Chapter 42

Gu Hui Yan’s qi gong was excellent. He remained calm, as if he hadn’t heard anything. When everyone in the hall saw him and Shizi enter, they promptly greeted them. Lin Wei Xi stood up as well when she heard the clamour and greeted, “my Prince.”

Gu Hui Yan supported Lin Wei Xi naturally. She was halfway through giving a Wanfu salute and had to stand up with Gu Hui Yan’s support. Everyone else in the room was a little surprised when they saw this. Gao Ran stared at the hand he used to support Lin Wei Xi’s arm and couldn’t believe that he could take such good care of someone. Was Lin Wei Xi incapable of taking care of herself?

Gu Cheng Yao looked away from their intertwined hands and greeted Lin Wei Xi with focused eyes, “Mother.”

Lin Wei Xi never expected Gu Hui Yan to help her up in front of everyone. The wife nurtured the family; she was responsible for bearing an heir and presiding over the ancestral hall. The husband only needed to be respectful and not intimate. This had been her understanding for the longest time and she never expected a man to be so attentive to her. Her brain couldn’t keep up. In a daze, she was led to a seat by Gu Hui Yan and sat down next to him.

Gu Cheng Yao followed and took a seat. There were a total of four people in their family. Gao Ran’s position suddenly became awkward as she was the only one there who couldn’t sit. It was proper for the daughter-in-law to wait on her mother-in-law during meals, and she definitely couldn’t carelessly sit down before her mother-in-law allowed her to.

Coincidentally, Gao Ran was the only person there who had a wound. After the food was served, Gao Ran lifted her chopsticks as if to serve Lin Wei Xi food. Lin Wei Xi glanced at her hand and said, “Shizi Fei, no need to feel impatient to fulfil your filial duty. Your hand is still injured, so just sit down. Otherwise it’ll look like I’m bullying you. Then it’ll be this stepmother’s fault again.”

Under Lin Wei Xi’s words lay an accusation. Gu Cheng Yao couldn’t continue to listen, so he stood up and said, “It was my fault for disrespecting Mother yesterday. Mother, please forgive me.”

How nice it was to have a powerful father who could force others to forgive him. Lin Wei Xi smiled lightly and said, “you flatter me. Shizi is the residence’s only heir. I’m only the second wife, so how could I dare criticize Shizi.”

Everyone’s faces changed as soon as she said this. They truly thought so, but once someone said it, the implications were too grave. Even if they secretly looked down on her, Lin Wei Xi was the Prince Yan Consort and Shizi’s Mother. Gu Cheng Yao frowned and said, “your son has never thought so. Where did Mother get this idea from?”

“You may not think that, but it’s more likely than not that your servants think so.” Lin Wei Xi’s eyes coldly and quickly swept over Granny Bu mercilessly. No one else there might’ve been able to catch it, but as the person in question, Granny Bu must’ve sensed it. After she finished her provocation, she carelessly said, “Shizi, Shizi Fei, sit down.”

Although Lin Wei Xi had glanced too quickly for them to see, a few of the people present were smart. How could they overlook such details? Gu Cheng Yao noticed that her gaze had settled on Granny Bu, who was behind him. He was embarrassed and unconvinced. Could it be that Granny Bu had said something to Lin Wei Xi? But Granny Bu wasn’t that kind of person?

Gu Cheng Yao continued to stand and refused to sit down. Gao Ran stood by Gu Cheng Yao’s side and frowned, “Mother, this might be a misunderstanding. If this daughter-in-law didn’t serve you well, then Mother can beat and scold me. But there’s no reason to take your anger out on Shizi.”

Gao Ran was really annoying. Trying to make herself seem pitiful so that it looked like Lin Wei Xi was deliberately provoking her. Furthermore, she defended Gu Cheng Yao while she was at it, displaying her loyalty for everyone to see. Lin Wei Xi was sick of it and she sounded irritated, “It’s just a matter of fact. I’m not related to him so why would I take my anger out on him? I know that Shizi Fei and Shizi are deeply in love with each other. But Shizi Fei, before you defend Shizi, you ought to listen to what the other person has to say.”

Gu Cheng Yao didn’t expect things to become more messy. He was about to speak, but was cut off by Gu Hui Yan, “He ought to apologize, so it’s your right to accept it.”

The moment Gu Hui Yan opened his mouth, everyone immediately went quiet. Even Lin Wei Xi became obedient.

