novelraw Chapter 244 He's aged quite a bit; he even has gray hair.
Chapter 244 He's aged quite a bit; he even has gray hair.
Chapter 244 He's aged quite a bit; he even has gray hair.
"stop!"
Gu Lianshan quickly stopped the person and pulled them back: "We'll all wait outside. Let your aunt go in first and see. If your mother is really inside, we'll go in when it's convenient for her to go in."
Gu Tianbao didn't understand what he meant, but the four women standing not far away understood what Gu Lianshan meant. They hurriedly went forward, pushed open the door, and went inside to find Wei Shi, leaving Gu Tianbao and the others to wait outside.
"Listen to your second uncle, let the aunties go in and look for them first, then come in when they call you in a bit."
Gu Tianbao nodded, but he was still completely confused.
After the four women entered the house, the first thing they did was close the door so that no one outside could see what was inside.
They were mentally prepared, but the scene inside the house was completely unexpected.
The room was clean and tidy, but empty.
The four of them scanned the room, their eyes all landing on a box in the corner.
"The box isn't locked, shall we open it and take a look?" Among the four, the youngest, Guo, looked at the oldest, Zou, and asked.
Zou nodded in agreement, then called over Su and Jiang, and the three of them went forward together to open the box.
As for Guo, Zou told her to pick up a stool from the ground and stay by their side to protect them.
If there is indeed someone hidden in the box, and that person is not Wei Shi, then it's fine as long as there is no danger. But if there is danger, then let Guo Shi smash it with a stool.
Guo, carrying a stool, followed closely behind them with a serious expression, her eyes fixed on the box.
The three Zous worked together to open the box and peered inside, where they saw Wei, who was bound and gagged.
"My goodness! Lian Sheng's wife is really here!"
Ms. Zou cried out in surprise, her face filled with horror.
Inside the box, Wei, who was curled up, was startled by these words and looked up. To her surprise, she saw a familiar face!
At first, Wei thought she was dreaming, staring at the person with wide eyes, not daring to blink for a long time.
"Hey! There's something stuffed in his mouth! Quick, take it out! He might suffocate!"
While Su and Jiang exclaimed in surprise, they reached out to untie the rope binding Wei's mouth.
When the two men's hands touched Wei's, Wei was surprised to realize that this was not a dream and that the people in front of her were real!
"Waaah..." Wei struggled violently as she came to her senses, trying to climb out of the box and shout for them to save her!
"Don't move! First, untie the rope from your mouth..."
Su and Jiang gently comforted Wei and struggled to untie the rope.
Madam Zou chimed in, "Don't worry, don't fret. We're here to rescue you. We owe this all to Lianshan. Your son and daughter went to him for help, and he then went to the clan chief and elders. In the end, he persuaded them to send over a dozen people from the clan to come and rescue you..."
Wei burst into tears instantly; large tears fell like beads from a broken string.
Guo held up a stool and leaned forward to take a look. She breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was Wei, there was no danger.
She put down the stool, ran out, and told the people guarding outside, "We found her! She really is Lian Sheng's wife!"
After saying this, she went back inside and closed the door again.
The people guarding outside all relaxed.
"It's good that we found it; it made our trip worthwhile."
"Tianbao, your mother has suffered a lot this time. You must treat her well from now on. Everyone in the village knows how much your mother loves you!"
"That's right. From now on, don't care what outsiders say, as long as you treat your mother well."
……
The group of people were subtly hinting at something to Gu Tianbao.
You begged to save her, so you can't let outside gossip make you despise your own mother.
Gu Tianbao didn't quite understand at first, but after everyone said that, he suddenly realized what was going on and understood.
A woman who is taken away by a man and stays in his house for so long—even a fool would know that she cannot be innocent.
Even if such a woman were rescued, she would only face certain death.
Gu Lianshan had mentioned these things to Gu Tianbao before, but Gu Tianbao didn't care. Now that he had found the Wei family, he was only happy and didn't think about it for the time being.
Since everyone in the village had brought it up, Gu Tianbao made his stance clear: "I will stand by my mother through thick and thin. Now that I'm all grown up, I can afford to move out and support my mother."
"Good! He's a filial son!"
Gu Lianshan patted him on the shoulder, quite pleased with his words.
Everyone nodded in agreement; indeed, he was a filial son.
In matters like this, he still wholeheartedly protects his own mother, and no one can say anything about it.
