Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 99

“Yes, Young Master,” the carriage driver turned and then cupped his fists towards Gu Yu Qi, “Young Miss, I was rude just now and offended you.” Though he apologised, Gu Yu Qi could not sense much sincerity in his tone.

Gu Yu Qi was already in a troubled mood, so she just glanced at him then snorted and continued walking.

“Young Master, the Young Miss is ignoring us! Let’s go,” the driver turned back towards the carriage, ready to drive away, but he was stopped by whoever was inside.

“Wait a moment.”

“Young Master, is there something else?” the driver asked, puzzled.

“It’s already very late. As a young lady walking alone at night, she must have encountered some trouble. Go ask her. If we can help, let’s lend a hand,” the young master inside the carriage spoke slowly, his voice like a clear spring, carrying a naturally gentle atmosphere.

“Young Master! She’s walking her own road at night. Let’s stick to our own path and not ask too much,” the driver said.

“Impudent,” the voice from inside the carriage sounded a bit stern, and the driver had no choice but to comply. He jumped off the carriage and quickly caught up with Gu Yu Qi, “Young Miss, our Young Master asks if you need any help.”

“No need,” Gu Yu Qi replied curtly, feeling annoyed.

“This lady is quite rude,” the driver snorted. He returned and reported to the young master, “Young Master, she said no need. Let us continue our journey.”

“You were impolite, so you may have alarmed her. Let me handle it.” Saying this, someone from inside the carriage lifted the curtain and a handsome figure stepped down from the carriage.

“Young Miss, please wait.” The man hastened a few steps, catching up with Gu Yu Qi and offering a deep bow, “My servant was rude just now. I apologise on his behalf.”

Gu Yu Qi gave him an impatient glare. He kept his head lowered, making it difficult to see his face. However, judging from his stature, he seemed decent. He wore a moon-white robe with wide sleeves that gently fluttered in the night breeze. A matching hair ribbon also swayed with the wind, giving him an air of elegance.

“Step aside,” Gu Yu Qi said coldly.

“Yes, yes, yes. I’ll step aside immediately.” The man seemed to have an excellent temperament. He quickly stepped aside to give way to Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi walked past him and continued forward, hearing footsteps behind her. The man caught up again quickly, and Gu Yu Qi’s brows furrowed. “You’re annoying!” She said angrily, “Don’t follow me!”

“Young Miss, please don’t be angry,” the man quickly apologised. “I only noticed that Young Miss was walking alone on the road at night, so I got off the carriage to inquire if there’s anything I can assist with.”

“Nothing! No need! Thank you! Go on your way!” Gu Yu Qi said irritably, “Don’t follow me!” She did not even bother to look at the man.

Why did she have to encounter such meddlesome people?! It was truly exasperating.

Her mood was already bad but now she felt an indescribable irritability stuck in her chest with no way to vent. She wished she could give the man a good smack to dispel the pent-up frustration. But she was angry at herself, so how could she take it out on someone else? Gu Yu Qi was just annoyed and could not stand it anymore, so she was thinking such thoughts.

All she wanted was to get back home, cover herself with a blanket and sleep, and forget about Du Xia.

But could she really forget him? Gu Yu Qi could not believe it herself. She had come this far and there was no turning back. Du Xia’s life would be better off without her interference. Her presence brought him nothing good, only disaster. She had figured this out, however, she could not explain to Du Xia sincerely that it was for his own good that she would not let him near her. He would not listen and on the contrary, he would interpret it as genuine concern, making him stick even closer.

Cutting ties earlier would be beneficial for Du Xia, before he became too deeply entangled to extricate himself.

Letting go was the best resolution for Du Xia.

But who the hell was this person who had popped up?! He was like glue, why could he not be driven away?!

After Gu Yu Qi finished speaking, she turned to walk away. She pricked up her ears and listened for a moment. She realised the person did not follow her. Only then did Gu Yu Qi feel a little better.

The night wind stirred her thoughts. Every time she thought back to Du Xia’s pale face earlier, she felt an uncontrollable pang of heartache. It was all her fault.

