Chapter 17: Severing Ties

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Severing Ties

Gu Chang’an said no more, knowing it would be futile. He then had First Brother Gu bring paper and pen to write the document severing their family relationship. Four copies were made, and fingerprints were pressed upon them by the three parties.

Afterward, Gu Chang’an took the household registration and the severance document with Gu Qingli on their family carriage to the town. They then separated, as he went directly to the County Town to divide the household registration and file a record.

Gu Qingli also asked him to handle the deed for the house.

The house required twenty taels of silver, and Gu Qingli gave Gu Chang’an twenty-three taels in total.

Dealing with the county yamen couldn’t be done without silver to smooth the way.

Gu Chang’an was surprised by the amount of silver Gu Qingli produced and asked, “Second daughter, where did you get so much silver?”

“Sir, don’t worry,” Gu Qingli replied. “This silver was earned by my siblings and me selling the medicinal herbs we dig up every day. If you don’t believe me, go to Serenity Pharmacy and ask.”

“You child…” Gu Chang’an almost shed tears.

What a good child she is! She’s getting married in three days, and yet she offers so much silver without hesitation. He had truly misjudged her. As soon as this girl returned today, she had everything arranged. Faced with the situation involving Second Brother Gu, and then the severance of ties, she remained calm and collected from beginning to end. So, this girl had a plan all along! With these three children, Second Brother Gu’s branch of the family will definitely become influential. HEH, Gu Changhai, a day will come when you regret this. The blind fool, mistaking fish eyes for pearls!

With his mind somewhat relieved, Gu Chang’an took the silver and left.

Gu Qingli walked to Serenity Hall.

At the entrance of Serenity Hall, Xiao Yunjing’s ox cart was still there, so she went in.

Xiao Yunjing, Dashuang, and Xiaoshuang were sitting in the main hall; they all gathered around her when she arrived.

“Second Sister, did your grandparents give you a hard time?” Dashuang asked worriedly.

“No. How’s Father now?”

Before Dashuang and Xiaoshuang could reply, Xiao Yunjing said, “Uncle Gu’s leg has been set and treated, but he may have to stay here for a few days.”

Then he handed her a silver banknote.

Gu Qingli glanced at the banknote—it was for ten taels—and returned it to him, saying, “We have silver. You guys wait for me. I’m going to check on Father, and then we’ll go eat.”

Xiao Yunjing looked at the silver banknote in his hand.

Does she think it’s too little, or does she really have silver?

Gu Qingli led the two children to the back hall. Just as they arrived, they heard the doctor telling Ms. Wu about the precautions for the patient in the coming days.

“You’re here?” Doctor Shen greeted her upon seeing her.

“Yes. How’s my father?”

Doctor Shen replied, “He was brought in promptly, and the wound was bandaged before arrival, so there’s no major issue. He should stay here for about half a month before going home.”

“Thank you.”

Doctor Shen waved his hand. “We know each other so well; there’s no need for such formalities.”

“HAHA, alright then,” Gu Qingli chuckled. “Just put the cost on my account, and I’ll settle it all with you later.”

“You silly girl,” Doctor Shen said, “as if I’d worry about you not paying!”

Over the past ten days or so, Gu Qingli and her siblings had become quite familiar with Doctor Shen, who was the proprietor, and also with Little Six.

“That’s true, we are very familiar,” Gu Qingli said. “By the way, where’s Little Six?”

“He went to buy groceries,” Doctor Shen explained. “Usually, it’s just the two of us here. Now that your family has arrived, we can’t have you eating out every day. Not only is it expensive, but the food might not even be good. Little Six’s mother is an excellent cook; you’ll get to taste her food later.”

Gu Qingli was very touched. Doctor Shen was truly wonderful to her and her siblings. She said, “That sounds lovely! Is there anything we can help with?”

“No need. Just take good care of your father and keep delivering the medicinal herbs daily.”

The border war had flared up again, and medicinal herbs were becoming scarce everywhere.

SIGH! Such were the times.

Gu Qingli nodded.

