Chapter 310: A Stifled Life

Gu Fei let out a dry laugh and kept walking.

She didn’t need to argue with Housekeeper Wu at all. Her words weren’t meant for him anyway, but for Nanny Xu.

It didn’t matter whether Nanny Xu reported this to the Princess Consort, or if she was in cahoots with Housekeeper Wu.

Since the words had been spoken, they had entered Nanny Xu’s ears and her heart. They would be useful, one way or another.

Nanny Xu stood by, her expression unchanged, as if she hadn’t heard a single word exchanged between them.

Gu Fei and Lan Zhi left through the back gate and hailed a carriage.

As soon as they were in the carriage, Lan Zhi threw herself into Gu Fei’s arms and began to sob.

Gu Fei sat ramrod straight. "What are you crying for?" she said coldly. "There’s nothing to cry about."

"This is just how the world works. The strong devour the weak. People with power and status will naturally trample you underfoot."

"We’ve been borrowing the Young Master Heir’s influence. That was the cause, and this is the effect."

She squeezed Lan Zhi’s hand, her heart filled more with anger than anything else.

’Gu Fei suddenly found herself missing the world full of zombies.’

’In that world, at least you didn’t have to put up with this kind of suffocating frustration. You just fought. If you couldn’t win, you died, just like she had.’

’Here, you didn’t dare to fight. You could only live on, bottling it all up.’

’It wasn’t that she cared so much about her own life. It was because she wasn’t alone anymore; she had parents and a family now.’

After crying for a while, Lan Zhi looked up. "It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened."

"You can’t be blamed for this," Gu Fei said coldly. "I’m the one to blame, for not understanding the rules of the game in this world."

’If I’d known this would happen, I never would have been so greedy for a good deal and taken over Old Huang’s shop, especially when I knew there was something fishy about it.’

’If the Princess Consort had insisted on the inspection today, she had no idea what she might have done.’

’Maybe she would have just accepted it in suffocating silence. Or maybe she would have lashed out on the spot. The consequences would have been unpredictable.’

’Thankfully, the Princess Consort wasn’t a completely unreasonable person. If it had been the former Lady Pingyang, she would have been half-dead by now, even if she wasn’t killed outright.’

Lan Zhi seemed to understand, yet at the same time, she didn’t. She wiped her tears and stared blankly, saying nothing.

The carriage stopped at the inn’s entrance. Gu Fei stepped out, gave the driver a handful of Copper Coins, and told him to take Lan Zhi back to the manor outside the city.

She went inside. It was dinnertime, and the inn was filled with customers.

Old Huang was sitting behind the counter doing the books, while Lian’er collected payments beside him.

Gu Fei gave Old Huang a slight curtsy. "Thank you so much for your help today, sir."

Old Huang looked at Gu Fei with concern. "Is everything alright?"

’It was a good thing to be connected to the Young Master Heir, but the great noble houses weren’t so easy to get into.’

Gu Fei shook her head. "I’m fine."

Old Huang let out a sigh of relief. "That’s good."

"Well, I’ll head back to my room, then. Que’er came by just now saying she wasn’t feeling well."

"Of course, please go," Gu Fei said quickly. "Sorry to have kept you."

Old Huang hurried back to the rear courtyard, but came out again a moment later, his face etched with anxiety.

Gu Fei called out to him, "Mr. Huang, what’s wrong?"

Old Huang paused. "Que’er isn’t doing too well. I’m going to get a doctor."

He got to the door, then suddenly turned back. "Little Fei, I need to go back and watch over Que’er. How about this—could you send someone to fetch Doctor Wang from the end of the street for me?"

Without a second thought, Gu Fei agreed. "Alright. Lian’er, go and fetch Doctor Wang."

The inn was busy at this hour, but upon receiving the order, Lian’er hurried out.

Old Huang lingered at the entrance for a moment before heading back to the rear courtyard again.

A little over half an hour later, Lian’er returned with Doctor Wang, leading him toward the rear courtyard.