26 flat wind waves

  "It's nothing, just a call." Yun Ke said lightly, with layers of undercurrents surging in his eyes.

  "Then I'll take a step forward." Gu Yuqie made an effort to calm herself down, nodded and quickly left.

  Still pretending? Yun Ke looked at Gu Yuqin's departing back. A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He didn't understand why he would be reborn and live again, in his previous life he had clearly died on the grand dragon bed, with only the crown prince by his side. His life was thin and lonely, except for the one child born to the former queen Mu Rong, all the other children had mysteriously died young. Perhaps it was the heavens seeing him stained with the blood of his brothers, so they gave him such punishment.

  Fortunately, the prince was a clever one. He had devoted his heart and soul to cultivating him, making him suitable for great use. Before he passed away, he had already paved the way for his son, clearing away most of the obstacles that stood in his path when he was still emperor. With Wu You as Du Xiaodingguo, and Wen as Han Xi'anbang, he left without too much regret. If there was anything on his mind, it would be Gu Yuqiu, that woman.

  Perhaps it was her tragic death, that flame still vividly floating before his eyes as he took his last breath and closed them, haunting him for the rest of his life, never to be forgotten.

  It's settled. After his death, the coffin was pressed down by Gu Yuqiu's ashes box. If he were to be reborn, there's no reason why Gu Yuqiu wouldn't be too.

  So good.

  The smile at the corner of Yun Ke's lips grew even colder. When she died, she vowed to never see him again for all eternity, using flames as her guide and flesh and blood as sacrifice.

  She wants to do something, but he doesn't let her.

  If he were to be reborn and experience life again, savoring all the flavors of human life once more, then pulling her up with him wouldn't be bad either.

  。

  Although she refused to admit it, the fleeting panic in her eyes and her slightly disheveled footsteps had already clearly told herself that she too had been reborn. With memories of her past life.

  Interesting. No wonder she had a different reaction than before. This explains everything now.

  Yun Ke Mai took a step forward, following him, he wanted to see how Gu Yu Qie would explain herself this time. Obviously, she was the one who pushed people into the water, yet she had the heart to harm others, why did she want to save them? She carried the memories of her past life, in her past life, she repeatedly slandered Zhang Wan Yi in front of everyone, but in this life, when she could have easily killed her, she instead saved her.

  Gu Yuqie, what kind of medicine are you selling in your gourd?

  Gu Yuqie walked away from Yun Ke's side as if her life depended on it, the previous time Yun Ke called out to her almost drained all the blood from her body, she nearly fell to her knees!

  He's just like me! OMG. Heaven, are you specifically here to mess with me?! Gu Yuqie ran quickly while wanting to give the heavens a middle finger.

  This is getting interesting! In the previous life, it was already so tragic to die, just to avoid meeting him again. But in this life, they are inexplicably entangled with each other. If only I had memories of the past life, that would be fine. But now, even he has memories of the previous life.

  Don't play dumb!

  However, what's most important now is to go to the warm pavilion and deal with the current situation first. Gu Yuqiu was still able to sort out a thread in her chaotic mind.

  It's all like this, she can't burn herself again, it hurts, okay? Besides, why should she?! Even if in her past life she was wrong a thousand times, ten thousand times, but in this life she hasn't done anything. She couldn't possibly slap Yun Ke to death and bury him in a coffin, all she can do is take things one step at a time.

  As soon as Gu Yuqiu stepped into the warm pavilion, she saw her mother's face flushed red, and her collar was fiercely grasped by a noblewoman who had gone mad. The woman's hair was disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot, and she kept saying to Gu Yuqiu's mother, "You've raised such a good daughter, so harmful! It would be better if you let her die!"

  "Are you referring to me, madam?" Gu Yuqie saw her mother's embarrassed face and suddenly felt a surge of anger. She stopped in her tracks and stood firmly in the center of the warm pavilion, speaking out loud.

  Gu Yuqie's loud cry caused all the noblewomen in the warm pavilion to shift their gaze onto her.

  。

  On the large carpet in the center of the warm pavilion, a young girl stood proudly, although she was not tall and still young, but between her eyebrows, there was an unyielding gaze that seemed to dare anyone to mess with her. Her voice was clear and loud, without any hint of guilt or timidity, instead, it carried an unspoken sense of righteous indignation.

  "You're just a little sweeper star!" The noblewoman who was holding onto Liang's family suddenly turned to Gu Yuqie and came over, immediately pushing Liang aside. She took two steps forward and grabbed Gu Yuqie's wrist. "Let's go! Come with me to see the Emperor! Is there no justice in this world?"

