novelraw Chapter 251 Things are missing, who did it?
Chapter 251 Things are missing, who did it?
Chapter 251 Things are missing, who did it?
Back in the house, Gu Zhier discussed with Madam Feng, "Mother, shall I go to the backyard and catch a chicken to kill? I'll cook a good meal for Qing'er. We have to persuade her no matter what, otherwise, when Wang's third son comes over tomorrow morning, there will probably be another commotion."
Hearing about killing the chicken, Madam Feng's heart ached and she shook her head, refusing: "There's only one chicken left in the house. We originally planned to save it for the New Year to kill and offer sacrifices to our ancestors!"
Qing'er is both afraid of death and greedy for wealth. If you just tell her you've found a way to get her a job as a maid in a wealthy household through the Wang family, she'll definitely agree!
Gu Zhier felt a pang of pity and continued to persuade her, "It's just a chicken. I'll bring you one later. Qing'er grew up under your watchful eye, and now that she's leaving home, consider this a farewell."
Ultimately, this matter had nothing to do with her; we only resorted to using her as a substitute because we had no other choice. Please take pity on her, give her a good meal, and send her off properly. That will put our minds at ease!
What are you worried about?
She hasn't done anything wrong, so what's there to be at ease about?
Gu Zhier's words made Madam Feng very unhappy.
She said, "Not long ago, Madam Li made a deal with Qingya, saying that after the New Year, she would send Qingya to the Cheng family to be a maid! Qingya was very happy to do so!"
Lately, I've been applying the ointment that Li gave me, saying it can nourish the skin and make it white and tender!
Now that Li is gone, the Cheng family's matter is probably ruined too. You've found her another way out; she can only be grateful!
"The Cheng family? Which Cheng family?" Gu Zhier's expression changed. Could it be the Cheng family from Bei'an City?
Madam Feng rolled her eyes at her: "Which Cheng family are you talking about? It's the Cheng family in Bei'an City, of course! They even produced a concubine!"
According to Madam Li, the Cheng family is extremely wealthy; even the maids in their household are adorned with gold and silver!
Gu Zhier's face turned pale. It really was that Cheng family.
"Mother! The Cheng family... is not a safe place! Now that Li Shi has disappeared, this plan won't work!"
Madam Feng didn't notice anything unusual about her daughter, and was engrossed in her own words, letting out a sigh.
"Without a matchmaker, a family like ours can't get in touch with the stewards in the Cheng household. Only Li knows the stewards there."
It would be fine if we didn't talk about it, but Gu Liansheng was also very heartbroken when it came up.
"What a wonderful thing! It's a rare opportunity! I'm counting on Qingya to make something of herself after she enters the Jin family."
At least then we could get some help from our family and wouldn't have to worry about money anymore! But unexpectedly, Li Shi suddenly disappeared without a trace! I wonder if Wang Laosan will be able to find her!
"I don't think we have much hope relying on the Wang family alone. But if the Li family helps us search, we should be able to find it!"
Mrs. Feng also looked regretful, but it was too late to regret it now.
Seeing the mother and son like this, Gu Zhier felt a chill run down her spine, and she almost couldn't help but blurt out the things she had been keeping to herself.
If her family were tight-lipped, she would probably tell them the truth.
The Cheng family is no good place; it's a den of cannibals!
But family members know each other well; her family members are all loose-lipped.
If she were to tell them about the dirty and sordid affairs of the Cheng family, she was certain that within ten days, the whole surrounding area would be hearing the news!
If this gets back to the ears of the servants of the Cheng family, they will surely report it to their masters, and then it may lead to their deaths!
Gu Zhier gritted her teeth, repeatedly telling herself, "I can't say it! I can't say it!"
When Grandpa Gu saw his daughter's expression change, he didn't think much of it and assumed that his wife's disagreement with killing the chicken had offended his daughter, so he tried to ease the tension.
“Daughter, don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense. Your father makes the decisions. Go to the backyard and kill a chicken! It’s been a while since we’ve had any meat at home. Let’s take this opportunity to have a good meal together.”
Gu Zhier didn't speak, but shifted her gaze to Madam Feng.
When her husband embarrassed her, Mrs. Feng immediately looked downcast and displeased.
Grandpa Gu didn't want to argue with his wife, so he said a few more words to appease her and save face.
“In the past, you wouldn’t even eat meat. Today, let’s take advantage of Qing’s situation and have my daughter kill that chicken. Eat more and nourish yourself. I’ll have my daughter send you another one later.”
