Chapter 305: Chapter 306: Deed of Severance
They say a mother knows her son best. Gu Yuanshui had barely begun to speak when Li Cuicui understood his intentions. Playing along with her son and daughter-in-law, she let out a deep sigh.
"Sigh... Forget it. Youāre all right. We have a whole bunch of our own children to look after. Why should I bother with such a thankless task?
And Iām old now. I donāt have the energy to take care of them.
Just forget it. Take them back with you! If you want them to maintain a relationship with us in the future, have them come over to pay their respects during the holidays. Otherwise, they donāt need to visit at all. Just let them be!"
The old matriarch spoke with an air of nonchalance, but the He Family grew anxious. This wasnāt going according to their plan at all.
"I wonder when the Top Scholar will be back. Weād like to bring the two children to meet him," He Tuliang said, his eyes darting as he deliberately changed the subject.
Gu Yuanshui smiled at them. "He should be back in a day or two. If you want to bring the children over, feel free. However, weāre in no position to host you right now. Good day, I wonāt see you out."
He Tuliang was speechless.
Li Cuicui leaned on Granny Song. "Sigh, Iām getting old. Itās better to listen to my children. Iāve been standing here for quite a while, and my legs are tired. Help me to my room so I can rest."
Her daughters-in-law quickly gathered around her, looking as if the scene was drawing to a close.
The He Family grew frantic. āWhy arenāt these people sticking to the script?ā
āIf we donāt get something out of this, we really wonāt be able to put food on the table back home.ā
Mrs. He Zhou gritted her teeth. "One hundred taels, and the two children are yours."
"Have you lost your mind?" He Cao Gen hissed through gritted teeth. "Even when we were fleeing the famine, no one in our clan ever sold their own children. What does Mrs. He Zhou think sheās doing? Sheās bringing shame upon us in someone elseās village."
"Our He Family does not sell its sons and daughters! He Tiping, these are your children. Step up and say something!"
"We are not selling our children," He Tiping said. "Weāre just sending them to their maternal grandmotherās home, and she is giving us some compensation."
He Cao Gen shot back, "Donāt give me that nonsense. They already offered you ten taels of silver to leave the children.
Arenāt you afraid Iāll punish you according to clan rules for making such an outrageous demand?"
"Clan Leader, we havenāt broken any clan rules," He Tuliang said with a placating smile. "Itās just that our lives are so difficult right now, and weāre afraid of holding the children back.
Now that their grandmother is willing to lend us a hand, weāre simply negotiating the terms."
The onlookers were speechless. They had never seen such shameless people.
Li Cuicui waved her hand dismissively. "Thereās nothing more to discuss. Take the children and go!"
Seeing them about to enter the house, He Tuliang gritted his teeth. "Fifty taels! And weāll cut all ties with the children from now on."
Gu Yuanshui said, "He Clan Leader, allow me to have someone escort you out of the village!"
He Cao Gen was already too ashamed to stay. "Thank you for your trouble. I will be sure to visit another day to offer my formal apologies."
Gu Yuanshui brushed it off. "We can discuss that another time. Please forgive our discourtesy today."
"Twenty taels!" Mrs. He Zhou shouted through gritted teeth, her eyes on her two granddaughters cowering at the side. "If you agree, weāll sign a contract."
Li Cuicui sighed and turned back to her. "No matter how you look at it, those are your own granddaughters. Arenāt you afraid of shortening your own life by doing this?"
Mrs. He Zhou shot back, "Yes or no? One word! Otherwise, Iāll start bringing the two sisters here frequently. Youāre not going to just stand by and watch them starve to death, are you!"
Everyone stared at her in shock. She had completely abandoned all sense of shame.
Li Cuicui held out her hand and beckoned the two children over. With tears in her eyes, He Chuncao pulled her younger sister along and hurried to Li Cuicuiās side.
"Grandmother," He Chuncao pleaded. Her begging eyes nearly broke Li Cuicuiās composure. She had to dig her nails sharply into her palm before she could manage a heavy nod.
"Fourth, send someone to fetch Mr. Zhou. Some things are best put down in black and white."
...
Looking at the freshly written severance agreement in her hand, Li Cuicui knelt down in front of the He Family and hugged the two children. "From now on, your surname isnāt He. Youāll take my surname, Li."
Her daughters-in-law opened their mouths to speak, but ultimately said nothing to dissuade her.
āTaking the surname Li is fine. Theyād still be considered young misses of the family.ā
The members of the He Family, however, frowned. "Why not take the surname Gu?"
"What business is it of yours?" Gu Yuanshuiās expression hardened the moment the contract was in hand. "Since we are no longer related, you are not welcome in our village. Leave."
The moment He Mugen signed his name, he felt he had lost all face. Without even waiting for Gu Yuanshui to arrange an escort, he flicked his sleeves and stormed out of the village.
Faced with the fierce-looking household servants, the rest of the He Family had no chance to say a few last words to the two sisters, even if they had wanted to.
Once the matter was settled, Li Cuicui had someone take the children to get settled in, then she stormed furiously into the inner chamber.
When she saw Gu Yuanfeng still hiding in a corner eating pastries, Li Cuicui marched right up and slapped her across the face.
"Those were your own two daughters standing out there! Is your heart made of stone? How could you hide in here eating? How can you even stomach it?"
"Mother," Gu Yuanfeng cried, clutching her cheek. She still remembered to place the child she was holding further back on the kang bed. "I just didnāt want to see that family! Besides, those girls are their flesh and blood. They wouldnāt have actually let them starve.
They only brought the children here because they saw Seventh Brother became the Top Scholar. They just wanted to mooch off us. We could have just given them something and sent them away.
How can you take the anger you felt toward them and unleash it on me? Iām your real daughter!"
Seeing Gu Yuanfeng still speaking with such self-righteous indignation, Li Cuicui slapped her again. "From start to finish, did you even look at your two children once?"
A flash of impatience crossed Gu Yuanfengās face. "Whatās there to look at? Theyāre just two money-losing burdens. If I hadnāt given birth to them, I wouldnāt have had to remarry in the first place."
Seeing Gu Yuanfeng was still so hopelessly unreasonable, Li Cuicui let out a cold laugh. "The old saying is trueāyou canāt spoil your children. Your father and I spoiled you and the youngest rotten. You should leave. And from now on, donāt come back to visit so often."
Gu Yuanfeng was not about to accept that. Her maternal family was prosperous now, and her younger brother was an official. It was impossible that she would let them cast her aside now.
"Mother, Iām your only daughter! How can you say that? Besides, I havenāt done anything wrong! How can you even compare me to the youngest?"
Li Cuicui no longer had the energy to reason with her. She sent for Shi Dayong and had their whole family sent home that very day.
A completely bewildered Shi Dayong sat at the village entrance with his two children, utterly stunned.
āIn all his years as a son-in-law of the Gu family, he had never been treated like this.ā
āJust moments ago, heād been helping his brothers-in-law greet guests, and now, in the blink of an eye, heād been kicked out.ā
He turned to Gu Yuanfeng, the only possible reason for all this. "What happened?"
Gu Yuanfeng turned her head away in irritation, revealing the red handprint on her cheek. "I just argued with my mother a little, and lookāshe hit me."