novelraw Chapter 189 Adoption? I'm not here, so adoption doesn't count!
Chapter 189 Adoption? I'm not here, so adoption doesn't count!
Chapter 189 Adoption? I'm not here, so adoption doesn't count!
Hearing the commotion, Granny Song also came to the door. When she saw Gu Tang, her eyes also reddened.
"Good girl! You've finally arrived! If you hadn't come, we were thinking of just giving up! Your old lady is not only sharp-tongued, but her methods are also cunning! We really can't handle her!"
Gu Tang said apologetically, "You two go out and find a place to rest first. You can come back to settle the bill later. I'll give you some extra copper coins as compensation."
Hearing that they could get more copper coins, the two old women were in a better mood, but before they could leave, Gu Liansheng started to complain.
“Since you were hired for a pittance, serving others is your duty! Why did the old lady scold you? It must be because you didn’t serve her well! It’s already a mercy that she didn’t punish you, but instead you went and complained!”
Hearing Gu Liansheng's voice from inside the house, Madam Feng excitedly called out towards the door, "Liansheng? Liansheng? Is that you?! My son! Have you come to pick me up?!"
Gu Liansheng called out, "Mother! Your son is here! Wait a moment, your son will help you scold those two old women!"
The already arrogant Madam Feng became even more enraged upon hearing this, and began to berate them again: "Your son is so considerate! Give them a good scolding! Clumsy and stupid fools! They can't even serve people properly! And they have the nerve to complain! I can't move now, but if I could stand up, I would have slapped them this morning!"
"Did you hear that? The old lady didn't even lay a hand on you, she just said a few words to you, and you dare to be so disrespectful!" Gu Liansheng said with a hint of hidden arrogance.
He had fantasized about this scenario in his dreams: he would pass the imperial examination, become an official, and have servants to serve him. As the master of the house, he could scold and beat these servants at will.
After years of serving others, Sun and Song, the two old women, had never encountered such a master before.
Although the two old women were good-natured, even clay figures have some temper! They were immediately displeased with being scolded by the mother and son from both sides.
However, they didn't cause trouble for the mother and son. Instead, they took out the money and complained to Gu Tang: "Girl, we are not sold to your family as slaves. We are just ordinary people who are just doing odd jobs to make a living."
We told you beforehand that we couldn't do anything too delicate, only rough work, and you said you wouldn't mind, but now you're doing this..."
Gu Tang raised her hand to indicate that they didn't need to say anything more, as she already knew the answer. "I'm the one who paid the money to hire you. You just need to listen to me. If I say you should serve well, then you should serve well. If I say I'll compensate you, then I'll compensate you."
As for the others, whatever they say, just ignore it and don't take it to heart. Go on, go and rest for a bit, we'll settle your wages later.”
These words completely reassured the two old women, and their expressions relaxed considerably. They forcefully pushed past Gu Liansheng and left.
Gu Liansheng was so enraged by the two old women's actions that his face turned ashen. He turned and vented his anger on Gu Tang: "You little bastard! How dare you humiliate me like this in front of the servants!"
"Who are you calling a servant, you old bastard?" Gu Tang glanced at him and retorted directly.
Gu Liansheng was stunned by the scolding. He really didn't expect to be called an "old bastard" by a junior!
"You brat!" His expression was ferocious, his old habit had resurfaced, and he wanted to reach out and hit Gu Tang again.
Gu Tang took out the bayonet again and waved it at him, deliberately trying to scare him.
Sure enough, Gu Liansheng's fury instantly deflated, his face turned pale, and he shrank back behind Old Master Gu.
Old Master Gu was also afraid, and his voice trembled as he scolded, "It was just a few words! Why did you start using a knife again? Put it away right now!"
Gu Tang ignored him and stared at Gu Liansheng: "If you want to show off, then spend your own money to buy a few servants and let you and your son beat and scold them as you please! But these two old women weren't bought by you, nor were they hired by you. They have nothing to do with you! Who do you think you are, always resorting to beating and cursing? Who gave you the audacity to say such things?"
Gu Liansheng's face flushed red, his eyes fixed on the ground with a sinister look. Because of the bayonet, he didn't dare to say a word back.
The same goes for Old Master Gu. They had all witnessed Gu Tang's madness and dared not provoke him too much. As soon as they saw that he was about to turn against them, they immediately shut up and gave in.
Seeing that he had stunned the father and son, Gu Tang took the bayonet and went straight into the house.
At this moment, Mrs. Feng was leaning against the bed, staring longingly at the door. She hadn't seen her son and husband for many days, and she missed them terribly.