The sound of horse hooves came from behind. Presumably, the person had boarded the carriage. Gu Yu Qi moved to the side, meaning to let the carriage pass quickly. Unexpectedly, the carriage closely followed her footsteps.

If Gu Yu Qi walked quickly, the carriage would drive faster. If Gu Yu Qi walked slowly, the carriage would be slower, as if determined to follow her.

Gu Yu Qi finally could not take it any longer. She stopped and turned around, glaring at the carriage driver. “What do you want?” She said angrily, “Why do you keep following me?!”

“Young Miss speaks quite domineeringly. We’re going our separate ways on this wide road. How can it be said that we’re following Young Miss?” the driver chuckled.

“Then you go ahead first!” Gu Yu Qi felt her patience being tested like never before. She simply stepped aside and waited for the carriage to pass.

“Hey, since you told us to go, we won’t go!” the driver said with a cheeky smile.

“You!” Gu Yu Qi now understood that this master and servant were deliberately bothering her!

“Don’t be impolite,” the gentle voice from inside the carriage continued. He lifted the curtain and looked at Gu Yu Qi. There was a lantern hanging in front of the carriage, but there were also lamps lit in the carriage which brightened his appearance.

His eyes were gentle and bright, his arched eyebrows reaching his temples. He had a prominent nose and moist lips so when he smiled, two small dimples appeared on his cheeks, making him quite charming. His eyes were warm, gazing at Gu Yu Qi. Clad in his moon-white robe, he exuded a fresh and scholarly air.

“Young Miss, please don’t be alarmed and don’t be afraid either. I only wanted to accompany Young Miss seeing as Young Miss is walking alone at night,” he bowed politely to Gu Yu Qi, cupping his fists, “Since Young Miss dislikes it, I won’t insist. Take care, Young Miss, I will head off first.”

As the saying goes, one should not hit someone who is being friendly. Seeing this person had courteous manners, appearing like a gentle and well-mannered scholar, he did not look like a bad person. He had etiquette and was thoughtful, so she had no reason to continue being angry with him.

“Thank you,” Gu Yu Qi nodded slightly towards the man, “You should leave quickly.” The most important thing was not to bother her!

“Mhmm,” the man nodded and lowered the curtain. Then he said to the driver, “Go, let’s continue on our way.”

The driver flicked the whip, making a resounding noise in the air, and the carriage trotted away, soon disappearing at the end of the road.

After returning to her room, Gu Yu Qi collapsed on her bed and pulled the blanket over herself.

Her mood was terrible and she was exhausted, but she could not sleep. She kept thinking about everything from her past life related to Du Xia, trying to find every moment he had been around her in her memories. Unfortunately, there were very few.

She remembered being carried into the royal palace in her wedding gown in her past life. At that time, she had entered as a concubine and her wedding dress could not even be bright red.

The wedding chamber was located in the small courtyard where she later lived. It was a tiny courtyard with a “喜” character hanging in the centre, and a pair of red candles burning in front. There was nothing else to indicate that this was a wedding chamber.

Supported by Yan Zhi, she entered without any guests. In the small wedding chamber, it seemed like only she and Yan Zhi were present.

After waiting for a while, someone placed red silk into her hands. Peeking through the gaps in her veil, she saw someone dressed in red.

At that moment, she had been really stupid in thinking that the person who came was Yun Ke. She happily performed the ceremony of bowing to the heavens and the earth, sincerely praying to the heavens. She had never believed in gods or spirits, but at that moment, she prayed genuinely, hoping that from that moment on, Yun Ke would gradually pay more attention to her and fall in love with her. She silently vowed to be good to Yun Ke for her entire life, thinking about him in everything, and bearing him children.

However, right after bowing to the heavens and the earth, a gust of wind blew, lifting the red veil from her head. It was only then that she clearly saw the appearance of the person beside her.

The person in red was not Yun Ke, but a handsome young man with unfamiliar features. Although he looked refined and otherworldly, he should not be standing in that position.

