The Reincarnated Female‑Oriented Villain Who Laughs Madly While Holding Command Over 100,000 Troops - Chapter 5:

Chapter 5: Farce at Duke Anping’s Residence

Duke Anping’s Residence.

As soon as Gu Yixuan and Lin Ruichang stepped into the residence, an angry male voice rang out, “You little bastard! How dare you hurt Yaoyao! Just wait until Father returns and sees how he deals with you!”

A woman’s voice followed, soft in tone but cutting in words. “Brother, you must be joking. If I’m a bastard, wouldn’t that make Father a wild man?”

“You—!” The man choked as if something was stuck in his throat and couldn’t utter another word.

Gu Yixuan turned his head, looking at Lin Ruichang with a faint smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Sensing Gu Yixuan’s gaze, Lin Ruichang’s face flushed red, and he barked angrily, “You unfilial girl! What are you saying!”

The shout drew everyone’s attention inside the main hall toward the entrance, where Lin Ruichang stormed in, face full of fury.

“Father! You must uphold justice for me! Snowy just entered our household yesterday, and I noticed she didn’t have any decent jewelry, so I thought of giving her a few pieces from my own.”

“But she took a liking to the white jade bracelet you gave me. That bracelet was a gift from you—I couldn’t bear to give it away.”

“When I refused, Snowy tried to snatch it by force. During the struggle, the bracelet shattered, and she used a shard to cut my hand.”

“I bled so much, Father! You must speak up for me!”

The moment she saw Lin Ruichang, Lin Feiyao rushed forward, speaking tearfully while holding up her bleeding wrist for him to see.

“You’re lying! My lady never hurt you! That wound was self-inflicted just to frame her!” Before Lin Shixue could respond, the little maid beside her couldn’t hold back anymore. Like a protective hen guarding her chick, she stepped in front of Lin Shixue and shouted angrily.

Hearing this, Lin Ziang, the eldest son of the Duke Anping’s Residence, pointed at Lin Shixue behind the maid, his tone full of fury. “Ridiculous! Yaoyao is terrified of pain. Why would she ever injure herself just to frame a lowly illegitimate girl!”

Before the maid could reply, Lin Ziang added again, “Besides, Brother Gu saw it with his own eyes! You and Yaoyao were arguing at the pavilion, and you used the shard to cut her!”

At these words, all eyes in the hall turned to Gu Yichen, who was standing beside Lin Ziang.

Gu Yichen wore white robes, stood tall and handsome, but compared to Gu Yixuan’s commanding presence, his aura leaned more toward warmth and cheer.

Feeling the crowd’s attention, Gu Yixuan looked first at Lin Shixue, then at his sworn brother Lin Ziang, and was just about to speak when a clear male voice came from outside the door.

“Little brother, is what Young Master Lin said true?”

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a young man with striking features and dignified bearing walking in slowly with his hands behind his back. His black robe embroidered with golden qilin patterns made his already imposing presence even more formidable.

“Big… Big Brother?” Gu Yichen was shocked the moment he saw Gu Yixuan. What was his elder brother doing here? And that qilin-embroidered black robe—wasn’t that reserved for marquises?

Big Brother?

At those words, everyone in the hall turned their astonished gazes toward the young man. This was the eldest son of the Gu family—Gu Yixuan?

“Ahem, this is General Gu Yixuan, who has just returned triumphantly from the border. He was granted the title of Marquis Wu’an by His Majesty at court this morning!” Lin Ruichang, finally regaining his senses after being angered by his children, quickly introduced Gu Yixuan to everyone.

“Greetings, Marquis Wu’an!” Upon hearing Gu Yixuan had been ennobled, the entire Lin family hurriedly bowed. Even Madam Li Huiru, who had been seated and silently observing the scene, rose to pay her respects.

Gu Yixuan gave a slight nod, his expression calm, though his gaze never left Gu Yichen. He thought to himself, Gu Yichen is supposed to be the male lead of Phoenix Blood Long Song… so why has he appeared in the plot of Noble Lady of the Duke’s Residence?

Feeling his older brother’s sharp gaze, Gu Yichen broke into a cold sweat, his eyes evasive.

Lin Ruichang said, “Marquis Wu’an heard that Yaoyao was both talented and beautiful and came to get acquainted. I never expected such a mess in the residence—utterly disgraceful!” After introducing Gu Yixuan’s identity, he took the chance to scold everyone, while discreetly giving Lin Feiyao a look.

Lin Feiyao had already been lovestruck from the moment she saw Gu Yixuan. She was a sheltered maiden who rarely left her boudoir and had never encountered such a heroic and refined young man.

When she heard her father say that Gu Yixuan had come to the residence because of his admiration for her, her joy knew no bounds.

Prompted by her father’s look, she ignored the injury on her hand, quickly stepped forward and gracefully curtsied, her voice sweet and soft, “This humble girl, Lin Feiyao, greets Marquis Wu’an.”

But Gu Yixuan had no time for her. His eyes grew colder as he watched Gu Yichen’s evasive gaze.

“I only asked you to state the truth. Since when did a Gu family man act like a timid girl?”

“I… I…” Gu Yichen stammered.

Gu Yixuan immediately barked, “Answer me!”

Gu Yichen had indeed seen the two girls arguing at the pavilion, but they were far away, and he hadn’t seen what exactly happened. As for whether Lin Feiyao’s hand had really been cut by Lin Shixue using the jade shard, he had no idea.

However, seeing the hopeful look in Lin Ziang’s eyes beside him, Gu Yichen clenched his jaw and said, “Yes. I did see Lin Shixue use the shard to cut Miss Lin Feiyao’s wrist.”

His words caused an uproar among the Lin family. Everyone turned angrily toward Lin Shixue, who had remained silent the entire time.

“You’re awful! My lady clearly didn’t hurt her, you’re lying!” The little maid immediately shouted in protest, her eyes glaring at Gu Yichen in fury.

Gu Yixuan looked at Gu Yichen, disappointment flashing in his eyes. Having grown up with him, Gu Yixuan did care for his younger brother.

But he hadn’t expected Gu Yichen to be so spineless, choosing to lie just to maintain his friendship with Lin Ziang. As the son of Duke Dingguo, did he really need to fear the son of Duke Anping?

Gu Yixuan, well-versed in the plot, knew the truth behind this drama. Before Lin Shixue had even arrived, Madam Li Huiru had already been weeping daily over her husband’s illegitimate daughter.

Lin Feiyao and Lin Ziang, influenced by their mother, hated Lin Shixue deeply.

Prompted by Li Huiru, Lin Feiyao came up with the scheme of self-harm to falsely accuse Lin Shixue, leading to this ridiculous farce.

“You unfilial girl! What else do you have to say!” Now certain of the answer, Lin Ruichang could no longer contain his rage and roared at Lin Shixue.

At that moment, since the time Lin Ruichang had entered the room, Lin Shixue finally spoke…

…

T/N: Gu Yixuan is granted the noble title Marquis Wu’an as a reward for his military achievements. Marquis Wu’an” literally means “Marquis who brings martial peace”.