He harbored resentment because Luo Xiuzhu and he could not be together. He used Luo Xiuzhu's weakness to threaten her into giving him money.
But would Luo Xiuzhu be so easily threatened by him?
She received Gu Sheng's message, feigned flattery, and ultimately sent Gu Sheng to the authorities on charges of theft.
It was Luo Xiuzhen who secretly used her connections to rescue him. Gu Sheng finally woke up this time and decided to stop being a gambler. He prepared to leave the capital and return to his hometown of Quzhou. Before leaving, he decided to see his love one last time and return the token of their love from back then to her.
"That's what he told you? That he reformed and started anew? And you believed him so easily?" Qingying's eyes twitched involuntarily as she listened to her explanation.
Luo nodded and said, "Sheng-ge wouldn't lie to me. He returned our token of love back then to me simply to settle our past regrets."
"???" He gambled away your dowry money, so he wouldn't lie to you?
Qingying really wanted to pry open her head to see what was inside. How could such nonsense be believed?
"Auntie, he's framed you like this, and you still want to believe him?"
Mrs. Luo sighed, "I don't blame him for his resentment. I owe him a lot. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have ended up like this... He used to be a handsome young man."
Qingying recalled the disheveled man in the woodshed, barely clinging to life, utterly devoid of any dignity; she simply couldn't reconcile him with the image of a refined gentleman.
She didn't understand the relationship between Luo and Gu. In her eyes, Gu was the heartless one. He disregarded Luo's sincere feelings, deceived her, betrayed her, and even slandered her. He was not worthy of Luo's love.
However, she ultimately did not try to persuade Luo Shi any further, only saying, "As long as you haven't done anything to wrong the Liu family or your uncle, I will definitely clear your name. As for Gu Sheng, I can only promise you to save his life."
The implication is that, apart from his life, he probably won't have anything left.
As night deepened, Qingying came out of the house and did not see Liu Chengfeng, who was originally guarding the door. She turned her eyes and saw Wang Shi and Liu Chengfeng standing in another part of the courtyard, with the little maid on night watch kneeling behind them.
She hesitated for a moment before walking over.
When she reached Madam Wang, she curtsied and softly called out, "Grandmother."
Madam Wang looked at her, and after a moment, raised her hand to brush the dust off her shoulder, saying affectionately, "Shushu has grown up. She doesn't even need her grandmother to teach her; she can already help the household with its problems."
She thought her grandmother would blame her for acting on her own, and her tense heart calmed down. "Grandma, why aren't you resting so late?"
“I’ve worried about the Liu family my whole life, how can I sleep peacefully now? It’s Luo’s own fault that she got into trouble, but she’s carrying the Liu family’s child, so I can’t abandon her. Besides, she’s tarnished the Liu family’s reputation, how will she ever marry into a good family?”
Qingying took her arm and said coquettishly, "I knew Grandmother loved Shushu the most."
Liu Chengfeng smiled helplessly from the side, "Alright, it's getting late and the dew is heavy, let's not keep waiting outside. Let's go inside and talk about it."
So the brother and sister escorted Wang back to her bedroom.
Qingying recounted everything she knew from Luo's room.
After a moment of contemplation, Wang said, "So, it is that Mr. Gu who is making baseless accusations and falsely accusing Ms. Luo?"
"According to my aunt, that should be the case."
"When Luo married into the Liu family, she was already over eighteen, which was considered old for a girl. Mr. Luo told me that she had delayed her marriage because she had to observe three years of mourning for her deceased grandmother. At the time, I thought she was a very filial child. Now I think that it was the selfish Luo couple who deliberately made her grow up in order to use their daughter to climb the social ladder."
"Yes, those two elders of the Luo family are really... blinded by greed." Qingying couldn't help but sigh, "My aunt is really pitiful."
When she was a young girl, she always dreamed of marrying her ideal husband and living a loving life together. But she was betrayed by her closest relatives, who treated her like an object to curry favor with others, completely disregarding her feelings.
It's not hard to imagine that even if she and Gu Sheng had successfully escaped their parents' control and left the capital, they would have had to live a life of hiding and wandering for the rest of their lives.
Perhaps, her regret then wouldn't have been as great as it is now.
"Alright, now that we've reminisced about the past, let's discuss how to deal with this," Liu Chengfeng said calmly.
Qingying was abruptly pulled from her melancholy mood and couldn't help but feel a little resentful, "Brother is really rational and self-controlled."
"You flatter me, sister," Liu Chengfeng said, mimicking her forced smile.
"Alright." Madam Wang waved her hand helplessly and said, "There are two key points to resolving this matter: one is Gu Sheng, and the other is Luo Xiuzhu."
The candlelight flickered, and the night grew deeper.
The three generations of the family discussed the matter briefly before going their separate ways.
...
The next day, Liu Chengfeng left the mansion again.
Qingying then received a letter from Wei Huaixu.
The letter stated that he had discovered that Luo Xiuzhu had given Gu Sheng a large sum of money five days prior, and that the two were having an affair!
Five days ago was the night before Gu Sheng sneaked into the General's Mansion.
After thinking it over for a long time, Qingying decided to ask Gu Sheng in person to find out the truth.
She arrived at the woodshed, and the stench emanating from inside almost made her vomit.
Gu Sheng has been locked up here for the past few days, eating, drinking, and relieving himself in this place. His clothes, stained with blood, have not been changed. The bloodstains have congealed and turned black, almost soaked through by the June weather.
Qingying suppressed her nausea and had someone remove the rag from his mouth.
"Gu Sheng".
Hearing someone call his name, he was clearly startled for a moment, and then he raised his head in a daze. He saw a veiled woman whose pale, chapped lips moved as she spoke in a hoarse and unpleasant voice: "Who are you?"
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that I am the one who can save you."
"Save me?" He suddenly scoffed. "Your life is worthless, why would I need to save you?"
"Oh? You're now so disregarding your own life, is it because there's no one left in this world you cherish?"
He paused for a moment, as if thinking, and then slowly said, "The people I cherish... are all dead."
"Really? What about your son? Don't you care about him at all?"
Almost instantly, he looked up, his eyes wide, and hurriedly said, "What son? What are you talking about? I don't understand what you're saying!"
really……
Luo Xiuzhu gave birth to a premature baby boy two months ago. Knowing that she and Gu Sheng had a secret affair, she boldly guessed that the child was Gu Sheng's.
Just as expected.
Qingying couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.
"The eldest grandson of the Chen family, born to Luo Xiuzhu, is your son." She snorted and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't acknowledge it, I have my own ways to make others acknowledge it."
She turned to leave, but Gu Sheng suddenly scrambled over, ignoring the chains binding him, and pounced on her, grabbing her ankle.
Qingying was startled and cried out in alarm.
The guards at the door immediately came over and restrained Gu Sheng.
Gu Sheng rolled on the ground in pain, still begging for mercy: "No, no, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything, please don't hurt them, mother and child!"
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