After being forced by Zhou Xiaozheng to rest at home for a day, Zhou Jiao once again accompanied her family and relatives on a journey.
After two days and one night, the group finally arrived at the water town - the old house of the Jiangnan Gu family.
Stone lions, vermilion doors, flying eaves and ridges, screen walls, and brick carvings on the walls, this courtyard can still be seen in its former splendor through the vicissitudes of time.
The garden is filled with rockery, pavilions, towers, winding corridors, and a courtyard so deep that when you are in it, you feel as if you have returned to ancient times and traveled through the wrong time and space.
Accompanied by staff, the two families listened to Mrs. Cheng's recollections in silence. As the old lady recalled, scenes from the past were clearly engraved in everyone's minds.
The ancestral home, or rather the ancestral home of a large family, was an ancient building where generations of ancestors of the Gu family's main branch had lived. Without people, the vast courtyards, shaded by century-old trees and rockery, seemed even more eerily silent.
Zhou Xiaozheng stood in the main hall, looking outside and sighed deeply.
"Aunt, I'm sorry to have troubled you all these years."
He couldn't say anything more. The old house must have been looted by the clan members back then, and much of the furnishings now consisted of repaired furniture. Over the past few decades, the huge cost of repairs and maintenance had reached astronomical figures, not to mention the effort the Cheng family had put in. Without Old Madam Cheng, this old house wouldn't have been preserved in such perfect condition.
"Why bother? This is my mother's home, the home where I grew up." Old Mrs. Cheng said in a low voice.
The old lady had already taken her medicine once since entering the mansion. Old Cheng watched her nervously, fearing she might become agitated. Now, having finally finished touring the main courtyard, he hesitated, wondering if he should continue to explore the side courtyards.
After resting for a while, Old Cheng whispered to his wife, "Let's go prepare some things to pay respect to our parents-in-law first, and let Xiaozheng take the children for a stroll here, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Cheng looked at Zhou Xiaozheng and saw him nod. "Then if you have any questions, ask the doorman, Old Gu. He used to be our family's helper. He knows a lot of things."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded. He was supposed to be a helper, but in reality, he was a servant. It was his mother, Gu Mingzhu, who had saved his life as an orphan. Later, he took the surname Gu and ran errands for his grandfather. He knew all about the Gu family.
He had researched Old Gu beforehand. This old man, over eighty years old, had stubbornly guarded the old house to help his mother, Gu Mingzhu, keep the family home. He was a good man.
Although the other party now has many children and grandchildren, he still firmly believes that his eldest daughter and son-in-law will definitely come back. After learning that the two have passed away, for the sake of their missing children, he stayed in the old house and helped Mrs. Cheng to privately investigate the whereabouts of the children.
When she saw Zhou Jiao in the morning, Old Gu was crooked on the leg that had been broken by the Gu family members. He kept crying in pain, saying that he was incompetent and couldn't protect his things because they were all stolen. He kept telling the young lady to be careful of those people.
The other party's eldest grandson followed closely behind, explaining that some elderly people were confused due to old age. He had never met Gu Mingzhu, so how could he know that even if the elderly person was confused, Gu Mingzhu would always live in his heart. Zhou Jiao, who was like a grandmother, not only Old Gu, but also the elderly people he met along the way cried out in admiration.
Zhou Jiao burst into tears when faced with such a loyal servant. The paper report was too light. The moment she saw the old man, her heart was stabbed.
After seeing off the Cheng family, Zhou Xiaozheng made an appointment with the staff who followed him. Seeing them leave happily, he smiled knowingly.
Zhou Xiaozheng paid no attention to the others' thoughts. Since they had signed and sealed the lease, he wouldn't break his promise. He would agree simply because the other department agreed to designate the house as a commemorative tourist attraction and preserve its original state. Not to mention the short ten-year lease; perhaps it would remain a tourist attraction for the foreseeable future.
"Dad, should we continue according to the plan?" Zhou Jiao asked quickly when she saw that everyone had left and only the three of them were left.
"Yes. It's only safe now. If it's too late, there will be no chance. Xiaowu, guard the intersection and don't let anyone get close to the embroidery building. I'll take Jiaojiao to find the mechanism."
Following Zhou Xiaozheng's instructions, Zhang Guoqing hurried out. His heart began to pound—someone must be targeting their family this time.
Standing at the intersection, he began to calm down and focus on his surroundings. Aside from the doorman's faint cough, the only sound around him was his breathing.
He subconsciously glanced at the lush, ancient trees in the distance and began to pace closer, circling the main path and looking back and forth with feigned curiosity. He secretly hoped Zhou Jiao and the others would move faster; this eerie old house made him uneasy.
Zhang Guoqing muttered to himself as he walked along the main road, observing the various courtyards. If history hadn't changed, Zhou Jiao might have truly been like a lady from a wealthy family, having to ride in a sedan chair carried by servants to explore the inner courtyards. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but chuckle.
Here, Zhou Xiaozheng took Zhou Jiao and the two of them walked towards the embroidery building.
It was called an embroidery building, but now it was completely empty. Aside from a soft couch and an embroidery stand, there was nothing else. Although they had heard Old Lady Cheng talk about it, seeing it with their own eyes left the father and daughter deeply disappointed.
The embroidery building, the only witness of Gu Mingzhu's life, was now a mere shell. The two-story building was now empty.
"Don't be stunned yet. Pay attention to the steps Dad takes."
Zhou Xiaozheng's voice woke Zhou Jiao from her deep thoughts.
Inside the rockery, Zhou Xiaozheng activated the mechanism and pulled Zhou Jiao inside. He stepped on the floor tiles and moved carefully step by step according to the instructions. After a while, there was still no movement.
"Dad, let me try."
Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head, but suddenly his eyes lit up. He reached out and pulled Zhou Jiao over, whispering, "Your grandmother can open it all by herself. It might be related to her weight. Be careful not to get hurt by the mechanism inside."
After saying that, he nervously protected Zhou Jiao, reached out and held her right hand, in case of any accidents, so that he could pull her away immediately.
After a faint "click" sound, the floor tiles immediately separated, revealing a step.
Zhou Xiaozheng took the cloth, matches, and candle Zhou Jiao handed him and tried them. "There's a vent, let's go straight in. Walk slowly and remember your grandma's reminder."
"Okay. Dad, please follow me carefully." As Zhou Jiao finished speaking, the father and daughter walked down a few steps, and the passage above their heads slowly closed.
As expected, there was no door visible against the wall. There were only two boxes stacked on the ground, with an ancient lantern on top. There were also some porcelain scattered around.
"This is what your grandparents put in there just in case, to keep it hidden from others. Collect it all. We'll go up there and destroy the mechanism later. We won't be using this place anymore."
Zhou Jiao didn't dare to say anything and nodded quickly. The echo from the basement gave her goose bumps all over her body, and the excitement of treasure hunting was gone.
After packing up her things, she subconsciously stuck close to Zhou Xiaozheng.
No matter how big or nice the old house was, she didn't dare move in. She wondered how the Gu family, with only three masters and an aunt, managed the inner quarters. No wonder they said even the bodyguards couldn't protect the old house.
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