I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband

After Gu Hui Yan said that, the atmosphere in the room turned heavy.

Princess Royal Shou Kang was the maternal grandmother of the previous Shizi Fei, Gao Xi. The Duke Ying Residence treated their daughters the same regardless of their status, but that might not be the case for Princess Shou Kang.

Wei Shi was the Princess’s di daughter, and her marriage was the most famous alliance between two influential families of equal rank the year she married the Duke Ying Shizi. But they didn’t get along after marriage. Wei Shi carried the haughty air of a Princess’s daughter, while the Duke Ying Shizi preferred delicate and beautiful women. This marriage seemed compatible on the surface, but Wei Shi led a difficult life. When Han Shi gained favour and became the apple of the Duke Ying Shizi’s eyes, the relationship between Wei Shi and the Duke Ying Shizi became strained.

Wei Shi had been proud and arrogant since young, how could she stand to be oppressed by a concubine of humble birth. In the first month, ninth year of Jianzhao, the New Year had barely passed when Han Shi came out to show off, and Wei Shi called to mind her many years of resentment. She turned on Han Shi and made her kneel in the ancestral hall. Whenever Lin Wei Xi looked back on this incident, she always felt that such coincidences were scary. At that time, Han Shi didn’t dare go against the mistress’s orders, and went to kneel in the ice-cold ancestral hall while feeling wronged. The weather during the first month that year was incredibly cold, and Han Shi hadn’t knelt for long before blood started to flow. When the Duke Ying Shizi heard this, he hurried back to find his favourite concubine’s face as pale as paper, bleeding non-stop from her abdomen.

Han Shi had actually been pregnant, the ice-cold floor causing her to immediately start bleeding. Heirs were very important to the family, so the Shizi was furious. The old Duke Ying Madam heard about it and also got angry at Wei Shi’s unreasonable jealousy and disregard of decorum. Wei Shi had a huge row with her husband and mother-in-law, and Shizi spat out many harsh words out of frustration. Wei Shi had been depressed for many years, and her cycle had been irregular since childhood, so she didn’t even know that she was pregnant. With this rush of anger, she unexpectedly miscarried during the conflict. A women’s pregnancy already harmed her body, but a miscarriage brought even greater harm. As a result, Wei Shi fell gravely ill, and within a few months, she passed away at a young age.

That year, Wei Shi’s only daughter, Gao Xi, was only ten years old, and the child that Wei Shi miscarried was a boy. Wei Shi had been looking forward to it for many years, but she unexpectedly ended up like this. The irony was that Han Shi, who’d been punished in the ancestral hall and said to have been unable to save her fetus, safely gave birth to a son not nine months later.

He was Gao Ran’s brother born from the same mother. If the heavenly book Lin Wei Xi saw that day wasn’t wrong, this eldest son would become the Duke Ying Shizi, and heir, later on. After all, the official wife had already passed away, and the only child she had was a daughter, Gao Xi. Furthermore, the Duke Ying Shizi especially favoured Han Shi and her children. In a situation where the official wife hadn’t borne a son, it was reasonable to establish the eldest shu son as the heir.

Her only daughter had been schemed to death by the concubine. Of course Princess Royal Shou Kang wouldn’t forgive the concubine when she heard about it, but Wei Shi was also in the wrong regarding this matter. In this proper society that placed a woman’s character^◇ and obedience above all else, Wei Shi’s punishment led to the concubine bleeding from her abdomen. Afterwards, she even quarrelled with her mother-in-law and husband, and she angered herself into a miscarriage in the end. Princess Shou Kang, as Wei Shi’s mother, was of course extremely angry, but in public, everyone would say that Wei Shi only got what she deserved. Princess Shou Kang couldn’t seek justice for her daughter, and the Duke Ying Residence wasn’t a small household that could be trampled on. Princess Royal Shou Kang could only endure her rage, taking in her granddaughter Gao Xi and raising her meticulously.

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Shou Kang was a noble princess, but her relationship with her husband had been detached her entire life, with no son or grandson. Her only daughter had died at a young age, so her granddaughter Gao Xi was her sole support. But who would’ve imagined that the tragedy of the previous two generations would repeat. Gao Xi was outstanding in everything she did, but her marriage didn’t go well. She couldn’t even compare to Wei shi, and lived only a year before dying of depression.

Princess Royal Shou Kang was hit hard, but the other person was the Prince Yan Residence’s Shizi. Gu Cheng Yao’s father had overwhelming power, so what could Princess Shou Kang do? What truly made Princess Royal Shou Kang unable to stand it was what happened after. It had only been a month since Gao Xi passed, and the Duke Ying Residence was already proposing to let Gao Ran marry in as the second wife.

