Chapter 482 - 483: Family Letter

Chapter 482: Chapter 483: Family Letter

When Gu Le Di heard that the mother and child were fine, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly pushed his way to the front. "Doctor Liu, I’ll go with you to get the medicine."

As Li Cuicui watched them head out, she immediately called out to Gu Le Di, "Do you have any silver?"

Gu Le Di slapped his forehead. He’d gotten completely muddled in his panic.

But he didn’t have a single copper coin on him, and his wife was still resting in the inner room.

"Pathetic," Li Cuicui said, taking a few pieces of broken silver from her robes and stuffing them into his hand. "Now, go."

"Yes, thank you, Grandma. I’ll pay you back later."

Li Cuicui waved her hand dismissively. "We can talk about that later. Just hurry."

Only Li Cuicui and Gu Lejia remained in the courtyard. Li Cuicui stared at him coldly. "Deep down, you should know. Even if that woman of the Song family wasn’t behind it this time, who does she think she’s fooling with those schemes of hers?"

"Let me make myself clear today. Normally, you two can fight and squabble all you want, and it’s none of this old woman’s business."

"But no one is to harm the child in the womb. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to throw them out myself."

Gu Lejia faltered, "...Xiuxiang wouldn’t do that anymore..."

"She really wouldn’t?" Xie Ruyi walked out of the room just then. "Have you already forgotten what happened back in Sea City?"

"If it weren’t for your Seventh Uncle and Aunt Seven, do you really think you’d still be alive?"

Gu Lejia was speechless.

This time, Xie Ruyi was truly furious. "Your second sister-in-law is carrying the Gu family’s most important grandson! I don’t care what you and your wife are thinking, but if anyone dares to touch my grandson, I’ll skin them alive!"

"Mother, that’s all in the past. Besides, Xiuxiang has been behaving herself lately. Can you please stop dredging up old grievances?"

"I’m the child’s own uncle. Would I really harm him?"

"Hah," Xie Ruyi sneered. "You might not, but with that shrewish nature of hers, I wouldn’t put it past you to indulge her."

Gu Lejia dug his fingers into his palms. "Mother, we are both your sons. You can’t belittle me like this just because I married a daughter-in-law you don’t approve of."

"For the past two years, haven’t I been working diligently every single day? Isn’t that enough to atone for one small mistake?"

"A mistake? So you admit you made one?" The thought that this son was the cause of all her troubles for the past two years made Xie Ruyi’s face darken. She was about to rebuke him further, but Li Cuicui stopped her.

"That’s enough from the both of you. Right now, neither side has any evidence. We’re not the infallible Lord Qingtian, so let’s not make a scene and give the neighbors something to gossip about."

"Especially you, Gu Lejia. You should take a good look at yourself. The tone you just used with your mother makes me want to take a rod to your back."

"Go back and have a firm talk with your wife. If she doesn’t want to be implicated, she should stay away from this courtyard. If there is a next time, I won’t care about the reputation of our family or our clan. I’ll report it directly to the county government."

"Madam," Hu Dong, who had been standing at the gate ever since Gu Le Di left, quickly asked as soon as Li Cuicui paused, "may I come in?"

When Li Cuicui saw it was Hu Dong, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

’This is Seventh’s wife’s right-hand man, so he’s one of our own.’ "Hu Dong, you’re here! Come in, come in."

Hu Dong smiled and nodded at Xie Ruyi and Gu Lejia, showing no embarrassment for having been eavesdropping.

"What brings you here today?"

Hu Dong took a letter from his robes. "Madam, this is a family letter from Mr. Gu. I was afraid of delaying it, so I brought it over the moment it arrived."

"A letter from Seventh!" Li Cuicui exclaimed, hastily wiping her hands on her clothes before taking it.

But as she opened the envelope, she remembered—she was illiterate.

She looked up and saw Gu Lejia, but he was so startled he stumbled back two steps. "I... I can’t read much either."

"More useless than a three-year-old," Li Cuicui said with disgust. She then turned to Hu Dong, her face full of kindness. "I’ll have to trouble you to read it for me. These worthless boys of mine are just not cut out for studying. They spent some time with a Scholar and still can’t even read simple words."

"..." Hu Dong took the letter back. "It’s my pleasure."

It was just a letter to report that he was safe, telling Li Cuicui that everything was fine where he was and asking the elders at home to take good care of themselves.

"As long as he’s safe, that’s all that matters." Li Cuicui carefully folded the letter along its original creases and put it back in the envelope. "Manager Hu, it’s been a while. Come, let me take you to my home for something to eat."

’This boy is good in every way, he’s just too thin. I heard he’s been taking traditional medicine for several months with little improvement. That won’t do. He must not be getting enough to eat.’

With that thought, Li Cuicui immediately took action. She instructed Xie Ruyi to take good care of Mrs. Xie, then started for home with Granny Song in tow.

Hu Dong hurried to catch up. "Madam, please don’t trouble yourself. I still have a lot of business in town, so I can’t stay long. Next time I visit, I promise I’ll do as you say and eat more to put on some weight."

Hu Dong was frustrated about this himself. He made an effort to stuff himself with food every day, yet he never seemed to gain any weight.

Now, it seemed like everyone who knew him wanted to ply him with food on sight, which always put him in an awkward position.

Li Cuicui insisted, "No matter how busy you are, you have time for one meal. We have plenty of ingredients ready at home, it won’t take long at all."

’The old woman, in fact, had her own motives. With Seventh and his wife away, Hu Dong was handling all sorts of matters for them. She couldn’t let him work himself to the bone. Otherwise, there was really no one else who could manage all their affairs.’

At this thought, the old matriarch grew even more enthusiastic. With Granny Song’s help, she managed to whip up a whole table of dishes in no time. "Here, start with a bowl of lamb soup. It’s especially warming and nourishing."

It was only then that Hu Dong thought of the person who had been absent the entire time. "Where is the Old Master?"

"Never mind him. He’s probably snuck off for a drink somewhere," Li Cuicui said dismissively. ’If killing that old devil wouldn’t affect Seventh’s official career, she’d have happily become a widow by now.’

Even though Hu Dong rarely visited Gaoling Village, he had heard about the Old Master. And on the few brief occasions they had met when he entered the village, the man had always acted high and mighty.

He didn’t have a good first impression of people like that. He had only asked after him out of courtesy.

With one person determined to feed him and the other genuinely hoping to gain some weight, the meal was a delight for both host and guest.

On the way back, Hu Dong had to walk a long stretch of road from the village entrance to let his food settle. Only when his stomach felt more comfortable did he climb back into his carriage.