Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 78

The youth raised his eyes, was she angry? Yet, what caught his eyes was the girl’s slightly coquettish smile. Only then did he let go of his sudden worries.

“I thought that this must be delicious because it was made by you. But I couldn’t bear to eat it.” The youth’s cool eyes watered slightly, “In all my life, this is the first time someone has specially made something for me.” His chest was suddenly filled with an indescribable emotion, rising up and up with nowhere to escape. That emotion seemed to turn into a faint warmth and it slowly flowed from his chest to his whole body through his blood vessels. Although the spring night was not warm, Du Xia felt that every pore was filled with an extremely pleasurable warmth.

“Really so silly.” Gu Yu Qi’s heart was also inexplicably moved and her eyes stung.

In modern times, she was considered a rich second generation. She played all day and never thought about doing something for others. She also took it for granted that others did things for her because she was rich. Then, throughout the lifetime she spent after crossing over, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to Yun Ke but what did she get? She was disappointed again and again, heartbroken again and again, unreconciled again and again. In the end, it accumulated into unsatisfactory resentment and fear. Only the boy in front of her had been moved by just a small dessert she had made. His slender fingers held the cake she made as if he was holding a treasure. Even if it had been crushed, he could not bear to even taste it. How could Gu Yu Qi not be moved by Du Xia?

“Alright, this is for eating. It will go bad if you leave it.” Gu Yu Qi hurriedly lowered her head and used this way of scolding Du Xia to cover up the faint tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. She grabbed the oiled paper bag in his hand and opened it somewhat roughly, “I’ll see if it’s gone bad. If it has, then it can be thrown away.”

Du Xia was shocked and looked at Gu Yu Qi in a panic, but he did not dare to reach out and grab it. He just pursed his lips and stood at a loss.

He did not want Gu Yu Qi to throw away the dessert. Even if it was broken, it was the first gift he had received in his short 15 years of life so he was really reluctant. However, he dared not reach out and grab it. The girl in front of him was too beautiful, so beautiful that he did not dare touch her. He was afraid his roughness would hurt her.

“It’s still fine, hasn’t gone bad, just squashed.” Gu Yu Qi looked at it and suppressed the tears in her eyes. Then she raised her eyes and looked at Du Xia, “If you’re hungry, eat first. I’ll make it for you again so don’t worry about it being gone. It’s just a snack, I can make lots and lots of delicious food. I’ll slowly cook them all for you in the future.”

Gu Yu Qi’s words made Du Xia feel a warm current in his heart. She said that she would cook a lot of delicious food for him. As a secret guard and having trained for so long, Du Xia did not have any special requests when it came to food. However, the important thing was that Gu Yu Qi saying this had already satisfied him.

“Mhmm.” The youth nodded slightly and happily lowered his head again. He was afraid that Gu Yu Qi would feel he was offending her after seeing the smile in his eyes. The elegant and tall young man in front of her had reddened ears. Under the reflection of the light, it gave a kind of warm transparency.

“Speaking of which, I’m a bit hungry.” Gu Yu Qi rubbed her stomach. She had been ordered around by Yun Ke all night making tea, accompanying him reading, running around fetching water, and bringing medicine. Smelling the aroma of the cake in her hand, Gu Yu Qi had just finished speaking when her stomach grumbled disappointingly.

In the silence of the spring night, the sound seemed a bit loud and Gu Yu Qi was petrified on the spot. Du Xia looked up to see the awkward and weird smile on Gu Yu Qi’s face. He could not help it when the corners of his mouth curled upwards.

Damn! That was way too embarrassing! Gu Yu Qi felt grief and indignation in her heart. Lifting up the flattened cake she was holding, she took a bite.

It was delicious even though it was squashed. Sure enough, she was hungry. She took two big bites, then suddenly came back to her senses. Crap, this was Du Xia’s… She just bit on it, so how could Du Xia eat it?

