novelraw Chapter 303 Dead
Chapter 303 Dead
Chapter 303 Dead
Qian Shi, however, was not going to tolerate him. She came out of the east room with a cold laugh and directly peeled off his face: "Cat scratch? Humph! If I had cat claws, I would have gouged your eyes out!"
Gu Liansheng's face flushed red, and he angrily rebuked, "What nonsense are you spouting?! When men are talking, who gives you the right to interrupt!"
These words angered Madam Qian, who stepped forward and grabbed Gu Liansheng's ear.
"Bullshit! You call yourself a man? Bah! Look at you, you coward! Your whore sister stole my silver jewelry, and I told you to go to the Wang family to ask your sister for it back, but you were like a turtle hiding in the ground, not daring to utter a single fart!"
Gu Liansheng's mind went blank, and he felt ashamed as if someone had stepped on his face. The pain in his ears constantly reminded him how humiliated he was!
"Let go! You shrew!"
Gu Liansheng pushed Qian Shi with all his might to free his ear, then, with a ferocious expression, he cursed at her.
"You despicable thing! What are you? How dare you lay a hand on me! I'm divorcing you! I'm definitely divorcing you!"
Gu Liansheng's rage did not frighten Qian Shi; she was not afraid at all.
After regaining her footing, she spat viciously at Gu Liansheng and cursed, "Pah! You want to divorce me? If you dare to write a letter of divorce, I'll have your whole family killed right now!"
You really think I'm some kind of respectable woman? I'm not afraid to let you know, I'm a gangster too!
"I have countless lovers outside! If you really push me too far, I'll have someone set fire to your entire family!"
Whether these words were true or false, Gu Liansheng gasped, first looking at Qian Shi with fear, then with disgust and loathing.
Clearly, this was because they believed Qian's words.
Gu Lianshan, who witnessed all of this, was speechless.
Regardless of whether what Qian said was true or not, Qian's temper was simply unbearable.
There's a saying that goes, "Evil people will be punished by evil people," and the Qian family's marriage to Gu Liansheng was truly a "match made in heaven."
Before Gu Liansheng could start cursing again, Gu Lianshan stepped forward and pulled the man away.
"Sister-in-law lost something so valuable, she's bound to be angry right now. You should have avoided her and said some nice things instead. How could you have made her so angry? Listen to her, she's talking nonsense!"
Madam Qian's expression softened, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She regretted saying those words as soon as they left her mouth; she shouldn't have said them in a fit of anger.
Fortunately, Gu Lianshan knew how to advise people and didn't take the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.
Qian was a flexible person who could put aside her pride at any time. Gu Lianshan gave her a way out, and she immediately took it and spoke softly.
"I was desperate. Those jewelry pieces were all made of silver. If they were melted down, they would still be worth forty or fifty taels of silver. But your sister stole them. If I can get them back, I won't take a single piece. I'll keep them all for your studies!"
Coincidentally, Gu Liansheng was greedy for money. If Qian had said anything else, he could have remained as hard as stone. But when Qian said those words, it really hit the nail on the head.
Qian took the silver jewelry herself, but now everyone thinks Gu Zhier took it.
Ms. Qian promised that if the silver jewelry could be found, she would keep it all for herself; it was indeed a lucrative idea…
If... if we can force Gu Zhier to admit to this, and then use that to force the Wang family to return the money in equal measure, wouldn't my son get double the money?
Even if we calculate based on the minimum of forty taels of silver, double that would be eighty taels of silver!
With this money, he could move to Beian City and, after passing the imperial examination next year, use the money to get a position as a clerk or registrar, so he could at least earn some money.
Gu Liansheng's plan was quite rosy. His anger subsided somewhat, and with a cold snort, he stopped arguing with Madam Qian and stormed out of the room.
Gu Lianshan smiled at Madam Qian, then turned and followed her.
As soon as the person left, Madam Qian's face fell again, and the lingering anger in her heart once more flared up in the west room.
"Pah! The son he raised is a coward! And the daughter he raised is a thief! If they had any shame, they would have starved themselves to death long ago."
"Who's like you, lying in bed like pampered animals waiting to be pampered and cleaned up after! And then you have the nerve to swear at someone, you're truly shameless!"
Old Master Gu in the west room remained silent, but Madam Feng kept making "woo-woo" noises.
Annoyed by what she heard, Qian threw back the curtain and went in, pointing at Feng and yelling, "You're so sick you can't speak, yet you're still so annoying! If you dare to whine again, I'll shut you up!"