Gu Hui Yan glanced at her and said lightly, “She is the Prince Yan Consort. Her words are the same as mine. If you ignore her order, it is the same as ignoring my order, and you won’t have a place in the Prince Yan Residence anymore.”

As soon as he said that, the servants in the dining hall turned pale. No matter which courtyard they served, all of them immediately knelt down, “my Prince… “

Gu Hui Yan looked straight ahead and didn’t so much as glance at the many people kneeling on the ground. Seeing the tense atmosphere, Lin Wei Xi quietly tugged his sleeves, “my Prince.”

She gazed at him with teary eyes, her expression gentle and slight fawning. She had indeed deliberately flared up today. Granny Bu refused to acknowledge her as the new Princess Consort and even mentioned the previous wife to suppress her. If she didn’t beat this kind of person at least once, how could she establish her reputation in the household? Her original intention was to knock some sense into Gu Cheng Yao so she could show him exactly what kind of person his loyal servant truly was. But she hadn’t expected Gu Hui Yan to speak up. Not only did he reproach Gu Cheng Yao, he also sided with her unconditionally.

Lin Wei Xi was moved by his actions, but she also felt guilty for exploiting him. Prince Yan had spent the entire day socializing in the palace, but she caused trouble during dinner and took the opportunity to beat the servants into their place. She felt very apologetic. She watched him, her eyes unconsciously carrying some satisfaction.

Being looked at by such eyes, Gu Hui Yan’s anger unwittingly dissipated. In the end, he couldn’t bear to reject Lin Wei Xi, so he said flatly, “Get up.”

Everyone in the room let out a huge sigh of relief and got up from the ground with their heads lowered. Gu Hui Yan glanced lightly at Gu Cheng Yao and said, “Since she asked for leniency for all of you, remember it well. Everybody sit down. There’s no need to bring out any more dishes today.”

Gao Ran hurriedly thanked him and walked over to sit by Gu Cheng Yao. The meal passed in silence. Even the maids painstakingly softened their footsteps as they served the food. All the maids and older servants in the hall respectfully stood with their hands folded. Throughout the meal, their eyes couldn’t help but drift towards Lin Wei Xi.

The Prince actually cared this much about the new Princess Consort. First, he had helped her up himself. Then he had scolded Shizi and intimidated the servants for her. Princess Consort Lin was more than one generation younger than Prince Yan and she was so beautiful. With such a lovable wife, it’s no wonder Prince Yan spoiled and indulged her a lot.

Everyone had a vague inkling that the winds were about to change in the residence. They previously guessed that the Prince attached importance to Shizi and would guard against getting a second wife. Unfortunately, they were gravely mistaken.

After dinner, Gu Cheng Yao and his wife quietly asked to take their leave. Lin Wei Xi also followed Gu Hui Yan back to their courtyard. After entering the room, Lin Wei Xi gave a warning glance. Wan Xing and Wan Yue understood and chased out all the servants, leaving only the two of them in the room.

After everyone left, Lin Wei Xi didn’t have to worry about her reputation. She immediately sat down next to Gu Hui Yan, hooked his sleeve with her little finger, and tilted her head slightly, her eyes curling up, “my Prince, thank you very much for today.”

Gu Hui Yan actually felt that this was something he ought to do. Since he’d agreed to marry her, how could he allow the residence’s servants to use their seniority to bully her? It was his negligence that allowed these slaves to say such contradictory words to her. He should’ve disciplined the servants and spoken to them about it earlier. He initially didn’t think it was important, but this little lady had decided to bring up the truth first. For some reason, he felt touched and asked, “Why are you thanking me?”

“Thank you for supporting me in front of everybody today.” She looked at him very seriously, “I know that I was wrong in the past. My Prince, you married me because of a plan I concocted. If you despise me because of that, I can’t complain about it. But you still treat me with respect and are always considerate of my needs. I am beyond grateful to you. You spent the day accompanying the Emperor. It’s already a troublesome affair, but after returning to the residence, the trouble didn’t stop there. Dinner was supposed to be a family affair, but I made noise about this kind of problem.  I am truly… “

Gu Hui Yan had only been teasing her at the start and listened with a smile. But as she talked, his smile slowly faded and his tone became serious, “why do you think that? That day… you were indeed very bold. But once I make my decision, no one can change my mind. I did everything because I genuinely wanted to, so how can I despise you for it? Don’t say such things again. As I said on our wedding day, since I’ve married you, I’ll make sure you don’t face any difficulties. Just continue to be yourself and act as you’ve always been. There’s really no need for you to bear any burden.

