Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 68 (there is no chapter 67 according to original raws)

Could it be that they were followed by His Highness Prince An? This thought flashed through Liang Huai Yu’s mind and she broke out in a cold sweat.

They had travelled covertly on the way. It would have been difficult to find their tracks even if they had been deliberately tracing them. Yet, His Highness Prince An had found them precisely as soon as he arrived in Jiangxia City. Just what message was this conveying?

His Highness Prince An was targeting them. Liang Huai Yu could not help but feel a slight chill in her heart.

Although she did not care too much about worldly affairs, as the former official wife of the Ding Yuan Marquis, she had given some thought to the situation at the capital and the imperial court. His Highness Prince An had always just been an idle prince without power nor position. He did not have a good temperament and was also very alienated and cold towards others. Hence, among the many princes, he was very inconspicuous. If the madams and young ladies of the noble families in the capital mentioned him, it was because of his looks.

Thinking of this, Liang Huai Yu could not help but take another deep look at Yun Ke.

He was still in snow-white clothes, but Yun Ke’s face was now a little more weary and sickly. He looked very tired, but it still did not change his cold and indifferent temperament. His ink black eyes were slightly narrowed and no one could see through him. He never showed much expression, but his slight frown left a deep impression. He was like the beautiful moon, difficult to approach and always high up above.

Was such a person really willing to live as a secluded prince with a life of mediocrity like this? If his subordinates were not a group of very professional and powerful people, how could he so easily find the whereabouts of herself and Gu Yu Qi?

Liang Huai Yu was not stupid. On the contrary, she was very smart. It was just that her previous environment had not required her to use her brain to think. Now, for the sake of her daughter, she had to pay more attention. Thinking about it, Liang Huai Yu felt more and more that Prince An was not as simple as the rumours said.

Compared to him, however, His Highness Prince Ding beside him did not have so many mysteries and could be seen through at a glance.

Seeing that Liang Huai Yu stood to the side, neither frightened nor kneeling down in greeting and also not saying whether she was willing to let His Highness Prince An live here, the governor of Jiangxia could not help but feel a little surprised. Perhaps the status of these two people from the capital was so high that it frightened this lady terribly, but there was not a trace of fear in her eyes. Instead, she calmly and boldly looked at these two high ranked princes. There was no fear at all, but instead, there seemed to be an inexplicable trace of doubt.

Could it be that this lady’s background was not weak? The more he looked at the beautiful lady in front of him, the more the governor of Jiangxia felt that this might be true. Her calmness and magnanimity was not that of an ordinary merchant’s wife. He looked at her aura again. It could be said that Jiangxia City was not considered small, but he could not think of anyone who could surpass her. Could it be that she was also from the capital?

Thinking about this, the governor of Jiangxia, Ni Gang, got the general idea for why Prince An Yun Ke insisted on staying here. They probably knew each other at the capital.

With this in mind, the governor of Jiangxia Ni Gang was even more respectful, “This madam’s intentions…” He reminded her on the sidelines.

“Oh. This madam has overstepped. Greetings, Your Highnesses.” Liang Huai Yu withdrew her gaze and bowed lightly. With her curtsy, the governor of Jiangxia Ni Gang affirmed his thoughts. This lady was not of ordinary birth. She was polite and respectful but not panicky, so how could she be educated like ordinary merchants?

“If the two Highnesses do not dislike the conditions here and would like to stay here, then this madam would naturally most welcome this opportunity.” Since it had come to this, she could only watch as things unfolded. It would be better for them to stay here than at the Jiangxia governor’s residence. At least if something happened, they would know right away.

“Will just His Highness Prince An be staying here, or will His Highness Prince Ding also be staying here?” Liang Huai Yu asked.

Prince Ding also felt that Liang Huai Yu’s bearing was extraordinary and could not help but take a second look. Could it be that Seventh Brother insisted on living here just for the sake of this beautiful lady?

“Madam, are you living here alone?” Prince Ding asked in a gossipy manner.

“No, this madam won’t hide it from Your Highness. This madam is living here temporarily with a daughter,” Liang Huai Yu replied with downcast eyes.

“Oh.” Prince Ding nodded meaningfully. She just had one daughter. He touched his chin and glanced sideways at Yun Ke. He wondered if Seventh Brother was here for this lady or for her daughter. Seeing this lady’s radiance, she looked as though she was in her twenties. Thinking about it, even if she had a daughter, she was not too old, right? Could it be that Xiao Qi had taken a fancy to this little widow? Seventh Brother sure had a heavy taste.

