Mrs. Cui, being a woman who doesnât like to show herself often and had been following not far behind, hurried over and wrapped Gu Dashanâs severed finger with a handkerchief, pressing hard to stop the bleeding.
But this was a bone-cutting wound, the blood couldnât be stopped immediately.
Gu Dashan looked at her and said, "Iâm fine, it doesnât hurt."
Tears fell from Mrs. Cuiâs eyes; having cut off oneâs own finger, how could it not hurt?
Ms. Zhang and Gu Chengli were both frightened pale by Gu Dashanâs actions. In their impression, Gu Dashan had always been cowardly, and they never thought he would one day dare to cut off his own finger and return it to Elder Gu.
As they were still afraid, seeing Mrs. Cui arriving, Ms. Zhangâs eyes immediately lit up... Mrs. Cui, who had been with the Old Gu Family for nearly twenty years, was almost bullied by them every day and never fought back, and now she was still so scared she cried, surely still easy to bully like before.
For the sake of silver, Ms. Zhang immediately grabbed Mrs. Cui, crying, "Big Sister-in-law, please be kind, pity us, and give us some silver to take care of Father."
After crying loudly, she lowered her voice to threaten Mrs. Cui, "If you have any sense, give us the silver, or weâll make your house uneasy. Weâre not asking for much, ten thousand taels will do. As long as you give us the silver, we wonât bother you anymore."
Mrs. Cui was stunned by these words, blankly looking at Ms. Zhang. She couldnât imagine someone being so shameless. They had already severed ties long ago.
Seeing that Mrs. Cui was stunned, Ms. Zhang was even more pleased. This softie Mrs. Cui was indeed frightened by her and continued to threaten, "Give us the silver, or weâll carry the old man to the street every day to cry out our grievances, ruining your familyâs name..."
With a resounding slap, Mrs. Cui, in anger, slapped Ms. Zhang, tremblingly saying, "Ms. Zhang, you donât need to threaten me. Our family has already severed ties with yours and no longer has any relationship. I wonât give you ten thousand taels of silver, give up."
The onlookers were shocked and asked Mrs. Cui, "What did you say? Youfuâs wife is asking you for ten thousand taels of silver? How could she even say such a thing?"
Hearing Gu Dashanâs words, the onlookers were already furious at Elder Gu, and upon hearing Mrs. Cui saying Ms. Zhang threatened her for ten thousand taels of silver, they couldnât suppress themselves anymore and pointed at Ms. Zhang, cursing her.
Ms. Zhang was dumbfounded by Mrs. Cuiâs slap. God, Mrs. Cui actually hit her, Mrs. Cui dared to hit her, this was outrageous!
Ms. Zhang, furious and about to rush over to hit Mrs. Cui, was knocked down to the ground by Mrs. Chen.
Mrs. Chen sat directly on top of Ms. Zhang, left and right opening her palms, slapping her face, saying while hitting, "Fellow villagers, I am the daughter-in-law of the village chief of Northwest Gu Family Village and have known Ms. Zhang for over ten years. You donât know how disgusting Zhang can be, she fools around with men! Sheâs been with every loafer in the ten miles and eight villages. If it wasnât for catching the famine, sheâd have been drowned in a pig cage long ago."
As soon as these words were out, Moxiang Street was in an uproar, and everyone was chattering, asking Mrs. Chen, "Really? Ms. Zhang fools around with men? She even went with all the loafers in the ten miles and eight villages?"
Mrs. Chen nodded while hitting, "Naturally itâs true, you donât know how terrifying this prostitute gets when sheâs being wild. I swear it would scare you to death; she would even touch filthy men who havenât bathed in a year."
Mrs. Chen paid no heed to vulgarity, driving Ms. Zhang mad, who then shouted with her voice cracked, "Mrs. Chen is spouting nonsense, I havenât fooled around with anyone!"
Mrs. Chen chuckled, didnât care whether Ms. Zhang had fooling around, as long as she got the crowd to scold her.