On the couch, Madam Feng's mouth was crooked and her eyes were drooling, but at this moment her eyes were bloodshot, and her eyes kept glancing behind Madam Qian.
Behind Qian was a bed, and on the bed lay Old Master Gu.
After cursing Feng fiercely, Qian finally realized something was wrong. She subconsciously turned around and glanced back, then her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, her face pale.
Old Master Gu lay on his back on the bed, his eyes wide open, his face contorted like a demon, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, spreading down his neck and staining the linen mattress beneath it.
Is he... is he dead?!
Qian shakily got up from the ground and mustered her courage to move forward.
Just one close look and I felt a chill run down my spine and my scalp tingle!
She shakily extended her finger and placed it in front of Old Master Gu's nose, but she couldn't sense any air coming in or out.
Withdrawing her finger, Qian panicked and lost her focus. Ignoring Feng, who was still whimpering behind her, she turned and ran out.
She rushed into the yard, letting the cold wind blow on her, and her chaotic mind gradually calmed down.
A few snowflakes drifted down from the sky, landing on Qian's face with the cold wind and quickly melting into water.
Qian wiped her face with her hand and looked up at the sky.
The sky had darkened again, and sparse snowflakes continued to fall; it was snowing again.
The panic in Qian's heart gradually dissipated, and her eyes became firm.
What are you panicking about?
It's just a dead person; it's not like we haven't seen them before!
After brushing the snowflakes off her clothes, Ms. Qian went back inside.
She closed the door to the west room, pretending not to hear Feng's sobbing, and acted as if she hadn't entered the west room today and knew nothing.
After closing the door, Ms. Qian began cleaning the house as if nothing had happened.
During this time, Feng's sobbing continued unabated, and Qian remained unmoved, her expression unchanged. She didn't even think of informing the Gu brothers, Gu Liansheng and Gu Lianshan.
On a small road to the west, far from the Gu family's residence, Gu Liansheng was questioning Gu Lianshan.
"Second brother! What do you mean by this? You said there was someone selling firewood at the east end of the village, but after we left the yard, you said you were wrong, that it was the west end of the village, not the east end!"
Now that we're at the west end of the village, you've led me down a detour! Look around, is there a house anywhere nearby? I think you're just trying to fool me!
"Oh! You're not completely stupid, you actually figured it out." Gu Lianshan said with a mocking smile.
"Given our current relationship, even if I knew someone was selling firewood, I wouldn't go out of my way to tell you. You're still so clueless; a few words from you can easily fool you."
These words infuriated Gu Liansheng!
Before he could even get angry, Gu Lianshan changed the subject and brought up Gu Zhier: "Tell me, what exactly happened with Zhier stealing things?" Gu Liansheng's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked away.
He paused, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an explanation: "What do you mean, 'what happened'? It's all over the village, you must have heard about it. That's how it happened."
You just saw Qian's temper. When she's with Zhi'er, they're like oil and water, neither willing to give in or submit to the other. The two sisters-in-law have been arguing every day for the past few days.
Today, the two women argued again about who should serve their parents. After the argument, Zhi'er was still angry. While Qian was in the outhouse, she took scissors and rushed to the east wing, cutting up Qian's clothes and stealing the silver jewelry from Qian's dressing box.
When Qian returned from the outhouse, she discovered what had happened and rushed over to fight with Zhi'er. Zhi'er, holding scissors, casually slashed Qian's face, scaring her so much that she ran out to find someone to help.
As luck would have it, Qian bumped into Jin, and Zhi'er, not paying attention, raised the scissors to stab her. She didn't see who was who, and so the scissors struck the wrong person, accidentally injuring Jin.
At first glance, this statement seems reasonable, but upon closer examination, one will find that some things don't add up.
Gu Lianshan didn't want to argue with Gu Liansheng about these things, so he just stared at him and asked, "When Zhi'er stole the things, did Qian catch her red-handed on the spot, or did she only find out the things were missing afterward?"
Gu Lianshan's gaze was too piercing, making Gu Liansheng uneasy. His eyes darted around, and he dared not meet Gu Lianshan's gaze.
Faced with this question, Gu Liansheng was vague: "Qian insisted that Zhi'er stole it, so it seems that she was caught red-handed."
Gu Liansheng's words and his entire reaction caused Gu Lianshan's face to gradually darken.
We've been brothers for decades, who doesn't know who?
Gu Liansheng just sticks his butt out, and you know exactly what kind of shit he wants to take.
Saying that Gu Zhier stole Qian's things might fool outsiders, but if she thinks she can fool herself, she's really dreaming.
