Chapter 183 Unleashing a Powerful Move

The Gu family cemetery is located in a prime location south of Beijing. It is said that the great-great-great-great-grandfather made his fortune in that area and bought a piece of land to build the Gu family mausoleum.

The Gu family's true title of Marquis began with the old Marquis's generation, and the title was downgraded after three generations. In short, Gu Changqing will be the last Marquis of the family. If he does not make great contributions, his son will become an earl, his grandson will become a viscount, his great-grandson will become a baron, and by the time his great-great-grandson is born, he will become an ordinary commoner again.

Of course, there are also centuries-old prosperous families like the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion and the Zhuang family in Zhao State, with a wealth of talented people and a stable position.

Madam Yao got up very early, wearing a plain white cinnamon-patterned skirt and an apricot-colored pipa-shaped jacket. She wore no gold or silver ornaments, only two white jade hairpins.

The maidservant brought over the rouge box.

Yao waved her hand: "No need for cosmetics."

She was going to pay respects at someone's grave, not to visit someone's home.

"Yes." The little maidservant reluctantly took the rouge box and retreated.

"The sky is overcast; it looks like it's going to snow again." Granny Fang came in from outside, rubbing her stiff, frozen hands. "Madam, you're dressed too lightly. Please put on your cloak."

"Hmm." Madam Yao nodded, wearing a white satin cloak.

There's not a single flaw in this outfit.

Granny Fang was worried that she would catch a cold, so she had several hot water bottles prepared and also gave her hand warmers.

When Yao arrived at the gate with rabbit fur hand warmers tucked in her pocket, the three Gu brothers also came from their respective courtyards.

Gu Changqing's expression remained unchanged.

Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin, however, did not look too good.

Gu Chenglin glanced coldly at Yao Shi and snorted, "Auntie, really, why did you have to make her come? Wouldn't it be better if we worshipped Mother ourselves?"

Gu Changqing looked at him seriously: "Get in the car."

Gu Chenglin retorted, "I didn't say anything wrong! She's the one who killed Mother! And she still has the nerve to go and pay respects at Mother's grave!"

Gu Chengfeng thought so too, but with his elder brother here, he didn't want his younger brother to be punished by his elder brother again.

He tugged at his younger brother's sleeve: "Alright, get in the carriage first. If we're late and it snows, the roads will be difficult to travel."

"Hmph!" Gu Chenglin glared at Yao Shi resentfully, then angrily got into the carriage.

Gu Chengfeng got into the same carriage as him.

Gu Changqing rode a horse.

Madam Yao and Granny Fang boarded another carriage, while two other carriages carried offerings for Madam Xiao Ling.

"Oh, why suffer this injustice?" Granny Fang said with heartache as she helped Yao Shi to a stool.

"It's nothing," Yao said.

She was used to hearing these words. At first, they would hurt and feel wronged, but now she was numb to them.

She didn't kill the late Madam.

She is innocent, and her innocence will remain so.

More than an hour later, the group arrived at Dongyue Village. The cemetery was located in a forest behind the village.

Gu Changqing and the other two got off the carriage.

Madam Yao also got out of the car. She instructed people to take down the offerings for Madam Xiao Ling, intending to offer incense at Madam Xiao Ling's grave.

Gu Chenglin blocked her path, saying, "I won't allow you to pay respects to my mother! You're not worthy!"

Madam Yao finally understood that Aunt Ling had summoned her to humiliate her through her stepson.

Madam Yao calmly said, "I promised the old lady that I would offer incense to the late Madam."

"Get away from me!"

Gu Chenglin reached out to shove Yao Shi, but Gu Changqing strode over and grabbed his younger brother's wrist: "Do you want to cause trouble at Mother's grave?"

Gu Chenglin angrily pulled his hand back.

Madam Yao handed the incense, candles, and paper money to Gu Changqing, saying, "Then I won't go. Please convey my sentiments to the young master."

Gu Changqing took the things she handed him: "Madam, please wait in the carriage. It's windy outside."

Yao gave him a strange look. He actually seemed to care about her. Did people really become more obedient when they were at his mother's grave?

Yao didn't say anything, turned around and got into the carriage.

