TGDS Chapter 85.3

The Good Dad System (Arc 12) Chapter 85.3: (Ancient Times) The People Around My Daughter Have All Been Reborn (6)

The maidservant lowered her head, feeling helpless. Ever since the second young lady was pushed down the stone steps by the third young lady and fell, she had been acting strangely since waking up. She increasingly disliked the third young lady, constantly trying to bully or manipulate her. She also seemed to have lost her mind, insisting on going to the Prime Minister’s study, claiming she had important matters to discuss with him. The Madam dared not allow her to disturb the Prime Minister’s business, so she instructed the maids and nannies to keep a close eye on the young lady. Then, the young lady herself insisted on coming to the Pei residence to meet Miss Pei, for reasons unknown.

Gu Yuniang naturally didn’t intend to explain to them. She was also scheming in her heart, wondering if she and Pei Yuzhu had developed any initial feelings for each other during this time.

You must know, the Gu family’s glory has only lasted for the last ten years. Her good father, for some reason, seems to have been bewitched by the Crown Prince, only knowing that the Crown Prince is the rightful heir, the legitimate heir, and the eldest son. He even insisted on sending her brothers to the Eastern Palace as study companions. And what was the result? Gu Yuniang sneered. Who could have known that beneath the Crown Prince’s now renowned reputation lies a tyrannical heart? In just ten years, he has been spoiled rotten, secretly bullying palace servants and abusing punishments. Her brothers and father are exhausted just cleaning up his messes. Because of his willfulness, they have lost many of her father’s disciples, constantly suffering losses, until in the end, they are left with no one to rely on.

Then, the crown prince, who was favored by everyone, was deposed. Her father and brother, two typical members of the crown prince’s faction, were implicated and imprisoned. They were accused of everything, from embezzlement and bribery to buying and selling official positions. When they were released, one was dead and the other was half-dead. When the tree fell, the monkeys scattered. She and her sister were both sent home. Only her scheming third sister escaped all this. The time she spent at home was really difficult. She couldn’t see the future at all. If it had been like this, everything would have been fine. But after the crown prince was reinstated, he became even more treacherous. He was determined to kill his two younger brothers. Gu Dalang had no father. He was willing to risk his life for wealth and got involved. In the end, not long after the second prince and Pei Yuzhu returned to the capital, he was sentenced to be executed at the Meridian Gate. These women were driven out of the Gu family mansion and made to live a hard life in the only remaining estate.

Logically speaking, murderers should pay with their lives. Given a second chance at life, she should definitely seek revenge on the Second Prince. But in her previous life, she tormented herself until her thirties before tragically falling to her death while working. At that time, she had already clearly understood that ultimately, the blame lay with the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince had been even slightly more reliable, would things have turned out this way? Furthermore, on that day, the Gu family had nothing left to exploit. If the Crown Prince hadn’t involved his eldest brother in the regicide and the killing of princes, Gu Dalang wouldn’t have died.

But ultimately, it was because she was afraid.

Gu Yuniang still remembered watching Pei Yuzhuo and her father ride side by side in the crowd, clad in silver armor, their cloaks billowing behind them, entering the city with a menacing aura. For a long time, like the people of the capital, they fell asleep listening to all sorts of strange rumors. In the rumors, Pei Yuzhuo had killed countless people, using a gun on horseback and a sword on foot. The rumors were so vivid, as if they had witnessed it firsthand, describing how she could swat off a head with a wave of her hand, the head still open, mouth agape, not even realizing that it had been decapitated…

In short, there were many similar rumors, making these young ladies, who stayed in the mansion all day, tremble with fear. But those rumors didn’t quite match the woman she had seen on horseback at that time. She was clean and efficient, but didn’t seem so ruthless and astonishing. The truth was impossible to verify.

Gu Yuniang had only been reborn for a short time, and her first thought was to persuade her father to stop betting on the Second Prince and continue supporting the Crown Prince. However, she didn’t even have a chance to speak with her father privately, so how could she convince him? Her rebirth was too astonishing; she feared no one would believe it. Her second thought was to cultivate a good relationship with Pei Yuzhuo. The other girl was still just a young lady and easy to please. If she could become her close friend, at least she could protect her family in the future.

“Miss, we’ve arrived.” The maid spoke again, feeling embarrassed as she looked at the Pei family maid leading the way. She felt that her mistress had embarrassed herself at the Pei family’s residence, and even on such a short walk, her mistress was always distracted.

“Hmm.” Gu Yuniang nodded, composed herself, and smiled as soon as she entered the house. She teased Pei Yuzhuo, “Yuzhuo, it’s been a few days, you’ve grown taller, and you’re also…” She was about to compliment her on her fair skin and slender figure when she noticed that, for some reason, the other girl seemed to have gotten quite tanned this winter.

“You too.” Pei Yuzhuo didn’t hesitate and immediately returned the compliment. She now understood the art of interacting with Gu Yuniang; as long as Gu Yuniang quickly responded, she could change the subject.

“I went to pay respects to our ancestors with my family and brought you a gift.” She waved her hand, signaling the maid behind her to bring out the gift. After so many years, she didn’t really know how to interact with a girl her age anymore; she only knew to say nice things and give gifts.

“…Thank you, Yuniang.” Pei Yuzhuo sighed inwardly, feeling quite helpless. The atmosphere had become awkward, yet the other woman persisted in coming every day. She was exasperated.

