Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 892: Fetching Gu Chengzhi

Ms. Zhang was eager to see Gu Rong, so she asked a servant from the Zhan Family who had come to fetch people: "Young man, I’m Gu Rong’s mother. You know Gu Rong, right? She’s the fiancée of your Third Young Master, currently staying at your family’s separate yard. I’m worried about her and want to go along to take a look."

Unfortunately, the driver completely ignored Ms. Zhang. Once Gu Ya got into the carriage, he lashed the mule with a whip and drove off.

"Hey, what’s wrong with you? How can you be so rude!" Ms. Zhang was furious, cursed at the mule cart a few times before stopping, then worriedly asked Elder Gu: "Dad, will Sister Rong suffer any grievances by going to the Zhan Family like this?"

Mrs. Gu was quite envious of Ms. Zhang. Though they both had daughters, her own Gu Ya was far prettier than Gu Rong, yet she was matched with Old Master Zhan San, an old wretch, whereas Gu Rong was to marry the Third Young Master Zhan San.

She sneered, "I heard your daughter Gu Rong doesn’t want to be the official wife and insists on being a concubine. A concubine still dreaming of not being wronged?"

Ms. Zhang was stung by these words and retorted angrily, "Bah, at least my daughter is better than your Gu Ya! That old master Zhan San is old enough to be your father and already has a wife at home. Even if your Gu Ya becomes a wife in the Zhan Family, she would only be a second wife, suppressed by the first wife of Old Master Zhan San!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Gu shouted, "Ms. Zhang, you’ve grown gutsy, huh? A daughter of a pauper dares to argue with the daughter of a Scholar like me. I..."

"Enough!" Elder Gu was almost driven to rage by them, pointing at their noses and scolding: "What are you arguing about? Isn’t it chaotic enough at home? Get back to your husbands immediately. If anything happens to Youwen or Youfu, you’ll be in big trouble."

Were these two shrews insulting Gu Ya and Gu Rong? No, they were clearly insulting me, the old man, since I’m the one who agreed to these marriages.

Chastised, Ms. Zhang and Mrs. Gu finally left.

...

At the Vice Magistrate’s office, after a long day, Lord Lai sat sipping a bowl of chicken soup while listening to Zhu Wu and Zhu Liu’s report: "We’ve checked. Those storytellers and the commoners whispering behind our backs must be backed by someone, otherwise, the rumors couldn’t have spread so fast and widely. But who this person is, and whether they are from Dashan’s family, we’re still unsure."

Today’s case was ruined by the storytellers and gawking onlookers. The Old Gu Family’s reputation was thoroughly destroyed, dragging even the Lai Family’s name through the mud, as the storytellers repeated the tale tirelessly. They made it sound so vivid, as if they truly witnessed Granny Gu in bed with Lord Lai.

"Old Eight is still watching Dashan’s family, trying to investigate their background, but..."

"But what? Tell me clearly!" Lord Lai, having suffered such a setback today, was determined to get to the bottom of things.

Zhu Wu said, "They seem to have encountered experts. Just when they were about to reach Dashan’s residence, they ran into a group of beggars, who knew martial arts, and a fight ensued... Old Eight and the others were delayed, losing track of their target. Now they’re searching house-to-house in that area."

But Zhu Ba and the others were merely hired thugs by the Lai Family, not government officials. Searching for someone in the city is difficult and would require a lot of effort.

Lord Lai frowned deeply: "Does Dashan’s family have marital ties with the Zheng Family or the Shangguan Family?"

Zhu Wu shook his head: "No, Dashan’s family is still farmers. Although Gu Jin’an has good relations with the legitimate heirs of the Zheng and Shangguan families, they wouldn’t settle for a farmer girl... There’s no news of Dashan offering his daughter to the Zheng Family or Shangguan Family as a concubine, so it shouldn’t be these two families helping them."

"That’s strange. How could a mud peasant who struck it rich three years ago train such a group?" Enraged, Lord Lai slammed the table and ordered, "Investigate thoroughly. If nothing comes up, just kill them. The entire family mustn’t be spared!"

Keeping them around would only make future dealings harder.

If Steward Yue were here, he would certainly advise Lord Lai to stop immediately and not further provoke the Gu Family for the sake of the Old Gu Family.

But unfortunately, Steward Yue was absent, and Zhu Wu and Zhu Liu promptly accepted the order: "Yes."

Just after this conversation, one of Zhu Wu’s subordinates returned, reporting that the Zhan Family had sent a carriage at night to fetch Gu Ya, and that Little Sister Gu and Gu Rong had gone to the Zhan Family’s separate yard.

They also mentioned that Little Sister Gu and Gu Rong had chased after the mule cart, resembling slaves of the Zhan Family.

Upon hearing this, Lord Lai closed his eyes, heartbroken... Little Sister, Sister Ya, how could you be so foolish? Do you really think the Zhan Family would marry you? Going to the Zhan Family is a dead end.

Lord Lai gave up hope entirely, instructing Lai Zhuang: "Harness the cart, bring Chengzhi back to the Vice Magistrate’s office. Just say the Old Gu Family’s situation is too severe, and there are people with venereal disease in that house. It’s not good for him to stay there. I’ll arrange for a scholar to teach him here to ensure his success."

Lai Zhuang advised, "Master, it’s late at night. Rushing to fetch him now is inappropriate. Let’s wait until tomorrow."

Lord Lai thought for a moment and agreed: "Fine, we’ll fetch him tomorrow. Make sure to take plenty of silver. Sixth Son Gu and Ms. Zheng love money; with enough, they’ll loosen their grip... If Sixth Son Gu won’t let go, use some threats." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

In any case, Chengzhi can’t stay with the Old Gu Family. The entire family is ruined, and Chengzhi is the only promising one. We can’t let the Old Gu Family lead him astray.

"Yes." Lai Zhuang nodded, and after Lord Lai went to bed, began preparing silver and gifts.

The next day at dawn, after escorting Lord Lai to the government office, Lai Zhuang took people with him on a mule cart and headed to the Old Gu Family on Moxiang Street.

Currently, the Old Gu Family was still surrounded by onlookers, whispering among themselves: "Look at this, the Old Gu Family! The matriarch killed Elder Gu’s original wife to marry into the family. What a malicious heart."

"Malicious indeed. After seeing the original wife’s son succeed, she shamelessly tried to claim a share of his wealth. Haha, ended up being sued by the original wife’s son. Now she’s in jail and will be executed by the end of March."

Another asked, "I heard Granny Gu and Lord Lai knew each other when they were young and used to lie under blankets together. Is it true? Didn’t her old flame save her after she committed murder?"

"Pah, save her? Lord Lai’s reputation is already ruined by her. He would rather kill her than save her!"

Hearing this, Lai Zhuang felt utterly embarrassed. He quickly ordered the driver, "Turn around, take the alley, and enter from the back door."

"Right away." The driver quickly turned the cart around. Lai Zhuang also hurriedly removed the Lai Character Lantern hanging from the corner of the mule cart, afraid of being seen and recognized as people from the Lai Family visiting the Old Gu Family.

After a tense half-hour as if sneaking around, they entered the Old Gu Family and met Gu Chengzhi.

Gu Chengzhi was having breakfast, starting his day by eating meat. He picked up pieces of boiled pork, sprinkled some salt, and ate greedily, oil dripping from his mouth while he burped contentedly.