Inside the house, the four Zou family members had already worked together to untie the ropes binding Wei and helped her out of the trunk.
"Are you injured? Did those people hit you?" Mrs. Zou looked him up and down with concern.
The clothes Wei was wearing were still her own, and apart from being a little dirty, there was nothing wrong with them.
She's lost a lot of weight, looks several years older, and has gray hair!
"I'm not injured, I'm just starving..." Wei said weakly, clutching her stomach with her eyes down.
The three Wang brothers were hoping she would give birth to a son, so they wouldn't hurt her. They would only give her one meal of porridge a day, partly to prevent her from having enough energy to escape, and partly to tame her and make her stay in the Wang family.
These days, she has thought many times about giving in, because the feeling of being hungry is really unbearable.
But as soon as the thought of giving in arose, the image of her son, Tianbao, would pop into her mind.
In order to see her son again, Wei gritted her teeth and persevered, believing that her son would definitely come to save her.
Originally, this idea was just wishful thinking, but unexpectedly, she has now actually achieved it!
"As long as you're not injured, just hold on a little longer. Once we escape from here, we won't go hungry anymore!"
Ms. Zou and Ms. Su helped her and led her outside.
Guo and Jiang quickly opened the door, and the group nimbly left the room.
"mother!"
The moment the door opened, Gu Tianbao began to stare. Soon, his beloved mother, Madam Wei, was helped out.
Gu Tianbao could no longer contain himself and ran forward happily, calling out to Wei Shi, "Mother!"
That word "Mother" caused all the fear and humiliation that had been building up in Wei's heart to surface all at once.
She released Zou and Jiang's hands, hugged her son, and burst into tears: "My son—I thought I would never see you again in this life!" The reunion of mother and son was truly a bittersweet moment. Hearing the cries and seeing Wei's current state, everyone's eyes reddened.
Several hot-tempered men dragged the bound Wang San over and started punching and kicking him!
Wang San now fully understood. He had initially thought thieves had come to rob his silver, but it turned out to be someone from the woman's household.
The Wang family is in the wrong here. They just hope the Wang family will beat them up to vent their anger and then leave it at that. Please don't try to kill them.
Gu Lianshan ignored the clansmen beating people over there and went to the mother and son, telling them to shut up.
"Now is not the time to cry. Let's leave quickly while the other two Wang brothers are not at home, and we must not disturb the people in Shanyao Village."
Upon seeing Gu Lianshan, Madam Wei was truly grateful to him and remembered this kindness. She pushed her son aside and knelt down in front of Gu Lianshan in public.
"Second Uncle, I used to be a scoundrel, and my words and actions made people hate me to the core. I never expected that when I was in trouble, it would be you who brought people to save me!"
I will never forget this kindness in my life, and I will definitely repay it in the future! Just you wait and see, if I ever act disrespectfully towards you again, may I suffer this calamity once more!
These words were quite serious. Gu Lianshan was rather surprised. He glanced at Gu Tianbao and told him to help Wei Shi up.
"Get up. I'm only doing this for Tianbao and your second daughter, Lian'er. If they hadn't begged me, I wouldn't have gotten involved in this matter no matter what."
"Even Lian'er is begging you?" Madam Wei looked surprised, then burst into tears again. "I've disliked that girl since she was little, but I never expected that she would remember me after my accident..."
Mentioning this, Gu Lianshan couldn't help but say a few words to Wei Shi: "You're blind! You can't see who's good to you! After you went missing, none of the old man, the old woman, your husband, or your eldest daughter worried about you."
Of the whole family, only Tianbao and Lianya are truly concerned about you and worried about you! Especially after learning of your whereabouts, they repeatedly begged me to bring people to rescue you, not caring at all about your current reputation!
Hearing this, Madam Wei covered her mouth and sobbed, feeling both pain and hatred in her heart!
Gu Lianshan ignored her and turned to find the clansmen who were beating people, telling them to stop fighting so they could set off home immediately and not delay any longer.
Wang San had already fainted, his face was bruised and swollen, and he was almost unrecognizable.
Gu Lianshan had someone drag him into the house and close the door to prevent anyone from seeing him.
After dealing with Wang San, the group chose another route and hurriedly left with Wei Shi.
Gu Lianshan and his group arrived in three oxcarts, which they hid halfway down the road, leaving two people to guard them.
After getting away from the village on the mountainside, the group turned onto a small road and soon found the village's oxcart.
