Lord Lai was quite anxious, fearing that something might happen to Gu Youwen and the others, so he didnât ask the maid in detail. He quickly called out to Zhu Wu, "Hurry and gather the Protectors in the residence, divide them into four groups to go to Youwen, Youlu, Cheng Xian, and Sister Yaâs courtyards, control the people of the Second, but donât harm Youwen and the others."
Steward Yue saw this, frowned, but said nothing, and quickly stepped forward to catch up with Lord Lai who had already rushed out of the house.
Zhu Wu, on the other hand, banged a gong to gather the Protectors under his command, divided them into four groups, and rushed to Gu Youwenâs courtyard.
...
The Qingwen Courtyard was already a mess, Gu Youwen was dragged into the yard, lying on the ground like a corpse, with injuries on his face, clearly beaten by the servant who had smashed the yard.
The servants were holding axes, chopping the main house door, bang bang bang, and soon they had chopped down one of the doors. The tables, chairs, boxes, and beds in the house were all destroyed.
But the Second Young Master Lai still wasnât satisfied, and shouted at the servants, "Bring out all of Gu Youwenâs clothes, bedding, and curtains to burn, who knows if he has a venereal disease."
"Yes." The servants responded, and quickly brought out Gu Youwenâs clothes and bedding and set them on fire.
Gu Youwenâs clothes were not few, thrown out in a pile like a small hill, burning with billowing thick smoke.
Seeing the thick smoke coming out from Qingwen Courtyard, Lord Lai was quite frightened, quickly calling out to the Protectors, "Quick, quick, get water to put out the fire, Qingwen Courtyard is on fire!"
As he spoke, he rushed into the courtyard, and upon seeing that only clothes were on fire, he sighed in relief. But when he saw Gu Youwen dragged into the yard, lying on his back, he became furious once more.
Seeing the Second Young Master Lai nearby, he rushed over in anger and kicked him to the ground.
Knowing heâd get a beating for smashing the Old Gu Familyâs yard, the Second Young Master Lai didnât resist, just looked at Lord Lai with a cold smile, "Father, these Gu bastards have disgraced our Lai Family. I know you remember the kindness of Granny Guâs parents, and itâs hard for you to be ruthless, so I acted for you, to drive them out of the Lai Family, so they wonât disgrace our ancestors."
The last part of the sentence, the Second Young Master Lai gritted out, implying that Lord Lai allowing the Old Gu Family to live in the Tong Vice Magistrateâs residence was a disgrace to the Lai ancestors, full of sarcasm.
Lord Lai heard it, enraged, and gave the Second Young Master Lai a kick in the pit of his stomach, "You ungrateful son, they are the descendants of the Lai Familyâs benefactors, the whole Lai Family should honor them, are you trying to make outsiders mock us for being ungrateful?!"
Ha!
The Second Young Master Lai, originally in great pain, laughed when he heard this, lying on the ground, turned his head to look at Lord Lai, "Father, youâre wrong. People wonât say weâre ungrateful, theyâd say weâre foolish, raising a bunch of shameless scoundrels!"
"Youâve been blind and deaf since meeting the Old Gu Family, but the outsiders arenât blind or deaf." The Second Young Master Lai pointed at himself, asking, "Do you know what the outsiders say about me? They say Iâm not your biological son, that those bastards of the Old Gu Family are your real sons! The scandals theyâve caused are widespread, yet you still protect them. What have they fed you to make you listen to them so well?!"
Shouted so loudly, he eventually got out of breath and started coughing, pulling at his chest painfully, his face turning pale with pain.
Lord Laiâs face also turned pale, startled by the Second Young Master Laiâs words, "... Do they really say that outside?"
The Second Young Master Lai laughed, "Didnât you send people specifically to the Prefectureâs taverns and streets to collect news? How could you not know what theyâre saying outside?"
Ha, favoritism is favoritism, knowing full well that outsiders are gossiping about his family, yet he doesnât care, still treating that bunch of leeches well.
Upon hearing this, Lord Lai pondered quietly, it seemed he really needed to restrain himself.
"Aaah!" Gu Youwen lay on the cold ground, tears streaming, crying out to Lord Lai with all his might, hoping that Lord Lai would see him, help him get justice, and punish the Second Young Master Lai.
Hearing Gu Youwenâs voice and seeing his miserable state, Lord Lai felt incredibly distressed, softened, and quickly rushed over to support Gu Youwen, "Youwen, donât cry, Uncle Lai wonât ignore you."
The Second Young Master Lai exploded upon hearing this, recklessly rushing over and stomping on Gu Youwenâs chest, "Bastard, damn bastard, leeches, a bunch of worthless dogs, get out of my house!"
Gu Youwen was stomped until his eyes rolled back, frightening Lord Lai greatly. He protected Gu Youwen while shouting at Lai Zhuang, "Quick, pull the Second away!"
Lai Zhuang, disliking the Old Gu Family, hadnât gone to help Gu Youwen when he entered the yard, just stood aside watching. Upon hearing this, he ran over, grabbed the Second Young Master Lai, advising, "Second Young Master, please stop causing trouble, if you anger Lord Lai, youâll be punished again."
In the past two years, due to the Old Gu Family, the Second Young Master had been punished frequently, the worst time almost shattering his knees.
Seeing Lord Lai defend Gu Youwen like this, the Second Young Master Lai became even angrier and pointed at Gu Youwen, "Father, itâs either him or me today. If you donât drive the Old Gu Family away, Iâll take my wife and daughter and leave, never returning to the Lai Family!"
These words shocked Steward Yue, but he also wanted to take this chance to move the Old Gu Family away, so he said nothing, just watched how far the Second Young Master Lai would go.
Lord Lai squinted at the Second Young Master Lai, "Second, are you threatening me?"
As the head of the family, Lord Lai had the flaw of being unable to tolerate threats from family members. Who dared to threaten him, it was as if not putting him in their eyes.
The Second Young Master Lai shouted defiantly, "So what if I am? Youâve been bewitched by the Old Gu Family, abandoning even your own son, and donât allow me to resist?"
A slap, Lord Lai stood up and slapped the Second Young Master Lai, pointing at him, "You want to leave, do you? Fine, take your wife and daughter and get out of the Tong Vice Magistrateâs residence, our Lai Family doesnât need a waste who canât pass the official exams and canât bear a son!"
The Second Young Master Lai was stunned, not expecting his father to actually choose the Old Gu Family over him, utterly despairing, he stared at Lord Lai for a while, spat at him, then turned and left.
Lord Lai, trembling in anger, pointed at his back and cursed, "Ungrateful son, ungrateful son!"
However, the Second Young Master Lai couldnât leave because Lady Lai had arrived, followed by the Second Young Masterâs wife and two daughters.
Lady Lai looked at the Second Young Master Lai and said, "Second Young Master, stop, come with me."
Lady Lai and Lord Lai were a couple from midway in life, when she married over, the Second Young Master Lai was already in his teens, to avoid suspicion, the two werenât familiar, just maintaining a superficial mother-son relationship, but there was no enmity between them.
The Second Young Master Lai didnât want to go inside, he was utterly disappointed with Lord Lai, not wanting to see him favor Gu Youwen once more.
But his wife cried and pleaded with him, "Husband, listen to the lady and go inside once, please."
The two daughters were also crying as they looked at him, pitiful beyond words.
Though disliked by Lord Lai for failing to produce a son and pass official exams, the daughters were his own, and he cared deeply for them, so he nodded, agreeing to follow Lady Lai back inside the courtyard.