Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 88

Chun Xing really felt too embarrassed to show her face and did not even return the kitchen knife to the kitchen. She used her Qinggong to swiftly run back to her room and slammed the door shut tightly.

The villagers tending to the vegetable garden in the yard only saw a blur as a figure flashed past them. They thought they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

After Chun Xing closed the door, she leaned against it. She was very angry, though she was not sure who she was angry with. She had lived for 30 years but had never encountered such an embarrassing situation. While she was getting angrier, she could not help but burst into laughter at herself. She chuckled, then hurriedly covered her mouth. Fortunately, Xia He was not in the room, otherwise, she might have thought Chun Xing had gone insane.

Speaking of the man named Li Da, he seemed decent enough. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be in his thirties. He was still looking for his sister and was quite pitiful. The scars on his face were probably made by the bandits who had killed his entire family.

Unconsciously, Chun Xing realised that she had paid more attention to Li Da than she had intended.

Chun Xing had created a big misunderstanding. All the reactions of the maids in the courtyard were similar to Gu Yu Qi’s once they heard the news. It was a big misunderstanding that had gone on for a long time.

Gu Yu Qi saw that the matter was settled and invited Li Da to have a meal at their house. After all, he had given them so many things and they had not shown him any gratitude. Chun Xing had even made a scene with a kitchen knife today. It seemed a bit unreasonable to not invite him.

The banquet was set up in the pavilion located at the centre of the vegetable garden. Originally a flower garden, Gu Yu Qi had transformed it into a vegetable garden. Gu Yu Qi was feeling quite tipsy but still felt proud when she told Li Da that all the vegetables they were eating today were grown by their family.

In a modern context, this statement might have evoked envy and jealousy from all kinds of people. However, in ancient times, this was quite ordinary. As long as someone was a farmer, who would spend money to buy vegetables… So after saying this, Gu Yu Qi also felt a bit embarrassed after saying this.

Nevertheless, Li Da was genuinely delighted.

He had been in Jiangxia City for so long, starting as a dock labourer and working until he eventually became a boss. The hardships he had endured during this journey were something he could not discuss with others. When he had no money in the past, he worked tirelessly day and night, leaving no time for studying or reading. People made fun of him as an illiterate labourer. As he became more affluent, he had to learn to read to understand the account books. Yet others ridiculed him as someone who just imitated being intellectual. When he bought a house with a beautiful garden, he still felt like something was missing. It was today that he realised that Gu Yu Qi’s garden was precisely to his liking!

The garden filled with vegetables was truly comforting. In his garden, there were all sorts of flowers, but he could not even name most of them. In contrast, this garden was filled with vegetables everywhere, he could confidently talk about any of them. That made him feel even more at ease around Gu Yu Qi.

Needless to say, Dai Mei’s cooking skills were exceptional, comparable to those of the imperial palace’s chefs. In fact, Gu Yu Qi knew that Dai Mei’s culinary skills surpassed those of the palace chefs in some aspects. The dishes were perfect in terms of appearance, aroma, and taste, surpassing anything in Jiangxia City’s restaurants.

So, as soon as the food and drinks were served, Li Da became quite talkative. He chatted with Gu Yu Qi while enjoying the meal.

At first, Gu Yu Qi tried to pour the wine for him, but later, she realised that Li Da was quite self-sufficient. He did not need her to pour the wine for him, he just helped himself and poured wine while talking. If he had not previously made clear his intentions about Chun Xing, Gu Yu Qi would have thought he was trying to get her intoxicated to create more opportunities for himself to get closer to Chun Xing.

However, Li Da stayed as Gu Yu Qi expected, drinking until he was completely inebriated and ended up slouched at Gu Yu Qi’s table. Gu Yu Qi, holding a wine cup, did not know whether to laugh or sigh at this situation. She could only gesture at Zhao Wu to come over and carry Li Da to a guest room to rest.

