Chapter 427
If Xun could follow Old Master Ye to study, it would be the most beneficial thing for his life, and could also change his fate of being a beggar.
After settling things with the Qin family, Gu Ying went to see her maternal grandfather herself.
As the saying goes, education makes no discrimination. Old Master Ye was not prejudiced against Xun's status as a beggar. Knowing that the boy had a pitiful background, he felt even more compassionate, and was naturally willing to take him away.
Gu Ying often thought that if it wasn't for her in the previous life, the Ye Family would not have been completely wiped out.
Now that Jiang Yin was dead, her maternal grandfather was already old, this life he could definitely have a peaceful departure when that day comes.
Whenever she had time, she would accompany her maternal grandfather, making up for the debt she owed the Ye Family in her previous life.
A month later, her maternal grandfather took the rest of the Ye Family members away from Bianjing.
Only Ye Zhuojiang was kept by her maternal grandfather, saying that he wanted this boy to stay by her side to take care of her until she gives birth to Nian Bao.
It was then that Gu Ying learned from Ye Zhuojiang what her maternal grandfather had done for her during that short month and a half in Bianjing.
Gu Ming had one of his legs broken, and probably wouldn't be able to stand up for the rest of his life.
Wang Auntie cried as she took Gu Ming back to the Gu Residence. Her maternal grandfather had even personally gone to the Gu Residence once without her knowing...
"No wonder Uncle's office kept getting demoted, and Grandmother specially sent people to deliver my mother’s dowry to the Zhenguo Duke Manor, and also ordered people to sell all the servants in Ning Courtyard. No wonder Grandmother's illness was getting worse, so they were angered by my maternal grandfather?" Gu Ying asked incredulously.
Ye Zhuojiang sat casually on horseback, waving a horse whip in his hand, extremely carefree as he walked alongside Gu Ying's carriage, "To be precise, they were scared."
Gu Ying asked tentatively, "Then the matter of Huo Qiyun being married off far away to Yun Zhou..."
Ye Zhuojiang smugly said, "That was also done by Grandfather."
"What about Gu Jia?"
"Grandfather said she is a fool now and can’t be treated by normal standards. My father said Grandfather was right. Then, he asked me to try to cure her and make her understand humiliation and reason. After that, make her fall into the mud without anything left."
Gu Ying couldn't help but tut, "Grandfather's move is quite ruthless."
She had thought about finishing Gu Jia off with one strike, but felt that keeping her around to torture her like she did in her previous life would be better. She didn't expect her maternal grandfather's methods to be even more vicious, cutting straight to the point.
Ye Zhuojiang laughed innocently, "It’s the fine tradition of the Ye Family that whoever harms you will have their methods used against them. How can they still live well after injuring you?"
Gu Ying jokingly asked, "What about Huo Qiyan then? After being fed that drug and taken away by several men in the street, she was dumped at the Huo residence unconscious the next day."
Ye Zhuojiang raised his eyebrows, "That wasn't Grandfather’s doing. That was done by Achi who asked A Gu to do it because she provoked Achi. As you know, Achi looks gentle on the surface but isn’t actually a good person."
Gu Ying tutted with a chuckle, "......"
So without her knowing, not only did her maternal grandfather take revenge for her, he also neatly handled the people who had hurt and obstructed her.
He didn’t want her to dirty her hands and personally let go of his status as an elder to do these things, all just for her sake.
Her heart warmed and her eyes grew slightly sore.
Ye Zhuojiang glanced sideways and saw the gleam of tears in her eyes. He sighed disdainfully, "Shame on you, you’re already a mother, why are you still crying?"
The black clouds were piling up in the sky, oppressively weighing down on people and making it hard to breathe. In the air, there was the dampness that comes with rain. Above the clouds, muffled thunder rumbled.
Gu Ying pulled up the corners of her mouth, pinched her sleeve to wipe away the sporadic tears at the corner of her eyes, and gazed at the fleeting scenery outside the carriage window. "You don't understand."
People who have never experienced loss will never understand the joy of recovering what was lost.
What she was most grateful for was that heaven had given her a second chance, allowing her to take revenge and resolve her hatred, watching her enemies receive their due retribution one by one.
Going back to Bianjing from its outskirts took less than half an hour.
Ye Zhuojiang couldn't sit still. After bidding Gu Ying farewell, he plunged straight into the hustle and bustle of Bianjing.
Yin Lan lowered the carriage curtain and smiled, "Young Master Ye is still a child that likes to play around."
Gu Ying stroked her bulging belly and chuckled softly, "Let him go play. Grandfather had always kept him in check, making him do this and that. He must have wanted to free himself for a long time."
Silence filled the carriage after she finished speaking.
The carriage was small in space. They only went out today to send someone off, so the Ye Family's carriage was rather low-key.
Yin Lan sat to the left of Gu Ying. She took out some pastries and fruits from the food box beside her and passed them to her mistress, still unable to help worrying, "I wonder if Master Su has found out any news about Hai Tang. My lady, have something to eat first to fill your stomach."
As Gu Ying's belly grew bigger, so did her appetite nowadays.
Whenever they went out, Yin Lan would prepare food without fail.
Seeing her relatives off, Gu Ying was not in a good mood to begin with. Now, thinking of Hai Tang who was still missing without a trace, the smile at the corner of her lips also disappeared.
She took the pastries and lightly took a bite before her eyebrows sank. "Let's not go to the Ye Residence first today and head back to the Duke Manor instead."
Yin Lan thought the same, so she stuck her head out to instruct the coachman.
The dark clouds swirled as the storm approached.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of the Duke Manor.
Gu Ying held onto Yin Lan as she alighted from the carriage, just in time to run into Shen Ruxu who was returning from outside.
Previously, Hai Tang had always followed Shen Ruxu closely. The master and servant were inseparable.
In the month before, Hai Tang had suddenly disappeared without a trace. When asked, she claimed to have gone home to take care of her sick grandmother. As for why she did not return, Shen Ruxu simply said she did not know.
A living person inexplicably disappearing in Bianjing.
She didn't know? How was that possible?
Ever since then, Shen Ruxu had been coming and going alone, secretly.
Gu Ying called her name with a smile, "Miss Shen."
The corners of Shen Ruxu's lips curled up into a smile. She had a zitan wood medicine box hanging from her shoulder and was wearing a plain colored long dress. Complacently walking up to Gu Ying, her gaze swept across her protruding belly, the look in her eyes contemptuous, "Oh my, why does the Princess Consort have time to come back? My mother thought you would live at the Censorate for the rest of your life and never come home."
Gu Ying pretended not to understand her sarcasm and smiled lightly. "I came back to see my mother."
Shen Ruxu scoffed, the contempt visible in her eyes and at the corners of her lips, "I'm afraid your mother does not wish to see you."
In the face of the arrogance before her, Gu Ying was not angry. The smile on her face remained bright as she said, "If I came back to discuss Miss Shen's marriage with my mother, I believe my mother would definitely meet me."
With just one sentence, Shen Ruxu suddenly turned dark, "What did you say?"
Gu Ying raised an eyebrow. "Did Miss Shen not understand?"
Shen Ruxu gritted her teeth. "Gu Ying, don't even think about marrying me off!"