Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Peach Blossom Village Gu Family
"Little girl, who are you looking for?" Old Master Gu stood there in a daze, looking at the girl in front of him who looked somewhat familiar.
An incredible idea suddenly popped up in my mind, but I quickly denied it.
It's impossible. The people who came to pick up Wangshu said that their girl would not come back. The nobleman in Kyoto wanted to keep her in Kyoto to continue living a good life, and also asked them not to have any inappropriate thoughts.
But the girl in front of him looked like she was of the Gu family.
Why did you come back suddenly?
Did he suffer injustice in Kyoto?
The more the old man thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. After all, who would have known that the daughter he had raised for more than ten years was not his biological daughter? How could he not feel uneasy?
Old Master Gu nervously pinched the corner of his clothes, licked his lips, opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't speak for a long time, as if his throat was blocked by soaked cotton.
"Are you Miss Jiayue?" Old Master Gu finally asked with difficulty.
Gu Jiayue smiled and replied, "Yes, Grandpa. I'm Jiayue, I'm back."
"Hey, come in quickly, it's sunny outside. Old woman, please come out quickly." Old Master Gu called out hurriedly.
With a shout from Mr. Gu, everyone in the family rushed out.
Faced with Gu Jiayue who suddenly appeared at the door, the entire Gu family seemed at a loss.
The Gu family's house is no different from those of other families in the village, except that it is slightly bigger.
There were five thatched houses and a family of seventeen people living there. It was really overcrowded.
Mr. Gu has three sons and two daughters.
The eldest son, Gu Huangwu, now forty, married Su Amei and had a son and a daughter. His son, Gu Yushan, the eldest grandson of the Gu family, married Zhao Ayue earlier this year. The couple is happily married, as sweet as honey and deeply in love. The eldest daughter, Gu Chunyan, is the same age as Gu Jiayue, both sixteen, but she is six months older. She is betrothed to the Qian family in the neighboring village, and the wedding is expected to take place early next year.
The second son, Gu Huangmo, and his wife, Sun Caomei, have two daughters. The eldest, Gu Xique, is fifteen years old and the third child in the Gu family. She is a spirited and adept householder. The second daughter, Gu Bailu, is only ten years old and introverted. In modern terms, she's a complete homebody. Since giving birth to Gu Bailu, Second Aunt hasn't gotten pregnant again. Although her grandparents haven't complained, she feels inferior to her two sisters-in-law and often speaks in a timid, submissive manner.
Gu Jiayue was the daughter of Gu Huangtai, the youngest son of Old Man Gu. In comparison, the third branch of the family was quite prosperous, but in Gu Jiayue's eyes, most of them were old, weak, sick, and disabled.
Gu Jiayue's father, Gu Huangtai, was drafted to repair a canal last year and accidentally had his leg crushed by a large rock. Unfortunately, his family was poor and had no money for medical treatment. The leg injury, which could have been cured, was dragged on to become ulcerated and worsened, and eventually had to be amputated.
Gu Yuchuan, the eldest son of the third wife, was seventeen years old. He was the second grandson of the Gu family. Legend had it that when he was born, the sky was filled with golden light, and a passing Taoist priest predicted that he would become a great man. The family was ecstatic, even scraping together money to send him to school when he was eight years old, hoping he would pass the imperial examinations and bring honor to the family. Unexpectedly, just one month into school, he fell into a village drainage ditch on his way home and nearly drowned. After being rescued, he became an idiot, spending his days eating, drinking, and playing with his younger siblings.
This foolish second brother has not yet married. After all, the Gu family is poor and has never divided the family. In addition, the child is stupid, so there is really no good girl willing to marry him.
Grandma Gu once intended to buy a child bride and raise her by her side so that she could be with her second brother when she grew up.
However, this idea never came to fruition. Firstly, the weather had been good in recent years, and although life was difficult, it was not to the point of selling children. Secondly, the Gu family was too poor and could not afford to buy a child bride at the moment.
Gu Jiayue, the first daughter of the third wife, is the second child in the family. She has a younger sister and a younger brother. Her younger sister, Gu Zhigeng, is ten years old, well-behaved and sensible, and is already able to help with housework. Her younger brother, Gu Yuhe, is only seven years old and is full of curiosity about everything in the world.
Gu Jiayue matched the old and young in front of her one by one according to what she had said when she took care of Wangshu, and the whole Gu family looked at her intently.
"My goodness, could this be a fairy from heaven? Wangshu was once the most beautiful girl in the surrounding villages, but this girl is even more beautiful than Wangshu."
"Yes, sister-in-law, look at this little face, it's as soft and smooth as a boiled egg. And these little hands, dear, I heard that those rich families soak them in milk every day."
The two women talking in low voices must be my eldest aunt and my second aunt.
My aunt is plump, with a blessed face and eyes that roll around, showing a bit of shrewdness, but she is not a wicked person.
