Chapter 14: The Ningyuan Marquis

Time: More than forty days ago.

While Xu Zaijing was playing cute in the Duke Prefecture tent, far away in Yangzhou.

Wuyi Alley,

Bai residence,

A man in his fifties, pale-faced, gazed at the Daoist standing below in the main hall, his voice weak, as if his bones had been pulled out:

“You’ve been delayed over a month by falling off a mountain—your so-called calamity has surely already come to pass.

My son!

How could I have been so foolish, letting a hollow reputation keep me from going to Bianjing to watch over you!

My son, it’s my fault that you’re dead!!”

As he spoke, tears streamed from his eyes—he was utterly heartbroken.

The Daoist looked ashamed and said:

“I never anticipated that gathering herbs in the mountains would bring such a calamity; had it not been for the hunters, I’d already be a skeleton in the hills.

I only divined your daughter’s doom while lying on the cliffside, waiting to die. Sigh!”

The Daoist’s tone was bitter—he was accustomed to foretelling fortune and misfortune, but this time he’d gone into the mountains drunk, never imagining it would ruin everything.

He could have stayed silent, but he owed the Bai family head great kindness; a spiritual obstruction had taken root in his heart, and after long deliberation, he could no longer hold back.

“Then I shall go to the capital. Someone, prepare the carriage.”

The Bai family head, as if aged ten years in an instant, said.

A dozen days later, the side gate of the Ningyuan Marquis Prefecture in Bianjing swung wide open, and Gu Yan Kai bowed deeply to escort an elder inside.

Gu Yan Kai’s father-in-law was only about ten years his senior; though of merchant low status, he had risen from nothing to a fortune of a million taels—a feat extraordinary in this age.

Since ancient times, the marketplace has been a battlefield!

Without one’s own wit, without one’s own fortune, without iron will, one might be killed and eaten before even growing large.

Thus, Gu Yan Kai respected this old man who had lifted his daughter’s status and relieved the Marquis Prefecture’s urgent crisis.

Moreover, the death of Gu Yan Kai’s first wife had nothing to do with this man; though he had initially been cold toward Bai Shi, these past years he’d gained a healthy, robust second son who resembled him, and his first daughter, and his heart had changed.

Previously, ninety-nine percent of Gu Yan Kai’s heart had belonged to the late Qin Da Niangzi.

Now, perhaps ninety-five percent.

Seeing his father-in-law’s weary and haggard face, Gu Yan Kai asked with puzzlement: “Old Master, the letter was sent the day before yesterday—why did you arrive in Bianjing so quickly?”

The Bai family head, Bai Wanshu, had come to Bianjing and seen the Ningyuan Marquis Prefecture’s gate lacked the Bai family banner—his heart flared with anger.

He had risked his life to reach this Bianjing.

From Yangzhou to Bianjing, even with the fastest courier service, it takes three and a half days to deliver a message.

They basically change horses but not riders.

Bai Wanshu took more than ten days—given his age, this shows how urgently he was driven.

But upon arriving in Bianjing, his emotions turned somewhat angry.

First, for decades, that Taoist priest’s predictions had been uncannily accurate; he could not help but believe his daughter had already passed into the afterlife.

Second, as a merchant of low social standing, he feared the high-ranking families of the capital would disdain to hold proper funeral rites for his daughter.

When he saw Gu Yan Kai, Bai Wanshu felt a thunderclap inside yet kept his face calm, and suddenly a possibility, impossible to suppress, arose in his mind.

Because Gu Yan Kai’s expression, aside from surprise, revealed no other emotion.

Bai Wanshu held himself together; in this capital, he could not call Gu Yan Kai “son-in-law.”

“Marquis Gu, how is your lady wife?”

“She gave birth to a daughter just a few days ago, named Tingyi. Both mother and child are well.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Wanshu stopped in his tracks, stunned—this sudden joy left him dizzy, his legs weakening, nearly unable to stand.

Gu Yan Kai, being a seasoned general, reacted swiftly and caught the elderly man before he fell.

“Thank you, Marquis Gu; the journey has been exhausting.”

“You’ve traveled far—please rest first.”

“No, no, no need.”

As they spoke, they walked into the courtyard.

Inside the marquis’s inner quarters, Bai Shi, who had been nursing her daughter, heard the announcement; her face, still adorned with a headband, lit up with joy as she gazed lovingly at her baby.

“Yi’er, your maternal grandfather has arrived—your grandpa is here!”

For some reason, tears filled her eyes; sometimes, only before family do the wounds and sorrows we’ve borne become truly profound.

In her swaddling clothes, Gu Tingyi let out a tiny milk bubble.

This made Bai Shi laugh through her tears.

“Miss, don’t cry anymore—tears during confinement damage your eyes!”

When Old Man Bai Wanshu entered, Bai Shi’s eyes were still red.

This elderly Bai man, disowned by his clan yet built his own fortune, gazed upon his only blood relative in the room.

Taking his granddaughter from his daughter’s arms, the man who had endured countless hardships without shedding a tear now filled with glistening tears.

It was the profound emotion of bloodline continuity!