  "Hey auntie, let's talk this out." Gu Yuqiu looked at the woman who was gripping her arm with a calm and unhurried expression, "You must be Mrs. Zhao, right?"

  "Are you kidding me?! You pushed my two good daughters into the water, and... and..." Mrs. Zhao suddenly changed from her previous ferocity to being on the verge of tears. Most of the noblewomen present were mothers themselves, and seeing Mrs. Zhao like this, they all thought Gu Yuqian was absolutely despicable, so young yet so ill-behaved, pushing people into the water for no reason.

  "Her sisters were also rescued by the guards, and in public view, it's likely that they will have a hard time marrying well in the future, isn't it?" Gu Yuqie finished her sentence with a faint smile. "It's really strange, as a mother, she didn't consider whether her daughter was safe first, but instead thought about those unnecessary things. Does Zhao's two sisters only have the value of marriage in Madam Zhao's eyes?"

  Gu Yuqie's words made Madame Zhao's face flush red, and she was momentarily speechless. Enraged with shame, she shouted, "You're still so glib? You think you can just push people around and get away with it? Go! Go pay your respects to the Emperor! If His Majesty favors your Hou Manor and bullies my family just because we're a lowly attendant's household, I won't stand for it. Even if I have to die in front of the Golden Hall today, I'll demand an explanation."

  She loudly proclaimed her innocence, while Princess Pinghu sitting on one side frowned slightly.

  It happened in her separate courtyard, and she had an unavoidable responsibility. She was originally going to let the matter drop, those three misses although fell into the water, but were rescued in time, should only have swallowed some water, been chilled a bit, wouldn't have any major problems, just wait for the imperial physician to come and diagnose, then each return home to recuperate.

  But with Mrs. Zhao making such a fuss, this matter is unlikely to be minor.

  She couldn't help but look at Gu Yuqie with a gaze that was also filled with resentment and dissatisfaction. It's all because of this little girl causing trouble! What was she thinking, pushing someone into the water?!

  As for others, they were sitting quietly with an attitude of watching the excitement. Even the prince and Yun Yi looked at Gu Yuqiu with a probing gaze. Although the two were not very old, they were both insightful people who knew that there must be some ulterior motive after just one glance. Earlier, when the three misses woke up, Zhang Wanxi didn't say anything, but the two sisters from the Zhao family insisted that Gu Yuqiu had deliberately pushed them into the water.

  。

  When rescuing, a flurry of chaos, everyone's attention was on the three people who fell into the water, but they neglected Gu Yuqiu. When people came to their senses, they couldn't find any trace of Gu Yuqiu in the warm pavilion. Everyone thought that the eldest miss of the Gu family had fled back home in fear of punishment, which is why Mrs. Zhao was so insistent on questioning Liang Shi.

  But now Gu Yuqie, the one who started all this, actually stood back without fleeing or avoiding.

  The prince and Yun Yi exchanged a glance, their eyes meeting for a brief moment, both of them smiling slightly.

  It seems that coming here today wasn't a waste of time after all, as it turns out there's such a great show waiting for me.

  Zhang Wan'er and the two sisters of the Zhao family were temporarily settled in the warm pavilion, separated from the outside by a large screen with a plain silk painting of peonies.

  The two sisters of the Zhao family, as soon as they heard Gu Yuqiu's voice, immediately lost their temper and shouted from behind the screen, "It was this wicked child who pushed us all into the water! Mother will take our side!"

  "You can't deny it now! There are witnesses present, you can't refute it!" Madam Zhao said with renewed confidence, one hand grasping Gu Yu's wrist and the other on her hip.

  Yun Ke quietly walked into the warm pavilion, and what he saw was Gu Yuqie's wrist being tightly grasped by Mrs. Zhao. He slightly furrowed his eyebrows and quietly walked to stand behind Yun Yi.

  "Seventh brother, where did you just go?" Cloud Wing covered his mouth with his hand and whispered to Cloud Ke, "Almost missed the good show."

  "Second Brother, I went to watch another play." Yun Ke said in a low voice.

  "That play is nothing compared to this one in front of us." Yun Yi whispered with a smile, he didn't think much about it.

  You're not me, how would you know another play is bad? Yun Ke smiled faintly and didn't respond, shifting his gaze back to Gu Yuqie.

  Li didn't see that Mrs. Zhao was intentionally causing trouble, and she felt a pang in her heart for her daughter, wanting to come over and pull Mrs. Zhao away, but was stopped by a glance from Gu Yuqian. Although she thought it wasn't right, her daughter's gaze towards her was warm, firm, and confident, so she endured it. Just now on the bridge, she had chosen to believe in her daughter, and now there was even less reason to ruin her daughter's reputation.