In that instant, a sense of humiliation from being deceived surged into her heart. She raised her hand and slapped the young man’s cheek hard, causing his head to turn aside. His face instantly swelled.

“This subordinate is Du Xia, a guard of His Highness,” she heard his calm voice.

“Where is Yun Ke?!” she had angrily asked.

“His Highness is busy and not in the palace, so he instructed this subordinate to welcome Young Miss into the house on his behalf,” Du Xia continued, lowering his hands.

On his behalf. At that moment, Gu Yu Qi’s heart had turned cold. She chuckled heartily and approached Du Xia. The young man’s calm eyes showed a hint of panic as she got closer. He deliberately maintained a composed expression and kept his back straight.

“Then what about the bridal chamber?” Gu Yu Qi chuckled, “He wouldn’t have you take care of that as well, right?” Her eyes had been filled with sorrow.

“This insubordinate is only responsible for representing His Highness in bowing to the heavens and the earth,” Du Xia said calmly, “As for the rest, this subordinate is not aware.”

“Go find and bring Yun Ke!” Gu Yu Qi poured all her resentment onto him, punching and kicking. However, Du Xia remained steadfast like a pine tree, completely still, without even a flicker of movement in his eyebrows.

Finally, Gu Yu Qi tired herself out and shouted at him, “Get lost!” It was only then that he slowly spoke to her, “His Highness said if Concubine Gu is tired, she should rest first. This subordinate will take his leave.”

Gu Yu Qi sighed deeply. That was the first encounter between her and Du Xia in the previous life.

Unexpectedly, in the previous life, she had told Du Xia to get lost and in this life, she shouted at him like that again.

Tears had soaked her pillow without her realising. She quickly wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

Forget it, it was all in the past. It was useless to think too much about it.

The next day, Gu Yu Qi claimed to be ill and did not leave her room. This startled Liang Huai Yu who called for a physician. The physician examined her but found nothing wrong. However, Gu Yu Qi looked as if she had fallen seriously ill. She was listless and lacked any energy.

The physician could only say that it was caused by excessive worries and prescribed some calming medicine. After taking it, Gu Yu Qi fell into a deep sleep.

She slept all the way until the next morning.

Several days later, the gates of Liang residence were opened wide. A crimson carpet was placed to stretch from inside the residence to the road outside. Carriages and horses gathered at the gate. Any passerby who stopped to take a look would notice that these carriages all belonged to prominent families in Kuizhou.

The lotus appreciation banquet was to be held as scheduled. The Liang residence exuded a cheerful spirit both inside and out. The foyer was freshly decorated and the inside was even more elegant.

Since scolding Du Xia away, Gu Yu Qi had been in an extremely bad mood. She worked hard to keep herself busy so that she could forget Du Xia had ever existed.

Under Gu Yu Qi’s dedicated efforts, the lotus appreciation banquet was very grand. The lotus flowers had bloomed in various vibrant colours. Gu Yu Qi had asked people to arrange a long row of tables in the courtyard, covered with snow-white tablecloths. There were a variety of pastries, fruits, and delicately crafted cakes made by Dai Mei, neatly arranged on display.

Gu Yu Qi had essentially transported the concept of a modern buffet party t o ancient times.

The noble ladies of Kuizhou had never seen such a novel setup. Those who were acquainted gathered together, whispering in hushed tones.

In the courtyard, Gu Yu Qi had instructed people to set up many large parasols, standing like giant blossoms on the lawn, making the courtyard even more colourful.

What intrigued the noble ladies the most were the various fruit juices provided by the Liang residence. They were served in different cups and some even had tiny umbrellas stuck on them. The little umbrellas were meticulously made and were adorable. After drinking the juice, many people secretly hid the little paper umbrellas, intending to take them home as souvenirs to play with.

Of course, the Garrison Commander’s wife also showed her appreciation. Following the advice given by Liang Huai Yu last time, she had ordered people to gather all the kittens in the mansion and had them fed by a designated person in the back courtyard.

