Chapter 583 -584: Writing a Letter

Seeing her aggressive posture, Gu Baijiang scrambled backward in fright. The woman also got a clear look at his face, her eyes going wide. “Where did this monster come from? How dare you scare my grandson!”

“It’s a misunderstanding,” Gu Baijiang said, covering his face with his hands. Although his face bore some scars, it wasn’t exactly terrifying. It was just that the child had opened the door so suddenly that seeing him had been a jump scare.

The family’s reaction sparked a flare of anger in his chest, but he knew times had changed. He was in no position to throw his weight around anymore.

“Ma’am, we’re the new tenants next door,” Gu Baijiang hurriedly explained, terrified of drawing a crowd. “We forgot to buy firewood, so I was hoping to borrow some for now.”

“So you’re the new neighbors.” The old woman looked Gu Baijiang up and down. His clothes were of decent quality; why was he looking for a cheap handout?

For days, her family had been on edge, terrified of being dragged down by whatever happened next door. She hadn’t expected the person standing before her to be so brazen. Wanting nothing to do with such people, she waved him off impatiently. She forgot she was still holding the cleaver, and the motion sent Gu Baijiang scrambling back another few steps.

His cowardly display improved the woman’s mood slightly. With a cleaver in hand, she could indeed defend her home. “No, no. We don’t even have enough for ourselves. Go ask someone else.”

With that, she yanked her grandson behind her with one hand, hooked her foot around the door, and slammed it shut with a loud BANG.

Gu Baijiang was left speechless.

After this encounter, he lost all interest in asking anyone else and returned with a dejected expression.

Seeing him return empty-handed, Gu Kaichen wanted to laugh but held it in. “Dad, how about we just go grab a bite to eat outside? If you don’t feel like going out, give me some silver and I’ll go buy something to bring back.”

Having completely lost the desire to step outside again, Gu Baijiang dug out a tael of fragmented silver and handed it to Gu Kaichen. “Go pack up some food and bring it back. And remember to buy me a jug of wine while you’re at it.”

Gu Kaichen’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had a drink. He quickly agreed and hurried off.

***

Gu Antong only learned that the Gu Family had left when Rong Ruiyuan specifically sent someone to inform her.

That same day, the servants who had only recently been assigned to her were called away again. The only difference this time was that two burly old women were left to guard the door.

When Cai Hua tried to go out to fetch their meals that day, she was blocked at the threshold.

“The Prince has left orders,” one of the hags said. “From now on, the two of us will handle whatever you need. Don’t go wandering around if you have no business doing so, lest you offend someone important.”

Cai Hua’s face drained of color. She wasn’t so stupid as to misunderstand what this meant. Terrified, she turned without a word and sprinted back into the inner courtyard.

“What are you panicking for?” Gu Antong asked, her expression calm. She had known this day would come, though she hadn’t expected Rong Ruiyuan to show such ruthless indifference so quickly.

Thinking of the chests she had brought into the estate earlier, she felt even more that the Gu Family’s sacrifice had been worthless.

“My Lady, what do we do now?” Cai Hua asked. “We can’t even leave the courtyard.” How could she not panic? Her life was just beginning; she hadn’t even had the chance to enjoy it yet.

“If we can’t leave, then we won’t leave,” Gu Antong said, sounding as if none of this concerned her. Her tone was exceptionally light. “Just focus on cleaning the courtyard inside and out. I won’t treat you poorly.”

Cai Hua broke down. “My Lady, please don’t lie to me at a time like this. I may be just a servant girl, but I’m not stupid. I’m afraid neither of us will leave this place alive.

“I’ve had a bitter life. I was sold by my own mother when I was little and sent to a small manor to be trained. That was no life for a human being.

“I finally reached the age where I could be sent to serve in a grand household, only for my previous masters to have their estate confiscated.

“When Madam Gu bought me and assigned me to serve you, I thought my luck had finally turned. I never expected to be faced with such a doomed future once again.

“Why is my life so miserable? It would be better to just end it with a single slash of a knife. At least that would be quick.”

Gu Antong watched her, entirely unmoved. Weren’t all these servants and underlings dealt a bitter hand in life? Everyone’s misfortunes were different, yet largely the same. She had heard countless stories like this.

“A miserable life? Whose life isn’t miserable?” Gu Antong said. She used to think she was lucky, a favored child of fortune. But because of one wrong step by her grandfather, they had lost everything.

Rong Ruiyuan had truly done the Gu Family a grave disservice. If not for him, she might still be the young lady of the Minister of War’s Mansion, entirely qualified to be a Prince’s official wife. Instead, even after bringing a substantial dowry into the estate, she was treated like this.

“Enough, stop crying and complaining here. No one is going to stand up for you, and I can barely protect myself right now.” Gu Antong picked up a piece of pastry. “While our days are still somewhat bearable, you’d best enjoy them.”

Cai Hua burst into tears. Disregarding all the rules the wicked old woman had taught her, she turned and ran out.

Gu Antong didn’t bother to stop her. Even if her life was nearing its end, she still needed someone to serve her. This was fate. Her own fate, and that servant girl’s fate. Sympathizing with her, helping her—that was simply impossible, and completely beyond her power.

She raised her eyes to look at the courtyard wall outside, her gaze dead and ashen. Struggling over to the desk, she raised a hand to grind some ink, a cold sneer curving her lips.

The courtyard was dead silent, save for the faint sounds of the two hags conversing outside. But Gu Antong had no mind to pay attention to them now. Word by word, she wrote down exactly what was in her thoughts.

When Rong Ruiyuan received the letter, he found it rather strange. Given Gu Antong’s intelligence, she shouldn’t be making things difficult for herself at a time like this. However, since she had been his woman for a time, he opened it anyway.

Scanning the contents, he quickly crumpled the paper into a ball, glaring viciously in the direction of the backyard. In the end, he smoothed the letter back out.

“Gu Shufei.”

Rong Ruiyuan had arrived very quickly. Gu Antong wasn’t surprised in the least. This time, she didn’t rise to greet him, simply leaning calmly against the bed frame.

“The Prince is here. It’s a pity my place is so dilapidated now that I can’t even offer you a cup of water. Please forgive me, Prince.”

“Don’t use that passive-aggressive tone with me,” Rong Ruiyuan retorted, refusing to buy into her act. He had already done what he did. In his eyes, Gu Antong was nothing more than a dying woman biding her time. “What is the meaning of your letter?”

“It’s been a few days since we last met. Has the Prince forgotten how to read a letter?

“You keep many advisors. Surely they can clear up your confusion.”

“I’m not sure if this is deliberate retaliation on your part, or if you’re trying to shift the blame,” he sneered. “What proof do you have that the drug in our systems was administered by my royal father?”

Gu Antong scoffed. “Proof? What kind of proof do you think I could possibly obtain?

“You have investigated for so long, Prince, yet you haven’t found a single clue.

“Under the heavens, who else has the power to accomplish such a thing?

“Don’t forget, the people who came to investigate the case before were all his men.”

Although Rong Ruiyuan voiced his disbelief, the very fact that he had come showed that her words had hit their mark. In this grand play, even if she was mere cannon fodder, she was going to bite a chunk of flesh off these main characters before she went down.

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