novelraw Chapter 299, Chapter 296: The Sisters-in-Law Fight
Chapter 299, Chapter 296: The Sisters-in-Law Fight
Chapter 299, Section 296: Sisters-in-law Fight
The crowd completely surrounded Gu Baoshan's courtyard, and the buzzing noise gave everyone a headache.
It was almost time for Chen Shi (7-9 AM), and the pallbearers stood around the coffin, bending down to press the wooden pieces tied to the coffin onto their shoulders.
After the sorceress Liu said, "Rise—"
The coffins were then lifted, with Guan's coffin going first, followed closely by Gu Dani's coffin.
Gu Baoshan's family cemetery is to the south. Just go straight south from the alley in front.
The snow on the road had been cleared in advance, making it much easier to travel.
As soon as the coffin left the courtyard, the "filial sons and grandsons" began to weep and bid farewell along the roadside.
This is a "filial son and virtuous grandson" hired by the Guan family at great expense.
According to seniority, Guan is their paternal aunt and great-aunt, so it is appropriate for them to play the role of filial sons and grandsons.
Besides the filial sons and grandsons who wept as they saw them off, the three members of the Jiang family, mother and sons, also followed along. Although they did not cry, their mourning clothes were quite striking.
The villagers pointed and whispered, all knowing what had happened. Some cursed that the Guan family deserved it, while others felt that the Guan family had gone too far.
Your Guan family's daughter died; that's just bad luck. Why do you insist on blaming your mother-in-law and husband?
Even if the mother-in-law and husband did do something wrong, arguing and bickering is fine, but how can you force your husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law to wear mourning clothes?
The person muttering these words in a low voice was a middle-aged woman who was so thin she looked emaciated.
Upon hearing this, everyone around the woman turned to look at her.
After recognizing her, everyone curled their lip and rolled their eyes at her.
Who said that? It turned out to be Gu Laoluo's wife, Jin.
No wonder Jin said that. She has driven two of her three daughters-in-law to their deaths, and the families of those two daughters-in-law are all cowards!
After they came over and started yelling and cursing, nothing came of it.
It's not surprising that someone like that would say such things.
The crowd ignored her and kept saying how much the Guan family doted on their daughter.
"The Guan family is really generous! I heard that each coffin cost several taels of silver! Two coffins must have cost a lot of money!"
"Who says otherwise? And what about these paper effigies of people, pavilions, towers, and mountains of gold and silver? Who would be so willing to spend that much?"
"Even when the young mistress of the Luo family was buried three years ago, it wasn't as grand as the Guan family's funeral today!"
……
As Jin listened to the neighbors praising the Guan family, her face darkened.
She pursed her lips, squeezed out of the crowd, and walked home grumbling.
Jin lived in the north, and to get home, she had to pass through the alley east of the Gu family's house at the end of the village.
Walking along the narrow, winding path into the alley, the courtyard on your left is the Gu family's house.
Just then, a shout of curses suddenly rang out from the courtyard:
"Gu Liansheng! I'm reporting this to the authorities!!! Your Gu family has raised a thief! Get your damned sister out here right now! She stole my silver jewelry, make her hand it over!"
Upon hearing this, Jin stopped abruptly, her eyes flashing slightly.
The voice was unfamiliar; it must be Qian Shi, who had only been in the household for a few days.
Judging from this, Qian's things were stolen, and the thief was none other than Master Tongsheng's sister, Gu Zhier.
When did Gu Zhier arrive? I've never heard anyone mention her before.
The more Jin thought about it, the more it itched in her heart. She immediately turned around and walked to the next room.
Gu Liansheng was in a state of utter panic.
Originally, the plan was to keep it a secret from Gu Zhier for the time being, so that she wouldn't know that Qian Shi had entered the family. The fear was that she would turn her back on the family and refuse to stay to serve the old master and old lady.
Madam Qian knew Gu Liansheng's intentions. Since she didn't want to serve those two old geezers, Gu Liansheng's actions suited her perfectly, so she was happy to cooperate. She kept avoiding Gu Zhier, and the first day went smoothly.
But with an extra living person in the house, even the most careless Gu Zhier couldn't possibly be completely oblivious.
Putting everything else aside, the amount of food and drink consumed each day is not even commensurate with the quantity.
Every time he cooks, Gu Liansheng would ask for more rice, as his appetite has been good lately and his food intake has been increasing.
This wouldn't have been a problem in itself, but Gu Liansheng insisted on serving food at every meal.
After distributing the food, he carried enough for two people back to his room to eat.
Gu Liansheng had done this before, but that was because he was eating special meals and had to do it so that his second wife's family wouldn't find out.
Now that the entire second wife's family has been adopted, only the eldest wife's family remains, so there's no need for them to hide anymore.