Who was Gao Ran? She was Han Shi’s daughter. Not only had that bitch Han Shi caused Princess Shou Kang’s daughter to die, but now she even wanted to take over her granddaughter’s household? Princess Royal Shou Kang immediately had a falling out with the Duke Ying Residence, and their many years of affection and warmth cooled.

The fact that Princess Royal Shou Kang didn’t like Gao Ran and that shu son was something everyone in the capital knew. Gu Cheng Yao had finally married his treasured white moonlight and cinnabar mole, and he was unhappy now that his sweetheart was being targeted by Princess Royal Shou Kang. He became a Shizi as soon as he was born, and with an influential family, others only yielded to him for all these years. When had he ever considered other people’s honour and dignity? Since Princess Shou Kang showed her dissatisfaction, then Gu Cheng Yao also wouldn’t cherish their previous favourable relationship. The Princess Royal Shou Kang Residence was nothing more than an empty shell with no successors. Anyone could see that their household was declining, but because Shou Kang was an elder, she could do nothing more than rely on the Princess Royal’s position to cling to the facade. But if she truly confronted Prince Yan Residence, how could Gu Cheng Yao be afraid of her?

So after Gao Ran entered the family, the Prince Yan Residence and the Princess Royal Shou Kang Residence inevitably became indifferent to each other. Gao Ran was happy to see it, and Gu Cheng Yao wasn’t scared in the least. Now that Gu Hui Yan brought it up, Gu Cheng Yao only paused for a moment before saying, “Princess Royal Shou Kang seems to have misunderstood something about Shizi Fei, I specially made a trip to explain to the Princess Royal, but the people of the Princess’s Residence looked coldly at Shizi Fei. Since a husband and wife are of the same body, their disrespect to Shizi Fei is a disrespect to me. In that case, then I need not stay any longer.”

After hearing this, Lin Wei Xi knew that it was over. Gu Hui Yan was pissed. The expression on his face was the same as usual, and his voice was also no different than before, “if you know that husband and wife are of the same body, then is Princess Royal Shou Kang’s granddaughter Gao Xi not your wife?”

Gu Cheng Yao turned towards Gao Ran. She originally felt gratified that the old Princess, who was so disliked by men, didn’t like her, and she disdained entering the Princess Residence. The old Princess couldn’t even give birth to a son and only knew how to oppress others with her status. Gao Ran sincerely felt that Shou Kang deserved karmic retribution, and even more so Wei Shi and Gao Xi. Gu Cheng Yao cut off relations with the Princess Residence because the people there treated her coldly. Gao Ran felt the male lead’s aura was very useful. But now that Gu Hui Yan said this… Gao Ran was stunned, and she didn’t know what was going on. Could it be that Prince Yan was dissatisfied because of this? How did it get to this?

Gu Cheng Yao was different from Gao Ran, and knew his father better. Once he heard Gu Hui Yan’s tone, he knew that his father had lost his temper. The angrier Gu Hui Yan was, the more composed he was, and the situation right now was clearly the latter.

Gu Cheng Yao didn’t dare sit any longer, and immediately stood up, lowered his head, and said, “that’s not what I mean… But Princess Royal Shou Kang is too domineering. Shizi Fei is already my official wife. If the elder doesn’t love the junior, then why should I be filial? She refuses to respect Shizi Fei. If I still submit to her as before, then wouldn’t I be lowering the prestige of the Prince Yan Residence?”

Gao Ran also hurriedly stood up. She quickly glanced at Lin Wei Xi and pursed her lips, before lowering her head, “It’s me who is wrong, not Shizi. Father, please don’t blame him.”

Of course, Lin Wei Xi understood the meaning behind Gao Ran’s glance. This was a family matter of the Prince Yan Residence. No matter what, Lin Wei Xi shouldn’t listen to this, as she wasn’t part of the family. Normally, she would’ve found an excuse to leave, but the person standing in front of her was Gu Cheng Yao. Her years of upbringing told her to respect the private affairs of her host family, and that she ought to politely avoid listening, but… she really wanted to watch Gu Cheng Yao get yelled at. Lin Wei Xi finally resigned to her wishes. She sat firmly while trying to make herself as small as possible, and continued to listen, projecting a righteous image when in fact she was secretly pleased to see his suffering.

When Gu Hui Yan heard Gu Cheng Yao’s words, his anger grew stronger. There was no expression on his face, but his words alone held an intense pressure, “if the Princess Royal really didn’t care about the Prince Yan Residence’s honour and dignity, she wouldn’t have let you in.”

