Chapter 121
The Qin Xiangfu was gone, Gu Erniang left, they lost their backing and stable source of money, and after this incident, the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion gradually distanced itself from their Yuan family.
The Yuan family was indignant.
They are the benefactors who raised Madam Gu. The grace of raising is greater than the grace of giving birth. They worked hard to raise the daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, so how could they be so cold to them?
So Father and Mother Yuan went to the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion to see Madam Gu, but were turned away.
Well, after all, they are not your biological children. Just because you have biological parents, you abandon and forget about them who have raised you with so much effort for so many years. You are so ungrateful.
Yuan's father and mother cursed, but after returning home, they finally swallowed their anger and dared not say anything.
Who are the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion? Who are the Yuan family? How dare they say anything bad about them behind their backs?
If you dare, you must be prepared to risk your life.
There are still so many people in the Yuan family who need to survive, and they also have sons and grandchildren to raise. Even if they are dissatisfied, they can only swallow it.
So the Yuan family lost their former good fortune and returned to their old hard life.
The neighbors watched the Yuan family prosper and then decline. Rumors arose and people gradually stopped taking the Yuan family seriously. The Yuan family became the ordinary Yuan family again.
Until, at the end of this spring, there was a loud bang, and General Qiao was found!
It turns out that General Qiao’s savior was Gu Er Niang.
Gu Erniang from Ningyuan Marquis Mansion went to the palace to receive the reward!
Isn’t Gu Erniang from the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion the eldest daughter of their Yuan family?
The Yuan family was moved by the noise and rumors.
How proud would it be to be able to enter the palace and see the emperor, and receive his rewards? I'm afraid there would be endless gold and silver to spend!
Yuan's father and mother were eager to make a move: That's their daughter!
Even if she cut off ties with the Ningyuan Marquisate, it would not sever the blood relationship between her and the Yuan family!
It just so happened that she had also divorced the Qin family. Since her family had divorced, wouldn't she become the wife of the Yuan family again?
They are Gu Er Niang's biological parents, she cannot disown them.
Just when Yuan's father and mother were planning how to recognize their daughter, the steward of Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion came and brought the news that Gu Er Niang had received a lot of reward silver, and also told them where she lived.
Father and Mother Yuan were immediately excited.
Since the wife of Ningyuan Hou has gone to visit Gu Erniang, it is normal for them, as real parents, to go and recognize their relatives, right?
Of course, even if it wasn't for her as a person, she should make a trip just for the money she had in her hands.
As her parents now, it is not too much for us to share half of the emperor’s generous reward.
I heard that she also planted a lot of oranges in that desolate place in Minzhou, and those were the best ones sold in Fusheng Trading Company. The price was so high that they couldn't even afford to eat them. She knew she was going back to the capital, but she didn't even send some to her parents' home. It was simply too much.
If she was willing to give them money in installments as she did before, they would behave as well as before. It would be fine for her to not recognize them as her parents or to not return to the Yuan family. But if she dared to neither give them money nor recognize them as her parents, then she would have to wait and see!
So, on this day, Father and Mother Yuan came to the Hang family's villa to recognize their relatives with a very good plan.
However, the facts were beyond their expectations. Gu Er Niang appeared in front of them and did not even look at them. Not only did she deny them as her parents, she also immediately ordered the steward to chase them away.
Yuan's father and mother were extremely angry.
"What do you mean by missing? We are her biological parents. How could someone be so ungrateful as her?"
"That's right. Now that I've become successful, I look down on my own parents!"
"Everyone, let's judge for ourselves. Has Second Lady Gu seen a saint so much that she can even disown her own parents?"
These days, although there are fewer people watching outside the Hang family villa as the incident has gradually passed, there are still some. Now that Father and Mother Yuan have been refused entry and are making a fuss, more people have gathered around immediately.
"Dear father and mother?"
"Isn't it said that Second Lady Gu is the biological daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis's family? So they are the biological parents of Second Lady Gu!"
