Eleanor woke from pain.
Her severe scar constitution made her more sensitive to pain than others. Although she was used to this feeling from childhood and could endure it, she always avoided bumping into things unless she had to treat herself.
Because of this, when she was young at the Han family, her brother taught her how to use long-range weapons like whips. Even when she caught a cold or was sick, she would delay taking medicine and avoid injections unless absolutely necessary.
Eleanor lightly gasped and opened her eyes, looking at her right arm.
The drip on her right arm hurt so much it was almost numb. A dark purple bruise spread from the needle insertion point, covering half her arm like something had crushed it hard, swollen and frightening.
She sat up on the bed and pulled out the drip needle as Melisa, who just entered, shouted in surprise.
"Ah! Eleanor, don't…"
Blood dripped from the needle hole. Melisa quickly called the doctor inside while whispering.
Eleanor pressed an alcohol cotton ball on the wound and told Melisa, "It's okay." She handled small injuries well.
Because she often felt pain, her tolerance was much higher than most people.
Melisa sat back down worried. Seeing the bleeding slow, she hesitated and whispered,
"Lord Gu came last night."
Eleanor's lowered eyes showed no reaction and she answered calmly, "Hmm."
Melisa opened her mouth again,
"But just after he arrived, people from the Jiang family came and took him away."
Eleanor gave a faint reply again, showing little care whether Gabriel came or left.
Melisa watched her side profile silently, unsure what else to say.
There was a soft knock on the ward door, followed by a slightly anxious voice.
"Madam, there is an urgent report from the Northern Trading Company."
The maid outside was holding a thick stack of documents. She had come last night too.
At that time Eleanor was still unconscious, and the doctor would not let her in. She had to wait outside until now.
Eleanor recognized the voice. It was Manager Lin, one of her top managers in the northern trading company near Zujiang River. Usually, Manager Lin stayed in the north managing the business unless something urgent happened.
Now she had come all the way south to find her.
Eleanor frowned. Seeing the bleeding stopped, she threw away the cotton ball and put on a jacket to cover the bruised arm. Melisa looked worried as she left the room.
"What's the matter?"
Manager Lin's tense face relaxed when she saw Eleanor. She bowed slightly to Melisa and handed over the documents.
"Madam, a tough and fast-growing force has appeared recently in the north."
Melisa reminded Eleanor that the doctor would bring medicine later, then left.
Although Melisa would stay if Eleanor wanted, she was from the Mo family and didn't understand these matters. Staying would be useless.
Eleanor took the files and walked back into the room while flipping through them.
Manager Lin followed quietly, reporting softly.
"This force was hidden well before. Half a year ago, it had almost no market share and showed no ambition. But recently, it has rapidly grown dozens of times. In just a few months, it nearly monopolized a third of the market near Zujiang in Bianchao. It also threatens the Han family's ancestral business there."
"Because of this, trading in the Bianchao ancestral land has declined continuously. Only two water trading routes on the Zujiang still survive. Bianchao city is now surrounded by this force, and other trading paths face heavy blockades."
Eleanor looked down at the files and asked, "What is the name of that trading company?"
Manager Lin suddenly stopped and pursed her lips.
When Eleanor raised her eyes to look at her, Manager Lin said with difficulty,
"The company's public name is 'Jiahong,' but after investigation, its registered name is actually 'Gu Hong'..."
Eleanor paused while flipping the pages. Gu Hong?
Wasn't this the company she had set up in Bianchao for Gabriel years ago?
She had chosen Bianchao Zujiang because it was the Han family's ancestral land, her base. She could best help Gabriel develop his career there.
Also, Bianchao was at the border between north and south, naturally controlling two Zujiang water routes. It was the most important trade hub and a golden place for business. That was why she picked it for Gabriel.
But now…
Eleanor lowered her eyes and kept reading.
Manager Lin said no more but waited nervously.
She didn't really understand why Madam and Lord Gu's relationship had turned this way.
They were supposed to be husband and wife, one family without division. But Lord Gu's growing power in the northern Zujiang looked like it was swallowing Madam whole.
Although Madam's main wealth was in the south, the north was the Han family's root, especially the Bianchao area where the two rivers met. It was the family's ancestral land for generations. Madam would never give it up even if she lost the south.
But now, Lord Gu's "Jiahong" surrounded Bianchao like a trap, almost forcing Madam.
Eleanor finished reading the files and leaned back on the sofa, tapping her finger slowly on the armrest.
Last night Bernard's words suddenly appeared in her mind—[Eleanor, do you know what happened to the trading company you set up for that Gu in the north?]
[Hehe, Eleanor, you are about to be eaten and don't even know it... hehe haha...]
Eleanor lowered her head slightly, rubbed her swollen right hand on her temple, and smiled bitterly.
