Chapter 268: Chapter 104: Stealing a Man
Just as Aunt Wang glanced toward the courtyard and saw the door of the second house tightly shut, they must not be home. She sat back down on the original stool, "Changqingâs family, I have something to say, but I donât know if I should!"
Upon seeing Aunt Wang stay behind, Mrs. Lv felt sure there was something to be said, "What canât be said between us? Go ahead!"
In the past two years, Aunt Wang had grown close to the Gu Family, and Mrs. Lv got along well with her.
"Isnât that Wang Yue living in front of my house? Just at the foot of the mountain, not far from here. Lately, Iâve noticed something doesnât seem right." Aunt Wang whispered to Mrs. Lv.
Although Wang Yue and Aunt Wang were not on good terms and often quarreled upon meeting, after Wang Yueâs husband passed away, Aunt Wang found her pitiful and mostly held back her temper when they met.
Aunt Wangâs words piqued Mrs. Lvâs curiosity. She knew Wang Yue often badmouthed her, so she was immediately interested in hearing about her.
"Whatâs not right?" A widow behaving wrongly, could it be what sheâs thinking?
"I saw a man entering her house. I discovered it once, just when it was getting dark. That man went in, and I kept an eye out. He would always come after dark and leave by dawn."
"Could it be that your eyes were deceived? Itâs quite possible to see things incorrectly at night!" Mrs. Lv was a bit skeptical, thinking that maybe Aunt Wangâs eyes had deceived her, especially since it was night.
"My eyes deceiving me? The moon was very bright that night, and the sound of Wang Yueâs gate opening and closing is quite loud, I could hear it clearly." Seeing the disbelief on Mrs. Lvâs face, Aunt Wang quickly patted her chest in assurance.
"Oh my! Who could it be? Itâs just been over two years! No wonder when I saw Wang Yue once, she looked quite well, dressed pretty decently, not like someone lacking food or clothes, turns out she found a man!"
Although it was disgraceful, it was still someone elseâs business. Being a woman herself, having to raise her son alone, Mrs. Lv did not intend to spread it around the village.
"Exactly, let me tell you, thereâs more than one! The two men seem to be from the village, and one is quite familiar with us."
"What? How can that be? Who is it?" Mrs. Lv was utterly shocked. Itâs one thing to be with a man, but to have two? Wang Yue must be truly shameless. If she wanted a man so badly, she could remarry, why sneak around?
"Iâm not sure about one, but I think the other looks like your second son. I saw his face clearly; he sometimes even comes during the day!" Aunt Wang hesitated momentarily before finally revealing.
"What? My second son?" Mrs. Lv was taken aback, she couldnât imagine her second son fancying Wang Yue. Wang Yue did have some charm when she was young, but now sheâs past her prime. Farm women, exposed to the sun and wind, no matter how charming, would have skin tanned and dried out by the sun and wind in the fields.
"I canât be sure who the other is, but I saw your second son clearly! Heâs being quite brazen, sneaking in even during the day over this period!"
Mrs. Lv gritted her teeth, "That Wang Yue is truly shameless. How could my second son do such a thing?" Women usually have zero tolerance for such things, accepting a concubine can only be silently endured, but sneaking around warrants severe punishment.
"I say, your Xiao Bao has passed the scholar exam. Heâll still have to take the scholar and advanced exams! This cannot be known to others, or the Gu Familyâs reputation will be ruined. Moreover, your family has many who study!"
"That wicked Wang Yue, why must she bring ruin upon our Gu Family? Sneaking around with two men, how is she different from those women?"
Mrs. Lv despised such women thoroughly, though she knew Wang Yue had a hard life raising a child alone, many widows in the world live on without behaving so, if everyone was like her, chaos would ensue.
Originally, she wouldnât bother with such things, without good returns, itâd just cause trouble, but now it is unavoidable! No, she must tell the old man.
The second son seemed clever, but his vision was shallow. With the division of the family giving him so much silver, and a share of the soap profits at year-end, what kind of women couldnât he find, why seek out Wang Yue?
"Itâs embarrassing even for me, she truly lacks decency!" Aunt Wang despised such women the most and upon revealing it, she said her farewells.
"Thanks for telling me, donât worry, I wonât let anyone know it was you who told me." Of course, Mrs. Lv wouldnât drag Aunt Wang into this, Wang Yue could turn into a mad dog at times, biting whomever.
"Iâm not afraid even if you do say it, I told what I witnessed, not made up! Iâll head home now." Aunt Wang stood up to leave.
After Aunt Wang left, Mrs. Lv fell into deep thought, she still needed to discuss a strategy with the old man. The second son shouldnât have any entanglement with Wang Yue as it involved the Gu Familyâs reputation, she couldnât allow it.
"Madam, shall I call the old sir back to dine?" At this moment, the maid came in to ask Lv if it was time to set the table for dinner.
The maidâs surname was Li, around forty, she was skilled at preparing food, having originally been a cook in a wealthy household, so Gu Chengyu brought her here to tidy the house and cook.
"You go call the old sir, tell him to come home for dinner." Dinner was about ready, so Mr. Gu wouldnât have gone far.
"Iâm here, no need to call." Just then, Mr. Gu entered the main house from the courtyard.
"I have something to tell you." Mrs. Lv eagerly intended to tell Mr. Gu about this matter.
"Mother! Is it time to eat?" came Gu Wanâs voice from outside the courtyard, as she lifted the curtain and entered, with Gu Chengyu following behind.
"Whatâs the matter?" Mr. Gu asked curiously.
Mrs. Lv initially wanted to speak but held back upon seeing her children coming over.
"Letâs eat before discussing it!"
Mr. Gu wanted to ask further but had to suppress his questions at the sight of the look exchanged with Mrs. Lv.
Gu Chengyu noticed the silent exchange between them, not sure what the secret was, but suspecting it was inappropriate for children, he didnât inquire further. He didnât anticipate this matter would cause major trouble in the Gu Family.
"Father! I plan on buying some land, donât I have eighty acres of tax-exempt land under my name? I want to buy a hundred more acres, with ten acres for the ancestral land." At the dining table, Gu Chengyu shared his plan.
"If you have the silver, buying more land is best. Buying land is always the least risky investment. With that much, I couldnât manage it alone, looks like weâll have to hire more people."
Mr. Gu was very pleased with Gu Chengyuâs focus on acquiring land with his silver. To him, nothing was more lucrative than land. Speaking of which, he was invigorated.
"You could hire some servants to manage it, or lease it to tenant farmers, if Father doesnât mind, hire some long-term farmhands!"