novelraw Chapter 249 The Wang Family Arrives at the Door Demanding Person
Chapter 249 The Wang Family Arrives at the Door Demanding Person
Chapter 249 The Wang Family Arrives at the Door Demanding Person
Gu Lianshan didn't notice the change in everyone's expressions and continued, "On the first day of the winter market, my daughter was kidnapped. You should all know about this."
After all, Qing'er has been punished. Even if you didn't know, the clan would have explained it to you. Li Shi is now missing; perhaps she's been kidnapped.
Hearing this, Madam Feng breathed a sigh of relief. She spat at Gu Lianshan with a fierce but weak expression: "What are you talking about! Kidnappers only kidnap pretty girls. Who would kidnap a woman like Li who has given birth!"
Li was a human trafficker herself. In Beian City, she was the only one who trafficked people, but few dared to traffic her, since human traffickers knew each other.
Before learning of Li's disappearance, Feng's heart had been pounding with anxiety ever since she confirmed that Gu Tang had indeed escaped from the kidnappers. She wanted to ask Li about it, but she was afraid that people would find out that she had been in contact with Li.
She had endured it for two days, but who would have thought that Wang Laosan would suddenly come to her house today and sternly ask her about Li's whereabouts.
It turns out that ever since Li went into the city alone on the day of the winter market, she has never returned!
Not only did Li not return, but Wang's second daughter-in-law, Gu Zhi'er, also did not return.
The two daughters-in-law had been missing for several days in a row, and the rest of the Wang family couldn't sit still any longer. They sent Wang Lao Er to the Gu family to inquire, and they also pressed Wang Lao San to ask him where Li Shi had gone.
Wang Laosan didn't want his family to know that Li had secretly sold the Gu family's daughter, so he made up a random excuse, saying that Li had gone back to her parents' home to borrow money.
This excuse barely fooled the Wang family, but it couldn't fool Wang Laosan himself.
Wang Laosan knew his wife well; he understood Li Shi. No matter how busy she was, she would always send someone to deliver a message back.
But right now, there's no one to be seen, and no word from them; things are all going wrong.
He secretly hitched up an oxcart, intending to go to the Gu family to inquire, but was spotted by Wang Lao Er, who insisted on taking the oxcart, saying he was going to the Gu family to find Gu Zhi'er.
Wang Laosan also has to go to Gujia's place, so the two brothers are likely to run into each other.
He could either avoid Wang Lao Er and go to the Gu family another day, or he could make things clear, get his second brother on his side, and the two brothers could go to the Gu family together to find the person.
Wang Laosan and the others were extremely anxious, so they simply told their second brother about the matter and promised him a share of the silver after the matter was settled.
Wang Lao Er was greedy for money, and upon hearing this, he immediately agreed without hesitation.
And so, the two brothers went to the Gu family together to inquire about Li's whereabouts.
Upon arriving at the Gu family's residence, Li learned, to her surprise, that Gu's fourth daughter had escaped from kidnappers unharmed.
Now Wang Laosan panicked. He was now certain that something had really happened!
Just like Wang Laosan's reaction, Feng Shi panicked and couldn't stand up when she learned that Li Shi had disappeared. She subconsciously thought that Li Shi had been captured by Lao Er!
I heard from the clan that her second son led people to catch those kidnappers. As for whether they caught them or not, there are all sorts of rumors in the village. Some say they did, and some say they didn't.
The clan did not give a clear answer on this matter, only advising clan members not to bring children, especially girls, when going to the market; neither the big nor the small children should be brought.
Madam Feng wanted to ask if the kidnappers had been caught, but she was terribly afraid that asking would arouse suspicion from the clan chief and the others.
She told Wang Laosan about it, saying that her second son might have really caught those kidnappers and forced Li Shi out of their mouths, and then kidnapped her when she wasn't paying attention.
Given what Li did, the Gu clan could beat her to death without consequence. The government rarely intervenes in these clan feuds, especially since Li is not in the right.
Upon hearing this, Wang Laosan was both anxious and flustered, because his wife was the Wang family's cash cow!
If he were killed by the Gu clan, who would earn money to support the entire Wang family in the future?
Besides this, Wang Laosan was also afraid that his wife might say something she shouldn't, which could implicate him and cause trouble.
The more Wang Laosan thought about it, the more panicked he became, and the more frightened Feng Shi became, the more heated their argument grew, and soon they started arguing.
They argued until Gu Lianshan came in, at which point both sides shut up, afraid that they might say something they shouldn't in their anger.
Most importantly, Gu Lianshan's eyes and words after he came in made Feng Shi and Wang Laosan understand.
