Chapter 849: The Most Disdained Person Has Made Something of Himself

Lord Lai didn’t completely lose his sanity, so he didn’t immediately take action against Gu Jin’an, but he felt very uncomfortable inside.

Thinking about Gu Chengxian and the others increased his discomfort.

Lord Lai was in a bad mood and didn’t return to the residence until late at night. Unconsciously, he fell asleep in the study. The next day, he went to see his grandson Lai Yan.

Lai Yan was still the same, so weak and ill that it made people feel sorry for him. Lord Lai looked at Lai Yan, whose face was pale and who needed to catch his breath after speaking just a few words, and his mood worsened.

He thought of Gu Chengzhi, that boy was truly robust, speaking with a strong voice, and when he got noisy, he could almost raise the roof, completely different from the frail Brother Yan’er.

Lai Yan saw that his face was not well, and asked with concern: "Grandfather, you look very tired... Was it because you didn’t sleep well last night... cough cough cough~"

Lord Lai saw him catch his breath twice even in one sentence and finally start coughing, and his face became even more unsightly. Thinking about Lai Yan’s father who died young and his youngest son who died as a teenager, he was genuinely afraid that Lai Yan would have a short life like his father and uncle.

"Brother Yan’er, don’t talk. Rest well. Grandfather is going to the government office and will come to see you again when I return." Lord Lai didn’t want to stay here any longer, so after comforting Brother Yan’er a few words, he left.

Brother Yan’er was a smart child. He sensitively perceived Lord Lai’s displeasure and asked the nanny with red eyes: "Nanny... does grandfather dislike Brother Yan’er... because of my poor health?"

This question made the nanny feel very sad. In any family, the elders do not like sickly descendants. Compared with other families, Lord Lai was already very devoted to Young Master Yan due to the scarcity of descendants.

The nanny didn’t want Brother Yan’er to feel upset and comforted him: "Brother Yan’er, don’t think like that. The lord comes to see Brother Yan’er every day and treats you very well. And the doctor has said that as Brother Yan’er grows older, the illness will get better, so there’s no need to worry."

But Lord Lai was really worried that Brother Yan’er would die. He was old and believed in fate, always feeling that this was retribution, but he couldn’t bear the Lai family being extinct!

Therefore, after leaving Lai Yan’s courtyard, Lord Lai instructed Lai Zhuang: "Prepare yourself, after the government office today, I need to go and check the house on Moxiang Street."

Lai Zhuang frowned and advised: "My lord, Housekeeper Lai is taking care of things over there, you don’t need to go personally... People in the Prefecture are still talking about the Old Gu Family’s affairs, and if you go too frequently, it might harm your reputation as a government official."

Lord Lai thought for a moment and said: "Then postpone it and wait until it gets completely dark to go."

He had to go there to see Brother Zhi healthy, Bao’er safe, and that Chengxian’s condition hadn’t worsened in order to put his mind at ease.

Lai Zhuang saw that Lord Lai didn’t listen, so he had to agree, but...

He looked at Lord Lai, daring to suggest: "My lord, taking care of the Old Gu Family like this isn’t a solution. That Dashan’s family is quite wealthy, isn’t it? You might as well have Elder Gu recognize Gu Dashan, and in this way, Dashan’s family’s business would become the Old Gu Family’s, and you’d have some relief from always running about for the Old Gu Family."

Lai Zhuang knew that what he was saying was quite unscrupulous, but as long as he could get rid of the Old Gu Family, he didn’t care if Dashan’s family’s interests were harmed.

Besides, the Old Gu Family initially had the intention of taking over Dashan’s family’s business, but it was delayed due to Gu Youwen and his mother’s paralysis and Gu Chengxian and the others contracting venereal disease.

Lord Lai had always coveted Dashan’s family’s business and didn’t want to delay any further, so he nodded and said: "You’re right, having the Old Gu Family recognize Dashan’s family can’t be delayed any longer."

He instructed further: "Tell Zhu Wu to report on Dashan’s family matters tonight. How come after investigating for so long, he only found some trivial matters? If he can’t do it, send him back and dispatch Zhu Ba."

Every great clan has a group of people hidden in the shadows working for the family. Zhu Ba was like the Shadow Guards, hiding in the shadows to do things for Lord Lai.

"Yes." Lai Zhuang agreed, but he was also puzzled. With Zhu Wu’s skills, it shouldn’t be possible to fail to uncover the truth about Dashan’s family after more than a month. What had gone wrong in between?

Lai Zhuang and the others didn’t know that it was You An and Daqing who set traps for Zhu Wu, leading them on a wild goose chase in the shadows.

What frustrated Zhu Wu even more was that his men were inexplicably getting injured, and that Tianfu County seemed to be their nemesis. Every time they set foot there, his men would get into trouble.

The two who were most severely injured were bedridden, and another two accidentally had conflicts with locals and were almost taken to court, fortunately escaping just in time.

These matters were too disgraceful, and Zhu Wu kept them hidden, not daring to tell Lord Lai.

...

Lord Lai washed his face with cold water to wake himself up, then boarded a mule cart to go to the government office. He worked there until it was dark before leaving for the house on Moxiang Street.

When the Old Gu Family People knew he had arrived, they were extremely excited. Gu Youlu wanted to come and pay respects to Lord Lai, but he was stopped by the Lai family’s servants who said he had a venereal disease and couldn’t see Lord Lai.

Indeed, Gu Youlu, Gu Chengxian, and Qian Guangzong’s father and son had already shown symptoms seven days ago and were diagnosed with venereal disease by the doctor.

However, their symptoms were mild, and the doctor said that as long as they were carefully treated and took their medicine properly, they could continue living.

The doctors in He’an Prefecture were unwilling to treat Gu Youlu and the others, considering it unlucky. Now, a renowned doctor from Jiangnan, who specialized in treating such diseases for women in brothels, was attending them at the house, and he was very experienced but also very expensive. The consultation fee alone was 100 taels of silver per day, not to mention the cost of medicine for Gu Youlu and the others, which was truly a bottomless pit.

After looking through the accounts of the house on Moxiang Street, Lord Lai was even more determined to seize Dashan’s family’s business. Only by taking over Dashan’s business could he afford to pay for Gu Youlu and the others’ treatment.

Fearing infection, Lord Lai didn’t go to the back of the house. He just sat in the guest hall of the front yard and had the servants bring in the Old Gu Family People.

When Granny Gu found out Lord Lai had arrived, she let out cries for Elder Gu to carry her out; she wanted to see Lord Lai!

Elder Gu had no choice but to help her, along with Little Sister Gu, to the guest hall in the front yard.

Gu Youwen didn’t contract venereal disease; he was just paralyzed from a horse-riding accident, and he also had Mrs. Gu and the servants carry him to the guest hall to see Lord Lai. Upon seeing him, he immediately burst into tears, crying miserably.

But Lord Lai didn’t have the time to watch him cry. He just looked at Elder Gu and said: "Your grandson Gu Jin’an participated in this year’s county examination and became the top scorer in Tianfu County."

Hearing this, the Old Gu Family People were all stunned.

Mrs. Gu, who was usually calm, upon hearing this news, shouted: "What did you say, Lord Lai? That wolf whelp Gu Jin’an took the county examination? And he became the top scorer? How dare he take the county examination? As if he’s qualified to study!"

Mrs. Gu always looked down on Dashan’s family while at the Old Gu Family because she was the daughter of a scholar and married a scholar, thinking of them only as the Old Gu Family’s servants.

But now, the family she looked down upon the most had produced a county top scorer!