Nanny Li walked towards Gu Yanfei with a smile on her face, intending to take her downstairs to settle her down, when she heard Gu Yanfei utter a few words calmly: "I don't want this marriage."
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, and her tone was very calm, but to the ears of others, it was like a bolt from the blue, and everyone looked at her in shock.
"Nonsense!" Madam Gu was furious and shouted, "Marriage is a serious matter, it's up to your parents and matchmaker to decide. It's not up to a girl like you to make the decision."
She had a bad impression of Gu Yanfei to begin with, thinking that this girl was inferior to Gu Yunyan in every way. Especially after this trip to Danyang City, she disliked her even more.
During the days she was in Danyang City, she only saw Gu Yanfei twice, on the day she arrived and the day she left. He exempted her from paying her respects during the few days in between, which seemed like he was deliberately giving her the cold shoulder.
Seeing that Gu Yanfei had been well behaved these days and hadn't caused any trouble, she thought she had learned her lesson. She didn't expect that this girl was such a troublemaker and really didn't know what was good for her.
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
"Grandma, please calm down and take care of yourself." Gu Yun'er's gentle voice was like a spring breeze blowing through willow branches.
She caressed Madam Gu's back lovingly to help her calm down, over and over again.
After Madam Gu's breath slowed down a bit, Gu Yunyan looked at Gu Yanfei again, her eyes clear, and she advised tactfully: "Second sister is new to the family, so it's inevitable that she feels uneasy, but filial piety comes first. Grandmother is old and has headaches. The doctor said that grandma should not get angry, so let's obey her in everything."
Gu Yunmeng advised Gu Yanfei with good intentions.
In this marquisate, Madam Gu is the king. Gu Yanfei is a junior and her fate is in the hands of Madam Gu. It is not good to be too stubborn.
Besides, this marriage between the Gu and Fang families originally belonged to Gu Feiyan, and now it is just a matter of “returning the property to its original owner” and everyone is entitled to their own property.
Gu Yanfei was chewing over Gu Yun'er's words in his mind. In a trance, distant memories came flooding back.
In her previous life, she had never learned to say no, and whatever the Madam said was the truth.
She followed her family's arrangements and accepted the marriage, but what did she get in return?
The Duke of England's palace said that she was not self-disciplined and had been lost in Danyang City for one night. They used this as an excuse to break up the engagement and made a big fuss about it, making it difficult for her to take a single step in the capital.
At that time, her grandmother, Madam Gu, did not defend her at all and sent her to live in a nunnery for a year.
Later, the eldest brother died in the battlefield, but was accused by King Kang of "being ambitious" and "being brave". In order to distance herself from the eldest brother, Mrs. Gu not only did not help collect his body, but also removed him from the family.
Her father and brother fought on the battlefield and made countless contributions to the Dajing Dynasty, but in the end they ended up with no remains left and a bad reputation.
Later...
Each and every one of them was unforgettable. These past events became the inner demons that haunted her for two hundred years and were deeply engraved in her soul.
Gu Yanfei was a little dazed for a moment and didn't speak for a long time.
However, in the eyes of Mrs. Gu, her silence meant that she had surrendered.
It is natural that the arm cannot bend the thigh.
Madam Gu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and she ordered, "Madam Li, go and teach the second young lady the rules and etiquette."
"Yes, Madam." Nanny Li knelt down quickly and accepted the order.
Madam Gu stroked her sleeves, and cast a cold, winter-like gaze at Gu Yanfei again, saying, "You should prepare well these few days. When the Duke of Ying comes to pay his respects, don't talk nonsense."
After a pause, Madam Gu added with a warning: "Don't do it like last time..."
Whenever Mrs. Gu thought of Gu Yanfei's arrogant words to Fang Mingfeng about calling off the marriage, she felt a throbbing pain in her temples.
She had only said half of her words when Gu Yanfei suddenly stood up, his eyes cold, distant, and deep.
Madam Gu was like a big white goose with its neck choked. She fell silent, her face visibly darkened, and she turned purple with anger.
There was a suffocating silence in the room, and you could hear a pin drop.
Madam Gu flew into a rage and slammed her palm on the coffee table, her face turning blue.
"Someone, come and get the family rules!"
After a while, a burly old woman came respectfully bringing the family ruler. It was a bamboo ruler one and a half inches wide, thick and heavy.
"Beat him! Teach this unfilial son a lesson!"
Madam Gu gave the order in a cold voice, and the old woman approached Gu Yanfei with a bamboo ruler in her hand, expressionless.
The kitten, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by the sharp voice of the Madam. He opened his sleepy green eyes, glanced at Madam Gu and the old woman, and shouted unhappily:
“Meow!”
Even though a kitten's cry is a threatening roar, it is still soft and cute.
Madam Gu and the old woman felt their bodies go numb and they broke out in cold sweats. Their clothes were wet. The old woman felt that the ruler in her hand was as heavy as a mountain.
Madam Gu opened and closed her mouth, her throat was hoarse, the word "beat" was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't utter it.
She raised her hand and pointed at Gu Yanfei, her hand was shaking, and her eyes were full of fear and confusion.
At this moment, the door curtain was lifted up by someone, and a tall and straight figure strode in quickly, looking exhausted.
"stop!"
The visitor saw the ruler in the old woman's hand and shouted coldly, his clear voice as sharp as a sword.
He was a handsome young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a slim blue brocade robe and a black belt embroidered with flame patterns around his thin waist, which made his figure look even taller and more elegant, like a green bamboo or a pine tree.
"..." Gu Yanfei stared at the young man in blue in a daze, his eyes slightly sore, and he was unwilling to look away.
In this life, she returned to the cage-like Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, not only to resolve her inner demons, but also to be able to see—
Her eldest brother.
The kitten, who had not gotten enough sleep, looked at its owner and yawned. When it saw that there was nothing else for it to do, it continued to sleep with its eyes closed, curled up into a tricolor fur ball.
The next moment, Madam Gu shuddered, finally came to her senses, and felt a chill in her heart: the cat that Gu Yanfei picked up was very evil.
She held the Buddhist beads tightly in her fingers, calmed herself down, and asked unnaturally, "Brother Yuan, why are you back?"
The person who came was Gu Yuan, the eldest son of the Gu family.
Madam Gu never expected that Gu Yuan would suddenly return home.
Since Gu Yuan entered the Xishan camp a year ago, he has stayed in the camp all year round and can only return to the mansion on his days off.
Half a year ago, when the truth about the swapping of the real and fake daughter was revealed, Madam Gu instructed each room to keep it a secret from Gu Yuan first, saying that she was afraid that he would be disappointed if they couldn't find his sister, so it would be better to wait until the person was brought back to the Marquis' Mansion before telling Gu Yuan in detail.
This secret has been kept until now.
(End of this chapter)
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