Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 97

His body was very dirty, he knew. He had been travelling north to find her and only dared to sleep for a few hours each day. He did not have time to bathe, and even his meals were eaten while on the road. After leaving the capital, he resolved matters in Jiangxia City as fast as he could and then headed north to trace her footsteps.

He had known where she was going, but he had calculated the distance from Wang Yan’s secret reports. He had frantically searched everywhere for her, but there was no trace of her anywhere. He had become almost desperate in his search. As the deadline for his return to the capital drew nearer, if he could not find Gu Yu Qi by tomorrow, he would have no choice but to return to the prince’s palace.

Fortunately, the heavens had mercy. After arriving in Kuizhou, he unintentionally overheard people talking about the Liang residence in the southern part of the city. They spoke of the beauty of the mistress and young miss of the Liang family.

The Liang residence in the south of the city. He knew Gu Yu Qi’s mother had the surname Liang. After asking someone, he found out that this Liang family had recently moved in. Du Xia had felt his heart beating intensely again. During the day, he quietly sneaked over and saw Zhang Lan and Zhao Wu. His heart soared. Indeed, she was here.

For the first time, Du Xia experienced what it felt like for time to drag on endlessly, and what it meant to be sitting on pins and needles. For the first time since leaving the capital, he eagerly awaited for the sun to set.

When night fell, he lingered outside Gu Yu Qi’s window for a long time, not daring to disturb her.

Originally, he had just wanted to see her and to know that she was safe. That would be enough.

In Jiangxia, she had not let him see her for the last time before parting. Now, she did not need to know he had come because he was afraid of seeing any displeasure in Gu Yu Qi’s eyes.

He had searched for her for a long time…

When he saw Gu Yu Qi standing by the window, he could not hold back anymore. He sprang out from the shadows, knowing that he might startle her, so he had prepared preventive measures in advance.

When he covered her lips with his hand, it felt like his heart was melting.

The joy bursting in her eyes made him feel that all the hardships he had endured were worth it.

If she was well and safe, then it was a sunny day.

She had pulled him onto her bed and his heart almost leapt out of his throat. This was her bed, surrounded by her warmth and fragrance. It was intoxicating.

He looked around curiously, wanting to see if there was anything special about a noble young lady’s embroidered bed. Suddenly, he realised how dirty he was. There were several dark and yellow stains on the white silk quilt where he had touched, which made him panic momentarily. He immediately shrank back, trying to make himself as small as possible.

With Yan Zhi outside, he could not make a sound so he could only avoid touching Gu Yu Qi’s bed as much as possible.

Yet, he had still managed to upset her.

His heart sank deeply and he lowered his head. He gently bit his lip, suppressing the sourness welling up in his heart, “Are you unwilling to see me?” he asked softly, then sighed silently. He stood up, “I just came to see you, and now that I’ve seen you, I’ll leave.”

Leave, leave, he should have just looked at her, made sure she was well, then immediately left without a trace. He did not want to burden her and he certainly did not want her to find him annoying.

He looked back at the place he had occupied. The white silk quilt had been stained a bit from the dirt on his body. He wanted to help her clean off the dirt, but he was afraid his hands were too dirty and he might end up dirtying the quilt even more. For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma, unable to decide whether to stretch out his hand or not. Du Xia had never felt so distressed before.

“Why did you come?” Gu Yu Qi stood in front of him, looking at the awkward young man in front of her and asking again.

The young man turned to look at Gu Yu Qi, stunned, “I… ” He stammered for a long while, but could not come up with anything else. What should he say? Because of worry, because of fear, because of longing? Yes. It was longing!

“Why?” Gu Yu Qi asked persistently, her gaze fixed on the young man’s dark eyes. It seemed that if she could not get the answer she wanted to know, she would not let him go.