Moreover, the food we've been eating these past two days hasn't been anything special; it's mostly just mushy pickled vegetables and the like.
What's there to hide?
Sensing that something was wrong, Gu Zhier rushed to push open the door when Gu Liansheng brought the food to the east wing again, and saw Qian Shi.
Gu Zhier had previously gone to see Madam Qian with Gu Liansheng, so she naturally recognized her now.
A thought flashed through her mind: that Qian was shameless and had taken the initiative to seduce Gu Liansheng.
Gu Zhier's face immediately darkened.
Fortunately, Gu Liansheng quickly explained that Qian Shi had married into the family ahead of schedule, and told her not to overthink it.
Gu Zhier didn't believe Gu Liansheng's words, so she turned around and went to the west room to ask the old man.
When the old man realized that his affair had been exposed, he simply told the truth, saying that Qian Shi did not want to take care of the old couple, so she had to call Gu Zhi'er back to take care of them.
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhier burst into tears; this time, she was truly heartbroken.
The new bride was unwilling to serve, so she asked someone to serve her herself, without ever thinking that she had a mother-in-law to serve, as well as children and a husband to take care of at the Wang family's side.
It was one thing for her older brother to lie to her, but she never expected that her parents would also lie to her.
Gu Zhier grew angrier the more she thought about it, and sat in the west room and cried her heart out. Her crying made Old Master Gu lose his patience, and he scolded her.
Gu Zhier was even more heartbroken. Her filial piety faded, and she no longer served him as attentively as before. She even insisted that Qian Shi come and serve him as well.
Ms. Qian was naturally unwilling. The two women had a fight last night and another one this morning.
With Gu Liansheng's help and Old Master Gu's bias, Qian Shi maintained a steady upper hand and could be said to be suppressing Gu Zhier's insults.
Take this morning for example. Before Gu Zhier could even utter two curses, Gu Liansheng came out to protect her, and Old Master Gu also told her to stop making trouble.
Instead of stopping there, Madam Qian took the opportunity to point at Gu Zhier and give her a good scolding.
After the commotion, Madam Qian went to the outhouse in the backyard. Gu Zhier, who was furious, grabbed a pair of scissors and rushed into the east wing.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the east wing at the moment, they turned over all of Qian's clothes and cut them to shreds. They also smashed the dressing box hidden in the clothes to the ground, making it a complete mess!
When Madam Qian returned from the outhouse, she entered the east wing and saw the room in a mess, with shredded clothes scattered all over the floor.
Qian Shi didn't care about the clothes; her gaze was fixed on the shattered vanity box on the ground. Seeing the broken box, she was horrified, her hands trembling, and she hurriedly went to pick it up.
This is the box she uses to store her silver jewelry. Inside are two pairs of silver bracelets, six silver hairpins, six silver rings, and six pairs of silver earrings.
She searched on the ground but couldn't find anything.
Without a doubt, those silver jewelry pieces must have been taken!
As for who this person is, it's obvious right now!
Picking up the box, Madam Qian went to the main room to settle accounts with Gu Zhier!
Gu Liansheng was also in the main room, trying to comfort the cold-faced Gu Zhier. He wanted her not to be so petty as to argue with Madam Qian, and to be more magnanimous. He promised that when they returned to the Wang family, he would prepare many things for Gu Zhier to take back and make her proud.
When Qian, who was outside the door, heard this, she immediately flew into a rage and, instead of going inside, started cursing at the house from the porch.
Gu Zhier was also furious at the moment. Her anger had not subsided. When she heard Qian Shi scold her for stealing, she was stunned for a moment, and then rushed out with a livid face.
"Bullshit! Who stole your stuff?! What do you have that's worth my attention?!"
……
Inside the room, Gu Liansheng's heart skipped a beat, and a look of guilt and unease flashed across his eyes.
But he soon calmed down.
According to Madam Qian, she blamed the missing silver jewelry on Gu Zhier, believing that Gu Zhier had stolen it.
Gu Liansheng's eyes flickered slightly. Well... that's fine. Since it's all attributed to Gu Zhier, then she won't doubt him anymore.
If that's the case, then let Gu Zhier take the blame.
Although I feel bad for my sister for doing this, I can make it up to her secretly later.
Gu Liansheng thought about it more and more and felt that this was a very good idea. He got up and went out, wanting to help Qian Shi push the matter onto Gu Zhier.
But when he lifted the curtain, he froze in shock. Qian Shi and Gu Zhi'er were fighting!
Neither of the two women would back down, and they ended up tumbling together into a snowdrift in the yard.
One moment Gu Zhier was riding on Qian Shi and slapping her, and the next moment Qian Shi, relying on her size and strength, was pressing back and riding on Gu Zhier to slap her a few times in return.
