novelraw Chapter 283 A Shameful Heartbeat!
Chapter 283 A Shameful Heartbeat!
Chapter 283 A Shameful Heartbeat!
People love excitement, and even though he was at odds with the other side, Gu Ping'an still got excited when he heard the words "bride".
He pushed past Gu Tang and squeezed to the front, whispering, "I heard the bride's surname is Qian. The man in front of her died of illness, and the couple didn't have any children."
Fearing she couldn't manage the family business alone, Madam Qian sought marriage partners everywhere, only choosing those from far away, completely ignoring those near San'an Town.
Gu Tang glanced at him: "You seem to know quite a lot."
“When she got engaged to that man, you weren’t in the village. The news spread throughout the village, and there were all sorts of rumors, but no one knew if it was true or not.”
As the siblings were talking, the oxcart arrived in front of them.
None of the group looked at Gu Tang and her brother; instead, they kept staring at Ah Gou.
Unable to contain her curiosity, someone asked, "Miss Lianshan, what is this young master's surname and given name? When will the family reunion banquet be held?"
Gu Tang replied with a smile, "His surname is Gu, the same as ours. He is the third child in his family, and everyone calls him Sanlang."
The family reunion banquet has been arranged with the clan head and will be held on the seventh day of the month. Don't forget to come to our house for the feast, uncles and elders!
After saying this, Gu Tang secretly winked at Ah Gou, signaling him to call for help.
Ah Gou immediately stepped forward and bowed to the group with a junior's salute: "On the seventh day, you uncles must drink a few more cups of wine."
A group of men who toiled in the fields had never seen a young nobleman bow to them before.
For a moment, everyone was at a loss, flattered and overwhelmed, their minds blank, unable to say a word.
He nodded repeatedly, almost unconsciously, and replied, "Definitely! This is something I could never have dreamed of! I can't possibly miss it!"
Because the group was talking, Li Shunzi stopped leading the oxcart.
Seeing everyone lower their stance, each person's tone was extremely obsequious.
Li Shunzi was stung by this scene, feeling both jealous and resentful.
He stared at Gu Tang's smiling face, then looked at the richly dressed Ah Gou for a while, and suddenly a wicked thought arose in his mind. He suddenly told Gu Tang to call for help.
"Tang girl! Come here quickly and call your aunt! When your uncle passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar after the New Year, your aunt will be a scholar's wife!"
These words came as abrupt as the crowd fell silent and turned to look at him.
Gu Tang glanced at him, then shifted her gaze to the woman sitting on the oxcart.
If Li Shunzi tells me to call this person "Auntie," then this person is most likely Qian Shi.
Presumably because of the cold weather, Qian was completely wrapped in fur, with only her eyes showing.
Li Shunzi then asked Gu Tang to call her Auntie. Gu Tang heard this and looked directly at Gu Tang, her gaze showing neither malice nor goodwill.
She just stared at Gu Tang without saying a word, seemingly waiting for Gu Tang to call someone.
Ah Gou disliked Qian Shi's gaze, stepped forward to block Gu Tang, his eyes as cold as sharp blades, piercing straight at Qian Shi as a warning.
Qian immediately turned her face away, a look of panic flashing in her eyes.
Gu Tang pushed Ah Gou aside and shouted into the courtyard, "Dad! Uncle Shunzi is back with his new bride! He insists I call her 'Auntie'!"
Li Shun hadn't expected Gu Tang to pull this stunt so suddenly, and his face showed panic. He tried to defend himself, saying, "What can your father do? By seniority, you should call him 'Auntie'..."
"Wrong!" Gu Tang interrupted him coldly, "In terms of seniority, I should call her 'aunt'!"
Li Shunzi was speechless. Indeed, since Gu Lianshan's entire branch of the family had been adopted, calling her "aunt" was the proper and reasonable thing to do.
He was in the wrong.
Gu Lianshan's loud voice rang out from inside the courtyard: "What's wrong, girl?!"
Upon hearing Gu Lianshan's voice, Li Shunzi felt a sense of fear.
Despite his loud pronouncements, he's actually terrified when it comes to facing Gu Lianshan!
Feeling guilty, Li Shunzi didn't even say goodbye and hurriedly led the oxcart towards the end of the village.
The four people who were left behind were stunned for a moment, and when they came to their senses, their eyes were filled with anger.
"What's going on?"
Gu Lianshan walked out of the courtyard, wearing an apron around his waist, his hands were greasy, and his whole body smelled of meat.
He wiped his hands with his apron while looking around in confusion, his gaze finally settling on Gu Tang: "What did you shout just now? Your father was in the kitchen and didn't hear you clearly."