Lin Wei Xi’s eyes became a little moist when she heard his words. She felt deeply moved and even felt that she’d fooled the Heavens just a little. That day, she’d gone to Prince Yan’s study and said those words. To put it kindly, one could call it repaying his kindness. At worst, it could be interpreted as forcing him to owe her a favour. She’d be blackmailing him. The man had been forced to marry the woman, so it was obvious what would happen after the marriage. However, even in this situation, Prince Yan could still say he’d made the decision himself and would take responsibility to the end. If Gu Cheng Yao had even a tenth of the responsibility his father had, she wouldn’t have ended up like that in her previous life.

But there were too many what-ifs. Besides, she was already married to Prince Yan, so she couldn’t allow herself to think about her previous life. Lin Wei Xi tried to blink back her tears and forced a smile, “Your Highness Prince Yan, I have admired you since I was a child. I only found out today that my admiration is too shallow. You are truly a good person.”

These past few days, Lin Wei Xi had painstakingly changed the way she addressed Gu Hui Yan from formal to informal. She was no longer his subordinate’s daughter, but his wife. She didn’t want Gu Hui Yan to see her as a child. But at the moment, Lin Wei Xi’s words reflected her feelings of sincere love and respect for the hero standing in front of her that she held in both her lives◇. It was her fortune that she was able to marry Prince Yan.

◇

Gu Hui Yan had heard many exaggerated praises from the people around him, but he didn’t actually think much of his achievements. He wasn’t as noble as people imagined. At fifteen, he commanded the army for the residence and the fief. From twenty onwards, he fought in various regions to gain power. At thirty, he entered the capital to save the Emperor, but it wasn’t necessarily for the sake of the country. He knew that he was actually very selfish, and the various praises the world sang of him were much too embellished. As for the repeated victories and no defeats that he brought since he joined the army, as the commander, Gu Hui Yan didn’t think this was anything worth bragging about.

Going to war wasn’t child’s play. Each and every move involved human lives. It was the commander’s duty to seriously deliberate the plan before making a move.

However, even if Gu Hui Yan thought it was nothing, a young beautiful girl was now looking up to him and watching him with those eyes. He couldn’t stop himself from feeling a hint of male pleasure. Especially since it was his lovable wife who’d seriously and intently said ‘I admire you very much’.

Although he believed he had the best self-control and was used to seeing turmoil and huge changes, Gu Hui Yan found it hard to control himself. He didn’t know why and looked up at the sky.

Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything, but looking up at the sky, Lin Wei Xi thought that what she’d said had been too impetuous and caused him to feel impatient. She was startled and quickly said, “my Prince, every single one of my words is sincere. I’m not trying to be offensive, nor am I trying to flatter you.”

Gu Hui Yan raised his hand and lightly coughed into his fist, “I know.” In contrast, his thoughts became dirtier. Lin Yong had entrusted him to look after his only daughter because he trusted him to conduct himself morally. If Lin Yong learned of his recent behaviour, wouldn’t he have betrayed his old friend’s sincerity?

His expression was difficult to read, but he didn’t look angry. She felt a little relieved. After thinking about it, she asked tentatively, “my Prince, I was rude to Shizi today. You won’t be angry at me, right?”

“It’s fine.” Gu Hui Yan seemed unperturbed, “He has thick skin. I didn’t say much, nothing will happen. On the contrary, your body is weak and delicate. He’ll be fine even if you scold him, but don’t get too angry.”

Lin Wei Xi smiled, “My Prince, thank you for not blaming me. I’m not actually trying to provoke anyone. My words are grounded and justified.”

Gu Hui Yan smiled as he looked at her, “I know.”

Speaking of the saying ‘if the older person doesn’t behave respectably, the youth won’t respect them’, Gu Hui Yan quite liked that saying. As for his son, Gu Hui Yan didn’t mind him too much. He was already an adult, how could he not tolerate even a little bit of scolding. His stepmother was younger than him and her body was delicate. Gu Cheng Yao ought to give in an appropriate amount.

After receiving immunity from Prince Yan, Lin Wei Xi immediately felt pacified and she trembled in anticipation. Who would’ve thought that last year, she’d been so angry with Gu Cheng Yao that she hovered between life and death and had to endure his cold treatment. But now, she had the authority to scold him.