mtl008 Chapter 218 The Prince Returns to the Palace
Chapter 218 The Prince Returns to the Palace
Gu Ziming's injury won't heal in a day or two, but there are indeed many things waiting for him to deal with, such as moving.
He sent his servants to invite Gu Qingwan to his courtyard, but Gu Qingwan refused without hesitation. Having no other choice, he had his servants carry her to Youlan Courtyard to find Gu Qingwan.
Standing at the entrance of Youlan Courtyard, Gu Ziming was somewhat dazed. Although he was the head of the family, he himself did not know how long it had been since he had entered Youlan Courtyard.
Following the fragrance of trees and flowers throughout the courtyard, it was as if a gentle woman was waiting for him at the other end of the path. However, fantasy is just fantasy. The person waiting for him was not that woman, but his daughter, Gu Qingwan.
Although Youlan Courtyard was fully equipped with everything and even had its own small kitchen, Ning Jingxian had modified it to be suitable only for her and her daughter to live in, and most of the other places had been transformed into garden landscapes.
However, the current tension is that the Ning family is not showing any mercy. First, they sent a divorce agreement. According to traditional rules, if the woman wants a divorce, she must leave half of her dowry to the man to raise their children.
However, there's no need to worry about that. The Ning family has already given all the dowry to Gu Qingwan to manage, so even if Gu Ziming wanted it, he wouldn't be able to get it back, since Gu Qingwan isn't a child anymore.
"Qingwan, although the Ning family has taken you away, I am still your father after all. Now that your father, grandmother, and siblings are all in trouble, can't you lend a hand?"
Gu Ziming was trying to play the victim card, but Gu Qingwan wouldn't fall for it.
“Father, you don’t know how much you loved me and Mother when I was little. There’s even a swing you tied for me in the yard.”
“Qingwan…” Gu Ziming naturally thought of the good old days. Although Ning Jingxian’s first child was a daughter, which the old lady did not like, Gu Ziming himself liked her.
How could he not love such a sweet and gentle daughter, who was both intelligent and adorable, and who was conceived with his beloved?
"However, all of this was shattered when the Wang family entered the house. My mother was depressed all day long, and my grandmother made things difficult for me in every way. Until I moved to Youlan Courtyard with my mother, I knew very well whether she was happy or not, and also about the child in my mother's belly..."
"Child... your brother is not meant to be with us, alas."
"Father, stop pretending! Don't you know how Mother got pregnant? That day you were drunk and came to Youlan Courtyard to force yourself on my mother, which is how she got that child. Because of this child, Mother lost her appetite, suffered from severe morning sickness, and was in poor spirits all day long. In the end, she died in childbirth!"
"Qingwan, I know you've always been troubled by your mother's death, but... but after all, I did nothing wrong."
"You have quite the nerve! Isn't Father at fault? The one who's most at fault here is you! If you hadn't abandoned me after starting this affair, if you hadn't lost control of yourself when you went to Jiangnan and brought that Wang woman back, if you hadn't been so blindly filial, knowing what kind of person Grandmother was and knowing that Mother was being mistreated by her, yet you still insisted on keeping quiet and refusing to speak up, if it weren't for you, how could my mother have passed away at such a young age!"
There were only the father and daughter in the room at the moment, so they spoke without much restraint, and Gu Qingwan said everything she wanted to say in her past life.
"Father, don't you know how much Mother loves you? Even though her health was failing, she still risked her life to give birth to that child!"
"Not feeling well? I... I didn't know..."
"What do you know? All you know is to have more concubines and maids at home to find a sense of existence. You've always felt inferior to my mother, haven't you? You're not as good as her in terms of family affairs, talent, or looks. You're inferior to her in every way. Does that make your mind so twisted?"
"How dare you!" Gu Ziming's face turned red with anger. In his fury, he smashed the cup next to him, and the wounds on his body reopened and were stained with blood again due to the twisting of his body.
"Hiss..." Gu Ziming gasped in pain, his lips turning pale as he spoke tremblingly.
“I didn’t come here to hear your accusations. Whether you resent me or forgive me, I don’t care anymore. After all, you are no longer a member of my Gu family.”
"Hmph, what Lord Gu said is quite right. Since I am not a descendant of the Gu family, then what are you doing here?"
Gu Ziming paused, not expecting Gu Qingwan to change her mind so quickly, but he still had to say what needed to be said.
"The Ning family isn't leaving us any room to maneuver. Right now, I don't have a suitable house, so could we move into your Youlan Courtyard first, and then find another place to live..."
“I’m not a descendant of the Gu family, so why should I meddle in such matters? Now that I’m relying on the Ning family, how could I possibly upset my maternal grandfather because of the Gu family?”
"You! Half of the blood in your body is from me!"
Gu Qingwan nodded and said, "Indeed, sometimes I even feel dirty because of this."
"You! Cough cough cough!"
"Since Lord Gu has spoken, I cannot refuse you."
"So you're agreeing?"
"Agree to what? Agree to you moving into Youlan Courtyard? How could that be possible?"
"You're playing me!"
"No, I heard that Batu is looking for a house outside. Coincidentally, I bought a house a while ago. The size and location should be to Master Gu's liking."
"where is it?"
“On Yongxing Street, there are beautiful places that you can live in after a little tidying up, but people have died there before, so I don’t think Lord Gu is afraid.”
