Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family-Chapter 18: Gu Qingli’s Plan

This was essentially different from a woman who disregarded wifely duties.

They decided to just consider Third as marrying a woman who had been married before.

The family agreed happily. Xiao Yunjing planned to talk to Gu Qingli about it tomorrow when he went to town to pick up the wedding clothes.

She should understand my intentions.

Previously, I hadn’t had much interaction with Gu Qingli. My impression of her was simply that she was timid, someone who hardly dared to raise her head when seeing people. Ever since we began interacting, Gu Qingli seemed to have transformed. She was strong, calm, and wise, exuding an energy and confidence that made it impossible for me to look away. Every time I heard villagers cursing her as a ’ruined’ woman, I wanted to grab a knife and cut them down. I wanted to scream at them that *I* was the one who had ’ruined’ her.

I hadn’t told her the truth initially for a reason. I would find a chance to tell her in the future. If I told her now, I feared our marriage might fall through. The reason was that I had been reborn on the very day Niu Ergou came to propose marriage to her.

It could be considered my past life; I, Xiao Yunjing, had truly died once before. I would never forget the events of my past life. That was the day Gu Qingli found out she was to marry Niu Ergou, and she fled that very day. She succeeded in escaping, but her end was tragic.

A few years later, I also went to the Capital City and heard news of her. It was said that after she returned to the Gu Family, her parents, who still cherished her, found a family of suitable social standing for her to marry into as a second wife. However, even after marriage, her husband despised her for being a ’ruined’ woman, and her life was incredibly difficult.

As for myself, consumed by guilt, I lived my entire life unmarried and childless, silently watching over her. This continued until, ten years later, Gu Qingli died, consumed by depression.

When I received the news of her death, I once again requested to be sent to the frontier. Unexpectedly, the reigning Emperor had long intended to eliminate me. After all, I held significant military power, and my merits were too high for his comfort. On that assignment, in less than two years, I was poisoned to death by a trusted subordinate. Before dying, I learned that this subordinate had long been bought by the Emperor.

I had never expected to be reborn on the very day Ms. Hua arranged for Gu Qingli to marry Niu Ergou. Therefore, I had promptly intervened to stop it.

Now that she was staying, I was puzzled. Gu Qingli should know her true parentage by now, so why hadn’t she left? Marrying Niu Ergou or marrying me shouldn’t make much difference to her decision to leave if she knew. Or had Ms. Wu not told her?

However, no matter what, in this life, I will not let her suffer the same fate as in her previous life. In this life, I won’t become a soldier, nor will I be that so-called God of War. I’ll just live an ordinary life here, have children with Gu Qingli, and grow old together. This way, I can properly compensate for the mistakes I made. In our previous life, neither of us had children. This life, we should have many.

「The next day.」

Xiao Yunjing ran into Gu Qingli and her two younger siblings on the road.

"Li’er! Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, good morning!" Xiao Yunjing stepped forward and greeted the three siblings warmly.

Gu Qingli felt goosebumps erupt all over her skin. My heavens! A big, rough man calling me ’Li’er’ in such a soft voice? Am I seeing a ghost this early in the morning?

Dashuang and Xiaoshuang, however, saw nothing amiss and greeted him in return.

Gu Qingli managed to force a smile and nodded at him.

"Li’er, I have something to tell you," Xiao Yunjing said hurriedly, seeing her about to lead the two children away.

"What is it? Go ahead," Gu Qingli replied, turning back.

"Well, um, it’s about the wedding day. We’re not planning a big celebration, just our family getting together for a meal. Li’er, what do you think?" Xiao Yunjing didn’t know why, but his heart pounded relentlessly whenever he faced such a calm Gu Qingli. He used to be perfectly composed even in front of thousands of soldiers.

Gu Qingli said, "It’s up to you. In any case, my family hasn’t prepared anything."

After saying this, she hurriedly led the two children away.

Today’s Xiao Yunjing was really different; it was giving me goosebumps all over again.

Xiao Yunjing was somewhat stunned by her response. Watching her hurry away, what did she mean? What did ’haven’t prepared anything’ imply? Did she not want to marry me? Or did she know her parentage and was planning to leave?

Xiao Yunjing’s mind was a complete muddle; he no longer knew what he had intended to do that day.

Xiao Yunjing absentmindedly retrieved the wedding attire. Then, slinging his bow over his back, he went up the mountain and, from a distance, watched the three siblings diligently digging for medicinal herbs.

「Meanwhile,」

Gu Chang’an had taken his four sons and recruited several able-bodied men from the village early in the morning to repair the dilapidated house at the foot of the mountain.

Of the silver the second daughter had given him yesterday, a full five taels remained. The original owner of the house had moved to the county town. Before leaving, they had told him that if anyone wanted to buy it, the minimum price was twenty taels of silver. When Gu Chang’an inquired yesterday, the owner, hearing it had been several years and the house was in disrepair and thus not worth as much, and also learning about Second Brother Gu’s family situation, asked for only fifteen taels. This price included the two plots of vacant land in front and behind the house, totaling nearly three acres. That vacant land, once cleared, would be more than enough to grow vegetables for the family’s own consumption.

So, after settling all the official matters at the county government office, there was still this much silver left over. Yesterday, the second daughter had also said that regardless of whether the silver was enough, she had no more to add. If it fell short, she would make it up later when she had money. If there was any surplus, it was for him, her Second Grand-uncle, to buy himself some wine.

Now that so much is left, that girl wouldn’t take it back even if I offered. So, I can only help their family by getting the house repaired as quickly as possible. Holding this much silver feels like holding a hot potato.

「Up on the mountain,」

Gu Qingli had led Dashuang and Xiaoshuang deeper into the woods. Precious medicinal herbs in the depths of the forest began to appear in greater numbers. She even found a small patch of notoginseng, chicken blood vine, and other valuable herbs.

It was currently the peak season for medicinal herbs to mature. Gu Qingli wished she could sprout three heads and six arms to dig up all of them. Once the snow started falling in a few days, many of these herbs would freeze and die.

What a terrible waste. These seemingly ordinary plants could save lives at critical moments.

Having no other choice, she furtively collected some into her Space when the two children weren’t looking.

The three siblings didn’t descend the mountain until the end of Shenshi (3-5 PM).

As they passed by the house, Gu Chang’an and the others had just finished work for the day. Only he and his third son, Gu Daping, remained, clearing away weeds on the ground.

"Second Grand-uncle, Third Uncle Gu," Gu Qingli called out as she approached.

"Ah, it’s you children," Gu Chang’an said, looking up and seeing them.

"Second Grand-uncle, you don’t need to bother with this. Just helping us fix the roof is enough. It’s not right for you, at your age, to do this kind of work for us. Please stop." The three siblings quickly helped Gu Chang’an and Gu Daping to their feet.

"Ai! You silly girl. It’s fine, I have nothing else to do right now anyway. I’m just idle," Gu Chang’an said, patting the dirt from his hands.

Hearing this, an idea immediately sparked in Gu Qingli’s mind. She set down her back-basket and had Dashuang and Xiaoshuang help Gu Chang’an sit on a fallen log in the yard.

She said, "Second Grand-uncle, regardless of whether you’re idle now or not, please help me keep a record of everyone who helps with the work. When it’s all done, I’ll pay them their wages."

Gu Chang’an waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile, "There’s no need, Xiaoli. This little bit of work doesn’t warrant any wages. Besides, your Second Grand-uncle here still has those five taels of silver left from yesterday. I’ll settle the accounts with you then."

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