novelraw Chapter 183 Gu Lianshan 1st Road
Chapter 183 Gu Lianshan 1st Road
Chapter 183 Gu Lianshan Must Go Along
Gu Ping'an in the main room and the third uncle in the east wing also heard the commotion and came out of the house one after the other.
Gu Tang told them to go back inside, saying she would go open the door herself.
"Which one?"
Gu Tang called out to the outside of the courtyard and then walked slowly toward the gate.
Strangely, she was almost at the gate when the person outside didn't respond, but the knocking continued.
Gu Tang tiptoed to the door without making a sound, and peeked out through the small crack in the door. She could only see a dark corner of clothing and couldn't tell who it was.
"Who is it? If you don't speak, I won't open this door for you!" Gu Tang asked loudly again.
The person outside stopped knocking and instead began to hurl insults: "You shameless brat! You've only been away from home a few days, and you're already putting on airs like this! Open the door! I'm your grandpa!"
Gu Tang raised an eyebrow. Old Master Gu?
good good!
Looking around, she started looking for a handy stick. After searching for a while, she finally picked up a laundry mallet and then opened the courtyard gate.
Not only was Old Master Gu standing outside the courtyard, but Gu Liansheng was also there. The father and son were disheveled, shivering from the cold, and pale-faced.
Seeing the gate open, the father and son were about to step inside when they were blocked by a club that clearly looked hostile.
The father and son's expressions changed, and they immediately withdrew their feet.
Gu Tang sneered, staring at them menacingly: "So it's you two, the damned father and son!"
"You!" The father and son were so angry that their vision blurred. Old Master Gu glared at her fiercely: "I'm your grandfather! You brat, are you asking for a beating? How dare you speak to your elder like that!"
"Pah!" Gu Tang spat directly. "My grandfather is sitting inside. Whose grandfather are you? The adoption agreement is written clearly in black and white. What? Are you planning to shamelessly erase the adoption agreement?"
While cursing, Gu Tang banged the door with the mallet in his hand, making a loud thud. The father and son stared at the mallet, afraid that it would change its direction and fall on their heads at any moment.
Gu Tang's combination of scolding and intimidation calmed the father and son down. They dared not argue with Gu Tang about addressing their elders anymore and only said they wanted to find Gu Lianshan.
"I'm here to see your father, not to argue with you! Get out of my way!"
“My father went to the clan chief’s house on business. If you’re so capable, go and find him there.” Gu Tang was certain he wouldn’t dare to go.
Sure enough, Old Master Gu's face stiffened, and he looked very uncomfortable. He actually ordered Gu Tang to call someone: "Go and call your father back!"
"No way, I'm not going. Whoever wants to find my dad can call him!"
After saying this, Gu Tang was about to close the door.
Old Master Gu immediately became anxious, stopping her from closing the door, and softened his tone: "I'm looking for your father to discuss bringing your grandmother back!"
"Oh! You still haven't brought her back? How many days has it been?" Gu Tang was very surprised. Wow, the Gu family has actually left Madam Feng in Bei'an City all this time!
Master Gu averted his gaze, and shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "My health is about to improve, your uncle..."
"Stop!" Gu Tang pouted. "I don't have an uncle!"
Gu Liansheng's face darkened upon hearing this. What did he mean by "no uncle"?
Then what am I? Am I dead?
"Even though you've been adopted, in the eyes of outsiders, you still have to call me uncle, and your grandfather is still your grandfather!" Gu Liansheng roared, so angry he wanted to strangle Gu Tang!
Grandpa Gu strongly supported his son: "That's right, your uncle is right..."
Gu Tang interrupted him again: "What do I care what outsiders think? Do I look like someone who cares about what outsiders think?" With that, she slammed the door shut.
The father and son, who were locked out, were stunned for a moment. When they came to their senses, they were furious and slammed their hands on the door again!
Gu Tang didn't want to pay attention and was about to turn around and go back to the house when she saw Gu Ping'an and her third uncle coming this way.
Grandpa Gu's voice wasn't exactly quiet; both Third Uncle and Gu Ping'an heard it and came over together.
"Let them in quickly, this commotion is too loud, it won't look good if the neighbors come..."
Third Uncle advised Gu Tang to open the door.
Gu Tang hadn't expected the father and son to be so insistent on seeing her father, so she had no choice but to obey her third uncle's words and open the door again to let the father and son into the courtyard.
The door opened again, and Old Master Gu saw his third uncle at a glance. He was so angry that his teeth itched and his eyes turned red!