Gu Lianshan definitely didn't catch those kidnappers, and Li Shi wasn't in his hands either.
Given Gu Lianshan's temper, if he knew they were plotting against his daughter, he would probably have brought people over to smash things up long ago.
At this point, both Madam Feng and Wang Laosan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Li Shi didn't fall into Gu Lianshan's hands, it didn't matter whether she was kidnapped or something else happened to her!
"You came back by yourself? Why didn't Siya come back?" With her worries gone, Madam Feng immediately revealed her true nature. Her face darkened, and her words were both harsh and vicious.
"At the winter market, countless young women strolled around, so why did the kidnapper not kidnap someone else? Why did he choose Siya out of the crowd?"
In my opinion, it's all because of her slutty face! If she wants a peaceful life, she should disfigure that face with a knife!
These words did not anger Gu Lianshan. He already knew what kind of person his mother was, so there was no point in getting angry; it wasn't worth it.
He pointed at Feng's legs, which were unable to move, and said, "She's practically buried up to her neck. Look at her, she never kept a kind word in her life, and now look what she's done to herself."
Even after this ordeal, you haven't changed your ways. It won't be long before you face karmic retribution in this life, and then you'll know what to do!
For Mr. Feng, who believed in ghosts and gods, these words were truly a blow to his heart!
Madam Feng was so angry that her face turned ashen. She wanted to curse him, but then she saw her son turn around and leave after saying those words.
The words that were about to come out suddenly got stuck in my throat, making me feel choked up!
Gu Tianbao, who had been hiding to the side since he came in, hurriedly followed Gu Lianshan, but his actions angered Madam Feng.
"Tianbao! Where are you going! Your father is sitting right here, what are you doing following that beast?!"
With Gu Lianshan gone, Gu Liansheng finally dared to show his face.
He jumped to his feet, pointed at Gu Tianbao, and angrily berated him: "You've been missing for days! Now that you're back, instead of kneeling to beg for forgiveness, you actually want to run off with that beast!"
Gu Tianbao paused, his face calm, and turned to look at his father: "Since you know I haven't come back for several days, why didn't you seem worried? Why didn't you ask anyone to look for me?"
You've been living your life as usual, acting as if nothing's wrong even without your son. If that's the case, what do you mean by saying this now?
"You!" These words left Gu Liansheng speechless, and he trembled with anger.
"Tianbao!" Old Master Gu scolded, his brows furrowed, glaring at Gu Tianbao with displeasure.
"Who said your father hasn't been looking for you? He's been going crazy looking for you these past two days! And what have you done? You've been hanging out with that scoundrel of your second uncle!"
Listen to the tone of your voice these days, it sounds just like that beast, your second uncle! You're a scholar! Scholars are supposed to be refined and virtuous, but look at your current behavior, where is the dignity of a scholar?!
"All these years, we've truly wasted money raising him for his education!" Gu Liansheng said with a gloomy expression, and his next words startled everyone.
"From now on, you don't need to go to school anymore! The family will no longer support your education, so you can stay at home and work in the fields."
These words elicited mixed reactions from the crowd. Madam Feng and Old Master Gu disagreed with their son's statement.
"Tianbao is your only son. No matter how angry you are, you can't stop him from going to school, can you?"
Gu Liansheng remained unmoved: "You two need not say more. Once Madam Qian enters the family, will I still worry about not having a son?"
When Qian was mentioned, the elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Feng, fell silent. Qian was only in her early twenties; once she married into the family, she was capable of having several children.
Gu Tianbao gained a new understanding of his father's selfishness and cold-heartedness.
People often say that once you have a stepmother, you'll have a stepfather, but before his stepmother even entered the house, his stepfather had already transformed.
If it were anyone else, hearing that they couldn't go to school would definitely feel like the sky was falling, but for Gu Tianbao, this was simply a great thing!
To be honest, he's really not cut out for studying!
He's been studying for over ten years, and now he can't even recognize all the characters. He just doesn't have the brains for studying! He's had enough of studying!
Now that he can't read it anymore, it's just as he wished, it couldn't be better.
Gu Tianbao didn't say a word and stormed out of the main room.
Seeing that he hadn't scared anyone, Gu Liansheng became even angrier, slamming his hand on the table and cursing incessantly, "You unfilial beast!"
Worried that he would get angry and harm his health, Mrs. Feng quickly advised him, "Don't hold a grudge against the child. You'll punish him by not letting him eat later."
“Yes! Your mother is right. Punish him by not letting him eat, let him go hungry for a while, so that he can clear his head!” Old Master Gu also chimed in with his advice.
Faced with the Gu family's internal affairs, Wang Laosan and Wang Laoer didn't know how to speak up and simply pretended not to hear.