After Doctor Shen left, Gu Qingli sat down beside Ms. Wu. She first asked Dashuang to go out and tell Xiao Yunjing that they would be having dinner here later.

“Mother, you’ll take care of Father here during this time. We’ve settled the matters at home,” Gu Qingli said, holding Ms. Wu’s hand.

Ms. Wu wiped her tear-swollen eyes and replied, “Mmm, I’ll listen to you, Li’er. Li’er, I’m sorry you had to suffer with me.”

“Mother, let’s not talk about that. Don’t worry, our lives will get better and better from now on.”

“Yes, I’ll believe whatever my Li’er says. This time, we owe a great deal to Xiao Third. He’s a good boy. You two should live a good life together in the future. It’s just that I’m useless; I can’t even give you a bit of dowry.”

“Mother, let’s not talk about that. As long as our family is well, that’s all that matters.”

Dowry? If she wanted to, she could buy this entire County Town. Any single item from her Space could be sold for an astronomical price.

After lunch, she went to a tailor shop to buy a change of clothes for each member of her family. Then, leaving Ms. Wu at Serenity Hall to look after her father, she and her siblings returned to the village with Xiao Yunjing.

After they alighted from the carriage, Xiao Yunjing said, “If you need anything, just come to me.”

Gu Qingli glanced at him and nodded.

Then the three siblings returned to the Gu family’s small courtyard. As soon as they entered, they saw their family’s meager belongings piled up in the yard.

Looking again, they saw that the door to the western chamber had been locked.

Dashuang and Xiaoshuang were completely bewildered.

“Let’s go.” Gu Qingli shouldered a hoe and called out to Dashuang and Xiaoshuang.

Once outside the courtyard, Dashuang took the hoe. Gu Qingli retrieved the basket she had left by the roadside that morning, settled it on her back, and then headed up the mountain with Dashuang and Xiaoshuang.

Neither of the children spoke along the way.

After filling the basket on the mountain, the three siblings went back down and headed toward the town.

“Second Sister, were we kicked out?” Dashuang couldn’t help but ask on the way.

“Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, are you scared?”

The two shook their heads.

“Then it’s fine. From now on, our family can live however we want, and the people of the old Gu family will never bully us again.”

“Really?”

“Really, more real than pure gold. And from now on, call me Sister, not Second Sister.”

Both children nodded, only half understanding.

When the three siblings arrived at the drugstore, they handed the medicinal herbs to Little Six to record. They checked on Second Brother Gu and saw he looked much better. Then, the three of them went to stay at an inn.

「Meanwhile」

Mr. Xiao, Ms. Jiang, and the three Xiao brothers (Yunjing and his two elder brothers) were sitting in their main hall.

After a while, Ms. Jiang asked Xiao Yunjing, “Third, how’s Second Uncle Gu? Can the wedding still be held on the scheduled day?”

Xiao Yunjing looked at Mr. Xiao and the others, saying, “Uncle Gu’s life is saved. As for our wedding, we won’t make it a big celebration. It’ll just be a meal for our own family.”

With the bride’s father still bedridden, for the groom’s family to hold a lavish celebration wouldn’t bring honor to the bride; on the contrary, it would make her seem heartless.

“Alright then,” Ms. Jiang agreed.

She truly didn’t want a grand wedding to bring a “broken shoe” into the family. On the wedding day, just having Third bring her through the door would be enough.

Mr. Xiao, Eldest Brother Xiao, and Second Brother Xiao had no objections. Whatever Third said, they would do.

They didn’t share Ms. Jiang’s narrow, womanly perspective. They had witnessed everything that happened today. That Gu family’s second daughter, with her calm and composure, was someone their own wives couldn’t compare to. If something like this had befallen their wives, they’d likely do nothing but cry, having long since lost their composure. Having such a woman marry into the family was far better than having a troublemaker. As the saying goes, “Marry a virtuous wife, and the husband will have few troubles.” So what if she was a “broken shoe”? It wasn’t as if she had willingly sought to be ruined.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.