The dim yellow light cast a gloomy hue over the room. It seemed someone had been in and left the door ajar. The wind blew the bed curtain onto Gu Liyue's face, tickling her.
Gu Liyue slowly regained consciousness, only to feel a splitting headache. She subconsciously murmured, "Yunniang."
There was no response.
The late - spring chill was truly biting. She had caught a cold after falling into the water and vaguely felt that she had been in a coma for several days. Why wasn't Yunniang by her side?
There were faint voices outside the door. Was it her aunt?
Gu Liyue wanted to call out but couldn't make a sound for a moment. Instead, the voices outside became clearer.
"The doctor said it's hopeless. Why bother?"
It was the voice of her aunt, Mrs. Miao. Gu Liyue was slightly stunned. Her aunt had always been kind, but these words sounded rather vicious.
"After all, she grew up in our family and is my niece... Alas, let Yunniang give it a try. If the remedy works, that would be for the best."
Gu Liyue was touched. Her uncle might seem cold - hearted on the surface, but actually, he still cared about her.
Mrs. Miao raised her voice a bit, "What if she recovers? Keep supporting her? The doctor said that even if she gets better, she'll have lingering health problems. Liu Anping, don't you know our family's situation? Doesn't Zhenghui need money for his studies? She was already in poor health, and this illness, how can we afford to support her? It would be better if she died."
"Keep your voice down. You'll wake her up," Liu Anping scolded in a low voice.
Mrs. Miao was dissatisfied but still lowered her voice, "Liu Anping, that young man from the Feng family seems to be a good match. If we switch this engagement to our Qinting, and that young man from the Feng family achieves great success in the future, we can also benefit from it."
Liu Anping hesitated and grabbed Mrs. Miao, "But Liyue's father has an extraordinary family background. What if they come looking for her in the future? We've raised Liyue for so many years. If the Gu family really comes, we won't have to worry about our future."
Gu Liyue lay in bed, her eyes wide open. Her kind - looking aunt and her biological uncle were not at all what she had thought. One was eyeing her engagement, and the other was coveting her family background... The ridiculous thing was that she had always whole - heartedly believed that they were her only remaining relatives.
Mrs. Miao impatiently pushed Liu Anping, "The Gu family, the Gu family. If the Gu family really cared about this descendant, why didn't they come looking for her after her parents died almost ten years ago? It's been so long. Who knows if the old man and woman from the Gu family are still alive. Once the old people are gone, do you expect others to look for their long - lost relative? If they were going to come, they would have come long ago, not wait until now."
Liu Anping hesitated for a while, glanced into the room, and seeing the door was not properly closed, he stepped forward and peeked in. Seeing the young girl on the bed gasping weakly with her eyes tightly shut, he knew she was still unconscious. He gently closed the door and pulled Mrs. Miao out.
"Forget it. Later, call someone... Bury her next to her parents' graves. Let the three of them be reunited. This can be the last thing I do for my sister as an older brother."
The voices faded away gradually until she could hear nothing.
Gu Liyue opened her eyes again, looking blank. How could things turn out like this? Were her uncle and aunt really hoping for her death?
Not long after, there came sobbing sounds from the yard. The sobs grew louder and louder, attracting the neighbors to peek over.
A nosy woman with a loud voice shouted through the courtyard gate, "Aunt Liu, what happened?"
Mrs. Miao wiped her tears and told her daughter to open the door. Looking heart - broken, she said, "Liyue..."
As if unable to continue, Mrs. Miao covered her face and buried her head on her daughter's shoulder, crying even more pitifully.
Gu Liyue was diligent and kind - hearted, and all the neighbors knew her. Hearing this, they all sighed.
"Was it because she fell into the water the day before yesterday and couldn't be saved?"
"Alas, it's so cold. Liyue was so thin. Catching a cold like that, she just couldn't hold on."
Mrs. Miao choked with sobs, "That child came to our family when she was less than six years old. Poor little thing, she was in poor health. I raised her with all my heart. She was supposed to get married in two years. Why did this misfortune befall her?"
The neighbors quickly comforted her.
"Auntie, please mourn with restraint. After all, it's the child's fate."
"Yes, this child was already in poor health and lost her parents at an early age. It shows that her fate is not good. Fortunately, you've been kind to her, treating her like your own daughter, which is why she's lived until now. Don't be too sad."
Mrs. Miao was truly crying heart - brokenly, as if the person who had died in the room was her own daughter.
Seeing the three people in the room looking as if they had lost their souls, the neighbors sighed and said to Liu Anping,
"Constable Liu, you should start preparing for the funeral."
Mrs. Miao made arrangements and told Liu Qinting to go to the coffin shop on the street to buy a coffin, "She's your sister. Although our family is poor, we can't be too shabby. We should let your sister go in peace."
A look of impatience flashed across Liu Qinting's face. The coffin shop was really an unlucky place. But then, thinking that with Gu Liyue's death, everything of hers would belong to her, Liu Qinting felt a bit excited.
She was reborn. In her previous life, she had been extremely miserable. Her cousin Gu Liyue, after getting married, had a husband who passed the imperial examinations and became a high - ranking official. Gu Liyue had become a noble lady, ordering servants around and living a glorious life. When she was in desperate straits, she had taken refuge with her cousin and enjoyed such a life for a while.
Liu Qinting walked out with her head down, hiding the smile on her lips. But now, with Gu Liyue's death, the engagement arranged for her since childhood would soon be hers. In the future, she, Liu Qinting, would be the noble lady.
Just then, the door of the main hall creaked open. Everyone looked up in surprise towards the door.
The delicate young girl was dressed very thinly in this cold season but had an otherworldly delicate beauty. Her pale and sickly face had an abnormal flush. Her hair was casually draped over her shoulders, making her look even more haggard.
They all knew that Gu Liyue was beautiful, but this was the first time they felt that she was like a fairy from the moon, not of this world.
Even her face had an unfamiliar aloofness and coldness.
In the dead silence, a neighbor's child shouted, "Sister Liyue isn't dead?"
Mrs. Miao also came to her senses and immediately stepped forward to support Gu Liyue, "Liyue, you're still alive? Thank goodness. Do you know how worried your uncle and I were?"
Worried?
Gu Liyue sneered inwardly. They were hoping for her death, thinking she wouldn't wake up, and had already started preparing her funeral. Since she was unconscious, they just needed to cover her with a white cloth, put her in the coffin, and she would be buried on the mountain.
Mrs. Miao seemed to sense Gu Liyue's unusual coldness. She subconsciously called out, "Liyue?"
Gu Liyue ignored Mrs. Miao. Her body was still a bit unsteady. She slowly walked up to Liu Qinting by the courtyard gate and asked, "Cousin, why did you try to harm me?"
Her voice was hoarse, nothing like her usual gentle tone. It was as if something was blocking her throat, and when she spoke, it made a raspy, eerie sound in the cold wind.