My second aunt was too thin. She looked evasive when she spoke and didn't dare to look others in the eye, showing her cowardice.
"You...you are Jiayue?"
At this time, a middle-aged woman with facial features somewhat similar to hers, with tears in her eyes, stretched out her hands slightly, took two steps forward, seemed to remember something, and hurriedly stepped back, not daring to approach.
Gu Jiayue smiled kindly and replied, "Yes, I am Jiayue. Are you my mother?"
Li Juhua hadn't expected Gu Jiayue to call her "mother" so naturally. Tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. "Hey, hey, my dear child, you must have been tired after all this journey. Come sit down, sit down! You must be exhausted, right? Are you hungry? I'll go make you some food."
Li Juhua was a little incoherent, not knowing what to say or what to do.
Since learning that the child she had raised for more than ten years was not her biological child, Li Juhua has often shed tears.
Sometimes she cried about her incompetence, which caused Wangshu, a rich girl, to suffer with them for more than ten years; sometimes she worried about whether Gu Jiayue was wronged in the Marquis' Mansion. After all, the mansion was large and there were many rules, and she was afraid that Gu Jiayue would not be able to bear it.
After the people from Kyoto took Gu Wangshu away, she began to miss Wangshu again and looked forward to Jiayue's return.
She hasn't had a single day of peace of mind these days.
Gu Jiayue grinned and said, "Mom, don't worry. We just had dinner in town. Please wait a moment."
After comforting Li Juhua, Gu Jiayue took the cushion handed to her by Hua Chao and knelt down. "Unfilial son Gu Jiayue, kowtow to grandpa and grandma."
Seeing this, the grandfather nodded with satisfaction and thought to himself: This granddaughter is really good. It’s thanks to the good teaching of the Marquis’ Mansion that she has not only been raised to be as beautiful as a flower, but also to be well-educated and well-mannered.
Grandma also smiled and said, "Hey, girl, why are you kneeling down? Get up quickly, the yard is full of dust, don't dirty your dress. Oh, we didn't expect you to come back, and we didn't prepare any gifts for you, this..."
Grandma Gu held Gu Jiayue's hand, a look of embarrassment on her face. After a moment's thought, she gritted her teeth, turned around and went into the house, pulling out something wrapped in red cloth. She peeled back the red cloth layer by layer, revealing a small piece of silver. "Wife Yuchuan, take this money and go to Butcher Zhang's house and buy two pounds of meat. Today is a good day, we must celebrate it properly."
Gu Jiayue was a little overwhelmed by her grandma's enthusiasm. "Grandma, it's okay. There's no need to go to so much trouble."
"Oh, I understand." A young woman came forward, took the copper coin from grandma's hand, and smiled kindly at Gu Jiayue.
I think this must be Zhao Xing'er, the new wife my cousin married last month. Judging from her appearance, she is someone who is easy to get along with.
"Hello, sister-in-law."
"Okay, okay, you guys chat first. I'll go chop some meat. If I'm late, there won't be any good meat left."
Butcher Zhang's family makes a living by raising pigs. They have a meat shop in the town, which is run by his son and daughter-in-law. He also leaves some pork at home every day for the villagers to buy.
Although life was hard, when guests came to the house or someone was sick, everyone would buy some meat to improve the meal.
After watching Zhao Xing'er leave the yard, grandma took Gu Jiayue's hand and looked her up and down. "I heard that the nobles in Kyoto treat you well?"
Gu Jiayue nodded and replied, "Before, they didn't know that I wasn't their biological daughter. I had everything a young lady should have. After they knew the truth, they never treated me unfairly. They treated me just as well as before, and even took better care of me."
As for the fact that she had committed suicide by hanging herself, she thought it would be better not to tell anyone so as not to cause unnecessary trouble to the old man.
"That's good. The nobleman of the Marquis' Mansion is truly the reincarnation of a bodhisattva. You haven't suffered any hardship outside. Grandma's worries are finally at ease. Now that you're back, let's live a peaceful and stable life."
Having said that, grandma also had an unspeakable worry in her heart. Could this child who came from a golden nest get used to the hard life in the countryside?
Ever since she knew that Gu Wangshu was a false daughter, she had been restless day and night, unable to fall asleep every night. She couldn't help but wonder whether her eldest granddaughter, whom she had never met, would suffer any harm in Kyoto.
Later, someone from Kyoto came to take Wangshu away, but was unwilling to send Jiayue back. Although she felt reluctant and lost, she also felt a little relieved.
After all, judging by the behavior of the Marquis' Mansion, the girl lived a pretty good life in the Marquis' Mansion in Kyoto, at least she didn't suffer.
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" Just as everyone was about to chat, a tall boy ran back from outside. Seeing everyone gathered around a strange girl, he also came forward and looked at her with his head tilted.
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