Within The Sound of Swallows - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Are You Stupid?

Gu Chaobei’s mouth twitched as he listened. Lowering his head, he noticed Shen Guiyan growing even more nervous.

“That voice is truly terrifying,” Gu Chaobei muttered. “I wonder if she’d still yell like that if it were her own daughter?”

Shen Guiyan gave him a strange look before turning to enter the front hall. But as soon as she took a step forward, Gu Chaobei yanked her back.

“Are you stupid?” Gu Chaobei rolled his eyes, grabbed both her hands, took a deep breath, and then dragged her into the front hall with an imposing air.

“What are you doing—?” Shen Guiyan was startled, stumbling as she followed him inside, nearly falling in the middle of the hall.

All eyes turned toward them. Shen Guiyan tried to break free, but his grip was too tight, and it hurt. Gu Chaobei refused to let go. Instead, he smiled calmly at the people in the hall and said, “Ah, Everyone’s here?”

Lord Shen was away at court today, leaving Madam Shen to handle the matter strictly. But with Gu Chaobei dragging a struggling Shen Guiyan in like this, how could she possibly pin the blame on Shen Guiyan?

No matter how you looked at it, it was clearly this Fourth Young Master Gu who had forced her out.

“Where did you two go?” Madam Shen asked sternly.

Shen Guiyan opened her mouth to speak, but Gu Chaobei pulled her behind him and faced Madam Shen directly. “The weather was nice today, so I took Yan’er to offer incense to Lady Qin. Since Yan’er and I are engaged, it’s only right that I pay my respects to her mother.”

“Lady Qin?” Madam Shen let out a disdainful snort. “That lowly woman who wasn’t even worthy to step into the main hall, what’s the point of visiting her? Not to mention how inauspicious it is to mix mourning with celebration. Fourth Young Master Gu, just by coming to see Yan’er today, you’ve already broken the rules.”

“Aren’t rules made by people?” Gu Chaobei said lightly.“It’s practically because Madam has taught Yan’er to be too rule-abiding that even taking her out once is harder than pulling teeth. If I weren’t so strong, I wouldn’t have been able to drag her away.”

He then turned to glance at Shen Guiyan and added, half-aggrieved, “I’m practically your husband now, and you’re still worrying about things like propriety. Isn’t that a bit too much?”

Shen Guiyan was stunned, staring at Gu Chaobei’s eyes, momentarily dazed.

This man… was actually covering for her.

His words were smooth, leaving Madam Shen at a loss for a rebuttal. Should she scold Shen Guiyan? But she was the victim here—she hadn’t done anything wrong and had even tried her best to follow the rules. But should she just blame Gu Chaobei?

He was a young master of the Prime Minister’s household, and he was not someone she could reprimand.

Madam Shen fumed silently for a while before finally saying to Shen Guiyan and Gu Chaobei, “Let’s leave today’s matter at that. Yan’er, return to the Swallow Pavilion first. Fourth Young Master Gu, you may go home. There will be plenty of time for you to see each other after the wedding.”

“Alright.” Gu Chaobei finally released Shen Guiyan’s hand.

Shen Guiyan exhaled deeply and gently helped Baoshan, who was still kneeling on the ground. She bowed to Madam Shen and then left with Gu Chaobei.

“Young Miss…” Baoshan, who hadn’t cried until now, finally shed tears upon seeing Shen Guiyan return.

Shen Guiyan looked at her swollen face with heartache. “You’ve suffered.”

Baoshan shook her head, glancing at Gu Chaobei, and said, “As long as Madam didn’t get the chance to punish you, Young Miss, this servant doesn’t mind a couple of slaps—it’s nothing new.”

Gu Chaobei gave an awkward chuckle and casually pulled out a bottle of medicine from his sleeve. “This is for the swelling and bruises. I use it often—it works well. Here, take it. Consider it my apology.”

Baoshan dazedly reached out, and the white porcelain bottle landed in her palm.

“…Thank you, Fourth Young Master.”

Waving his hand, Gu Chaobei looked at Shen Guiyan. “Next time we meet, it’ll be our wedding night.”

Shen Guiyan’s face flushed. She pressed her lips together before nodding. “Mm.”

“There are still a few days until then. Don’t let anything happen to you,” Gu Chaobei’s smile faded as he spoke seriously. “No matter who comes hanging outside your window again, don’t pay them any mind.”

Shen Guiyan was taken aback and looked up at him. “You know?”

He knew that Gu Chaodong was still lurking outside her window?

Gu Chaobei smirked and leaned in closer, saying, “There’s nothing I don’t know.”

What a brag! Shen Guiyan secretly cursed him as a rogue in her heart, but she still obediently nodded. She wouldn’t pay any attention to Gu Chaodong anymore, even if she still hadn’t fully let go; that was something she would sort through on her own. When facing Gu Chaodong, she would definitely not show any softness.

“Marry me and you will get what you want,” Gu Chaobei murmured, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Even though I may look particularly reliable.”

That self-evaluation was strangely spot on. Shen Guiyan nodded again.

“Well then, goodbye.” Gu Chaobei straightened up and flashed that familiar infuriating grin again, “Wait for me to come marry you.”

Shen Guiyan: “…”

Gu Chaobei left, and Shen Guiyan returned to Swallow Pavilion with Baoshan. She sat in her room and suddenly asked, “Just what kind of person is Fourth Young Master Gu, really?”

Hearing this, Baoshan, who was well-informed about all sorts of gossip, eagerly stepped forward and started, “Fourth Young Master Gu is said to be an ill-omened person.”

Shen Guiyan froze.