  Maybe she really has a way, and she can only comfort herself like this.

  However, she had already made up her mind that if her daughter couldn't handle this matter, she would rather die than let her daughter get into trouble. At worst, she would divorce Gu Huai and take her daughter far away from the capital to Jiangnan!

  "Both sisters kept saying that I pushed you into the water." Gu Yuqie smiled lightly, allowing Mrs. Zhao to grab her wrist. But Mrs. Zhao hated the smile on Gu Yuqie's face, which was as calm as a cloudless sky and a gentle breeze, yet secretly exerted great force, her long fingernails digging fiercely into Gu Yuqie's skin.

  Compared to the last life, this pain is simply a small dish.

  Gu Yuqiu slightly lowered her eyelids, glanced at Madam Zhao's hand, and coldly smiled. "May I ask how old am I now? How old are my three sisters?"

  These... the ladies present are not fools, and when asked by Gu Yuqiu, they all took a deep breath. The Gu Yuqiu in front of them was only about ten years old, and her figure had not yet developed, small and delicate. Zhang Wanxiang and Zhao's two sisters were already fourteen years old, especially the two sisters from the Zhao family who inherited their mother's height, slender and elegant, a good head taller than Gu Yuqiu.

  Gu Yuqie was a petite girl, how could she push three people into the water at the same time?

  Yun Ke seemed to have expected that Gu Yuqie would say this, and he couldn't help but let out a cold snort. In her past life, Gu Yuqie was skilled in martial arts, and if she were caught by Madam Zhao on this point, it's likely that she wouldn't be able to shake off the connection either.

  "Those two Zhao sisters are really good at confusing right and wrong. Clearly, they came over and accidentally stepped on my cloak, but instead of admitting it, they slipped and fell into the water themselves. Where did I push them? As for Zhang sister, I should actually thank her - she saw me about to fall and pulled me up, but unfortunately, the bridge was icy and slippery, and while she saved me, she herself fell in." After finishing speaking, Gu Yuqiu's mouth twisted, and two large tears rolled out of her big, shining eyes. "Now those two sisters have fallen into the water, yet they still want to frame me for pushing them? If I could push one person, that would be one thing, but how could I possibly push three? It's really unjust. Zhang sister, you must speak up for justice! You saved me once, and I will definitely remember it in my heart."

  Yun Ke only felt relieved now, and coldly looked at Gu Yuqie who was pretending to be weak on the side, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  Zhang Wan-yi didn't plan to speak, this kind of shameful thing, let the two fools from the Zhang family do it. Gu Yu-qie just showed her skills on the bridge, although she was flustered and didn't see clearly, but also knew that Gu Yu-qie, although young, wasn't someone to be trifled with.

  But now she was suddenly called out by Gu Yuqie, and she couldn't help but bite her lip.

  。

  Although she also wanted to push Gu Yuqie into the water, giving her a warning, she left a heart and only reminded Zhao Jia's two sisters that Gu Yuqie was now alone on the bridge with no one around. If there was anything they wanted to say to her, it would be better to go over. It was that stupid Zhao Zhixian who was tempted by her and had this idea with Zhao Zhixian. To say from head to toe, she never said a word about pushing Gu Yuqie into the water.

  Now Gu Yuqie had a big hat on her head.

  Dying for others can turn a scandal into a beautiful legend.

  So Zhang Wan-yi hesitated.

  Gu Yuqie and Zhang Wanyi were entangled for a lifetime in their past life, and he understood her down to every single strand of hair.

  She would rather have drowned than let the guard save her just now, and how could she easily let go of a famous opportunity. Just now she observed that only two sisters of the Zhao family were chattering behind the screen, while Zhang Huanyi was silent, and she knew that Zhang Huanyi couldn't afford to lose this person.

  Since she didn't want to lose face, he would give her a way out, and it was a step with gold-edged gems. There was no reason why Zhang Huanyi wouldn't take the opportunity to show off in front of her future husband. Besides, the crown prince, Yun Yi and Yun Ke were all there, how could she bear to give up this chance to perform in front of them?

  Gu Yuqiu thought of this and couldn't help but glance at Yun Ke, who was standing behind Yun Yi. A cold smile spread across her heart. In her past life, you had always protected your cousin, thinking she was the best woman in the world. Now, she would give Zhang Wan'er a chance to make a name for herself. If she didn't seize it, then she wouldn't be Zhang Wan'er. How ridiculous, the cousin you had always been obsessed with, what she valued was not you, but power, reputation, and status.

