Chapter 321 - 322: Found Seventh Uncle and Aunt Seven
Chapter 321: Chapter 322: Found Seventh Uncle and Aunt Seven
Jin Qianqian massaged his temples. "I bet a lot of people were on edge today. You should try to keep a low profile for a while."
Gu Wenheng grunted in agreement. "You should turn down any banquet invitations you can for a while, too."
They both knew about the complex web of marital ties in Shangjing, and Gu Wenheng couldn’t bear the thought of Jin Qianqian walking into a situation just to be picked on by others.
Jin Qianqian patted his back but didn’t say anything. After all, some banquets weren’t so easy to refuse.
Gu Lehuan had just stepped out of the main gate. Suppressing his excitement, he followed Sanhua back to the brokerage first, bringing along the servants who had carried the gifts.
Before Xu Nuo could even ask why the trip had taken so long, Gu Lehuan had already rushed off with the men.
"What’s going on?" Xu Nuo looked at the silver notes and the contract in front of him, then turned to ask Sanhua.
Sanhua was speechless.
Gu Lehuan and the servants who had come with him pushed open the wooden door to find only darkness inside. He called out several times, but no one answered.
"They must have gone out for something. You can just put the things in the corner! Thank you for your trouble!" Gu Lehuan quickly pointed to a corner. It was getting dark, after all, and he couldn’t have them stand there holding everything forever.
"Well then, Young Master Huan, we’ll be heading back now." Xu Dawang secretly sized up the small house; he had to report back to Housekeeper Fu.
"Alright, you can go," Gu Lehuan replied absently, his mind still reeling from being called ’Young Master Huan’.
When Gu Yuanmu and the others got home, they saw Gu Lehuan sitting at the door in a daze.
"You’re back, but you couldn’t even start dinner? You just leave everything for your mother to do." Wang Caiyue’s face immediately fell. Lately, she’d been going out to cook for a construction foreman and didn’t want to come home just to face the stove again.
"Dad! Mom! You’re back!" Gu Lehuan leaped to his feet, his face alight with excitement.
"Isn’t that obvious? If we weren’t back, what would we be, ghosts?" Wang Caiyue said, tossing her head as she started to enter the next room. Just then, her eyes fell on the pile of things in the corner.
"What is all this?"
"Dad, Mom, I found Seventh Uncle and his family!" Gu Lehuan shouted excitedly.
"Really? Where are they?" Gu Yuanmu clutched his chest, a wide, happy grin spreading across his face. "Are your grandpa and the others with them?"
"So what if you found them?" Wang Caiyue shot them an irritated glare. ’Life has just started to get a little better. Don’t tell me that whole big family is going to latch onto us now, are they?’
At this thought, Wang Caiyue’s expression turned even fouler. "You didn’t tell them where we’re living now, did you?
We only have two rooms. If they show up with their entire families in tow, where are we all supposed to sleep?
Our good life hasn’t even lasted two days..."
Gu Lehuan knew she would start nagging endlessly, so he raised his voice and said, "Seventh Uncle is this year’s new Champion Scholar! He lives in a huge mansion now, with tons of servants!"
"Are you trying to fool me, kid? Someone like your Seventh Uncle becoming the Champion Scholar..." Wang Caiyue trailed off, then suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth. "I remember now! Everyone was talking about how the new Champion Scholar’s surname was Gu. I even said he shared our name, but we weren’t blessed enough to have a relative like that. Could it really be your Seventh Uncle?"
Gu Lehuan looked at the stunned Gu Lexi. "It’s definitely Seventh Uncle. Look, these are all gifts that Aunt Seven had someone bring back for me. She also invited us to their mansion for a get-together tomorrow afternoon."
Wang Caiyue’s hands moved faster than her mouth. A moment ago she was asking what the things were, and now she was already unwrapping the packages.
Seeing the boxes of pastries and bolts of fabric, Wang Caiyue exclaimed, "It looks like Old Seventh has really made it big! No, wait... I remember the new Champion Scholar’s name wasn’t Gu Yuan Yu. Otherwise, I would have gone to claim our kinship long ago."
Gu Yuanmu said, "Yuan Yu is the name our mother gave him. Scholars like them all use a courtesy name. The old scholar gave it to him. I think it was Wenheng."
"Gu Wenheng, Gu Wenheng..." Wang Caiyue suddenly clapped her hands. "That’s the name! Of course! I thought it sounded familiar when I heard it, but I never imagined he was family.
It’s been almost two months since the Champion Scholar’s parade. We’ve suffered for two extra months because of this."
Gu Yuanmu said, "It’s a good thing that Old Seventh became the Champion Scholar, but don’t forget, we’ve already split from the main family. Do you really expect him to support us?
You silly woman, you should focus on working more so we can save up enough for our son to get married."
"Honestly... His Seventh Uncle is so successful now, what’s wrong with him giving us a little boost?
You blockhead! If you’re too embarrassed to ask, I’ll do it for you. We can’t have his own brother doing odd jobs everywhere while his uncle is an official. It would be a disgrace if word got out."
The more Wang Caiyue thought about it, the more excited she became. She looked around the house, and suddenly everything in it seemed shabby, completely unbefitting the relatives of an official family.
"You know, your Seventh Uncle really is something else. He should have just told us to move in with them instead of going to all this trouble to send gifts.
Let’s not even wait until tomorrow to visit. We’re all family. We’ll just move over tonight and make do."
The three Gu men—father and sons—all stared at her coldly. Gu Lexi said, "Mom, we’ve already split from the family. Besides, shouldn’t we be asking if Grandpa and Grandma are at the mansion?"
Gu Yuanmu quickly grabbed Gu Lehuan. "Right, what about your grandparents? Did you see them? Are they okay?"
Gu Lehuan replied, "Grandpa and Grandma aren’t in Shangjing. They’re living in one of the resettlement villages."
"What? That Old Seventh and his wife are so unfilial! They’ve made it big and they don’t even bring their own parents to live with them."
Wang Caiyue had barely finished speaking when a slap sent her head snapping to the side. "Don’t forget, we’ve all split off to live on our own! Mom and Dad said they wouldn’t live with any of us. We just have to give them Filial Piety Silver every year.
Besides, I’m the second son. Even if it were by turns, it wouldn’t be Old Seventh’s."
"..." Wang Caiyue held her cheek, not daring to say another word. Inwardly, however, she grumbled, ’Gu Yuanmu’s temper has certainly grown, now that he’s emboldened by his successful brother.’
Gu Yuanmu grabbed Gu Lehuan again and asked for more details. When he learned that his parents had settled down in Dao City—the city they had all passed through on their way here—and hadn’t made the long trek back to their old hometown, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. It meant he might still have a chance to see his parents and brother.
Gu Lexi, on the other hand, was more curious about his uncle, the Champion Scholar, and kept asking about everything in the mansion.
But Gu Lehuan had been led to a side hall as soon as he entered and hadn’t dared to look around much on the way, so what could he possibly know about the mansion’s layout?
He could only describe the sight of Jin Qianqian arriving surrounded by servants and the awe he felt when Gu Wenheng appeared before him in his official robes.
The more the father and his two sons talked, the more spirited they became, as if they had witnessed the magnificent scene with their own eyes.
Wang Caiyue, meanwhile, had finished opening the gift packages. There were things to eat and things to use, but not a shadow of any Silver Tael. She was certain this was all arranged by Old Seventh’s wife.
"What good is all this stuff?" Wang Caiyue muttered under her breath. ’Could a dignified Sixth-rank Official from the Champion Scholar Mansion really only offer something like this?’