Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 70

Yun Ke felt as if he was floating on raging flames. The sky was red and there was a sea of fire under his feet. Wave after wave of heat coming at him incessantly. He did not panic. He just watched with his hands behind his back.

Where was this? Had he died again? The large sea of flames seemed like purgatory. There was a faint smile on the corner of his lips. Yes, perhaps this was hell. How could such a cruel and merciless person like him expect to ascend to heaven after death? Going to hell may be the best destination for him. It was just that this purgatory seemed to be empty except for him.

Flames engulfed his body. He felt no pain, only that the waves of heat were suffocating.

He did not know how long he would suffer in this sea of flames. Everything that happened in his previous life slowly flashed before his eyes one by one like pictures.

Mother Concubine! He saw one of the pictures. His mother concubine had died shortly after giving birth to him. He did not have a deep impression of her, or it could be said that he had forgotten her. Yet here, it seemed that all the hidden parts of his mind had been dug out.

He practically had not felt the love and care of a mother. Some time after the death of his mother concubine, he lived alone. The maids and eunuchs despised his crying and deliberately bullied him. Whenever he cried, they would pinch him secretly. At that time, both his arms were covered in bruises. Even the wet nurse regarded him as having a lowborn status and was a motherless child, without a prominent clan like the other princes, so disliked him very much. When he was sent to be fostered by the Virtuous Consort, he was very happy. He thought that his life would change drastically, yet everything remained the same.

All good things belonged to Yun Yi and he could only watch helplessly from the sidelines. He gradually became silent, unwilling to speak, because he found that as soon spoke or complained, what awaited him would be severe punishment. That was fine, he met his master who was a seemingly unknown guard in the palace. His master told him that if he wanted others to think highly of him, he had to have capital that others would value.

Did he have capital at that time? No. He could only work hard silently. The happiest time for him was when he made progress in martial arts training, and his master would smile and pat his head, praising him for being great. He would think that if his mother concubine was still alive, and if he studied well, then his concubine mother would also touch his head like this, praising him with an infinitely warm smile. He really had not wanted his mother concubine to have left so early, even if her background was low. That way, there would still be a close relative by his side to love and protect him. It was a pity that not even a few years after, even the master who had been teaching him martial arts disappeared all of a sudden, leaving only a letter and a few secret books.

He was alone again.

Just when Yun Ke was quietly watching the pictures passing by in front of his eyes, he suddenly felt a gentle hand holding him and he was shocked. He turned around and only saw a hazy shadow in the blurriness. It was a woman. The fire blocked his vision and the woman was surrounded by flames and he could not see her face clearly. There was a slight coolness in her hand, lessening the heat from the flames, making him extremely greedy for that feeling. He took that hand, wanting more. He even wanted to pull the woman back from the flames. Was it his mother concubine? It must be! Only his mother concubine would rush into the flames to protect and save him. There was a crack in his icy face. Mother concubine, he cried out loud.

When he sensed that the hand was about to leave, he suddenly felt a wave of fear. He had finally found someone here. If she left, he would be alone again. He grabbed the hand tightly, begging bitterly, mother concubine, don’t go. He used all his strength to pull that person out from the flames. He was not afraid of fire, he was afraid of being alone all his life.

The loneliness in that position was really terrible. Although you were high up above, no one would really protect or love you. Everyone approached him with various purposes. He had been alone all his life, did he want to continue being lonely after death? At least it would be nice to have someone to talk with.

He wrapped his arms around the person’s waist tightly, feeling the coolness and softness of her body. He thought that if he could hold such a person here, even if she did not speak, he would be willing. At least he would not feel like he was still alone. He was tired, very tired and he just wanted to sleep for a while. The feeling she brought to him was one of incomparable comfort and peace of mind. He could rest assured that he did not have to be afraid of her harming him. In this hellish place, what was the use in killing him? She could come here and accompany him in purgatory, so what else would she have in mind for him?