She had only heard her son's voice and didn't know if her husband had come over.
Just as she was thinking about who it was, the first person to enter the room was Gu Tang, who was holding a knife that looked like a dagger and walked towards her with a gloomy face.
Madam Feng's heart skipped a beat, and her face immediately turned pale. "You brat, what are you trying to do!"
Gu Tang didn't speak, but instead stabbed the knife into the edge of the bed, startling Madam Feng so much that she trembled and screamed.
"Help! Murder! Murder!"
"Shut up! Stop howling!" Gu Tang roared, and Madam Feng immediately shut up.
The father and son, who had entered a few steps later, felt a chill run down their spines when they saw the knife stuck in the edge of the bed. They stopped in their tracks, too afraid to go any further.
When Madam Feng saw the father and son, she immediately felt that there was hope. She wanted to ask them for help, but she was stunned by Gu Tang's murderous gaze and dared not speak, for fear that if she spoke, the knife would change position and stab her instead.
Gu Tang pulled the knife out and glared at Madam Feng, cursing, "Have you wasted your life? You're all alone here, paralyzed in bed and unable to walk. Instead of being quiet, you dare to torment people like this!"
You should be thankful the innkeeper and those two old women are kind-hearted. If even one of them were heartless, would you still be alive and we'd be coming to pick you up? I've never seen anyone as stupid as you!
Mrs. Feng looked disgusted after being scolded.
She hadn't really thought about what Gu Tang was saying, and now that she was suddenly reminded of it, she immediately felt scared.
"I want to go back!"
Gu Tang pouted: "We're here to take you back today. Put your clothes on, have your son carry you out, and we'll leave now."
After saying that, she glanced at the father and son who dared not approach: "What are you standing there for? Help me pack my clothes! I'm going to the front to pay the bill!"
How can that work!
The calculating old master Gu was secretly anxious. His daughter and Li Shi hadn't arrived yet. If she left, he would miss Li Shi again, and he wouldn't be able to assess how much silver this brat was worth!
Old Master Gu's expression remained unchanged, his mind constantly racing as he considered how to stall for time.
His gaze fell on Madam Feng's limp legs, and his eyes lit up. He said, "Before you leave, let's have a doctor check on your grandmother. It's one thing that she can't walk, but we hope she doesn't have any other ailments." Gu Tang looked at him suspiciously. Why was he suddenly being so nice? It gave her goosebumps.
"When my father went back last time, didn't he bring back a lot of medicine? Let's focus on taking that medicine first. Why bother hiring a doctor? I don't have any money! With the little money I have, I still need to pay the wages of two old women later. And at the inn, they're eating meat for two meals a day. The money I was given earlier definitely won't be enough, and I don't know how much more I'll need to make up for it."
Old Master Gu paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said he would treat himself: "Don't pay, I'll pay!"
These words aroused even more suspicion in Gu Tang's heart.
This is truly a case of the sun rising in the west! The old man actually had the money to spare?
"I don't think this is necessary. Look at the old lady's face, she's gotten so much fatter! Her face is all oily, she looks sick."
"Some illnesses don't show on the surface; only a doctor can detect them by taking the pulse." Old Master Gu insisted on calling a doctor, refusing to back down.
At this point, Gu Tang finally understood that the old man was harboring ill intentions and was probably plotting against her again.
If that's the case, then she'll wait and see what kind of wicked scheme the old man has up his sleeve this time.
"Since you insist on inviting them, then so be it. Go ahead and invite them if you want. I don't care about this."
"You don't need to worry about that. You stay here and watch over your grandma. Your uncle and I will go out and fetch a doctor." Grandpa Gu tugged at his son and secretly gave him a look, signaling him to come with him.
Gu Liansheng was so frightened and angry by Gu Tanglian that he had completely forgotten what the father and son had agreed on earlier.
After being pulled out of the inn by Grandpa Gu, he heard the old man say that he should wait for his sister and Li Shi at the inn entrance, and only then did he remember the matter they had discussed earlier.
Old Master Gu had no intention of spending money to hire a doctor; he was just looking for an excuse to hide and buy time.
As long as they don't go back to the inn, that brat Siya will have to wait for them.
To avoid being exposed, Old Master Gu avoided the innkeeper and Li Shunzi outside the door, and took his son to a small teahouse near the city gate. They chose a window seat, where they sipped hot tea while keeping a close eye on the street.
This street is the only way for anyone to enter the city.
Gu Tang left Feng Shi alone in the room, saying she needed to go out and settle accounts with the shopkeeper and the two old women to pay their wages.
