Only fearing the difficulties of childbirth

Gu Fei turned her face slightly, maintaining the same posture. Her tongue circled within her mouth, swallowing down the metallic tang of blood before her lashes trembled gently and she touched her struck cheek.

“Wanting, what are you doing?” Mo Yuhua’s voice was a deliberately restrained, angry reprimand.

Gu Wanting folded her hands, her wide sleeves swaying with her skirt, her expression one of indifference and distaste. “Yuhua, what do you think I am doing?”

Her retort left Mo Yuhua momentarily speechless before she continued, “First, as the eldest sister, it is my duty to discipline her when her words or actions stray, just as the family elders would. Second, she is an illegitimate daughter. She may have grown up without manners, but so long as she lives under the Gu family roof, she must conduct herself with propriety.”

Her words rang out, sharp and clear as shattering ice. Gu Wanting’s voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone present to hear, especially the three words “illegitimate daughter,” which instantly changed the way the crowd looked at Gu Fei.

It must be understood that in Da Yin, wives were honored and concubines inferior, while those kept outside the household were even lower than concubines, considered beneath even courtesans. Their children were not fit to be seen, lowlier than dirt beneath others’ feet.

“Oh?” Mo Yuhua sneered, his refined features never seeming out of place, even with such a scornful expression. “And what, precisely, did Fei do that was improper?”

Gu Wanting’s gaze grew colder under Mo Yuhua’s scrutiny. She bit her lip and lowered her voice, “Yuhua, I saw it all. Must I really say it out loud?”

Her tone was laced with suppressed bitterness and grievance, her eyes reddening with hurt pride and stubbornness, so much so that it tugged at the heart.

But Mo Yuhua was unmoved. With one hand behind his back, his gaze was devoid of warmth. “You saw what you saw. I have nothing more to explain.”

“Yuhua, you…” The coldness in his features was something Gu Wanting had never seen before. A chill struck her heart, sensing something slipping out of her control.

“Mo Yuhua!” A figure in moon-white robes, as luminous as moonlight, rushed forward, scattering reflections like ripples on water. Feng Lizhi shoved Mo Yuhua aside, standing before Gu Fei with the air of a hero descending from the heavens, shielding her from every shameful gaze. “Keep your people in order.”

Mo Yuhua flicked an imaginary crease from his chest, spared Feng Lizhi a single glance, then turned and walked into the dining hall without another word.

“Yuhua…” Gu Wanting called after him plaintively, but her voice could not recall his resolute retreat.

Seeing that there was nothing more to watch, the guests drifted back in small groups to the dining hall. Yet, in hushed conversations, it would be no time before rumors spread throughout Yizhou that Gu Fei, the illegitimate daughter, had brazenly tried to seduce her future brother-in-law.

Feng Lizhi turned to face Gu Fei. His lips parted, as if he wished to speak, yet no words came. In the end, he could only sigh, gazing with pity at her swollen cheek. “It was my fault. I should have come to find you the moment the gathering broke up…”

“There is no fault in you, Lizhi. Why blame yourself?” Gu Fei interrupted softly, drawing a silk handkerchief from her sleeve, folding it and draping it over her ear as a makeshift veil.

At last, her gaze icy, she called out, “Danqing, come here!”

Danqing’s body trembled, cold sweat trickling down her back as she answered in a voice barely more than a whisper, “Yes.”

Only then did Gu Fei turn to Feng Lizhi and smile. “Lizhi, may I ask a favor?”

Feng Lizhi, stricken with guilt, nodded quickly. “Just say the word.”

“Please see to it that the steward here at Linlang Pavilion brings me a meal separately. I doubt any of the ladies in the dining hall would care to share a table with me now.” Gu Fei spoke with a detached calm, as if the matter had nothing to do with her at all.

Hearing this, Feng Lizhi felt a pang of sorrow, his guilt deepening. After all, it was he who had brought Gu Fei to the Ink Gathering. Now that such a scandal had erupted, her reputation was utterly ruined, and crippled as she was, her future would likely hold nothing but loneliness and incense in a monastery.

Given such a small request, he agreed without a second thought.