"We shouldn't have let her come along!" Gu Chenglin muttered.

"Say less!" Gu Chengfeng said.

The Marquis's residence hired nearby villagers to guard the Gu family's ancestral graves, and each grave was kept very clean.

The three brothers paid their respects to Xiao Lingshi, then to their great-grandfather and great-grandmother, and then, as is customary, went to visit the village.

The Gu family ancestors were not from Dongyue Village, but they had received kindness from the local villagers. Over the years, the Gu family's ancestral graves have been well protected thanks to the villagers' care.

Yao carried the gifts on the carriage and delivered them to the villagers one by one.

In previous years, it was Aunt Ling who did this. The villagers all thought that Aunt Ling was the legitimate wife of the Gu family. When they first saw Yao, they asked her if she was the concubine of the household, which made Granny Fang very angry.

This must be Aunt Ling's second trick.

They used the unintentional remarks of the villagers to upset her.

Yao wanted to laugh.

Aunt Ling had never been a mother, so she didn't understand that for a mother, breaking the curse that her son wouldn't live past fifteen and recognizing her own flesh and blood was all she could ever ask for in her life.

After visiting the villagers, it was getting late, and they should head home.

They had barely boarded their carriage for the return journey when snow began to fall.

Having not eaten lunch, the three brothers were hungry and cold, so Yao asked a maid to take a box of pastries to them.

Gu Chenglin scoffed, "I won't eat anything she makes!"

Gu Changqing frowned, his expression complicated.

"Brother, it's snowing outside. Come and sit in the carriage," Gu Chengfeng said to Gu Changqing.

Gu Changqing said calmly, "No need."

People on the march and fighting would not care about such a little wind and snow.

"Madam, they don't want to eat." The maid brought the snacks back.

"Then forget it." Madam Yao took the pastry box back.

Actually, she didn't make them herself. She wasn't so kind as to rush to make snacks for her stepsons; they were brought from the manor.

She ate two pieces herself, but her appetite hadn't been very good lately, so she didn't eat much and gave the rest to Granny Fang and a few maids.

The snowy weather slowed down the carriage's journey, and there wasn't a decent restaurant in this desolate wilderness. Gu Chenglin didn't like the food in the ordinary teahouses, so the three brothers went hungry all the way to the city.

There was a place selling crispy duck on the way back to the Marquis's residence. Gu Chenglin usually loved eating their duck, and after being hungry for so long, he couldn't resist any longer and said to Gu Changqing, "Brother, I'm starving! Let's go in and get something to eat!"

Gu Changqing looked at his two younger brothers, who were indeed starving, nodded, and rode his horse to Yao's carriage: "Let's eat something before going back to the manor?"

Madam Yao wasn't hungry, but she was indeed exhausted from sitting in the carriage all day.

The group got off the carriage and asked for two rooms on the second floor, one for the three brothers and one for Yao.

Madam Yao herself didn't eat much, but she ordered a table of food for Granny Fang and the servants who accompanied her.

The room was stuffy, and she happened to need to use the restroom, so she went to the urinal in the back room on the first floor.

As she walked out towards the lobby, a man's voice suddenly called out to her: "Yao'er?"

Yao hadn't heard that voice for many years, but she recognized it immediately.

Yao's expression changed, and she turned around in a daze.

"Yao'er, it really is you!"

A man dressed in dark blue strode over. He was about thirty years old, with delicate features and a handsome appearance. Although not as burly as Lord Gu, he was still tall.

Yao was somewhat taken aback, but the moment the man got close to her, she still restrained herself and took a few steps back.

The man's expression darkened, and he said awkwardly, "I was being presumptuous. I haven't seen you for so many years, and I was so excited that I almost forgot my manners. Please forgive me!"

As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a respectful bow.

Madam Yao stepped aside, refusing his polite gesture: "Don't do that."

The man looked at Yao with complicated emotions: "Yao'er, how have you been these past years? I heard you married into the Marquis of Ding'an's household. Has the Marquis treated you well?"

Yao lowered her eyes and said, "I'm fine."

The man smiled with relief: "I'm relieved to hear that."

Neither of them spoke after that, and the atmosphere became quite awkward.

