novelraw Chapter 312 Cannot Die in the Yard
Chapter 312 Cannot Die in the Yard
Chapter 312 Cannot Die in the Yard
Gu Qing couldn't bear to hear these words; they reminded her of her days in the dark kiln.
Her eyes were bloodshot, her face swollen and bruised, and she stared intently at Qian Shi: "You're talking nonsense! I already told you, I was deliberately infected with this disease! I'm clean and innocent! I've never been with a man! You're deliberately trying to smear me!"
Madam Qian glanced at her sideways: "Why would I want to smear you in your current state? If I ruin your reputation, what good will it do me as your stepmother?"
Judging from your appearance, you shouldn't be stupid. You should think about it carefully. If word gets out about your illness, will outsiders believe what you say?
This venereal disease doesn't discriminate between men and women; it's mostly contracted through sexual intercourse. You say you just accidentally wore someone else's clothes and contracted the disease by sheer chance? I ask you, if you heard that, would you believe it yourself?
Do not believe!
If she heard this outside, she definitely wouldn't believe it.
Gu Qing panicked for a moment, but she quickly calmed down and knelt on the ground, kowtowing to her father, Gu Liansheng: "Father! We can keep this a secret! I'll just hide at home and not go out to see anyone. No one will know I'm back! And no one will know I have this disease!"
Before Gu Liansheng could react, Madam Qian stepped in front of him, saying, "No! We can't keep you in the house! Your illness is contagious!"
"I'll just stay indoors and not come out. I'll eat, drink, and relieve myself separately from you every day. As long as we don't have any contact, I won't infect you with this disease!"
Madam Qian spat at her: "How could you even think of that! This house is so tiny, once your skin starts to fester, the stench will fill the whole yard! How will you possibly keep it a secret then?"
"Festering?" Gu Qing looked up suddenly, her eyes filled with fear.
Her voice trembled as she questioned Qian: "What do you mean by that?! What do you mean by 'festering'?!"
Qian paused, looking at her strangely: "What? Did no one tell you what it would be like to have this disease?"
"That doesn't make sense. If Madam Wei was truly trying to harm you, she should have told you about the severity of this venereal disease after learning you had contracted it. How come you didn't know?"
Knowing that Madam Qian had become suspicious, Gu Qing couldn't care less at the moment and only focused on asking about what had just been said.
"Speak! What did you mean by those words?! What do you mean by 'ulceration'?! Tell me now!"
"It seems you really don't know." Qian Shi rarely showed a hint of pity.
"This venereal disease is incurable. Once you get it, it won't be long before your body starts to rot away in patches. As it rots, the stench will only get worse, and eventually, your whole body will rot away, and you'll die in excruciating pain!"
These words struck Gu Qing like a thunderclap, leaving him feeling utterly devastated and his entire being radiating despair.
Madam Qian continued, “I advised you to hang yourself just now for your own good. Once you contract this disease, you will die! No one can save you! Rather than dying in agony, you might as well hang yourself now and at least leave behind some semblance of humanity.”
Gu Qing refused to accept her fate and kowtowed to her father, Gu Liansheng, again: "Father! I don't believe her. She must be afraid of spending money to treat my illness, so she made up these words to scare me and make me hang myself out of fear!"
"Father! Please save me! I know you have money, and I know my grandparents have money too! Please give me the money to hire a doctor, and I will repay you by serving you like a slave!"
Madam Qian was so angry she almost laughed. It was rare for her to be soft-hearted, but she never expected to be treated like a heartless wretch!
good good!
Does Gu Qingmo think her father is some kind of good person?
Madam Qian sneered, walked to the side, and let Gu Liansheng step forward from behind her.
She wanted to see if she could win Gu Liansheng's heart.
"Father?" Gu Qing's eyes were full of hope. "I'm your daughter! You have to save me! I beg you, Father! You have to save me!"
As she spoke, Gu Qing knelt on the ground and crawled toward Gu Liansheng.
Gu Liansheng's expression changed drastically. He retreated repeatedly and scolded Gu Qing, telling her not to come any closer.
"Stop right there! You're covered in filth, how dare you come this way?! Are you trying to harm me?!"
Gu Liansheng's attitude chilled Gu Qingxin to the bone, and she gave a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Father, I just want to live! I beg you! Please help me! If you don't want to see me at home, I can move out, as long as you are willing to give me money so I can get medicine to treat my illness."
