Chapter 55: Chapter 53: The Disappearing Rabbit Meat
Gu Chengyu bid farewell to Doctor Li and his wife, declined Mrs. Yaoâs invitation to stay, and prepared to return home. If he didnât go back now, his mother might come to fetch him.
Walking from the end of the village towards the Gu Familyâs courtyard, he was halfway when he spotted his eldest brother walking towards him. "Eldest brother, where are you going?" Gu Chengyu quickly stepped forward to ask.
"Oh, Xiao Bao! I was just on my way to Doctor Liâs house to pick you up! Mother is anxious at home, why are you so late?"
"I got carried away learning to recognize herbs at Uncle Liâs house and lost track of time. Did Mom really send you to pick me up? I mean, itâs just within the village. How could I possibly get lost?" Gu Chengyu felt a bit helpless. His mother was just too strict with him, making many things difficult for him to do. It seemed urgent to build a house; during the day, his mother watched over him, and at night they slept in the same room, leaving him no time to enter the space.
Meanwhile, at the Li Family, Doctor Li was preparing some herbs, and after Gu Chengyu left, Mrs. Yao tidied up the kitchen and sat opposite Doctor Li.
"Have you decided?" Mrs. Yao asked softly, looking at Doctor Li.
"What do you think? This fifth child of the Gu Family is clever and talented, composed yet not impulsive, and most importantly, his character is good. Heâs a suitable candidate," said Doctor Li, who had been married to Mrs. Yao for many years and understood each other well enough to know what was being asked without it being said.
"That little one is indeed good, and quite likable, Iâm also quite pleased with him. Normally, if we were choosing someone, heâd be the clear choice. But Iâm afraid our wishes wonât be so easily fulfilled." Mrs. Yao helped Doctor Li sift the herbs off the floor and put them into a sieve.
Doctor Li paused slightly in his work with the herbs and looked up at Mrs. Yao in confusion, "What do you mean by that?" The Gu Family wasnât well off. Although they could get a few hundred taels by selling ginseng, with such a large family, how much could each person get? A few hundred taels isnât much in reality. If he proposed this condition, the Gu Family probably wouldnât disagree.
Mrs. Yao gave a mysterious smile, "Why donât we make a bet? I bet the Gu Family wonât agree."
"Oh? Haha. My dear wife is in high spirits. Very well, Iâll take this bet with you. But if you lose, what will you do?" Doctor Li was delighted to see Mrs. Yao so interested. Ever since coming to Shangling Village, his wife had been weighed down with worries. She was naturally serene, not fond of going out, nor did she converse much with the local farmwives, making her days cooped up all the more stifling. Having a little child at home would surely brighten her spirits. Today, she had been smiling more than usual.
"Perhaps it will be you who loses, my dear husband? Letâs wait and see!" Mrs. Yao certainly wasnât one to admit defeat.
As for Gu Chengyu, he returned home, and as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he was met with a warm embrace from his mother, "You little rascal, you really did dine at Doctor Liâs house! You have quite the cheek, refusing to leave after devouring their mung bean cake? If you really want to eat some, let your father buy you some the day after tomorrow in town." Mrs. Lv assumed that Gu Chengyu didnât like Cloud Cake but was fond of mung bean cake. As she always indulged him, there was no way sheâd deny her youngest sonâs craving.
"Mom, itâs not that I wanted the mung bean cake! Have you eaten yet?" Gu Chengyu intended to pull his mother into the house, "Mom, where are yesterdayâs bunnies? I still need to cut grass for them! Dad said these bunnies are for me to raise."
"Donât listen to your fatherâs nonsense. My son shouldnât be doing such menial tasks. Iâve already sent Da Lang and the others. Had I waited for you to return, the bunnies would have starved! I had your sister-in-law stew the big one, and since you didnât come back for a meal, I kept it warm for you in the pot. Let me serve it for you; you havenât tasted it yet. Itâs delicious. Go wait in the room first."
As Gu Chengyu passed by the west wing, he noticed the door was ajar, the room empty. His second brother and second sister-in-law were likely working the fields, but Da Lang and the second son werenât in the room either. Perhaps they went out to play, or their mother sent them on errands. Gu Mei usually followed Da Ya around, so she probably wasnât here either. Yet a fragrance wafted from the ajar room, faint yet discernible. Had it not been for Gu Chengyuâs enhanced senses from the Spiritual Spring, he might not have noticed it at all.
After a closer sniff, Gu Chengyu shook his head with a smile; this second sister-in-law. Given a little more time, his mother would definitely start shouting. Sure enough, as soon as Gu Chengyu turned towards the kitchen, his motherâs cry resounded: "Oh my! Whereâs my meat? Whoâs that shameless creature that dares steal my meat? Thereâs a thief in the house!"
Gu Chengyu hurried to the kitchen, where he saw his mother slapping her thigh and jumping around. And a peek inside the pot confirmed itâonly three pieces were left? Did someone not dare eat it all? In this household, who else could commit food theft but his second sister-in-law!
Luâs shouting attracted not only Gu Chengyu but also Gu Chenglian. "Mom, whatâs going on? What happened?" Gu Chenglian, seeing his motherâs urgency, thought something major had occurred.
"Oh, Old Third! I just stepped away for a bit, and a thief struck at our house! The meat I left simmering in the pot was stolen. Xiao Wu hasnât even tasted it yet! There were at least ten pieces in one bowl alone, and now only three remain." Mrs. Lv was genuinely dismayed. The rabbit stew was meant to be half the rabbit left for her precious Xiao Bao. To prevent others from nibbling at it, she even had Er Ya keep watch over it.
But where was Er Ya? Could it have been Er Ya who stole it?
"Mom, why make such a fuss? Who would sneak from our family to steal a few pieces of meat? Surely it was consumed by a family member." Gu Chenglian thought his mother tended to overreact. Itâs not like money was missing from the family chest. With that, he returned to his room.
"Thatâs right! Could it be Er Ya who snuck a taste?" Mrs. Lv grew increasingly suspicious, calling towards the east wing, "Er Ya, Er Ya, come out at once!"
"Mom, let it go. Whether Er Ya ate it or not, itâs just some rabbit meat. If itâs gone, itâs gone." Gu Chengyu hurriedly intervened, unwilling to wrong Er Ya over a few pieces of rabbit meat.
"If she didnât eat it, then who did? I had her watch the pot. You think rabbit meat would grow legs and run off on its own?" Mrs. Lv was fuming, feeling thoroughly disrespected.
"Yes, Grandma, you called?" Er Ya, Gu Lan, jogged anxiously into the kitchen from the east wing. There was no avoiding it when Grandma called. If she didnât show up immediately, sheâd get an earful. Entering the kitchen, she saw the fierce-looking Mrs. Lv and Little Uncle standing aside. Er Ya timidly glanced over at the morningâs pot, realizing the lid was off and the bowl of meat was on the stove. What was once a bowl brimming with meat was now mostly gone. Her heart sank with a sense of foreboding.
Indeed, "Er Ya, didnât I ask you to watch over the meat? Whereâs the rabbit meat? You werenât watching, did you slack off, or did you steal it yourself?" Mrs. Lv drilled her gaze onto Er Yaâs face, not missing a flicker in her expression.
"Grandma, I wouldnât dare steal rabbit meat. Smell me if you donât believe it," Er Ya hastily explained, desperate. She had no such courage.
"If you didnât eat it, then who did? I told you to watch the stove. Where did you go?" Mrs. Lv, in truth, believed Er Ya hadnât eaten it; she simply didnât have the nerve.