She really didn't know.
But Gabriel, do you really hate me this much?
After so many years… have you finally started moving against me?
Eleanor left the hospital. A car was waiting outside.
The driver saw her and quickly bowed.
"The master told Doctor Zhang to wait for you at home. He said you probably didn't sleep well last night and asked me to bring you back to rest."
Eleanor held the information Manager Lin had sent her in her hand. She felt a bit ironic hearing the driver's caring tone.
But wasn't Gabriel best at such surface acts?
She glanced at the car behind the driver but said nothing. She got in directly.
The car smoothly headed toward the Gu residence. After turning a few corners and nearly reaching the front, Eleanor spoke.
"Turn. Go to Ning Yi Garden."
The driver hesitated, "But madam, the master said to let you rest first before doing anything else..."
Eleanor cut him off coldly, "I have rested enough."
The driver's hands held the steering wheel but stayed still. He looked troubled, "But... the master..."
"Do I need his permission wherever I go now?"
Meeting Eleanor's cold eyes, the driver shivered slightly. He lowered his head in the rearview mirror and bowed quietly.
"No, sorry madam, I spoke out of turn."
Ning Yi Garden
Eleanor walked into the garden with servants carrying various health supplements and gifts behind her.
The servants inside bowed to her. Eleanor nodded and walked toward the house at the center of the garden.
Ning Yi Garden was the first and most luxurious house she arranged after arriving in Anhai City. But now, Gabriel's mother lived here.
Just as she reached the main door, she heard low, rough breathing from inside. It sounded very hard for the person to breathe.
Eleanor entered, and the attending maids immediately came forward to bow.
Eleanor waved them off and looked toward the main bedroom, where an old woman was happily waving at her.
"Eleanor, you're here. Come sit, come sit, cough..."
The old woman had an oxygen tube in her nose and lay in bed. She could barely move her lower body. Yet seeing Eleanor, the illness on her face faded, showing some of the youthful grace and dignity she once had.
Eleanor smiled and sat by the bed, taking the old woman's hand. "Mother."
The old woman sighed, gently rubbing and patting Eleanor's hand. She then gasped and told a maid, "Quick, bring the osmanthus lotus seed soup."
This soup was Eleanor's favorite.
Before she married Gabriel, she had once saved this old woman from bandits in another province.
Because of that, Eleanor met Gabriel. The old woman remembered Eleanor liked this soup, so she always prepared some when Eleanor visited.
Eleanor smiled and stood to check the monitors behind the bed.
These machines had been replaced several times over the past ten years.
At first, the Gu family almost died in a big purge. Gabriel's father and other family members were killed. Only Gabriel, his mother, and Gabriel's sister who married into the Marshal's household survived. The old woman got very sick from the shock.
At that time, Eleanor had just returned to the country. She met Gabriel's mother while she was being chased and also met Gabriel.
Eleanor still remembered Gabriel's first look. Though he was in a bad state, his posture was still upright. His black eyes showed no weakness, only calm coldness.
She did not know why, but from the moment she looked into those eyes, she was drawn in and never left.
After saving them, she let Gabriel's mother live here and had her brother import the best medical equipment from Europe. That is how Gabriel's mother's life was prolonged.
Since then, Gabriel's mother lived here. Even though Gabriel restored the Gu family's power and found better medical care for her, she never moved.
A maid brought the soup. Eleanor drank it all under her mother's loving gaze.
Her mother nodded, patted her hand, and gently asked, "Eleanor, how are things with Gabriel lately? Is he still busy all day?"
To keep Gabriel's mother's mood stable, neither Eleanor nor Gabriel ever mentioned marriage problems in front of her. The maids also blocked all news from reaching the old woman.
Eleanor looked at her mother's kind eyes. Thinking of the pressure from the northern Gu Hong business, she smiled faintly and put away the speech she had prepared.
"Everything is fine. Don't worry."
Her mother's face brightened. She nodded and softly patted Eleanor's hand, "That's good. When I first met you, I felt you and Gabriel were meant for each other. I just want you two to be happy together."
Happy?
Eleanor lowered her eyes and smiled slightly, saying nothing.
Who would not want to be happy?
But she had thought that even if Gabriel didn't love her at first, after these years, he would at least have some feelings.
She had underestimated how resolute and cold-hearted he was.
Eleanor tucked her long hair behind her ear to hide her expression from her mother.
But thinking about it...
What man could accept being forced by a woman to give up the rest of his life when he was already in his darkest moments?
No man could accept a wife's broken body. Even though he was male, he had to bow every day under her.
Thinking this way, Eleanor bitterly understood why Gabriel finally acted against her.
To endure so many years quietly showed his great endurance.
Now that he had acted, it must be his limit.