She smiled awkwardly at Du Xia, “I’ll make you another one later. Sorry. Why don’t you try it too?” She turned the cake around in her fingers, then broke off a big piece from the area she did not bite into. Then she raised it up to Du Xia’s lips.

Du Xia was taken aback. Immediately, his nose was surrounded by the burst of sweetness from the cake. The girl’s fingers holding the cake were as pale as scallions, like fine white jade under the lamplight.

He hesitated for a moment but still lifted his hand to take the cake and slowly put it in his mouth.

A sweet taste spread from the tip of his tongue up to his nose, then down to his chest. The cake had a unique baked aroma and it was really delicious. No, in Du Xia’s opinion, this was the most delicious thing in the world.

“Who’s there?” The youth’s eyes suddenly became sharp. He instantly turned his head to the dark place outside the door at the corner. As soon as he spoke, he leapt over there like a sharp arrow flying off the string.

Gu Yu Qi also sensed a different aura in that dark area. Her figure flickered and she also followed Du Xia over.

The two of them reached the area in succession but found nothing. The area outside the door at the corner was empty. Only an inconspicuous lantern swayed gently in the night breeze, illuminating the corner with a flickering light.

“Could it be that I was mistaken?” Du Xia searched around. Finding nothing, he could not help but murmur suspiciously.

“I felt it too.” Gu Yu Qi’s expression became serious, “It’s unlikely you were mistaken, but whoever it was moved too fast.” She frowned deeply, “I’m afraid his martial arts skills are much more advanced than ours. If this is true, then we need to strengthen our vigilance here.”

“Mhmm.” Du Xia also nodded. The youth had retracted his shyness and between his eyebrows, there was a cautious and sharp gaze like that of an eagle. “I’m going to look around everywhere. You should go and rest soon.” After he finished speaking, he crouched and leapt up to the eaves like a dexterous black panther, disappearing into the night.

Gu Yu Qi let out a long sigh and slowly walked back to her room.

Just as she entered her room, she felt a burst of air rushing towards her face. She was startled and subconsciously waved her hands. The person had obviously anticipated her actions and grabbing her wrists, he pulled them forcefully behind her. Gu Yu Qi took advantage of the opportunity to slam hard into him with her shoulder. She did it so hard that it almost exhausted all her strength. The person was stunned by her full strength. What Gu Yu Qi crashed into was a slightly cold chest. He frowned in pain and gave a muffled grunt, but he still pushed Gu Yu Qi firmly against the door. Gu Yu Qi was about to shout for help when he raised his hand and covered Gu Yu Qi’s mouth.

By the faint light cast through the paper window from outside, Gu Yu Qi saw clearly who was restraining her.

His ice-like eyes were full of anger and he looked deeply ill. His face was frighteningly pale.

Gu Yu Qi’s eyes widened in shock. How could it be him?! Yun Ke! Had he not already fallen asleep? Why had he suddenly appeared in her room, attacking her? She glared at Yun Ke fiercely and shook her head, signalling to him to let her go.

“If you don’t scream, this prince will let you go.” Yun Ke slowly lowered his head to Gu Yu Qi’s ear and said coldly. The chill in those words made Gu Yu Qi subconsciously shrink her neck.

She nodded.

In this situation, it was better to get rid of her restraints before making plans.

Feeling his hand on her mouth loosen, Gu Yu Qi immediately wanted to call her mother to come over. However, what Yun Ke said next made Gu Yu Qi close her mouth again.

“In this courtyard, all the people are this prince’s guards. If you call for help, what they see will be this prince in your room with dishevelled clothes. At that time, even if you jump into the Yellow River, you won’t be able to cleanse yourself of your reputation. Could it be that you want to be this prince’s concubine like in the previous life?” Yun Ke’s lips were pressed against Gu Yu Qi’s ear. Although his voice was soft, each word passed Gu Yu Qi’s ears clearly and made her shudder.

