Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 166

Even though Gu Yu Qi did not fully understand the entirety of the situation, from the scattered fragments of conversation she overheard, she had pieced together a rough outline of the truth.

Xia Ying had definitely not taken poison of her own accord. If she had truly intended to commit suicide, why would she have waited until everything had already blown up before doing so?

Yun Yi’s distraught demeanour, coupled with the claw marks on the back of his hand, said it all.

Yun Ke’s methods were ruthless. He knew that in order to protect the Xia family, the Virtuous Consort would inevitably sacrifice Xia Ying. If he had reported the matter directly to Emperor Jing, he would have been confronting the Xia family head-on. Yet, by bringing Xia Ying to the Virtuous Consort instead, the one confronting the Xia family was now the Virtuous Consort.

It had been the Virtuous Consort who initially instigated the marriage. Now that Xia Ying had met such a tragic end, the Xia family would inevitably begin to harbour resentment toward the Virtuous Consort.

Even if it had been the last resort to sacrifice the carriage to protect the general, it was still the legitimate daughter of the Xia family who had died.

Gu Yu Qi let out a soft sigh. The saying that a general built his success on ten thousand bleaching bones truly captured the helplessness of it all. Everyone remembered the brilliance of the victor, but what about the ones who were sacrificed along the way? Who remembered that they ever even existed?

“Let’s bring your mother back to the residence today,” Yun Ke said as he noticed Gu Yu Qi walking beside him, preoccupied with her thoughts. Though she was at his side, her mind was clearly elsewhere, so he deliberately spoke.

He needed something that could fully draw her attention.

At the moment, the only thing that could do that was her mother’s life.

“This prince has already found a trustworthy imperial physician. He should be waiting at the residence by now,” Yun Ke continued.

Gu Yu Qi trembled and came to a slow stop. She gazed at Yun Ke’s tall figure. No matter what his motive was for treating her mother so well, in this moment, Gu Yu Qi was genuinely grateful to him from the depths of her heart.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Gu Yu Qi bent her knees in a curtsy, but Yun Ke immediately seized her arm before she could kneel.

A faint crease appeared between his brows. What he wanted was not her gratitude, but the complete, unreserved affection she had given him in their past life.

When Yun Ke brought Gu Yu Qi back, her mother had already been delivered to the residence and placed in a quiet, secluded courtyard with people guarding closely outside. Gu Yu Qi’s greatest concern was her mother’s safety, and Yun Ke likewise did not wish for anything untoward to happen to Liang Huai Yu in his residence. For Liang Huai Yu’s safety, he even had one of the elders of his secret guard personally transferred to serve as her hidden bodyguard. That elder now wore the garb of a eunuch and went by the alias Quan Fu (Complete Blessing).

Yun Ke had chosen that name in hopes that Liang Huai Yu would live a long and fortunate life.

Gu Yu Qi now waited anxiously to the side as the physician conducted his examination.

“Reporting to Your Highness and Consort Rou, this madam’s pulse is steady and her overall health is quite well maintained. The reason she remains unconscious in a coma is likely due to bleeding within her brain. This humble servant can attempt to stimulate her bl00d flow daily with golden needles and acupuncture, supplemented by meridian massage techniques to promote circulation. Combined with medicines to disperse bl00d stasis and activation, it may help. But whether she can be awakened, this servant truly cannot say. This servant can only do my utmost,” said the imperial physician.

Gu Yu Qi nodded as she listened. What he said was indeed reliable. After all, her mother had hit her head and became like this. In this era, without modern surgery, traditional Chinese medicine could only go so far.

“Thank you, physician,” Gu Yu Qi rose to bow deeply. The startled physician instantly knelt down in return. “This servant dares not, dares not!”

Only then did Gu Yu Qi remember that her identity now was no longer what it used to be.

Yun Ke had business to attend to and left first with the imperial physician. Gu Yu Qi remained at her mother’s side, holding her hand and speaking softly to her for quite a long time. In the modern world, she had read reports suggesting that the voices of loved ones might awaken someone in a vegetative state. With nothing else at her disposal, Gu Yu Qi thought she might as well give it a try.

After she left her mother’s room, Run Ying brought a letter from Li Da. Accompanying the letter was another Local Records of Rouran sent by Lou Xiao through one of his men, something Gu Yu Qi had not expected at all.

She had never imagined that after all this time, Lou Xiao would still remember her academic pursuits. A sense of warmth and gratitude filled Gu Yu Qi’s heart.

Recalling how Lou Xiao’s previous book had been forcefully taken by Yun Ke, she dared not keep this one too close. She instructed Run Ying to store the Local Records of Rouran away carefully and only bring it to her to read when Yun Ke was not around. When Yun Ke returned, it was to be taken back to Run Ying’s own room.

Li Da’s letter was detailed and thorough. He relayed everything that had recently occurred in Kuizhou one by one. In this lifetime, the Gengzi Rebellion had struck Kuizhou hard. All the shops on the main streets had suffered serious losses, and even some wealthy households and families of officials in Kuizhou had been looted to varying degrees.

Following Gu Yu Qi’s earlier advice, Li Da had recruited a group of retired soldiers in Kuizhou to form a civilian militia. Not only had this group protected the street they had built, they had even managed to save the Garrison Commander’s office. These retired soldiers were all seasoned warriors and Li Da, being clever, had even hired a former lieutenant who had returned to farming after retiring from the military at a high salary to lead them. With just a bit of training, they became a formidable force.