“He was brought back by the Prime Minister from outside, and is said to be a bastard son. His mother died early. Ever since he returned to the Prime Minister’s residence, the place has been robbed multiple times and even caught fire once. Therefore, the people in the residence all avoid him. It’s only because Prime Minister Gu dotes on him that he has lived until now.”

Baoshan sighed. “He’s considered the most handsome man in the capital, winning the hearts of many noble ladies, even Princess Duanwen fell for him. But he’s inherently licentious, frequenting brothels, thus not many respectable families are willing to marry their daughters to him.”

Baoshan wondered if her young lady’s marriage would bring joy or sorrow.

Shen Guiyan rested her chin on her hand and thought for a long moment before suddenly chuckling softly. “He seems quite interesting.”

“…Interesting how?” Baoshan asked, baffled.

Shen Guiyan just shook her head, returned to her bedside, and continued embroidering a few stitches on her wedding dress. She had initially thought Gu Chaobei was just a typical good-for-nothing playboy. But after these two encounters, he seemed more like a rough pillow stuffed with fine brocade—far more intriguing than expected.

For the first time, she felt a flicker of anticipation for this marriage.

The second wedding between the Shen family and the Gu family was arranged in a very rushed and hurried manner. Very few relatives and friends were notified. There wasn’t even time for the proper betrothal gift ceremony, and the gifts would be delivered alongside the bridal procession.

The news that the Shen family’s third young miss was marrying the Gu family’s fourth young master only spread on the very day of the wedding, causing a stir among the capital’s citizens, who rushed to spread the word and come over to watch the spectacle.

“Such a fine girl, how did she end up marrying him?”

“What a pity, what a pity! A fresh flower stuck on a pile of cow dung.”

“I heard many people wanted to marry the Shen family’s third young miss. How did she end up with that good-for-nothing Fourth Young Master Gu?”

Gu Chaobei turned a deaf ear to the chatter around him, dressed in a striking red wedding robe, sitting tall and elegant on horseback as he made his way straight toward the Shen residence.

Today was a big and joyous day. Behind him, thirty cases of betrothal gifts were carried, not a bit less than what the legitimate eldest son Gu Chaodong had given. No one knows what Madam Gu is thinking. But looking at it this way, the Gu family did seem to value this marriage very much.

Shen Guiyan still got up early and dressed up properly as usual. Only this time, it wasn’t Concubine Qin who helped her do her hair, but Xiurong, the maid by Madam Shen’s side, who came over.

“Once you’ve gone to the Prime Minister’s residence, naturally, you must support Fifth Miss and look out for each other. As the wife of a concubine-born son, you must follow her wishes. If Madam finds out that you still hold resentment over the past and cause harm to Fifth Miss, you definitely won’t have anything good coming your way.”

Xiurong spoke while styling her hair, her expression extremely condescending.

Shen Guiyan didn’t even lift her eyelids, merely let out a soft chuckle.

Xiurong’s hands paused. “Oh? Does Third Young Miss disagree with this servant’s words?”

“Not at all.” Shen Guiyan looked at her through the mirror, smiling gently. “How could what you say be wrong?”

Xiurong frowned. Recently, this third young miss had become increasingly hard to handle. She used to be easier to intimidate, but ever since Concubine Qin’s death, it seemed she no longer cared about anything.

It was also that person’s fault for being too impulsive—how could they directly resort to murder? Fortunately, there was no mishap on Fifth Miss’s side. No matter what, she could now suppress Third Miss. Otherwise, if it were found out and they sought revenge, wouldn’t that be bringing disaster upon themselves?

Muttering a couple of “Amitabhas,” Xiurong didn’t say anything further. Once everything was tidied up, she helped Shen Guiyan out.

The Shen residence truly hadn’t put much effort into the preparations this time—aside from some red silk hanging at the gate, the rest of the estate was barely decorated. When Lord Shen questioned Madam Shen, she just brushed it off with the excuse of being pressed for time.

The Gu family’s bridal procession finally arrived outside. Gu Chaobei brought the betrothal gifts into the Shen residence and greeted Lord Shen. He bowed and said, “Your son-in-law greets Father-in-law.”

No matter how dissatisfied he was with this Fourth Young Master Gu, now that his daughter was being married off, Master Shen could only smile and nod.

“Here is the betrothal gift list.” The Gu family’s steward handed over the gift list.

Madam Shen smiled and stepped forward to hand over the dowry list as well. Both sides checked them, and with that, the formalities were considered done. The betrothal gifts were exceedingly generous, making Madam Shen’s eyes curve in pleasure, thinking that selling a daughter off like this was quite profitable.

“Wait!” Unexpectedly, Gu Chaobei suddenly shouted after looking at the dowry list.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, but Gu Chaobei took the gift list from Madam Shen’s hands and tore off a portion of it.

The surroundings instantly fell into dead silence. Cold sweat rolled down the steward’s forehead. “Fourth Young Master…”

“Yan’er’s dowry seems rather lacking.” Gu Chaobei returned the list to Madam Shen. The portion he tore off listed twenty bolts of silk and two hundred taels of gold. “Forget about these. I’ll take them back and use them to supplement Yan’er’s dowry.”

The expressions on everyone’s faces in the Shen residence instantly became various shades of red, white, black, green, and all sorts of colors. Lord Shen opened his mouth but found no words. To make matters worse, among the relatives and friends outside, Madam Wu, the wife of Vice Minister Gao, even commented, “This Fourth Young Master Gu truly knows how to cherish his wife. Since the maiden family has shortchanged their daughter, at least he knows not to let his wife suffer.”

Madam Shen’s face turned ashen with rage as she crumpled the gift list in her hands. “Is Fourth Young Master Gu disgracing our Shen family right now? Are you not satisfied with Yan’er’s dowry?”

***

✒️ TL Note:

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