In terms of physique and strength alone, Gu Zhier is no match for Qian Shi, but when it comes to playing dirty tricks, Gu Zhier is just like Feng Shi, without any hesitation, and can leave Qian Shi far behind!
Gu Zhier never threw away the scissors she had just used. She knew that after she had torn Qian's clothes, Qian would definitely not give up, so she always kept the scissors hidden on her person.
A fight broke out, and taking advantage of Qian's momentary lapse in attention, she pulled out a pair of scissors from her clothes and slashed Qian's face—
"what!!!"
A scream rang out instantly, and Qian was seen collapsing to the side, her hands covering her face, her eyes filled with terror!
Gu Zhier got up from the ground and continued to slash Qian Shi's face with scissors!
Qian immediately lost her temper, covered her face and scrambled to the side, while screaming for help.
"Help! Murder! Master Tong's sister is trying to kill her sister-in-law!!!"
Gu Zhier's expression turned ferocious, and she spat at her: "You man-starved whore! You think you're worthy to be my sister-in-law? Bah! Don't disgust me!"
Today I'll ruin your face and cut your mouth to shreds! I want to see if you can still utter curses without a face and a mouth!
These words sent a chill down Qian’s spine.
Seeing Gu Liansheng standing dumbfounded at the entrance of the main room out of the corner of her eye, Madam Qian's eyes lit up. Thinking that she could be saved, she hurriedly staggered towards the main room.
But in the next instant, Gu Liansheng, having regained his senses, hurriedly retreated back into the main room and closed the door, leaving Qian Shi and Gu Zhier outside.
Qian: ...! !!
"Open the door! Open the door!" Qian was both shocked and furious, frantically pounding on the door.
Unfortunately, Gu Liansheng inside the house refused to open the door.
Seeing Gu Zhier approaching again with scissors, Qian had no choice but to run towards the courtyard gate, hoping to find someone to help her.
Just as they reached the courtyard gate, they bumped into Jin, who was acting suspiciously outside. Both of them fell into a snowdrift and got covered in snow.
Gu Zhier, who had caught up, seized the opportunity to stab Qian Shi in the leg with scissors.
Qian was ruthless enough to use her strength to pull Jin over as a shield.
Gu Zhier was startled for a moment and tried to pull back the scissors, but it was too late. She could only watch helplessly as the scissors in her hand stabbed Jin Shi hard in the thigh.
Immediately afterwards, a scream like a pig being slaughtered rang out:
"what--!!!"
Gu Zhier was both shocked and panicked. She instinctively pulled the scissors out of her hand, causing Jin to scream again.
Bright red blood flowed from the punctured hole, but the bleeding was not excessive and stopped on its own quickly.
Judging from the depth of the red bloodstains on the scissors, the cut was not deep.
Winter clothes are thick enough to help protect against some of the damage, and besides, scissors are not knives and are not suitable for stabbing people.
In addition, Gu Zhier's strength was limited, so even if she stood still and let her prick, she couldn't prick very deep.
Although it wasn't deep, it still left a bloody hole in the skin, and the pain was still the same.
Jin hugged her legs with both hands and shouted at the top of her lungs. Half the village heard her loud voice and came running towards the sound.
Finally calming down, Gu Zhier realized she had caused trouble. Her face turned deathly pale, and she was trembling all over. She grabbed the scissors and ran home.
Gu Liansheng, who was hiding in the main room, also heard the screams outside. He panicked and had no choice but to run to the west room to ask Old Master Gu for advice.
Grandpa Gu's chest started hurting again. He told his son, "Don't, don't open the door! You're a scholar, you don't have the strength in your hands, and your mother and I are both bedridden. Your sister has gone mad now, don't let her hurt you!"
"What about the Qian family? Listen to that scream! Their voices have changed from pain!"
"Why do you care about her? Wouldn't it be better without her? Keep her dowry and just marry another woman tomorrow."
These words suddenly made Gu Liansheng realize the truth. Right, why was he panicking? As long as the door remained closed, Gu Zhier couldn't get in, and as for Madam Qian…
As the saying goes, "Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately."
For now, the couple can only accept their fate.
"Big brother! Open the door!"
Gu Zhier returned to the main room covered in snow and banged on the door several times, urgently asking Gu Liansheng to open it.
Inside the house, upon hearing Gu Zhier's voice, Gu Liansheng subconsciously trembled, but then he realized that Gu Zhier couldn't come in, and his whole body relaxed instantly.
"Open the door! Brother! I know you're inside! Quickly open the door and take me back!"
Gu Zhier sounded very anxious, glancing back every now and then, afraid that the villagers would come and arrest her.
Gu Liansheng didn't believe her, and tiptoed out of the west room, telling her to go find Li Shunzi.
"We don't have an oxcart, so I can't take you. Go ask Shunzi if he's free. Or you can go to Lao Er; he has an oxcart too!"