Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 149

Gu Si Yu’s mood grew increasingly dark.

Every time she thought of Prince Fu’s disfigured face from that day, she could not help but feel scared. It was chilling enough to look at in broad daylight, would she not be scared to death if she saw it at night?! Yet, this marriage had been decreed by the Emperor and whether she liked it or not, she had no choice but to marry him.

Now whenever she passed by Danxia Courtyard, she could not help but feel jealous. She was drowning in dread, yet the people in Danxia Courtyard seemed completely unaffected, especially Gu Yu Qi. Why did her brother smile at her? He was supposed to be her twin. If he were to smile at anyone, it should be her!

Before the Gengzi Rebellion, Zhao Wu had gone to seek out his former comrade. He sent a letter in replying saying that his friend had gone north for business and would not return for two or three months. Zhao Wu asked whether he should continue waiting there or return to the capital and wait until his friend returned.

Gu Yu Qi felt that the capital was now very peaceful and her mother was safely residing in Ximu Alley. So, she instructed Zhao Wu to wait there to avoid missing the person entirely. This was also a blessing in disguise.

After the Gengzi Rebellion, Princess Ping Hu became even more fond of Gu Yu Qi and the honest maid, Yan Zhi, who accompanied her. In her eyes, these two children were both sincere and genuine. She frequently invited Gu Yu Qi, Yan Zhi, and Bai Fu to her villa. The more she interacted with them, the more she found Yan Zhi endearing.

Yan Zhi had an inherently straightforward personality, entirely lacking in guile. This quality was exceedingly rare and precious to Princess Ping Hu. In this world, it was not easy to find such a pure-hearted person. By comparison, Bai Fu failed to win Princess Ping Hu’s favour and was even less liked than Ran Mo, Dai Mei, and Run Ying. Ran Mo was steady, Dai Mei’s pastries were nothing short of heavenly, and Run Ying, with her round face, was an absolute delight as long as the conversation did not involve money. On that topic, her enthusiasm turned fierce.

In contrast, Bai Fu was clever, but she had a cunning air that Princess Ping Hu disliked.

After all, Princess Ping Hu had grown up in the palace, so how could she not have encountered her fair share of clever individuals?

She wanted to take Yan Zhi into her service. However, even if Gu Yu Qi was willing, Yan Zhi was not. Seeing Yan Zhi foolishly refuse Princess Ping Hu, even Gu Yu Qi felt regretful on her behalf. Serving her meant Yan Zhi would remain an ordinary maid, but serving under Princess Ping Hu could elevate her to the rank of a palace lady-in-waiting.

Yet, it was precisely Yan Zhi’s unyielding loyalty that charmed Princess Ping Hu’s heart. Princess Ping Hu lamented that, despite her many years, she had never been fortunate enough to have such a steadfastly loyal maid by her side. Yan Zhi’s refusal did not anger her. On the contrary, it made her like the girl even more.

She even had the heart to begin inquiring about her background.

Gu Yu Qi vaguely sensed that good fortune was coming for Yan Zhi, so she shared Yan Zhi’s background in detail with Princess Ping Hu.

If not for the fear of startling Princess Ping Hu, Gu Yu Qi might have even recounted how in her previous life, Yan Zhi had been so loyal that she willingly burned to death with her in the inferno of Shui Yue Pavilion.

As expected, Gu Yu Qi’s intuition proved correct. Princess Ping Hu went to the palace to ask for an imperial decree. She expressed her fondness for Yan Zhi, stating that the girl had captured her heart and that during the Gengzi Rebellion, she had not hesitated to act as her substitute and save her life. She requested to adopt Yan Zhi as her foster daughter.

When the imperial decree to ennoble Yan Zhi arrived at the gates of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence, it threw the entire household into chaos.

No one could believe that the seemingly simple-minded Yan Zhi could be so fortunate! While others schemed and yearned for such a thing, Yan Zhi had stumbled into it unwittingly. Even as the imperial decree was being read, Yan Zhi remained in a daze, unable to comprehend what it meant. To be fair, the flowery and verbose language of imperial decrees often gave even Gu Yu Qi a headache, let alone Yan Zhi.

Gu Yu Qi explained to Yan Zhi with a smile that she had been adopted by Princess Ping Hu as her foster daughter and ennobled as County Princess Jia Min. Only then did Yan Zhi’s eyes roll back as she fainted on the spot, causing an uproar in the manor.

Happiness had arrived so suddenly that it literally overwhelmed Yan Zhi.

Yan Zhi’s elevation to County Princess was undoubtedly a cause for celebration, but it brought a new dilemma. As the adopted daughter of Princess Ping Hu, she was expected to move to the Princess’ palace. However, Yan Zhi did not want to leave Gu Yu Qi’s side. It took a great deal of persuasion from Gu Yu Qi to convince Yan Zhi otherwise, thinking about how pitiful Princess Ping Hu was. Despite living a life of splendour, she had no one truly devoted to her in her old age. It was entirely reasonable for her to choose Yan Zhi. While she could not discern the intentions of everyone who approached her, she saw in Yan Zhi an unwavering loyalty that was rare and precious.

A girl as well behaved as Yan Zhi would surely bring peace of mind to anyone who kept her close.

Yan Zhi was a good girl. After sending Yan Zhi away from the Marquis’ residence, Gu Yu Qi locked herself in her room and cried for a long time.

In her previous life, Yan Zhi had endured immense suffering alongside her. But in this life, a brand new path had opened up for Yan Zhi. How could Gu Yu Qi not feel both elated and proud of Yan Zhi? At the same time, she could not help but worry, fearing that something unexpected would happen to Yan Zhi.

After all, the life Yan Zhi was living in this lifetime was entirely different from the one she had lived before.