The two brothers sat on the low stools, their hands tucked into their sleeves, heads bowed and silent.
Gu Zhier wanted to speak, but Wang Lao Er glared at her and shut her up.
Gu Lianshan was waiting for Gu Tianbao at the entrance of the Gu family compound. They would be returning to Beian City soon.
After Gu Tianbao came out, he asked Gu Lianshan to wait for him a while. He needed to go to the east wing to pack his clothes and also find all the silver his mother had hidden and take it with him.
When he returned, his mother specifically reminded him of this matter, saying that he could leave the clothes behind, but the hidden silver had to be found.
Gu Lianshan knew about this, and waved to Gu Tianbao, telling him to go ahead and that he would wait for him on the oxcart.
The east wing of the Gu family residence was completely empty at this moment.
Gu Liansheng was in the main room, while Gu Qingze went to the ancestral hall to kneel as punishment.
Gu Tianbao tiptoed to the door of the room where his parents lived, pushed open the half-closed door, and quickly darted inside.
After entering the house, he followed his mother's instructions and first looked for silver.
His mother had hidden the silver in five places. He found and took two of them. The other three were in a hidden box under the bed, in the wall bricks behind the bed, and in the bottom of a chest.
After searching thoroughly, they successfully found ten taels of silver in a hidden box under the bed and twenty taels of silver hidden in the wall bricks behind the bed.
He put the thirty taels of silver into a hidden pocket inside his clothes, and then went to open the chest.
When Gu Tianbao saw the box, his heart skipped a beat. He took out a copper key from his pocket, glanced at the box, then at the key in his hand, and thought to himself that something was wrong.
His mother said the box was locked, but the box in front of him wasn't locked.
Open the box, quickly remove the clothes and fabrics inside, and discover a hole in the bottom.
The cave contained the secret compartment his mother had mentioned, where a lot of silver was hidden, but now it was completely empty.
After his mother disappeared, only his father lived in this house. Without a doubt, it was his father who took the money.
Gu Tianbao was furious, but he had to hold back; this was not the time to make a scene.
He found the clothes of the mother and her two children, picked out the thickest ones, and also took his father's cotton-padded coat. Without any hesitation, Gu Tianbao picked them all out and packed them up to take away.
And all that cloth—take it all away, leaving not a single piece for his father.
When they returned to Beian City, he instructed his mother to dismantle his father's cotton-padded coat, extract the cotton fibers inside, and use them to sew several new cotton-padded coats.
The same goes for bedding; he took all the bedding from the house, leaving not a single piece behind.
There were quite a few of these things, and he carried them to the oxcart outside in trip after trip, leaving none for his father.
If we don't take them with us, given his father's temperament, what if he gives these things to the Qian family?
He'd rather throw it away than give it to the Qian family!
Gu Tianbao's actions did not disturb Gu Liansheng inside the main room. After finishing the last trip, he climbed onto the oxcart and left the Gu family's place.
Gu Lianshan was very satisfied with his nephew's actions; that's exactly how it should be done!
After praising Gu Tianbao a few times along the way, he parked the oxcart in front of his house, took out his key to open the gate, and went in to take a look at the chickens and ducks in the backyard.
Add water where needed, add grain where needed, count the chickens and ducks one last time to make sure none are missing, then lock the gate and drive the oxcart to Bei'an City.
……
On the Gu family's side, the Wang family and the Gu family are still arguing about Li's matter.
It is now basically confirmed that the Li family is no longer in Gu Lianshan's hands.
Since Li was no longer in her son's hands, Feng didn't want to get involved. After all, she had already received all ten taels of silver from selling Siya, and the rest was none of her business!
Wang Laosan disagreed, insisting that the Gu family send someone to help find Li Shi. If they were unwilling to send people, then they should send money!
"My wife gave you ten taels of silver. Return the silver to me, and we won't trouble you with finding the person anymore!"
"Bullshit!" Madam Feng retorted without any politeness. "The ten taels of silver your wife gave you were Siya's money for selling herself! We even signed a written contract of indenture. Now you want your money back? No way!"
"Siya is still here, what kind of money is this for selling herself?!"
"I've already sold Siya to you. How you kidnap her is your own business! She's living right there, she's not hidden away, so just find someone to kidnap her!"
Wang Laosan was furious: "For a little girl, my wife's life is now unknown! Your Siya is a jinx! Anyone who gets involved with her is doomed! We don't want her anymore, the indenture is torn up and void, give the money back!"
"Sign it and you won't take it back!" Madam Feng spat at him. "Either you find a way to kidnap Siya, or you accept your fate! There's absolutely no way you'll get your money back!"