"I heard that Second Lady Gu has also severed ties with the Ningyuan Marquisate. It turns out she doesn't even intend to recognize her own parents!"
"Then this Gu Erniang is not very kind!"
"How can you be so unfilial?"
"Look at her, she saved General Qiao. She doesn't seem like such an unkind person!"
…
Seeing that more and more people were gathering outside the yard and the discussions were getting louder, Manager Hang, who had come out to see them off, became anxious and hurried back to report to Gu Er Niang.
Yuan's father and mother were happy: Great, you dare to send them away so casually? Look, look, now so many people know that this Gu Er Niang is an unfilial and unfraternal person. How can she hold her head up in the future?
If she dares to deny it again, they will come every day to let her know the seriousness of the situation.
When everyone in the capital knows that she is such an unfilial person who doesn't care about her biological parents, how can the emperor dare to protect her?
Inside the villa, he heard that the Yuan family had made a fuss outside and a group of people had gathered at the gate of the courtyard to accuse him of being ruthless, and he immediately became furious.
How can you be so shameless when I give you face?
She immediately walked out angrily, but was pulled back by Pei Liu: "Sixth Mother?"
"It's not appropriate for you to go." Pei Liu said.
The Great Sheng Dynasty also attached great importance to filial piety.
Even if Gu Er Niang was unwilling to recognize her parents outside, if she confronted and quarreled with her biological parents, it would still be Gu Er Niang who would be despised, and the blame from everyone would fall on her alone.
Being witnessed by everyone having a falling out with her parents in public, regardless of whether she was right or wrong, Gu Er Niang could only get a bad reputation as an unfilial and unbrotherly person.
"It's not worth it for someone like that."
"I don't live in the capital anyway, so if my reputation is ruined, it's ruined." Gu Ran disagreed.
"But it will ultimately damage your reputation in front of the world, and even in front of His Majesty." Pei Liu said, "If this matter can be resolved peacefully, why bother with a temporary fight?"
"Then..." Gu Ran looked at Pei Liu.
"I'll go." Pei Liu nodded, "Don't let others see the show."
Gu Ran had no choice but to nod, but did not go back. Instead, he walked into the yard and watched Pei Liu push the door open and walk out.
"Just be fair. Her mother carried her for ten months and went through so much hardship to give birth to her. She went through so much suffering. Even though we didn't raise her ourselves, did we really want to?"
When Pei Liu came out, Yuan's father and mother were crying and complaining to others, "We don't want to. Our family and the Ningyuan Marquis's family got the wrong daughter. It's not our fault. We worked so hard to raise the Ningyuan Marquis's eldest lady. Now, don't we want to take our daughter back?"
"Yes, but the Ningyuan Marquisate wants to adopt her as their adopted daughter. We are also considering her. She has lived in the Marquisate since she was born. As an ordinary family, how can we give her such a good life if we adopt her back? In order for her to continue to live a good life, we can only bear the pain and let her continue to stay in the Marquisate!"
"Now that she has severed her ties with the Marquis's Mansion, we dare to come and openly acknowledge our own flesh and blood. But look at her, she treats us like this and even blames us. She really doesn't understand the feelings of us as her parents at all!"
"Oh, since you have the heart to be parents, why can't you be understanding of your daughter's suffering? Instead, you are making a fuss outside. Aren't you afraid that it will be difficult for the second mother?"
Pei Liu's light words attracted everyone's attention.
When everyone saw him, they were surprised: Wow, when did such a handsome man appear?
They were all stunned for a moment. Father Yuan and Mother Yuan were also stunned for a moment before they reacted: "Who are you? What do you know? What difficulties could Second Mother have?"
"She is now General Qiao's savior, has even met the emperor, and received a reward. With such a glorious life, what difficulty could she have in not recognizing her own parents?"
"Isn't it just that you dislike us? Let me tell you, even a dog doesn't dislike its mother's ugliness..."
"But you are really too ugly, so I have to despise you even if I don't want to?" Pei Liu said coldly.
"Tsk tsk tsk, my dear, why do you talk like that?"