“What in the hell do you want?” Gu Yu Qi tilted her head and said in a low voice, displeased. Yun Ke was right, if she shouted, it was likely that the first people to come in would be the guards outside. His icy breath blew across her neck and it was rather unpleasant. Gu Yu Qi felt like there was a cold poisonous snake spitting these words at her. “Let go of me and talk properly.”

Yun Ke let go of the hand covering Gu Yu Qi’s lips but still kept her pressed firmly against the door, not giving her any chance to resist. Her hands were held behind her back by his iron grip. If she struggled, she would not be able to avoid physical friction with him.

“Talk properly?” There was a black storm brewing in Yun Ke’s eyes.

He could not sleep, thinking of Yun Qing, and had just gotten up to walk around. He had not expected to see Gu Yu Qi’s figure. He had wanted to call out to her but had hesitated, then for some reason he had followed her.

What did he see? Yun Ke sneered. He saw this woman actually seducing his bodyguard.

Cake. He had said why there was no such thing in the desserts that Gu Yu Qi had brought over. It turned out that she had secretly handed it to Du Xia. What a good Gu Yu Qi, what a good Du Xia, to be able to have secret dealings amidst numerous guards.

When he saw Gu Yu Qi personally feeding the cake to Du Xia, rage burned all over his body and because of his anger, he exposed his whereabouts. He could have walked out of the darkness openly, but on second thought, he evaded them.

Du Xia had no memory of his previous life, so keeping him was still useful. Yet, this woman, was it possible that she really regarded Du Xia as her goal in this life?

Were those words that she had said to him thousands of times ready to be said to Du Xia in this life?

Good, very good! Gu Yu Qi, how excellent. Back then, she ran after him with all her might. Then now that he felt guilty in this life and decided to compensate, she went after another man? Yun Ke really wanted to catch this woman and ask her, do you still remember who you thought about in the previous life?!

It was him, Yun Ke! Not Du Xia!

Gu Yu Qi’s shove just now was very strong. He could feel that the wound on his lower back had burst open again and blood was dripping down slowly against his skin. He felt the thin shirt near his back covered with blood and sticking to his waist, but he could not be bothered with it, he just wanted to grab this woman!

“What are you being crazy about?!” Gu Yu Qi said angrily, “Let me go! What are you doing here instead of sleeping so late at night?!”

Looking at the anger in the eyes of the person in front of him and her lips that kept opening and closing, the warm and rosy lips, Yun Ke could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He suddenly grabbed Gu Yu Qi’s chin with his free hand and forced her to look up. Then he lowered his head and kissed those red lips that looked so hateful.

Her lips were so soft and sweet, and there was a faint sweet scent on her lips. It was the smell of the cake. Yun Ke originally wanted to punish Gu Yu Qi but when his lips suddenly touched that softness, it was as though a part of his heart collapsed and even his anger instantly dissipated without a trace.

He greedily sucked on her beauty and sweetness. It was not enough. He wanted more. His breathing was uncontrollably disorderly and his heart was also about to burst. There seemed to be no other thoughts in his brain except for being greedy for the beauty of those lips and wanting more.

His movements were very clumsy and he was not good at kissing. Even though he was the emperor in the previous life with a whole harem, he never took the initiative to kiss those women. If anyone wanted to kiss him, he would frown and avoid it. He tried hard to recall what Gu Yu Qi had done to him. At that time, he had felt very disgusted, but now he was learning from Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi’s mind turned blank from the sudden kiss. She stood dumbly in Yun Ke’s arms, eyes widened and letting him ravage her lips for a long while. It was not until he tried to pry open her jaw with his tongue that she suddenly came to her senses.

She opened her mouth and bit Yun Ke’s lip hard. Yun Ke felt a stabbing pain. In an instant, all the enjoyableness was washed away.

He opened his eyes and met Gu Yu Qi’s angry ones. From the reflection in her eyes, he saw his unsatisfied gaze and the slight redness on the corners of his eyes and cheeks, contrasting especially against his pale skin.

