Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

Listening to her intermittent words, Gu Ruoxiao suddenly understood that from the very beginning, after he rejected her, her feelings for him had never stopped; she had just suppressed them so deeply that they had suddenly erupted now.

It turns out that her long-standing insecurity stemmed from herself.

He suddenly remembered what his elder brother had told him: such a girl is good, but she is too easily stoic, which makes her more prone to self-harm.

Yun Chu leaned on Gu Ruoxiao's shoulder, and her sobs gradually subsided. She was exhausted from crying.

By the time Gu Ruoxiao noticed, she was already asleep.

Gu Ruoxiao picked her up and gently placed her on the bed in the bedroom. He reached out and wiped away the remaining tears on her face. He carefully covered her with the blanket and stepped out of the room.

Nan Rao and Mo Han, who had been leaning against the wall outside, straightened up.

"Is there anything else I don't know?" Gu Ruoxiao asked softly.

Nan Rao and Mo Han exchanged a glance and lowered their heads.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Take good care of them." He then stepped forward.

As he walked past Nanrao, Nanrao spoke up, "Actually, it's good that Miss was able to vent."

Gu Ruoxiao paused for a moment, then left Qingfeng Courtyard.

Back at the Prince's Mansion, Gu Ruoxiao sat motionless at his desk, reminiscing about all the little things he and Yun Chu had shared.

That night, the lights in the Prince's study never went out.

The next day, when Yun Chu woke up, she felt her eyes were swollen and painful, and her head was throbbing.

She tried to recall what had happened last night, and then she sat blankly on the bed.

What happened last night can only be described in four words: utterly unreasonable.

Yun Chu closed her eyes and lay down on the bed.

"Miss, you're awake?" Nan Rao pushed open the door and came in, handing over two hard-boiled eggs. "Rub them for me."

Yun Chu got up, rubbed her eyes with the egg in her hand, and asked, "How did I get in here last night?"

"His Highness carried you in."

Yun Chu collapsed onto the bed once again. How was she supposed to face Gu Ruoxiao?

She asked hesitantly, "Did he say anything when he left last night? Was he angry?"

"Your Highness, you only told us to take good care of you."

Yun Chu looked gloomy and distressed. How could she possibly make up for the mess she had made?

Seeing the young lady's helplessness, Nan Rao couldn't help but say, "Miss, it's good that you can vent. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

Yun Chuhui gave a bitter smile and lay back on the bed.

That night, Yun Chu thought Gu Ruoxiao wouldn't appear, but he went into the study as usual and poured himself a cup of tea.

Yun Chu felt a little awkward and didn't know what to say.

"you..."

"you..."

They started at the same time, and then stopped at the same time.

Yun Chu quickly said, "You go first."

Yun Chu felt a little nervous. Was Gu Ruoxiao going to cut ties with her? But it was alright; they weren't married yet, and there was still room for maneuver. Thinking this, Yun Chu's eyes welled up with tears again, which she quickly suppressed.

Gu Ruoxiao walked over and stood next to Yun Chu.

At this time in the past, Yun Chu would always wrap her arms around his waist and lean against him, listening to him speak, but this time she was a little hesitant. She lowered her head nervously.

The person above spoke, "Yun Chu."

"Hmm?" Yun Chu responded softly, her head lowered and her eyes darting around.

"I'm sorry, I made you feel insecure."

At that moment, tears welled up in Yun Chu's eyes.

Gu Ruoxiao reached out and pulled her into his arms, saying, "I like you too, I like you a lot."

Yun Chu cried again, murmuring softly, "I'm sorry, I was being unreasonable."

"Don't suppress yourself anymore, okay?" A gentle voice came from above, and Yun Chu cried even harder.

After a long while, Yun Chu finally calmed down. Gu Ruoxiao asked someone to bring a dry cloth, and he wiped her face for her. "If you have any questions or want to ask me anything in the future, just ask me directly. Don't overthink it."

Yun Chu nodded.

Suddenly her stomach rumbled. She realized that she hadn't eaten dinner that night because she was too worried about whether Gu Ruoxiao would come or not.

Gu Ruoxiao looked at her and sighed, then stepped out of the study to call Nan Rao.

As Yun Chu watched his retreating figure, she thought that perhaps this time it was truly over.

On this day, Gu Ruoxiao sent Yun Chu an invitation.

Yun Chu couldn't help but ask, "Who did it?"

"Queen Mother."

"Has the Empress Dowager agreed to hold the gathering banquet?"

"Yes, and I'd like to invite you to come along."

Who are the people you invited this time?

“There are scions of noble families and prominent clans, as well as sons of humble backgrounds,” Gu Ruoxiao said after taking a sip of tea. “Xiao Ba needs a helper.”

“I think genuine affection is the key to a lasting relationship,” Yun Chu said, flipping through the folded document.

"Does the future princess like me?" Gu Ruoxiao teased.

*Thud* Yun Chu threw a book at him. This guy is really shameless, always teasing her.

The day of the palace banquet arrived quickly. Yun Chu refused to let Gu Ruoxiao pick her up and entered the palace herself, with Mo Han following behind.

"I've met the Queen Mother."

"Get up quickly, we're all family here, don't stand on ceremony."

The Empress Dowager was sitting in the Youran Pavilion, where the view was wide and she could see everything.

"Is today a time for composing poems while floating wine cups on a winding stream?" Yun Chu noticed the winding water feature below, which was divided into two sections by a light gauze curtain. She guessed that one half should be for women and the other half for men.

There are several seats in front of the water feature, and some soft-sleeper rooms in the pavilion behind it, making it easy to see who wants to grab the front seats and who wants to find a corner.

"Yes, I will certainly test their knowledge."

Young women began to arrive one after another, and most of them gathered together to chat.

One woman caught Yun Chu's attention.

The woman, dressed in a pale yellow dress, stood alone in a corner of a pavilion. She looked around, then jumped onto the pavilion railing, took down the octagonal wind chime hanging from the corner, and sat down to examine it. She even looked to see if anyone had noticed. Yun Chu couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

She heard the old woman beside her introducing the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty, these are the individuals whose backgrounds you instructed me to investigate. Some are military generals, and others are civil officials."

"Granny, who is that girl?" Yun Chu pointed to the woman playing with the wind chimes.

“Replying to Miss Yun Chu, that is Lin Mulan from the Lin family upstairs,” the nanny said respectfully.

"Are her family members civil officials or military officers?" the Empress Dowager asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Your Majesty, is her family somewhat special?"

"Oh?"

"Your Majesty, her father was Grand Secretary Lin Wenge, and her grandfather was the former Lin Youxi."

"General Lin Youxi, who led his troops to victory in the southwest and then resigned to return to his hometown?"

"Yes, Queen Mother."

"Does his family have any collateral relatives who serve as officials in the imperial court?"

"Your Majesty, apart from her eldest brother, the eldest son of the Lin family, who is working in the Ministry of Works, the others had all resigned and returned to their hometowns with Lin Youxi."

The Queen Mother nodded.

"What does Yun Chu think?" she asked with a smile.