Chapter 183.2
Snow slowed down the carriage"s journey. There was no decent restaurant in the middle of nowhere, and Gu Chenglin would never deign to eat in an ordinary tea shack. Therefore, the three brothers went all the way to the city, feeling hungry.
On the only road back to the Marquis Estate, there was a restaurant selling crisp-fried ducks. Gu Chenglin usually liked to eat ducks at home. After starving for so long today, he could no longer bear his empty stomach. He said to Gu Changqing, "Eldest brother, I"m starving! Let"s go there and get something to eat!"
Gu Changqing looked at his two younger brothers who looked really hungry, nodded his head, and urged his horse to Yao shi"s carriage, "Shall we eat something first before going back to the estate?"
Yao shi wasn"t hungry, but she was really exhausted after a day"s ride in the carriage.
A group of people got off the carriage and asked for two private rooms on the second floor, one for the three brothers and one for Yao shi.
Yao shi herself didn’t eat anything and simply ordered a table of meals for Grannie Fang and her accompanying servant girls.
She felt stuffy inside the room. Coincidentally, she also wanted to use the comfort room, so she went to the latrine in the back room on the first floor.
When she came to the lobby again, a man"s voice suddenly stopped her, "Yao’er?"
This voice. Yao shi hadn"t heard it for many years but she still recognized it almost immediately.
Yao shi’s expression changed and she turned around in a daze.
"Yao’er, it"s really you!"
A man dressed in navy blue clothes strode over where she was. He was in his thirties, a handsome man born with finely chiseled features. He was not as tall as Marquis Gu, but he was still tall.
Yao shi came back to her senses a little. As soon as the man approached her, she took a few steps back, observing proprieties.
The man"s face darkened, and he immediately said, "I was rude. I haven"t seen you for so many years and was so excited for a moment that I almost forgot my manners. Please forgive me!"
He said and made a bow.
Yao shi dodged sideways and didn"t receive his bow, saying, "Don"t do this."
The man looked at Yao shi with complicated eyes, "Yao’er, how have you been these years? I heard you married into the Marquis Ding"an Estate. Does the Marquis treat you well?"
Yao shi lowered her eyes and replied, "I"m fine."
The man smiled with relief, "I"m relieved to hear that."
After that, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere turned very awkward for a time.
Yao shi squeezed the handkerchief in her hand and opened her mouth, "I"ll take my leave."
"Ah..." The man"s eyes flashed with a trace of disappointment, "My mother often asks about you."
Yao shi"s steps halted.
The man laughed bitterly, saying, “In fact, I got married these years and had my own wife and children now. I"m sorry."
Yao shi closed her eyes and said, "It was the Yao Family who broke off the engagement first. It"s me who should apologize. You don"t have to blame yourself."
The man continued sadly, "My mother had a stroke a few years ago, and she hasn"t been well since then. Recently, she"s always in a daze, calling out your name."
The two families had long known each other, and Yao shi"s marriage with the man had been set for a long time. The man"s mother was very satisfied with Yao shi, and every day she looked forward to the day this daughter-in-law finally entered their door, saying that they would treat her like a real daughter of the family.
Unfortunately, this marriage was ultimately ruined.
Rather than Marquis Gu"s oppression, it was more like the Yao Family’s deliberate attempt to curry favor with people.
All the anger, hate, and chagrin had subsided now.
"You…" The man scratched his head, feeling awkward, "This may be a bit abrupt. I really didn"t expect to meet you here, but since I did, I’d like to ask you… can you go and see my mother for the last time?"
His mother was dying. The physician said it was only a matter of days.
But his mother had always refused to close her eyes.
Seeing his mother in pain, his heart also ached.
He looked at Yao shi, hesitated for a moment and said, "I, as a son, didn"t give her a day of prosperity. I don"t want her to pa.s.s on without satisfying even just one of her wishes…"
Yao shi, after all, had an engagement with him in the past, so they should avoid suspicion.
However, his mother did treat Yao shi as her own. She was a very kind woman, so much so that Yao shi could still feel the warmth in her heart when she thought about her.
If she had married him, her life might have been very different than now.
“Where does your family live?" Yao shi asked.
The man"s eyes lit up, "You agreed?"
Yao shi stilled before saying, "I"ll think about it. I may not go in the end."
"Oh, no, it’s fine. It doesn"t matter if you can"t go! I live in Qingfeng Street in Qingyue District... " The man reported his address.
Yao shi didn"t expect him to live in such a poor place.
"I"ll be going first." Yao shi said to him.
"Okay! You, take care of yourself! " The man watched Yao shi leave excitedly.
Yao shi walked through the lobby and went upstairs.
Over there, the three Gu Family brothers had finished eating, then a group of people boarded their respective carriages and headed back to the estate.
Yao shi first went to Old Madam Gu to report the details of the trip. Old Madam Gu was very pleased to hear that nothing had gone wrong along the way.
Marquis Gu asked Huang Zhong to go back to the estate to send a message to Yao shi first. There was a little conflict between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War. Marquis Gu was dealing with urgent affairs in the Ministry of Works at the moment, and might not be able to come back tonight. He wanted to let his wife go to bed first and not wait for him.
Yao shi was restless in her room.
As soon as she closed her eyes, she would think of Zhen shi, her former future mother-in-law.
“Grannie Fang.”
"Madame, what"s the matter?" Grannie Fang came in through the curtain.
Yao shi put on a cloak and said, "Prepare the carriage, I"ll be going out."
“Where is Madame going at this late in the night? The eldest young miss and the young master must be resting now." Grannie Fang thought Yao Shi was going to Bishui Alley.
Yao shi said, "Don"t ask so many questions and find a tight-lipped coachman."
Grannie Fang opened her mouth, "...Ah."
Yao shi took a carriage to the Zhen residence.
She knocked on the painted courtyard door.
"Who is it——"
It was a woman"s voice.
Yao shi didn"t speak.
The door creaked open and a plainly dressed woman who seemed to have aged prematurely came out. The woman was as old as Yao shi, but she looked more than ten years older than Yao shi.
Yao shi guessed her ident.i.ty at once. She opened her mouth and was about to introduce herself when she heard the woman turn to the house and say, "Husband, a guest has come!"
Zhen Ping quickly came out.
Seeing Yao shi, he was shocked at first, then stepped forward with a smile, "It"s cold outside, come in and warm up yourself!" Then he told his wife, "It"s the Marchioness."
The woman bowed to Yao shi.
Yao shi nodded slightly.
Obviously, the woman had already heard of Yao shi. She wisely took the half-washed clothes from the front yard to the backyard and never showed herself in front of Yao shi again.