novelraw Chapter 178 Silver That Fades
Chapter 178 Silver That Fades
Chapter 178 Silver That Fades
Gu Mei couldn't bear to hear the words "marrying far away," nor did she believe her father would help her find a good marriage.
What was initially a somewhat hesitant mindset instantly became firm.
"I chose this marriage with the Zhu family myself, and I'm very happy with it. I won't marry anyone but my fifth cousin from the Zhu family!"
Hearing this, the Zhu family breathed a sigh of relief, their faces beaming with smiles.
Even Zhu Youshou, who was hiding behind Yan Shi, looked up at Gu Mei, feeling a mix of emotions. But family members know their own situation.
With his frail physique, it would be difficult for him to find a wife, unless the Zhu family were willing to offer more dowry, in which case they might be able to find him a decent-looking wife.
But the Zhu family was so poor that they would break a single copper coin into ten pieces!
They can't even afford the normal dowry, so they want the Zhu family to pay more? They'll have to sell people!
Zhu Youshou understood this point, which is why he did not object to the marriage.
Although he didn't fancy Gu Mei either, his mother said that Gu Mei would bring her dowry when she married into the family.
Once the people entered the house, his mother grabbed Gu Mei's dowry and kept it for herself, refusing to share it with his cousins.
For this reason alone, he would obediently follow his family's arrangements and marry Gu Mei.
"You heard Mei say herself that she's willing to marry me. Now that you've heard it, shouldn't we discuss a wedding date?"
Grandma Zhu pulled Gu Mei behind her, looking protective of her, and said to Gu Lianshan with a smile.
Gu Lianshan rubbed his face, no longer looking at Gu Mei, and asked directly, "Are you taking the person back today, or tomorrow?"
Grandma Zhu was completely bewildered by these words: "Marrying off a daughter and taking a wife is a big deal! Neither of our families has made any preparations, how can we just take her back like this?"
The crucial point is that the dowry hasn't been discussed yet!
Today she has seen it for herself. Gu Lianshan, that bastard, has a new father who is quite wealthy. Mei's dowry will be at least five taels!
"The two of them are already sleeping together, so what's there to be particular about? The Zhu family doesn't need to pay the betrothal gifts. In a little while, tidy up Mei's room and load it onto the oxcart."
"You took her and her belongings away. From now on, she will belong to your Zhu family, her life and death will be in your hands. She will no longer be my daughter."
Old Mrs. Zhu's face stiffened.
What? Were you serious when you said that just now?
Does that bastard Gu Lianshan really want to sever ties with Mei Yatou?
That can't be done!
The Zhu family married Mei for two reasons: first, they coveted Mei's dowry; second, they wanted to use Mei to make more money off the Gu family in the future.
If the father and daughter sever ties, wouldn't the Zhu family be at a loss?
Old Mrs. Zhu frowned so deeply she could trap a fly, and pulled Gu Mei out from behind her, making her kneel down and say a few soft words to her father.
"Quickly appease your father! This is a wonderful marriage that strengthens family ties, how could it mean severing the father-daughter relationship? If this is the case, what kind of marriage is this? It's turning into enmity!"
Gu Mei's face flushed red, both ashamed and angry, but she stubbornly refused to kneel!
What do you mean by the two of them sleeping together?!
Is this something a father should say?!
She knew her father didn't like her, but she never expected that he wouldn't even hold a ceremony for her!
Which family doesn't host a banquet for relatives and friends when their daughter gets married?
There's also the wedding dress and dowry, none of which have been prepared. You think you can just send her away like this?!
Gu Mei pursed her lips, her anger rising, but she refused to back down to her father and demanded her dowry in a forceful tone.
"If you want to kick me out today, then prepare my dowry. Once I have the dowry, I'll leave! I'll never set foot in your house again!"
These words made the old lady Zhu behind her very happy, and she couldn't help but show it on her face.
When she realized what was happening, she quickly turned her head away, not daring to look at Gu Lianshan.
Madam Yan was even greedier than Old Madam Zhu. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but interject, "It's probably too late to prepare now. Why not convert it all into silver and have Mei carry it with her? This will be her financial backing in the future."
Gu Mei's eyes lit up; she thought it was a great idea. If it were all converted into silver, it would be two taels of silver. With that money, she could buy herself a few bright red dresses.
Since her father was unwilling to host a wedding banquet for her, she decided to host one for herself at the Zhu family's house!
As long as she has money in her hands, she refuses to believe that she can't put on a good show without her father's help.
As for her father's claim of severing their father-daughter relationship, that's impossible; he was probably just trying to scare her.
She had done countless things in the past, and her father had scolded her countless times and said countless harsh words, but in the end, he still fed her, clothed her, and supported her.
Thinking of this, Gu Mei straightened up again: "My aunt is right! You convert all my dowry into silver, and I'll take the silver and leave immediately!"