So he wanted to find a comfortable position to sleep deeply, but… Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his neck and everything faded away. There were no flames and she also disappeared. Nothing existed anymore and only a boundless darkness swept over him.

He could not go on like this, he wanted to get out of here! This one strong thought sustained him and Yun Ke suddenly opened his eyes. An unfamiliar gauze curtain came into sight and there was a faint smell of medicine coming from his nose. He was very displeased.

Yun Ke frowned slightly, this place was… His eyes roamed and through the gauze curtain, he saw a slim figure crouched beside the round table in the centre of the room. Only then did he remember where he was. Who was that slim figure? Was it Gu Yu Qi? Yun Ke felt that his heart seemed to be throbbing slightly with a little bit of hope.

“Someone come,” he called out in a low voice. He was surprised that his voice was extremely hoarse like gravel. His throat also felt hot as if smoke was coming out of his mouth.

The person lying on the table as if they had fallen asleep suddenly woke up. She stood up quickly and turned around, coming over hurriedly, “This servant Dai Mei greets His Highness, what orders does His Highness have?”

Through the veil, Yun Ke saw the girl’s appearance clearly. She was very beautiful and there was still a bit of sleepiness in her face, but… Yun Ke’s heart sank suddenly.

It was not her, it was actually not here! Not that woman, Gu Yu Qi! He even felt a tinge of anger, derived from the disappointment in his heart.

“Where’s Gu Yu Qi?!” He asked coldly, “Didn’t this prince ask her to serve this prince? What are you doing?!” He did not hide his displeasure at all.

Dai Mei was taken aback by the piercing voice. At home, both Liang Huai Yu and Gu Yu Qi were courteous to them and had never said such harsh words to them. Even if they did not do things well, they still patiently taught them.

Dai Mei knelt down hurriedly, “In reply to Your Highness, my family’s Young Miss had been taking care of Your Highness for a day and a night. She was really too tired, that’s why this servant volunteered to take Young Miss’ place and let young Miss go back to rest.”

One day and one night? Hearing this, Yun Ke frowned again. Had he been in a coma for so long?

He moved his body slightly and felt a tingling discomfort in his lower back. He raised his hand and touched it. His abdomen was wrapped in a white cloth again. His lower back…

“What happened to this prince’s waist?” Yun Ke asked.

“In reply to Your Highness, the wound on your lower back had not fully healed and days of running around made the wound fester. That was why there was a high fever.” Dai Mei said, “Young Miss made a decision and had the physician scrape off the rotting flesh from Your Highness’ lower back, so please don’t blame our Young Lady, Your Highness. Young Miss said if Your Highness was to be kept alive, then the flesh had to go.”

No wonder it hurt so much.

To be kept alive, then the flesh had to go, what was this nonsense?! Yun Ke snorted with displeasure.

“Is Your Highness uncomfortable anywhere else? Or need something? You can tell this servant, this servant will do it,” Dai Mei saw that the person on the bed was silent. She waited a moment before asking.

“Go call your Young Miss,” Yun Ke said coldly.

She actually had not looked after him well and ran away first! So what if it was one day and one night? In his previous life, if she was so favoured by him, even if he asked her to guard him for three days and three nights, she would be happy. Now, she had not said a word and ran away without even waiting for him to wake up. But… One day and one night? Yun Ke seemed to feel his anger subside a little.

“Yes.” Although Dai Mei was unwilling in her heart, she still complied. Young Miss would only have rested for less than four hours.

However, the man in front of her was a prince. Moreover, it was the prince that Young Miss had offended. Forget it, yield for now. It was not that they had not thought about leaving the residence when Yun Ke was in a coma, but the rain never stopped and the situation outside was also really bad. They were not afraid of a dozen or so refugees, but there were thousands of refugees outside. If they snatched their things, Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu knew they would not be able to protect them. Besides, they still had more than 20 unarmed villagers who needed protection.

