novelraw Chapter 279 Sick? No, just plagued by bad luck!
Chapter 279 Sick? No, just plagued by bad luck!
Chapter 279 Sick? No, just plagued by bad luck!
Gu Liansheng's face flushed red, feeling deeply wronged: "Daughters should avoid their fathers as they grow up, and sons should avoid their mothers as they grow up. I am a son, not a daughter. How can you expect me to serve you closely?"
"Who told you to serve her personally? Your mother can walk and move around with a cane, it's not like she can't go to the toilet by herself!"
"As the son, you help empty the chamber pot every day, change the bedding, and open the windows to let in fresh air. Why can't you do these things?"
"I'm a scholar! And you expect me to empty the chamber pot and change the bedding?!" Gu Liansheng exclaimed angrily.
"This is a woman's job, how could I possibly do it?!"
These words made Doctor Gu lose the will to argue with him.
People like Gu Liansheng are selfish and self-serving. If he doesn't want to do something, no amount of persuasion will change his mind.
"I won't say anything more to you. No one can get into that house. Either get the old lady out, or you'd better find someone else!"
This was a blatant threat, and Doctor Gu made no attempt to conceal it.
Didn't you say you couldn't do these kinds of jobs?
Right now, on one side is your mother's fate, and on the other is what you call "woman's work." He wants to see which one you choose.
Surprisingly, Gu Liansheng didn't choose either of these two options; instead, he chose to shift the problem onto others.
He looked at his third uncle: "Tell Siya to go back and call Second Brother. My parents aren't just mine; he needs to come and take care of them... Ouch!!!"
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Liansheng was suddenly struck on the back with a stick, causing him to grimace and cry out in pain.
"Who hit me..." He turned around fiercely, only to see Chief Gu raising his cane to strike him again!
Gu Liansheng was both angry and anxious, and hurriedly stepped aside, shouting, "Uncle! What are you doing?!"
"What are you doing?" Clan Chief Gu glared at him coldly. "In the past hundred years, the Gu clan has only produced two inhuman bastards. One is your father, and the other is you!"
"Your father won't live much longer, so I'll let it go. But you unfilial and heartless wretch, don't even think about running away! Today, in front of everyone, I'll exercise my authority as clan leader and give you a good beating first!"
As she spoke, she continued to lash out with her cane at Gu Liansheng.
Gu Liansheng's face turned deathly pale as he dodged and begged for mercy, "Uncle! I was wrong! I was wrong! Please don't hit me, I'll go empty the chamber pot right now..."
"Empty the chamber pot later. First, take your mother out and put her on the bed in the west room," Doctor Gu suddenly interjected, wanting to save Madam Feng first.
Following the advice of Doctor Gu, Clan Chief Gu temporarily put away his cane and sternly ordered Gu Liansheng to carry Madam Feng.
"Go! Quickly bring your mother out!"
Gu Liansheng felt incredibly aggrieved, but he dared not disobey. His back was still burning with pain, and he kept reminding himself that he couldn't lose his temper right now and had to endure it for the time being!
He endured his nausea and went into the east room. With all his might, he staggered out and carried the person out, then took them to the west room.
Old Master Gu was still unconscious, and Madam Feng was also in a daze. The two old people couldn't sleep together right now, so Doctor Gu pointed to the bamboo bed and asked Gu Liansheng to put the person on the bamboo bed.
There was nothing on the bamboo couch except a cold mat. Madam Feng, wearing only a thin undergarment, lay on the mat and soon began to shiver from the cold.
Doctor Gu glared at Gu Liansheng: "What are you still standing there for? Bring the bedding from your mother's room and spread it on the bed!"
With a gloomy face, Gu Liansheng went to the east room again.
The clan chief said from behind him, "Don't touch the bedding on your mother's bed; it's probably filthy. Open the cabinet in the room and bring over a new bedding."
Gu Liansheng paused, feeling extremely unwilling, but still dared not resist, and could only obediently go to the east room to open the cabinet.
However, opening the cabinet didn't go smoothly.
Since falling ill, Madam Feng has been extremely careful with her belongings.
Every cabinet in her room, regardless of size, was locked!
Gu Liansheng was also stupid. Instead of searching for the key at Feng's place, he found an axe and chopped off the lock on the cabinet.
This whole process took up a lot of time.
By the time he carried the clean bedding to the west room, Madam Feng had already woken up from the cold.
When Feng woke up, her mouth and eyes were crooked, even more so than before. Her hands and feet were stiff and she couldn't move them. It was unclear whether it was from the cold or because she was completely paralyzed this time.
Realizing something was wrong with her body, Madam Feng panicked and turned pale. Seeing Doctor Gu beside her, she hurriedly asked him to examine her.
