“Today’s outcome is your choice, isn’t it?”
Her tone carried a hint of sarcasm. Gu Yushi couldn’t refute this, averting his gaze as he said in a low voice, “What I’ve given you, I won’t take back.”
Feng Wenyu remained equally resolute:
“If you don’t take them back, I’ll have someone throw them away!”
She lifted her eyes to meet his directly, proud and decisive: “I won’t keep your things, nor will I allow myself to remain connected. Our fate has ended – we should each move forward. Keeping these things benefits neither you nor me.”
—Gu Yushi, since we’ve reached this point today, why don’t we each find our own peace!
Gu Yushi’s mind seemed to echo again with the woman’s voice, struggling to suppress her emotions.
Each moving forward, each finding peace.
So whether in past lives or this present one, she would always think this way.
The fingertips hidden in his sleeves had turned pale. By the time Gu Yushi regained his composure, the question had already escaped his lips:
“Feng Wenyu, did you ever truly like me?”
Gu Yushi’s expression instantly turned awkward.
He despised himself for pressing this matter like some resentful lover.
Yet his gaze remained fixed on Feng Wenyu, unwilling to look away, as if stubbornly determined to know the answer.
Feng Wenyu furrowed her Dai Mei.
She felt Gu Yushi was asking something he already knew.
Did she like Gu Yushi?
Of course she did.
Otherwise she wouldn’t have agreed to become engaged to him.
Meeting Gu Yushi when her feelings first blossomed, all her affection had been tied to him alone. Perhaps her liking wasn’t as intense as his, but no one could deny it had genuinely existed.
Mutual affection led to their engagement, without a single obstacle, so naturally it seemed almost unreasonable, as if heaven itself approved of their marriage, considering them a perfect match made in heaven.
Until now—Feng Wenyu finally understood, it wasn’t that there were no obstacles.
Therefore, Feng Wenyu said: “Does this question still matter now?” Acid rose in Feng Wenyu’s heart. Without waiting for Gu Yushi’s response, she stated bluntly:
“Whether I liked you or not, from now on it will only be that I don’t.”
When someone comes to your door to break off an engagement, how could she possibly tell him plainly that she liked him?
She still had her dignity.
After speaking, Feng Wenyu muttered to herself and stopped entangling with Gu Yushi. Throwing down the words “If you don’t take them back, they’ll be thrown away,” she turned and left directly.
Once Feng Wenyu left, only Gu Yushi and Mu Fan remained on the spot.
Mu Fan scratched his head, completely unaware what his master was making a fuss about. He could see clearly that his master cared deeply about Feng Guniang—otherwise there wouldn’t have been that final question.
Glancing at the box on the ground, he asked hesitantly:
“Sir, what should we do with these things?”
Gu Yushi’s face was cold and stern as he uttered three stiff words: “Take them back.”
He certainly couldn’t allow Feng Wenyu to throw these things away. She came from noble origins—everything he’d given her was the best within his means, not to mention there were letters and other items. Society was reserved, and romantic feelings between men and women needed discretion. Even though they had been engaged, if these letters were to circulate, it would damage Feng Wenyu’s reputation. He naturally couldn’t let others get their hands on them.
Mu Fan mumbled an “Oh” in response.
Just as he prepared to squat down and pick up the box, he saw his master personally bend down, silently pick up the Red Plum Jade Hairpin, and walk away with a cold expression.
Mu Fan rubbed his nose. No matter how much he grumbled inwardly, he didn’t dare utter a word aloud.
Gu Yushi returned carrying an armful of items. The moment he stepped into the manor, he saw the steward standing there with a crestfallen expression:
“Sir, the Old Madam says she has a headache and requests that you refrain from paying your respects these next few days.”
Gu Yushi lowered his eyelids. Of course he knew his mother was displeased with him.
When he had declared his intention to break off the engagement, his mother had outright refused to agree. Today, when he went to formally terminate the betrothal, she had stubbornly refused to accompany him.
Gu Yushi pressed his lips together silently. He instructed Mu Fan to take the items back to his courtyard, then turned and headed toward the Old Madam’s residence.
At Fuju Hall.
The Gu family wasn’t particularly prominent, and they employed few maidservants. Aside from the kitchen staff, only three attendants served in the Old Madam’s quarters. Having come from an official’s family herself, the Old Madam relied heavily on an elderly matron who had long been in her service.
Matron Qiu stood blocking the entrance to Fuju Hall, speaking to Gu Yushi with evident difficulty:
“Sir, the Old Madam has retired to rest.”
Gu Yushi glanced at the sky—it was just noon, before the midday meal. He knew this was merely an excuse; the old lady simply didn’t wish to see him.
Gu Yushi didn’t insist. Instead, he held out a jade pendant:
“The engagement has been broken off. This was the betrothal token.”
He didn’t deliberately lower his voice, allowing those inside to hear clearly. As his words faded, Gu Yushi detected faint rustling sounds from within.
After a moment, as if those inside could no longer restrain themselves, the door suddenly swung open from within. Supported by a maid, the emerging figure had barely steadied herself before unleashing a torrent of scolding upon Gu Yushi:
“What nonsense are you stirring up now!”
“What exactly makes the Feng family’s daughter unworthy of you? It was you who begged me to propose the match back then! Now barely half a year after the engagement was settled, you want to break it off—how can you treat marriage so frivolously!”
Moreover—
“Going back on your word like this—how am I to explain this to the Feng family? Where am I to put my dignity?”