Gu Lianshan stared at her intently: "Alright, I'll convert it into silver for you."
Gu Mei was overjoyed and wanted to say something more, but then she heard Yan Shi greedily multiply the dowry money several times over.
“Mei’er is the eldest daughter of your Gu family. Look at the grand courtyard of your Gu family. It couldn’t have been built without a fortune of at least a hundred taels of silver! Mei’er’s dowry should be at least… ten taels of silver!”
Ten taels of silver?
Seeing Yan's greedy face, the third uncle immediately understood that the Zhu family probably knew that Gu Mei had a dowry.
This family then set their sights on Gu Mei's dowry, leading to this absurd situation.
Glancing at Gu Lianshan, seeing that the man remained calm, Third Uncle felt a chill run down his spine, a bad premonition.
However, the Zhu family did not restrain themselves. When they heard that Yan was asking for ten taels of silver as a dowry for Gu Mei, the Zhu family could no longer hide their greed and stared at Gu Lianshan, hoping that he would agree.
Even Zhao was the same; the more dowry the Gu family gave, the more flesh she could tear off the Zhu family!
Gu Mei was also captivated by the ten taels of silver, and her greed was constantly nurtured and grew, eventually doubling again.
"Ten taels isn't enough! I want twenty taels! You didn't prepare a proper banquet for me, I'll lose face in front of others! You have to make it up to me!"
“Yes, yes, yes! My dear in-law, Mei is right.” Madam Yan grinned and agreed. “It’s shameful for a young lady to have no banquet when she gets married! In this matter, you are indeed in the wrong, and Mei is indeed wronged. Logically, she should be compensated.”
Old Mrs. Zhu chimed in, "That's right! You're in the wrong here, and twenty taels of silver isn't much."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianshan's previously calm face suddenly broke into a smile: "Your Zhu family can't even afford half a tael of silver, so how dare you say that twenty taels of silver isn't much?"
These words were a slap in the face. The Zhu family members froze, feeling both embarrassed and angry, but they couldn't utter a single rebuttal. What the person said was true; the Zhu family really couldn't afford even half a tael of silver, and their entire fortune amounted to only two hundred copper coins.
Gu Mei knew her father quite well, and she had a bad feeling as soon as she heard him say those words.
Sure enough, Gu Lianshan's face darkened instantly, and he looked at Gu Mei and told her in a sarcastic tone, "Don't even think about getting twenty taels of silver. I'll give you ten taels at most, but if you take this silver, you must sign a 'severance agreement'."
Otherwise, I won't give you a single penny! I won't cover for your dirty deeds with Zhu Laosan's son either; I'll have you thrown into the pond according to clan rules! Afterwards, I'll move my whole family away from here, and the Gu family will still live comfortably from now on!"
Gu Mei's face turned pale!
Her father wanted her to sign a letter severing their marriage ties... and even wanted to invoke clan rules to have her drowned in a pond?!
The Zhu family members were stunned for a moment by these words, but when they came to their senses, they immediately became anxious: "We can't ask the clan rules to punish them by drowning them in the pond!"
Ten taels of silver!
If they were to follow the clan rules, wouldn't the Zhu family end up with nothing?
The Zhu family members looked at each other. Since Gu Lianshan wanted Gu Mei to sign the letter of severance of kinship, they decided to sign it first for the sake of ten taels of silver.
Old Mrs. Zhu tugged at Gu Mei, whose face was deathly pale, and whispered in her ear, "Get the ten taels of silver first. A letter of severance of ties is nothing. Can it really sever your father-daughter relationship?"
A light returned to Gu Mei's eyes. After calming herself down, she looked at her father and gritted her teeth, agreeing, "Fine! I'll sign the marriage contract!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianshan did not hesitate at all. He got up and went to his third uncle's room in the inner room, took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and asked his third uncle to write it down while he dictated it.
"Gu Mei, the eldest daughter of the Gu family, colluded with the Zhu family to steal their property and had an affair with the fifth grandson of the Zhu family, disgracing the family's reputation and bringing shame upon her brothers and sisters..."
This letter of severing ties was quite unexpected. Gu Lianshan revealed all the despicable things Gu Mei and the Zhu family had done, and had his third uncle write them all down. It was somewhat like a confession, but at the very end, the words "severing ties" were indeed written.
The third uncle finished the last stroke, blew the ink off the paper, and then had Gu Mei come forward to sign and put her fingerprint on it.
The Zhu family members also had to sign and put their fingerprints on the document.
Gu Mei refused to sign, and her expression turned ferocious as she started yelling, "Fine, let's sever ties! You don't care if I'm your daughter, and I don't care if you're my father! But why are you humiliating me like this!"
