SGEIRS -Chapter 27 This Is Fate

Shou’an Hall

From the jade incense burner rose wisps of sandalwood smoke, curling into rings of white mist that hovered in the air like a coiling white dragon. The room was filled with the soothing fragrance of incense, refreshing both body and mind.

Old Madam Gu reclined against a cushioned couch, her brows slightly furrowed. She rolled a strand of rosewood prayer beads in her hand while chanting scriptures with her eyes closed.

At this moment, Nanny Feng, who served at her side, entered and hurried over. Leaning close, she whispered, “Old Madam, the Marquis has arrived.”

Hearing this, Old Madam Gu paused her beads. She slowly opened her eyes and looked outside, just in time to see her son walking toward her at an unhurried pace.

Gu Jingxi stepped forward and cupped his hands in salute. “Son greets Mother.”

“Yaoling, sit down first. Let’s talk,” Old Madam Gu said, gesturing to the seat below her.

Yaoling was Gu Jingxi’s courtesy name, given by the late Marquis of Changxing. It was said that on the very day he was born, his grandfather had already chosen both his given name and courtesy name.

He had been born at dawn, when the sun was rising and a gentle breeze filled the air. Listening to the cries from the delivery room and gazing at the morning light, the old Marquis had thought of a line of poetry:

“Pure sunlight shines on the spirit, Soft winds drift gently by.”

Because this generation of the Gu family used “Jing” as their generational character, he was named Jingxi, with “Xi” also meaning brightness. “Yaoling” thus became his courtesy name.

Gu Jingxi moved to the lower seat and sat down. Seeing her unconsciously rolling her prayer beads, clearly restless, he asked, “Mother already knows what happened today?”

Old Madam Gu shot him a glance and sighed helplessly.

“With such a huge commotion in the household, anyone who isn’t blind or deaf would know. By tomorrow, other families will probably hear about it too.”

Gu Jingxi looked ashamed. “This is my fault for disturbing Mother’s peace.”

“Yaoling, don’t you think you punished Xiuming too harshly?” Old Madam Gu asked.

Though she hadn’t been present, she had heard from the servants: twenty-five lashes, one month of confinement in the ancestral hall, copying the family rules a hundred times, and he was still being held there. It was no light punishment.

Gu Jingxi shook his head slightly.

“It isn’t harsh. Compared to what that little girl suffered, his pain is nothing more than temporary. How could it be considered heavy?”

Old Madam Gu froze and looked up at her son.

Her son was handsome and outstanding, gifted in both civil and military affairs. At such a young age, he had already risen to high office. If not for the injury he suffered while saving the emperor, which left him with a hidden ailment, he would surely have children by now. There would have been no need to adopt Xiuming from a collateral branch.

If he had no ailment, A-Yao marrying him would have been perfect. But with his condition, that girl would have to live a lifetime of lonely widowhood in marriage, never even having children of her own. It was indeed unfair to her.

Looking at her brilliant son, Old Madam Gu felt heartache and blamed fate’s cruelty.

Gently, she said, “Yaoling, don’t belittle yourself. A-Yao married you because she admires your talent and character. If you feel our family owes her, then treat her well.”

Gu Jingxi nodded. “Mother, rest assured. I won’t wrong her.”

Old Madam Gu heard his ready answer but felt he didn’t truly understand.

“Being good to a woman isn’t just about food and clothing. Even without you, she wouldn’t starve. You must also put your heart into it. She’s the one who’ll share your pillow for life.”

“I understand,” Gu Jingxi replied, nodding again.

Old Madam Gu glared at him. She felt he still didn’t get it. He spent all day buried in cases, thinking only of solving crimes—how could he possibly understand a woman’s heart?

Forget it. He would have to learn slowly on his own.

After a while, she asked, “How is Xiuming now? What did the doctor say?”

Gu Jingxi answered lightly, “He fainted from the pain. Once the wounds heal, he’ll be fine. Mother needn’t worry.”

“That’s good… that’s good.” Old Madam Gu sighed softly, disappointment written on her face.

“Xiuming used to be so obedient and sensible. I always thought he was the most well-behaved among the grandchildren. How did he end up causing such a disgrace?”

When she first considered adopting a child for her son, the eldest branch had two sons and was very eager to send one over. But the eldest son was completely controlled by his wife. Old Madam Gu knew exactly what Madam Zhang was scheming, so she refused—better not invite future trouble.

The second branch had only one son and couldn’t spare him. So she chose from the collateral relatives. Xiuming resembled her son slightly, and among all the children, she noticed him at once and selected him, hoping her son would have someone to carry on his line.

Who would have thought Xiuming would turn out so unreliable, causing such a scandal at a critical moment? There had been better ways to handle it, yet he chose the worst possible one—truly bewitched by folly.

“He’s had things too easy these past years,” Gu Jingxi said calmly, with a hint of disappointment.

“It made him willful and reckless. He never thought about the consequences for others—only about his own pleasure.”

Old Madam Gu sighed deeply.

“Let’s hope this lesson teaches him to think before acting. He can’t keep doing whatever he wants without regard for consequences. We elders can’t clean up after him forever.”

Gu Jingxi paused, then nodded slightly. “Let’s hope so.”

Old Madam Gu glanced at her son. Suddenly, she recalled something from the past, and a smile spread across her face, dispelling the gloom between her brows.

Seeing this, Gu Jingxi asked, “Mother, what are you smiling about?”

“I was thinking of an old story.”

Her smile deepened.

“Your father and A-Yao’s grandfather were close friends. Knowing her grandfather worried about his granddaughter, he agreed to the marriage so she could marry into our family and not be controlled by her stepmother. If you hadn’t been so much older than her, you should have been the one engaged to her in the first place. Who knew that after all the twists and turns, you’d still end up marrying her in the end? That’s probably fate.”

Gu Jingxi was stunned. “Me?”

Old Madam Gu nodded with a smile, tinged with helplessness.

“Yes. Back then, your father got carried away and told her grandfather that you were the most promising of his three sons. He wanted her engaged to you and married in once she came of age. But her grandfather thought you were too old and refused. Your father was very disappointed, so he turned to the grandchildren instead. None seemed perfect at the time, so he first settled the engagement and planned to decide later.”

Gu Jingxi fell silent.

“….”

He had never known there was such a story behind it.

He vaguely remembered that the Gu–Meng marriage had been arranged ten years ago. He was nineteen then, already abandoned by his former fiancée, and Xiuming had already been adopted under his name.

His father probably thought that with his hidden ailment, he could afford to wait ten years or eight. Waiting until that little girl came of age to marry wouldn’t matter.

But how could her grandfather possibly agree?

Yet in the end, two people who should never have met still came together.

He really did marry that little girl.