She also consulted the physician about the prescription left by Liang Huai Yu and found no issues. Following Liang Huai Yu’s instructions, she took it a few times and felt much better now. If her child could be safely delivered, then Liang Huai Yu would be considered a great benefactor of the Garrison Commander’s residence.

Hence, she felt especially close to Liang Huai Yu. If the Garrison Commander’s wife was like this, the other ladies naturally dared not show off their titles and attitudes in front of Liang Huai Yu. Besides, her family background was not insignificant, coming from the Liang family in Jiangnan.

Liang Huai Yu and Gu Yu Qi had both dressed in a relatively low-key manner for the event. While hosting guests at home required a certain degree of formality, all the guests were wives and young ladies from noble families in Kuizhou City. If they as hosts dressed too fancy, it would make the guests feel irksome.
if the host appeared too flamboyant, it might make the guests feel uncomfortable.

Liang Huai Yu accompanied the ladies in conversation while Gu Yu Qi led a group of young ladies to enjoy the scenery around the lake.

After a day of joyous celebration the guests were preparing to leave. Liang Huai Yu had thoughtfully prepared a small gift for each family. They were golden Ruyi charms.

This generous gesture left the wives and daughters of the various households stunned. They had seen generosity before, but never to this extent. Giving gold as their first gift to each family left everyone desiring to befriend this mother and daughter pair. This first meeting had already left them with a gift of gold, so who knew what they might receive in the future?

After this lavish banquet, the reputation of the Liang residence in Kuizhou soared even higher.

The wives of various households, having seen Gu Yu Qi’s stunning beauty, could not help but have certain thoughts. With such wealth and extraordinarily captivating beauty, marrying her into their families could bring inexhaustible wealth. Furthermore, considering that Gu Yu Qi was an only child, after a hundred years when Liang-shi was gone, all the wealth of the Liang residence would belong to Gu Yu Qi alone.

Gu Yu Qi had not anticipated that the aftermath of the banquet would involve matchmakers coming to inquire about her birth date the next day. This left her somewhat bemused.

Liang Huai Yu, on the other hand, was quite pleased.

She had always worried that her daughter might not find a good match, but the arrival of matchmakers proved that Gu Yu Qi was in high demand. So, she earnestly sent Chun Xing to inquire about the eligible young and talented men in Kuizhou.

Gu Yu Qi was aware of this but she saw Liang Huai Yu was happy and could not bear to interrupt her. Besides, Liang Huai Yu would not arrange a marriage for her without her consent. The final decision still rested in her hands, so she was not too concerned.

Meanwhile, Yun Ke, who was far away in the capital, could not sit still after receiving this news from Wang Yan.

Yun Ke knew Gu Yu Qi’s appearance very well. She was like a golden phoenix in Kuizhou.

The thought of Liang Huai Yu searching for potential suitors for Gu Yu Qi made him restless and uneasy.

Emperor Jing was determined to have Gu Huai Zhong accept Gu Yu Qi back into his family again. However, the sly Gu Huai Zhong, for some unknown reason, remained unwilling to take action and continued feigning illness at home.

If Gu Yu Qi could not return to the Marquis’s residence, it would be impossible for her to be his main wife and Yun Ke found this situation extremely troubling.

He had already planned everything out and was just waiting for Gu Huai Zhong to acknowledge Gu Yu Qi, so that he could promptly seek approval from his Father the Emperor to marry her. It was not just Yun Ke who thought this, even Yun Yi shared the same sentiment.

Ever since that night at Xiao Jing Lake, when he escorted Zhang Wan Yi back to the Zhang residence, Yun Yi had completely lost interest in her.

Zhang Wan Yi might be considered beautiful. She was always dressed in white, appearing elegant and dignified like a lotus emerging from water, though this was only if one did not know her true personality. However, Yun Yi now knew that Zhang Wan Yi’s demeanour was just a facade. He felt unspeakable disgust for her in his heart, especially considering how after marrying, she relied on being the daughter of the prime minister to control Yun Yi. Even when he visited other concubines, she set rules.

