Chapter 201 - 201 Not Marrying

201 Not Marrying

During this period of time, Gu Yunzhen had followed Madam Yan to her maternal ancestor’s house. She had only returned yesterday and probably did not know that Murong Yong had finally obtained the job of battalion commander in the Divine Arms Battalion.

Gu Yunzhen’s dark eyes were bottomless. She stared at Madam Gu’s old and graceful face without blinking, as if she wanted to penetrate that hypocritical shell and capture the subtle change in her face for a moment.

As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, Gu Yunzhen felt a bone-chilling coldness from head to toe that seeped into her bones.

Gu Yunzhen’s usually gentle eyes flashed with an almost sharp light at this moment. Cold and clear, she said slowly, “He… stole Big Brother’s job?”

She was asking, but her expression was firm, as if she already had a clear answer in her heart.

She thought that since their surnames were all Gu, the family had to support each other. Thus, her grandmother and Second Uncle would definitely help her eldest brother, Gu Yuan.

It turned out that she was too naive.

Her hope was no more than a self-righteous hope. It was like a seemingly gorgeous soap bubble in the sun that broke when the wind blew.

In the east room, the scene froze and the atmosphere turned even colder.

Madam Gu frowned unhappily and said lightly, “How can this be called ‘stealing’?”

The eldest girl had indeed learned bad things from Gu Yanfei. She could even say such things!

Madam Gu said righteously, “Yuan’er was transferred to be an imperial guard. He was the one who took the initiative to give up the position of battalion commander of the Divine Arms Battalion.”

How could this be called stealing!

In the end, without Gu Yuan, no matter how much money the Marquis Mansion spent, it was impossible to create a job for Murong Yong in the Divine Arms Battalion.

The more Madam Gu thought about it, the more righteous she became. She said, “Zhen’er, the Murong Family won’t treat you badly. Your brother gave up the job, and you helped his Old Madam rush good fortune. The Murong Family will owe you from now on and will think highly of you in the future. In this life, your status is stable. No one can surpass you.”

“Grandma and your Second Uncle did all this for you.”

Madam Wang nodded repeatedly at the side. The person who benefited the most from this matter was Gu Yunzhen.

“It’s for Gu Yunrong!” Gu Yunzhen hit the nail on the head and broke Madam Gu’s thoughts. A suffocating feeling filled her heart.

“Big Brother wants to fight on the battlefield, just like Big Uncle, and not live a stable life in the capital.”

“But for Gu Yunrong, you helped Murong Yong snatch Big Brother’s job and did not hesitate to ruin his future!”

Gu Yunzhen could not hide the disappointment and sorrow in her voice. Her cherry lips were pale, and her eyes were as deep as the night.

There seemed to be a string in her heart that tightened bit by bit.

She could accept her grandmother arranging her marriage for the sake of the family’s interests and give up on pursuing the mutual love that Emperor Taizu had promoted.

She could rush good fortune and joy for her future husband’s family.

She could be like all women and mothers. She could be filial to her in-laws, serve her husband, take care of housework, discipline his concubines, and raise her children.

However, she had a bottom line.

Clunk!

Gu Yunzhen vaguely heard the sound of the string snapping, and her heart skipped a beat.

She stood up without warning. This sudden action attracted the frowns of Madam Gu and Madam Wang.

Facing the shocked or dissatisfied gazes in the room, Gu Yunzhen’s voice was no longer as gentle as usual. She said firmly,

“I’m not getting married!”

These words were neither light nor heavy, but they were like thunder.

Everyone was dumbfounded and could not believe their ears.

The room was silent.

…

“My Lady, I just heard that the Eldest Lady isn’t getting married.”

At dusk, the news of Gu Yunzhen’s rejection reached Gu Yanfei’s ears.

Gu Yanfei gently plucked the needle on the compass. The needle spun…

The needle moved quickly, then slowly, and gradually stopped.

The westering sun shone through the window and onto the small compass. The needle and the surface of the compass glowed like a pearl.

Juan Bi knew that the girl was reading fortunes. She stared at the compass with bated breath… When the needle stopped, she took a deep breath and asked curiously, “My Lady, have you read it?”

“The hexagram has changed.” Gu Yanfei looked at the hexagram displayed on the compass and raised the corners of her eyes happily.

And then? Juan Bi stared at Gu Yanfei with burning eyes, waiting for her to continue.

Gu Yanfei rested her chin on one hand and looked down at the compass. The knuckles of her right hand tapped gently on the table in deep thought.

Before today, she had read several fortunes for Gu Yunzhen’s marriage.

The results of the hexagram had always shown that fate was irreversible.

Therefore, Gu Yanfei did not dare to interfere roughly. She was someone abandoned by the heavens. If she forcefully interfered in the karma of “fate”, she would harm Gu Yunzhen.

But now, the hexagram showed a turning point—

“Breaking out of the cocoon to become a butterfly,” Gu Yanfei muttered to herself.

Juan Bi did not know what Gu Yanfei meant, but she could roughly guess from the words “breaking out of the cocoon to become a butterfly” that the result of the divination should not be bad.

“My Lady.” Juan Bi was first happy, then worried. “Will Madam make things difficult for you? And will the Murong family…”

Everyone in the residence knew Madam’s personality. She had always been high and mighty and did not tolerate anyone in the residence questioning her decision. Probably only the Marquis and Gu Yunrong had a say in front of Madam.

The Murong family was Gu Yunzhen’s future husband’s family. If Gu Yunzhen refused to rush good fortune and joy, it would be equivalent to offending the Murong family. Then would the Murong family let it go?!

Compared to Juan Bi’s worry, Gu Yanfei looked casual.

To break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly, this “cocoon” was binding the butterfly.

If an external force broke it out of the cocoon, the result would only be destruction. Gu Yunzhen had to tear apart the thing binding her to break out of the cocoon and have the beauty of a butterfly.

From this hexagram—

A crack appeared in the “cocoon” on Gu Yunzhen’s body. Her fate was no longer “irreversible.”