208 Out of Line
“Ring, ring, ring…”
Qing Guang brought the bell ball back with its mouth and meowed. It walked in front of Gu Yanfei and swayed in front of her eyes.
“Good boy!” Gu Yanfei praised it perfunctorily. She stroked the cat’s head and let it play.
Gu Yunzhen simply took the bell ball and gently threw it away. The cat jumped up again and chased after the ball happily.
Gu Yunzhen squatted on the ground and played ball with the cat. She quickly continued, “After the marriage, Grandpa and Grandma were happily married. Unexpectedly, not long after Uncle was born, Grandpa fell seriously ill and almost frightened Great-Grandpa.”
“At that time, my great-grandfather was already old and covered in old injuries. If my grandfather had passed away at that time, with my great-grandfather’s health, he probably wouldn’t have been able to last until my uncle grew up. Then, the Marquis Mansion would have completely declined.”
“My great-grandfather looked for doctors and medicine everywhere for my grandfather. He invited a lot of doctors, imperial physicians, witches, and Taoist priests. During that period of time, the residence was filled with the fragrance of medicine every day.”
“It took a month for Grandfather to recover.”
Gu Yanfei spared half of her attention to look at the rune. Her right index finger drew in the air as she asked absent-mindedly, “What happened after that?”
“After that,” Gu Yunzhen caught the bell ball that Qing Guang slapped over and shook it before continuing, “Grandpa has always been very healthy… However, his relationship with Grandma is not as good as before.”
“After Grandfather recovered from his illness, he took in his concubine not long after…”
As she spoke, Gu Yunzhen’s expression was a little subtle. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as her mother’s meaningful voice sounded in her ears.
“Zhen’er, remember Mother’s words. Friendship is the most useless. Look at your grandmother. Even if her relationship with your grandfather is ordinary, she’s still the Madam of the Marquis Mansion. No one can surpass her.”
Their third branch was a concubine’s family. Ever since the Old Marquis passed away, their status in the Marquis Mansion has been very awkward. It could be said that they lived in the cracks.
Old Aunt Sun had specially given Third Madam Yan some pointers. Now that Madam Yan thought that her daughter was about to get married, she also told her about these old matters in the Marquis Mansion to remind her.
“Sizzle…”
Another teardrop slowly trickled down, and the candle flame swayed gently.
Gu Yunzhen’s black hair fell softly behind her. The jade hairpin at her temples reflected a bleak luster in the candlelight.
Her eyelashes were lowered, and half her face was lost in the flickering shadows of the candlelight. She exuded a quiet aura.
Gu Yunzhen raised her wrist and threw the bell ball in her hand again.
This simple action carried a desperate feeling, as if she was venting something.
Gu Yunzhen stood up again and exhaled silently. “14 years ago, Grandpa suddenly fell seriously ill. He was on his last breath in a few days…”
“From what my ancestral concubine’s mother said, Grandpa seems to know that he doesn’t have long to live. He even told them not to hire a doctor anymore.”
Her last sentence attracted some reaction from Gu Yanfei. Gu Yanfei looked up at her. At the same time, the fingers of her right hand drew the last stroke in the air.
In an instant, something seemed to vibrate in the air, swinging out invisible loops of air, like fleeting ripples on water.
Then, Gu Yanfei slowly put down the talisman in her hand, her heart shining.
Sure enough, she’d been right.
Gu Yanfei’s pupils were dark, clear, and bright in the candlelight, like a deep ancient well that rippled slightly.
“How pitiful.” Gu Yanfei sighed softly.
Her voice was so soft that Gu Yunzhen could not hear her clearly. Hence, Gu Yunzhen asked, “What’s wrong?”
Gu Yanfei did not answer and asked, “Big Sister, are we giving away the dowry tomorrow?”
“I’m not getting married,” Gu Yunzhen said calmly.
There was neither hysteria nor righteous indignation. Just a smile on her lips, as dignified and virtuous as ever.
Gu Yanfei smiled and said meaningfully, “… You’re not getting married.”
Gu Yunzhen was infected by her smile and smiled too, even if she actually did not understand what Gu Yanfei meant.
Gu Yanfei raised her hand and moved the talisman closer to the candlelight.
The candlelight instantly ignited the talisman paper, and greedily devoured it. There was a faint black aura hidden in the bright yellow flames.
Gu Yanfei casually threw the talisman into the treasure basin used to burn paper money.
The burning talisman floated down. The flames flickered, sometimes high and sometimes low. The flickering flames left crisscrossing shadows on her fair face.
