Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Blood Splattered
Tian Erlang and Gu Wenqing went back to look for someone. Mrs. Du saw that her son looked unhappy and asked, "What's wrong?"
Gu Wenqing put down the backpack and said, "The price has gone up. Five taels of silver only bought me a broken backpack and a bamboo tube. The woman was selling clay pots for ten taels of silver each, but I didn't want any."
Mrs. Du was so angry that she cursed in the street: "Ten taels of silver for an earthenware jar, why don't you go and rob them when you are so short of silver?"
Mrs. Du felt choked with anger. Her little daughter looked at her curiously. Many unbearable words came to her mouth, but Mrs. Du swallowed them back.
Gu Wen advised: "We are like fish swimming in shallow waters, we can't compete with others. Don't take it to heart. It will only make you angry and lose more than you gain."
Bai also said, "Don't be angry. I have a clay pot at home. If you want to boil water, you can use ours."
Ah Xuan pulled Mrs. Du's arm and jumped up and down: "Mom, don't be angry."
Mrs. Du thanked Mrs. Bai, sighed, and stroked her little daughter's hair. "You haven't washed it in a few days. You stink. I'll find a place to wash it for you."
The Gu and Tian families had wasted some time, and the good spots by the river had all been taken. It just so happened that the servants were handing out dry biscuits, so the two families went to get them first.
"Take a break and go again later."
Gu Wenqing and Tian Jia Dalang went to pick up some dried reeds and brought them back. They boiled some water, tore up some dry biscuits, soaked them in water, and ate them with the hot water.
Pulling a leaf from a large tree as a bowl and eating the softened pancake, Gu Youan thought that their family not only lacked a pot, but also bowls and chopsticks.
"Sister, look quickly." A Xuan sat with her sister and pointed to the left to show her.
Gu Youan looked up and saw a boy about seven or eight years old. His face was flushed and his neck was stretching like a goose. The adults next to him patted his back hard, and a disheveled woman came over with water in the form of leaves and gave it to him to drink.
The dry biscuit in the throat was finally swallowed, and the half-grown child cried loudly. The adults next to him scolded and cried along with him, saying things like "the child died of starvation and was reincarnated as a ghost."
Gu Youan looked away. Compared with others, their family at least had a few old clothes, a gourd for water, a bamboo tube, and a few taels of silver. With the help of the Tian family, they could even have clean hot water to drink. It was not bad.
A Xuan was scared: "Sister, A Xuan doesn't want to eat this."
"Don't worry, it won't get stuck in your throat after it's softened. Eat quickly. You'll need to wash up soon after you finish. If you don't, you'll get lice in your hair."
Ah Xuan reached out to scratch her head, but Gu Youan grabbed her hand and said, "Don't scratch your head while eating."
"oh."
Gu Youan lowered his head and drank water.
The sun went down and a breeze started to blow through the reed marsh. The cool breeze brought goose bumps to my arms, and many people who were washing in the reed marsh came out.
Mrs. Du said, "Let's go while it's still warm. It will be dark soon."
The four members of the Tian family also stood up. Tian Qingde took a look and sat down again: "You go first, I'll stay and look after things."
Gu Wen said, "Sorry to bother you, Brother Tian."
The two families went into the reed marsh and found two good spots by the river.
"It's really nice here. There are reeds blocking the way at the back, and there's a stone as big as a winnowing basket by the river. You can stand on it to wash without stepping on mud. It's clean." Mrs. Du was delighted.
After walking a little further along the river into the reed marshes, the Tian family found a good spot. It was just the right distance away, so the two families wouldn't be embarrassed.
Gu Youan wanted to wait until dark so that it would be more convenient for him to do it, so he declined and asked his parents to wash first.
Mrs. Du said, "Okay, tell your father and your brother to go first."
Gu Wen and his son Gu Wenqing went first, followed by Mrs. Du and Axuan, and Gu Youan came last.
When it was Gu Youan's turn, it was already dark. A bright moon hung in the sky, and the faint moonlight illuminated the reed marsh.
Mrs. Du said, "Your father and I are going to pick reed flowers somewhere else. I told your eldest brother to wait for you behind. If you need anything, just shout; he will hear you."
"Um."
"After all, we are outside. Don't delay too long."
Gu Youan said hello.