These words softened Madam Feng's expression.
Gu Liansheng also wanted to eat chicken, and said directly that he was craving it: "My body hasn't been completely cured yet, and it's time to nourish my body. Unfortunately, we haven't had any meat at home these days, and even my son is craving it!"
Speaking of cravings, it wasn't just Gu Liansheng who was craving them; Madam Feng herself was also incredibly craving them.
When we stayed at the inn before, we ate meat every meal!
Since returning, I haven't eaten meat at all.
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. After not having meat for many days, it would be a lie to say she wasn't craving it; she was practically going crazy with hunger!
Madam Feng pursed her lips, and finally waved to her daughter: "Go, go! Since your father and your elder brother have said so, go and kill that chicken."
"Have Tianbao come out and help boil water. If you do it all by yourself, how long will it take to eat?"
The Gu family was unaware that Gu Tianbao had returned home and left again; they assumed he was currently slacking off in the east wing.
Gu Zhier thought so too. She responded and lifted the curtain to leave the main room.
Arriving under the eaves, he rolled up his sleeves and called out towards the east wing, "Tianbao! Go to the kitchen and boil some water!"
After shouting these words, Gu Zhier didn't care whether Gu Tianbao replied or not. She went to the kitchen to get a knife and then went to the backyard.
After Gu Zhier left, Gu Liansheng also emerged from the main room. He assumed his son had gone to the kitchen, so he stood on the porch and called out to his son towards the kitchen.
"Tianbao! Light the small stove in the kitchen; Dad needs it to boil water and warm wine later!"
Since we're going to eat meat, we can't do without alcohol!
With his eyes fixed on the kitchen doorway, Gu Liansheng waited for his son to appear and reply.
But after waiting for a long time, he neither saw his son show his face nor heard a reply from him.
Gu Liansheng immediately flew into a rage, cursing as he walked toward the kitchen: "I think you're really asking for it! It's only been a few days since I beat you, and you're already so arrogant and ungrateful!"
The kitchen door was closed. He assumed his son had closed it on purpose, so he kicked it open and yelled, "You little beast..." The rest of his words caught in his throat. The kitchen was empty.
His son wasn't in the kitchen!
Gu Liansheng's anger flared up instantly! He thought his son was still sulking and had been hiding in the house refusing to do any work.
He turned and went to the east wing, where he saw a washing mallet in the corner. He picked it up, his face darkening, determined to give his son a good scolding!
The room where Gu Tianbao lived was not locked; it was just left closed and could be opened with a push.
Gu Liansheng held a club in one hand and pushed open the door with the other: "You little beast..." He stopped mid-sentence again!
The house was completely empty, just like the kitchen!
Gu Liansheng was dumbfounded. The person had just returned, so why was there no one in the house?
Did he start following the second son around again?!
Gu Liansheng couldn't believe his own guess, so he turned around and went to the room where Gu Qing and her sister lived, but still couldn't find them.
Unable to find anyone there, he went to his own room.
The moment Gu Liansheng stepped into the room, he froze at the doorway. The room was a complete mess, with clothes scattered all over the floor and bed!
Clearly, the entire house had been ransacked.
No doubt, something's going to get lost!
After a moment of stunned silence, Gu Liansheng quickly realized what was going on and was so angry that he saw stars!
"You little beast! You little beast! How dare you rummage through my house!"
Gu Liansheng cursed loudly, his whole body trembling.
Picking up the clothes from the bed and floor, Gu Liansheng finally realized what was missing.
The bedding on his bed has vanished!
Gu Liansheng: ...!!!
He hurriedly opened all the chests and cabinets in the room, only to find that all the bedding had vanished!
Gu Liansheng could no longer control his temper. He viciously swung the mallet, smashing the chests and cabinets, and then went to the main room with a livid face.
"mother!"
Before he arrived, his voice preceded his arrival. Inside the house, Madam Feng and Old Master Gu, hearing their son's call, looked in confusion at the curtain at the doorway.
What's going on here?
The next moment, the curtain was violently lifted, and Gu Liansheng strode in, his eyes blazing with fury: "That little bastard Tianbao has fallen for someone else! He stole all the bedding from my room!"
"What did you say?!" The elderly couple looked bewildered, thinking they had misheard. "Why would Tianbao take your bedding? He has plenty of bedding of his own!"
"He doesn't lack blankets, but others do!" Gu Liansheng shouted, already harboring suspicions.
