Chapter 73 Door-to-Door Visit
Meanwhile, Lord Gu settled down at the hot spring resort.
Lord Gu holds an important position in the capital and should not be away for too long, but this matter is of great importance. He has already written to his second son in the capital, asking him to go to the palace to ask His Majesty for leave on his behalf.
Ordinary marquises might not be able to see His Majesty, but since Marquis Gu's younger sister is His Majesty's favorite concubine, it was no problem for the Second Young Master Gu to enter the palace and meet the Emperor.
His Majesty knew about Gu Yan's situation and guessed that the reason why Marquis Gu stayed behind was because Gu Yan was not doing well. He told Marquis Gu to stay at the manor and take care of things at home.
...They only said they would return to the capital after handling Gu Yan's funeral arrangements.
Lord Gu was completely unaware of His Majesty's inner thoughts; he was busy searching for the child from back then.
Lord Gu first sought out the midwife who had delivered Yao's baby years ago.
The midwife was brought in from a nearby village, and the search area was not wide, but news came quickly.
However, the midwife's family moved away many years ago. It is said that they received a large sum of money from delivering babies for noble people at the temple, and then settled down in the town and made their fortune.
When Huang Zhong found the family, unfortunately the midwife had passed away a few years earlier, and her family knew very little about the matter of delivering babies at a temple.
Lord Gu, having exhausted all other options, started by searching the nearby villages and actually found some clues.
Five children were born in the temple. One was eighteen, one was nineteen, and the other was only seven years old. The ages of these three did not match. The remaining two were the correct ages. They were all villagers at the foot of the mountain, one in Xinghua Village and the other in Qingquan Village.
Lord Gu's trusted guard went to Xinghua Village first, only to find that the baby was a boy and the gestation period was wrong.
The twins were born in October, and the boy was born in August.
In that case, only the child from Qingquan Village remained.
If that doesn't work either, they'll have to search outside Qingquan Town, which will broaden the search area.
“My lord.” The guard in charge of the investigation was named Huang Zhong, a trusted confidant whom Lord Gu had brought from the capital. He said, “My lord, Qingquan Village isn’t located at the foot of the mountain where the temple is situated; it’s on the other side of the mountain. I’m afraid…”
The possibility is not very high.
Lord Gu thought the same way, which is why he put Qingquan Village last for investigation.
He said, "Go and check first. If it's not true, come back. Don't let anyone know. If it is... I'll wait for you at the teahouse in town."
"yes."
After receiving the order, Huang Zhong immediately took a carriage to Qingquan Village.
Huang Zhong was in his early forties, with a robust build and a gentle face. He looked like a good person and easily gained the trust of strangers.
“That’s the Gu family’s kid!” said an old man sitting in the sun in front of his house.
This old man is quite old, hard of hearing and eyesight, and forgetful. He only remembers that the Gu family had a child born in a temple.
"Which Gu family?" Huang Zhong asked.
"Village head! Village head Gu!" The old man waved his hand, pointing out the way.
They even share the surname Gu? What a coincidence.
Huang Zhong thanked the old man and drove the carriage to the Gu family's old house.
Gu Dashun and Gu Xiaoshun went to school, Gu Lizheng took Gu Changhai to the yamen to collect rice and grain, Gu Changlu and Gu Ershun were in the fields for spring planting, and only Gu Yue'e and Wu Shi, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were at home.
Gu Yue'e opened the door.
This wasn't the first time Gu Yue'e had seen such distinguished guests and carriages, yet she was still taken aback: "Who...who are you looking for?"
The country girl had never seen much of the world, so her reaction was understandable. Huang Zhong smiled and asked, "Is Gu Li here?"
Gu Yue'e was afraid to talk to a strange man, so she turned and ran into the house, shouting, "Grandma! Someone is looking for Grandpa!"
The three women—mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and mother-in-law—were chopping chili peppers in the backyard when they saw Gu Yue'e running over in a panic. Wu frowned impatiently and asked, "Who's looking for your grandfather?"
Gu Yue'e pointed behind her: "I don't know them. They came in a big carriage."
Upon hearing that it was a horse-drawn carriage, Wu's expression changed.
Ms. Wu put down the kitchen knife, wiped her hands with a rag, and hurried to the door.
Huang Zhong's two-horse carriage had one more horse than the one used by the steward who delivered the invitation to Gu Xiaoshun last time. Wu immediately realized that this man's status was even higher than that of the academy's dean!
But how did such an important person end up in their home?
Ms. Wu asked with a smile, "Who are you? What do you want with my husband?"
“My surname is Huang. I heard that your family has a child who was born in a temple, and I would like to inquire about the child.”
Wu's smile vanished instantly.
They're looking for that little jinx; anything that gets involved with him is bound to be bad!
Wu was about to close the door with a dark expression when Liu walked over with a glint in her eyes and said with a smile, "We can't just ask for nothing."
Huang Zhong understood, his smile unchanged, and took out a silver ingot from his pocket.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's eyes widened instantly.
Liu reached out to take it, but Wu snatched the silver away first!
Liu gritted her teeth inwardly!
After receiving the money, Madam Wu's expression softened considerably: "Ask whatever you want!"
"How old is the child? Is it a girl?"
"Fourteen! A girl!"
This time, Huang Zhong's eyes lit up: "What month were you born in?"
This stumped Mrs. Wu. Who would bother remembering the birth date and time of a worthless little fool?
Liu hurriedly said, "I...I know! She was born in October!"
She had just become pregnant with Gu Xiaoshun that month, so it left a deep impression on her.
Even the month matched! Huang Zhong's heart began to race with excitement: "What day?"
"Seventeen or eighteen?" Liu couldn't quite remember. It seemed that apart from Gu Xiaoshun, no one would remember Gu Jiao's birthday.
The twins were born on the 18th, so these clues are very close.
Suppressing his excitement, Huang Zhong continued, "In which temple was she born?"
Liu pointed and said, "The temple on the other side of the mountain, which one is there?"
Just then, Gu Changlu came out carrying a hoe.
Liu waved to him: "Er Shun's father, was Jiao Niang born on the 18th or the 17th?"
"Eighteen, what's wrong?" Gu Changlu asked, glancing strangely at the man and carriage in front of the door.
Huang Zhong was overjoyed; everything matched up, so it must be correct.
Unexpectedly, the child they had given up all hope of was actually the child they were looking for!
Gu Changlu came to Wu and Liu's side, and at this time, Zhou also came out to watch the excitement.
Only Gu Yue'e was timid and hid behind the back door of the main room, peeking out in this direction.
Huang Zhong could no longer hide his excitement. Gu Changlu looked him up and down and asked Liu Shi, "Why are you suddenly asking about Jiao Niang?"
Liu pulled Gu Changlu aside, pointed to Wu's pocket, and whispered, "He came to inquire about Jiao Niang and gave her a silver ingot, which you took entirely!"
Gu Changlu glared at Liu Shi, displeased that she was complaining about his mother in such a tone, but he also didn't quite agree with Wu Shi's approach.
He walked up to Madam Wu and said, "Mother, we can't accept this money."
Madam Wu clutched her purse tightly: "Why can't I accept it?"
Gu Changlu glanced at Huang Zhong and said, "We don't even know who he is, why are you asking about Jiao Niang? What if he's a bad guy and has designs on Jiao Niang?"
Upon hearing this, Wu was displeased. What did it matter to her whether that little jinx lived or died? It would be better if he died, so as not to cause trouble for the whole family!
(End of this chapter)
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