Although the question was directed at Gu Tang, before Gu Tang could reply, he shifted his gaze to the group of people who had been abandoned by Li Shunzi.
"It's you guys! Weren't you with Shunzi to pick up the bride? What? Just got back? Where's Shunzi? Where's the new bride?"
A barrage of questions stunned everyone. They looked at Gu Lianshan, feeling a chill run down their spines, and quickly pointed to the west.
"Shun and Shunzi led the oxcart away first, and the bride was sitting on the oxcart. He was in a hurry to get her there..."
"Are we having a feast tonight?"
"We'll just set up a simple table for ourselves, two tables in total. Tomorrow is the actual day."
Gu Lianshan nodded: "Alright, I'll go give a gift tomorrow too. Everyone go back now, it's so cold, hurry over there for a meal, have a few drinks to warm yourselves up."
Hearing this, the four breathed a sigh of relief and immediately set off to chase after Li Shunzi.
No matter how angry they were, they still had to eat tonight's meal!
After enduring the cold and hardship all day, I've been looking forward to this dinner tonight!
After everyone left, Gu Tang complained to her father, "Does Li Shunzi have a brain disorder? You didn't hear what he just said; it's not something a human could say!"
Why bother with him? Just treat him like an idiot, whatever he says, just ignore it!
Gu Lianshan comforted his daughter and told her to go back into the yard and warm herself by the fire.
Gu Tang entered the courtyard with a displeased expression.
After entering the courtyard, she didn't go to the main room, but went straight back to her room, intending to lie down in bed and warm up.
Ah Gou had been keeping an eye on her. When she entered the house, he casually handed the mutton meatballs he was carrying to Gu Ping'an, and then turned to Gu Lianshan and said that he was tired.
"After driving the carriage for so long during the day, I feel a bit tired now. I'd like to go back to my room and rest first."
"Go ahead. Oh, by the way, your grandfather brought you another quilt during the day, and it's on your bed in your room."
Your cousin recently bought a lot of kapok quilts, and your grandfather made several quilts. Since it's cold today, we're adding another one for you. If you're still cold, we'll add another one!
"Sigh!" Ah Gou responded with a smile and went back into the house without making a sound.
Only Gu Ping'an and his son Gu Lianshan remained in the corridor at this moment. Gu Lianshan had his son, who was carrying meatballs, follow him into the kitchen.
There's still a lot to do in the kitchen. Now that Ah Gou has gone back to his room, Gu Lianshan would probably be overwhelmed if he had to do it all by himself. Gu Ping'an would have to step in and help out.
After the father and son entered the kitchen, Ah Gou, who had been keeping an eye on the outside, quietly opened the door and quickly walked towards the west wing.
Gu Tang had already taken off her shoes and sat in bed. She wasn't sleepy, but she just loved the warmth of the bed.
The dog outside didn't knock on the door, but stood in front of the window and gently knocked on the window a few times.
At first, Gu Tang didn't notice and thought it was just the cold wind hitting the window. It wasn't until the sound rang out rhythmically several times that she opened her eyes and woke up from her resting state.
"Who is it?" Gu Tang asked impatiently.
"It's me..." Ah Gou's voice was so soft that Gu Tang might not have heard it if she hadn't been listening carefully. Gu Tang threw off the covers and got out of bed, shivering. She quickly put on her shoes and removed the latch from the back of the door.
Without caring whether Ah Gou could come in or not, she turned around and ran back.
He ran to the bedside, plopped down on it, then threw off his shoes and sat back down in bed.
Enveloped in warmth, she sighed, her mood improving considerably.
Ah Gou watched her darting around with a smile on his face. After entering, he casually closed the door and followed her into the inner room.
"I think you're really bold. What if my father sees you coming here now?"
Gu Tang glared at Ah Gou, not too hard, clearly displeased that he had come in at this moment.
"I see you're unhappy, so how about Li Shunzi...?" Ah Gou made a knife shape with his right hand and then gestured at his own neck.
The meaning is clear: they want to kill Li Shunzi.
Gu Tang paused, then immediately straightened up and pinched him: "Don't you dare do anything reckless!"
"I won't do anything reckless. You tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I won't let you be bullied." Ah Gou said earnestly; he truly meant it.
Gu Tang pinched him again: "Alright, Li Shunzi's matter has nothing to do with you. I have my own plans, and you are not allowed to interfere!"
Ah Gou looked disappointed.
Gu Tang ignored him and changed the subject: "During the day, you gave me so many things, saying you earned them all. I'm asking you, how did you earn those things? Did you go to the Cheng family again?"