  As expected, Zhang Wanji hesitated for a moment before speaking in a soft and weak voice, "Actually, the two Zhao sisters misunderstood."

  Her voice was soft, but in this grand hall, it was like a thread that pierced people's hearts.

  As soon as she finished speaking, a murmur of sighs arose from the warm pavilion.

  Gu Yuqiu lowered her eyes, a hint of profound smile playing on her lips.

  She really knows Zhang Wan-yi!

  "Miss Zhang, you can't just make things up!" Mrs. Zhao heard this and the situation was clearly about to take a drastic turn, from Gu Yuqiu intentionally pushing someone into the water, to her own daughter accidentally stepping on someone's cloak and falling in.

  As for why I went to tread on Gu Yuqie's cloak, need you ask? The strong bullying the weak!

  Today's events, the two sisters of the Zhao family have already suffered enough, being rescued by the guards in public has already ruined their reputation. If these two daughters want to marry well, it's likely that they won't be able to. She just hopes that this commotion will lead to the Hou Mansion acknowledging their mistake in the future. Doesn't the Hou Mansion still have a younger son named Gu Siyang? Although he is younger than her own two daughters, it doesn't matter. Who knows, maybe in the future, the Liang family won't have an heir and Gu Siyang will become the young master of the Hou Mansion.

  Even if Liang's wife becomes pregnant with a legitimate son, as long as her daughter marries into the Gu family, she will have a way to prevent Liang from having any more sons! Ensuring that Gu Siyang can inherit the title, this way, it won't be unfair to either of the two daughters. Besides, Gu Huai Zhong's children are born handsome and tall, it's likely his son won't be ugly either.

  "Mrs. Zhao, the fact is just as Miss Gu said," Zhang Wan'er said in a soft and gentle voice. "The two Zhao sisters simply accidentally stepped on Miss Gu's cloak, slipped and fell, and Miss Gu was also knocked down by them. At that time, the scene was chaotic, people were crowded together, and the two Zhao sisters thought it was Miss Gu who pushed them with her hands. I was watching from the side, and I really wanted to hold everyone back, but unfortunately, I was a step too late. I could only save Miss Gu, but I didn't expect myself to be too weak, and accidentally fell down as well. It was still Miss Gu who threw her cloak into the water without hesitation, calling for me to hold on, and I held onto the two Zhao sisters tightly, preventing a bigger disaster from happening."

  I'm going! You're okay! It's really amazing! Gu Yuqiu couldn't help but write a big "服" (admiration) in her heart for Zhang Wanxi! She was so impressed that she was willing to prostrate herself, and what she had just said was only about how Zhang Wanxi had jumped into the water to save her. But Zhang Wanxi had taken it further and turned it around, saying that if Gu Yuqiu hadn't been there, all four people on the scene would have probably died. Not only did she save Gu Yuqiu, but also pulled Zhao's sisters out of the water!

  I don't know who was in the water just now trying to get rid of Zhao's two sisters, desperately kicking people with their feet.

  The two sisters of the Zhao family were also stunned by Zhang's words, they were all placed inside the screen, and the two sisters looked at Zhang who was lying beside them with a face full of incredulity and discontent.

  It was clearly a good opportunity to trample Gu Yuqiu and vent the evil spirit that she had thrown into the water, but how did it change when it came to Zhang Huanyi?

  The two sisters were about to speak up in their defense when they heard Zhang Wan-yi lower her voice, speaking in a tone that only the two of them could hear. "Alright, aren't you ashamed enough? Let's stop here, otherwise I'll make sure everyone knows that you tried to push Gu Yu-xiang into the water but ended up getting preempted by her instead! If you don't want to continue losing face, then change your story according to what I say. Just say that when the two of you fell into the water, you were confused and mistakenly thought it was Gu Yu-xiang who pushed you."

  Zhang Wan-yi only felt that her voice was low, but didn't think that Yun Yi and Yun Ke had been practicing martial arts since childhood, with keen ears and eyes, so others couldn't hear those words, but the two of them did.

  。

  Yun Yi couldn't help but glance at Yun Ke with a hint of smile in her eyes, while Yun Ke lowered his eyelids and slightly curled up the corners of his mouth.

  He had actually guessed that the two sisters might want to push Gu Yuqiu into the water, but instead she was pushed back. He always thought that Gu Yuqiu was a troublemaker who would make a big deal out of everything, and if she were really framed, she would probably shout it from the rooftops for all of Beijing to know. But unexpectedly, Gu Yuqiu had also learned to keep things under wraps. She didn't go around saying that the Zhao sisters were out to harm her, but only said that they accidentally stepped on her cloak.

