xia Courtyard several times before finally gathering the courage to go in.

“Miss, the Marquis is here.” Yan Zhi did not dare to stop Gu Huai Zhong so could only run all the way to report to Gu Huai Zhong.

Gu Yu Qi came back to her senses listlessly. She looked towards the doorway where Gu Huai Zhong had already stepped in.

She silently rose and curtseyed.

“I…” Gu Huai Zhong hesitated for a moment, his gaze bypassing Gu Yu Qi to fall on the motionless Liang Huai Yu lying on the bed. “How is your mother now?” It was a topic to start with, otherwise, Gu Huai Zhong feared Gu Yu Qi would not respond at all.

“Not well,” Gu Yu Qi shook her head, blocking Gu Huai Zhong’s view with her body. With a wave of her hand, the bed curtain fell, completely isolating Gu Huai Zhojng.

“Oh.” Gu Huai Zhong felt a surge of anger. However, Gu Yu Qi’s status was different now. In two months, she would be a daughter-in-law of the imperial family. When he saw her, he would have to kneel and salute her with respect. He could not scold her or touch her now.

“Ah Nan,” Gu Huai Zhong thought for a moment before saying, “In two months, you will leave the mansion. Your mother…”

“My mother will come with me,” Gu Yu Qi responded lightly.

“What?” Gu Huai Zhong’s mouth widened in disbelief, as if he had heard the most preposterous thing. “You want to take your mother when you marry? What kind of joke is this?”

“Wherever I go, my mother goes,” Gu Yu Qi replied, disinterested in talking with Gu Huai Zhong any further.

“Kid, do you understand things or not? You’re getting married, which is a joyous occasion. How can you bring…” Gu Huai Zhong quickly stopped himself and changed his words, “It’s unheard of for a young lady to bring her mother when she marries. You just focus on your wedding, and your mother will stay in the Marquis’ mansion. I will take care of her.”

“Bring what?” Gu Yu Qi sneered coldly, “To you, what is she?”

Gu Huai Zhong knew he had made a mistake with his words just now. This time, he thought it best to remain silent. He had clearly gotten on his daughter’s nerves.

He could see that this mother and daughter were inseparable. Liang Huai Yu had always been uncompromising for Gu Yu Qi, and now Gu Yu Qi was equally protective of Liang Huai Yu.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Gu Yu Qi stepped closer to Gu Huai Zhong, her voice icy, “Just how did my mother get injured?” Her eyes, shining like stars, burned with an intense light as she stared at Gu Huai Zhong. He felt a pang of guilt and looked away uneasily.

“She is your mother,” Gu Huai Zhong sighed, feigning a tone of concern, “If it weren’t for her stubbornness, she would still be the Madam of the Marquis’ mansion.”

“Stubbornness?” Gu Yu Qi’s smile became even colder, “You secretly took in that woman, Liu Yue, while hiding it from my grandfather and my mother at the border town, and you’re still saying my mother was too stubborn? Mother only discovered her presence after arriving in the capital, but she didn’t say a word and swallowed all her grievances. That Liu Yue flaunted herself before my mother everyday in provocation, yet my mother bore it all silently. And you call her stubborn?”

Gu Yu Qi’s words left Gu Huai Zhong speechless, his face turning red and then black.

Something was not right. Gu Huai Zhong thought about it. He had come to admonish Gu Yu Qi, but standing here, why had it turned into her reprimanding him?

The situation was messed up.

“Ah Nan, it is not your place as a daughter to interfere in matters between elders,” Gu Huai Zhong said, coughing lightly and adopting a stern tone. He straightened his face and glared at her.

“Very well, let’s talk about something a daughter should discuss,” Gu Yu Qi did not ask further, “In two months, I’ll be marrying. Although I’m marrying into the imperial family as only a secondary consort, the entire capital will be watching the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence closely.”

“Mhmm,” Gu Huai Zhong stroked his chin, “That’s exactly what Father came to talk to you about today.”

“My life is miserable. With my mother in such a condition, my dowry…” Gu Yu Qi continued, stretching out her words deliberately.

“You don’t need to worry about the dowry,” Gu Huai Zhong quickly replied, “Concubine Liu is handling the preparations. We must ensure that you marry with great honour and splendour.” He was not lying about this. He was a man who cared a lot about reputation. Now that his daughter is becoming a secondary consort, he had to do everything to maintain his reputation no matter what.

Even if Liu Yue was unwilling, she had no choice but to ensure Gu Yu Qi’s dowry was lavish.