He did not know Liang Huai Yu’s real age and was just guessing randomly based on his own preferences. He saw that Liang Huai Yu only said she had one daughter and did not mention her husband, so he assumed she was a widow.

“Wonder where Madam is from? From the capital?” Prince Ding asked.

“This madam is from Jiangnan and lived in the capital for a while,” Liang Huai Yu told the truth. His Highness Prince An was sitting there so she could not hide it even if she wanted to. She just spoke very vaguely.

“Oh,” Prince Ding acted as if he suddenly had a revelation. Could it be that his younger brother was really chasing after her? Now this was fun. “For the time being, only His Highness Prince An will live here. However, Madam Liang, please arrange a room for this prince as well. Perhaps this prince will come and bother too.”

“Your Highness Prince Ding exaggerates.” Liang Huai Yu said, “For two princes to come, we shall be greatly honoured.”

“All right, His Highness Prince An will be in your hands. You must take good care of him. This prince will also send people to strengthen the defences here. This prince still has important matters to attend to so will not stay any longer. Madam, this prince will take his leave.” Having said that, he stood up and cupped his hands to Liang Huai Yu.

“Respectfully, this madam sends off Your Highness Prince Ding,” Liang Huai Yu curtseyed.

Prince Ding slightly raised his eyebrows. This widow was very polite, just like a lady of a great family. His younger brother’s view was a little unique.

After sending away Prince Ding, Liang Huai Yu rubbed her slightly swollen brain. She asked His Highness Prince An to please sit for a moment and she would be back after making some arrangements.

Yun Ke waved his hand without saying a word. His head hurt a lot now and he could not be bothered to say even another word.

Besides, he had already moved in. Would he be afraid he would not catch Gu Yu Qi in the future? When he recovered from his illness, he would have plenty of time to slowly settle accounts with Gu Yu Qi.

The back courtyard was originally where she would live with Gu Yu Qi and a few maidservants. Now that Yun Ke was here, they could only give it to him. They would squeeze into the middle courtyard with the guards. Fortunately, this house was big and there were many rooms in the middle courtyard. They could be arranged and ordered amongst everyone.

Liang Huai Yu told Gu Yu Qi what happened and noticed that Gu Yu Qi did not show any surprise, as if she knew this was going to happen.

The mother and daughter brought the maids to clean up the room and they moved into the middle courtyard by themselves. When Bai Fu heard that His Highness Prince An was coming, her heart could not help beating wildly.

In Huguo Temple, the image of the man walking slowly in the peach blossom forest had been deeply imprinted in her heart. It had taken root and sprouted, and could not be dispersed no matter what, unerasable. When they left the capital, she thought that she would never see His Highness Prince An again for the rest of her life. Who knew that they would meet again in Jiangxia City so soon.

It would be great if Young Miss could assign her to serve His Highness Prince An. Even if she could just look at His Highness Prince An, she would be very satisfied in her heart. If he spoke a word or two to her, she would be ecstatic.

Gu Yu Qi glanced at Bai Fu’s small face with a somewhat silly smile on it and her heart dropped violently. She opened her mouth, only to close it in the end. Last time in Huguo Temple, she had made it very clear to Bai Fu that Yun Ke was not what he seemed like on the surface, telling Bai Fu not to jump headlong into things from looking at it on the surface. She had already said everything she should and could say. If Bai Fu still did not listen, then she as the master had nothing more to say.

Gu Yu Qi looked at Bai Fu as though seeing herself in the previous life. There was a bit of desolation in her heart for no reason.

She hoped that Bai Fu would have better luck than her and be appreciated by Yun Ke, but what was the use of that? In the future, that person was destined to stand at the peak of the Qi dynasty, overlooking the magnificent rivers and mountains of the Qi dynasty.

How could there only be one little Bai Fu by his side? He would have many concubines by his side. If he gave each of them a little attention, how much attention would he have left to give to Bai Fu by his side?

Even if Bai Fu could occupy most of Yun Ke’s heart, after entering that cage-like palace, what would happen next?

A wry smile appeared on Gu Yu Qi’s lips. All those bitter experiences, she had tasted it all. All the heartbreak, she had swallowed it all… Her final fate… Sigh, let’s not mention it.