Gu Ziming thought for a moment and then flew into a rage. What kind of place was that? It was a place where a prince of the previous dynasty had indulged in debauchery and kept a group of young boys and girls. The scenery was naturally quite nice.
But now they're making him live in that place? Isn't that humiliating him?
"You hate me that much?"
"I wouldn't say I hate you. If Lord Gu doesn't like it, just pretend I never said it."
"However... I remember that Lord Gu had a villa in the suburbs, which was nestled against the mountains and by the water. What was most precious was that it also had a hot spring. It seems that you bought the mountain behind it back then as well."
Gu Ziming narrowed his eyes. How did Gu Qingwan know about this? Back then, he had used his power to buy this land at the lowest price.
"What do you want?"
"Let's exchange that villa for the current house, so that everyone won't have to go through the trouble of moving around."
"Can you make the decision?"
"Of course, my maternal grandfather sent someone to deliver the land deed for this house to me a long time ago."
"The old Duke Ning certainly dotes on you!"
“Lord Gu, you are a shrewd man. This deal is not a loss. Although that villa is very rare, the Gu family’s current residence is in a prime location in the capital, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. By reselling it, we can not only buy that villa and the hilltop, but we might even make a profit.”
Gu Ziming stared at Gu Qingwan expressionlessly for a while, then suddenly forgot about the pain in his body and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, so what if you, Gu Qingwan, have left the Gu family? Look at your personality, just like mine. You say I'm shrewd and calculating, but you've surpassed me."
Gu Qingwan's expression was somewhat unpleasant, and she did not respond.
"Alright, that courtyard was originally enclosed under your mother's guidance. You can have it if you want it. I'll have Batu bring the land deed later, and then..."
"Qingwan will present the land deed for this house herself."
"That's good."
Gu Ziming could no longer hold on, so he had people carry him away. He no longer looked at Gu Qingwan with any more eyes; perhaps their father-daughter relationship had been severed long ago.
Very early? When was "very early"? Gu Ziming vaguely felt that Gu Qingwan was still that little girl with two little pigtails running around in front of him. Suddenly, that innocent smiling face turned into a pale face with tears streaming down her face. It was a sadness he had never seen before.
Suddenly, he seemed to see Gu Qingwan covered in blood, as if she were questioning him or shouting, which frightened Gu Ziming so much that he waved his hands repeatedly.
"Quickly, quickly! The master has started to have a fever again! Go and fetch a doctor immediately!"
The Gu family was bustling with activity again, with lights on all night until dawn.
After Gu Ziming left, Gu Qingwan stood there for a long time without moving, until a pair of large hands placed on her shoulders from behind.
"It's okay, it's all over."
Xiao Jingchen arrived very early, and he didn't leave after Gu Ziming arrived. He waited for Gu Qingwan in the inner room, so he heard everything clearly.
Gu Qingwan's eyes stung with tears. She turned and nestled into Xiao Jingchen's arms, burying her tears, which were about to fall, in Xiao Jingchen's clothes.
After a long while, Gu Qingwan made a muffled sound.
"That villa wasn't something Gu Ziming claimed he discovered by chance and then tried every means to acquire it himself. That villa originally belonged to my mother. My mother saw his deep-seated inferiority complex and wanted to help him find a sense of accomplishment."
Xiao Jingchen was at a loss for words.
"Your Highness, isn't it ridiculous? Gu Ziming has spent his whole life fighting for that laughable pride, hurting my mother his whole life."
Xiao Jingchen thought for a moment and then slowly put his arm around her shoulder, saying softly, "Auntie is a wise woman. She tried her best to manage this marriage, but Gu Ziming didn't know how to cherish it and let down her good intentions."
“Yes, he doesn’t deserve a single needle or thread from my mother.”
Gu Qingwan stepped out of Xiao Jingchen's arms, and Xiao Jingchen felt a little disappointed. "Huh? How come she's better so quickly? I could lend her my shoulder again."
"Your Highness, I also have other ideas about that villa. Your body was somewhat damaged after being poisoned last time. You can soak in that hot spring. It will be good for your health."
Xiao Jingchen said gently, "I'm fine now, you don't need to worry about me."
"Am I more knowledgeable than you?" Gu Qingwan said fiercely, grabbing his collar.
"It's you, it's you. Whatever you say is right, as long as you're happy."
And so the matter concerning the Gu family came to an end. Gu Qingwan had someone block up the door connecting Youlan Courtyard and the Gu family, instantly making the Gu family much smaller. Most of the Gu family's servants were also dismissed. Gu Ziming's official position had not yet been re-established, so he stayed at home to recuperate.
But how could the punishments in the palace be so lenient? Gu Ziming's body hadn't fully recovered when the executioners would come to his door and continue to torture him in front of the old lady. This cycle repeated itself until the ninth time before it was finally over.
Although Gu Ziming was a man, he was old and had been tortured to the point of being skin and bones, and his hair had turned much whiter.
The old lady suffered a stroke and could no longer speak, but seeing her only son being tormented because of her mistake, her mental state gradually became unstable.
The old lady eventually couldn't hold on. At first, she was screaming frantically, but now she became senile, drooling constantly, and was unable to take care of herself, becoming incontinent.
Every servant in the manor disliked it; they all tried to stay as far away from it as possible, not wanting to encounter such a dirty and tiring job.
The old lady's health was deteriorating, and she seemed to be on her last legs. The household was running out of money, and Gu Ziming was trying to save as much as possible, so the old lady did not hire any good doctors to treat her.