Jun Beiyue stole the keys without a sound, and Madam Liang didn’t notice.
At night, Jun Beiyue stole the account books and snuck into the warehouse to check the inventory against the accounts one by one. During the day, she followed Madam Liang, keeping a constant eye on her.
Feeling uneasy under Jun Beiyue’s watchful gaze, Madam Liang indeed refrained from any suspicious activities.
The Wei family estate was vast, so Jun Beiyue’s audit progressed slowly. She wasn’t in a hurry, though. She carefully noted down discrepancies while auditing and, in her spare time, exchanged letters with Wei Yun.
Wei Yun, being young, held a relaxed position on the frontlines, mainly running errands for Wei Jun. As a result, he had plenty of time each day and replied quickly with lengthy messages.
Wei Jun occasionally sent her letters as well, but he seemed to be an extremely shy person who struggled to express himself. His messages were limited to reminders like “dress warmly in cold weather,” “avoid cold foods,” “go to bed and wake up early,” and “maintain a regular diet.”
For each of Wei Jun’s phrases, Wei Yun would add his annotations:
“Dress warmly in cold weather” — Sister-in-law, feel free to buy plenty of beautiful clothes. Wear whatever you like and charge it all to Big Brother’s account. Don’t worry about spending money.
“Avoid cold foods” — Sister-in-law, don’t eat anything too cold. The physician says it can cause stomach aches. Big Brother has bought all the delicious snacks from Bai City and will bring them back for you.
“Go to bed and wake up early” — Sister-in-law, make sure to sleep well. If you can’t sleep, ask Wei Xia for some soul-calming incense. Big Brother can’t sleep because he misses you so much, and he’s worried you might miss him too much as well.
“Maintain a regular diet” — Never mind, Sister-in-law. I can’t come up with anything else. Just know that Big Brother misses you very much.
Jun Beiyue: “…”
She had no idea how to face this talkative young brother-in-law any more. At first, she found the letters from the border amusing, but as days passed, it became a habit. Whenever she saw Wei Qiu bringing in a letter, she couldn’t help but smile in anticipation.
While Jun Beiyue was auditing the accounts, the Jun family also sent someone to Kunyang to find Gu Chusheng.
Gu Chusheng had just settled down in Kunyang and was organizing the local personnel.
He had been to this place in his previous life, so he was quite familiar with it. However, there were still too many matters to attend to, and even with his familiarity, it was difficult to complete everything at once.
When the Jun family’s messenger arrived, he looked up from his documents and took a while to react.
His first thought was — Jun Beiyue has come!
According to the original timeline, Jun Beiyue should have caught up with him halfway, but even though he had deliberately slowed down his pace, he hadn’t seen her catching up. He was anxious inside, but his face remained impassive. He had always been patient, knowing that Jun Beiyue would surely come.
If Jun Beiyue didn’t come… there wasn’t much he could do now.
He had returned too late. By the time he came back, his father had already passed away, and he was about to set out from Huajing. There was no time to make any arrangements. If he wanted to marry Jun Beiyue, he could only rely on her deep affection for him.
It was at this moment that he had to face the fact that Jun Beiyue’s marriage to him in the past was indeed a case of marrying beneath her status.
Abandoning wealth and glory to marry a penniless, frail scholar like him.
At first, he was genuinely touched.
At least when he married her, he sincerely wanted to repay her feelings.
But when everyone kept saying how good she was to him and how unworthy he was of her, pride and anger blinded his eyes. When he rose to power and faced this woman who had once shown him kindness, he found her presence irritating. She seemed to be a reminder of the most miserable time in his life, constantly reminding Gu Chusheng that he had once been a wretched young man.
It wasn’t until she died until he had experienced the passage of time, seen glory and wealth, gone through betrayal and despair, that he suddenly realized that only that light from his youth was the purest and brightest.
Thinking of Jun Beiyue from those years, his heart trembled. He controlled his emotions, stood up, and said to the attendant, “Ask the Jun family messenger to wait a moment. I’ll change my clothes and be right there.”
With that, he went to the side room, purposely changing into his most presentable clothes, tying on a jade crown, and confirming his appearance in the mirror before taking a deep breath and heading to the main hall.
He frantically thought about how Jun Beiyue might have come, how to handle her marriage arrangement with the Wei family, Jun Beiyue…
He had thought of many things, but when he arrived at the main hall and saw only one Jun family attendant, he was momentarily stunned.
The attendant came forward and bowed respectfully, “Lord Gu.”
Gu Chusheng nodded, suppressing the doubts in his heart, and returned the greeting, “Uncle Shan, it’s been a long time.”
Shan Ju was a retainer of the Jun family. Although his rank wasn’t high, Gu Chusheng knew he was highly regarded in the Jun household, so he treated Shan Ju with considerable respect.
As he spoke, Gu Chusheng invited Shan Ju to sit down, then asked, “May I know why Uncle Shan has come today? Does Uncle Jun have any instructions?”
“It’s nothing major,” Shan Ju laughed heartily. “The General just had two matters to attend to. First, he knows about Lord Gu’s current situation and asked me to bring some things over.”
As Shan Ju spoke, he brought forth a box.
Gu Chusheng received the box with both hands. When he opened it, he found it filled with gold ingots and several letters.
“There are several military commanders in Kunyang who are quite familiar with the General. Inside are personal letters from the General. Lord Gu can use these to visit them. When away from home, it’s always good to have people looking out for you.”
Shan Ju didn’t mention the gold inside, out of consideration for Gu Chusheng’s dignity. If Gu Chusheng were truly a young man, he might not have understood this act of kindness. He had always been proud and arrogant, unable to appreciate others’ subtle benevolence.