“Because… because I was afraid something might have happened to you.” The young man, forced to escape her piercing gaze, could only lower his eyelids, letting his long eyelashes cover his beautiful eyes. He was like a child who had done something wrong, unable to lift his head, not daring to look at Gu Yu Qi, “I saw a throwing knife on His Highness’ desk. It had been delivered with Wang Yan’s letter. I asked someone, it’s an assassin’s weapon from the Reincarnation Pavilion. I was afraid something might have happened to you, so I came.”

The room fell silent and time seemed to freeze in this moment. Gu Yu Qi looked deeply at Du Xia in front of her. He had become an excellent and qualified undercover secret guard. Gu Yu Qi had no idea how long he had been lurking by her side. Even with her skills, she had not sensed his presence at all.

Yun Ke could not possibly have allowed Du Xia to take leave alone to come and see her. Yun Ke had warned her not to get involved with Du Xia and she was not allowed to see him again.

She had done as he said but now Du Xia was here, standing vividly in front of her, covered in dust from his journey.

It was impossible for Gu Yu Qi to not see that her silken quilt was stained by dirt from him. How far had he rushed and travelled from the capital to find this place?

“Just because you’re afraid something might happen to me?” Gu Yu Qi asked in a low voice.

“I…” Du Xia suddenly raised his head, looking at Gu Yu Qi.

The girl before him was wearing a white gauze dress, her inky black hair casually hanging behind her, exuding an indescribable beauty. She seemed even more beautiful than when he had seen her two months ago, a natural and unadorned kind of beauty that softened her bright and captivating eyebrows. The flickering candlelight reflected on her smooth skin, giving her a hazy and elegant appearance.

He looked at her and she stared back intently at him, her gaze as deep as the sea.

Du Xia really wanted to tell her that he had come because he missed her. However, the words only reached his lips before he forcibly swallowed them back down.

Gu Yu Qi looked at Du Xia. She saw his lips move but in the end, they remained tightly sealed. Her heart seemed to relax suddenly. She did not know what she was expecting, but she knew she was afraid to hear something else from his mouth.

“When are you leaving?” Gu Yu Qi sighed quietly in her heart, softening her voice. Forget it, she did not want to bother about why he came. The important thing was that he was here. He came to check on her because he was afraid something might happen to her, appearing before her as a friend.

This was what Gu Yu Qi told herself.

“At dawn tomorrow,” Du Xia also breathed a sigh of relief. The intimidating gaze in the eyes of the girl before him had disappeared. He was really afraid that if she continued to stare at him like that, he would honestly spill all the secrets in his heart.

Master Chang had said that as a secret guard, one should not have emotions because emotions lead to weakness, and weakness exposes vulnerabilities.

Just now, Du Xia understood one thing. Gu Yu Qi was his weakness.

“So soon,” Gu Yu Qi murmured, “Are you going to sleep tonight then?”

“I don’t want to sleep.” I just want to look at you. Du Xia did not say the latter half of the sentence out loud, keeping it bottled up inside.

“Are you hungry?” Gu Yu Qi asked again.

“I…” Du Xia hesitated for a moment. He should be very hungry, but as soon as he saw Gu Yu Qi, the feeling of hunger seemed to dissipate like smoke. Now that Gu Yu Qi mentioned it, his stomach growled unsatisfactorily. Du Xia blushed from embarrassment instantly. He had not eaten properly at all along the way, being constantly on the move.

Gu Yu Qi felt her heart melting. She was intelligent so how could she not know what Du Xia had gone through to find her? No one had ever done so much for her, yet he did all this because she had helped him when he was young, out of her own selfishness.

Gu Yu Qi instantly felt ashamed of herself. Everything she had done to him before was merely because she had insight into his future and wanted to make her own life better, which was why she had acted. However, he had truly placed her at the forefront of his heart.

He was like a clear crystal, while her heart was as dark as the deepest mud.

“I’ll take you out to find something to eat,” Gu Yu Qi said, taking Du Xia’s hand. His hand was rough and slightly cold.

