Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 169

Since Yun Ke was going to stay with Gu Yu Qi in Dan Xia Courtyard, Liu Yue had to send someone over to inspect it once more for any possible oversights.

If it was just for Gu Yu Qi alone, Liu Yue would not have been so attentive, but now that a prince was involved, she dared not be careless.

She led the maids through Dan Xia Courtyard step by step and saw a sheet of paper lying underneath a stone table.

“Go pick that up,” Liu Yue said to a maid. “Leaving things around, what if the Prince sees it?” The note had originally been placed on the table, but had been blown to the ground by the autumn wind.

The maid picked it up and examined it before saying to Liu Yue, “Madam, there’s writing on it. It might be something important.”

Liu Yue took the note and immediately frowned. “Behind Wang Yue Ju?”

Wang Yue Ju had already been burned down by Gu Yu Qi. Though it had since been somewhat cleaned up, it was still uninhabited, dilapidated and abandoned, with few people going near it. This… This note was clearly an attempt at a secret meeting!

Someone was being invited to meet behind Wang Yue Ju.

But whose was it? There was no name or date on the paper. Liu Yue turned it over several times but could not make sense of it.

The handwriting looked somewhat familiar, but she could not immediately place who it belonged to. Regardless, it had to be someone from within the marquisate.

Bold indeed! To dare play such tricks under her very nose.

Just then, Ran Mo returned with something in her hands. Seeing the note in Liu Yue’s grasp, her expression shifted slightly.

“Ran Mo, you came at just the right time. Whose is this?” Liu Yue asked sternly when she saw Ran Mo coming in.

“Someone gave it to this servant,” Ran Mo admitted calmly, “But this servant did not understand it, so I just left it here.”

“You are a maid of our marquisate. How can you be so careless?” Liu Yue sneered contemptuously, “I don’t know what kind of training your Miss gave you, learning to exchange secret notes already? Speak! Which foolish lackey gave this to you?”

A maid trained by Gu Yu Qi? Hah. Liu Yue deliberately raised her voice. Gu Yu Qi had always suppressed her daughter. Liu Yue was full of resentment and rarely bothered to hide her disdain. She could not deal with Gu Yu Qi directly, but surely she could handle one of her maids? She would let Prince An see for himself what sort of woman he had married.

Ran Mo frowned slightly.

Liu Yue assumed she was refusing to talk, and her smugness grew.

But in truth, Ran Mo was not refusing, she simply could not remember the boy’s name… She never bothered to pay attention to such things.

“What a whole courtyard full of hussies,” Liu Yue scoffed coldly.

“Who is Madam Liu referring to?” came Gu Yu Qi’s cool voice from behind. Liu Yue turned around and saw Gu Yu Qi approaching. She immediately put on a pleasant face.

“Consort Gu came at just the right time,” Liu Yue said as she walked over, holding the note out to Gu Yu Qi. “I believe Consort Gu should properly discipline her own maid. Even though Consort Gu has married into the Prince’s household, if word of this spreads, it will tarnish not only the reputation of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence but also Imperial Prince An’s residence.”

“Oh? What is this about this prince’s reputation?” Yun Ke walked over slowly. He had been following behind Gu Yu Qi, but she had turned a corner ahead of him.

Earlier, he had lost the chess match to Yun Ling and Gu Si Yu had been practically beaming at Gu Yu Qi. Even though Gu Yu Qi had said nothing, Yun Ke was deeply annoyed.

Losing in chess to Yun Ling was entirely normal, but he had not expected that a simple match between brothers would become an excuse for Gu Si Yu to show off and taunt Gu Yu Qi.

So, when Gu Yu Qi had seen off County Princesses Jia Xi and Jia Min, he had followed along.

He knew Liu Yue was Gu Si Yu’s mother. A mother capable of raising such a daughter like that… Sure enough, before he even turned the corner, he heard Liu Yue’s words mocking Gu Yu Qi. He could not help but step in on Gu Yu Qi’s behalf.

Seeing Yun Ke trailing behind Gu Yu Qi with his face like frost, Liu Yue’s face instantly turned pale.

How did this man walk so silently like a ghost?

“This civilian woman greets Imperial Prince An,” Liu Yue quickly curtsied.

“Civilian woman?” Yun Ke swept a cold glance over Liu Yue and reached out to take hold Gu Yu Qi’s hand.

Gu Yu Qi frowned slightly but restrained herself from pulling away.

“If this prince remembers correctly, is she not the Ding Yuan Marquis’ concubine?” Yun Ke asked Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi nodded, though inwardly she found the situation rather amusing.

Of all people to provoke, Liu Yue just had to provoke Yun Ke. It seemed that she would not even need to speak, Yun Ke would be enough to shame Liu Yue thoroughly.

“A lowly concubine who can’t even appear in public dares to refer to herself as a ‘civilian woman’ before this prince?” Yun Ke said slowly. As soon as the words left his mouth, his heart sank. Damn it. Gu Yu Qi had been a concubine in her past life, and in this life, she was still a concubine. His hand tightened involuntarily around Gu Yu Qi’s.

He… had misspoken…

He stole a glance at Gu Yu Qi and saw that her expression remained unchanged. Only then did he relax a little.