These maidservants were very nimble with their hands and feet. Soon, the back courtyard was tidied up. Gu Yu Qi’s and Liang Huai Yu’s things were also moved to the middle courtyard. Seeing that it was all ready, Liang Huai Yu went to the front hall and invited Prince An, Yun Ke, who had been waiting impatiently, to the back courtyard.

Du Xia followed behind Yun Ke step by step. Since Yun Ke and Yun Qing had entered the city, he had returned to Yun Ke with the token.

He secretly looked at the big house and could see the exquisiteness of the house, but… It felt a little out of place now. The walls had been reinforced with wire and also increased in height. The wire was twisted into a weird shape with thorns on it, so it could not be grabbed with bare hands. If caught, it was likely the palm of the hand would be pierced through. There were also bells hanging on the barbed wire so if anyone climbed the fence and moved the wires, the bells would ring and raise the alarm.

Some people dressed like villagers lived in the front courtyard and they watched blankly as they passed. When they got to the middle courtyard, Du Xia felt as if his eyes were about to fall off. Between the rockery and cloister, it was not a garden but a vegetable field. Sheds had been made from tarpaulins and now there were small seedlings in the vegetable field, which meant the sown rapeseed had sprouted.

This did not look like a courtyard in a residence. It looked like a farm.

She lived here. Thinking of this, Du Xia’s heart warmed. He had worked hard to restrain himself, but he could not help looking around, wanting to find the figure he had been thinking about for four years.

It was a pity. He saw many young and beautiful girls, but none of them were her. An unspeakable disappointment permeated his heart.

Naturally, Yun Ke did not bother to see what was different in this courtyard compared to the other famous courtyards. He already had a splitting headache and his body also felt very heavy. He just hoped to get to a resting place soon and sleep first. After days of running around, the wound on his lower back that was about to heal seemed to break again. He also had a cold and his temperature was frighteningly high.

When he reached the room Liang Huai Yu had arranged for him, he was impatient to clean himself up a little and discarded his clothes on the bed.

“Your Highness, what else do you need?” Liang Huai Yu asked softly while waiting outside the door.

“Go and call Gu Yu Qi here for this prince.” Yun Ke was so dazed that he spoke carelessly.

Ah? Liang Huai Yu was startled. Was he going to settle accounts?

“Reporting to Your Highness Prince An, my daughter is still young. If she has offended Your Highness in some way, please be magnanimous to forgive her, Your Highness,” Liang Huai Yu did not even think about it and directly begged for mercy on her daughter’s behalf.

“Call her to serve this prince. If her service is good, this prince will consider not pursuing matters,” Yun Ke spoke impatiently. He was already barely holding on but Liang Huai Yu was talking all fussily. He wanted to see Gu Yu Qi right now, immediately!

“Yes,” Liang Huai Yu frowned deeply outside the door. Serve? This word made her very unhappy.

However, they were just little commoners now. How could they mess with someone like His Highness Prince An? She could only nod in agreement.

When she went to the middle courtyard, Liang Huai Yu told Gu Yu Qi about Yun Ke’s request with a sad expression. Gu Yu Qi was not surprised at all… if he said he would not look for her, she would be surprised then.

This person was born to oppose her! Gu Yu Qi finally understood this.

She would serve him then. She had served him all of her previous life, could he still devour herself in this life? Gu Yu Qi smiled coldly, “Fine, daughter will go.”

“But…” Liang Huai Yu looked worriedly at Gu Yu Qi’s slightly weird expression. She was afraid of her daughter’s temper. It would be terrible if His Highness Prince An was offended again. “It would be better to let Bai Fu and the others try first.”

“His Highness Prince An requested me by name. Does Mother think it would be appropriate if we send Bai Fu and the others now?” Gu Yu Qi said, “Don’t worry Mother, I just want to be safe. I will restrain my temper. I won’t provoke His Highness Prince An over a little matter again.”

“How can I not worry…” Liang Huai Yu was sad. It was serving by name, but who knew what kind of exorbitant demands His Highness Prince An would make. If her daughter’s temper flared up and she hit him again…

Forget it, if she really hit him, that meant His Highness Prince An crossed the line. This was not the capital. In the worst case where she beat His Highness Prince An violently, then she would just take her daughter and the others and run away.

With the mentality of smashing a pot to pieces just because it was cracked, Liang Huai Yu watched Gu Yu Qi go into the back courtyard.