She sent someone to inform the Li residence about his situation. When Zhang Lan returned, he told Gu Yu Qi all mysteriously that he had asked around using the opportunity of having a message. He found out that Li Da had no wife or concubines at home, he was single. Zhang Lan’s gossipy expression made Gu Yu Qi laugh. She then realised that she had sent him to her shop in the afternoon and he had missed the exciting scene involving Chun Xing, so he did not know Li Da’s true intentions. However, since Zhang Lan was so curious about it, and Gu Yu Qi was actually also quite curious. Now that he had taken the initiative to inquire, it saved her from having to ask around.

After this matter, Li Da became a frequent visitor to Gu Yu Qi’s residence. At first, Chun Xing had avoided him due to the misunderstanding, but once everything was cleared up, Li Da began openly bringing gifts for Chun Xing. He had upgraded from carps and wild game to items more suitable for young ladies.

At first, Chun Xing refused to accept any gifts from Li Da, but Li Da insisted that he was thinking of it as just buying them for his younger sister as his family members were no longer around. Now that he had the means, even if he wanted to give gifts to someone, he did not even know who to give them to.

Li Da’s words sounded so pitiful that it made Chun Xing think maybe she was being too sensitive. So, she accepted the gifts for his sister’s sake.

Once she accepted the first gift, others followed. They began with a small mirror, but the gifts gradually progressed to jewellery and silks. Chun Xing did not object too much, but when she felt the gifts were too valuable, she would tell Li Da to take them back. Li Da would not insist and would retrieve the items, only to return the next day with different gifts.

Gu Yu Qi spent another month in Jiangxia City. When her shop was running smoothly, she told Liang Huai Yu that it was time to continue heading north.

By now, it was late spring and early summer.

After much consideration, she decided to leave a few of Zhang Lan’s subordinates in Jiangxia City to take care of her shop. Having spent a considerable amount of time in Jiangxia, she had trained a couple of individuals among them who were smart and capable. Shei also signed contracts with the villagers who had temporarily settled in here, hiring them to help her look after the residence.

The courtyard had already been transformed into a farm, so she was not worried about it becoming worse under the villagers’ care. On the contrary, these villagers were grateful for Gu Yu Qi’s life-saving grace, and every single one of them were determined to repay her kindness. They would wholeheartedly ensure everything in the residence would be well taken care of.

When the news of Gu Yu Qi and her group continuing their journey north reached Li Da’s ears, Li Da insisted on following Gu Yu Qi and the others no matter what. He said that he had spent half his life in Jiangxia City and had never travelled outside. Now that Gu Yu Qi and her group were heading north to do business, it was even better. He would go with them and see the world.

With Ji Shun Express now operating smoothly in Jiangxia City with tremendous success, it was indeed thanks in part to Li Da’s significant contribution. Having been together for so long, Gu Yu Qi found Li Da to be a genuinely good person. She discussed the matter with Liang Huai Yu and they agreed to bring Li Da with them to Kuizhou.

Gu Yu Qi also had her own plans. After all, Li Da had spent a lifetime in the cargo transport industry and she wanted to develop her own logistics business in these ancient times. It was essential that she had people like Li Da to help her. Bringing Li Da with them was also a strategic move to lay the foundation for future developments.

However, since Li Da would be accompanying them, Gu Yu Qi had an issue that she had to explain clearly to Li Da, and that was her gender.

Gu Yu Qi explained the situation to Li Da, who was initially surprised but quickly accepted it. Of course, Gu Yu Qi did not reveal her entire background, only saying that she and her mother faced challenges while conducting business outside, and cross-dressing as a man as a last resort made things more convenient.

Li Da could not help but express his understanding and even praised Gu Yu Qi enthusiastically, making her feel a bit embarrassed and hence dropped the matter.

When everything was arranged and in order, the group once again embarked on their journey north.