Still, he was filled with regret, he must be doubly cautious with his words in front of Gu Yu Qi from now on.

In truth, Gu Yu Qi had been affected but she had long become numb.

So, in his eyes, concubines really were beneath notice. Though she knew Yun Ke had spoken to defend her and had only ridiculed Liu Yue to stand up for her, hearing those words still stung.

“This servant was wrong,” Liu Yue quickly lowered her head and said, though her heart was full of disdain.

Looking down on concubines? Then who are you holding hands with, your primary consort?

“Tell me exactly how this prince’s reputation has been damaged?” Yun Ke hurriedly changed the subject.

The more he spoke, the more likely he was to blunder. He had only wanted to stand up for Gu Yu Qi, but had accidentally stepped on a wound from her past. Damn it, damn it.

“This servant discovered that Consort Gu’s maid was secretly passing notes with a male servant, arranging to meet behind Wang Yue Ju,” Liu Yue said, feeling disdainful in her heart. She held out the note with both hands. “For such an immoral act to occur, so utterly against propriety, it is not a disgrace to the Ding Yuan Marquis’ household, but also to Imperial Prince An’s residence?”

Yun Ke took the note. Gu Yu Qi raised her eyes to glance at it and then slowly smiled. “Concubine Liu, are you truly certain it was a household servant who wrote this note?”

“Of course. That little vixen must have been cavorting with some shameless servant behind everyone’s back,” Liu Yue replied with a scornful laugh.

Ran Mo furrowed her brow and held herself back from punching Liu Yue.

“Concubine Liu, you had better confirm who wrote this before you go around calling people shameless,” Gu Yu Qi said in a calm voice.

“Beloved consort, are you suggesting you know who wrote it?” Yun Ke was in no mood to save Liu Yue’s pride. There were only two men in this residence, the Ding Yuan Marquis Gu Huai Zhong and Gu Si Yang. Judging by Gu Yu Qi’s tone, the note had been written by one of them.

At Gu Yu Qi’s words, Liu Yue’s expression changed. She rushed over and snatched the note back, unfolding it to read it again and again. The more she looked at it, the more familiar the handwriting seemed but she could not tell if it belonged to her husband or her son.

At that moment, Gu Si Yang, who had heard the commotion, pushed through the gathered servants outside Dan Xia Courtyard and limped forward with the help of a cane. With a heavy thud, he knelt before Liu Yue.

“Mother, please don’t be angry.” Determined to defend the girl he loved, Gu Si Yang paid no heed to propriety. “I wrote the note to Ran Mo, she knew nothing about it. I waited for a long time behind Wang Yue Ju, but Ran Mo never came. If there is fault to be found, it’s mine alone. Ran Mo has done nothing wrong.”

Yun Ke raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, as he looked at the now pale-faced Liu Yue. “So that’s the truth,” he said pointedly, “It would seem the one in need of discipline isn’t my beloved consort’s maid.”

Gu Si Yang turned to look at Yun Ke and kowtowed. “Brother-in-law, I genuinely like Ran Mo.” He then bowed again to Gu Yu Qi. “I beg Eldest Sister to please help.”

Gu Yu Qi was caught off guard by Gu Si Yang’s bow and became a little flustered. “Get up first, then we can talk.”

“If Eldest Sister doesn’t allow it, then I’ll kneel here and not rise,” said Gu Si Yang resolutely.

“You’re being reckless. Have you even asked Ran Mo if she consents?” Gu Yu Qi replied lightly.

Liu Yue was stunned. How had the situation shifted to a heartfelt discussion about feelings between these two siblings? Something was not right, this was not how it was supposed to go! Why were they asking Ran Mo? Should that question not be directed at her, the mother?

And more importantly, Gu Si Yang was already engaged to a concubine-born daughter of the Xia family. Even if Liu Yue had never liked that engagement and had been thinking of ways to break it off, that did not mean she could accept a maid as her daughter-in-law.

When she saw Gu Si Yang look up at Ran Mo after hearing Gu Yu Qi’s question, Liu Yue became utterly furious. She grabbed the kneeling Gu Si Yang and hauled him up. “Look at yourself! Stop embarrassing us! Go back this instant and reflect on your conduct!”

“Mother,” Gu Si Yang refused to let Liu Yue drag him. With his leg already crippled, he no longer had to think about whether he would one day inherit the marquisate. In the past, he might have maintained some sense of dignity and propriety and never would have done something so outrageous. Yet, ever since his injury, he had seen through many things more clearly and could let go of a lot of things. He liked Ran Mo. Why could he not marry her?

Her family background was not that good, but was his own any better? Especially now, in his current, embarrassing state.

Gu Si Yang had never rebelled before. Now, with his heart changed, he finally began to show defiance.

Either way, he would never marry that Xia family’s daughter. If he had to choose, he would rather choose Ran Mo.

“Mother, I have never once defied you. Now with my leg crippled, I am already a useless person in your eyes. I can no longer bring honour to Mother. Will Mother still not let me go? All I want is to marry the one I love, how is that wrong? Why must I reflect on my conduct? What wrong have I committed?” Gu Si Yang asked anxiously.