  It's really carrying the memories of the previous life, and this life has learned to be clever and smart.

  Zhang Wan'er's words were both reasonable and emotional, not only resolving the conflict between the Zhao and Gu families but also saving face for the two Zhao sisters. She truly deserves to be a lady of the prime minister's residence. Moreover, her selfless act is already a noble deed. Whether in her past life or this one, Zhang Wan'er is indeed the best candidate to be the mistress of the house.

  Li saw that Mrs. Zhao was already shocked, her mouth hanging open in amazement, yet she still refused to let go of her daughter. Feeling indignant, Li took a swift step forward and roughly shook off Mrs. Zhao's hand, "Now that Miss Zhang has revealed the truth, why won't you let go?"

  She finished speaking and looked down to see that Gu Yuqie's wrist not only had a circle of purple bruises from being pinched by Mrs. Zhao, but also several bloody marks left by fingernails.

  She was heartbroken, and she didn't care about etiquette anymore. She directly pulled up Gu Yuqiu's sleeve and showed her injured wrist to everyone, coldly saying: "What a noble Zhao madam! You're so ruthless to a ten-year-old child! Are other people's daughters not human beings? Even if my daughter pushed your two misses into the water, it would be for the officials to decide. How dare you use private punishment and secretly hurt her!"

  Gu Yuqiu's wrist was originally pinched very hard, especially the few blood-stained fingernail marks. As soon as Liangshi showed them out, all the noblewomen in the warm pavilion couldn't help but gasp. This Mrs. Zhao also went a bit too far with her hands, no matter what to say, she was still the legitimate miss of the marquis's manor, where could she use such despicable means to deal with the maids and concubines in the house?

  "Come on, let me see your other hand." Liang was even more furious, earlier on the bridge, Gu Yuqie said they wanted to push her into the water, but ended up being pushed back. Now it seems that her own daughter wasn't lying, otherwise why would Zhang Huanyi, who had been silent all along, suddenly turn against them?

  She pulled open Gu Yuqie's other sleeve, and Gu Yuqie thought it was too late to hide, the palm print scar was starkly exposed in front of everyone.

  。

  The scar was deep enough to see the bone, and it was still oozing blood. Previously, Gu Yuqie had been hiding her hand in her sleeve, using the fabric of the sleeve to absorb the blood, so there were no visible signs. Now that she revealed it, the bloody sleeve lining could no longer be hidden.

  "Li looked at it and felt both heartache and anger. 'If my daughter really wanted to push your family's daughter into the water, where did these marks come from? Miss Zhang also said that my daughter threw her cloak into the water to grab hold of her. If it was indeed my daughter who did it, why would she go through so much trouble to save those two useless girls of yours?!'"

  After Liang said that, everyone in the room was suddenly enlightened and looked at Mrs. Zhao with their eyes, now they deeply believed in Zhang Wan's words and Gu Yu's words, who would push someone into the water and then try so hard to save them? The people present were all noblewomen from high-ranking families, whose backyard had no unclear or inexplicable things, couldn't they understand this?

  Mrs. Zhao was apparently stunned by the sudden turn of events, standing in the center of the warm pavilion with a face that turned red and white by turns, her lips trembling uncontrollably as if she was about to faint.

  Princess Pinghu saw that things were almost cleared up, and continuing to make a fuss would only lead to loss of face. Most importantly, no one was seriously hurt, and Madame Zhao had no reason to take the matter to the imperial court. So she stood up and began to mediate, "In my opinion, today's incident is just a misunderstanding. Please, everyone, let's just drop it here and now give me some face. Let's not dwell on it any further."

  The princess spoke out, and the prince also stood up. He bowed to all directions with a generous gesture, "Ladies, please give me some face and go back. Since this matter has come to an end, please don't mention it again."

  The princess and the prince both said so, what else could these possessed ladies in the scene have to say? Moreover, it was Miss Zhang of the drowning family who spoke up to prove Gu Yuqie's words, where could there be any falsehood in her words? Everyone got up and bid farewell.

  Only Mrs. Zhao was still standing in the warm pavilion, unsure of what to do. Today's events had caused her to lose face and dignity.

  The two daughters are considered to have no future, and they also offended the Hou Mansion. Moreover, they made a scene in front of the princess and the crown prince!

  She'd rather dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it, that's right, and drag her two stupid daughters along with her.