Gu Liansheng wasn't much better off; he glared at his third uncle with the same dissatisfaction, showing none of the joy he had felt when Gu Lianshan's family was adopted.
"Let's talk inside, it's too cold outside." The third uncle didn't care about the animosity between the father and son, he just wanted to invite them inside to talk, instead of arguing at the door.
Old Master Gu snorted coldly, didn't say a word to him, and led his son into the courtyard.
This was the first time that Old Master Gu had stepped into this courtyard.
When this courtyard was being built, everyone in the village said it was a good one, that it had a certain grandeur and was the best courtyard in the surrounding villages.
At the time, Grandpa Gu said he didn't believe it, but he was actually extremely envious and desperately wanted to know how good the courtyard was.
Unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to do it and stubbornly refused to come over.
After many years, he finally stepped into this place today.
Looking at the main hall and side rooms built with blue bricks and gray tiles, the red-lacquered corridors connecting the left and right sides, and the spacious courtyard paved with stone bricks.
Old Master Gu was trembling with jealousy!
God is so unfair!
His third brother is a jinx to his wife and children, and he is hard-hearted and cruel. Why didn't we take him away earlier? Instead, he has lived a wealthy life until now!
I heard the other day that he spent money to buy a cow for his second son's family, and even provided them with a cowcart.
Upon hearing this news, Old Master Gu could not believe it, nor did he want to believe it. He only cursed Gu Lianshan, saying that he was heartless and must have hidden some money to buy it himself.
But seeing this courtyard now, Old Master Gu suddenly believed what he had said; the ox was probably bought by his third brother.
This was a hundred times more painful for him than Gu Lianshan hiding silver elsewhere!
Gu Liansheng shared roughly the same idea.
This was his first time visiting his third uncle's house, but his focus wasn't on buying cattle. What he was interested in was how much silver his third uncle must have accumulated to be able to build such a magnificent courtyard.
As for his second brother, Gu Lianshan, who is the "son" of the third uncle, he will inherit everything here in the future.
This was unacceptable to Gu Liansheng. Why did all the good things fall on his second brother?
If I had been adopted back then, I certainly wouldn't have had to worry about the cost of my schooling every year.
The father and son had different thoughts, but they were both jealous and envious. They looked around the courtyard for a while before entering the main room.
Upon entering the main room, the father and son were once again surprised by the furnishings inside.
On the north wall opposite the entrance hangs a landscape painting, below which is a solid wood red lacquered table, about nine feet long.
Below the low table is a matching eight-immortal table, with a matching round-backed chair placed on each of the main positions to the left and right of the table.
Further down are two rows of guest chairs on the left and right.
Behind the guest chairs are display shelves, curio cabinets, and other household items.
People who don't care about these things won't pay much attention to them; they'll just think they look pretty or flashy.
Like the Zhu family, they felt it was nothing special, all flashy and impractical.
Old Master Gu and his son were different; they were exceptionally particular about these things!
If it weren't for the fact that their main room was too small to fit everything, they would have borrowed money to buy a set!
Now that all the things I don't have at home are here, I find them extremely annoying, yet I'm also extremely envious, wishing I could take them all home!
The more he looked, the envious Old Master Gu glanced at his third uncle and said sarcastically, "No wonder my second son was so eager to be adopted by you. He thinks his biological father is incompetent, unable to build him a big courtyard or afford these furnishings!"
The third uncle didn't take his second brother's sarcastic remarks to heart, treating them as nonsense, and went to sit in the main seat.
Then, with a look of surprise, she asked him, "You're quite unusual today. Why did you decide to come to my door?"
Old Master Gu's face darkened, and he immediately retorted, "Do you think I want to come to your door?! Let that bastard Lian Shan come out! He was the one who sent his own mother to Bei'an City for treatment, and now he has to bring her back himself!"
"Lianshan is away on business. If you can wait, then wait for two or three days..."
"I can't wait any longer!" Old Master Gu slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage. "Find someone to call him back! Put aside whatever else is on your mind! Even though he's been adopted, he still came from his mother's womb! Nothing is more important than his mother!"
Third Uncle remained calm and pointed to the east: "Tell the clan leader what you said, and let him hear it carefully. If we follow your words, then all the families that have adopted children since ancient times will be in complete chaos, with no distinction between relatives and outsiders!"
"You!" Mentioning the clan leader, Old Master Gu felt extremely guilty. If the clan leader had heard what he just said, he would probably have been punished according to the clan rules!
Seeing his father lose, Gu Liansheng was extremely dissatisfied with his third uncle: "You're being too petty. My father was just worried about my mother. Besides, my mother didn't know about the adoption before. He just wanted my second brother to go with me so he could talk to my mother about the adoption. We didn't mean anything by it."
