Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 140

Seeing the servants of the Princess’ palace were still in a daze, Bai Fu and Ran mo took the initiative to act. Xia He and Chun Xing had been left behind in Ximu Alley to protect her mother. Among the maids here, only Bai Fu and Ran Mo knew martial arts. They each took a side and heaved the heavy iron gate shut, securing it with the heavy bolt.

“There are still others who haven’t returned!” Gu Si Yu suddenly screamed, thinking who knew what, “Eldest Sister, are you not going to care about their lives?” Her words immediately made everyone who had entered the courtyard with the princess look at Gu Yu Qi. Some even looked visibly discontent, as though agreeing with Gu Si Yu that it was heartless to protect oneself at the expense of others.

Gu Yu Qi’s expression grew solemn as she glanced sharply at Gu Si Yu, then let out a faint cold laugh, “Since you are so concerned about others’ lives, how about I send you out to find them one by one, earning you a reputation as the Second Miss Gu.” With that, she stepped forward and reached for Gu Si Yu’s collar. Frightened, Gu Si Yu shrieked and fled behind Yun Ling. Her original intention was merely to discredit her eldest sister in front of Prince Fu, to make his Highness think that her eldest sister was a heartless and malicious woman. She assumed that Prince Fu, who had lived a secluded life in the temple, would naturally have a compassionate heart and disapprove of eldest sister’s disregard for human life.

She never thought that Gu Yu Qi would be so cruel and attack her directly.

“Eldest Miss Gu,” Yun Ling saw that his future wife was pale from fright and could only smile and stand in front of her, “Second Miss Gu was merely concerned about the safety of others. Please forgive her, Eldest Miss Gu.”

What else could he say? While Prince Fu had distanced himself from worldly matters, he was no fool. His years in the temple did not erase the fact that he had grown up in the imperial palace, where he had witnessed countless schemes and power plays in the harem since he was a child. Gu Yu Qi’s orders may have seemed harsh, but he understood the logic behind them. In the current chaos outside, with no clear grasp of the situation, shutting the gates was undoubtedly the safest course of action. It was impractical to risk everyone’s safety here for the sake of unknown dangers.

Though Gu Si Yu’s words were not entirely wrong, her sudden outburst in this tense situation came across as a little petty.

If she were genuinely concerned about others, she should have been thinking of solutions instead of criticising Gu Yu Qi.

Yun Ling sighed inwardly, feeling a faint sense of disappointment.

When he had spent time alone with Gu Si Yu during the past few days, he had felt that she was a simple-minded and innocent young girl who looked at him with obvious admiration. That had pleased him greatly. Finally, there was someone who did not judge him for his physical frailty. But now, he realised this little girl’s mind was not as pure as he had imagined.

“Just because the gates were closed doesn’t mean they can’t be opened again. If we can confirm that it is indeed our people returning, naturally we will let them in,” Gu Yu Qi said coldly, “But if there are bandits outside, am I supposed to expose everyone here to the danger outside?”

Gu Yu Qi originally had no intention of explaining anything. However, considering that they would all be together for the next few days, and since she needed their trust to organise them in protecting the Eldest Princess, she had to convince them. So Gu Yu Qi spoke in a cold voice.

After Gu Yu Qi said this, the others showed varying degrees of shame on their faces. Gu Si Yu’s earlier scream had caused panic among them, and they had not thought clearly about the simple truth that closing the gate did not mean it could not be reopened again.

“Alright, alright,” the Eldest Princess came forward to smooth things over, “What Yu Qi said is right. From now on, just do as Yu Qi says.”

The Eldest Princess had lived for so many years and it had not been in vain. Among this group of people, she could now see that the only one she could truly rely on was Gu Yu Qi. Her nephew was indeed reliable, but his health was too frail. The Eldest Princess only hoped that he would not fall ill at such a time.

“Eldest Princess, the fact that the Princess’ palace fell so quickly is highly suspicious,” Gu Yu Qi said quickly, “I cannot determine the exact reason, but I hope Your Highness is mentally prepared. From now on things will be extremely difficult. Would Your Highness be willing to hand over command of the remaining guards to this civilian girl?”

“This…” The Eldest Princess was a little frightened by what Gu Yu Qi said. Indeed, why had her Princess’ palace fallen so quickly? Where were the guards she usually kept? What were they doing? “Do as you see fit.”

Gu Yu Qi exchanged a glance with Bai Fu and Ran Mo. They immediately understood and flew up to the second floor of Ling Long Tower. The Eldest Princess was shocked. There were actually people around this girl who could fly over roof eaves? Looking again at Gu Yu Qi who dressed in light armour and holding a long spear, the Eldest Princess now believed that this girl might really have beat up the Ding Yuan Marquis.

Both Bai Fu and Ran Mo carried bows and quivers. Gu Yu Qi had long instructed them that once they entered the Eldest Princess’ palace, they must keep their weapons with them at all times. After all, one never knew when chaos might arise. Thus, when the chaos broke out, the two of them were already fully armed.

