Chapter 2
“Why hasn’t Miss woken up yet?”
“It’s all because of Miss Biao. If it weren’t for her and Zhao gongzi… The young miss wouldn’t have been so angry that she fell into the lake.”
“Enough, let’s not talk about it. We are still in the Wang family. If the aunt hears about it, she probably won’t be happy.”
“She doesn’t even know how to raise a daughter, letting her own daughter snatch the fiancé of her cousin, and she’s not happy? It’s just because our Miss is living alone in their Wang family, that’s why she is so bold!”
“Hong Shuang!”
The woman who spoke earlier raised her voice, she usually had a dignified demeanor, but now her voice silenced the room, then she lowered her voice again and continued, “Your words are biased. Miss Biao is Miss Biao, and the aunt is the aunt.”
“Miss has been living in the Wang family for so many years, and the aunt has always treated her very well.”
“Even if she wasn’t speaking for her, both the uncle and the aunt have always cherished Miss. If your words were to spread, wouldn’t it just hurt them?”
Hong Shuang probably knew she had misspoken, dared not speak again, just looked at the woman who was still lying inside, couldn’t help but whisper angrily, “I’m just angry.”
Bai Lu sighed along.
…
Gu Wuyou listened to the voices outside, her mind was a bit confused.
Her consciousness was still somewhat unclear, she couldn’t really understand what was being said outside clearly, she could only vaguely hear Bai Lu’s voice.
Could it be…
Has she been saved again?
Gu Wuyou frowned slightly in the chaotic dreamland, feeling a bit depressed, what’s the use of being saved again? Li Qinyuan is dead, and the only wish she had in this world is gone, she might as well be dead.
But the voice that sounded so much like Hong Shuang behind her made her pause.
Hong Shuang had married far away several years ago, how could she appear in her room? Could it be that she took poison and scared Hong Shuang back from Suzhou? No matter what the reason was, Gu Wuyou finally opened her eyes.
What met her eyes was not the familiar sky-blue canopy, but the flamboyant embroidered brocade of red peonies. After marrying Li Qinyuan, she no longer liked these elaborate things. Now, looking at these familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, she felt a bit puzzled, as if something was not quite right.
She turned her gaze to the outside.
A rosewood lacquer heart Luo Han bed adorned with floral patterns, covered with magnolia red embroidered satin, behind it were a few sable fur pillows. Behind the Luo Han bed was a white jade screen, as tall as a person and as wide as two, with only a few drops of ink painted on it, the simplest thing in the room.
In the middle of the Luo Han bed was a tea table, besides fruits, there was a sea blue high-necked vase filled with branches of snow-white plum blossoms stretching out proudly.
Looking further to the side, near the window with a grid, was an ancient bookshelf, displaying many rare items, coral, baby fist-sized pearls, even a spyglass brought from the West… in front of the shelf was a saddle table with a guqin placed on it.
On another side, there was an intricately carved incense burner made of today’s lacquer-coated lotus flower, and at this moment, the fragrance was gently rising through several openings in the carving.
Every piece of decoration in the room was a treasure, even a small gilded incense ball was worth several years of expenses for a poor family.
But the more Gu Wuyou looked, the more alarmed she became. There was no resemblance to the house she was living in now, but it was exactly like the house she lived in when she was young at the Langya Wang family!
What on earth was going on?
She stared blankly at these things, not noticing someone had opened the curtain and entered from outside.
The person who came in was Bai Lu, holding medicine in her hands. When she saw Gu Wuyou with her eyes open, she was also taken aback, and after a while, she hurried over, surprised, saying, “Miss, you’re awake?!”
Hearing this commotion from outside, many people became excited and hurried footsteps echoed, soon many people entered, with repeated calls of “Miss”. Gu Wuyou looked up and saw familiar figures.
But her small face looked blank, still showing no signs of recognition.
Bai Lu assumed she had just awoken from a serious illness and didn’t think much about it. She ordered, “Go fetch the doctor, and let the old lady and Madam know. Just tell them that Miss has awakened so they can be reassured.”
The maids went off to carry out the orders.
Soon, there were not many people left in the room.
Bai Lu sat on the round stool in front of the bed, her eyes red, her voice somewhat hoarse, “You’ve been in a deep sleep for several days. Finally, you’ve awakened. If you hadn’t woken up, how would I and these people deal with it?”
Gu Wuyou stood there staring, it was Bai Lu, but not the Bai Lu she remembered. The Bai Lu in front of her didn’t have a married woman’s hair bun, and her face looked very young, not like a woman in her thirties, but more like fifteen or sixteen.
She was truly confused.
She didn’t understand why she had woken up and found herself in this situation.
“What… happened?” she asked, and when she spoke, she heard her voice sounding hoarse.
Bai Lu, seeing this, quickly poured a cup of warm water and handed it to her. As she helped her drink it, she exclaimed, “Have you forgotten?” Without waiting for a reply, she continued, “A few days ago, you saw Master Zhao and Miss Biao…”
Gu Wuyou pursed her lips, considering her words carefully, “Standing in one place, when you went forward, you accidentally tripped on a stone and fell into the lake.”
Master Zhao, Miss Biao?