Du Xia’s heart trembled violently at feeling her soft and smooth hand tightly holding his large hand. The sensation left him so shocked that he was left speechless.

“You… You’re not angry with me?” Du Xia asked cautiously. He felt very uneasy. He was really dirty, with sweat and dust from the journey mixing together during the day. The smell on him must be very unpleasant now. On the other hand, she was as clean as morning dew, carrying an intoxicating fragrance.

“Why would I be angry with you?” Gu Yu Qi sighed deeply, her gaze dimming slightly. She could only be angry with herself.

He was too good, and she was too bad…

“I… I’m dirty,” Du Xia breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Gu Yu Qi was not angry with him. He had been genuinely scared to death just now, afraid that she would tell him to get lost.

“Let’s go. Go wash up first,” Gu Yu Qi said with a smile.

“I can go by myself. Wait for me…” Du Xia was delighted and spoke quickly. After saying that, he hesitated, worried, and asked again, “Will you wait for me?”

“Mhmm. I’ll wait for you here,” Gu Yu Qi smiled. The more he acted like this, the more bitter her heart became. However, she still mustered up all her energy to smile at him.

The young man’s eyes lit up instantly. “I’ll be quick.” After saying this, he briskly walked to the window, pushed it open, then leaped out like a nimble black panther and disappeared quickly into the darkness.

Gu Yu Qi sat blankly on her bed, her eyes fixed on the slightly open window. She could not help but frown.

What should she do? What should she do now?

She was not a fool so how could she not see the young man’s longing for her in his eyes?

If Yun Ke in this life had not been reborn, then she and Yun Ke would have never met again. In that case, she would have gladly accepted it and would even be somewhat smug. However, now that Yun Ke would never let her off, if she continued to provoke Du Xia, she would be burdened with a deep sense of guilt.

Although she could not give him anything, she was still giving him hope and anticipation. Was that not deceiving him?

Yet when faced with his gaze, facing Du Xia who had come from thousands of miles away to find her, she could not bring herself to say such heartless words.

Oh my god! Gu Yu Qi felt the meaning of digging one’s own grave for the first time.

She should have harshly driven him away. Why had she been soft-hearted just now? Du Xia had a brilliant future ahead of him, so how could she become the stumbling block and hinder his future development?

But she really could not say those words.

Gu Yu Qi was struggling with this to death, wishing she could tear her long hair out. After thinking about it over and over, Gu Yu Qi sighed deeply. Regardless, he had come specifically to see her. At the very least, she should show some basic courtesy as the host. As for being ruthless, she would wait until dawn.

He would be leaving at that time. Gu Yu Qi guessed that he did not have much time, so leaving the words until then would be the best.

Just go, go, go far away. Hopefully, time would dilute everything and when he saw her again, he would treat her as a stranger.

Gu Yu Qi stood up, put on a coat, and casually tied her long hair into a braid.

As Gu Yu Qi was tidying herself up, she heard Du Xia’s voice again at the window. This time, he did not come in. Instead, he stayed outside and said softly, “I’m ready.”

So fast. Gu Yu Qi hurriedly put down her comb and walked to the window. Indeed, Du Xia, who had changed into clean clothes, stood refreshed in front of her. His long hair had also been washed and the ends of his hair were dripping with water. There were also water droplets on his skin, crystal clear.

“Let’s go out and find something to eat.” Gu Yu Qi also jumped out of the window. She took Du Xia’s hand and leaped onto the roof of her house.

The refreshing scent of soap from Du Xia came from beside her. They walked together, crossing up and down, then soon left the Liang residence’s courtyard.

Walking side by side in the empty street, Du Xia was in an extremely good mood and the corners of his lips were constantly upturned.

He occasionally stole glances at the girl beside him. She seemed to have something on her mind, but the fact that she was willing to accompany him out was already better than anything else.

It was late at night so there were not many restaurants still open in Kuizhou City. They walked together for a long time before seeing a noodle shop with candlelight still lit and the door only half closed.