"I didn't go to the Cheng family!" Ah Gou raised his hand and swore, "The things I delivered today were definitely earned by myself!"
"How did you earn it?"
"I served as someone's bodyguard for half a day and helped kill a few people. Since they didn't have any money to pay, they told me to take whatever I wanted. The things I'm giving you today were all chosen by myself!"
In the end, Ah Gou looked quite proud; his judgment was actually pretty good!
Gu Tang's face froze, her jaw dropped: "...Served as someone's bodyguard for half a day? And helped kill a few people? Are you crazy?!"
"I'm perfectly fine, what's wrong with me?" Ah Gou asked, looking puzzled.
"What normal person would suddenly help someone kill someone?" Gu Tang glared at him. Was this something a normal person could do?!
“I didn’t want to do it at first, but they offered me this amount…” Ah Gou held up a finger and waved it back and forth in front of Gu Tang.
"How much? One thousand taels?"
"Ten of them are worth a thousand taels."
"Holy crap! Ten thousand taels?!"
Ah Gou nodded: "Yes, I didn't want to do it at first, but they offered too much, so I accepted."
Ten thousand taels of silver... half a day of guarding plus killing a few people...
Gu Tang: ...Damn it! She shamefully fell for him!!!
No, no!
bah bah bah!
She was a model youth raised under the red flag!
How could you have such a thought?
It must have been the resentment that affected her when she transformed into a vengeful ghost in the underworld!
Gu Tang cleared his throat: "Ahem! Didn't those people you killed deserve to die?"
"They deserve to die; they killed several innocent people who were passing by."
That's absolutely damnable!
"How many did you kill?"
"Not many, five people, all dressed in black."
Five people...
After deducting the cost of half a day's guard duty, each of these five people is worth... ptooey! Why is she calculating again?!
"Tell me about this whole thing from beginning to end, in detail, without omitting a single detail!"
Gu Tang looked serious. Anyone who could afford ten thousand taels of silver was definitely not simple. He was afraid of causing any trouble.
Tell me everything from beginning to end?
Ah Gou thought for a while, and this matter had to start from the day he returned to Beian City last time.
Last time, he stayed at the Gu family's house for one night, and the next day he took several little beggars back to Bei'an City.
At first, everything went smoothly, and he even managed to send the little beggars back to the charity hall.
Afterwards, he inspected the entire charity hall, inside and out, in preparation for his temporary departure.
He first checked everything in the courtyard. The number of people was not less, there was enough food, firewood and charcoal, and warm clothes had been distributed, one set of new clothes for each person.
After checking the things inside the courtyard, they began to check the things outside the courtyard.
After leaving the charity hall, Ah Gou began to patrol the courtyard.
Halfway through the patrol, they discovered a pool of blood at a corner.
Not far from the pool of blood lay a young man, whose fate was unknown, and who was about the same age as him.
"...At the time, I thought I would just pretend I didn't see him and try to walk around him. But after I took a few steps forward, the man woke up and said that he was being chased and hoped that I could help him."
Gu Tang's gaze was deep and unfathomable: "You believe me?"
“I didn’t believe him, but he pulled out several silver notes. I didn’t believe him, but the silver notes were real.”
Ah Gou looked completely at ease and said frankly that it was only because of the silver notes.
"Where's the back?"
"The man's entourage arrived, and the two sides met. At that moment, about ten people jumped out from all sides and attacked the man."
The man promised that if I helped him, he would pay me double the amount in silver notes.
At this point, Ah Gou said with some dissatisfaction, "I either drove away or killed those men in black. It was agreed that I would get two thousand taels of silver for each one I killed."
When it came time to pay with the silver notes, he didn't have enough, so he had to make up for it with the things I had given him that day.
Gu Tang: ...I'm so envious! This time of year is really different; you can even earn money by killing someone.
"Does that person know your specific situation? He was carrying a lot of valuables and was being hunted down, and you got involved in this incident, killing several men in black. The person behind this must be furious. If they come after you, the consequences could be dire!"
"Don't worry, I was masked when I killed them, so they won't recognize me. Besides, I've moved to the village now, so the people behind this won't be able to find me even if they dig three feet into the ground."
"If that's the case, then that would be for the best." Gu Tang breathed a sigh of relief, as long as there were no further troubles.
"Alright, get out of here. Don't linger in my room. If you bump into my dad, you'll regret it!"
After figuring out the whole story, Gu Tang began to urge everyone to leave.
Ah Gou didn't dare argue with her, so he could only leave with a smile.
When I came out, I really took a closer look at the courtyard outside.
It was already dark, and the heavy snowfall, which had been gradually subsiding, suddenly intensified again, obscuring visibility and making it impossible to see anything.