A strong smell of rust emanated from their mouths. Yun Ke stubbornly refused to let go of Gu Yu Qi, and Gu Yu Qi bit Yun Ke hard to stop him from continuing the kiss. Both sides refused to budge for a long while. Gu Yu Qi felt that she was about to bite off Yun Ke’s lips but he still stubbornly refused to let her go.

It would not do to continue on like this. Gu Yu Qi let go first, prepared to twist her own head away. However, as soon as she let go, Yun Ke kissed her deeply. When she was about to bite again, he withdrew suddenly. Gu Yu Qi bit her own tongue and instantly flushed red with pain.

She glared at Yun Ke angrily. Yun Ke slowly straightened his body. Blood slowly dripped from the corner of his pale lips. The bright red blood on his pale skin was even more striking. He raised his hand and used the back of it to wipe off the redness left on the corners of his lips. He was as elegant as a blood-sucking aristocrat walking in the dark night during the Middle Ages.

This woman had bit him too hard, but he was satisfied. There was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. Yun Ke let go of Gu Yu Qi.

As soon as Gu Yu Qi was free, she slid quickly to the side and moved far away from Yun Ke.

His arms suddenly feeling empty, the smile that had just risen froze on his lips. Yun Ke frowned and looked at Gu Yu Qi who was avoiding him like the plague. His heart also felt empty. This was unpleasant.

“Stay away from Du Xia.” He said slowly and coldly.

“Yun Ke, you’ve gone too far!” Gu Yu Qi’s eyes were burning with anger. She was infuriated. She had obviously tried her best to avoid him in this life, so why was he still holding onto her? Well, in that case, she made an oath of alliance with him and stood by his side as an ally. When he ascended the throne, he would give her mother the title she deserved and she would retire. At that time, he could marry whoever he wanted. Even if he wanted to make Zhang Wan Yi the empress, it would have nothing to do with her! Why not let her go?! What was he doing now?

Gu Yu Qi’s thoughts and emotions surged, and even her breathing was irregular, “We’re just allies.”

“Mhmm.” Yun Ke nodded, “Even more so that you should stay away from Du Xia.” To Gu Yu Qi’s surprise, Yun Ke actually openly admitted their relationship.

“Du Xia is your secret guard now, but not in the future.” Gu Yu Qi said angrily.

“Du Xia is a pillar of my future Qi dynasty. You cannot touch him.” Yun Ke’s voice turned cold, “You cannot influence him or change him.” He paused, then continued, “If this prince finds out you got close to Du Xia, be careful of your mother’s life!”

Gu Yu Qi’s heart felt cold and her face lost colour instantly. She had not expected Yun Ke would use her mother to blackmail her. Yes, she was naive, thinking that by virtue of being an ally, she would avoid everything. However, she had forgotten that she was facing Yun Ke, the future emperor of the Qi dynasty, the cold-hearted and cold-blooded Yun Ke!

It was because she was too naive that she had thought she could get along with him peacefully.

Gu Yu Qi’s panic and pale pallor reflected in Yun Ke’s eyes. It made his heart unbearably cold and it felt like there was something stuck in his heart. Was Du Xia really so important to her? Important enough to make her lose all colour?

“Gu Yu Qi, listen.” Yun Ke took a step forward, suppressing the bursts of heartache surging up in his heart. He held Gu Yu Qi’s hand firmly, “You’re my ally now, don’t think about marrying someone else. This prince forbids it, not now and not in the future.” The only person you can marry in the future is me! He suppressed these words in his heart and did not say it. Now was not the time. He needed to wait until his wings were more developed, then he would marry her.

Even if it was a ten mile long dowry, even if the sky was filled with flowers, he would repay her whatever he owed her in the previous life so that they would not both have come back to life in vain.