However, having gone through years of tempering, he now understood Shan Ju’s thoughtfulness. He indeed needed money at the moment and didn’t refuse. Taking a deep breath, he said sincerely, “Thank Uncle Jun, and thank you, Uncle Shan.”
His genuine gratitude deepened Shan Ju’s smile. Shan Ju cleared his throat and then said, “The second matter concerns your engagement to our young miss.”
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng’s heart leaped.
He guessed that Shan Ju’s mentioning of this matter must be related to Jun Beiyue. Jun Beiyue hadn’t chased after him this time, so perhaps something had changed. However, she had always been a persistent person, determined to accomplish whatever she set her mind to.
Now that Shan Ju had come and mentioned the engagement, could it be that Jun Beiyue had persuaded Jun Jianzhang to let her marry him properly and openly?
He placed the box on the table, suppressing his excitement, and looked up at Shan Ju, “Regarding the engagement, what are Uncle Jun’s thoughts?”
“Don’t be nervous,” seeing Gu Chusheng’s expression, Shan Ju guessed he might think the Jun family had come to break off the engagement and quickly said, “The Jun family are not untrustworthy people. The General just asked me to inquire, now that the eldest miss has married, and the second miss is of age, when do you plan to propose?”
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng’s mind went blank with a “buzz.”
He stared at Shan Ju, unable to utter a word.
What did he say?
The eldest miss has married?
Who else could be the Jun family’s eldest miss besides Jun Beiyue?
It couldn’t possibly be Jun Beiyue.
She was supposed to marry him. In her previous life, she had traveled thousands of miles to be with him. How could she possibly marry someone else in this life?
He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something. Seeing his expression, Shan Ju smiled and said, “Is Lord Gu too happy to speak?”
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng finally slowly came to his senses. He felt a dryness in his throat but still managed a forced smile and said with difficulty, “The eldest miss you mentioned, is it A’Yu?”
“Of course,” Shan Ju took a sip of tea, his eyes showing satisfaction. “The eldest miss married into the Wei family. She came back for a visit recently and seemed to be doing very well. The Wei family has a refined and upright reputation. The young miss shouldn’t have to worry about anything for the rest of her life.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Gu Chusheng clenched his fists under his sleeves. Shan Ju looked up in surprise to see him lower his eyes and speak in a tone so calm it felt cold, “A lifetime is so long, one can’t always rely on others.”
Especially not on Wei Jun of the Wei family, who was destined for a short life.
Thinking of Wei Jun’s name, Gu Chusheng felt as if a blade had pierced his heart.
Back then, Jun Beiyue was supposed to marry Wei Jun. For how many years had his name been constantly mentioned alongside Wei Jun’s? How many people had lamented that if only Wei Jun were still alive, it would have been better for Jun Beiyue to marry him?
At that time, he felt furious whenever he heard this name. In everyone’s eyes, he couldn’t compare to Wei Jun. Perhaps even in Jun Beiyue’s heart, he couldn’t measure up to Wei Jun.
It was just that Wei Jun had died, and she had no other option.
He had once been glad that Wei Jun was dead, and then resented that Wei Jun was dead. It was so in his previous life, and now, hearing this name again in this life, he suddenly realized that compared to his previous life, his hatred for Wei Jun had deepened even more in this life.
Jun Beiyue had married him.
In this life, Jun Beiyue had married him!
He looked up, staring at Shan Ju, wanting to ask what exactly they had done to Jun Beiyue.
His gaze was so impolite that even the attendants couldn’t help but call out, “Young Master.”
Shan Ju frowned. Feeling uneasy, he asked directly, “Does Lord Gu have something to say?”
Gu Chusheng was brought to his senses by Shan Ju’s words. Now that Jun Beiyue’s marriage to Wei Jun was a fait accompli, he couldn’t afford to offend the Jun family. So he took a deep breath and pushed the box back.
“Regarding the marriage to the second miss, I’ve been thinking for a long time and feel I must speak honestly. The second miss is a golden branch and jade leaf. With my current status, I’m afraid I’m not a suitable match.”
“You needn’t worry about that. The General said…”
“Moreover,” Gu Chusheng interrupted Shan Ju, his gaze firm, “I already have someone I admire in my heart. The second miss probably has her thoughts as well. Marriage is a significant matter; one should be with their beloved. I believe the General wouldn’t force this issue.”
Hearing this, Shan Ju fell silent. He knew about the commotion Jun Beiyue had caused before her marriage. Now, seeing the attitudes of both Gu Chusheng and Jun Jin, he sighed and looked up at Gu Chusheng.
“Young Master Gu,” his tone carried a hint of resignation, “Tell me honestly, is the person you admire our eldest miss?”
Gu Chusheng was taken aback for a moment. After a while, he slowly smiled.
He didn’t deny or get angry. He nodded firmly, “Yes.”
Shan Ju sighed, seeming troubled, “But… the eldest miss… she’s already married.”
“She’s married,” Gu Chusheng’s face bore a smile, his eyes curved, “But how does that affect my feelings for her?”
Not to mention that Wei Jun was destined for a short life anyway. Even if Wei Jun were to live a long life, he, Gu Chusheng, would tear everyone apart if necessary to get his woman back!
Thinking of this, Gu Chusheng finally felt less pained.
Wei Jun was on the battlefield.
He curled his lips, his eyes full of coldness.
Even if he did nothing, Wei Jun and the Wei family were destined to die on the battlefield.
As a former high-ranking court official, he knew all too well what had happened on the battlefield back then. It was a past that even the Emperor dared not face, an incident for which even the Emperor had taken off his jade crown to apologize to Wei Yun.
No one could save the Wei family.
Not even he, who had been reborn, could save them.