"Who are you anyway? Are you in cahoots with that evil girl?"
"Yes, I am a member of the Pei family who was exiled to the wild Fujian land together with Gu Erniang." Pei Liu admitted frankly, "I was in the same group with Erniang."
Yuan's father and mother were stunned for a moment, then turned furious: "Did everyone hear that? He admitted that he was in cahoots with that evil girl, so he's naturally speaking on her side. You can't believe anything he says."
"Gentlemen, I can't believe what I say, but can I trust everything you say?"
"I'm her biological father and mother, why can't I be trusted?" Father Yuan asked with wide eyes.
"Then why didn't you take Er Niang back when she was exiled?" Pei Liu asked softly.
The noisy crowd gradually quieted down and looked at Father and Mother Yuan.
"Second Mother has been in Minzhou for over three years, right? As someone who was exiled to the same place as me, I haven't seen anyone from the Yuan family see her in those three years, nor have I seen any letters sent to her. Don't you miss her?"
Everyone looked at Father Yuan and Mother Yuan.
Yuan's father and mother's expressions suddenly turned grim. "You know that's Southern Xinjiang, don't we want to? Of course we do, but, but, as ordinary people, how can we afford to travel to Minzhou?"
"That's right. We have a son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren to take care of at home. How can we spare the time to go to Minzhou? It's not that we don't want to!"
"You all have your own difficulties. Minzhou is far away, and you don't have money. You can't spare time to visit her, or even write her a letter."
"We don't know where she was exiled, so how can we write about it?"
"If that's the case, then Chuchu Erniang is still in the capital, having been convicted and imprisoned. Before she was exiled to southern Xinjiang, no one from your Yuan family ever went to see her, and no one saw her off when she set off. Didn't you want to? Then why didn't you go to see her or see her off?" Pei Liu questioned.
"That is..." Father and Mother Yuan hesitated.
"Did someone forbid you from visiting her, or did someone threaten you to not send her off?"
"You didn't raise her, and you haven't even met her. If you had any parental feelings, wouldn't that be the time to recognize your own child and make amends to her? Why don't you think about it anymore? Or is someone forcing you not to recognize your daughter?"
"At that time, didn't she have a husband's family? How could it be our turn to take care of these things?" Yuan Niang said with a lack of confidence.
"We are not as knowledgeable as you, so we can't argue with you. But even if we didn't do the right thing back then, we are her biological parents, and we are always right. There are no parents who are not right in the world. Now that she has lost her husband's family, she has to listen to her parents..." Father Yuan was annoyed and shouted, "If she dares to refuse to acknowledge her parents..."
“Who doesn’t recognize their relatives?”
A hoarse voice rang out from the crowd.
Everyone looked over, and someone immediately recognized him and was overjoyed: "General Qiao, it's General Qiao!"
"Is this our General Qiao?"
Everyone who had never seen General Qiao immediately looked at him.
"General Qiao, why are you here?"
"Of course you're here to see your savior!"
"So that's Gu Erniang and the others?"
When Yuan's father and mother heard this, they asked, "Qiao, General Qiao?"
Since you are General Qiao, you should make the decision for them, right?
So the two of them were about to kneel down in front of General Qiao, but Pei Liu suddenly drew his sword and blocked them.
Yuan's father and mother were so frightened that they not only failed to kneel, but also took two steps back in fear: "What's going on? You, you want to kill someone?"
"Liu Niang, what's going on?" General Qiao still had a furry ball in his arms. Seeing so many people clinging to him, and then seeing the familiar Pei Liu, he meowed coquettishly, and then dared not say anything.
"Two jumping clowns." Pei Liu snorted coldly.
Manager Hang came over quickly and told General Qiao about the Yuan family's visit to recognize their relationship.
General Qiao nodded after hearing this. He looked at Father and Mother Yuan and said, "When Second Mother saved me, she never mentioned that she had a father and mother in the capital."
Everyone was in an uproar, and Yuan's father and mother's faces turned pale and blue.
"But, she..."
