Chapter 1159: Old Grudges

I just don’t know how Old Master Fang returned so soon.

Gu Muran thought about it and figured it’s reasonable. Old Master Fang is getting old, and although he made a false police report, he wouldn’t be held in custody for long. He should be released after a few days.

During these days, he has been teaching Xiao Mutou in Peach Blossom Valley and hasn’t paid attention to this matter.

Gu Muran strode towards the direction of home.

He wasn’t worried about his father, Gu Zhixing, but he was concerned about his grandmother’s health.

His grandmother’s illness was all caused by the anger from his father.

Qin Yize and Gu Qiaoqiao exchanged a glance without saying anything, then followed him.

Soon, they reached the entrance of the Gu Family’s residence,

The yard gate of the Gu Family was quite ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated. There was a tree in front, nothing different from the other homes around. However, at this moment, there were people outside the yard watching, and inside there were sounds of a quarrel.

The noise was quite loud; they couldn’t tell if the Great Grandfather was in the yard.

Gu Muran didn’t have time to squeeze through the crowd to watch the commotion and hurriedly pushed open the door, followed in by Qin Yize and Gu Qiaoqiao.

The onlookers were momentarily stunned.

Then recognizing it was Gu Muran, they reacted.

"Old Wang, is that Boss Gu’s son?"

"Yeah, I haven’t seen him for over half a month, he’s like a different person."

"Who are those people? They look pretty affluent."

"That young man looks like he’s an official, he really has presence..."

"How could the old Gu Family know officials? Stop making wild guesses."

"Why can’t they know officials? Haven’t you heard that the Old Patriarch from the Imperial Capital came to recognize them? He even brought a lot of good stuff. The Old Patriarch only had one brother, who has since passed away, so now he’s the head of the Gu Family. In the future, this old Gu Family is bound to rise and prosper..."

"What’s so great about rising and prospering? They used to be formidable, but unfortunately, a fire burned everything away, I bet Boss Gu’s intestines are all regretful now. Don’t even mention ancestral estate, there are probably countless enemies too. Having a good life isn’t that easy?"

"Sigh, I reckon it’s all fate..."

The murmuring voices were kept outside by Xiao Wen with cold demeanor.

Regardless, this was a family matter of the Gu Family. These people watch the commotion for a while but still want to see the finale.

Unfortunately, Xiao Wen’s demeanor didn’t scare those people away.

They remained outside the courtyard gate.

Throughout history, common folks love to watch the commotion.

Even if they can’t see inside the courtyard, they’ll stand outside the gate to listen.

Gu Qiaoqiao looked back and realized that driving them away at this time would hurt the relations. The Gu Family already had poor relations, further offending many at this point.

Anyway, the Gu Family is like this, losing face is not just a one-time occurrence, letting them watch if they want, besides the people in the courtyard don’t mind.

Gu Qiaoqiao stood in the center of the courtyard and immediately saw the Great Grandfather sitting in the grandmaster’s chair at the doorway, leaning on a cane, lips tightly pursed, brows furrowed.

And to his right, unexpectedly, was Old Master Fang, the boss of Caozheng Hall, whom they met in the Southwest Provincial City.

Beside Old Master Fang were two men.

About thirty years old.

Gu Qiaoqiao hadn’t seen these two people,

but judging by their appearance, they were likely relatives of Old Master Fang.

Unexpectedly, this Old Master Fang is so stubborn; having encountered setbacks in the provincial city, he lacks memory and has come to cause trouble again this time.

Standing by the Great Grandfather was Uncle Gu.

And on the other side was Uncle Gu’s younger son, Gu Lei.

Clearly, Uncle Gu’s elder son stayed in the Imperial Capital, supposedly handling all affairs related to Gu Garden.

Regarding Uncle Gu’s two sons, Gu Qiaoqiao had a very favorable impression, she smiled at Uncle Gu and Gu Lei. Upon seeing his great-granddaughter and her husband arriving together, the Old Patriarch’s frown immediately relaxed, and he waved at them, saying, "You two come over."

There were still a few people standing on the other side, one of whom was a young boy with clenched fists, furrowed eyebrows, about seventeen or eighteen years old. Judging by his appearance, he should be Gu Muran’s younger brother.

The two younger sisters should have gone to school, so they weren’t home.

Gu Muran’s younger brother was called Gu Mujun, it was currently the end of June, and one week left before the college entrance exams. It was unclear why he hadn’t gone to school...

But now wasn’t the time to inquire about this.

The Gu Family’s courtyard wasn’t large, but there was a canopy set up above the threshold; at this moment, Old Patriarch Gu sat in the middle, Fang family members were on one side, and two elder people sat on the other, clearly Gu Muran’s grandparents.

Gu Muran’s grandfather was a few years younger than his own grandfather, per genealogy, Gu Qiaoqiao should call him Second Grandfather, and he appeared to be in good health.

Only the Second Grandmother’s complexion didn’t look well, lips lacked color.

Beside the Second Grandmother stood a middle-aged woman, about the same age as her mother, but looked very old due to her constantly furrowed brows, hence many wrinkles.

There should be another person, Gu Muran’s father, central figure of all incidents, the one who burned down Jinling’s Yubao Square.

His name was Gu Zhixing.

Gu Qiaoqiao scanned around the yard, then noticed a person crouching in a corner near the wall, head hanging low, unclear what he looked like, but his shape resembled Gu Muran’s father.

Gu Qiaoqiao and others stood behind the Old Patriarch, naturally attracting the attention of Gu Zhixing.

Gu Zhixing raised his head.

And as he raised his head, Gu Qiaoqiao suddenly froze, her eyes becoming a little moist.

Gu Qiaoqiao only learned yesterday that Gu Zhixing was only one year older than her father.

However, now he appeared much older than her father.

In his forties, he looked more like he was in his sixties.

Back then, he was only in his twenties, full of vigor, who would have thought the winds would change, many things changed swiftly, making him look very down-and-out now.

His clothes were very shabby, eyes somewhat cloudy, complexion gloomy, hair was grizzled.

But what made Gu Qiaoqiao freeze wasn’t his attire or demeanor, but his resemblance to her grandfather.

Qin Yize had also seen Gu Qiaoqiao’s grandfather.

He glanced at Gu Qiaoqiao, then their eyes met, understanding each other without a word.

Yet, neither spoke, Qin Yize lightly nodded.

While Gu Qiaoqiao turned her gaze towards the Old Patriarch.

Gu Qiaoqiao noticed the Old Patriarch didn’t pay any attention to Gu Zhixing, evidently not liking him at all.

In terms of genealogy, he was his nephew.

Blood-related, yet no one expected this fellow to destroy the ancestral foundation and even report him.