Chapter 362: Chapter 198 Opening the Ancestral Hall
Gu Chengyu slightly closed his eyes, thinking of a plan. To resolve this matter, he must first address the root of the problemâthe Yang Family.
He had heard about the Yang Familyâs nature before. Yang Laosan had two older brothers, and their mother was greedy and loved taking small advantages.
After Yang Laosan died, the courtâs compensation silver was not given to Wang Yue but instead Wang Yue was kicked out of the house by Yangâs mother, with the two brothers tacitly agreeing.
In their eyes, Wang Yue was an outsider, but wasnât Yang Laosanâs son still a part of the Yang Family? After kicking them out, they no longer cared about the mother and son.
The two families are now still squeezed into a small courtyard, living a frugal life.
Gu Chengyu thought that instead of drowning Wang Yue and Gu Chengyi in a pig cage, the Yang Family would be more interested in the silver, and he was sure they would make such a choice.
Thinking of this, he was no longer anxious. After all, the Yang Familyâs goal was certainly the silver.
"Aunt Wang! Did you come to town to find me because my dad and the others asked you to?"
Gu Chengyu suddenly thought of a possibilityâcould this be a trap set by his second brother and Wang Yue to lure him in?
"The Yang Family wants to wait for you to come back before theyâre willing to negotiate. Theyâre probably waiting at the Yang house right now!"
Aunt Wang, not knowing the reason, thought this was not the time to be caught up in this matter.
However, she also knew that Xiao Bao had a plan; he might have thought of some way.
"Xiao Bao, your second brother is a scoundrel, but after all, he is a member of the Gu Family. If you donât help him, will people say that you are heartless and ungrateful?"
Aunt Wang worried that Xiao Bao might hold a grudge against his second brother, and if he didnât help, it wouldnât benefit him anyway.
Gu Chengyi certainly isnât a good thing, but he belongs to the Gu Family, and the two are biological brothers. As the old saying goes: A dragon begets nine sons, each different from the others.
Itâs just hard to understand how someone so capable like Gu Chengyu came from such an ordinary farming family like the Gu Family.
"Auntie, I already have an idea about my second brotherâs matter. But if I donât give him a lesson this time, he wonât take it to heart. I canât always stay at home to clean up after him. If I let him off easily this time, heâll surely escalate next time."
Gu Chengyu sighed and pretended to be worried as he said, "Aunt, although Iâm a scholar now, Iâm not an official! If no trouble is caused, the County Magistrate might give me some face. If my second brother doesnât know how to restrain himself today and offends the wrong people in the future, wonât it implicate the entire clan? It might even drag down the entire village!"
Gu Chengyu said this, also hoping Aunt Wang would spread his difficulties around the village.
With Gu Chengyiâs behavior, Mr. Gu couldnât control him, so the clan had to keep an eye on him.
He needed to mobilize Uncle Gu and the clan members to keep Gu Chengyi under tight watch. If the clan wanted benefits, they had to help him resolve his worries.
Aunt Wang looked at this child, even smaller than her own Gousheng, and shed some bitter tears for him.
Xiao Bao never worried his parents since he was young, earning silver for the family. He was smart, handling all the family affairs, yet these people were still not satisfied?
If her family had such a child, they would laugh even in their dreams.
Aunt Wang patted Gu Chengyuâs head, "Youâve suffered, child!" As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Women are always soft-hearted, and Aunt Wang had always liked Gu Chengyu, naturally feeling that he had suffered grievances in the Gu Family. Who in the village didnât know about the messy affairs of the Gu Family?
This Gu Chengyi was truly an ungrateful person. Even with a brother so good to him, he was still dissatisfied; some people truly are ingrates!
Little Yue, though not understanding all of this, clung tightly to Gu Chengyu, "Little Uncle!"
Children are sensitive, and after Gu Chengyu and Aunt Wangâs conversation, they stopped talking about Gu Chengyi.
The carriage soon drove into the village, and some members of the Gu clan were already waiting at the village entrance.
"Uncle! The Clan Leader asked me to wait for you here, and he wants you to go to the ancestral hall first."
A young clan member saw the Gu Family carriage approaching and quickly came forward to greet them.
"Xiao Bao! Iâll get off now! Hand Little Yue to me!"
Since it was the Gu Family Ancestral Hall, Aunt Wang naturally couldnât go, plus women were not allowed inside the ancestral hall. Certainly, those who committed wrongdoing were there to receive punishment.
Little Yue clung to Gu Chengyu and refused to get off the carriage. With no other choice, Gu Chengyu had to take Little Yue back to the Gu house first, knowing his mother would be at home.
As Gu Chengyuâs group passed by the Gu house entrance, they saw Mrs. Lv and Gu Wan standing at the door, looking around anxiously.
As soon as Mrs. Lv saw the carriage approach and Gu Chengyu barely appeared, she hurriedly said, "Xiao Bao! Donât hastily agree to whatever request the Yang Family makes! Your second brotherâs troubles are his own doing. Youâre still a young child; listen to what your Clan Leader Uncle saysâdonât act rashly!"
"Yeah, Xiao Bao! The Clan Leader Uncle will find a way to deal with Second Brotherâs matter, so donât do anything foolish!"
In the hearts of Mrs. Lv and Gu Wan, Gu Chengyu was undoubtedly the most important. If the Yang Family made excessive demands and Xiao Bao agreed, he would be tricked by the Yang Family for sure.
"Mom, Second Sister, I understand. Little Yue, Uncle has matters to attend to; you go with Grandma and Little Aunt first."
Gu Chengyu placed Little Yue on the carriage shaft and handed her over to Gu Wan.
Gu Wan, quite amiable to Little Yue, made Little Yue willing to let her hold her.
The Gu Family Ancestral Hall was inside, close to the mountain. When Gu Chengyu arrived, a large crowd had gathered outside the ancestral hall, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
"Hey? The scholar is here, make way!" Villagers, hearing the sound of the carriage from behind, looked and realized it was indeed the Gu Householdâs scholar returning.
Gu Chengyu, with Ming Mo by his side, walked towards the ancestral hall. The hall was supposed to be opened when his plaque was to be placed inside, but it opened early today due to such a disgraceful matter.
The Gu Family Ancestral Hall was built large, with spacious rooms. As Gu Chengyu walked in, people spontaneously stepped aside, creating a path for him.
Gu Chengyu frowned, realizing how widely the incident had spread.
Even if he chased people away now, it would be useless. On the contrary, if they were not informed of the subsequent developments, there might be wild speculations spreading everywhere.
"Xiao Bao! Come in quickly!" Uncle Gu, relieved to see Gu Chengyu return, acknowledged the trouble the Yang Family posed.
Gu Chengyu looked at the two people tied up on the ground, noticing several members of the Yang clan in the ancestral hall, glaring at the two with fierce expressions.
Without needing to look, Gu Chengyu knew it was his good second brother and Wang Yue. He went straight to sit beside Uncle Gu, a privilege accorded to him as a scholar.
Mr. Gu, seeing his youngest son arrive, settled his heart and closed his eyes to rest.
Dealing with such an issue early in the morning had exhausted him. Handling matters with the Yang Family was quite strenuous, and having barely managed to protect his second son temporarily, he relaxed once Xiao Bao arrived.
The second son indeed needed some disciplining; he could not allow the second son to drag Xiao Bao down further. Getting old and unable to handle the second son anymore, he now had to rely on the clan to restrain him in the future.