Chapter 396 - 397: Regret?

Chapter 396: Chapter 397: Regret?

’Did he regret it?’ Gu Yuanshui himself had no answer. Looking back, he used to pinch pennies over every little thing, but now he had let it all go. And wasn’t that simply because his status had changed?

He and Liu Liu had been together for so many years that they knew each other’s little flaws like the backs of their hands.

’Then again, wasn’t he the same? It was impossible to be a perfect person.’

His only real source of guilt was perhaps how he had ignored his parents all those years. Sometimes, when he stared at his own two little rascals, a sense of dread would creep over him.

He looked at this nephew of his with a complicated expression. "Sometimes, you have to try and see things from your parents’ perspective. Life isn’t easy for anyone."

Gu Lehuan didn’t grasp the deeper meaning. "Fourth Uncle, what do you think I should do now?

"Grandma said she’s preparing to head back in a few days, so I can’t just keep putting this off."

Gu Yuanshui asked, "Well, have you promised the young lady anything?"

Gu Lehuan shook his head. "I told her I needed to come back and ask for my family’s opinion.

"I tried to bring it up a few times at the dinner table just now, but I couldn’t muster the courage."

Watching Gu Lehuan’s head sink lower as he spoke, Gu Yuanshui reached out and patted his shoulder. "This is something I can’t decide for you, nephew. Back in the day, your grandmother left my own affairs for me to handle. Now, tell me, what do you all think of your Fourth Aunt?"

Gu Lehuan replied, "Fourth Uncle, Fourth Aunt is a good person."

Even if she had her flaws or had done some things that went too far, he believed it wasn’t a nephew’s place to speak ill of her behind her back.

Gu Yuanshui realized his slip of the tongue and abruptly changed the subject. "With something like this, only your parents are likely to truly speak their minds. The most we uncles can do is offer guidance. Otherwise, whether your life turns out for the better or for the worse, you’ll end up blaming us."

"I wouldn’t," Gu Lehuan said hurriedly. "I know you all mean well."

Gu Yuanshui shook his head. "See? You say that now, but later you’ll just blame us for meddling.

"You need to think this through carefully for yourself. If you get into real trouble, I’ll lend you a hand, but I won’t make the decision for you.

"If you don’t believe me, go ask your Seventh Uncle. He’ll likely say the same thing."

Gu Lehuan’s scalp tingled with fear. He dared to speak his mind with his Fourth Uncle, but in front of his Seventh Uncle, he was too scared to even talk. He had no idea why; the feeling just came over him instinctively.

"Don’t have the guts?" Gu Yuanshui mocked. "You can’t even handle a little thing like this, and you want to take charge of your own life?"

Gu Lehuan: "..."

&

Ancient Wen Heng waited until Jin Qianqian had put the child to bed, then started walking back with her. "Have you been whipping up more of that sulfur soap lately?"

"That’s a surprise. Why the sudden interest?" Jin Qianqian rubbed her belly, feeling a bit too full. "Let’s walk another lap."

Ancient Wen Heng ambled along with her. "Why else do you think Shan Ke’an visited today? It wasn’t for himself, but for the women in his household."

Jin Qianqian explained, "I made a batch a while ago, but sulfur has been difficult to procure lately. The pharmacies in Shangjing are out of stock, so I haven’t been able to keep up the supply.

"If he wants some, he’ll have to wait."

This time, it truly wasn’t a case of scarcity marketing. Sulfur just isn’t commonly used, and she had nearly cleared out all the pharmacies’ inventory last time.

Of course, she had a huge stockpile of soap in her space, including a fair amount of sulfur soap.

But she was trying her best not to touch the inventory in her space. She certainly couldn’t just pull things out of thin air, not now that they were in Shangjing. Who knew if they were being watched? It was better to be cautious.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "It’s fine. I’ll send someone to tell him tomorrow that he’ll just have to wait. However, once you make a new batch, save some for me."

Jin Qianqian asked, "Oh? You have a use for it?"

Ancient Wen Heng replied, "Do you remember Mr. Gao? I recall he had a few pimples on his face. He’s the one who kept the last incident from blowing up. Otherwise, we’d still be trying to find a way to clear our names."

Jin Qianqian said, "I can’t believe that Xiao woman still tried to turn around and bite us at the end. I went too easy on her."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Mr. Gao must have kept a tight lid on it, or else other rumors would have surfaced by now.

"Still, Ning Yuchen is having a rough time. There are rumors circulating that point right at him, saying the Xiao Family’s daughter cooked up her vicious scheme just so they could be together."

Jin Qianqian’s fingers curled into a fist. Ancient Wen Heng noticed at once. "Have your people be extra vigilant. If this keeps escalating, the Huang family will likely get involved."

Jin Qianqian replied, "I’ll tell them to lay low. As for the Huang family, they won’t dare make any rash moves right now, if only to protect their own reputation.

"Do you think I’m too vengeful?"

Ancient Wen Heng noticed the servants were all standing at a distance and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I hold grudges too. And what’s more, I’m fiercely protective of my own.

"I was planning on letting him be for now and finding an opportunity to deal with him later. I just didn’t expect you’d be the one to get a bit of revenge for me first, my dear."

Jin Qianqian retorted, "That Xiao Family’s Concubine was willing to sacrifice her own reputation to drag you down with her. Then she and Ning Yuchen orchestrated that whole spectacle. If you hadn’t been on your guard, we’d be the ones in real trouble.

"When they were scheming, they should have been prepared for the fact that not everyone is someone they can just push around.

"Besides, it’s not like I framed them without cause. What they did in the Huang Mansion’s rear garden that day wouldn’t hold up under a real investigation.

"It provides a perfect explanation for why the Xiao Family’s daughter would remarry so hastily while still in mourning. If she was marrying her secret lover, the whole thing becomes plausible.

"After this, if she wants to keep accusing you, she’ll have to consider whether anyone will even believe her."

...

&

Ning Yuchen felt like his head was about to explode. Before, people just thought he was blind to have married such a venomous, black-hearted woman. They pitied him even as they enjoyed the drama.

But now, a new wave of rumors had appeared out of nowhere. Everyone was saying that he and Xiao Wanyu had conspired to murder Lord Niu, and when Old Madam Niu found out, they murdered her to silence her as well.

The people spreading these rumors did so with such convincing detail that anyone who didn’t know better would think they’d witnessed the entire affair.

He had braved the stares of his neighbors and forced himself to leave the house today, only to find that the moment he stepped into the Hanlin Academy, his colleagues were all looking at him strangely.

A feeling of utter helplessness washed over him. He shouldn’t have been the one to bear the consequences of all this, yet everything had been dumped squarely on his shoulders.

But as things stood, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and face whatever came next.

When he saw Ancient Wen Heng and He Nan walk into the Hanlin Academy, laughing and chatting together, his expression turned grim.

He was certain that Ancient Wen Heng had played a key role in what happened in the Huang Mansion’s rear garden that day, but he had no proof.