Gu Cheng Yao and Gao Ran bowed their heads, purposely breathing lightly. Gu Hui Yan calmed down, and when he spoke again, he returned to being the stoic Prince Yan, not letting any emotions leak through, “You didn’t keep to the mourning period for your wife and insisted on remarrying, so this is your fault. Princess Royal Shou Kang is only giving you the cold shoulder, and it’s only right for her if she had her people bar you from the door. In the first place, you were the one who personally wrote and asked to marry her granddaughter, who was her only remaining bloodline. But she died of illness in the residence within a year from dubious reasons. Princess Shou Kang has complaints against you, and you still have objections?”

“Father.” Gu Cheng Yao couldn’t help lifting his head, “The person I was looking for in the beginning wasn’t her, it was her and the Princess Royal… “

His voice gradually shrivelled up under Gu Hui Yan’s look. Seeing him lower his head obediently, Gu Hui Yan chuckled and set the teacup on the table with a slam, “were you not the one who wrote the letter in the first place? Was it not you who got engaged to her when you exchanged your eight-character cards^◇?”

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Gu Cheng Yao looked vexed. After restraining and holding himself back, he unwillingly and reluctantly said, “Yes.”

“That’s enough, no one will listen to your excuses. You’re already so old. If you do something wrong, then you’re wrong. You don’t want to take responsibility, but instead make excuses for yourself?”

Lin Wei Xi’s eyes turned sour when she heard this. She quickly opened her eyes and forced back her tears. For so long, that heavenly book, the Duke Ying Residence, and even the many old servants in the Prince Yan Residence all said that she reaped what she’d sown and that she deserved it. Out of so many people, it was unexpectedly solely Prince Yan who rectified the injustice and ruthlessly criticized Gu Cheng Yan. Furthermore, he was Gu Cheng Yao’s father, and one hundred percent her husband’s family.

At that time, it was Lin Wei Xi who’d stupidly taken Gao Ran’s place as his saviour, but who’s fault was it? It was Gu Cheng Yao, who had confessed to the wrong person, and Gao Ran, who was the one behind the trick, so why did she have to shoulder the burden of failure in the end? Even if it was discovered that a strange turn of events caused the mistake that started the relationship, Gu Cheng Yao had married her after all, why didn’t he think about his responsibility as a husband?

Gu Cheng Yao wanted to look for a hole to crawl into after being reprimanded. Gao Ran wanted to say something, but when she met Gu Hui Yan’s gaze, she was so scared that her throat choked up, and she was unable to make a sound.

This was a rare occurrence of Gu Hui Yan’s anger. The hall was silent in fear, inside and out. Even the old servants who used to serve the previous Prince didn’t dare speak at this moment. In the stillness of the dining hall, there was a sudden burst of irritable coughing. The person seemed to want to suppress it, but the more she tried to suppress it,  the worse the coughing became. Lin Wei Xi covered her mouth, knitted her eyebrows, and managed to say to Gu Hui Yan after much difficulty, “Sorry. I also don’t want to disturb you and Shizi. It’s just… cough cough… “

Lin Wei Xi coughed until her cheeks were flushed and her tears filled her eyes; it was actually to hide her excitement. Gu Hui Yan was initially angry, but seeing Lin Wei Xi coughing so pitifully, he sighed and said, “Why are you coughing again? Did you drink your medicine today?”

Lin Wei Xi was silent. Wan Yue hurried forward and carefully replied, “This slave has already served the medicine to Miss, but the weather has been dry these few days and it doesn’t always work.”

“Tomorrow, I will call the imperial physician from the palace to change your medicine.”

Lin Wei Xi thanked Gu Hui Yan with difficulty, and Gu Cheng Yao watched helplessly as a group of people rushed to her side, handing her tea and patting her back, seemingly forgetting about him.

But fortunately, with this, everyone moved on from the matter, and the people under Gu Cheng Yao felt very relieved. When Lin Wei Xi realized that she had once again helped Gu Cheng Yao get out of trouble, her anger rushed to her head and she couldn’t stop the emotions gathered at the back of her throat.

After great difficulty, she finally stopped coughing, and everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Hui Yan was still looking at her with a frown. She carefully put on a pleasant expression as she took a look at Gu Hui Yan, “Your Highness Prince Yan, are you still angry?”

Gu Hui Yan helplessly looked at Lin Wei Xi, and without changing his expression, gently raised his hand to Gu Cheng Yao, “There won’t be a second chance.”

Gao Ran was overjoyed when she heard this, while Gu Cheng Yao’s face was tense. He gave Lin Wei Xi a complicated look and bowed to Gu Hui Yan. For a while, everyone looked at Lin Wei Xi, their eyes filled with gratitude, and she smiled stiffly, swallowing her misery.

Actually, that wasn’t what she meant…

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