Chapter 299: A Complete Transformation
Gu Erlang blushed as well. "I... I just have a few things I want to ask you."
"Do... do you really want to marry me?"
He lowered his head. "I know I’m not good enough for you. If you don’t want to, I won’t force you. I’ll just go tell my parents myself."
Lan Zhi pursed her lips, not saying a word for a long moment.
What happened today made her understand that to Gu Fei, she was just a burden.
If she were more ordinary, she could at least help Gu Fei at the inn. But now, not only could she not help, she was actively causing trouble.
She had been with the Gu Family for so long, yet she could never shake her old habits. She couldn’t do rough work—to this day, she couldn’t even wash a bowl properly. She was still a captive to the old rules of etiquette, preferring to hide away in the inner rooms, so different from Lian’er and Li Chunhua.
Perhaps deep down, she still saw herself as the Miss of the Marquis Mansion. Living with the Gu Family, accepting Gu Erlang’s courtship, even being willing to marry him... it was all just a way to seek Gu Fei’s protection.
That was why she had never been able to truly become part of this family.
Lan Zhi’s mind raced with countless thoughts. Gu Erlang, still waiting for her answer, felt his heart slowly sink.
He stared at Lan Zhi nervously, only to see her suddenly lift her head and say to him, "I am willing."
Gu Erlang was overjoyed, yet found it hard to believe. "Re-really?"
Lan Zhi nodded emphatically. "Really. From now on, I will build a good life with you."
’Yes, build a life.’
’Just like Gu Fei’s mother and eldest sister-in-law—working the fields, managing the household, bearing and raising children. To live an entire life that way... that’s quite good.’
’In those sprawling mansions, you may wear silks and satins and eat the finest foods, but what’s the point of a life spent in constant intrigue?’
’After all, when my mother—a concubine—was having a difficult labor with my younger brother, the midwife was deliberately late. In the end, both she and the baby died.’
’With her dying breath, my mother only had time to tell me one thing: live a good life, and never, ever become a concubine.’
’My mother had also been a girl from a minor family. She happened to catch the Marquis’s eye and was brought into the Marquis Mansion as a concubine, but she was dead in her twenties.’
’If she had married an ordinary man, she would surely still be alive today, enjoying the simple happiness of family, just like Mrs. Chen.’
Lan Zhi raised her head and, copying Gu Fei, broke into a wide grin at Gu Erlang.
She had wanted to try smiling like that for a long time.
’To hell with smiling without showing your teeth! I’m a farm woman now—I don’t need any of that anymore!’
Gu Erlang was already stunned by this sudden rush of happiness, and Lan Zhi’s smile sent him into a dizzying spin, making it all feel unreal.
But in his heart, he knew that Lan Zhi was sincere.
Just then, Gu Sanlang coughed from outside the carriage. "Second Brother, we’re almost home!"
Gu Erlang managed to tear his eyes away from Lan Zhi’s face, quickly pushing aside the curtain and climbing out to sit on the cart’s shaft, a dopey grin still plastered on his face.
Gu Sanlang couldn’t bear to look at his brother’s foolish expression and simply drove the cart into the courtyard.
Lan Zhi got off the cart, carried her bundle inside, and entered the side room. She put down her bundle, then turned and headed for the kitchen in the front courtyard.
Mrs. Chen and Li Chunhua were cooking in the kitchen. Seeing Lan Zhi enter so suddenly, they both asked, "Isn’t the inn busy? Why have you come home today?"
Lan Zhi’s eyes suddenly misted over. They had said "home."
’They’ve thought of me as family all along.’
Lan Zhi swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a smile. "Little Fei said I’m not needed at the inn anymore. Starting tomorrow, I’ll... I’ll go work in the fields with Mother and Sister-in-law."