I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 52 Consummation
After Caiju and Qiuli helped Gu Tingchen, who was sleeping like a dead pig, to leave, Ye Wanshu also instructed Chunhong and Xingtao to take Chu Lin and Tingji to the side room to rest.

In the quiet room, Ye Wanshu began to pack up the silver notes exchanged by her aunt.

The Ye family was a wealthy family in Tongyang. Because my grandfather died early, my grandmother managed the huge family business alone. She knew how difficult it was for a woman to support a family. She was afraid of being targeted, so she concealed a lot of her assets over the years and kept a low profile. Before her death, she had deposited six million taels of silver in various banks.

Four million taels of this money were left for her. Her grandmother was worried that she would not marry a good man, so she left her some money for herself so that even if her marriage was not satisfactory, she would at least be rich and prosperous for the rest of her life.

The rest was left to my aunt for emergency use, after all, there was my mother's experience as a lesson.

Ye Wanshu didn't want to stay in the old house, but in addition to the memories with the Gu brothers, it was also the place where she and her grandmother depended on each other. Since her aunt changed her mind, she thought about it and decided to redeem it, just as a thought when she missed her grandmother.

As for the money from her aunt, Ye Wanshu had no plans to hand it over to her for the time being.

Gu Qingmian was not aware of these things. Seeing his cousin packing the banknote box, he came over with some concern.

"Cousin, my mother has prepared some money for you to redeem the old house, but where will you get it when you go to Yuezhou?"

Gu Qingmian said, "I'll ask my mother to give you some extra money tomorrow."

"Silly girl, the rent from redeeming the land, house, and shop is enough to cover our expenses every year." Ye Wanshu chuckled and said, "When you need money in the future, just ask your cousin."

"Ah? Will our Duke's Mansion be short of money?" Gu Qingmian asked uncertainly.

Ye Wanshu smiled. The Rongguo Mansion was certainly not short of money at the moment. As long as Empress Dowager Gu was still alive, the entire Daye Dynasty was indeed unmatched in terms of power and wealth. However, it was hard to say what the situation would be like after a hundred years.

She lived such a miserable life in her previous life that Empress Dowager Gu was still very healthy when she passed away. At least she would live longer than her in this life.

Such powerful relatives are the most feared by the new monarch. Once they encounter difficulties, they will be overthrown. This is also her concern for not returning the money from her aunt.

"I was just talking casually."

Ye Wanshu pulled Gu Qingmian to sit beside the bed. The two sisters exchanged a few simple greetings, and after Chunhong and Xingtao prepared hot water, they lay down after taking a bath.

Gu Qingmian was a carefree person at his age and fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed, leaving Ye Wanshu tossing and turning in bed.

She was thinking about what had happened to Chu Yin, and also about her plans after going to Yuezhou.

In her previous life, she was trapped in the Duke's Mansion and had no chance to enjoy such wealth. In this life, she just wanted to enjoy herself.

I thought for a long time before slowly closing my eyes.

In the Duke Rong's Mansion, which had fallen into silence, there was still a light on in the courtyard.

Gu Tingzhou sat absent-mindedly in the inner hall, drinking alone, while Xiaodie served him carefully.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Tingzhou asked for no apparent reason, "Xiaodie, I remember on the day of your cousin's coming-of-age banquet, you said Yueling fell into the pond on her own. Is that true?"

"I dare not hide anything from you, Master." Xiaodie still said honestly, "This is what I saw."

Gu Tingzhou's eyes darkened and he clenched his fists lightly: "It seems that I am indeed very stupid."

He had suspected this matter that day, but Gu Tingchen covered it up with just one sentence.

Xiaodie has always been a simple and honest person. When she saw the eldest master asking about the brothel girl, she couldn't help but say a lot of things in her heart.

"Forgive me for being so nosy, but Miss Jiang is indeed not a simple-minded person."

She said, "Two days ago, the wife of the Marquis of Wuping came to the mansion to give a birthday gift. I heard her chatting with my mother, saying that the mansion recently discovered that two maids had hidden money. After questioning, they found out that it was given by Miss Jiang."