Their commercial street had now officially opened for business. In the wake of the Gengzi Rebellion, their business was booming. The original main street had been severely damaged, while the newly built one quickly drew the attention of merchants travelling through Kuizhou. All the shopfronts had already been rented out and there was even a shortage of available premises. The plan to redevelop the old street had also been pushed forward. Back when Gu Yu Qi had been in Kuizhou, she had already spoken to the owners along the old street. Now, after the destruction caused by the Gengzi Rebellion, those landlords who had previously been hesitant were now fully on board with the renovation.

After all, compared to the new commercial street, the old one no longer had any competitive edge.

Thanks to the militia, the Garrison Commander’s office had been protected, and Li Da now shared a close relationship with the Garrison Commander himself. The Garrison Commander’s wife was pregnant and she felt grateful to Liang Huai Yu for her timely warning and continued to hold the mother and daughter in high esteem. Now that Gu Yu Qi had married into the household of Imperial Prince An and become his secondary consort, the entire family of the Garrison Commander treated Li Da with great respect. With the Garrison Commander regarding him so highly, all the officials in Kuizhou followed suit. Li Da had become a prominent figure in the region. His words carried weight, and it was easy for him to get things done. This made Li Da, who had once roamed the martial world and been treated with disdain, feel deeply emotional.

It had all begun with a single whim, he had merely been curious and decided to follow Gu Yu Qi to Kuizhou. To think he had latched onto such a solid and dependable patron!

In a strange way, the Gengzi Rebellion had indirectly helped Gu Yu Qi by accelerating the redevelopment of Kuizhou’s old commercial street.

Li Da even proudly told her that the retired lieutenant he had finally persuaded after three attempts to take the post had once served in the Liang family army.

The moment Gu Yu Qi saw the words Liang family army, she leapt to her feet. “Tell Li Da to send that lieutenant to the capital,” she instructed Run Ying.

“Yes,” Run Ying replied, taking note.

A lieutenant from the Liang family army! Truly, one may wear out iron shoes in fruitless searching, only to find what one seeks effortlessly. Gu Yu Qi had long wanted to learn more about the Liang family army. She had been fretting over where to even begin finding the old members now that the army had been disbanded. After all, it had been over ten years since the army had disbanded and whether those original soldiers were still alive was uncertain.

Gu Yu Qi wrote a detailed reply to Li Da, entrusting him with a great many matters. Given the business acumen Li Da had shown, she no longer had any worries. She could now give him full authority over the affairs in Kuizhou with complete peace of mind. As for the people in Jiangxia, moved by Gu Yu Qi’s past kindness, they too were doing all they could to manage her business interests with dedication. The shop fronts in the capital were profitable, so there was no need for Gu Yu Qi to worry about them at all. She only needed to offer the occasional guidance and strategic input.

Still, Gu Yu Qi remained uneasy. Although Liang Huai Yu was now safely within the prince’s palace and there should be no danger, Gu Yu Qi sent Chun Xing to Kuizhou to personally escort the retired lieutenant back to the capital.

Chun Xing readily accepted the task and set off at once.

After wrapping up correspondence from Kuizhou, the steward eunuch of the prince’s palace brought over a massive pile of account books and placed them before Gu Yu Qi. Yun Ke was concerned that Gu Yu Qi might feel idle in the residence and that her thoughts would wander, so he simply handed over the management of the entire palace to her. After escorting Gu Yu Qi back from the palace, Yun Ke had rushed straight to the War Cavalry Camp’s barracks without even time to tell Gu Yu Qi, only saying that he would definitely return for the third-day homecoming ritual when the bride was to go to her maternal home.

It took Gu Yu Qi two full days just to sort through the accounts and familiarise herself with the palace’s assets.

It turned out that Yun Ke had some solid family background… In her previous life, she had never even come close to these matters.

Time flew quickly and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed. The day of the third-day homecoming ritual arrived. Before dawn had even broken, Yun Ke rushed back from the War Cavalry Camp’s barracks.

Yun Qing’s reach extended ever further. He had gone so far as to send people to stir up trouble in the War Cavalry Camp, hoping to use any resulting chaos to implicate Yun Ke. After all, the War Cavalry Camp was the most formidable force within the imperial capital, and the fact that Emperor Jing gave Yun Ke command over it, even after he resigned from all other official positions, left Yun Qing deeply disgruntled. He had been recalled from Jiangxia without being allowed to bring any of his troops, whereas Yun Ke, having no position and only his title as a prince in name only, was still allowed to train soldiers in the War Cavalry Camp.

Yun Qing was eager to see Yun Ke slip up, so that he could seize the War Cavalry Camp for himself. With Yun Yi lacking military experience, the only contender for command aside from Yun Ke was Yun Qing himself.

His marriage to the young lady from the Jiang family had already been arranged, which meant that the Jiang family would become his backing. This greatly bolstered his chances in the fight for the throne. Without taking control of the War Cavalry Camp, what could he use to compete with Yun Yi, who now held sway over half the Ministry of War? So, Yun Qing set his sights on Yun Ke.

He thought he had acted discreetly and cleverly, but what he did not know was that Yun Ke had lived through this once before. In the previous life, Yun Qing had pulled the same underhanded tricks. How could Yun Ke, reborn, not be on guard? This time, the small disturbance within the War Cavalry Camp was nipped in the bud by Yun Ke. It never escalated into the full-blown scandal it had become in their previous life.