If it were up to her, Gu Yu Qi would wish for Yan Zhi to live a life filled with happiness and good health.

County Princess Jia Xi had already become one of Gu Yu Qi’s closest friends and often visited the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence to find Gu Yu Qi. Now a County Princess Jia Min was added to her circle. Gu Yu Qi could not help but feel a sense of pride. Her closest friends were all county princesses!

Watching Yan Zhi ascend to success in a single leap, all the maids in the Danxia Courtyard not only marvelled at Yan Zhi’s incredible fortune but also felt genuinely happy for her. Only one person was dissatisfied and that was Bai Fu. She had also clearly had a part in saving the Princess that day. At Ling Long Tower, everyone had hesitated to act and it was she who first carried Princess Ping Hu on her back and ran, prompting everyone else to follow. So why was it that only Yan Zhi, who had merely switched clothes with the Princess, received such a grand reward, while she was left with just a few words of praise and a single ornamental hairpin?

Speaking of which, when Bai Fu first received the hairpin, she had been ecstatic. It was a reward from Princess Ping Hu herself! Every day, she flaunted by wearing the overly ornate hairpin which clashed entirely with her outfits, as if afraid others might not notice the favour she had received from the Eldest Princess.

It was precisely because of her flaunting that she was destined not to be chosen by Princess Ping Hu. In contrast, Yan Zhi had also received a similar hairpin, but she had quietly put it away and behaved as if nothing had happened. The difference in their actions made the disparity between them crystal clear.

Feeling wronged, Bai Fu went to Gu Yu Qi to seek justice, only to be dismissed by Gu Yu Qi with a few words.

“Yan Zhi’s fortune is better than yours,” Gu Yu Qi had simply said lightly.

This left Bai Fu feeling even more wronged. In her eyes, Yan Zhi was inferior to her in every way. In terms of beauty, while Yan Zhi was attractive in a delicate, girl-next-door sort of way, Bai Fu’s looks were considered the best among the four head maids. Even daughters of wealthy noble families might not compare to her. In terms of intelligence, Yan Zhi was downright dim… She was clumsy and naïve, unlike Bai Fu, whose every glance radiated cleverness. As for other skills, there was no contest. Though Yan Zhi held the title of head maid, all she could do was serve others and could do nothing else. Bai Fu, on the other hand, was highly accomplished in martial arts, if not the best in the household, she was certainly among the top. Even Ran Mo might not be her equal. Or so this was what Bai Fu thought.

Princess Ping Hu must be old and blind, foolishly choosing Yan Zhi over her!

After leaving Gu Yu Qi’s quarters, Bai Fu returned to her room and sat in front of her mirror, looking at her reflection. The longer she looked, the more she felt her grievances deepen. With her appearance and abilities, had she not been born into such a lowly status, she would undoubtedly have had a bright future.

Unconsciously, Bai Fu’s thoughts drifted to Yun Ke. It was as if his image had materialised in the bronze mirror before her.

You had to fight for your future. If even Yan Zhi could clumsily carve out a radiant future for herself, then why could she, being superior to Yan Zhi in every way, not do the same?

No matter what, one could create one’s own future. Bai Fu did not believe that her future would not be as good as Yan Zhi’s!

When it came to the future, the Xia family now faced a particularly troubling issue which was Miss Xia Ying’s chastity.

The Xia family was not the only one among the noble families that suffered from bandits during the Gengzi Rebellion. Although the Xia family was originally a military family, they had long abandoned their military traditions in favour of climbing the social ladder through familial connections on a path of no return. In the current generation, the patriarch Xia Yan knew only a few flashy but useless moves, and his heir, Xia Shuang Cheng, could not even manage those. Thus, when the Xia family’s residence was attacked, everyone fled for their lives, forgetting Miss Xia Ying in her chambers.

Xia Ying had also overestimated herself. Originally, she could have escaped but she just assumed that the intruders were merely petty thieves incapable of causing much trouble. Yet these so-called “petty thieves” dragged her out of her hiding spot in the wardrobe and brought her to ruin.

Many aristocratic young ladies had suffered similar fates. Some hanged themselves while others were sent to remote countryside estates to recover. It was rare for someone like her who was still waiting to get married.

Xia Ying gnashed her teeth with hatred. If she was strong-willed, she should have taken her own life. But how could Miss Xia Ying bear to die?! She was meant to marry none other than His Highness Imperial Prince An, the sole Imperial Prince in the Great Qi dynasty! An Imperial Prince’s consort’s rank surpassed that of an ordinary prince’s consort, equivalent in status to a noble consort in the imperial harem.

Even after such humiliation, Xia Ying was determined to proceed with the marriage.

After all, the bandits were probably dead by now. As long as she could survive her wedding night without incident, how would Yun Ke ever discover whether she was still a virgin or not?

Xia Yan worried about his daughter a lot and killed all the servants who knew the truth to ensure there would be no future troubles.

For large families like theirs, they had countless methods to ensure their unchaste daughters passed as virgins on their wedding night. That much was not a concern.

In any case, the Xia family was set on securing the marriage with Imperial Prince An.

They also planned to maintain ties with Yun Yi, ensuring that regardless of who rose to power in the future, the Xia family would reap the benefits.

While they made meticulous schemes, Gu Si Yang spoke to Gu Yu Qi, asking if his future brother-in-law might persuade Ding Yuan Marquis Gu Huai Zhong to annul his engagement. He truly wanted nothing to do with the Xia family. Previously, he had no choice in the matter but given his current condition, the Xia family likely would not want their daughter to marry him either.

Time passed quietly amidst these mundane matters and in the blink of an eye, it was the day before Gu Yu Qi’s wedding.