Gu Tingzhou pursed his lips in disdain: "What's the big deal?"

"But Miss Jiang asked them to frame Miss Cousin, saying that she was having an affair with another man."

Xiaodie said angrily, "That's not the case. My cousin just felt sorry for the scholar's plight and lent him some money to redeem him."

Gu Tingzhou felt particularly uncomfortable when he heard this. He didn't expect that Jiang Yueling had also learned to deceive him.

"You go down." He sighed sadly, "I'll be alone for a while." "Yes," Xiaodie replied softly and retreated carefully.

As soon as she left, Jiang Yueling entered the yard and saw Gu Tingzhou drunk and lying on the table. She was so angry.

"Why did the eldest master get himself drunk out of nowhere?"

Jiang Yueling stepped forward to support Gu Tingzhou, but he pushed her away.

"Do not touch me."

Gu Tingzhou stumbled to his feet and looked at Jiang Yueling coldly, his eyes full of questioning: "What do you mean by 'also'? Is there someone who is as frustrated as me, and you were away for most of the day, so you went to comfort that person?"

Jiang Yueling said with a guilty conscience, "I just didn't dare to come over because I was afraid of disturbing the eldest master."

"That's nonsense," Gu Tingzhou said angrily. "I sent someone to call you in the evening. Someone clearly saw you leaving the Duke's Mansion. How dare you lie to me? Do you really think I'm a three-year-old child?"

Seeing his angry and embarrassed look, Jiang Yueling felt inexplicably flustered.

The attitude of the young master clearly showed that he had no intention of marrying her. If she lost the favor of the eldest young master, her efforts to enter the Duke's Mansion would be in vain.

"I'm going to look for the young master."

Seeing that she couldn't hide it anymore, Jiang Yueling confessed half of it, but then changed the subject: "But I did it all for the eldest son. I want to help him regain the throne of the crown prince."

"Ridiculous." Gu Tingzhou sneered, "I offended the Queen Mother. Do you think you can turn the situation around with just a few words?"

He no longer had any attachment to the position of crown prince, so since Tingchen wanted to give it to him, it was his cousin. The only thing that made him sad was his cousin.

The person whom I have loved with all my heart for ten years, but because of a few words from others, I have so many misunderstandings about her.

"You go out."

Gu Tingzhou found it hard to believe Jiang Yueling's words anymore, and he just drank alone.

Seeing his cold and distant attitude towards her, Jiang Yueling knelt down crying sadly.

"What are you doing?" Gu Tingzhou asked in confusion, "I just asked you to go back to your own courtyard. I didn't kick you out."

Jiang Yueling sobbed non-stop, "I don't know why the eldest young master has suddenly become so indifferent to me, but I have always regarded him as my lifelong lover. I am grateful for his generous donation to help me break free from bondage, and his courage in standing up to the Queen Mother on my behalf is truly heartbreaking."

Looking at Gu Tingzhou with tearful eyes, she said sincerely, "All I want in this life is to serve the eldest master well and repay his kindness."

"Yue Ling, I've already hurt someone and I don't want to hurt you again."

Gu Tingzhou guessed that she had framed her cousin out of jealousy, and he didn't intend to dwell on it. He simply said, "What happened in the past is in the past. Since I've taken you back to the Duke's Mansion, I'll take care of you. If you find a husband you like, I'll prepare a dowry for you."

The drunken feeling took over his heart, and he waved his hand uncomfortably: "Go down, I'm tired."

Then, he fell straight onto the table.

"Eldest son."

Jiang Yueling called out several times until she was sure there was no movement, then she slowly stood up and moved closer.

Thinking about what happened in Chun Manlou, she was already furious.

"What's so good about Ye Wanshu that could captivate all of you?"

He looked at Gu Tingzhou with sinister eyes for a long time, and suddenly an idea came to him.

She helped him onto the bed, found a Yuan handkerchief, dipped rouge in water and evenly smeared it on the center of the handkerchief. Then she took off all their clothes and lay naked beside him.

"Gu Tingzhou, you will never get rid of me again in this life."

(End of this chapter)