"If you don't mean anything by it, then why can't you understand human speech?"
Gu Liansheng spoke up, and Gu Tang chimed in, saying that they couldn't let Third Uncle fight two against one; it had to be at least two against two.
She stepped closer to her third uncle and continued to berate Gu Liansheng: "I just said that my father is at the clan chief's house. If you want him to go, you can just call him yourself. But you just won't call him and insist on coming to the house to make trouble. To put it bluntly, you are still in the wrong and dare not mention this matter in front of the clan chief!"
"You have no manners! What are you doing, a young lady, interrupting when your elders are speaking!" Old Master Gu vented all his anger on Gu Tang.
Since they were at home, not outside, Gu Tang had no reservations and directly retorted.
"That's absolutely laughable! Someone who fathered an illegitimate child dares to talk about 'rules'? Bah! At his age, he doesn't even know what shame is!"
These words directly exposed the true nature of the father and son.
The father and son, their faces contorted with rage, trembled with fury: "You little beast! You're spouting lies!"
As he spoke, he actually raised his hand to hit someone.
Gu Tang hadn't put down the mallet in his hand. Seeing this, his eyes lit up, and he raised the mallet, ready to strike first!
Just as the two sides were about to fight, the third uncle slammed his hand on the table, stood up and stood in front of Gu Tang, coldly rebuking the father and son.
"What? You two, father and son, have come to my house to show off your power!"
Grandpa Gu was furious: "Who's throwing their weight around! It's this little beast who has no sense of respect..."
"Honor and inferior? Who is superior and who is inferior?" Third Uncle's tone was icy: "Although you are my second brother, in terms of status in the clan, I am superior to you! If I am superior, then my granddaughter is also superior. If you compare your status with her, you may not be able to beat her!"
"You!" Old Master Gu's vision went black, he clutched his chest and began to gasp for breath again.
"Father!" Gu Liansheng panicked and hurriedly supported the man. This matter hadn't been completed yet, he couldn't faint!
The third uncle watched coldly and told them the truth directly: "I will no longer hide it from you. Lian Shan went out with the clan chief. If all goes well, he will be back tomorrow. If not, we will have to wait."
If you can wait, then wait for Lianshan to return and have him go with you. If you can't wait, then you and your son should go and fetch them yourselves!
"We don't even know where this is! How are we supposed to pick up my mother?" Gu Liansheng's lies came out of nowhere.
Gu Tang didn't tolerate it. She peeked out from behind her third uncle and exposed him to his face: "Nonsense! My father told you about the name of the inn a long time ago! You kept pestering my father to go with you, just so he would pay the bill!"
My grandmother insists on eating meat at every meal at the inn! We've also hired two old women to serve her. These past few days, putting aside everything else, the food expenses alone have been enormous! You're just trying to save money and avoid paying this cost, so you've asked my father to step in and get him to pay."
These words hit the nail on the head regarding the father and son's plans. Indeed, they were using the pretext of getting Gu Lianshan to pay the bill.
After calming his chest discomfort, Grandpa Gu directly admitted the matter: "Your grandmother was taken to the inn by your father, so your father should pay for the expenses!"
Tsk!
It's one thing to be shameless, but to be so self-righteous about it.
"Then you can wait and see!" Gu Tang scoffed.
Third Uncle gave them the order to leave: "Now that Lian Shanren is gone, I won't allow you to cause any more trouble. Get out of here! You don't want Tang girl's club to hit you on the head, do you?"
The father and son's anger flared up again. Not only had they not seen the person on this trip, but they had also been scolded!
There is no father and son in the world more aggrieved than them!
Seeing that the father and son were still hesitant to leave, Gu Tang came out from behind his third uncle, holding a stick, and glared at the father and son with an unfriendly expression.
The father and son's faces stiffened, and they glared at Gu Tang with vicious eyes.
You glared at me, I glared at you, and after a few moments, Old Master Gu was the first to give in. He then left without saying a word, taking his son with him.
After seeing the father and son off, the third uncle asked Gu Tang about Madam Feng.
"What exactly is going on with your grandma? The Gu family hasn't gone to pick her up for so long, and she hasn't sent anyone home to urge them to send someone to pick her up either?"
Gu Tang shook her head: "I guess she's having such a good time that she doesn't want to leave. She has meat to eat every meal, someone to help her with washing and taking care of her, and there's a charcoal stove in the room that runs day and night. Plus, she doesn't have to pay for it herself. Of course she'll take this opportunity to stay a few more days!"