Mrs. Du took Axuan away, and Gu Youan was the only one in the place. She squatted by the river to wash her hands, then stood up, looked around, and listened quietly.
In the quiet night, the only light comes from the moonlight and the starry sky. In my ears are the sounds of wind blowing through the reeds and the sound of someone stirring the river in the distance.
With a turn, Gu Youan's figure disappeared by the river.
Back in the space, the chickens and ducks were clucking at the top of their lungs. Gu Youan scooped half a basin of corn kernels to feed them and fetched another basin of water.
After taking care of the chickens and ducks, Gu Youan hurried upstairs and asked her to look carefully to see if there was anything that he needed now.
After returning to his familiar home, Gu Youan ran to the kitchen first. There were more than a dozen pots of different sizes, made of different materials, models and uses in the kitchen. Among them, the only one that barely matched the Great Zhou Dynasty was the earthenware pot used for stewing soup.
This pot is much more delicate than the pottery pot used by the Tian family, but it looks like just rough pottery, so it can be used just barely.
It’s just that this big-bellied pot for stewing soup is too heavy and not practical.
Gu Youan thought about it and suddenly remembered the small kitchen where her grandmother used to make medicine, so she hurried downstairs to the first floor.
After my grandmother retired from the Chinese medicine hospital, she opened a Chinese medicine clinic on the first floor of her home, treating neighbors and occasional patients.
My grandmother never minds being bothered. If someone asks her to boil medicine, she will help and chat with people while waiting.
For this reason, in addition to the lobby for seeing a doctor and getting medicine, and a room for storing medicinal materials and machines, there is also a small kitchen for boiling medicine on the first floor.
The five stoves in a row in the small kitchen were always empty. On the table behind the stoves were seven or eight single-handled coarse earthenware pots for boiling medicine neatly placed. Each pot could probably hold three or four bowls of water.
This coarse pottery pot is really coarse pottery. There are many rough particles from burning on the surface of the pot. This style is just right for use.
Gu Youan took it in his hand and tried the weight, it was just right.
In addition to the clay pot, Gu Youan went to the kitchen to get two duck eggs and poured about half a pound of salt into the clay pot.
Seeing that the salt was too white, Gu Youan poured out the salt again.
Gu Youan stared at the jar of pickles on the ground and the bacon and sausages hanging on the shelf... Alas, he couldn't take any of these out without a good excuse.
If there is no salt, then there is no salt. We’ll find a solution later.
After wasting quite a bit of time, Gu Youan hurried to wash up. He didn't dare use any toiletries because they had a scent. After searching for a long time, the only thing he could use was a piece of fragrance-free rice soap that came as a gift when he bought something.
Thinking that it was getting dark outside and she was afraid of catching a cold from the wind, she blew her hair dry from the roots before going out, not caring that the ends of her hair were still wet.
He rubbed the clothes he had taken off in clean water, wrung them out, wrapped them in a coarse pottery jar, and hurried out with two duck eggs.
Gu Youan stood firm after leaving the space and looked around alertly. Suddenly, a dark shadow emerged from the shadow of the reeds in front of her right and pounced on her.
She leaned back and everything in her hands fell out of her hands. No one knew where they went.
Gu Youan twisted his body to avoid the attack, but unfortunately he was not fast enough and was knocked down. His body leaned back, his shoulder hit the stone slab hard, and the back of his head was immersed in the river.
Before she had time to feel thankful that she had protected her head, Gu Youan was pressed down on the stone slab by the man. The man grabbed her neck with one hand and his smelly mouth was almost touching her face.
"Bitch, give me the silver! Give me the silver!"
Gu Youan immediately thought of her brother who had gone to buy a bamboo basket and handed the remaining silver to her, and she kept the silver on her body.
"If you want to save your life, hand over the silver."
"I'll count to three. If you don't give it to me, I'll kill you."
The man lowered his voice and didn't dare to call anyone over, but his hands were moving with a fatal move. Gu Youan was speechless, his face turned red, and he felt dizzy.
Gu Youan suddenly looked to the left.
On the broken reed on the left was a bundle containing dry clothes for changing and some silver.
"Huh, so it's here."
The man let go of his hand, stood up and took the bag. Gu Youan regained his air and couldn't help coughing violently a few times.
"Bad guy, brother, beat the bad guy!"
