After strolling around the streets for several hours, we didn't feel tired while we were walking, but once we got on the bus, we felt sleepy and our calves started to ache. None of us were in the mood to chat or laugh, and we all closed our eyes to rest.
A commotion arose ahead, and Zhao Cai suddenly stopped. It was not uncommon for him to stop abruptly like this, as he had been traveling on and off.
Gu Yaoniang showed no emotion on her face, simply waiting for the carriage to set off again.
However, this time was different from the previous times.
A man's voice came from ahead, sounding unreasonable and arrogant, making one extremely uncomfortable—"Hey! Is that the Gu family's carriage?"
It was unsettling, yet vaguely familiar, though I couldn't quite place it.
Upon hearing this voice, the others merely frowned in displeasure. Bizhu, who was in front, remained silent, while Bishuang and Bitao looked at Gu Yaoniang, their eyes asking whether they should respond to her question.
Before Gu Yaoniang could speak, Yu Erniang, who had been sitting quietly to the side, turned pale.
Seeing Yu Erniang's reaction, Gu Yaoniang vaguely remembered some things.
She tentatively asked, "Yes..."
She was considering how to address this man. Ex-husband?
Yu Erniang chimed in, "It's Li Dazhuang."
It was indeed as she had thought, but Gu Yaoniang was still stunned for a moment. She remembered that Lu Zhaoan should have sent this person to prison. Had he been released so quickly?
She tried to lift the curtain to look outside, but when Yu Erniang saw her move, she rushed over and pleaded, "My lady, don't go!"
Yu Erniang's eyes were filled with pleading. There was a sense of habitual fear, as well as worry.
Gu Yaoniang sighed and reached out to grasp Yu Erniang's hand: "I won't go. Bishuang, go out and take a look."
Bi Shuang responded, pried open the curtain a crack, slipped out, and quickly pulled the curtain shut, completely obscuring the scene inside the carriage.
There was no response from inside the carriage, and the people outside were watching him expressionlessly, ignoring him. Li Dazhuang was very unhappy and was cursing outside.
Upon seeing that a delicate-looking young maidservant with a youthful face emerged from inside, Li Dazhuang raised his voice even louder.
Although Bishuang and Bizhu arrived late, they had both heard about Li Dazhuang and looked down on him. Now that they had been given instructions, they raised their heads and asked, "What do you want to do, blocking our carriage?"
Li Dazhuang gave a timid smile: "Nothing much. Young lady, your wife took my wife away, and you haven't given me the money yet."
"You and Madam Yu have long been divorced. Even if she were to sell herself, the money should be given to her. What does it have to do with you?"
Bizhu and Bishuang disliked the person in front of them, so their attitude was far from friendly.
Li Dazhuang was displeased: "What divorce? My wife and I are a loving couple. If your wife hadn't forcibly bought her away, we might already have a bunch of kids. Now you want to renege on our debt?"
Bi Shuang scoffed and was about to speak when Yu Erniang's voice came from inside the carriage: "Don't pay any attention to him! I have nothing to do with him. Ladies, let's just leave."
The driver and both Bizhu and Bishuang were taken aback upon hearing this. Bishuang, being younger, hesitated, while Bizhu was eager to try and asked the driver if he was confident he could pass by without hitting anyone.
At this moment, Gu Yaoniang's voice came from inside: "Let's go. If anything happens, we'll compensate you."
Upon hearing this, Li Dazhuang began to hurl insults again: "Your Gu family is truly abusing your power! First you ruined someone's marriage, and now you want to kill someone in the street?"
The coachman was very confident in his skills. Now that he had Gu Yaoniang's permission, he first let Bizhu and Bishuang sit in the carriage. Then, he seized the opportunity, raised his whip, and galloped forward.
The crowd that had been gathered around to watch the commotion thought there would be something interesting to see, but suddenly the coachman raised his whip, and the crowd, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, scattered. In an instant, only Li Dazhuang was left in the middle of the road.
Li Dazhuang is now penniless, and everyone around him knows what kind of person he is, so no woman is willing to marry him anymore. He is now living a difficult life, so he has come up with the idea of getting some benefits from the Gu family.
Seeing that the other party was too lazy to argue with him and had no intention of defending himself, but instead prepared to catch the bus and leave, seemingly disregarding the possibility of him being run over, he suddenly felt scared.
He was naturally arrogant and assumed the other person would be just like him, not caring whether he would get hurt.
He had been standing in the middle of the road, but dared not provoke them anymore. Seeing the coachman's whip actually land on the horse's rump and the carriage wheels begin to turn, he didn't care about money anymore and quickly moved to the side of the road.
Only after the carriage had gone far away did he feel somewhat humiliated, and he grumbled and cursed for a long time on the road.
Yu Erniang, sitting in the carriage, was a little nervous.
She was timid by nature, but the Gu family had helped her so much that she didn't want to cause them any trouble, so she mustered up the courage to speak up.
Only then did she realize the fear: "My lady, I... I said that because I know him. The more you pay attention to him, the more he will take advantage of you. Only by ignoring him will he be afraid."
Gu Niangzi, please don't think she's heartless. Yu Erniang's hand tightened, but Gu Yaoniang patted her hand to reassure her.
-
Having been away from home for three years, packing her luggage wasn't a huge amount, but it wasn't small either. Gu Yaoniang spent quite a bit of time packing what she wanted to bring home. Besides her own food, clothing, and daily necessities, she also brought many rare items that were unavailable in Qingyun County for her parents. She also brought quite a few pieces of clothing, fabrics, and precious paintings and calligraphy bestowed upon her by the Emperor.
In addition, he specially sewed several small pouches onto his body, filled with silver coins of varying denominations.
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