Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

The days passed peacefully for more than ten days. This morning, Rong Mama, the maidservant of the First Madam, came to deliver an invitation, saying that the Duke's Mansion was celebrating the birthday of Old Madam Shen, and that all prominent families were invited to attend, and that the Ye family must be present.

Perhaps because she had become famous publicly at her coming-of-age ceremony, the First Madam couldn't very well prevent Ye Xingchen from attending this banquet.

But deep down, Ye Xingchen didn't want to go. She vaguely remembered that it was at this very banquet that she met the Eighth Prince, Gu Chenglin, which sparked a tragic love affair. Although she had indeed wronged his sincere heart in her past life, now she wanted to avoid seeing him as much as possible.

However, the invitation has already been sent out, and not going would be a disgrace to the Duke's mansion, a crime they cannot bear.

Ye Xingchen prayed that she would never run into Gu Chenglin.

The next day, Ye Ruohuan and the First Madam attended the event in their finest attire. Ye Xingchen glanced at them and, against her will, offered a compliment. Then, looking at her own unremarkable clothes, she smiled silently. Being unremarkable was best; it was the most urgent need at the moment.

The Duke's mansion is truly magnificent, with red walls and golden tiles, carved beams and painted rafters, exuding grandeur. The courtyards are spacious, with towering vermilion gates and jade steps connecting the buildings. The gardens are expansive, and the artificial hills and ponds complement each other, creating a breathtaking scene.

I've heard that the Duke is a very shrewd and sophisticated man. Now that he's holding this birthday banquet, the guests are numerous, and the place is bustling with activity.

Rong took the Ye family children to pay their respects to the elders of the Duke's mansion. After performing the customary greetings, she took Ye Ruohuan and Ye Wangshu to establish a connection.

Ye Xingchen found himself with some peace and quiet, and casually found a place to relax. However, things didn't go as planned, and unexpectedly, Madam Rong sent someone to summon him, leaving him no choice but to go.

Amidst pavilions and waterside terraces, a gentle breeze caresses the water's surface, creating ripples. A group of people are chatting and laughing, enjoying tea.

"My eldest sister is really good at making tea!" Ye Ruohuan looked up and saw Ye Xingchen, and called out, "Eldest sister, come quickly and show the old lady your skills."

So that's how it is. In the eyes of these high-ranking officials and nobles, tea ceremony and cooking have never been considered high-class skills. They've just brought Ye Xingchen here to perform.

Ye Xingchen took it calmly and said, "Fine, I'll give him face."

Thus, the process of washing hands, warming teacups and teapot, entering the palace, washing tea, brewing, feeling the spring breeze on one's face, sealing the pot, dividing into cups, serving tea, and tasting tea is all done in one go.

The aroma of tea rises gently, weaving a refreshing and delightful fragrance. Afternoon sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows and adding to the tranquility and harmony of the tea.

Perhaps not expecting it to be so pleasing to the eye, Rong's expression turned slightly embarrassed.

However, Old Madam Shen of the Duke's Mansion had no prejudice. She sipped her tea and smiled kindly, "Lin'er also likes to drink tea, so why don't we send some to him?"

The old lady's maid suggested, "Why don't we trouble Miss Ye to make the trip? It would be convenient if the young master wanted to exchange ideas on tea ceremony."

Madam Shen nodded approvingly.

"Who is Lin'er?" Ye Ruohuan asked in confusion.

"Such poor manners!" Madam Rong scolded.

"No problem at all," the old lady waved her hand. "They are our honored guests. Would you please trouble Miss Ye to make the trip?"

"Of course I'm willing," the First Madam quickly replied.

Left with no other choice, Ye Xingchen could only carry the freshly brewed tea and follow the guide. He prayed that everything would go smoothly, since he hadn't had to prepare tea in his previous life.

“Young lady, the person ahead is a distinguished guest of our household. You may go there to serve tea.” said the steward leading the way.

Oh no, this is it! That's the pavilion in the middle of the lake. It was here that I met Gu Chenglin in my past life. Ye Xingchen's vision blurred. She hesitated, reluctant to move forward, but the steward behind her began to urge her on.

Ye Xingchen sighed, knowing he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

The curtains of the pavilion in the middle of the lake fluttered in the wind, and a man in white sat inside.

Ye Xingchen silently prayed to the Bodhisattva for protection, planning to pretend to be a tea-delivering maid and run away after delivering the tea.

