The Most Unruly Prince Consort of Great Qian - Chapter 1

“Is he… dead?” a timid maid asked, voice trembling.

“No breath. He’s dead,” the other maid replied after checking under his nose.

“Then let’s go tell the second steward! This is so scary…” the timid one urged.

“Hmph! Alive, he was a useless piece of trash. Dead, he’s just a useless ghost. What’s there to be afraid of?” the bolder maid scoffed, then added excitedly, “We can finally serve Second Young Master now!”

As their footsteps faded into the distance…

Gu Dao opened his eyes.

Two sets of memories crashed into each other in his mind, the pain splitting his head open.

“I’ve transmigrated? Again? And both times… I got screwed over by women.”

His soul had been reincarnated into the body of someone with the same name as him, in the Great Qian Dynasty.

In his past life, he had gone undercover in a drug cartel for five years, eventually earning the trust of the syndicate’s kingpin, known only by the codename “Professor.”

Through grit and strategy, he’d risen to become the second-in-command of the entire operation.

But things went downhill fast; he was just too good-looking and capable. The seductive, flirtatious sister-in-law (the boss’s woman) couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

She tried every trick in the book, flirting openly and secretly, even plotting to kill the Professor and help him take over.

But alas, that woman must’ve had so much going on in her chest that her brain had no room to function; she got outplayed and killed by the boss instead.

Gu Dao, unable to clear his name, fought a bloody battle and perished alongside the Professor.

Now, as the memories finished merging, the life of the original Gu Dao in this world became crystal clear.

To sum it up: he was born into glory and died in disgrace.

His mother was the only daughter of the Grand Marshal, a brilliant strategist who foresaw everything except her own death from childbirth ten years ago.

No sooner had she died than his scumbag father, Gu Yunzhuang, brought home a concubine and a six-year-old boy named Gu Ling.

Clearly, he’d been fooling around with a mistress behind closed doors.

Now that the mistress had entered the household, she wanted to become the official wife. And standing in her way was the legitimate heir Gu Dao himself.

Ten years later, he’d become a professional victim of inner-court scheming, barely surviving without taking his own life.

His last hope?

His mother’s dying wish: she had cashed in all her favors to secure a marriage contract with the Eldest Princess of Great Qian.

She had hoped that, with the title of Fuma (驸马 – imperial son-in-law), her son could live a life of peace and luxury.

Unfortunately, the princess didn’t see it that way.

Three days ago, she summoned him to Benyuan Temple, pretending it was an invitation from the Third Prince.

When they met, the bright and stunning Princess Li Qianyun lashed out:

“You’re a disgraceful, worthless fool. You know you’re not worthy of me, Li Qianyun, yet you’ve clung to this engagement for ten years. Don’t blame me for what happens next…”

She then tore her outer robe, smashed a statue of the Empress Dowager’s prayer Buddha, and ran off crying to accuse him before the emperor.

She demanded a divorce.

The emperor, drunk and muddleheaded, agreed without a second thought.

The news broke. The former Gu Dao went insane and was left to freeze to death in this run-down, abandoned house.

“Tch. What a loser,” the new Gu Dao muttered. “Couldn’t handle a woman, and got himself frozen to death by a bunch of nobodies?”

He stood up, opened the cabinet based on his predecessor’s memories, and pulled out a long blade and a bow.

These had been gifts from his maternal grandfather, finely crafted military weapons.

Although the former Gu Dao hadn’t been fond of martial arts, the princess was a master of both the pen and the sword. To win her favor, he had secretly trained in swordplay and archery.

Sadly, she had never once looked him in the eye.

Now dressed for battle, Gu Dao lit a fire striker.

With a flick, he set the old house ablaze.

The cold wind fanned the flames. The fire roared like a beast unleashed, devouring the crumbling, neglected building.

It lit up the entire courtyard.

Gu Dao spread his arms slightly, letting the warmth of the fire wash over him.

“If I had a cigarette right now… that’d be perfect.”

…

Meanwhile…

The Second Steward was beaming with joy.

Just now, two maids had reported that the useless waste was finally dead. That meant the steward position in the outer court was his!

And that was a cushy job.

But before that, he had to make arrangements to fix up the dead guy’s room to look nice and cozy, hide any signs of mistreatment.

Then tomorrow morning, announce the death.

Hehe… with that position secured, Chuntao, the head maid, would be mine too…

“Fire! Fire!”

A shriek rang out, followed by the clang of a gong. The Second Steward’s dream was shattered in an instant.

Everyone in the Gu Manor was jolted awake.

People rushed out in disarray, running toward the burning courtyard.

If the fire spread, the whole manor could go up in flames.

The steward scrambled to throw on his shoes and rushed out, only to see it was Gu Dao’s courtyard that was ablaze.

His soul nearly left his body.

“Why… why is it that place?!”

If Gu Dao had died of illness, it would’ve been his own fault. But if he burned to death? That was different.

He’d be dragged down with him.

He knew all too well what the master of the house was like; he’d definitely make him take the fall.

The steward dashed in like a madman.

“What are you all standing around for? Put out the fire! The young master’s body is still inside!” he yelled without thinking.

The body is still inside?

Everyone froze and turned to stare at him, then at Gu Dao, who was calmly warming himself by the fire.

No one knew what to say.

“How can you be so sure there’s a body inside?” a cold voice rang out behind him.

“Of course it’s a body! He’s dead, isn’t he? What, you think he’s still alive or…?”

The steward turned in frustration, only to meet a pair of deep, chilling eyes.

His whole body shuddered.

“G-G-Ghost…”

He nearly fainted on the spot.

Then it hit him that the useless young master wasn’t dead after all.

Tch. What bad luck.

But so what? He was still the same coward who flinched when a leaf fell.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, young master,” the steward forced a smile, then glared fiercely. “I was just afraid you’d say something wrong.”

“But you should be the one explaining. How did this fire start?”

If it had been the former Gu Dao, he would’ve stammered and groveled by now.

But today…

Gu Dao slowly raised his hand and smack! slapped the steward hard across the face.

The crisp sound rang out sharply in the cold air.

Everyone gasped. Even the ones fighting the fire paused for half a beat.

“You… you actually hit me?” The steward clutched his face, utterly stunned.

“And you actually said the word dare?” Gu Dao sneered. “So I don’t exist as your master in your eyes, is that it?”

“What should your punishment be?”

The steward stiffened.

The Gu family had a thousand years of history, known as a model of the aristocracy. Strict rules. Rigid hierarchy.

The boundary between master and servant was absolute.

But… that only applied to real masters. Not this useless waste.

“Heh, you almost scared me,” the steward sneered back, lowering his voice. “What can a piece of trash like you even do?”

“Go ahead, report me. I’ll tell you the truth: every single person in this courtyard is just waiting for you to die.”

Gu Dao’s hand wrapped around his blade’s hilt.

Then he grinned.

“Heh. That makes sense. Now let me tell you something…”

The rage inside him surged, no longer held back.

Vrrr… With a chilling hum, cold steel flashed through the air.

> “Villains always die because they talk too much.”