But when she opened her mouth, Madam Feng was horrified to find that her tongue was stiff and all she could utter were "Waaah..."
Having reached this point, Madam Feng had more or less understood.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared at Doctor Gu, her gaze filled with pleading for help.
Doctor Gu had noticed that something was wrong with Madam Feng, but he didn't dare to say it. While helping Gu Liansheng spread the bedding on the bamboo bed, he kept observing Madam Feng's reaction.
The more I look at it, the more disheartened I feel.
After laying out the bedding and wrapping Feng in the blankets, Gu Langzhong moved a stove and placed it in front of the bamboo bed to let warmth surround her before taking Feng's pulse.
As soon as he felt the pulse through his fingers, Doctor Gu's face darkened.
This pulse is very bad!
Everyone had seen Feng's reaction just now, and they understood a little bit about it. Apart from Gu Liansheng, who looked worried, the others didn't care much about the matter.
There's no other reason than that Feng is a terrible person and doesn't interact much with her clansmen. Whether she's good or bad, nobody cares.
Gu Tang, in particular, originally wanted to find an opportunity to "add something" to Feng Shi's life so that she could be sent to meet the ancestors of the Gu family sooner.
It seems that she won't need to take action now.
"How is it going?" Gu Liansheng grew increasingly anxious as he waited and couldn't help but ask.
Doctor Gu put Madam Feng's arm back under the covers, and under the hopeful gazes of the mother and son, shook his head: "Send her to Beian City, and see if we can afford to hire a good doctor."
Feng stared blankly for a moment, then burst into tears.
"What do you mean by that?!" Gu Liansheng's hands trembled; he found it hard to accept what Doctor Gu had said.
"I am powerless to help your mother with her illness. Take her to Beian City. Don't be stingy with the money. Find a good doctor and see if there is any way to save her."
And your father too, take him to Bei'an City, and while you're at it, get him a good doctor to treat him…”
Gu Liansheng's mind was buzzing.
Sending it to Bei'an City and hiring a doctor would cost at least a dozen taels of silver!
All the loose change he had in his hand amounted to no more than three taels of silver!
What good are three taels of silver?
Putting everything else aside, the cost of the medicine alone is more than three taels of silver!
"I'll go home first and get some medicine to bring over so your parents can recover from their illness. As for whether you go to Beian City or not, that's up to you."
After saying this, Doctor Gu slung his medicine box over his shoulder and left the Gu family.
After the people left, Chief Gu and the others also left, clearly not wanting to get involved in the matter.
The third uncle was left behind, but eventually softened and decided to tell Gu Liansheng the truth.
“Your mother and father both have money. Now that your mother can’t speak, once your father wakes up, just ask him for money. It’s a matter of life and death, so I believe your father won’t be stingy.” Compared to the cold treatment from others, the fact that his third uncle was speaking to him like this showed that he still had some regard for him.
Gu Liansheng pressed his advantage, saying, "Third Uncle! If I take my parents to Bei'an City later, please let my second son come with me!"
Uncle San could not agree to this on his own. He said, "You have to go to Lian Shan in person to talk to him about this. I can't make the decision for him."
"When your father wakes up, ask him if he'd like Lianshan to go with you. If he does, then go talk to Lianshan about it."
Gu Liansheng was extremely dissatisfied with this reply, and even the mute and immobile Madam Feng became agitated, crying out, "Waaah! Waaah..."
A series of whimpering sounds, coupled with Feng's resentful eyes, made it clear to anyone who wasn't blind that she showed no gratitude whatsoever.
Gu Tang deliberately took two steps closer so that Madam Feng could see her, and then persuaded her third uncle to go back.
“This is their family matter, and we shouldn’t say too much. Grandpa, let’s go back. My father must be very worried about us after being away for so long.”
“Alright, let’s go back.” Feng’s reaction made Third Uncle feel like he had been meddling in other people’s business.
No matter how much she glared at him, her third uncle ignored her and walked out with his cane.
Gu Tang, who was at the back, took advantage of the fact that her third uncle wasn't paying attention and silently said to Madam Feng: Serves you right!
The single word "should" was incredibly powerful, successfully infuriating Mr. Feng to the point of seeing stars.
When she came to her senses, she found that Gu Tang had already left.
This makes me even angrier!
……
The grandfather and grandson were lucky; when they arrived, only a few snowflakes were falling, and the same was true when they left—the snowflakes weren't heavy.
When we got back to the courtyard, the light snow quickly became heavier, and soon it was falling thickly from the sky.
In the main room, Gu Lianshan was no longer making incense; instead, his son was making it, and Gu Lianshan was helping out.
Upon seeing the grandfather and grandson return, Gu Lianshan casually asked how things were, only to learn that Old Master Gu had also suffered a stroke!
