Chapter 108 Trouble! Trouble!

It was very quiet, extremely quiet.

It's nothing really.

It's just human nature.

We've all been there.

It's really nothing.

Gu Xun considered himself a relatively uninvolved outsider and believed he could smoothly steer the matter away, so he cleared his throat and coughed.

"A-Tong, put He Xian down. Let's go outside and talk, so as not to disturb her any further."

Gu Fang obediently put his daughter down, stood up quietly, and unfolded the quilt to cover his daughter.

The daughter smacked her lips softly and slept relatively soundly.

He watched quietly.

His daughter looked just like her mother when she was little, very much so. He knew then that she would grow up to be a beauty, and she certainly is now, though she no longer resembles her mother. The changes must have happened gradually, but he hadn't been able to witness her grow up step by step. So when she reappeared before him many years later, he saw a completely different person, someone he didn't recognize.

But she is his daughter.

He knew that raising a beautiful daughter would be anything but easy; men would fall madly in love with her.

He chased after her like a bee or a butterfly, doing all sorts of pretentious things to win her love. It might become a beautiful story, or it might become a laughing stock. But whether it's a beautiful story or a laughing stock, it's all trouble for him.

Those people, those things, were all his troubles, making him frown and stamp his feet, muttering, "Trouble! Trouble!" That damned brat! Didn't he have a mirror at home for him to look in? Otherwise, why would he be so ignorant and dare to covet my daughter!

If he were to insult his daughter's sweetheart, she would surely plead with him for his sake, grabbing his sleeve and listing all his good qualities, begging him to allow them to be together. He would undoubtedly remain stern and unyielding. Desperate, she would have no choice but to turn to her mother, asking his wife, Wanwan, to speak well of her lover. Wanwan, who dotes on her daughter, would certainly side with her, praising her daughter's sweetheart and urging him to grant her request. He would still remain unmoved, for he had his reasons. While this man may have some merits, he was far more flawed. His foolish actions were proof enough! How could he entrust his daughter to such a person?

When choosing a life partner for his daughter, he would undoubtedly be demanding and critical, acting as if no one was good enough for her. But Wanwan, being the most reasonable person, would definitely bring up his past misdeeds as evidence to ensure her daughter's happiness, accusing him of having ulterior motives, being the pot calling the kettle black, nitpicking, and ruining her marriage. He would stammer in rebuttal, saying that those young boys couldn't compare to him at all…

However, there must be someone in this world who can win the heart of his daughter and satisfy him. This person will come to him, flattering and fawning over him, begging him to give his daughter to him. Although he is satisfied with this person, he will still make things difficult for him and make him suffer, because he is unwilling to let him easily take his daughter away from him.

But he would eventually agree to the request, because when the girl grows up, she must get married, marry a good husband, have several children, and a group of people, including him and Wanwan, will take good care of her. They are all younger than him, so even if he and Wanwan are gone, there will still be people who take good care of her, ensuring that no hardship befalls her...

He had dreamed of all of these things.

I've thought about it more than once.

When his daughter was still an infant, he held her in his arms and looked at her face, which was smaller than his fist. That's what he thought back then.

His daughter, who shares his blood, who is his flesh and blood, his daughter.

He had sworn to give her a life as sweet as honey.

But what kind of life is she living now?

The empty, shabby room was worse than the servants' quarters. It contained all sorts of crude objects, all made of the most ordinary wood, without carvings, paintings, or even heavy lacquer. There was no gold, no jade, and the pottery and porcelain were plain. She slept on a mud bed, covered with a silk quilt, and shared a pillow with a worthless, utterly worthless person who showed her no pity…

He's been through it all; he knows, he knows everything...

She might not even have a wedding ceremony.

What can this person offer her?

Spending one of the most important days of my life in a desolate atmosphere.

She made a foolish mistake, and no one around her cared about her, explained the consequences, or advised her; they simply let her rush into the fire...

Evening ceremony...

How grand and magnificent his daughter's wedding must be! He was willing to give her everything; the dowry would fill the entire long street, and the people welcoming and seeing her off would stretch as far as the eye could see...

This shouldn't be the case.

It shouldn't be like this...

It's ruined, everything is ruined.

It's all because of this person.

You ruined my daughter... You ruined my daughter!

I want you dead...

Go to hell! Go to hell!

"I killed you... I killed you..."

Muttering to himself, he kicked out and then pounced on him, determined to kill him, whether by strangling or beating him to death.

This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.

Liu Min fell to the ground, and before he could react, his neck was grabbed tightly with such force that his eyes rolled back instantly.

"A-Tong!"

Gu Xun was the first to react and immediately rushed over to pry his younger brother's hand off.

"What are you doing! Let go! Let go!"

He was a military general who had been on the battlefield, someone who had actually wielded a spear and drawn a bow, yet now he couldn't even pry open his own hands.

Fortunately, Liu Shen reacted quickly and joined in, and the two of them worked together to finally rescue Liu Min.

Gu Xun pulled his younger brother backward, and Liu Shen also dragged his son backward.