Even if they went out, where could they go? The Heng River’s banks were bursting everywhere. Let alone crossing the river, they could neither go upstream nor downstream. Southwards? Back to the capital? Was that not just asking to be charged for crimes? Besides, it was another matter whether they would be able to reach the capital safely. With the tide of refugees and the plague, the gates of the capital would immediately be closed and they would not be able to enter the city. It would be just as unsafe.

So everyone discussed and discussed that it would be better to stay here for now to wait and see.

Gu Yu Qi dared not say that she knocked Yun Ke unconscious. She just said that his fever had burned him out so he was asleep for so long. In fact, she was also worried. She was afraid she hit too hard and beat him into a vegetative state. However, it was alright. The physician said that he had lost too much blood before, then travelled day and night afterwards. He was exhausted and in addition, the wound on his lower back was festering, so he became like this after having a burning fever for several days.

As for the wound on his lower back, the physician did not dare to act. It was Gu Yu Qi who made the decision and had the physician scrape off the rotting flesh.

Even if she did not understand medicine, Gu Yu Qi still had common sense. If the rotting flesh was allowed to persist on his body, it would only get worse and worse. The physician was afraid of Yun Ke’s identity so did not dare to casually use the knife on him. When Gu Yu Qi asked Zhao Wu to find a doctor, she also made him bring the Jiangxia governor. After all, a prince was living here. If anything went wrong, it would not be good so they needed to find a witness. To use the knife on a prince under the watchful eye of the governor, the old physician who had never even met a seventh-ranked official felt a lot of pressure.

When Ni Gang met Liang Huai Yu before, he felt that he had seen a rare beauty in the world. Seeing Gu Yu Qi now, he was immediately amazed and at the same time, also vaguely understood why His Highness Prince An insisted on living here. He put away his lustful gaze. The person His Highness Prince An fancied was not even someone he could think about.

***

Gu Yu Qi had already fallen asleep when Dai Mei pulled her out of bed again. Ran Mo helped Dai Mei tidy up Gu Yu Qi a bit. Only then was Gu Yu Qi pushed out the door.

Gu Yu Qi looked bitterly at Dai Mei and Ran Mo who stood at the door, waving small handkerchiefs at her. She could only look up at the sky and let out a long sigh. Resigned to her fate, she walked to Yun Ke’s room.

Heavens, earth, let thunder strike the person in the room to death! Gu Yu Qi stared at the dark sky speechlessly. Suddenly, thunder exploded in Gu Yu Qi’s ear and she shrank back in fright.

Heavens, you’re helping Yun Ke aren’t you? I knew you were in cahoots with him! Gu Yu Qi was speechless for a while, then she walked into Yun Ke’s room.

“This civilian girl, Gu Yu Qi, greets His Highness Prince An. Wishing His Highness lives a thousand years.” After Gu Yu Qi entered, she bent her knees and curtseyed.

When Gu Yu Qi came in, Yun Ke was studying the marks on his arm.

He had just wanted to turn over when he felt discomfort in his arms and it hurt upon touch. How could Yun Ke, who had been pinched by maids and eunuchs when he was young, not know what this meant? He hurriedly rolled up his sleeves. Indeed… In the light, his arms were covered in large and small bruises.

Yun Ke was angry! Who dared?

At this moment, Gu Yu Qi came in. He turned his head sharply and looked at the hazy figure outside the veil. It was this woman! It must be her! That little maid just now, even if you gave her guts, she would not dare to do this. Only this daring woman in front of him would act so ruthlessly.

A trace of coldness floated into his eyes. He opened his mouth slowly, “Gu Yu Qi, you’re getting more and more bold.”

With the biting chill in his voice, Gu Yu Qi could not help trembling slightly. She was ruined, it must be because she pinched him secretly.

“What is Your Highness referring to? This civilian girl does not know.” Gu Yu Qi pretended to be stupid and spoke with an innocent tone.

“Get over here for this prince!” Yun Ke said angrily.

He had always been cold and almost expressionless, but everytime he met this woman, he felt that his anger would immediately get out of control.