Occupying a high position was for the sake of observing the surroundings and providing early warnings.

“Miss, enemies are attacking from the east. There are about 20 of them,” Bai Fu called down to Gu Yu Qi shortly after leaping onto the eaves.

“Those with bows and arrows, step forward,” Gu Yu Qi called to the guards surrounding the Eldest Princess. Six stepped forward immediately. “Go to the second-floor windows and use the wall as cover. Shoot the bandits at maximum range. Aim as accurately as possible and strike them down before they get close, or at least suppress their advance.”

“Yes,” the six guards immediately cupped their fists in response then headed up to the second floor. Not long after they went up, the bandits already entered range. Bai Fu and the six guards drew their bows and shot without a word. A volley of arrows shot through the air in unison.

Apart from the six guards who had been with the Eldest Princess, there were only two guards and four maids left by her side. Prince Fu had four guards, one of whom was Du Xia, while County Princess Jia Xi was accompanied by four guards and four maids. As for Gu Si Yu, she had brought along Xiao Tao, who was entirely useless.
“Jia Xi, lend me your guards,” Gu Yu Qi said to County Princess Jiaxi.
“Mhm,” Jiaxi nodded. “Feel free to use them as you need.”
“You four, lie in ambush at the four corners of the courtyard. If you see anyone scaling the walls, handle them yourself if you can. If not, immediately call for help,” Gu Yu Qi instructed. Although the second floor was already manned, she worried that if a fight broke out, she would not be able to take care of so many areas at once. Stationing guards at the corners was essential.
“Yes,” the four guards cupped their fists, quickly coordinating amongst themselves before heading off to the designated corners.
“You two, follow him and protect the Eldest Princess, Prince Fu, and County Princess Jia Xi. Retreat to the main hall on the first floor,” Gu Yu Qi said, pointing to the remaining guards by the Eldest Princess’ side and Du Xia.
“Yes,” Du Xia cupped his fists as his brows furrowed. His emotions churned and he had been telling himself to stay calm. For days, he had been restraining himself from seeking her out, knowing full well that Gu Yu Qi was in the Eldest Princess’ residence. Yet now, upon seeing her, he had not expected the faint ache rising in his chest that he could not suppress.
Now was not the time to dwell on other matters. Gu Yu Qi’s calm composure filled him with both admiration and heartache. She seemed utterly unaffected. Maybe she really did not care about him at all.
To her, he was probably still that pitiable wretch from years ago, put up for trade and waiting for a price. Even though so many years had passed, she had not forgotten him. Yet now, he was nothing more than a lowly guard. What could he possibly ask from Gu Yu Qi? She was already engaged to the prince as secondary consort… Before long, she would even be his master.
“The rest of you, follow me,” Gu Yu Qi continued after completing her instructions. She turned to Yan Zhi, “You, Dai Mei, and Run Ying, protect the water and food supplies and stay close to the Eldest Princess.”
“Yes,” Yan Zhi hugged her large bundle tightly and nodded firmly. The three of them moved to the Eldest Princess’ side, following her into the main hall of Ling Long Tower.
Only after seeing them enter the hall did Gu Yu Qi frown deeply. There were too few people. They would not be able to defend such a large place. According to her original plan, not all the guards from the Eldest Princess’ palace needed to retreat here, but at least a majority of them should have. There should have been several hundred at the very least. If that were the case, defending Ling Long Tower would not be an issue.
At present, she only had about a dozen people she could deploy. It was really too stretched for them to defend Ling Long Tower.

The bandits outside still did not know about the tower’s defences and dared not launch a reckless attack. Instead, they had sent 20 men to test the waters. If they found out how few people were inside the tower, they would defeat them immediately.

Damn it! Plans always fail to keep up with sudden changes

Gu Yu Qi cursed inwardly.

Just as Gu Yu Qi expected, the volley of arrows from Bai Fu and the others had a temporary shocking effect. Before the 20 or so bandits could get close, half of them were already killed. This forced them to halt their advance and retreat to a safer distance.

Gu Yu Qi knew that this momentary safety would not last. She immediately entered the main hall to share her thoughts with the Eldest Princess.

The Eldest Princess had just sat down and her nerves had not settled yet but now her heart was once again gripped with unease. She had lived her entire life as a princess of peace, enjoying a life of wealth and luxury. She had never experienced this. Though she tried her best to maintain her composure, a trace of panic was evident in her eyes.

“What do you think we should do, Yu Qi?” the Eldest Princess asked.

“We hold out until nightfall and then make our escape,” Gu Yu Qi replied after a moment of contemplation.

Wait until nightfall? The Eldest Princess felt a chill spread through her heart. It was just past midday now.

The bandit chaos had only lasted two hours from early morning until now, yet the capital and the Eldest Princess’ palace had already been breached. The Eldest Princess worried whether they could hold on until evening.