Only then did Gu Fei have Danqing push her to an empty private room to rest. When the steward delivered her meal, she also brought a bottle of cooling ointment as a token of goodwill. Gu Fei accepted it with a smile, offering no further words of thanks.

That afternoon, perhaps because of the incident at lunch, no one wished to approach Gu Fei, much less converse with her. She welcomed the solitude, devoting her attention to the ink. When Feng Lizhi and Mo Yuhua engaged in a spirited debate over the ink marbles, Gu Fei spoke up at just the right moment, supplementing Feng Lizhi’s remarks with her own incisive insights, astonishing all present.

After all, it was not that there had never been female guests at the Ink Gathering, but never had there been one truly versed in the art.

Setting aside private feelings, some of the male guests immediately revised their opinions of Gu Fei. Yet among the women, under the subtle guidance of the Gu sisters Wanting and Wanxiu, all regarded Gu Fei with open disdain, some even whispering that, having failed with Mo Yuhua, she was now casting her lot with Feng Lizhi.

Such things could never be cleared by words alone. Gu Fei had no interest in defending herself. In her heart, her integrity was unassailable; she had no concern for a tarnished reputation.

Unsurprisingly, at the conclusion of the Ink Gathering, the pair of Feng Lizhi and Gu Fei emerged victorious over Mo Yuhua.

Mo Yuhua did not wait for Feng Lizhi to select his ink marble. As soon as the gathering ended, he strode out, Gu Wanting hurrying after him. Along the way, Mo Yuhua ignored everyone.

Feng Lizhi, ever considerate, did not wish for Gu Fei to be further slandered and arranged with the steward that he would return for the prize in three days’ time, then escorted Gu Fei away from Linlang Pavilion.

By chance, as they went to fetch the carriage, they encountered Gu Wanting and Mo Yuhua standing before it, deep in conversation.

On seeing Gu Fei, both quickly looked away, faces stony. Gu Wanting climbed into the carriage in a huff, not even waiting for Wanxiu.

Mo Yuhua, though his face was cold, still nodded in greeting to Gu Fei. But before he could board the carriage, the horses suddenly reared, snorting and neighing wildly before tearing off at a gallop.

The coachman beside Mo Yuhua reacted swiftly, pulling him back just in time. In the blink of an eye, the driverless carriage had already sped a dozen yards away, leaving only the sound of Gu Wanting’s terrified screams inside.

“Wanting!” Mo Yuhua shouted.

The coachman, quick as lightning, snapped his whip around the horse’s hind leg and yanked hard. There was a loud crash, the horse neighed in agony and fell, unable to rise again.

Witnessing this, a strange, unreadable glint flickered in Gu Fei’s dark eyes as she swept her gaze over the coachman, then looked away.

Men skilled in martial arts at Mo Yuhua’s side was nothing unusual.

With danger past, Mo Yuhua was first to rush forward, lifting the now-unconscious Gu Wanting from the carriage. Gu Wanxiu quickly checked her over and, finding no injuries, breathed a sigh of relief.

The accident had occurred right outside Linlang Pavilion. As soon as the horse went mad, an attendant had rushed to report it. The steward arrived promptly, dragging the local physician along.

Dispensing with ceremony, the physician gently pushed aside Gu Wanxiu and checked Gu Wanting’s pulse. After a few breaths, he turned to Mo Yuhua. “Rest assured, sir. The young lady is not in any serious danger.”

Everyone breathed easier, but as the physician finished speaking, his brow furrowed and his expression grew troubled.

Gu Wanxiu, alarmed, asked, “Doctor, if she is unharmed, why does my sister not wake?”

The doctor gave her a peculiar look, rolled up his sleeve, and sharply pinched Gu Wanting’s philtrum.

Gu Wanxiu exhaled in relief as her sister slowly regained consciousness. Seeing Mo Yuhua, her eyes reddened, though whether from pain or grievance it was hard to say. “Yu… Yuhua…”

“It’s all right now.” Mo Yuhua soothed her, then looked up and addressed the physician, who was still sighing. “Doctor, please speak freely.”

Glancing around, the physician leaned in and whispered into Mo Yuhua’s ear, “Sir, keep this young lady well cared for. Should there be any mishap, I fear… she may never bear children.”