Madam Yao squeezed her handkerchief and said, "I'm leaving."

"Ah..." A hint of disappointment flashed across the man's eyes, "My mother often asks about you."

Yao paused in her steps.

The man smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, I've gotten married over the years and have a wife and children of my own. I'm sorry."

Madam Yao closed her eyes briefly and said, "Back then, it was the Yao family that broke off the engagement first. I'm the one who should apologize. You don't need to blame yourself."

The man said sadly, "My mother had a stroke before the New Year, and she hasn't been doing well since. Lately, she's been in a daze, and she keeps muttering your name."

The two families had a long-standing relationship, and the marriage between Yao and the man had been arranged long ago. The man's mother was very satisfied with Yao and looked forward to her daughter-in-law joining the family as soon as possible, saying that she would treat her like her own daughter.

Unfortunately, the marriage was ultimately ruined.

It was less a case of Lord Gu's oppression and more a case of the Yao family's deliberate currying favor.

I've been angry, hateful, and regretful, but now I've calmed down.

"You..." The man scratched his head awkwardly, "This may be too abrupt, and I really didn't expect to run into you here, but since we've met, I still want to ask you... could you go see my mother one last time?"

His mother is dying; the doctor said it's only a matter of days.

But his mother refused to close her eyes.

His mother was in pain, and he was in pain too.

He looked at Madam Yao, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "As her son, I haven't given her a single day of wealth and luxury. I don't want to be unable to fulfill even one of her wishes in my final days..."

After all, Yao and he had been engaged, so they should have avoided each other.

However, his mother did treat Yao as her own son. She was a very kind woman, and Yao can still feel the warmth in her heart when she thinks about her.

If she had married him back then, her life might be very different now.

"Where do you live?" Yao asked.

The man's eyes lit up: "You agreed?"

Yao paused for a moment, then said, "I'll think about it. I might not go."

"Ah, no, it's okay, it's okay if I can't go! I live on Qingfeng Street in Qingyue District..." the man gave his address.

Yao had not expected that he would live in such a poor place.

"I'm leaving now," Yao said to him.

"Hey! Take care!" The man excitedly watched Yao leave.

Yao entered the lobby and went upstairs.

Over there, the three Gu brothers finished eating, and the group boarded a carriage to return home.

Madam Yao first went to report to Old Madam Gu. Hearing that nothing went wrong along the way, Old Madam Gu was very pleased.

Lord Gu sent Huang Zhong back to the manor to deliver a message to Madam Yao: there had been a conflict between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War, and Lord Gu was currently dealing with urgent matters at the Ministry of Works and might not be able to return tonight. He told Madam Yao to rest and not to wait for him.

Yao was restless inside the house.

She could think of Zhen Shi, her former future mother-in-law, whenever she closed her eyes.

"Granny Fang."

"Madam, what's wrong?" Granny Fang lifted the curtain and came in.

Madam Yao put on an outer robe and said, "Prepare the carriage; I'm going out for a bit."

"It's so late, where is Madam going? The young lady and young master should be resting by now." Granny Fang assumed that Madam Yao was going to Biyue Alley.

Yao said, "Don't ask so many questions. Find a driver who keeps his mouth shut."

Granny Fang opened her mouth: "...Eh."

Yao arrived at the Zhen family's residence by carriage.

She knocked on the peeling paint of the courtyard gate.

Who is it?

It was a woman's voice.

Yao remained silent.

The courtyard gate creaked open, and a woman dressed simply and looking prematurely aged walked out. The woman was about the same age as Yao, but looked more than ten years older than Yao.

As Yao guessed who she was, she opened her mouth, about to say who she was, when she heard the woman turn her head and say into the room, "Master, we have a guest!"

Zhen Ping strode out.

Upon seeing Madam Yao, he was first startled, then stepped forward with delight: "It's cold outside, come inside and warm yourself by the fire!" He then said to the lady, "This is Madam Hou."

The woman bowed slightly to Yao.

Yao nodded slightly.

Clearly, the woman had heard of Yao before. She wisely took the half-washed clothes from the front yard to the back yard and never appeared in front of Yao again.

(End of this chapter)