Gu Yu Qi took out a silk scarf to cover her face. After her previous high-profile appearance, someone might recognise her.

Du Xia also did not want Gu Yu Qi’s appearance to attract too much attention because she was so beautiful.

The two of them walked over quickly. “Boss, are you still open for business?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“Open, open, open. How could we not be open? We’ll keep serving as long as there are customers,” the boss, a short middle-aged man, greeted them warmly, “What would you two like to order?”

“Whatever you’re good at, just bring it over,” Gu Yu Qi said with a smile.

“Okay, okay, okay. I just made some braised meat. I’ll bring a plate over for you two,” the boss nodded immediately and said, “And two bowls of chicken soup noodles, is that okay?”

Gu Yu Qi looked at Du Xia with an inquiring look and Du Xia nodded immediately.

For him, it did not matter what they ate. The important thing was that Gu Yu Qi was with him.

Soon, a neatly arranged plate of braised meat was brought over, followed by two steaming bowls of chicken soup noodles.

Only then did Du Xia finally feel how hungry he was. He smiled sheepishly at Gu Yu Qi and said softly, “I’ll start eating.” Seeing Gu Yu Qi nod, he immediately started taking large mouthfuls of food.

During these few days, he almost forgot what real food tasted like. He had constantly rushed on the road. When he was really hungry, he would just eat a few mouthfuls of dry rations and drink some water. The noodles and braised dishes in this small shop were like delicacies for Du Xia.

He quickly finished his own portion, but Gu Yu Qi was not hungry and immediately passed her share towards Du Xia.

Du Xia accepted it with embarrassment and continued to eat with big bites.

“This young lady is really lucky,” the enthusiastic boss chuckled and said, watching them with interest, , “Your husband is so young and can eat so much. He must be a good hand at work.”

The two of them immediately felt awkward. Du Xia felt happy, ashamed, and a little worried that Gu Yu Qi might get angry. He wanted to explain but was also reluctant to, so he just buried his face deep into the bowl.

Gu Yu Qi felt a twinge of bitterness in her heart, but she was not prepared to explain anything. The two of them had gone out at such a late hour. If they were not a couple, who knows what others might think.

Seeing that Gu Yu Qi neither had the intention to explain nor showed signs of anger, Du Xia’s heart was filled with sweetness. There was a big silly smile on his face buried in the bowl.

He quickly drank up the noodle soup in three gulps. Only then did he finally feel a bit full.

Gu Yu Qi was surprised. He could eat so much, but where did all the food go? His belly showed no signs of bulging and his waist remained slim and tight.

Sigh, there are people who can eat as much as they want without getting fat. It’s really maddening!

“You don’t want to eat some?” Du Xia suddenly remembered that Gu Yu Qi had given him all of her food. She had sat there watching him eat. He felt a bit embarrassed as he asked.

“I’m not hungry…” Gu Yu Qi smiled and said, then turned to the boss, “How much is it?”

“Not much, not much, just 50 pennies are enough,” the boss said hurriedly with a smile.

50 pennies was really not expensive. Gu Yu Qi was about to reach for her purse when she saw Du Xia taking out some silver change and putting it on the table, “Here.”

“I…” Seeing that Du Xia was eager to pay, Gu Yu Qi was just about to say that she would handle it when she was pulled out of the small shop by Du Xia.

“Wishing you two a happy and harmonious life!” The boss poked his head out from the half-opened shop and greeted them.

Du Xia also waved at him, feeling so good that he could almost fly. An uncontrollable smile adorned the corner of his lips.

“Where to next?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“I don’t know,” Du Xia was slightly startled, looking around a bit bewildered. He was not familiar with Kuizhou as it was his first time here. “Are you tired?” Du Xia asked cautiously.

His heart was very conflicted. He was afraid that Gu Yu Qi might be tired, so he wanted her to go back and rest. However, he also feared that if Gu Yu Qi went back to rest, he would be left alone.

Du Xia truly did not know what to do.