Gu Wuyou was dazed, and it took her a while to understand what Bai Lu was talking about.
It was a long time ago, probably when she was fifteen years old. One day, passing by the garden, she saw Wang Zhao and Zhao Chengyou embracing each other. Wang Zhao was crying in Zhao Chengyou’s arms, looking as if she had suffered a great grievance.
Although later Wang Zhao said she accidentally fell and was saved by Zhao Chengyou.
But she was still furious.
Zhao Chengyou was her fiancé, how could she allow him to embrace another woman? Ignoring the fact that Wang Zhao was her cousin, she wanted to go forward and pull them apart. But her luck was terrible, she tripped on a stone before she could reach them and fell straight into the lake.
When she was young, her temperament was willful and she couldn’t bear to be wronged. Feeling favored, she immediately caused a scene upon waking up.
If she remembered correctly,
Wang Zhao had been sent to the family temple that time and only returned after she married Zhao Chengyou.
So—
Gu Wuyou’s fingers, placed in the quilt, moved slightly. She looked at the familiar surroundings and the familiar person in front of her, her pupils contracted, her heart pounding violently, like fireworks exploding.
She fiercely pinched her palm with her fingernails.
Until the piercing pain spread through, she stared at the familiar environment and the familiar person in front of her, tears welling up in her eyes due to the pain.
It’s real…
It’s not a dream.
So, she had returned to the past, to the 20th year of Qingxi, to when she was fifteen years old?
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps outside, followed by a slightly old voice, “My dear!” The curtain was pulled back, and an old woman dressed in sand-colored luxurious attire was assisted in. She wore a forehead piece embedded with red gemstones, her tired face full of anxiety.
Seeing the woman who had been in a deep sleep on the bed awaken, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Lu quickly made space, inviting the person to sit, and Madam Wang, looking at Gu Wuyou’s pale face, couldn’t help but turn red in her eyes. She sat on a chair and held Gu Wuyou’s hand, choking up, “If you hadn’t awakened, how could I face your deceased mother?”
She had many grandsons and granddaughters, but she only showered her affection on this granddaughter, solely because this pitiful granddaughter had lost her mother at birth.
She was compassionate towards her from the very beginning, taking people under her wing since she was young and personally nurturing them.
Watching the once proud and bright little girl, now laying pale in bed, Madame Wang’s heart clenched, tears in her eyes becoming even more intense.
“Grandmother…?”
Gu Wuyou stared blankly at the graceful old woman in front of her. Although she had already guessed, when she truly saw her grandmother’s figure, her tone became strangely affected due to shock.
Before anyone could react, she suddenly threw herself into Madame Wang’s arms.
Tears flowed uncontrollably, dropping down in streaks, her voice mixed with sobs, releasing all her years of longing without reservation. She didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything, just held onto the person and cried non-stop, shouting “Grandmother” repeatedly.
The people in the room were stunned by her behavior.
Who didn’t know that their young miss was usually the proudest? The kind who would rather bleed than shed a tear, now crying as if heartbroken, as if deeply wronged.
Thinking back to the events of the past few days, the eyes of the onlookers also became a bit red.
Madame Wang was startled by her, realizing that her shoulder was now wet with tears. Feeling both affectionate and angry, the anger that had been suppressed earlier now erupted again. She sternly ordered the people behind her, “Go bring that scoundrel here!”
The scoundrel naturally referred to Wang Zhao.
Several maids and servants hesitated a bit. Their Third Miss had knelt in the ancestral hall for three days, her knees swollen, and was only brought back by the lady today. If she were to be punished again, who knows what would happen.
Hong Shuang was actually willing to step forward and fetch him, hoping that Madame Wang would scold her thoroughly, to relieve the young miss’s pent-up emotions. But Gu Wuyou intervened in time and stopped Madame Wang.
Wiping away her tears, in a hoarse voice, she said to Madame, “Grandmother, don’t bother calling him. I have something to tell you.”
Naturally, Madame Wang followed her granddaughter’s wishes. Seeing her in this state, she didn’t send anyone to fetch him, instead, she drove everyone out at Gu Wuyou’s request, and then asked, “Mannan, tell me, what do you want? Whatever you desire, Grandmother will fulfill it for you.”
She held an imposing and dignified air all her life, but in middle age, after losing her daughter, she gave Gu Wuyou all the tenderness.
Naturally, whatever she wanted, it would be granted.
Gu Wuyou remembered that her grandmother had said such words to her before. What did she reply back then? She said she didn’t want to see Wang Zhao.
Her grandmother acquiesced and sent Wang Zhao away to the ancestral temple, which also hurt her aunt who had always treated her like a daughter.
Later…
After her grandmother passed away, she didn’t live happily in the Zhao residence. Her natal family was far away, and the only relatives she could rely on, her uncle’s family, had distanced themselves from her due to past events. Now thinking back… hurting her loved ones for the sake of Zhao Chengyou was truly unnecessary.
She no longer harbored any hatred towards Wang Zhao.
Even towards Zhao Chengyou, she no longer had any extra thoughts.
She just wanted to go find her General as soon as possible.
“Grandmother.”
Gu Wuyou looked at her, with a firm and composed expression, “I want to call off the engagement.”
1. Luo Han Bed
