"Tell Gu Tianhao, he had done so much planning and scheming, is he really going to put all his eggs in one basket. Even great marquis Zhiwu's marquis mansion collapsed because of one of his subordinate's betrayal, can he make sure, new marquis Ningxi won't face the same situation in his upcoming days? And don't forget only marquis Zhiwu's mansion has collapsed for now, The Great Lin Clan is still flourishing and my only nephew and marquis Zhiwu's only grandson is still missing. Future has no bounds and no one knows if The Great Lin Clan will manage to turn things around and if my nephew will return to take revenge for his father and grandfather's death from new marquis Ningxi and the Yun family, does Gu Tianhao really wants to have no shield when the time comes? My daughter is just a newborn, will stay in his backyard, eat less and not make any troubles for him much, but if my Lin Clan driven by desperation somehow end up being able to turn things around, she can become a great help to shield Gu Tianhao and Gu Residence from my maternal Clan's wrath and their revenge. She'll be only bridge between two families. Why don't you ask Gu Tianhao to reconsider his decision?" Even I'm such desperate situation, Madam Lin manage to keep her calm and thought of a solution to save her newborn child who just opened her in the world.
She could think of any possible, impossible events in the future and even found solution which could make Gu Tianhao reconsider his decision and let her daughter live.
Indeed.
After hearing what Madam Lin said, Nanny become flustered and hesitated for a while before coming to decision.
"I'll do as Madam said but the decision will still have to be depend upon master's wishes. If he'll let young miss live, I've no interest in killing an innocent soul but if master doesn't want little miss to hinder his big plans... then I'm sorry Madam." Nanny apologised with her back straight and face cold with no sincerity.
"Yes... yes.. it all depends on his wishes." Madam Lin sighed in resignation.
She limped towards little Gu Yanyan and took her in her warm embrace and in the presence of Nanny breastfeed her for the second and last time.
Gu Yanyan could still remember how desperate she was when Madam Lin put her back into the child cradle. She so much wanted to scream and tell Madam Lin to not sacrifice herself, to not give in to that damn old Nanny. She so much wanted to stand up and protect this new mother of hers who was willing to sacrifice herself for her newborn child. Gu Yanyan screamed on top of her lungs to stop Madam Lin from taking that bowl of poison but all that sounded that night was a newborn child's crying.
After taking that bowl of poison, Madam Lin sat one side of Gu Yanyan's cradle and rocked it back and forth for a while before the poison kicked in.
Madam Lin laid on the bare ground and gasped for breath. She threw her limbs all over and struggle to hold... to hold on something... anything... but she could grab in her clenched fist was nothing but cold air in the dark chilly night.
Gu Yanyan saw with own eyes from between the gap in her cradle how Madam twisted her body in pain and in desperation for breathing, how her veins in her neck tightened, her clenched fists, her banging her head to lessen the pain. Everything.
She saw everything from beginning to the end.
She saw Madam Lin's love for her daughter, she saw Madam Lin's begging for her daughter, she saw Madam Lin's sacrifice for her daughter and in the end she saw Madam Lin dying for her daughter.
Remembering the night, Gu Yanyan's hands were clenched to tightly in a fist, the maids around her feared, she would hurt herself in her rage.
They didn't know the helplessness Gu Yanyan felt that night but they could understand her feelings for sure, even if not fully.. a little was too much too.
"Tell Ah San, use anything and everything... I just want evidence. Ask Dark Lotus, if they couldn't give me any satisfactory answer before this year ends, they don't have to be present in the first meeting at Guanyin Temple next year." Gu Yanyan said in her rare monotonous and cold voice.
"Yes miss." Yang Jingli bowed and turned to go out to deliver the message but she stopped in her track when Gu Yanyan again called for her.
"What about cousin? When he is returning?" Gu Yanyan asked. Gu had no feelings towards this cousin of her nor she had seen her in this life of her thirteen years.
Before she borned, marquis Zhiwu's mansion had already collapsed, Great marquis Zhiwu and his son master Lin both had lost their lives in the battle against the northern barbarians and this cousin of hers had already gone missing for more than six months.
All kinds of forces tried to find him for many years with no success.
In 'her' previous life, it was not until she had already turned sixteen and Gu Tianhao had betrothed her to that old man second master of Liu family whose one foot was already in grave because of his rare disease that 'her' cousin appeared.
In 'her' past life this cousin of hers was not so great and was merely a fifth rank general under a different name and identity and when he appeared at her doorstep in the middle of the night to take her away, somehow Gu Tianhao and others in the Gu family had gotten the message that a wild man had entered her room and they both were romantically involved and that Gu Yanyan couldn't bear to separate from her lover and didn't want to marry second master from the Liu family that's why she asked her lover to come and get her and she had planned to escape from this marriage and wanted to run away from her home with that wild man.