“Yes, yes, yes. This civilian girl will come over.” Gu Yu Qi stood up and seemingly walked with easy steps. In fact, the bottom of her heart was already beating like a drum. She was still habitually afraid of Yun Ke, although she told herself not to be afraid. What was there to be afraid of? In the previous life, she had even done stupid things like setting herself on fire. What else could stop her? However, when she got close to Yun Ke, she still lost her cool and subconsciously tried to avoid him. Yet, even though it was subconscious, she was unwilling. She was unwilling to have been wholehearted towards him in the previous life. Everytime she had been misunderstood by him, she felt even more unwilling. Gradually, it accumulated at the bottom of her heart which was why there was a final outburst.

She was not from the same era as him and misunderstandings were not easy to unravel, especially when there were other obstacles around her, like Zhang Wan Yi. Their misunderstandings grew and at first, Gu Yu Qi would try to resolve them, but the results were not ideal. In the end, there were so many that even Gu Yu Qi could not be bothered to explain.

Standing beside Yun Ke’s bed, Gu Yu Qi raised her hand and lifted up the gauze curtain, “Your Highness, this civilian girl is here.” Under the lights, she smiled sweetly and stood gracefully in front of the bed. Yun Ke stared blankly and pursed his lips. He simply lifted his arms up to let Gu Yu Qi see clearly, then said coldly, “What’s this?” He asked in a deep voice.

“Oh dear.” Gu Yu Qi pretended to be surprised and raised her slender hand to cover her cherry lips. Her expression was so exaggerated that even she wanted to laugh. “What is this, what happened to Your Highness’ arm?” Then she contemplated. Suddenly, “Oh, this civilian girl knows. It must be that when the doctor was treating Your Highness, Your Highness’ guards needed to turn Your Highness’ body. So… oh dear, those guards were so careless.” After speaking, she smiled and looked at Yun Ke, “Your Highness, don’t be angry. Those people were also doing it for Your Highness’ sake. So, don’t blame them, Your Highness.”

Yune Ke felt that he was about to laugh from anger because of Gu Yu Qi. It was obviously something she had done, but she was pushing the blame on the guards. Well, in that case, “Someone come!” Yun Ke shouted.

“Your Highness.” The guard outside the door came in and knelt down on one knee in salute.

“Who helped the physician turn this prince’s body?” Yun Ke stared at Gu Yu Qi as he asked the guard.

“In reply to Your Highness, Du Xia was on duty at that time,” the guard replied.

“Alright, beat Du Xia 20 times!” Yun Ke said lightly.

Du Xia! 20 strikes! Damn. Gu Yu Qi’s expression immediately changed slightly. She had simply joked but this caused Du Xia to be beaten 20 times by Yun Ke. Yun Ke, you are ruthless! However, she was also stupid. Why play tricks in front of Yun Ke? It was not like she did not know what kind of person he was.

“Your Highness.” Gu Yu Qi immediately spoke up, “It has nothing to do with Du Xia.” She restrained her cheeky smile and knelt down in front of Yun Ke, “Can Your Highness take back his command?”

“Oh?” Yun Ke suppressed the surging feeling in his heart. He looked at Gu Yu Qi with a half-smile. Du Xia, she really remembered him and also had some feelings for him. “If you can convince this prince, then this prince will take back the command.”

“Will Your Highness let that guard leave?” Gu Yu qi said with a frown.

“Leave first.” Yun Ke also readily followed her advice and spoke to the guard who had come in just now, “Du Xia’s matter is temporarily suspended.”

After the guard left, he turned to Gu Yu Qi, “Speak, what happened?”

“It was Your Highness who grabbed this civilian girl’s hand when he was unconscious and would not let go. This civilian girl was in a hurry and used force, which is why Your Highness’ body was injured. It was not that guard nor anyone else’s business. All of the consequences were caused by this civilian girl. If Your Highness wants to punish, then this civilian girl is willing to accept it. If Your Highness insists on beating this civilian girl, then this civilian girl is willing to suffer. It’s just that this civilian girl’s body is weak and if she suffers 20 strikes, she may not be able to serve Your Highness,” Gu Yu Qi spoke with gritted teeth.