"He was perfectly fine, so how did that old man over there suddenly have a stroke?"
"Judging from what Doctor Gu said, it seems that he was drunk and woke up like this."
Gu Lianshan: ...Did you drink?
"You're practically buried at the neck, how can you still be so reckless?"
"They said it was because they were happy, thinking that their son was getting married again, so they ate more. By the way, the old lady's condition has worsened, and now she can't even speak."
Gu Lianshan: ...
The third uncle told him the reason why Madam Feng fainted one after another, and also mentioned that Doctor Gu wanted to send her to Beian City.
"Doctor Gu meant that he couldn't cure the patient and suggested sending him to Beian City. Gu Liansheng said you should go with him, but I didn't dare agree. I just asked him to come and ask you."
Think this over carefully. Gu Liansheng will definitely come to you about it later. If you want to go, then go with him. If you don't want to go, then don't go. The family will do as you please.
Gu Lianshan fell silent, put down the basket in his hand, and remained silent for a long time.
Third Uncle didn't force him. He stepped forward, picked up the basket, and called to Gu Ping'an, who had stopped, to continue.
Gu Tang moved closer to her father and said, "What's wrong? Are you having trouble making up your mind? If you don't want to go but can't bear to leave him, we can give him some money."
"Give him money? He could embezzle it all!" Gu Lianshan knew Gu Liansheng's character very well.
Besides...
"I'll bet you, your uncle won't send people to Beian City. He'll just keep pretending to be deaf and dumb."
"That's not necessarily true. The clan chief and elders were all present and heard Doctor Gu say that he wanted to send it to Bei'an City."
After the New Year, my eldest uncle is going to take the imperial examination, and the clan will be involved. If anyone dares not help their parents now, they can forget about getting the clan's help next year!
"How about we make a bet, father and daughter?"
Gu Tang became interested: "Alright! Let's make a bet. But first, what are we betting on?"
"I'll bet you the bottle of green wine in your hand. If I win, you'll lose a whole jar of my green wine."
"What if you lose?"
"I lost? If I lost, then I'll just owe you the price of a jar of wine!"
"make a deal!"
Uncle San glanced over and shook his head helplessly. These two, father and daughter, were both fools, actually betting on such a thing.
Both father and daughter were very confident and believed they could win.
Gu Liansheng didn't come home from noon until the afternoon.
Now, Gu Tang was no longer calm. Could it be that her father was right?
During dinner, Gu Lianshan made Gu Tang fulfill his bet.
Gu Tang found an opening and said that it was impossible to get to Bei'an City so quickly in the heavy snow. He would have to borrow an oxcart and find a few more people to help him carry the six people.
Gu Lianshan asked her how long she wanted to wait, because she couldn't keep waiting forever; otherwise, it would be cheating.
“Three days!” Gu Tang held up three fingers. “If the person doesn’t show up in three days, I’ll give you a jar of fine wine.”
"Alright! Then Father will wait for three days."
……
It was said to be three days, but in fact, Gu Tang lost on the second day.
Early in the morning, Li Shunzi, who had been driven away earlier, came again. This time, he didn't come alone, but with a car full of four middle-aged men.
Gu Lianshan didn't understand what was going on: "You all got up so early, aren't you afraid of the cold?"
"Cold! How could I not be cold! But there's nothing I can do about it!"
Li Shunzi spoke first and pleaded with Gu Lianshan again to go with them to pick up the new bride.
"What new bride?" Gu Lianshan asked, completely bewildered.
"You rascal! I told you the other day that your brother is going to remarry, and we don't have enough manpower in this snowy weather. So I asked you to drive the oxcart with us to deliver the betrothal gifts and bring the new bride back for your brother's wedding ceremony."
Gu Lianshan's face turned cold: "The old man and old woman in the family are both dying. Doctor Gu asked him to send the person to Bei'an City to fetch a doctor, but unexpectedly, he is reluctant to send the person and instead is focused on continuing the wedding!"
Li Shunzi had overheard this and asked about it when he came, but Gu Liansheng had his own twisted logic.
“Your older brother said that things haven’t been going well at home lately, and he’s afraid we’ve attracted some bad luck. He’s thinking of having a wedding to bring good fortune to my uncle and aunt and get rid of the bad luck, maybe they’ll even get better…”
Gu Lianshan: ...Talent! He's a real talent!
Gu Tang, who came out from the west wing, heard this and was full of admiration. She said, "The old master and old lady's illness is bad luck entering the family, but what about my uncle who fails the imperial examination every year? Is that also bad luck entering the family?"
"If that's the case, then it's really strange. Why is this bad luck clinging to my uncle's family? It doesn't affect anyone else in the whole village, just my uncle's family! This is truly unusual!"