“By the way, in a couple of days, our Gu family is having a boat party outside the city. Are you going?” Gu Yuniang extended an invitation. She carried invitations with her; every girl in her family had several. If she didn’t invite them, a girl from a military family like Pei Yuzhuo wouldn’t be able to participate.

“No, that won’t do,” Pei Yuzhuo replied quickly. “In a couple of years, I’ll go to my maternal grandmother’s house for a short stay.”

“Go to your maternal grandmother’s?” Gu Yuniang subconsciously pursed her lips, but quickly straightened up and returned to normal, though she was still very disdainful in her heart. You see, in her previous life, the most miserable family was the Imperial Uncle’s family. The current Empress was the Emperor’s second wife after he ascended the throne. She couldn’t give birth to a prince, but she still gave the Imperial Uncle’s family a lot of care.

Pei Yuzhu’s biological mother was the Empress’s younger sister, so she should also call the Imperial Uncle “Uncle.” Although the two families had this relationship, their interactions weren’t particularly good. This was all because of an incident that happened when Pei Yuzhu was young. Gu Yuniang had only heard about it. She heard that Pei Yuzhu would stay at the Imperial Uncle’s house for ten days to half a month every year. Out of concern for her, who had lost her mother at a young age and whose father was not around, the Imperial Uncle was very considerate. This aroused Lin Shuniang’s jealousy. In her own backyard, Lin Shuniang pretended to accidentally push Pei Yuzhu into the river. It was said that Pei Yuzhu fell slightly ill at the time, and the Imperial Uncle felt very guilty. He sent Lin Shuniang to a temple outside the city to recuperate for a long time. It is unknown which young lady in that mansion had a grudge, but she inadvertently spread this news. Later, Lin Shuniang heard that her marriage was hindered and she eventually married a sent-down official. She never heard anything about it again.

Thinking of this, Gu Yuniang immediately sat up straight. This was her perfect opportunity to shine: “Yuzhuo, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say.”

“Since you think it’s inappropriate, then don’t say it.” Pei Yuzhuo looked back at her with a friendly expression, appearing very caring.

Gu Yuniang paused, then smiled awkwardly. Unlike a young person who was easily embarrassed, she continued, “There’s nothing inappropriate to say. Actually, I’m just afraid you’ll mind.” She paused, observing Pei Yuzhuo’s reaction. The other party was quite calm, showing no unease on her face. “Your cousin… is called Shuniang, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s it.” Gu Yuniang played her part perfectly, clapping her hands. “I’ve heard my sisters talk about her. This Lin Shuniang has said bad things about you before. You know, our young ladies attend quite a few banquets, so they’ve heard this at least once. I didn’t pay attention, so I forgot to tell you.” She was extremely annoyed that Pei Yuzhuo wasn’t curious or angry at all.

“It might be a misunderstanding. My cousin is fine.”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Gu Yuniang suddenly grabbed Pei Yuzhu’s hand, momentarily stunned. She noticed that Pei’s once smooth hands had become quite rough recently, with faint calluses. But that wasn’t a big deal, so she continued, “She said it directly: she’s jealous of you and thinks you’ve taken advantage of her family. Yuzhu, don’t blame me for overreacting, but you’re so innocent, I’m afraid you might get bullied by her. What would you do then?”

“Okay, Yuniang, you’re so good to me. I’ll be careful.” Pei Yuzhu smiled and returned the hand, unusually warm.

Gu Yuniang was secretly pleased, feeling she had made the right move. Even if her father insisted on following the Crown Prince, she wasn’t afraid!

The two chatted idly for a while longer, finding plenty of things to talk about, making things much more pleasant.
The meeting ended quickly. Pei Yuzhu saw Gu Yuniang off and returned to her room to sit down. She frowned, somewhat puzzled by recent events. After all, even the most precocious child was still just a child. She relied on her simple intuition to discern whether others’ likes and dislikes were appropriate. She had just clearly noticed that when she became friendly with Gu Yuniang, the latter was particularly excited.

Was it because Gu Yuniang really wanted to befriend her, or did she have ulterior motives for befriending her?

Pei Yuzhu pondered, her gaze falling on the letter lying on the table. During this time, she had exchanged letters with her father several times. Now, she would often clumsily express some naive opinions, discussing military strategy and tactics with her father, and also sharing various matters encountered in life. It could be considered a heart-to-heart talk between father and daughter.

She had never liked to tell others about her unhappy or worried things—because she had no one to tell. Her father was far away, fighting all day long, and his health was poor. She was afraid of bothering her grandmother with these matters and making her feel uncomfortable.

Now, however, she was different from before. She had someone to rely on. After thinking it over, she asked Xiuyu to come in and grind the ink, then picked up the brush and began to write—it wasn’t a major worry, just a little strange. She’d treat it as a way to be affectionate with her father and share her feelings.

…

In the Eastern Palace, every furnishing was exquisitely beautiful. The Crown Prince was listening to a familiar subordinate report:

“Your Highness, today the second daughter of Prime Minister Gu visited General Pei’s residence again.” He couldn’t understand why the Crown Prince had suddenly instructed him to pay close attention to General Pei’s residence after yesterday. General Pei’s residence only had an old lady and a young lady; what was there to be concerned about? However, he was always loyal, so he didn’t question it and obeyed unconditionally.

“Prime Minister Gu’s second daughter?” The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, his hand rubbing the teacup, his expression strange.

Was it because he hadn’t paid attention to the Pei family’s external communications in his previous life, or was there an internal traitor among his men, or was there some other unexpected change?