After teaching Ms. Zhang a lesson, Mrs. Chen, afraid of Ms. Zhang going mad and hitting her, bolted away.
Gu Dagui respected her for it, also worried sheâd get hit, hurriedly pulling her behind him to hide. If Ms. Zhang and Gu Chengli came over to fight, he could block them.
With Mrs. Chenâs meddling, the scene turned chaotic, Zhang Sanjin and the government officials hurriedly forming a human wall surrounding Ms. Zhang and the others, preventing them from going crazy and hitting people.
Ms. Zhangâs efforts to threaten Mrs. Cui failed, and she was not only beaten back but also slandered by Mrs. Chen, driving her to tears again, pointing at Mrs. Chen hiding behind Gu Dagui, saying, "Just you wait, you think my family doesnât have protectors? My Sister Rong is an aristocratic woman. Once she establishes herself in the Zhan Family, youâre doomed!"
Mrs. Chen peeked out from behind Gu Dagui, spat towards Ms. Zhang, "Ah, spit! Just with your Gu Rongâs looks, she can be an aristocratic woman? Noble young masters havenât seen women before? Marrying a pig would be fairer than your Gu Rong!"
Then she mocked, "Still an aristocratic woman, your Gu Rongâs affair with Young Master Zhan San has been turned into a play by the storytellers, saying she isnât even as good as the prostitutes in the brothel. At least those women can earn silver for sleeping, while your Gu Rong gives it away for free."
"This one strives to be a concubine; your Gu Rong went to the Zhan Family this way, let alone becoming an aristocratic woman, she couldnât even be a warm bed maid. Do you know why she canât even be a warm bed maid? Because sheâs ugly. Those aristocratic maids are as beautiful as ladies themselves; can your Gu Rong compete with them?"
Upon hearing this, Ms. Zhang was so furious she nearly fainted. In arguments, she was no match for even ten Mrs. Chens, left powerless by Mrs. Chenâs insults.
Gu Jinâan saw the place was a mess, unwilling to stay longer, and said to Gu Dashan and Mrs. Cui, "Dad, Mom, letâs go, we need to bandage Dadâs wound quickly."
"Yes, letâs hurry and leave, we shouldnât stay here any longer." Mrs. Cui was teary-eyed, looking at Gu Dashan with immense sorrow. The longer they stayed here, the more pained he felt.
No one knew better than her how much Gu Dashan yearned for Elder Guâs affection, a fatherâs love he longed for all his life.
But things didnât go as he wished, as he, who contributed the most to the family, was Elder Guâs most disliked son.
Gu Dashanâs wound was excruciatingly painful, but he didnât want Mrs. Cui to worry, smiling and saying, "Yes, letâs go home."
With that said, he was helped by Mrs. Cui and Gu Jinâan as they made their way back.
Elder Gu knew once Gu Dashan left, he would never acknowledge him again in this lifetime, and became furious, yelling at him, "Ingrate... Unfilial... Come back!"
The crowd of onlookers listened to his curses and watched his ghastly old face like that of a devil, and no one sympathized with him anymore.
Third Grandpa and Third Grandma didnât leave, instead, they came over, looking at Elder Gu saying, "Lao Liu, you said Dashan was your biological son, but look at yourself, how did you treat him? You never treated him as a person. What right do you have to demand his filial piety?"
Elder Gu was so angry he let out unintelligible sounds, his bloodshot eyes glaring, saying, "Childless... Stealing my son!"
Third Grandpa laughed, too lazy to argue with Elder Gu, only saying, "Lao Liu, what goes around comes around. You helped Liu Shiliu kill Mrs. Fei and abused her two children, arenât you afraid of retribution?"
Elder Gu was stunned, suddenly feeling a chill rise up his body... He was indeed afraid of Mrs. Fei seeking vengeance. But he firmly believed he was Gu Dashanâs father, hence Gu Dashan had to listen to him, and if not, he had the right to kill this unfilial son.
In truth, he hadnât thought of falling out with Gu Dashan today, but Gu Dashan actually dared not to recognize him, making him lose face, and his anger led to harsh words.