Silver was a forbidden zone for Gu Liansheng; even his own parents couldn't step into it. How dare a mere daughter covet the silver in his hands?
What a wishful thinking!
"You just heard your mother say that your illness is incurable, so why waste money? Besides, if you go to get medicine, won't that expose that you have a venereal disease?"
This disease will cause panic. People who know about it will definitely ask who your daughter is, and in the end, our whole family will probably be dragged down by you.
At that time, where will I put my face? I am a scholar, and I value my reputation and face the most. If I lose my reputation and face, I am afraid I will never be able to take the imperial examination again.
Think of your younger brother, and think of your...grandmother! They're all counting on Dad to pass the imperial examination! If you ruin Dad's path to the civil service, you'll be a sinner to our family!
Gu Qing wouldn't listen to a word Gu Liansheng said; she just kept kowtowing, hoping to soften Gu Liansheng's heart.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that her father, Gu Liansheng, was as hard-hearted as iron, and felt only hatred and disgust in the face of her kneeling pleas.
"Keep kowtowing! If you die in our yard, Dad will buy you a coffin and bury you. I won't let your body lie exposed in the wilderness."
These words filled Gu Qing with hatred and forced her to confront the fact that her father would not save her.
He stood up, leaning against the wall, and, suppressing his dizziness, began to threaten, "I came back through the wind and snow, and I have no intention of leaving again! If you give me money to buy medicine and treat my illness, I will stay at home and not see anyone. If you don't care about me, then I'll just go all out and have a good cry in the village, so that my whole family can show off!"
"You rebellious daughter!" Gu Liansheng was both angry and flustered, his eyes turning cold, wishing he could beat her to death right now!
Qian sneered coldly from the side, "Don't you feel sorry for her now? She's a wolf cub. She's just a worthless person now, and she can risk everything to fight you to the death. What about you? You're a scholar with a family and a career. Do you dare to confront her head-on like this?"
Gu Liansheng really didn't dare. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He hadn't dared to stop Qian Shi from hitting people earlier. He should have said a few words to encourage Qian Shi to use dirty tricks, preferably to kill the person.
After calming himself down, Gu Lianshan asked one last time, "I was thinking that if you obediently hanged yourself, I would pay for a coffin to bury you, since you are my daughter."
Now it seems, your father thought too highly of you. Your mother was right, you're a wolf cub, only thinking of yourself and never considering others..."
"She's not my mother!" Gu Qing roared in a hoarse voice, his gaze towards Qian Shi filled with malice.
Then she looked at Gu Liansheng and told him with a ferocious expression, "I won't hang myself! I want to live, and I want to live longer than all of you!"
Hearing this, Gu Liansheng cut off his last bit of soft-heartedness and made a decision in his heart.
Ignoring Gu Qing's clamor, he turned to Qian Shi and discussed among himself, "This girl has gone mad."
Madam Qian understood what he meant and nodded: "Once you get this kind of dirty disease, you're bound to go crazy."
"There are still two packets of the calming soup I prepared for the old lady. Go and brew it, and then find a way to feed it to her."
Madam Qian's brow twitched: "She's your daughter. I can help you keep an eye on her and prevent her from running around shouting and yelling. As for other matters, I won't interfere!"
"You!" Gu Liansheng's face darkened. "I can't do this alone..."
"That's your own business, it has nothing to do with me!" "...In that case, I'll just leave it at that and let her cause trouble in the village!"
"Fine, I don't care. At worst, I'll just pack up and leave and find someone else! She's not my daughter, nor was she raised by me. If outsiders find out, they'll only pity me for having such bad luck to run into your family!"
"...
Gu Liansheng was so angry that his whole body was trembling!
How dare this prostitute say she'd find someone else right in front of me?!
Sure enough, his earlier decision was correct. Once he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, this prostitute could not be allowed to live!
Gu Qing wasn't completely stupid. Listening to the couple's conversation, she realized they were planning to kill her, and she started to panic.
Seeing the open courtyard gate, I wanted to run over there.
Gu Liansheng was startled for a moment and subconsciously reached out to stop the person.
Gu Qing felt weak all over. It seemed that the slaps from Madam Qian earlier had damaged her brain. She felt dizzy and her legs felt weak.
When Gu Liansheng reached out to stop her, she didn't even have the strength to dodge. She tried to turn to avoid Gu Liansheng's hand, but her legs gave way and she fell to the ground, her forehead hitting the wall.