However, Gu Fang, a father who believed his daughter had been insulted, suddenly unleashed a tremendous strength that shouldn't belong to him. He broke free from his strong brother's grasp and charged at his enemy once more, swinging his fists...

"Don't hit him! Father, what are you doing!"

Another voice suddenly rang out, causing immense panic and making everyone on the ground freeze in their tracks.

Like a whirlwind.

"Lian Si, Lian Si..."

She knelt down, pressed close to him, cupped his still-astonished face, called his name again and again, her voice choked with sobs, tears streaming down her face, and turned back, filled with a thousand questions and ten thousand sorrows.

"Why did you hit him? Don't bully him..."

There was a deep sense of grievance in his plea.

Gu Fang watched, and suddenly felt a heart-wrenching pain. His vision went completely white, and then he began to sway...

The current situation is truly heartbreaking. Of the five people, one is half-collapsed and unconscious, one is kneeling and weeping, and the other is about to collapse...

Gu Xun suddenly didn't know what he was doing.

His brother started it; whoever strikes first is in the wrong.

So he dragged the people who had made mistakes outside.

Before leaving, she remembered to comfort her niece, "It's okay, I'll talk to him."

Fearing he might go berserk again, they didn't even dare stay in the courtyard and went straight out the gate.

The two brothers arrived at the snowy edge of the forest.

"Why did you do that? I really don't understand. He's your son-in-law, and He Xian likes him very much. I told you, she wasn't in Xingdu before and didn't know about those things. Once she found out, she came to find him, and the two of them lived together... Why did you hurt your daughter like that?"

The moon had appeared out of nowhere, and the combination of the snow and moonlight made it incredibly bright. You could even see the patterns on the tree bark clearly. The wind howled, like a low murmur, or sometimes like a mournful cry, blowing across the snowfield and through the barren forest, creating a series of rustling sounds as the snow was shaken off the branches.

It was very quiet. Although there was wind and the sound of snow, it was still quiet, and even quieter. In addition to the quiet, there was also a sense of desolation.

Amidst this desolate scene, Gu Fang squatted down, covered his face, and burst into tears.

Gu Xun waited for him to finish crying. He knew his younger brother too well. Once he started crying, there was no way to persuade him. He would cry until he was completely satisfied before he would stop. He had been like this since he was a child.

There are also differences.

His cries as a child were pure, just shouts, with hardly any tears, because he wasn't crying out of sadness, but rather to force something. So everything was under his control. But now it's different. The meaning in his cries is so complex that it's almost impossible to decipher, and even he himself probably can't fully explain it.

He was originally the luckiest among his brothers. His name was Fang, and his nickname was Atong. Everyone has their misfortunes, but he didn't.

I thought he would never have the chance to grow up and could stay a child forever, but in the end, he suffered the most, which led to him becoming what he is today.

It inevitably evokes feelings of sadness and melancholy.

Gu Xun was a good older brother after all, so he squatted down as well.

“You’re being too greedy.” The younger brother was still crying, but he spoke up. “You’ll see her again in this lifetime, she didn’t suffer too much, and she can even remember you… Heaven has been kind enough. You should be happy, we should all be happy… Stop crying. It’s freezing cold here. You’ve never seen it, you don’t know how bad it is. Finding your daughter is a happy thing, so don’t make yourself sick.” As he spoke, he tried to help the man up.

The person wouldn't help him up; he just kept crying, tears streaming down his face from between his fingers.

“I’m not an unreasonable person. I understand what you’re saying, but… He Xian has suffered so much… I’m so sorry to her… I’m sorry to her, and I’m sorry to Wan Wan… Wan Wan didn’t give birth to her so she could suffer…”

"Is this what you wanted? Nobody wanted this," Gu Xun sighed. "If you have to blame someone, blame her bad luck! Fate made her suffer, and no one can do anything about it..."

"Your life is much worse!" he glared, stopping his tears. "Try saying another word of nonsense!"

Gu Xun was speechless.

But it's good that you've stopped crying.

“Uncle, my life isn’t bitter.” A third voice suddenly interrupted, “Although I’ve suffered a lot, I think I’m still lucky.”

The two brothers knew who was speaking, so they both looked over.

Shanlai walked slowly towards them step by step. When he arrived, he stopped and said with a smile, "Uncle is right. It is a great blessing that we can meet again. We should be happy. At least I am already content." After saying that, he looked at Gu Fang and his voice softened, "It's too cold outside. Dad, come inside with me. I'll make your bed. It's late, and you should rest."

Gu Fang did not immediately agree, "You just yelled at me..."

Shanlai laughed and said, "Why are you settling scores with me, Father?"

"You yelled at me because of him."

Still unwilling to give up, he said it again.

Although they hadn't seen each other for over ten years, the father and daughter were not estranged, so Shanlai wasn't afraid of not being able to persuade him.

"Father, please don't make things difficult for him anymore. I truly love him."

Gu Fang became dazed.

Yes, that's it.

The troubles of raising a daughter.

"But he's not good..."

"Who says he's bad? He's the best in the world."