The Zhu family was also furious and refused to sign: "Why are you bringing this up? This isn't how you write a letter of severance! The Zhu family isn't made of dough, to be molded and shaped by you! This is between you and Mei, dragging the Zhu family into it makes no sense!"
Gu Lianshan slammed his hand on the table and stood up, first sneering as he asked Gu Mei, "Humiliate you? Which of the things I wrote on here is fake? Every single one of them is real! Since they are real, how can it be considered humiliating?"
The letter severing ties is now written. If you want the ten taels of silver, sign it, and I'll give you the money immediately! If you don't sign, I'll have to invoke the clan rules to have you drowned! Think it over carefully!
After reprimanding Gu Mei, Gu Lianshan turned to the Zhu family with a mocking expression: "You've done such dirty things, and you're still afraid of people mentioning it? You're asked to sign as witnesses. If you don't want to sign, then get out. Don't even think about taking her with you, and don't even think about getting any money!"
The Zhu family quieted down.
It doesn't matter whether we take the person or not, but we must get our hands on the money!
The family immediately changed their minds and signed the papers; nothing was more important than the money.
Grandpa Zhu secretly tugged at Grandma Zhu's sleeve, signaling her to persuade Gu Mei to sign for the sake of the money.
Actually, there was no need for Old Lady Zhu to persuade her. Gu Mei was greedy for money and afraid of death. When she learned that she would be drowned if she didn't sign, she knelt down faster than anyone else.
She stepped forward with a sullen face and said stiffly, "I can't write..."
The third uncle paused for a moment, then wrote her name with a calm expression. After the ink dried, he had her press a red handprint on her name.
The Zhu family members lined up behind her. They couldn't write either, so they had their third uncle write down their names on their behalf and, imitating Gu Mei's actions, pressed their handprints one by one.
Sitting in the chair, Zhao felt a chill run down her spine as she watched the Zhu family and Gu Mei press their fingerprints without any knowledge. She gasped softly.
This contract, ostensibly a severance of kinship, is in reality a "confession of guilt"!
With this letter severing ties, this man surnamed Gu can manipulate the Zhu family at will!
And then there's Gu Mei, her own daughter, surnamed Gu!
This guy surnamed Gu doesn't even spare his own daughter?!
The more Zhao thought about it, the more frightened she became. She didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear that the man surnamed Gu would remember her.
"I've signed the letter of severance of ties, but where's the money? You should pay up now!" Gu Mei was very impatient, afraid that her father would change his mind.
Having received the letter severing ties, Gu Lianshan was very easy to talk to. He told Gu Mei to wait there while he went back to his room to get the money.
But after leaving the main room, Gu Lianshan did not go back to his room to get the silver. Instead, he went to the west wing to ask Gu Tang for a steelyard.
A steelyard is usually used to weigh silver or medicinal herbs. In Gu Tang's case, she uses it to weigh spices and only occasionally weighs silver.
Hearing that her father wanted a steelyard, Gu Tang rummaged through the room and handed it to him, asking curiously, "Weren't you discussing my eldest sister's marriage in the main room? Why are you suddenly asking me for a steelyard?"
"From now on, Gu Mei will no longer be your sister, and she will have nothing to do with our family!"
Gu Lianshan didn't hide anything from Gu Tang and told her everything that happened in the main room, leaving Gu Tang stunned.
"The family ties have been severed?"
"Yes! The kinship was severed, and it cost ten taels of silver."
Gu Tang glanced at her father, disbelieving that he would really give Gu Mei ten taels of silver: "Really taking out silver?"
"What a pipe dream! Asking me for ten taels of silver? She's not destined for that!" Gu Lianshan spoke his mind frankly in front of Gu Tang.
She knew it!
Gu Tang raised an eyebrow: "If we don't give them money, things might get messy. How do you plan to handle this?"
"Come with me, I have something to show you." Gu Lianshan gestured for Gu Tang to come with him to the east wing.
Seeing her father like this, Gu Tang immediately became interested and followed him to the east wing.
Upon entering the room where Gu Lianshan lived, Gu Lianshan took out two silver stones from a hidden compartment at the bottom of a box. They looked like silver coins.
“This is…” Gu Tang reached out and picked up a piece. It was quite heavy, weighing about four or five ounces.
She asked with a look of surprise, "When did you hide the silver?"
"Silver? This isn't silver." Gu Lianshan's expression was strange. He weighed the "silver ingot" in his hand a few times, then rubbed it on the stone brick under his feet. A small patch of silver appeared on the stone brick.
Gu Tang stared at the "silver ingot" in her hand for a while in shock, then squatted down and rubbed it on the ground a few times, just like her father.
Soon, the stone bricks were also stained with a silvery sheen.
"Isn't it rare?" Gu Lianshan took the silver ingots from her hand, wiped away the scratches on them, and from the outside, the two items looked exactly like silver.