Chapter 226: Chapter 62: Take Her Back
Yan Bi heard this and glanced at Gu Chengyu, feeling secretly resentful. This little kid really knows how to sow discord.
Tears glistened in her eyes, and her body, supported by Gu Wanhua, seemed to be teetering, "Wanhua! Little Uncle is right, what will you do if you ruin your reputation because of me? Itâs all my fault for not thinking this through. I think we should just let it go."
"What nonsense are you talking? Iâve already got you out, of course, Iâm taking you back!" Actually, there was a moment of hesitation when Gu Wanhua heard what Gu Chengyu said. But when he saw Yan Biâs tear-filled eyes, he felt like his heart was broken.
Gu Chengyu didnât want to look at their lovey-dovey display anymore, it was an eyesore. Since Gu Wanhua was determined, not even ten oxen could pull him back, so he didnât want to say more.
"Ming Mo will send you back in the afternoon!" He turned around and went into the room, closing the door to avoid seeing them.
Gu Chengyu planned to write a letter mentioning the course of this event. He couldnât return today; he had to clarify the whole matter. This woman is not easy to deal with, and he needed to warn Uncle Gu and the others to be cautious.
The whole affair was quite strange. Could that woman not see whether Gu Wanhua had money? Why was she so determined to follow Gu Wanhua? Could it really be because of affection? Gu Chengyu found it a bit absurd.
And where did that money come from? Itâs definitely a large sum. Since itâs for redeeming someone, wouldnât Yan Biâs foster mother ask for less? If it was borrowed from Huang Ming, if Huang Ming had money, he wouldnât have always been thinking about the women of his family.
The worry was that these matters might implicate his own family again; sometimes itâs impossible to guard against! As for that foster mother, who knows if she was real or fake, Gu Chengyu felt things werenât so simple.
"Ming Mo! Go find Steward Yu, didnât he bring two people here? Have those two check where Gu Wanhua and Huang Ming went these past two days, who they met, and keep an eye on Huang Ming for me. Have him report daily on who Huang Ming met and what he did."
Gu Chengyu thought it over and still felt uneasy, planning to have Yu Tuanzi send someone to investigate. He reckoned Huang Ming couldnât hold back much longer. They were about to return home, and would Huang Ming let such a good opportunity slip by? There must be some scheme behind it, and if Gu Chengyu caught it, heâd make sure Huang Ming couldnât get away with it.
"Yes, young master, Iâll go find Steward Yu right away!" Ming Mo took the order and immediately left the room.
Yan Bi held Gu Wanhuaâs hand, her expression anxious and uneasy, "Wanhua, taking me back like this, will your family accept me? What about your wife? Will she tolerate me?"
Actually, Yan Bi wasnât dead set on Gu Wanhua, but Gu Wanhua had some genuine feelings for her. Living in a distant village was safer, and those people wouldnât find her so quickly. Besides, escaping from the clutches of that old hag felt fortunate enough, and she didnât want to live that life again.
Gu Wanhua hadnât thought too deeply about these issues until now. He dared not think about it; surely the elder wouldnât agree. As for Mrs. Xiao, he didnât know what to do.
"Donât worry, Iâll face it with you."
Yan Bi choked on his words. She was hinting for Gu Wanhua to drive his wife away, but Gu Wanhua didnât mention this at all.
The next day, Gu Chengyu finally finished dealing with things at the restaurant. As long as the chef practiced a few more days, they could open for business when the time came. Vice Magistrate Wang had already confirmed he would come to congratulate them on that day.
Gu Wanhua and the others left yesterday, and Gu Chengyu planned to rent a carriage to return.
"Young master! I have found out what you asked me to investigate. We inquired with pictures along the way and finally found their movements. Huang Ming and another person had gone to a gambling den the day before yesterday, looking for a man named Gou. Gou confessed that Gu Wanhua borrowed two hundred taels of silver from his shopkeeper with a two-month repayment period."
Yu Tuanzi and his team had spent a lot of effort finding this Gou, and luckily the gambling den was not far from the inn where Huang Ming was staying.
"Oh? Was it usury? But Gu Wanhua had no collateral, would the shopkeeper still lend it?" Gu Wanhua had no money on him, and no land deed or such, so what did he use as collateral?
"Gou said there was no collateral because Huang Ming and he are from the same village, and they all knew where Gu Wanhuaâs family lived. Naturally, they werenât afraid Gu Wanhua would run away!"
Yu Tuanzi also thought Gu Wanhua was too bold to borrow usury money. With those escalating interests, it would likely lead to bankruptcy, and they wouldnât be able to repay. From what he knew, Uncle Guâs family didnât have much wealth!
Gu Chengyu found it somewhat strange. Huang Ming was a relative of Aunt Guâs family, so naturally, he knew where Guâs family lived. But why was he so keen on helping Gu Wanhua? To even act as a guarantor for Gu Wanhua; if Gu Wanhua couldnât pay back the silver, how could Huang Ming, the guarantor, fare well?
No, Gu Wanhua wouldnât fail to come up with the silver, wasnât there still him? Uncle Gu wouldnât just stand by, and the most direct and effective way was for Mr. Gu to borrow money.
Humph! Everyone wanted to calculate against his familyâs silver. He really didnât understand; his family was just an affluent farmer at most, why did everyone see them as if they were a juicy piece of meat, all wanting to take a bite?
"Hmm! I got it! Iâll head back today, and you stay until the restaurant opens. If anything happens, send a message by pigeon!"
At this time, Gu Chengyu still didnât know that yesterday, in front of the prefecture cityâs gate, Huang Ming had hitched a ride on Gu Wanhuaâs carriage to Shangling Village.
This time Gu Chengyu returned alone. As usual, he brought some exquisite jewelry for the girls in the family and put them all in his space. No one would know, and he could take them out when he got home, enjoying the light-heartedness in the meantime.
In the distance, patches of sunset hung over the mountains. Looking at the continuous mountain ranges, Gu Chengyu felt cheerful. After so many days in the prefecture, he was finally returning.
The hooves of the horse trotted on the yellow soil, kicking up a cloud of dust behind the carriage. Up ahead was Shangling Village.
"Little lad, where should I stop?" The sturdy man driving the carriage turned back to ask Gu Chengyu in the carriage.
"Uncle! Go a bit further, to that big tree at the village entrance. Stop in front of that house!" In the village, only his family had a green brick two-entry tile-roofed house, making it particularly conspicuous from the village entrance.
"Ah! Is that house yours? Itâs really big! Even a green brick tile-roofed house!" The sturdy man driving the carriage had already guessed that Gu Chengyuâs family was well-off from his attire, and now it was confirmed. He was indeed envious.
The carriage quickly arrived in front of Gu Chengyuâs house. Gu Chengyu got off the carriage and took out a package of pastries from his bundle to give to the driver. It was already dusk, and smoke rose from every householdâs chimney. Yet, the driver had to hurry back at night and likely wouldnât have dinner.
The driver hastily declined; he had already charged enough for the fare, so how could he accept the pastries? Pastries were expensive, even more so with the First-class Houseâs mark on them.
These were the simplest pastries from Gu Chengyuâs shop, just wrapped in paper. He forcefully gave them to the driver, "Uncle, be careful on your way back, and eat these to fill your stomach on the road!"