Stepping into the pavilion in the middle of the lake, she lowered her head, concentrated, and said, "This servant is here on the orders of the old lady to serve tea to our distinguished guest." With that, she placed the tea on the stone table.

"Oh?"

The voice didn't sound like Gu Chenglin's. Ye Xingchen looked up abruptly, "How come it's you?"

"Who do you think you are?" Gu Ruoxiao, standing in front of Ye Xingchen, looked at him with a half-smile, fanning himself.

However, at this moment, Ye Xingchen actually breathed a sigh of relief, as if he was relieved that it was just his imagination.

Seeing that Ye Xingchen did not answer, Gu Ruoxiao stood up and asked, "Who are you here to see?"

This person is too unpredictable. Ye Xingchen didn't want to associate with him and turned to leave.

A voice came from outside the pavilion, "Uncle, I've brought the imperial wine!" It was Gu Chenglin's voice!

In a panic, Ye Xingchen hid under the curtain of the stone pillar, while Gu Ruoxiao looked out of the pavilion.

"Uncle, wait a minute, I'm coming right now." Gu Chenglin's voice gradually drew closer.

Ye Xingchen anxiously tugged at Gu Ruoxiao's sleeve. Gu Ruoxiao looked up and said after a moment, "Xiao Ba, go and have someone fetch some food. Wait for me at the Wind Shelter Pavilion; it's windy here."

Gu Chenglin, who was standing outside the pavilion, stopped in his tracks, and the prince's guard, Chengfeng, hurriedly stopped him.

Looking out from the pavilion in the middle of the lake, Gu Cheng saw what appeared to be a woman hiding under the curtains, seemingly holding the hand of his uncle.

Gu Chenglin smiled knowingly. "Hmm, the Imperial Uncle has finally figured it out!" he thought, and hurriedly shouted, "Alright, I'll wait for you at the Wind Shelter Pavilion!"

Thank goodness, with Gu Cheng leaving, Ye Xingchen could finally relax.

"Thank you." Ye Xingchen thanked Gu Ruoxiao gratefully. "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now." Ye Xingchen was overjoyed that she had to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

"Stay away from the Eighth Prince!" Gu Ruoxiao suddenly said from behind.

"Your Highness, as you predicted, Miss Ye has indeed come here. Before, this Miss Ye was entangled with the Fourth Prince, and now she wants to get involved with the Eighth Prince?" Guard Chengfeng said.

Gu Ruoxiao glanced at Chengfeng but did not answer.

"It was my dereliction of duty that I failed to hold back the Eighth Prince in time, but he asked for wine far too quickly," Chengfeng hurriedly explained.

"She did come here, but it's also true that she didn't want to see Xiao Ba just now. What exactly is she trying to do, playing hard to get?" Gu Ruoxiao wondered to herself, and said, "Send someone to keep an eye on her."

"Yes."

After returning home, Ye Xingchen collapsed onto the bed after washing up, recalling the events of the day, some unexpected and others following the trajectory of her previous life.

However, Gu Ruoxiao is someone I truly cannot understand or see clearly.

So Ye Xingchen began searching his memory for information about Gu Ruoxiao.

Unfortunately, we rarely interacted in our past lives and had little connection. I only knew that he was ranked first among the four young masters of the capital, possessing exceptional martial arts and strategic skills. During the current emperor's reign, he solved many cases and also went to suppress bandits and quell rebellions. When the Eighth Prince first ascended the throne, he helped stabilize the court and later requested an imperial decree to marry him and go to the border. Together, they protected the peace of the border. I heard that the couple respected each other and had a deep and loving relationship, which became a beautiful story.

Judging from all these signs, he should be a person who is righteous but has turned evil, and he is only twenty-one years old now.

But why did he want to kill me? He even warned me. Ye Xingchen pondered.

Back when the Eighth Prince wanted to make Ye Xingchen his empress, Gu Ruoxiao tried her best to stop him, and the uncle and nephew even had a big argument. This was all because Gu Ruoxiao couldn't stand Ye Xingchen's wavering between the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince, and Ye Xingchen's terrible reputation.

Sigh, it seems public opinion can be deceiving? Ye Xingchen mused. Such a powerful person couldn't be made an enemy, or he'd be doomed. If he couldn't afford to offend them, he'd better stay away. Ye Xingchen made his decision.