They led the oxcart to the road and had Wei sit in the middle first. Then, she covered her face with a headscarf, and the four Zou women sat around her in front and behind, which served to conceal her identity.
In that case, even if we run into Wang Er on the way back, we don't have to worry about him recognizing Wei Shi.
After settling Wei Shi in, the others quickly climbed onto the oxcart and whipped it to drive back to Bei'an City.
Today is the last day of the winter market. Halfway there, we encountered many oxcarts and people on foot, all returning home from Bei'an City.
This scene made Gu Lianshan anxious. He wondered if Wang Er had also gone to Bei'an City. If he had, he would probably be back around this time.
This road is the only way to Shanyao Village, so you must avoid running into it head-on.
Just in case, Gu Lianshan told Wei to lie down and only show her face after entering the city.
Wei's heart was pounding. Even though someone had finally helped her escape, she was still afraid that she wouldn't be able to get away.
Upon hearing Gu Lianshan's instructions, she immediately lay down, completely covering her face.
After walking anxiously all the way, Gu Lianshan and his group did not see Wang Er. Just when they were about to enter the city, they unexpectedly met him at the city gate!
Fortunately, Wei Shi remained lying down and did not get up, and Wang Er did not look this way. He squeezed out of the city gate with the crowd and headed north.
After he left, Gu Lianshan and his party entered the city.
Wei decided not to return to the Gu family for the time being; she stayed at an inn with Gu Tianbao and Gu Lian.
The Gu family and the Wei family joined forces to hold a funeral for Wei Shi. Now both sides have tacitly agreed that Wei Shi is dead. If they go back like this, the Gu family may try to poison Wei Shi.
The Wei family planned to stay at an inn first, and then complain to the clan leader, asking him to pressure the Gu family to give an explanation.
As for the Wei family, the Wei family doesn't intend to let them off the hook either.
Over the years, she has never held a grudge against the Wei family, but she never expected them to become so arrogant and overbearing!
This time, she definitely won't hold back.
By the time they escorted Wei and her son to the inn, it was already dark. If the others were to return to the village now, they would probably have to do so in the dark.
Gu Lianshan didn't let them leave. Instead, he asked Gu Tianbao to find the innkeeper and get several more guest rooms, arranging for the two of them to stay in one room each.
As for who pays the money, that would naturally be Gu Tianbao!
Gu Tianbao has Wei's private savings, so he doesn't lack money right now.
Moreover, now that Madam Wei is back, he will only have more money in his hands and will not run out of funds.
Therefore, in addition to getting a few guest rooms for the clansmen, Wei also asked Gu Tianbao to get two or three tables of food so that everyone could have a good meal.
This made it difficult for Gu Lianshan to leave.
He's the leader, so he should at least have a few drinks with them.
But before the drinking session, he needed to go back and let his daughter and the others know he was safe.
Making an excuse to leave temporarily, Gu Lianshan drove his oxcart back to his courtyard.
The three-day winter market has now come to an end, and the streets are much less crowded.
Those still wandering the streets at this moment, besides the city dwellers, are either staying at inns and not planning to return home.
After seeing Gu Lianshan off, Gu Tianbao helped Wei Shi back to her room to warm herself by the fire.
His mother's clothes were a bit thin, and she had been exposed to a cold wind all the way back, so she needed to warm herself by the fire.
When the mother and son arrived at the door, Gu Tianbao suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to tell his second sister that their mother had returned.
“Mother, please sit inside. I’ll go call my second sister. She’s cried so many times these past few days! If she knew you were coming back, she’d probably be so happy she wouldn’t be able to sleep all night.”
"Your second sister is also staying at this inn?" Wei asked excitedly.
“Yes, my second sister is also staying at this inn. Because my second uncle promised to help rescue you, my second sister and I were afraid of being stopped by our families, so we haven’t been home for the past two days and have been staying at the inn.”
Mentioning the Gu family, Madam Wei's expression changed: "Just the two of you staying at an inn? No one in your family cares about you or asks about you?"
Gu Tianbao shook his head: "My grandpa and grandma seem to have something to do lately, they're always busy and we can't see them. My aunt is with them too. The old couple doesn't have time to take care of us."
"What about your father? You two aren't going back, and he doesn't care or even ask about it?"
“My father? My father, he… he…” Gu Tianbao stammered, unsure how to describe his father.
He was especially afraid that his mother would go crazy if he told her about his father's arranged marriage through a matchmaker.