It really made Yun Yi hate her more and more. However, on the surface, he continued to maintain a semblance of harmony with Zhang Wan Yi on the surface, as he still needed to leverage the power of Prime Minister Zhang.

The more he hated Zhang Wan Yi, the more he missed Gu Yu Qi. Yun Yi preferred lively and vibrant beauties and most of his concubines had captivating features and alluring figures. Zhang Wan Yi’s simple and elegant beauty was not to Yun Yi’s taste. Gu Yu Qi’s appearance, on the other hand, perfectly matched Yun Yi’s preferences.

Yun Yi even specially summoned Gu Si Yang to the royal mansion. Over time, they became acquainted and during one occasion, Yun Yi managed to get Gu Si Yang drunk and he coaxed him into painting a portrait of his sister.

Gu Si Yang had received guidance from renowned teachers since childhood, making his artistic skills exceptional. Although he was a bit disoriented from being drunk, his fondness for Gu Yu Qi allowed him to wield the brush as if divinely inspired. With a few strokes, he painted all of Gu Yu Qi’s charm onto the paper.

Even after completing the portrait, he shook his head, claiming that his brushwork was not sufficient and the depicted beauty could not compare to the real person.

The painted figure was already extraordinary, how could it possibly fall short of the actual person?

Yun Yi considered the portrait a treasure and promptly ordered someone to frame and hang it in his study. Whenever he had time, he would go and look at the artwork. The more he looked, the more he liked it, and the more he liked it, the more he itched to embrace such a beautiful woman and cherish her.

Zhang Wan Yi naturally saw Gu Yu Qi’s portrait and she resented it so much her teeth itched. Ever since she had suffered a setback at the hands of Gu Yu Qi once when she was young, she remembered it. Although they had little interaction afterward, the proud and arrogant peacock Zhang Wan Yi still considered that incident at the princess’ palace a major humiliation.

Back then, she was a few years older than Gu Yu Qi. Although she always acted with caution, she still lost to that little girl.

Now it was even better. That wretched girl had already been expelled from the Marquis’s mansion. According to conventions, she should have become a subject of public ridicule. However, due to a single plague, His Majesty seemed to view that wretched girl with special favour. Just what kind of extraordinary incense had she burnt to receive such attention?

Now who knows where Yun Yi had obtained her portrait, displaying it so prominently in his study. Where should Zhang Wan Yi place her reputation? After all, she was the legitimate main wife of Prince Jing. However, Prince Jing was too lazy to even glance at her but spent each day daydreaming in front of the portrait.

Zhang Wan Yi was aware that Emperor Jing intended to have Gu Yu Qi return to the Marquis’s mansion. If she were to return, there was a high probability that her unfaithful husband would promptly seek permission to marry her.

That woman had such cunning tactics since childhood and who knew how formidable she had become now. With her naturally enchanting foxy face, even her portrait had captured the soul of her husband. If she entered the palace in person, even if she only held the position of a side concubine, it was likely that within a few years, her position as the main wife would be handed over to that wretched girl.

No, she absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.

The Crown Princess poisoning the Crown Prince’s concubines had been exposed, and now the Crown Prince was losing face in front of Emperor Jing. If the Crown Prince was deposed, the most likely successor would be her husband. She absolutely would not allow Gu Yu Qi, that wild girl who came out of nowhere, to take her place.

She was the legitimate main wife of Prince Jing, the future Crown Princess, and the future Empress.

In a fit of anger, Zhang Wan Yi went to seek her mother-in-law and poured out her grievances.

The Virtuous Consort had never liked Gu Yu Qi, but her son liked her. On one hand, her son was constantly urging her and on the other, her daughter-in-law was incessantly crying and complaining. The Virtuous Consort was torn between the two and developed a growing aversion towards Gu Yu Qi.

She was not even physically in the capital, but she had already turned their family into chaos. The Virtuous Consort really could not stand her.

She had made up her mind that once Gu Yu Qi returned to the capital, she would immediately request the Emperor to designate a suitable family for her. It did not matter who she married, as long as it was not her son!

She did not want her son’s household to be in turmoil.