I don’t know when A Xuan ran over. She shouted twice, but was so scared by the man’s fierce eyes that she dared not move.
"Axuan, run!" Gu Youan shouted sharply.
A Xuan turned around and ran, but the man strode forward, grabbed her neck and lifted her up.
Gu Youan was so frightened that her eyes were bloodshot. Before her brain could react, she disappeared and reappeared in an instant, raised and lowered the knife in her hand, held her breath, and rushed towards the man with all her strength.
Unfortunately, her body was too fragile, and the man only staggered two steps. Gu Youan kicked the man in the crotch, but the man easily dodged it.
Unable to do anything, Gu Youan turned around, raised the knife and stabbed the man's arm.
The man's hand that was pinching Axuan's neck loosened, and Axuan fell to the ground.
"Damn it, where did that bitch get the dagger?"
"Ah Xuan, run!"
A Xuan was thrown to the ground. She was so scared that she didn't even dare to cry. She struggled to get up and ran away.
"Want to run? No way, leave your life for me!"
The man leaned down and grabbed Axuan's calf. Axuan was frightened and kicked hard.
"Sister, help, help!"
Gu Youan became ruthless, gripped the knife in his hand, pounced forward and stabbed the man in the back. Without waiting for the man to scream, Gu Youan covered the man's mouth and lightly slashed the man with the knife. In the blink of an eye, he ended his life.
Blood splattered and Gu Youan subconsciously closed his eyes.
Gu Wenqing and Tian Erlang hurried over. When Axuan saw her brother, she opened her mouth and was about to cry.
Tian Jilang hurriedly said, "Don't make a sound."
Gu Wenqing's pupils trembled, and he couldn't control his shaking hands: "What's going on?"
Gu Youan was breathing rapidly, his hands were shaking, and his whole body was trembling, but he held the knife tightly in his hand, and his finger joints were stiff and unable to move.
Soon, Gu Wen and Mrs. Du, who were picking cattails not far away, came over. Seeing the scene, Mrs. Du was frightened and hurried over to wipe her daughter's face.
Gu Youan stepped back and said, "Don't come over here. It's hard to wash the blood off your clothes."
Mrs. Du pulled her daughter over and said anxiously, "Child, this is not the time to talk about this."
Gu Youan stood still and asked her mother to wipe her face. She adjusted her breathing, and after a long time, her stiff body finally relaxed.
A Xuan threw herself into her father's arms and burst into tears: "Dad, bad guys are bullying my sister."
"Is An An injured?" Gu Wen picked up his little daughter and quickly covered her eyes.
Gu You shook her head. She glanced at the corpse on the ground and said, "I don't know who this person is."
Tian Erlang turned the man over and looked at him carefully: "This is Zhang Wu, the second son of the second branch of the Zhang family."
"Who is Zhang Wu? Which Zhang family?"
"Since he's an exile, he must be from the Zhang family of Imperial Envoy Zhang Ping. Zhang Wu's father was only a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel. He used his uncle Zhang Ping's connections to get into the Imperial College. He used to be fond of forming gangs, gambling, and keeping prostitutes. Many students in the Imperial College knew him."
Zhang Pingyuan was the Censor of the Censorate and a favorite of the current emperor. When Taihu Lake burst its dike for the first time, Zhang Ping was sent as an imperial envoy to repair the dam. A few days ago, Taihu Lake burst its dike and it was discovered that Zhang Ping had embezzled and accepted bribes to a huge amount. Zhang Ping was beheaded and Zhang Wu's family was implicated and exiled.
Gu Wenqing was studying at the Imperial College. Although he didn't know Zhang Wu, he had heard of Zhang Wu's reputation as a playboy and a second-generation rich man in the Imperial College. When he heard Tian Erlang say this, he was so angry that he kicked him hard.
Gu Wenqing comforted his sister, "Don't be afraid, An'an. This kind of bastard will die if he dies."
Tian Erlang also agreed: "People die every day on the road of exile. One more Zhang Wu is not too many."
No matter how calm and thoughtful Gu Youan was, she had never experienced such a thing before. When her mother hugged her, she came to her senses and forced a smile.
She believes that she is not someone who is easy to bully, and her creed is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In the past, the rule of law society drew an invisible bottom line for her, which restrained others and herself.
But here, the bad guys have no bottom line, and they forced her to take ruthless action.