What she said made Yun Ke startled, angry, and a little indescribably amused.

It turned out that the hand he grabbed in purgatory was not his Mother Concubine’s, but was Gu Yu Qi’s!! This realisation shocked him beyond measure. How could it be her?! What she gave him was actually a feeling of relief? He must have gotten it wrong. It must have been a hallucination.

He was angry that even at the end of the day, she was still playing tricks in front of him, blackmailing him that if she was beaten, she would not be able to serve him!

Even if she was beaten, she would have to serve him even if she had to crawl over!

Moreover, why did she defend Du Xia so much, what did this mean? If it was another guard just now, would she be so obedient and admit it immediately?

Really, even if it was because he hugged her tightly, she did not need to be so cruel, right? Both of his arms were black and blue! And he had not done it intentionally!

He was suffering from a lingering sickness right now and she did not even consider the cause? Who did he lose so much blood for? And the wound on his back had worsened also because of her!

This woman did not know how to be grateful and was even leaving her benefactor in a lurch.

“You really think this prince wouldn’t dare to beat you?!” Yun Ke asked coldly with anger in his eyes.

“Of course Your Highness dares,” Gu Yu Qi’s heart trembled, but she still bravely met Yun Ke’s gaze and looked at him.

This damn woman had just been playing around but now she was all stiff again? Gu Yu Qi’s expression made Yun Ke even angrier. She was challenging him? Alright! What Yun Ke feared the least were challenges.

“Someone come!” He said in a deep voice.

The guard at the door came in again.

“Drag this woman out and beat her 20 times!” Yun Ke thought for a while, “Seeing as she’s a girl, just beat her ten times!” If she was beaten 20 times, Gu Yu Qi was likely to be seriously injured. Ordinary people could not withstand being beaten five times. Thinking of this, Yun Ke changed his words for the third time, “Three times. Just three times, a small punishment can lead to great caution.” Then immediately, he changed his words again, “Don’t drag her out, just beat her here!”

Gu Yu Qi looked at Yun Ke with a half-smile. The look in her eyes made Yun Ke suddenly feel guilty.

Why was he guilty?! He was just taking the opportunity to retaliate. It was the woman in front of him who had pinched him.

It was him who clearly saw the woman in the flames of the previous life through such eyes. When she looked at him, it was no longer full of attachment and love, but anger and unwillingness, and despair…

With a thumping heart, Yun Ke suddenly felt very scared. It was just that the words had already been spoken and he had already changed them three times. If he said do not beat her now, then what of his status as a prince?

Why was this damn woman looking at him like that, would it kill her to beg for mercy?

As long as Gu Yu Qi begged for mercy, Yun Ke guaranteed that he would rescind his order immediately. He just wanted to scare her. Who would actually want to beat her?

He was annoyed at her disobedience, annoyed at her deliberately protecting Du Xia, annoyed that she could still feel reasonable after pinching his arms until they bruised, annoyed at her for not telling the truth, and annoyed that she was playing tricks in front of him.

Soon, other guards came in with a stick in his hand. The stick had been hastily found, who would be running around with a baton? Yun Ke saw that the stick was much thinner and lighter than the baton and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It should not hurt too much.

Two of the guards pushed Gu Yu Qi to the ground and the other guard raised the stick high.

Yun Ke saw Gu Yu Qi close her eyes.

So she knows how to be scared…

“Wait,” Yun Ke stopped the guard, then turned to Gu Yu Qi and said, “Gu Yu Qi, is there anything you want to say to this prince?”

Say what? Nonsense! I have nothing to say to you! Gu Yu Qi could not help shouting in her heart. She closed her eyes tightly and was too lazy to even look at Yun Ke.