Since Gu Yushi had entered officialdom, the Old Madam had unavoidable social obligations. Through the engagement with the Feng family, she had managed to enter the social circles of official households. As Gu Yushi’s rank continued rising, encounters with Madam Feng at various banquets became inevitable—how could she face the Feng family then?
Back when Gu Yushi hadn’t yet passed the imperial examinations, the gap between the Gu family and the Shilang Manor wasn’t slight. She had swallowed her pride to propose the match.
Hadn’t everyone been laughing at them then? Thinking the Gu family lacked self-awareness.
Now that the marriage had finally been settled, Gu Yushi was causing this new turmoil. The Old Madam felt so furious she grew dizzy.
Someone came rushing over and, seeing the scene, hurriedly supported the Old Madam: “Mother, please speak calmly.”
Gu Yushi turned to see the newcomer—his second brother Gu Yushi—and his eyes flickered slightly.
Gu Yushi had been frail since birth. Now, suppressing coughs, his face pale, he tried to soothe their mother:
“Elder brother isn’t someone who acts without reason. If he broke off the engagement, there must be a cause. Please calm your anger—hear what he has to say first.”
The Old Madam sneered: “A cause? What possible cause could there be?”
Despite her fury, with matters having reached this point, the Old Madam could only restrain herself and prepare to listen to Gu Yushi’s explanation.
Gu Yushi kept shooting meaningful looks at his elder brother, but Gu Yushi remained straight-backed and silent.
The Old Madam grew even angrier at his demeanor, her fingers trembling with rage.
“I wonder who taught you such manners—you have a mouth, yet you don’t know how to use it properly!”
Gu Yushi couldn’t help but sigh helplessly, calling out softly, “Brother!”
He remembered the young lady from the Feng family who had once visited their residence. When she saw his frail condition, she hadn’t shown any disdainful expression.
With his health like this, he had long prepared himself for the possibility that his future sister-in-law might resent him for being a burden to his brother.
But Feng Wenyu never did. In fact, after learning about his condition, she had sent him many tonics.
Gu Yushi felt grateful in his heart and had long regarded her as his own sister-in-law. Secretly, he didn’t approve of his brother’s actions either.
As Gu Yushi watched the scene before him, he couldn’t help but recall his past life.
Gu Yushi had poor health and was around the same age as Feng Wenyu. After Feng Wenyu married into the Gu family, the two had always gotten along very well.
The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was often delicate.
But with Gu Yushi diverting the Old Madam’s attention, there were rarely any conflicts between the Old Madam and Feng Wenyu.
Until Gu Yushi passed away from illness.
Losing her husband in middle age and her son in old age completely broke the Old Madam’s health. By then, he and Feng Wenyu had been married for seven years without any children. The issue of heirs became the Old Madam’s obsession, and even on her deathbed, she pressured him to take a concubine.
“Either divorce her or take a concubine—you must choose one! Otherwise, I will die with regrets!”
“Ah Shi, I have wronged her. Our Gu family has wronged her. But with Ah Ci passing young and you having no heirs, how can I face your father in the afterlife?”
Back then, no matter how much the Old Madam pressured him, he refused to take a concubine. But society was harsh on women, and the one who bore the greater pressure was inevitably Feng Wenyu.
Remembering this, Gu Yushi ignored the Old Madam’s words, lowered his gaze, and said solemnly:
“I have received imperial orders to investigate a case in Jiangnan and will depart tomorrow. The marriage with the Feng family is already settled. While I’m away from Jingcheng, I hope Mother will not bring this up again to avoid causing her trouble.”
The Old Madam fumed, “I see your wings have truly hardened! You won’t even listen to your own mother now!”
Gu Yushi acted as if he hadn’t heard:
“I have important matters to attend to and will return to the front courtyard now.”
As he turned to leave, Gu Yushi looked at Gu Yushi. His eyes were complex with emotion. After a long moment, he reached out and placed his hand on Gu Yushi’s thin shoulder. Gu Yushi couldn’t help but startle.
He and his brother weren’t particularly close.
Gu Yushi vaguely understood that his brother held some reservation toward him, whether more or less.
Their father had passed away early, leaving the heavy responsibilities of the household on his brother’s shoulders. Their mother had always been strict with his brother, never allowing any slack even in the harsh winter months. Meanwhile, he had been born with chronic illness, often bedridden, so their mother naturally fussed over him frequently.
Perhaps in their mother’s view, this was inevitable.
But when compared side by side, no one could remain completely unaffected.
Especially with their mother’s constant reminder—”Your younger brother is frail, you must take good care of him.”
Yet his brother owed him nothing, while he had become his brother’s responsibility.
While Gu Yushi was still lost in thought, he heard his brother’s stern instruction:
“I petitioned the Emperor to have an imperial physician examine you. The physician will visit in the coming days. While I’m away from the residence, make sure not to neglect our guest.”
The Old Madam’s anger abruptly ceased, replaced by delight. “Is this true?”
Gu Yushi also looked up in astonishment.
He never expected that the first thing his brother would do upon entering the court was to request imperial permission for his medical treatment.
Gu Yushi’s voice faltered slightly, tinged with helplessness: “Brother, I… You’ve only just entered the court—how could you trouble the Emperor over such a trivial matter because of me…”
Gu Yushi could see his stiffness and unease. After a moment of silence, he withdrew his hand quietly and said calmly:
“Focus on recovering. Don’t let Mother down.”