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

Chapter 170 The Final Words
Without showing any change in expression, Ye Wanshu pretended to be uninterested and walked past Gu Tingchen before boarding the Duke's carriage.

Fearing that Gu Tingchen might follow them onto the carriage, Ye Wanshu called Chunhong and Xingtao up as well. The three of them, mistress and servant, took their seats. Gu Tingchen watched silently, then mounted his horse and entered the city with his father.

Upon returning to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, Ye Wanshu went straight to her aunt's courtyard.

Upon reaching the outside of the courtyard, they found that all the faces around them had changed to unfamiliar ones, and several burly old women were guarding the gate.

Ye Wanshu was about to go inside when she was stopped by two old women.

“Miss, the madam is recuperating. You cannot enter without the young master’s permission.”

"Insolent fools!" Ye Wanshu said angrily, "Do you even know who that person inside is? She is your mistress! How dare you treat her so disrespectfully?"

The old women's faces darkened, but they remained unmoved and blocked the courtyard gate.

Gu Tingchen stepped forward and, seeing the displeasure on his cousin's face, feigned concern and scolded, "Are you all blind? How can you stop our cousin from going in to visit her mother?"

After saying that, he waved impatiently at the group, signaling them to leave. He then accompanied Ye Wanshu inside and explained, "Ever since you left Lin'an, Mother has been very worried about you, which is why she fell ill from anxiety. The clumsy old women before couldn't take good care of Mother, so I specially found some skillful ones to take care of her. Wanwan, don't worry about it."

Ye Wanshu ignored him, feeling that he was even more terrifying than in her previous life.

Walking straight in, upon entering the house, one is immediately greeted by a strong, pungent medicinal odor. The house is dark and gloomy, as if it were a completely different place compared to before.

Ye Wanshu felt a pang of sadness. Her aunt had been particular about things all her life. Whether in Tongyang or Lin'an, the house was always decorated very elegantly. Even in the dead of winter, there would be many flower arrangements in the house. The courtyards she lived in were always full of life. How could they be as lifeless as they are now?

Hearing the intermittent coughing from the bedside, Ye Wanshu suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes and walked forward step by step. When she saw the haggard figure curled up on the straw mat, she called out in a trembling voice, "Aunt."

Hearing the sound, Ye Huaisu turned around with difficulty and was stunned when she saw the person in front of the bed.

"Wanwan, why are you back?" Ye Huaisu coughed lightly and shook her head repeatedly: "Didn't you marry Prince Yongning? You shouldn't have come back."

Having not seen her son and daughter for almost two months, she roughly guessed the reason and glared angrily at Gu Tingchen as he entered.

"Your son thinks your mother is delirious from illness. Wanwan is our Gu family's wife, how could she marry Prince Yongning?"

Gu Tingchen smiled coldly: "Qingmian and Tingji are still young and don't know any better, which I can forgive. But if Mother, as the mistress of the household, also makes a foolish mistake, wouldn't that make people laugh if word got out?"

"Gu Tingchen, I have returned to Lin'an as you wished. Please release Qingmian and Tingji immediately," Ye Wanshu said coldly, looking at him.

Gu Tingchen sighed, feeling wronged: "Wanwan, your misunderstanding of me is getting deeper and deeper. You feel sorry for Qingmian and Tingji, but they are also my younger brothers and sisters. Would I harm them?"

After saying that, he smiled and looked at Ye Huaisu: "I will go and call Qingmian and Tingji over myself. Let's have a family reunion dinner. Mother, please persuade Wanwan and don't let her continue to misunderstand your son."

Watching Gu Tingchen leave, Ye Wanshu helped Ye Huaisu sit up and carefully helped her lean against the pillow.

With tears blurring her vision, Ye Huaisu grasped Ye Wanshu's hand and choked out, "Wanwan, tell your aunt, did that scoundrel threaten you with Qingmian and Tingji?"

Seeing her aunt's sallow face, devoid of any color, Ye Wanshu felt a pang of pain in her heart. Not wanting to cause her further anxiety, Ye Wanshu smiled gently and shook her head: "Aunt, it's just that Wanwan misses you and my cousins ​​and wanted to come back to see you."

Ye Huaisu could see that the girl was trying to comfort him, and he could only silently lament that he had caused his niece so much suffering.

She nodded, feigning ignorance: "Have we redeemed all the ancestral homes and land of the Ye family? How are Aunt Yan and the others?"

"I've entrusted everything to Mama Yan, and she's taken good care of everything my grandmother entrusted to me," Ye Wanshu replied truthfully. "Aunt, don't worry. The people in the Yongning Prince's Mansion are all kind and gentle. They will surely treat all my Ye family relatives and servants well."

Ye Huaisu had heard of the Yongning Prince's Mansion and the Zhang family of Suzhou. They were renowned families with a history of over a hundred years. Even if such families were not well-mannered, they would not make things difficult for a group of servants.

"It seems your father has indeed found you a good marriage this time," Ye Huaisu said with emotion. "Your aunt misunderstood your father before."

"Yes, Father treats me very well now, Aunt doesn't need to worry that he will harm me," Ye Wanshu replied.

Seeing the determination in his niece's eyes, Ye Huaisu felt relieved, only regretting that he hadn't been able to find a way to keep Wanwan in Yuezhou.

Gu Anhe's behavior these days has increasingly chilled her heart, and she is now worried that Wanwan will encounter misfortune if she returns to Lin'an.

"Wanwan, tell your aunt, are you willing to marry into the Yongning Prince's Mansion?" Ye Huaisu looked at her and asked earnestly.

Seeing the expectation in her aunt's eyes, Ye Wanshu was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Aunt, Qingmian and Tingji are still young. I only hope that you can take good care of your health. Please don't worry about anything else."

Thinking of her aunt's early death in her previous life, Ye Wanshu said in a deep voice, "Qingmian and Tingji are hoping that you will get better soon. You must not stay sickly like this and make them worry."

She deliberately didn't answer his question, which made Ye Huaisu even more certain of his guess: his niece must have been threatened when she returned this time, and she probably had a falling out with the Yongning Prince's Mansion.

Otherwise, given the status of the Yongning Prince's Mansion, once they had chosen this marriage, how could they easily let this girl come back?

Trapped in this cage, she felt lost and helpless all day long. She couldn't let her eldest sister's only bloodline repeat her mistakes.

“Wanwan, your aunt used to be too stubborn. She always thought that everything she arranged for you was the best. But after experiencing so many things, your aunt knows that it’s hard to have it all in this life. Only what you feel is good is good.”

Gently patting the back of her hand, Ye Huaisu forced a faint smile: "Your maternal grandmother was strong-willed and lived a free and unrestrained life, admired by countless young ladies. It's just a pity that your aunt lost her integrity. In recent years, she has only cared about flattering and accepting everything, which has harmed herself and almost harmed you. Your aunt has no other wish in this life but to hope that you three siblings can live for yourselves."

Not knowing why her aunt suddenly said such a thing, Ye Wanshu felt a little uneasy: "Aunt, we still have a lot of time and a chance to choose again."

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Tingchen led Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji, the siblings, into the room.

Seeing that both aunt and nephew looked distressed, Gu Tingchen was quite displeased.

"On this joyous day of family reunion, why would Mother cause Wanwan sadness for no reason?"