She knew in her heart that today was the first time, and it would probably not be the last.
Gu Wenqing and Tian Erlang threw Zhang Wu's body into the river and let it float away. The blood splashed on the ground and reeds had to be cleaned up.
After all these were done, Gu Wenqing carried his sister and Tian Erlang out, while Gu Wen and the Du couple accompanied Gu Youan to clean up the blood on her body.
There were no outsiders around at the moment, so Gu Youan asked her mother to change her outer clothes, and she took her mother's outer clothes to the space to wash them.
Mrs. Du picked up the rough pottery jar that had just been thrown away, as well as two unbroken duck eggs that had fallen into the grass. She squatted on the ground and couldn't help crying. She had raised her baby for more than ten years, so why did she let him go through all this torture!
Gu Wen patted her shoulder comfortingly: "An An's experience is too bizarre. Some things are better left unsaid for us to know, but we can't spread them to others."
"You didn't tell him about this, Dalang?"
"Not only Dalang, but Axuan can't be told either. The fewer people who know, the less risk there is of it being leaked."
Mrs. Du cried enough, wiped her tears and nodded: "You are right, we can't let others know, we have to protect her."
Since this is the plan, An An must be more careful when taking things out from her mysterious place.
"The knife just now..."
Gu Wen said: "Don't worry, Tian Erlang is a smart man, he won't say anything nonsense."
Even though they were exiled, didn't the other families have something hidden? The Tian family might have hidden something as well, but they just didn't let outsiders know.
When Gu Wenqing came to his senses, he naturally thought of the knife in his sister's hand. Before he opened his mouth to Tian Erlang, Tian Erlang knew what he was going to say.
Tian Erlang immediately said, "I don't know about this. I went to the river to wash up tonight, talked to you for a while, and then came back together."
"Thank you, Brother Tian." Gu Wenqing breathed a sigh of relief.
Not far away, families lit fires, lighting up a small area of the night. Tian Erlang glanced at the little girl in Gu Wenqing's arms: "I'm fine, but you have to be careful with your little sister and don't say anything."
Ah Xuan stared at Tian Jilang with her round eyes: "What did you say?"
Tian Erlang grinned, and without caring about the brother and sister, he left them and went to his parents.
Gu Wenqing put Ah Xuan on the ground, stared at her and asked, "What did you do tonight?"
"Take a shower, wash your face, and wait for your sister."
"What else?"
A Xuan blinked: "What else?"
Gu Wenqing nodded with satisfaction: "If someone asks you in the future, you have to say the same thing, okay?"
"Um."
Gu Wenqing had a lot of doubts in his mind. After all, they were a family. Even if something happened, it was their own business. Now was not the time to worry about these things.
Tian Erlang returned and sat cross-legged in front of the fire. Bai patted his knee and said, "Didn't you go to pick reed flowers? Why did you come back empty-handed?"
"It's dark now, so forget it. Let's find a way to get some cotton when we get to Songjiang City."
Tian Erlang lowered his voice and said, "Mom, I remember you said that the eldest daughter of the Gu family was stupid?"
Bai raised her hand and hit her son: "What nonsense are you talking about."
After beating her son, Mrs. Bai whispered, "I guess it's all just rumors out there. From what I've seen these past two days, An An is just quiet and doesn't want to talk to anyone, but he's not stupid at all."
"Who spread this rumor?"
"It seems that it was spread by Mrs. Lu, the wife of Su Guang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Many years ago, Su Guang and Gu Wen were both Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Revenue. Ten years ago, the Su family held a banquet, and I heard that something happened at the banquet. It seems that the feud between the Gu and Su families was because of the child."
Bai had only heard about it and turned to look at her husband.
Tian Qingde nodded: "That's true."
At the time, the Gu family's eldest daughter was only four years old, and it was unclear whether she was stupid or just mute. In the years that followed, Mrs. Du attended banquets held by various families alone, never bringing her children with her. Outsiders were unaware of the details.
However, everyone has vaguely heard about the Gu family's eldest daughter being mentally retarded over the years, and it is probably true.
Tian Erlang sighed. From what he saw tonight, the eldest daughter of the Gu family was a ruthless killer. She was not like an ordinary girl, nor was she a fool.
I didn't expect that Gu Wen, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works who came from a poor family, could raise such a daughter.
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