With several of Zhang Lan’s men staying behind in Jiangxia City to handle affairs and joined by Li Da and his two companions, their numbers remained the same as when they had entered Jiangxia City.

With the money they had earned during the disaster, Gu Yu Qi was now a confident woman. She had become quite wealthy and her stores in the capital were flourishing from both fame and fortune. Even after the disaster, her shops’ popularity continued unabated and their business surpassed other shops. She shipped spices and other items she had stocked cheaply in Jiangxia City to the capital, where they became highly sought-after goods. Gu Yu Qi profited greatly, even saving on shipping costs since she used her own freight service.

Although it was already late spring, their journey north was filled with picturesque landscapes and the weather remained mild.

Leaving Jiangxia City behind, the scenery began to resemble the northern regions. It lacked the towering ancient city walls like those in the capital and Jiangxia City. Instead, there was a feeling of vastness that expanded one’s heart and mind.

Gu Yu Qi no longer needed to deliberately dress as a man so she simply changed back into her feminine attire. Her appearance in women’s clothing surprised Li Da who could hardly believe his eyes. This actually made Li Da develop a deep admiration for Gu Yu Qi and her mother.

Both the mother and daughter were incredibly beautiful. With their looks, it would be effortless if they wanted to find wealthy and influential partners. However, they chose not to depend on men and instead, led a group of maidservants as they travelled freely through the world. Their unique graceful and carefree demeanour was truly enviable.

Furthermore, Li Da had already experienced Gu Yu Qi’s business acumen during their time in Jiangxia City. After learning that she was a woman, especially such a beautiful one, Li Da was even more astonished. As someone who was at least half a man of the martial arts world, he did not have the biases of high society. In addition, he had carved out a living for himself with his own skills and understood the difficulties of the world. Hence, he admired Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu for travelling and doing business as women.

Seeing that Li Da treated her and her mother with utmost respect, Gu Yu Qi felt relieved. Li Da was indeed a good person. While their initial encounter left a negative impression, as they spent more time together, he proved to be a trustworthy friend.

Amidst the picturesque green mountains and azure lakes, the group enjoyed their journey, often playing games and having fun. Li Da quickly integrated into Gu Yu Qi’s group and did not regard himself as an outsider at all. He would often follow behind Chun Xing and ask to help her. Chun Xing was unable to get angry or scold him, so she could only let him continue.

In fact, Gu Yu Qi could tell that at first, Li Da had looked at Chun Xing a few more times because of his initial simple curiosity about her resemblance to his sister. However, he now looked at Chun Xing with affection in his eyes.

However, Chun Xing was somewhat oblivious by nature and she had already caused one major misunderstanding. Naturally, she would not be inclined to delve into the matter again. Chun Xing had once caused a scene and slapped a table with a kitchen knife. Li Da was afraid that Chun Xing would become angry and cause a scene again after knowing his feelings, so he said nothing. The two continued their journey all muddleheaded like this.

Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huaiyu openly made it clear that they both would both be happy to see them flourish.

If Li Da could genuinely make Chun Xing like him, it would indeed be a beautiful thing. Liang Huai Yu had always felt a bit guilty about her four maids. If a man was willing to wholeheartedly treat them well, then of course Liang Huai Yu would be delighted. So, not only did she not oppose Li Da getting closer to Chun Xing, she instead even helped create opportunities for them to spend time alone.

As they continued their journey while playing along with each other, they had really slowed down the pace of their travelling. After walking slowly for many days, they eventually arrived in a small town named Kan’er Town.

The town had only one small inn and Gu Yu Qi decided everyone would rest there for the night.

Having braved the wind and dew the entire way, Li Da had never complained. However, he had felt that it was strange and wondered why Gu Yu Qi never went into town to stay at an inn. Instead, they always slept outdoors, but he did not ask about it.