"Also, although she is now divorced, she is already a registered female household in Jianzhou, and she has even acknowledged me as her grandfather."
Yuan's father and mother were stunned.
The crowd became more and more shocked.
"Joe, General Joe? Is this true?"
"Of course it's true. I never lie." General Qiao touched the little golden flower in his arms. "From now on, whether it's Second Mother's marriage or anything else, it will be Grandpa Qiao who will make the decision for her. You don't have to force yourself to recognize Second Mother."
As he said this, he waved his hand and looked at Manager Hang, meaning to see the guest off.
Manager Hang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded.
Only then did General Qiao go into the villa with satisfaction.
Pei Liu retracted his sword, glanced at the crowd who were looking at each other in bewilderment, sneered, and said, imitating the tone of Yuan's father and mother: "Right now, don't we want to recognize our daughter? We do, but even if we make it known to everyone, it's useless because she has already recognized General Qiao as her grandfather. We are ordinary people, how dare we compete with General Qiao for her? Even if we recognize her, how can we give her such a good life? In order for her to continue to live a good life, we can only bear the pain and let her recognize General Qiao as her grandfather!"
"You, you..." Father Yuan looked at Pei Liu, his heart ached, and he slowly fell down while holding his chest. Mother Yuan was so scared that she hurried to help him.
Steward Hang saw the opportunity and said, "Oh no! Master Yuan is so angry he's about to faint. Someone, take them to see a doctor!"
So he took advantage of the chaos to call the guards and send the Yuan family away.
Originally, this group of people coming to Beijing was a hot topic in the capital. Today, the matter fermented rapidly, and within a day, everyone in the capital knew about it.
Then they knew about Gu Er Niang's relationship with the Yuan family, and also knew that Gu Er Niang was now General Qiao's adopted granddaughter. They started talking about it and said all kinds of things.
The Yuan family was in great disgrace. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that they had neglected their daughter for so many years. Today, seeing that their daughter had divorced, they tried to gain face in front of the emperor and wanted to take advantage of their daughter by claiming her biological parents. Although some people said that Gu Er Niang was unfilial and heartless, there were also many who laughed at them for currying favor with the powerful.
The Yuan family was so ashamed that they became the laughing stock of their neighbors for a long time.
As the other party, Gu Ran did not feel guilty at all.
She had never thought of getting involved with any of the original owner's relatives. Even if the Yuan family wanted to get close to her, she had already prepared herself not to recognize this relationship no matter what. Unexpectedly, General Qiao came forward and solved the matter easily.
"Grandpa Qiao, thank you for supporting me and driving them away." Gu Ran smiled and expressed his gratitude to General Qiao.
"You don't have to thank me."
When he was about to arrive at Xiaxi Village, General Qiao had not yet thought about Gu Ran's life experience and the twists and turns. After boarding the official ship back to Beijing, he asked Lord Hang about the changes in Jianzhou and Quangang over the years, and naturally talked about the group of people who saved him.
He then realized that the person who saved him was actually a prisoner exiled to Minzhou.
She was once the legitimate daughter of the Ningyuan Marquisate, and then an adopted daughter; she was once the fourth wife of the Qin Xiangfu, and then an exiled prisoner, but he had never seen any self-pity or resentment towards the injustice of heaven in Gu Erniang.
In front of him has always been a smart and clever woman who is full of longing for life.
There was no trace of the shadow of misfortune caused by being imprisoned and exiled thousands of miles away in the past.
It was also completely different from what he had heard about Gu Er Niang's behavior from his acquaintances in the capital.
Perhaps, it was precisely because of such experiences in Ningyuan Marquis Mansion and Qin Xiang Mansion that Gu Er Niang was reborn from the ashes and became different from before?
Just like myself, who suffered such false accusations eight years ago and was stranded on a deserted island for many years, although I didn't want to tell others about it, in fact, my state of mind is very different from that year.
People change all the time, it's not surprising.
"You also know that I am the only one left in my Qiao family." General Qiao looked at Gu Erniang with eyes full of expectation. "You and I get along so well, and you always call me grandpa. How about becoming my granddaughter?"