Gu Yu Qi shook off Yun Ke’s hand and smiled miserably at him. Her lips had become brightly coloured because of his kiss and her face was still unusually pale. She looked fixedly at Yun Ke and pointed at the door, “Leave.” She spoke calmly and her calmness made Yun Ke’s heart tremble.

“Answer this prince first.” Yun Ke stood still and looked at Gu Yu Qi stubbornly. In truth, what was the practical significance of such a promise? However, Yun Ke just wanted Gu Yu Qi to agree to him. It seemed that he would only feel at ease if she agreed verbally.

Gu Yu Qi looked at Yun Ke calmly, a self-deprecating smile suddenly appearing on her face, “I will agree with you, but you must promise me that once you ascend to the throne in the future, in addition to giving my mother the title, you must keep my mother safe and wealthy forever.” She looked at Yun Ke sarcastically, “Don’t forget, you are the one who will become the emperor. A golden tongue should speak with no regrets.”

Yun Ke’s eyes flickered. The smile on Gu Yu Qi’s face made his heart ache for no reason. She was only thinking for her mother but did not mention herself at all. Was she going to put her own life and death aside?

He really had not wanted to force her to such a point, but what he had seen just now made him angry and afraid.

Gu Yu Qi had never shown such a relaxed smile in front of him in this life. The tenderness in those eyes almost melted everything in the world. At that moment, Yun Ke knew that he was jealous, he was actually jealous of one of his secret guards. Even for a fleeting moment, he was willing to exchange everything he had for Gu Yu Qi to smile at him like that.

His jealousy and anger exposed him. He had not been like that for a long time.

This brand new experience made him realise that he was still living… even having affection…

He did not understand romance and love. In the previous life, he had just felt that it was something in books that deceived noble ladies and made them disregard ethics. As for Zhang Wan Yi, he felt gratitude and appreciation. He was grateful to her for saving his life and she was the first person who was dedicated to him. Instead of just talking about it like Gu Yu Qi, rambling on about romance and love all day long which was what he found disdainful. Zhang Wan Yi’s dignified gracefulness made her the most suitable person to be by his side. Gu Yu Qi’s frivolous quibbling was like a child who was not getting enough attention and it only annoyed him.

“Alright. This prince promises you now. If you keep your word, this prince will do what you want and give your mother peaceful and prosperous days for the rest of her life.” Yun Ke looked at Gu Yu Qi seriously and spoke word by word.

“Thank you.” Gu Yu qi’s heart relaxed and she bowed towards Yun Ke. “Then this civilian girl will keep her promise and help His Highness Prince An achieve an everlasting enterprise.”

Seeing Gu Yu Qi’s figure bowing in front of him, Yun Ke stretched out a hand to help her up but halfway through, he took his hand back.

“Rest well.” Yun Ke said hesitantly, “Just now…”

“Nothing happened just now.” Gu Yu Qi rushed to speak before Yun Ke, “This civilian girl will keep in mind what His Highness said.”

Uh… Yun Ke’s eyes dimmed and he pursed his lips sullenly. His lips were still wounded from her. She denied everything so quickly… This made Yun Ke feel very uncomfortable in his heart.

Yet, he could see Gu Yu Qi’s resistance. Yun Ke was afraid this woman would set herself on fire again if she took matters to heart too seriously like in the previous life. Then he would really never see her again. Being reborn was a chance and even Yun Ke found it unbelievable that he could be reborn twice.

He could not push her too hard. Yun Ke silently let out a long sigh in his heart. As long as she stayed away from Du Xia in the future, then he would have achieved his purpose.

“Mhmm. This prince hopes you will always remember it.” Yun Ke said lightly, “Just remember your status. Rest up.” After speaking, he turned around and walked out of Gu Yu Qi’s room.

As though all of the strength in Gu Yu Qi’s body had suddenly drained away, she fell helplessly to the ground. She closed her eyes tightly but tears could not stop streaming down.