As a man with experience, he understood that Gu Yu Qi and her group had extraordinary backgrounds. Their attire, supplies, and expenses, along with the well-trained maids and guards, hinted that they were not from an ordinary family. Moreover, during their time in Jiangxia City, His Highness Prince An had personally visited their Ji Shun Express and they even hosted him in their home. Without significant status and connections, how could they possibly invite His Highness Prince An?

Therefore, Li Da was cautious about making assumptions regarding the identities of Gu Yu Qi and the others.

By the time they entered the inn, it was already late into the night. A waiter welcomed them with a smile and guided everyone to sit down to rest. He partially closed the inn’s door, leaving it halfway open. Then, he and the guards took the horses to the backyard to feed them.

Gu Yu Qi looked around the inn, which was small but fairly neat. However, it seemed like there was not much business. There was only one waiter who had gone to lead the horses, so the innkeeper had to personally greet the guests.

“Innkeeper, is your inn not doing well?” Gu Yu Qi took advantage of the innkeeper coming to serve tea and asked curiously, “It seems like we’re the only guests here?”

“Oh, this town is small and there are not many people passing through, but it’s not that we don’t have customers,” the innkeeper replied with a smile.

“Oh,” Gu Yu Qi nodded and a faint smile played on her lips. After the innkeeper served tea, he turned around and left.

Li Da discreetly approached Gu Yu Qi and whispered, “Miss Gu, I think there might be something wrong with this inn.” He covered his actions with his sleeve, then dipped his finger into the tea and quickly wrote on the table.

Gu Yu Qi glanced at Li Da approvingly. As expected of an experienced wanderer, sensing something was amiss so quickly.

She had also felt there was a problem and she raised her hand to stop Liang Huai Yu from drinking the tea.

The lack of customers at the inn was not necessarily a problem, but the waiter had put the inn’s signboard upside down. Imagine a waiter who worked at the inn daily, how could they not even place the signboard correctly? They should be able to do this even with their eyes closed.

The innkeeper’s accent sounded southern, indicating that he was probably not a local.

An innkeeper who was not local and a waiter who had placed the signboard upside down. There was something wrong with this inn no matter how you looked at it.

Gu Yu Qi quickly made a hand gesture, and Chun Xing and Dong Mei nodded discreetly before quietly getting up. They took advantage of the innkeeper being distracted and sneaked into the kitchen.

These hand gestures were introduced by Gu Yu Qi who had been inspired by modern TV dramas and were first used before they entered Jiangxia City. After arriving in Jiangxia City, Liang Huai Yu found this method of communicating very useful. It was simple, inconspicuous, and effective. So while Gu Yu Qi had been busy making money, she had been busy studying and developing new gestures, adding new meanings. Now, all their maids and guards could understand them.

Gu Yu Qi made another hand gesture to Bai Fu, who nodded and immediately got up to approach the innkeeper.

“Innkeeper, our young lady is hungry. Do you have anything to eat?” Bai Fu smiled and asked.

“Yes, of course we have,” the innkeeper responded, immediately taking out a menu and preparing to bring it over to Gu Yu Qi’s table. However, Bai Fu stopped him, saying, “Let’s go to the counter and order there. The young lady doesn’t like strangers getting too close to her.”

“That’s fine,” the innkeeper, seemingly simple and honest, gave a smile and returned to the counter with Bai Fu.

Bai Fu pretended to browse the menu and think about what to order, but she was actually discreetly observing the innkeeper.

Although the innkeeper was introducing the dishes to Bai Fu, his gaze occasionally shifted towards Gu Yu Qi.

Seeing that the innkeeper was preoccupied with Bai Fu, Gu Yu Qi dipped her finger in tea and wrote on the table, “How did Brother Li Da notice?”

Li Da blocked the innkeeper’s view with his body and then pointed to the tea cup, silently mouthing, “The tea is suspicious.”

“Sedative?” Gu Yu Qi also silently mouthed.