Gu Ran was stunned, and Pei Liu was also stunned.
General Qiao also looked at Pei Liu and said, "And Liu Niang too. If you're willing, you can both be my granddaughters! You two sisters can take care of each other in the future."
Gu Ran and Pei Liu looked at each other. Gu Ran smiled and nodded, but Pei Liu shook his head.
"Oh, Liu Niang doesn't want to?"
Gu Ran also looked at Pei Liu in slight surprise: You don't want to? Such a big, thick leg that's so easy to hug is right in front of you and you don't want to?
Pei Liu coughed dryly and glanced at General Qiao: "Having Er Niang as your granddaughter is enough."
"That's fine. I won't force you." General Qiao also smiled and looked at Gu Erniang: "Then, Erniang, from now on, I will regard you as a descendant of the Qiao family."
"Okay, Grandpa Qiao!"
Although I never thought that things would develop like this, but recognizing General Qiao as my grandfather is like finding a backer for myself. It will be very convenient for Jianzhou to do anything in the future. It would be a shame not to recognize him!
When outsiders verified that the second wife of the Gu family was indeed General Qiao's goddaughter, there were more explanations.
Some people envy Gu Er Niang's good luck, some are jealous that her adopted families are better than the other, and some curse Gu Er Niang for being ungrateful, and so on.
This rumor was also heard by the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion.
Originally, Ningyuan Hou was upset because his wife failed to bring Gu Er Niang back, so he was thinking about whether he should teach this ungrateful woman a lesson. But when he heard that she had become General Qiao's godson, he had the urge to hurt her, but he had to suppress it for the time being.
General Qiao is now in the limelight and has such a great reputation in front of the emperor. He has to be cautious and endure it.
The Ningyuan Marquis' wife sneered, "This Second Lady, I raised her since she was little, how could I not know her personality? She's the ultimate scheming idiot! No wonder she's unwilling to acknowledge us in the Ningyuan Marquisate. It turns out she's been secretly hooking up with General Qiao for a long time!"
So what if I have General Qiao to rely on?
General Qiao would not stay in the capital after all, and sooner or later she would have to go back to the desolate land of Minzhou.
I heard that she is growing oranges now.
That's perfect. Go back and be a good farmer, working in the fields to make a living, and don't come back to the capital to get in her way.
As the rumors were swirling, the day for General Qiao to leave the capital was also set.
The sixth day of April is a good day to set out and return to one’s ancestral home.
Although they had made an appointment before, Gu Ran, as General Qiao's recognized granddaughter and having accompanied General Qiao to visit many dignitaries in the capital, naturally had to go to Damao City with him.
When General Qiao was preparing to bring back the supplies and reward silver to Damao City, Gu Ran and Pei Liu once again came to Fusheng Trading Company to tell Xu Sanlang the time of their departure.
This time, when Gu Ran and Pei Liuyi appeared, the clerks in the trading company had already heard from the young master, and they immediately greeted them with a smile and invited them to the banquet hall on the second floor, while sending someone to inform their young master.
When Gu Ran and Pei Liu were walking towards the stairs inside the trading company, Pei Liu happened to see the mother and daughter he had met before. They were carefully picking out the goods in the store. When she saw them coming, the woman was stunned. When she realized that she was blocking their way, she subconsciously took a step back, but quickly stood in the aisle again.
Pei Liu frowned, and was about to be on guard when he heard the woman call out, "Is that Second Sister?"
Pei Liu was stunned. Gu Ran, who was walking in front, was also slightly startled when he heard the voice. He looked up and glanced at the woman, feeling inexplicably familiar.
Second sister?
Is this calling yourself?
Dashengchao would call her Second Sister. Gu Ran quickly found a person in the original owner's memory and compared them with the person in front of him: "Are you, Third Sister?"
The woman breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Gu Ran recognized her, and then she was delighted: "It's me, Second Sister, I am Sanniang!"
Pei Liu's brows, which had relaxed, furrowed again.
Who is this Sanniang?
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