“The dowry is a minor matter,” Gu Huai Zhong said, “Father wanted to remind you that you are from the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence after all. No matter what hardships you may face in the prince’s palace in the future, never forget that you have the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence backing you. We will support you, but you must also bring honour to our family after you marry.”

Bring honour? Gu Yu Qi chuckled inwardly. She was already very polite to not tear Gu Huai Zhong’s face with her own hands.

Seeing Gu Yu Qi remain silent with a smile, Gu Huai Zhong assumed his daughter was listening to him and he could not help but feel a small surge of pride. Originally, her maternal family was her support. Gu Yu Qi was not foolish so how could she not grasp the underlying meaning of his words?

To leverage the support of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence, Gu Yu Qi needed to treat the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence as her home and strive to bring glory to the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence first.

No matter how smart or fierce Gu Yu Qi was, she was still just a young girl. Once she faced challenges in the prince’s palace, she would realise the importance of having her family’s support.

With Liang Huai Yu in her current half-dead state, who else could she turn to for help when troubles arose?

“Your younger brother is also growing up. He will be 14 after the New Year. You know he is a scholar. See if you can speak to Prince An on his behalf, to secure a promising future for him,” said Gu Huai Zhong, “And your younger sister, she will be of marriageable age after the New Year. The strength of her future husband’s family is directly related to your own interests, right? You should help her as well once you are settled in the Prince’s palace.”

Gu Yu Qi felt an intense urge to kick Gu Huai Zhong out of the room!

In his eyes, only Gu Si Yang and Gu Si Yu were his children. What about herself? Forget it, she never expected him to consider her interests anyway, given the lack of emotional connection in the first place.

“You are the eldest sister so these are your responsibilities,” Gu Huai Zhong continued to drone on, oblivious to the anger in Gu Yu Qi’s eyes, “Only if the Marquis’ residence prospers will your position in the Prince’s residence be secure. In fact, these words should have come from your mother, but in her current state, it falls to Father to say them.”

“Have you finished?” Gu Yu Qi coldly interrupted Gu Huai Zhong.

Gu Huai Zhong was startled. “How dare you speak like that? Do you have no sense of etiquette?” he said angrily.

“Etiquette?” Gu Yu Qi smiled coldly, “Don’t try to use that worthless concept to pressure me. As you said, I’m about to marry into the imperial family. His Highness Prince An has no main consort, and it’s possible that by marrying as a secondary consort, I might become the main consort. Whether I help Gu Si Yang and Gu Si Yu depends entirely on whether I’m happy or not. As for the rest, save your breath. Mother is no longer the madam of the Marquis’ residence and even though I still bear the title of a Marquis’s daughter, it won’t be for long. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, ‘A married daughter is like spilled water.’ Since the water is spilled, do you really think you can reclaim it? Can you even afford to?”

After being rebuked by Gu Yu Qi, Gu Huai Zhong’s face flushed red and then turned black with anger. He was so furious that his teeth ached. If not for the Emperor’s imperial edict, he might have strangled this unfilial daughter with his own hands.

Imperial edict? His eyes glanced around and saw the edictlying on the ground. He hurriedly picked it up, “You unfilial girl!” he shouted, holding the imperial edict in one hand and pointing at Gu Yu Qi with the other, “You actually threw the imperial edict on the ground. Do you know that discarding the imperial edict like this could get you beheaded if someone reported it?!”

“Will they report me or you?” Gu Yu Qi laughed lightly, “I’m just a young girl, what do I know? But the charge against the Ding Yuan Marquis for failing to properly educate his daughter would be established.”

“You!!!” Gu Huai Zhong’s hand shook with rage, but he really could not do anything to Gu Yu Qi.

He stood there speechlessly for a long time. Gu Yu Qi was a stubborn person and retaliated when he tried soft tactics, and he did not dare to use any hard tactics now. Gu Huai Zhong had never felt more helpless than he ever had in his life. There was nothing he could do against Gu Yu Qi!

This damn girl. Just wait until she was married. Gu Huai Zhong would unleash all his anger on Liang Huai Yu then.

He could not believe that Prince An would marry Gu Yu Qi and bring along her half-dead mother into the prince’s palace. Would that not be an ill omen?

Liang Huai Yu! What a daughter you have raised!

Gu Huai Zhong snorted angrily, then stormed out with the imperial edict clutched in his hands.

As he left, Gu Yu Qi let out a long sigh and slowly sat down beside Liang Huai Yu’s bed. She truly felt exhausted…