Li Da nodded slightly. Gu Yu Qi understood. She had only thought that Li Da saw the waiter put up the signboard upside down and became suspicious. However, she had not expected someone else to have a greater awareness than her. He had immediately noticed there was something wrong with the tea. It seemed that he had a sharp eye, as expected from someone who had spent years working at the docks.

The tea was subtly bitter. If it was laced with a sedative, it would not be easy to detect. Gu Yu Qi picked it up and sniffed cautiously, but it appeared to be ordinary tea. It was just that it was slightly darker in colour, but that did not mean anything.

She could not be blamed for this. She had travelled through time, then been reborn, living three lives in a row without coming into contact with legendary items like sedatives commonly seen in TV and novels…

“Pretend?” Gu Yu Qi mouthed silently.

“The dosage is not significant, it’s not the right time,” Li Da swiftly wrote on the table with a finger dipped in water.

So that was how it was. Gu Yu Qi had already thought about it in her mind. The innkeeper probably wanted to use a sedative to make them sleep deeply and then take advantage of the situation.

It seemed like this inn was a black shop and there was no way to simply leave.

Not long after, Chun Xing and Dong Mei returned. They communicated with Gu Yu Qi using a few simple hand gestures. Gu Yu Qi nodded.

After a while, the guards came in from the backyard, talking and laughing. They sat down at the other tables. Zhao Wu came over and said to Liang Huai Yu, “Miss, the horses have all been taken to the stables.”

“Sit and rest,” Liang Huai Yu naturally saw the conversation between Gu Yu Qi and Li Da. While she was inwardly surprised, she still nodded calmly.

To encounter something like a black shop, she had never dealt with a situation like this before but since her daughter was so composed, there was no need for her to panic. At most, they would just fight and there were so many of them and so few people at the inn. They certainly had the upper hand.

However, the hand gestures from Chun Xing and Dong Mei had shaken her originally calm composure a bit. There was an ambush on the roof of the inn.

Chun Xing and Dong Mei had gone to the back of the inn as instructed by Gu Yu Qi to check on the situation. With their extensive experience and martial skills, Gu Yu Qi felt assured in letting them go. They had sensed something was amiss as soon as they left the main hall, so they did not use Qinggong. Instead, they simply walked back. They pretended to be looking for the restroom and did not dare venture into the kitchen to investigate.

Liang Huai Yu made two hand gestures to Zhao Wu. When Zhao Wu saw this, he narrowed his eyes. Their quick check of the backyard had not revealed anything unusual. If there was indeed something wrong with this inn, then their horses… Damn it..

Just then, the waiter returned with a friendly smile on his face.

Bai Fu glanced at Gu Yu Qi who gave her a wink. She quickly finished ordering the dishes.

“Ah Hui, please inform the kitchen about the dishes this esteemed guest has ordered,” the innkeeper hurriedly waved the waiter over.

Seeing that Gu Yu Qi signalled her again, Bai Fu said with a smile, “Waiter, I will go with you. Our Young Miss enjoys the dishes I make, so I’ll help with the cooking.” When Bai Fu said this, the waiter immediately looked at the innkeeper. The innkeeper nodded, so the waiter said to Bai Fu, “Sister, please follow me.”

“I’ll go and help too,” Ran Mo stood up and followed Bai Fu and the waiter into the kitchen.

With Bai Fu and Ran Mo keeping an eye on things, there should not be any issues with the dishes that would be served.

Gu Yu Qi found it strange. It was rare for them to head into town to stay the night, yet they had encountered a shady black shop just like this. If it were a typical shady establishment that used a little sedative or such, it might have been somewhat understandable. However, the information from Chun Xing and Dong Mei about the ambush on the roof of the inn was anything but typical. It appeared as if someone had intentionally set a trap for them.

Gu Yu Qi could not help but give Li Da a deep look.

Throughout their journey, they had been playing around but they were also quite cautious. If there was anyone secretly passing information, Li Da was the primary suspect.

