Chapter 169 Wicked Stepmother, Poor Child 62
Shen Ci ignored her shouts and curses, and instead affectionately took her family's arms and said softly.
"Let's go back."
With her child in tow, surrounded by the Shen family, she boarded the carriage. The despair and resentment of the past no longer had any effect on her or her child.
She no longer cares about the past. Life always moves forward. How can one live if one is trapped in hatred?
One cannot harbor a wild beast within one's heart.
Who cares about the squabbling of ants?
The next day, Shen Ci returned to the Gu residence with her entourage. This mansion had once imprisoned a woman and two children for their entire lives.
Now, she was going to clean it up herself, and she ordered people to start taking stock of the remaining dowry and her property in the storeroom.
Yesterday's events are like yesterday's death.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Gu, disregarding her grief, rushed over and stood like a mother hen blocking the storeroom doorway, her voice hoarse and her eyes red and swollen.
"These are all belonging to the Gu family; you can't take them away!"
The old lady is no fool; she's shrewd! Now that her son is gone, her grandchildren are gone, what does she have left? A lonely widow.
If she doesn't have money and a house, she'll starve to death. She's so old, she can't possibly go back to farming now, can she?
At the very least, one must ensure that they can live a comfortable life for the rest of their days.
Shen Ci looked at her, her gaze completely devoid of any emotion, as if she were looking at a stranger. The old lady had never actually done anything to harm them, but she had tacitly approved of it.
"Madam Gu, you seem to have forgotten."
This house was purchased with my dowry money back then, and the deed is in my name.
"Don't worry, I've already found a buyer for this house, and it will be sold in a few days. Out of consideration for our past relationship, I'll give you three days to pack your belongings and move out."
"You dare! I won't allow it! This is my son's residence! It's the residence of the top scholar! It's my home, how dare you sell it like that?!"
The old lady screamed in agitation, unable to accept that she was about to lose even her last home; she had nothing left.
Shen Ci stopped wasting words with her and directly ordered the Shen family servants who had come with her to start counting and moving the items. The people she brought were all efficient, and the counting was done very quickly. The items were moved from cart to cart onto the carriage.
As for Madam Gu, she was powerless to stop it. She also forgot that all of this was given to her by Shen Ci. If it weren't for Shen Ci, they might still be digging in the village right now.
He might never even have the chance to go to the capital in his lifetime.
The once respectable Gu family mansion is now in chaos. Valuable items and Shen Ci's dowry are being registered, packed up, and carried away one by one. The servants who were originally in the mansion, seeing that the madam was gone, realized that the family was in ruins and that they would obviously not be able to pay their monthly wages next month!
They decided to take advantage of the chaos and secretly hide some things, intending to take them with them.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; this has always been the case.
Shen Ci then announced that the Gu family would dismiss all servants immediately, and each servant would receive double their monthly salary as a severance payment as a form of appeasement.
The servants, who had still held a sliver of hope for the old lady, now saw that the Gu family was doomed and had gained something in return, so they all kowtowed to Shen Ci and then dispersed to pack their belongings.
In less than half a day, the once bustling Gu residence became deserted and empty, the ground was a mess, and things were scattered everywhere because of the move. The house was just an empty shell.
As she watched the house being emptied in an instant, looking at the empty courtyard and hall, Old Madam Gu slumped helplessly on the stone steps, her body ice-cold, and burst into tears.
She couldn't understand how a perfectly good family, a son she had placed so much hope in and who would bring honor to the family, could be gone in the blink of an eye.
She's been enjoying her old lady's life so well, and she hasn't had enough yet!
When everything was accounted for and Shen Ci was about to leave, Gu Mingzhu and Gu Mingzhang, who had been quietly following their mother, looked at each other and then walked together to the weeping old lady Gu.
Gu Mingzhang took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, handed it over, and said in a low voice.
“Grandmother, this is the monthly allowance my sister and I have saved up, as well as the gold melon seeds we received during the New Year’s festival. It’s all for you.”
Gu Mingzhu also took out her small purse, placed it on her grandmother's lap, and said softly.
"Grandmother, take this money back to your hometown and buy some good food and warm clothes."
The two children's faces were full of seriousness, and a hint of reluctance. Old Madam Gu was stunned, staring blankly at the two small cloth bags on her lap, and then looked up at the two children's clean eyes.
“Grandma used to be kind to us and would give us snacks. We remember that.”
But Grandma treated Mother badly, causing her sadness and illness. We... we can't go with Grandma, but we hope she can have a better life.
Their not forgetting their grandmother is filial piety, and their choice to choose their biological mother is also filial piety, since the old lady was indeed kinder to them than Gu Hongjian was.
These words and actions brought a pang of sorrow to those who heard them. Now, only her two children still remember her…
Looking at the two children who carried the Gu family blood, she recalled all the difficulties she had made for Shen Ci in the past. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears streamed down her face, and she could no longer hold back her emotions.
Perhaps she shouldn't have disliked Shen Ci.
She didn't spoil her grandchildren in vain. She has nothing left, but her grandchildren have done this for her, a hundred times better than her son!
Shen Ci then stepped forward, stopped beside the old lady, and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
“If the children are surnamed Gu, they will be descendants of a disgraced official, and will be barred from taking the imperial examinations for life, their futures ruined.”
If you still care about them being the flesh and blood of the Gu family and feel sorry for them, you shouldn't be thinking of binding them to the sinking ship of the Gu family.
Giving them the surname Chen is giving them a way to survive, a way to walk up the social ladder with dignity.
The old lady trembled, raised her head, looked at Shen Ci's calm eyes, and then looked at the two well-behaved, sensible, and somewhat frightened children.
For a long time, her heart was blinded by vanity, scheming, and control. She only cared about climbing up the social ladder and forgot to cherish what she already had.
But at this moment, it seemed that Madam Gu had rediscovered her former feelings, a heart that could be satisfied with just a little bit. It was her grandchildren who had awakened her.
The old lady sighed, looked at the children with reluctance, silently put away the two packets of silver, and said nothing more.
A few days later, it was heard that Old Madam Gu had sold off her remaining jewelry and valuables, and with an old servant, quietly left the capital and returned to her hometown in Yizhou.
This dream of wealth and glory has come to an end.
Flowers in a mirror and the moon's reflection in water are ultimately unattainable; only what we possess right now is truly precious.
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