Gu Qian understood that although he didn't have it, his children would.
He thought of that beautiful day, his eyes curved with a smile, and said, "I will be like Uncle Wen, cherishing my daughter the most and hugging her and kissing her."
These words made Su Qing happy and sad. If only she were still alive that day, how wonderful it would be.
Seeing tears in his mother's eyes, Gu Qian quickly said, "I will let my wife and children honor you."
Su Qing smiled and said, "Mother knows that Qian'er is the most filial."
After they finished talking, Wang Saozi opened a paper package and said with a smile, "Grandma, this is the tonic given to me by Madam Wei. She said it was given to me by her fourth grandmother. The kitchen will also send an old hen every three days for you to take as a daily tonic. She also said that she would ask the imperial physician to take your pulse and prescribe some medicine to nourish you."
Su Qing was deeply moved. She felt unworthy of this favor and regretted having done so many things to upset Gu Lanyin back in Sujia Village. She touched Gu Qian's head and said, "Remember, Aunt Xu has been kind to us. Even if we can't repay them, we must remember this kindness in our hearts."
Gu Qian nodded and said, "Yes, I will always remember it. Mother once said, 'A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of water.'"
Su Qing laughed. She had forgotten when she'd said this, but the child had remembered it. Her son was the smartest.
At the end of the next day, Su Qing was led to the outer courtyard by a little maid, carrying a food box in one hand and holding Gu Qian's hand in the other.
Su Qing wore a navy blue cotton and linen dress, a silver hairpin in her hair, and light makeup. Gu Qian wore a dark green, knee-length cotton gown and white trousers. The food box contained a roast chicken and a pot of wine.
Jia Dazhu was waiting for them at the corner gate.
Su Qing handed Jia Dazhu fifty taels of silver wrapped in a handkerchief, asking him to pass it on to the jailer. As a young woman, she found it difficult to deal with the jailer. Furthermore, if the Wen family delivered the silver to the jailer, he would know they had the Wen family's backing and would not trouble her again. Furthermore, this amount of silver was far too little to bribe the jailer at the Ministry of Justice.
She was at her wit's end. She had bought Sujiazhuang and two hundred mu of land, spending almost all her previous savings and the farm's output. She had given Jia Dazhu twenty taels, and now another twenty taels were gone, leaving her with less than a hundred taels of silver, which she had to spend wisely.
They got on the carriage and headed straight for the Ministry of Justice prison.
The Ministry of Justice Prison was behind the Ministry of Justice. He Dong was standing at the gate waiting for them. A man who looked like a prison boss was talking and laughing with him, and his attitude was very humble.
He Dong introduced them, and the jailer Yu smiled and said, "Master Jia, Madam Su, let's go."
He Dong did not follow him in. Jia Dazhu accompanied Su Qing and her son into the prison gate. When they arrived at the cell where the death row prisoners were held, Jia Dazhu gave the small package to the prison head Yu. He also did not want to enter that unlucky place.
The jailer Yu didn't dare to accept it and quickly refused, "Mr. Jia, you are too polite. I can't accept it."
Jia Dazhu smiled and said, "Just take it if I tell you to. My Lord won't blame me. This is Madam Su's gift. Please help take care of it in the future."
The jailer Yu took the silver and led Su Qing and Gu Qian into the cell. They were in a large room with four jailers sitting inside and various torture instruments hanging on the wall, which frightened Su Qing so much that she shuddered.
Even though Gu Qian didn't understand what the torture device was for, he was still frightened by the eerie atmosphere inside. He instinctively didn't want to go any further, but when he looked up at his mother, he felt that he couldn't let her go in alone, so he gritted his teeth and didn't retreat.
The jailer Yu instructed, "You can give him some food and wine, but don't leave any hard objects like bones, bowls, or pots."
The main reason is that they are afraid that the prisoners will commit suicide by using sharp objects.
Su Qing said, "Thank you, sir. I know. The food is braised meat, and I will wait for him to finish the wine and take the pot away."
The jailer Yu nodded, but did not move forward. He asked the jailer to lead them to the gate of cell number six, and specifically instructed the jailer to stay away.
Su Qing and the others entered the small door. The other jailers looked at the head of the prison carefully and asked with a smile, "Boss, how much did you collect today?"
Prison boss Yu snorted coldly and said, "Mrs. Su has come to see Gu Wangchen. Master He Dong has personally given the order." He pointed outside and said, "See? That's Steward Jia from Lord Wen's residence. He personally drove Madam Su here. And you're asking 'how much'? Are you feeling itchy and wanting a beating?"
The men chuckled a few times and dared not say anything more. Prisoner Yu was very satisfied and took out a few small silver ingots worth one or two taels each and threw one to each of them.
The cell was pitch black, lit only by a thin sliver of light from the skylight above. It was damp and smelly, and the floor was uneven. Little Gu Qian couldn't help but pinch his nose.
A man in one of the cells, his hair tangled and covering his face, reached out from the iron gate with a dirty, shackled hand and said, "Young lady, are you here to see me?"
There were also people in the other two cells, but no one was talking. There was only the sound of iron slings mopping the floor.
Su Qing shrank her neck in fear, and Gu Qian didn't care about the smell anymore, and grabbed his mother's skirt tightly with both hands.
When they arrived in front of a cell, the jailer stood down and said to the person behind the iron gate, "Gu Wangchen, someone is here to visit you." After that, he retreated to a place about two meters away.
Gu Wangchen was sitting there in a daze, waiting to die. When he heard someone was coming to see him, he knew it couldn't be someone from the Zhou family who could help him with just a finger, but it must be someone from the Gu family.
He looked up. The light was extremely dim, and the little light from the sky that seeped in was behind the tall and short figures, making it even harder to see their faces. But he could clearly see it was a woman with a child. Could it be that bitch Zhou Zimei, bringing her daughter to see him?
He dragged his iron shackles to the door, and the person who came was Su Qing, whom he had never expected in his dreams. She was still alive!
He was a little ashamed at first, but then he saw that the little boy next to Su Qing looked very much like him.
Thinking of a possibility, Gu Wangchen excitedly grabbed the iron railings of the door with both hands, and the iron shackles on his wrists made a crisp sound when they hit the iron door.
Gu Qian was so scared that he hugged Su Qing's thigh and hid behind her.
Su Qing said softly, "Gu Qian, don't be afraid, this is your distant uncle Gu Wangchen."
Gu Qian listened without moving, but stretched out his little head to look at Gu Wangchen. This uncle was tall and dirty, with messy hair, shackled and handcuffed, and he smelled foul.
Gu Wangchen was even more certain of the child's identity when he heard the child's surname was "Gu." It turned out that the child Su Qing had given birth to was not dead, and he actually had a son! When Su Qing said she was the child's distant uncle, it seemed she was afraid the child would know his father was a corrupt official.
That’s fine!
He said with tears in his eyes, "Your name is Gu Qian, Qian'er?"
Su Qing said in a cold voice, "Yes, the 'qian' in humility and righteousness. I hope that the child will be humble and righteous in the future, become a true gentleman, and not do anything that goes against his conscience."
Gu Qian added, "Uncle, why did you commit a crime? If you don't have enough money, you can borrow from my mother. My mother is very generous."
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