However, the decision to stay at the inn was made relatively recently and a trap could not be prepared so quickly. Moreover, if Li Da had intended to lead them into a trap, what was his motive? Was it related to the freight business in Jiangxia City? Or something else entirely? Just a moment ago, Li Da had even tried to warn them. If he had really gone to great lengths to lay a trap and prepare to catch them, why bother pretending to warn and alert them?

Maybe she was overly worried and this was just an ordinary black shop that they had the misfortune of coming across.

Gu Yu Qi decided to remain flexible and adapt to the situation.

In the kitchen, there were only two female cooks and a young boy busily lighting the fire. Bai Fu and Ran Mo watched them prepare the food, but they did not notice anything suspicious.

With each dish brought to the table, Li Da would inspect it to ensure it was not laced with any sedatives.

Gu Yu Qi was not sure how Li Da was confirming this, but she knew that people with his experience travelling the world often had their own methods. However, given her growing suspicion of Li Da, she was not placing much trust in his word.

Gu Yu Qi signalled to everyone. Then after eating just a little, she claimed she was bitten by some sort of insect. She pulled Liang Huai Yu and headed to their room to apply medicine. Chun Xing and Xia He followed closely. Zhao Wu assigned four others to the stable, citing that they needed to give more feed to the horses.

Liang Huai Yu knew that this was an excuse made by Gu Yu Qi. Still, she played along and the two of them went up to their room. Gu Yu Qi quickly retrieved her equipment and her long spear. While conversing with Liang Huai Yu, she gestured towards the room’s ceiling.

Liang Huai Yu understood that there were people on the roof. She had also noticed it. Gu Yu Qi signalled with hand gestures and Liang Huai Yu nodded.

Liang Huai Yu went to her room and retrieved her own long spear.

When she heard Gu Yu Qi break a cup in the room next door, she immediately raised her spear upwards, thrusting it onto the floor and launching herself into the air. The spearhead rotated rapidly, similar to a drill, as she aimed it at the roof tiles.

With two loud bangs, Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu simultaneously broke through the roof, resembling two silver dragons soaring out from the dark rooftop. They instantly knocked the two black-clad assailants off the eaves of their rooms. Meanwhile, at the same time downstairs, Bai Fu and Ran Mo quickly locked onto targets themselves. Bai Fu focused on the innkeeper, while Ran Mo aimed to catch the waiter.

The four guards dispatched by Zhao Wu leaped onto the roof from the backyard. Zhao Wu led the remaining five guards to break through the front window and ascend to the roof in a pincer attack from the front and back.

Chun Xing and Xia He had returned to their room earlier to retrieve their bows and arrows. They released two arrows each into the sky, successfully taking down the black-clad individuals whom Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu had dislodged from the roof.

Gu Yu Qi heard a sharp whistling sound from above and knew something was wrong. She spun her silver spear, quickly forming a shield around her body. Her spear created a radiant silver protective barrier that deflected all the arrows that flew through the air towards her.

Liang Huai Yu, like Gu Yu Qi, used her long spear to leap away from the approaching arrows.

After Chun Xing and Xia He got rid of the black-clad assailants who had been knocked off the roof, they leaped onto the rooftop as well. Under the moonlight, Chun Xing sharply noticed the direction the arrows were coming from, it was coming from the roof of an adjacent building. She pulled three arrows from her quiver and nocked them onto her bow. With a swift draw, all three arrows were released into the air and like meteors, they shot towards the hiding spot of the remaining black-clad individuals.

With a thud, one of the black-clad figures was hit and fell from the roof. Sensing that they had been exposed, the other two black-clad assailants drew their bows and prepared to shoot at Chun Xing. If Xia He spoke, it would be too late. So she acted swiftly, shooting two arrows in quick succession. The arrows struck the chests of the two remaining black-clad individuals before they could draw their bows. Her cooperation with Chun Xing was quick and dazzling, leaving onlookers awestruck.