Gu Qing felt desperate. She knew that if she relied on herself alone, she couldn't escape.
Seeing her father approaching with a stick, Gu Qing burst into tears again and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Help! Help! My father is going to kill me..."
This shout startled Gu Liansheng, who immediately turned to look outside the courtyard, fearing that his shout would attract attention.
"Look at you, so pathetic!" Madam Qian rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Didn't you realize that your daughter's voice has obviously been drugged? She's lucky she can even speak. She thinks she can shout at the top of her lungs like before? Don't even think about it!"
What Qian said was true. Although Gu Qing was calling for help, her voice was hoarse and low, and she couldn't produce any high notes. It didn't even sound as loud as Qian's voice.
She could shout all day in the yard without disturbing the neighbors.
Gu Liansheng breathed a sigh of relief, dropped the stick, went inside to find a rope, and tried to tie Gu Qing's hands and feet.
But when it came time to make a move, he became afraid. "If I touch her, will I catch this disease?"
"I have no idea about that, and I certainly won't touch her!" Madam Qian said, looking like she wanted to avoid the topic at all costs.
Her attitude made Gu Liansheng even more uneasy. After hesitating for a while, he decided not to tie her up.
"I'll go brew the medicine; you stay here and watch over her."
Madam Qian nodded, leaned against the door frame, and stared expressionlessly at Gu Qing on the ground, who was lying in a cocoon.
The impact of hitting the wall left Gu Qing completely unable to stand up. She lay dizzy and disoriented on the ground, her eyes unfocused.
It was still calling for help, its limp limbs trembling as it crawled forward.
Unfortunately, she climbed in the wrong direction. The gate was to the south, but she turned around and climbed west, with half of her body already in the snow in the yard.
The thick snow concealed Gu Qing's figure, and even if someone passed by the Gu family's courtyard gate, they wouldn't notice that there was a person lying in the snowdrift.
Qian leaned against the door frame without moving, letting Gu Qing lay his larvae in the snow.
Not long after, Gu Qing stopped moving, but her rough, hoarse voice was still calling for help.
Qian moved slowly and deliberately, walked to Gu Qing's side, squatted down and sighed.
“You should know your father’s character. You came back with this illness; you should have known this would be your fate. I don’t understand, if you’re afraid of death, why did you come back?”
Gu Qing was still somewhat clear-headed, and she heard Qian Shi's words clearly.
Yes, she knows her father better than anyone else what kind of person he is. Even her mother was abandoned, so what is she?
So, why come back?
"Don't blame your father. It's just that your illness is too frightening. If you don't die, this family will never have peace."
Qian's words were like the scythe of death; Gu Qing seemed to sense that his own life was slipping away.
She shut her mouth, stopped crying for help, and began to resign herself to her fate.
Seeing that the person had fallen silent, Madam Qian got up and left, returning to the corridor to continue watching over her.
A short while later, Gu Liansheng brought over a bowl of steaming hot medicine.
"What about people?"
Qian pointed to the yard: "They're lying in the snowdrift."
Gu Liansheng went over and took a look, then immediately complained, "I told you to watch her, why did you let her crawl into the snowdrift? How am I supposed to give her her medicine like this?"
“There’s no need to force-feed her medicine.” Madam Qian glanced at the sky. “The snow is getting heavier. Judging from the sky, there’s probably going to be a heavy snowfall. If you’re heartless, just let her lie in the snowdrift. She won’t be long before she breathes her last.”
“How can that be?!” Gu Liansheng immediately shouted.
Madam Qian's expression changed slightly, thinking that Gu Liansheng had changed his mind.
Unexpectedly, Gu Lianshan's next words sent chills down her spine.
"If someone gets this kind of filthy disease and dies in the yard, wouldn't that be disgusting?"
Madam Qian paused for a moment: "Then where do you want her to die?"
"My original plan was to give her a bowl of calming soup so she could fall asleep peacefully, then tie her up, and at night I would take her to the mountains, leave her there, and let the wild animals eat her. I guarantee no one would find out."
Madam Qian shuddered: "Didn't you just say you were going to buy her a coffin and give her a proper burial? Why are you now thinking of taking her to the mountains?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gu Lianshan glared at her. "If I were to buy a coffin, it would definitely arouse suspicion."
"What good is suspicion? The person is already dead, sealed in a coffin. Who can open the coffin to examine the body?"