And the joy that his descendant had escaped the lowly merchant class to become part of an honored noble family.

Holding the swaddled infant, his eyes brimmed with tenderness.

“When you were born, I held you and felt warmth in my heart. This child’s eyes resemble yours, but her face is as handsome as Marquis Gu’s.”

Gu Yan Kai’s eyes softened with a tenderness he had never shown before.

Qin the Elder Lady bore him Gu Tingyu.

But this daughter was born to Bai Shi.

For the first time as a father to a daughter, his heart had changed in ways he hadn’t realized.

“Father, we haven’t seen each other in so long—please stay longer.”

“Mm, take care of yourself—you’re playing with your health if you cry during confinement. What about Chang’s family?”

“Yes, Master, I’ll take extra care,” said Madam Chang respectfully.

Gu Yan Kai nodded beside them, then turned aside and said,

“Old Sir, rest now—we’ll host a banquet tonight to welcome you.”

That night, Gu Yan Kai returned to his chambers reeking of wine; gazing at his infant daughter, his eyes overflowed with affection—his gaze upon her differed entirely from how he looked at Gu Tingye and Gu Tingyu; he cherished his daughter uniquely.

“Today, Old Man Bai brought eight ten-thousand taels worth of goods—have the maidservants inventory them later.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Although Bai Wanshu was merely a merchant of low status, Gu Yan Kai still assigned him a guest room within the marquis’s residence.

That night, Bai Wanshu asked Gu Yan Kai to send Madam Chang to his room.

“Master, your complexion looks poor—were you worn out on the journey?”

“Chang’s family, don’t worry about my health. In the past two months, has my lady wife shown any unusual or sudden changes?”

Madam Chang’s face showed surprise, her eyes growing vacant.

“Master?”

“Some things weren’t clear in the letters—tell me everything unusual over the past few years, no matter how small.”

“Yes, Master. During Ye Ge’s first birthday banquet, the Marquis of Yongyi’s granddaughter, Sun the Elder Lady’s third son, Xu Zaijing, frightened the young heir. We summoned a Taoist priest from Yùqīng Temple, who warned that those close to the boy should avoid wandering the gardens.”

“The greatest turning point was Ye Ge’s first birthday banquet—after that, Lady Bai truly established herself in Bianjing.”

“Chang’s family, that’s all for now—return to your duties. Tell Lady Bai not to worry about me.”

“Yes, Master.”

Bai Wanshu exhaled slowly; soon after, a man dressed as a servant of the marquis’s household entered his room.

An hour later, the servant exited the room.

Inside, Bai Wanshu gently tapped his fingers on the table.

He murmured to himself: “How did he survive this calamity? He must come to Bianjing to see for himself—failing to repay such a great debt invites heavenly retribution!”

The moon shone bright, the stars clear.

Even without curfew, the streets of Bianjing still bustled with merchants lit by candlelight, pedestrians coming and going.

At home, Xu Zaijing remained unaware of the subtle shifts he had triggered in fate, fast asleep.

Within the Ningyuan Marquis’s residence,

Perhaps Bai Shi’s excitement over her father’s arrival, combined with Madam Chang’s absence before bedtime, caused her to sleep later than usual.

As she sank into deep slumber, she unknowingly slipped into a dream.

Vaguely, she saw herself bleeding to death, while her four-year-old son, Gu Tingye, wailed uncontrollably outside the room.

“Mother! Mother! Waaahhh...”

“Ah! So even after death, one can still see things! Ye’er, my Ye’er, don’t cry!” Bai Shi rushed over, but found her hands could not touch her sobbing son.

Bai Shi: !!!

Dazed and dreamlike,

Amidst swirling incense and mist,

Gu Yan Kai married Qin the Second Lady, and her son, Gu Tingye, grew up.

But her son knelt on the ground, receiving a beating!

In the dim room—seemingly the same ancestral hall she had seen before—

Behind the swirling mist, a much larger Gu Tingye stared at Bai Shi with tear-filled eyes, repeatedly calling out, “Mother!”

The boy who never cried during beatings now wept uncontrollably before his mother’s spirit tablet.

When Gu Tingye grew older,

he was even hung up and whipped.

The candles in the ancestral hall felt Bai Shi’s fury, yet they only flickered and swayed as if stirred by wind.

“Tingye!!!!”

Seeing that readers have given substantial feedback on these two chapters: the old master Bai is a character from the original novel; the fortune-teller is newly added by the author, intended to make the Bai family aware of the protagonist’s kindness and lay groundwork for future interactions.

The fortune-teller’s appearance is abrupt, but the story will not veer into xianxia; “Know How” is an alternate-history novel, and the fanfic’s main plot will remain firmly rooted in the original novel and drama’s characters.

Whether in the original novel or the TV drama, the only representative figure of the Yongyi Marquis House is Old Lady Sheng, so it is assumed to have declined, producing no outstanding talents; thus, for the protagonist to rise to the main plot, some significant alterations are necessary. If readers have objections, please comment—I will do my best to revise.

That’s all.

Got a private message! That’s great! T, T

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(End of Chapter)