"It must be the second son! He must have lived a glamorous life on the surface, but was actually poor behind the scenes. He simply persuaded Tianbao to come home and steal bedding!"
This is what I said...
The elderly couple couldn't convince themselves to believe their son's words.
After thinking for a moment, Old Master Gu simply helped Madam Feng up, helped her with her cane, and went to the east wing together to take a look.
The family of three came to the east wing and entered the room where Gu Liansheng lived.
After Gu Liansheng's outburst, the room was now even more chaotic, with not even a place to put your feet.
The sight truly frightened the elderly couple; seeing the chaotic scene, they thought it was a burglary!
"Mother! Look, all the bedding on the bed and in the chests and cabinets is gone!"
Gu Liansheng casually kicked at the things around him to make a path for his parents to come forward and look at the chests and cabinets. The bedding inside was indeed gone.
The elderly couple stepped forward and took a look, and their anger flared up as well.
"That little beast! He's a traitor!" Old Master Gu was so angry that he was panting heavily, and the more he looked at the box, the angrier he became.
"It must have been the second brother who instigated this... No! It must have been the second brother who led that little beast to do it!"
Gu Liansheng was still shouting that Gu Lianshan did it, clearly trying to drag Gu Lianshan down with him and pin the blame on him.
Grandpa Gu also believed that it was his second son who did it, as Tianbao didn't have the guts or the cunning.
The second brother must have been the one leading this!
Listening to the father and son cursing their second son back and forth, Madam Feng ignored them and focused on looking at the mess in the house, while also trying to estimate what was missing.
Soon, Mrs. Feng noticed something was wrong.
Besides the bedding, most of the clothes in the chests and cabinets were also gone, leaving only thin lined jackets and light shirts!
As for the cotton-padded clothes and thick clothes she needed right now, she couldn't find a single one.
"My son! All your winter clothes are gone! They want you dead!"
Madam Feng turned pale and believed her eldest son's words; it was definitely her second son who did it!
Only he could do that!
Upon hearing this, Gu Liansheng felt a wave of dizziness and quickly ran to the cabinet, frantically searching through it.
"I've searched, and there really isn't a single thing!" Madam Feng's eyes reddened. "That beast, Second Son, is so vicious! He's openly trying to kill you!"
After taking out the few clothes he had left in the chests and cabinets, Gu Liansheng stopped in front of a chest and looked at the bottom of the chest with a hole in it. His heart trembled.
"Mother! Come with Father and take a look! See what's going on at the bottom of this box!"
Upon hearing their son's words, the elderly couple hurried over to look into the box.
Looking at the bottom of the box with a hole in it, Old Master Gu didn't react: "How did this hole come about?"
As a woman who loved to hoard her own money, Feng Shizi immediately understood what was going on.
She said, "There should be a hidden compartment under the hole in the bottom of this box, usually used to hide silver. Now that it's broken, it's probably because the second son damaged it while looking for silver!"
"Hidden silver?" Gu Liansheng's voice was shrill. "This is Wei's dowry chest. Wei hid some private silver behind my back?!"
"Your wife used to have a mother who doted on her! She was always rolling in money, and when she passed away, she must have secretly given your wife a lot of money!"
Gu Liansheng knew this, and he hurriedly stuck his finger into the hole. The hidden compartment below was empty; there was nothing there!
"Second brother!" Gu Liansheng's expression was ferocious as he slammed his hand on the box and cursed through gritted teeth, "That beast not only wanted me dead! He even stole Wei's money!"
Speaking of Wei, Feng suppressed her anger and used her cane to stir the clothes on the ground, only to find that she couldn't find any of Wei's clothes.
"My son, quickly look for Wei's clothes. Why can't I see Wei's clothes?"
"Why are you looking for her clothes?" Gu Liansheng became impatient as soon as he heard the name Wei.
"Why are Wei's clothes gone? Did Tianbao take them? If he did, why would he take them?"
A bad feeling rose in Madam Feng's heart; could it be that Madam Wei had returned...?
Upon hearing this, Gu Liansheng also became suspicious.
He could understand Tianbao and the second son taking his bedding and cotton-padded clothes, but why did they take Wei's clothes as well?
"You help me look for it too, to see if Wei's clothes were hidden away or if they were really stolen!"
Madam Feng then ordered Old Master Gu to help his son search.
The father and son did not refuse and searched very carefully, turning over every place in the house where things could be placed, only to find a few tattered clothes that Wei had previously discarded and no longer wore.