"Gu Liansheng, you're becoming more and more despicable, to the point of stealing your wife's dowry! You're really something!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
These words instantly enraged Gu Liansheng!
His face flushed red, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness as he stared intently at Gu Lianshan.
"Don't make false accusations! Qian married me, and if I just asked, she would willingly send over her dowry! Why would I need to steal it?"
Gu Lianshan didn't want to listen to his excuses anymore. "No matter how eloquently you speak, what can you do? You know the truth in your heart, and I know it now too. As for Zhi'er, I have no feelings for her whatsoever. Let you two fight like dogs."
After saying this, Gu Lianshan turned and left.
"Second brother!" Gu Liansheng shouted, his face extremely ugly.
Gu Lianshan ignored him and walked home without looking back.
Gu Liansheng was both flustered and angry, fearing that Gu Lianshan would spread the news everywhere.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and soon my clothes were covered in a layer of white.
After brushing the snow off his arms, Gu Liansheng, unable to do anything to Gu Lianshan, could only return home with a gloomy expression.
Madam Qian had already cleaned the house. She glanced at the west room and saw that Madam Feng was not moving. She wondered if she was tired from sobbing, had fainted from anger, or perhaps... suffered the same fate as the old man!
Thinking of these things, Madam Qian couldn't help but tremble.
In either case, she would not go to the west wing again, unless Gu Liansheng discovered that the old man was dead. Before that, she could not let Gu Liansheng know that she had entered the west wing.
After leaving the main room, Madam Qian planned to return to the east wing to calm her tense emotions.
But when you get to the corridor, you see Gu Liansheng returning, covered in wind and snow.
Qian froze instantly, a look of panic flashing across her face.
But she quickly calmed down, concealed all her abnormality, and returned to normal.
"You're back? Where's the firewood? Didn't you say someone was selling firewood? Why did you come back empty-handed?"
Qian continued to grumble, feigning dissatisfaction.
Gu Liansheng also composed himself and helped that bastard Gu Lianshan cover up his lie.
“The prices are too high, so I’m thinking of asking around to see if anyone else is selling it. With the snow disaster this year, there must be people in the village who risk going into the mountains to cut firewood to sell. As long as you have money, you won’t have trouble buying firewood.”
Qian was feeling guilty at the moment and had no interest in causing him trouble over this matter, so she just nodded indifferently.
"You handle this. I'm not familiar with the village and don't know the way around it. I'll have to rely on you to buy firewood."
Gu Liansheng breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to fool them.
He glanced at Madam Qian, feeling somewhat surprised. She had stopped making a fuss and was actually speaking to him politely, unlike before when she had been speaking harshly.
"I'm covered in snow and my clothes are a little wet. I'm going back inside to change and lie down for a while to warm myself up. Didn't you want to eat chicken?"
"I've got the key to the east wing room. You can use it to open the door. There's still half a chicken in that jar; take it out and stew it, then make some noodles. We'll have chicken noodle soup tonight."
Gu Liansheng took the key out of his pocket and handed it to him.
Madam Qian accepted the key without saying a word, and watched Gu Liansheng enter the east wing without moving.
With her tense energy suddenly relaxed, Qian realized that her legs were weak.
……
Gu Lianshan arrived home at this moment. Hearing the commotion, Gu Tang came out of the house and followed her father to the main room to find her third uncle.
Uncle San had just fallen asleep when Gu Lianshan went to the east room to wake him up and told him about Gu Zhier's situation, as well as his own speculations.
Gu Tang didn't avoid it, but stood quietly to the side listening, and summarized as follows:
It is true that Gu Zhier injured someone, but the theft is highly questionable. It is very likely that Gu Liansheng did it, but by a twist of fate, Qian Shi mistakenly believed that Gu Zhier stole it.
After hearing these things, Gu Tang was speechless. This matter can be summed up in two words—outrageous!
Gu Liansheng stole Qian's dowry?!
No, didn't Madam Qian eagerly want to marry Gu Liansheng? If Gu Liansheng had asked for her dowry, Madam Qian would have given it to him. Why would she steal it?
Gu Tang couldn't understand this, so she asked.
Gu Lianshan feigned a toothache and said, "You'll understand when you find out what kind of temper Qian has later."
Previously, he and his daughter thought the same thing: that Qian Shi didn't want any betrothal gifts and seemed eager to get married, so she must have taken a liking to Gu Liansheng. After marrying him, even if she didn't always go along with everything, she would at least be a good wife and husband.
But today he witnessed Qian's fierce side, as well as her attitude towards Gu Liansheng.
This made him realize that they had all misjudged the Qian family.