Madam Feng's face was not good. Seeing that Gu Tang had put away the knife, she started acting up again: "I am paralyzed in bed and cannot move. What should I do in the future? Go and ask the shopkeeper to buy two servants who can take care of you. In the future, I will not let you serve me closely. I will only let those two servants perform the mourning rites for you."
"It's broad daylight, and you're not asleep, so why are you dreaming?" Gu Tang scoffed and stretched out her hand without any politeness.
"Two servants would cost at least ten taels of silver. Bring me the silver now, and I'll buy them for you. If you're thinking of getting me to pay for them, I advise you to give up that idea. I don't have that kind of money for you to waste. Go ask your son who can become an official! I don't have any!"
Madam Feng was so angry that her hands trembled: "I'm your grandmother! Now that I'm sick, if you don't buy me servants to take care of me, you'll have to serve me day and night from now on!"
"You're not my grandmother anymore, so it's not my place to serve you!" Gu Tang raised an eyebrow, her tone disdainful.
Madam Feng didn't understand what Gu Tang meant by that. "Bullshit! What do you mean I'm not your grandmother? If I'm not your grandmother, then what am I? Your ancestor?!"
"You don't even have a place in the family line! To tell you the truth, my father has now taken our branch of the family under the name of our third great-uncle."
From now on, my third great-uncle will be my grandfather, and my unfortunate, deceased great-aunt will be my grandmother! And you? From now on, you'll be my second great-aunt from another branch of the family! If I'm happy, I'll call you that; if I'm not, you're nobody!
Madam Feng was stunned for a moment, "Adoption? Your father was adopted?!"
"Yes, my father was adopted. Thanks to my second uncle (Grandpa Gu), he wanted my father to separate from the family and live independently without taking anything, but he also wanted my father to continue to pay money to support that large family."
My father wasn't stupid; he simply asked the clan head and elders to arrange for me to be adopted by my third great-uncle. From then on, we were two separate families. If you wanted someone to fulfill your filial duties, just ask your eldest son's family. Our branch of the family would only be responsible for fulfilling our filial duties to my third great-uncle; it had nothing to do with you.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Feng felt dizzy. When she came to her senses, she reached out with a ferocious expression and tried to pull Gu Tang away.
Gu Tang nimbly took a step back, causing the person to miss.
Unable to find anyone to vent her anger on, Madam Feng's eyes were bloodshot as she glared fiercely at Gu Tang and demanded, "I wasn't there, so who allowed this adoption! I gave birth to your father! I raised him! Now that he sees I'm useless, he just walks away and gets adopted? No way!"
"If you don't fulfill your filial duties and support this family, then I'll send your entire branch to your grave with a packet of medicine! My children can only leave my side in death! Adoption? Don't even think about it! No one's word matters unless I give my approval!"
"You're used to being the boss at home. Do you really think you have to make all the decisions? In the clan, Second Uncle is the head of the family. As long as he nods and signs, the adoption is reasonable and in accordance with the law."
"You're an outsider, how dare you decide on something like adoption? Even if my father was your son, so what? From the moment you gave birth to him, he took the surname Gu, he's a member of the Gu family, a member of the Gu clan. His fate is decided by the head of the family and the clan elders. Have you ever seen a daughter-in-law interfere in such a matter?"
It's an unpleasant thing to say, but that's exactly how it was in that feudal era.
Gu Tang knew these words were very hurtful, but she said them on purpose, just to hurt Madam Feng's feelings.
The phrase "The only thing I give birth to can leave me when it dies" disgusted and repulsed her.
Since he's your son, why don't you treat him well? You've tormented and suppressed him for decades, does that make you seem capable and powerful?
Look! This is my offspring. I may be nothing outside, but at home, I can control a person's joys and sorrows, and even their life and death!
Gu Tang spat at her, then turned and left.
Feng refused to give up, shouting and cursing wildly from behind, demanding that Gu Tang come back and take her home. She wanted to go back and make a scene. Who would dare to adopt her child without her consent?!
Ignoring her shouts and curses, Gu Tang closed the door and went to settle accounts with the shopkeeper first.
She had given the shopkeeper a piece of silver, weighing about three taels, but now, after calculating the accounts, she realized it wasn't enough and she owed one and a half taels of silver.
He took out some silver and paid off the one and a half taels of silver he owed, then went to find the two old women.
Knowing that the two old women had been wronged these past few days, Gu Tang asked the shopkeeper to exchange some copper coins for five hundred copper coins each. He was very generous, and the two old women stopped looking gloomy and started smiling from ear to ear.