Chapter 139 The Wicked Stepmother and the Poor Child 32
Gu Hongjian was already on the verge of exploding, and today's incident made him completely lose face. Now, Zhou Jingxuan's fierce resistance was like adding fuel to the fire, and Gu Hongjian finally snapped.
Gu Hongjian was so angry he was practically going mad, pointing his finger at Zhou Jingxuan and cursing her.
"You won't let me? You have no choice but to let me!"
"You've squandered all the money in the manor by yourself. All your jewelry and clothes were made with my money—it's the Gu family's money! Now the manor is starving, why won't you contribute?"
The two immediately started tugging at each other, with Zhou Jingxuan desperately protecting her belongings and screaming.
"Anything that enters my courtyard is mine! If the manor is out of money, that's your job as the head of the household to figure out!"
Why should I, a woman, have to sell my own possessions?! There's no justice in this world!
"Your private funds? They were all acquired by sucking the blood of the Gu family!"
Three thousand taels! That's the Gu family's living expenses for a year!
I myself wouldn't be so extravagant in my own official career, yet you've used it all to fill your bottomless pit of vanity!
The more Gu Hongjian thought about it, the angrier he became, trembling with rage. What was most infuriating was that he himself had never been willing to spend that much money! He had saved it for a major event, but Zhou Jingxuan didn't seem to care at all.
Just as the two were arguing and getting into a heated argument, the old steward came in with a troubled expression to report something.
"Sir, the shop assistants from Zhenbaozhai are here to collect debts, saying that..."
"It is said that Aunt Zhou ordered two jade bracelets inlaid with pure gold a few days ago, and the craftsmen have finished making them and delivered them today. The payment is 120 taels."
One hundred and twenty taels! And it was custom-made! Why do you treat yourself so well!
Gu Hongjian felt a surge of heat rush to his head, and his last bit of patience was exhausted. He couldn't take it anymore!
He had always been a frugal person, always trying to stretch every penny. He couldn't tolerate such extravagant behavior.
He stopped wasting words with Zhou Jingxuan, grabbed her wrist with such force that it felt like he was going to crush her bones, and said through gritted teeth.
"Now! Right now! Come with me and return all that stuff! And everything in your yard, return what you can, and pawn the rest!"
"I won't go! I won't go! Gu Hongjian, let me go!"
Zhou Jingxuan struggled desperately, but she was no match for Gu Hongjian's strength. Moreover, Gu Hongjian was still angry and wouldn't show any mercy. Zhou Jingxuan was practically dragged out of the door by him.
After all the commotion, amidst the strange looks from the shop assistants and the whispers from the neighbors, the two newly acquired gold and jade bracelets, along with some other newly purchased jewelry and fabrics that hadn't even been unpacked, were returned.
Although the price was discounted, I still managed to get several hundred taels of silver.
Back at his residence, Gu Hongjian still felt unsatisfied. The few things he had returned had only fetched a few hundred taels of silver, enough for him to live on for a long time!
He led his men straight into Shuyuxuan, ignoring Zhou Jingxuan's cries and attempts to stop him, and forcibly inventoried all her gorgeous dresses, jewelry, and expensive decorations, ordering them to be returned immediately. Anything that couldn't be returned was pawned!
Zhou Jingxuan cried her heart out, gasping for breath, and almost stopped. She rushed over to stop him. Gu Hongjian was in a better mood now that some of the money had been returned, and only then did he have the mind to comfort her.
He carried Zhou Jingxuan aside, afraid that her excessive sadness might harm the baby in her womb, and whispered.
"Jingxuan, stop fooling around! Getting through this crisis is the most important thing right now!"
I promise you, after Shen Ci is gone, won't all the better and more valuable things in her dowry be yours? Why do you care about these things?
If Shen Ci dies, her dowry will definitely be left to her daughter, Gu Mingzhu. But the child will still be young then, so what will happen to those things? It will be up to the adults to decide.
He made empty promises and threats, coaxing and intimidating her, and finally managed to coax Zhou Jingxuan into submission.
After all the trouble, although the items were significantly discounted, more than two thousand taels of silver were recovered, barely covering part of the deficit and allowing the Gu family to continue operating. The servants' monthly wages were finally paid out.
After this incident, although Gu Hongjian was no longer in a hurry to use the money, he developed serious doubts about Zhou Jingxuan's housekeeping abilities.
Zhou Jingxuan only knows how to squander money, but who doesn't know how to do that?
She had absolutely no plans in her mind; she was a spendthrift who never thought about where the money would come from. As for the main courtyard, he saw it for what it was like: they were self-sufficient and hadn't touched the public funds at all.
A woman who can live a fulfilling life without relying on her family's money is truly a good matriarch.
Gu Hongjian's mind started working again. He thought that if he could return the power of managing the household to Shen Ci, with her earning ability and past performance, wouldn't he be able to return to the comfortable life he used to have, where he could have no worries about food and clothing and money at his fingertips?
Although Jingxuan is considerate, she is definitely not cut out to be the matriarch of the household.
Gu Hongjian, unusually composed himself and put on a gentle expression, went to the main courtyard, intending to first get closer to the children and ease tensions, just as he always had.
"Mingzhang, Mingzhu, come to your father."
He tried hard to force a fatherly smile and opened his arms, but perhaps because he hadn't played the role of a father for too long, he couldn't smile and his expression was stiff.
It didn't seem as kind as I had imagined; in fact, it was rather frightening.
"Mother, Mother! Help!"
However, as soon as the two children saw him approach, they reacted as if they had seen a ghost. Gu Mingzhang immediately grabbed his sister, turned around and ran away, hiding behind a pillar, only peeking out their eyes, watching him warily and fearfully.
Gu Hongjian's smile froze on his face, his outstretched hand awkwardly stopped in mid-air, and his expression instantly darkened.
Are these really his biological children? How can they be so afraid of him? Is he a ghost?
Little did he know that Shen Ci had always instructed them not to be nice to people who didn't like them, and given Gu Hongjian's obvious favoritism and indifference during this period, the two children had long been disappointed in him.
Even his youngest daughter, Mingzhu, who used to be the most attached to him, was now clinging tightly to her brother's clothes, refusing to take a single step forward.
Gu Hongjian, realizing he had made a fool of himself, squatted down and tried to coax the two children for a while, but to his surprise, neither of them seemed to be able to fool the two children, even though they should be easy to fool.
He was furious, but he couldn't lash out at the children. After all, no matter how much he disliked them, they were still his own flesh and blood. He couldn't very well hang them up and beat them over something so trivial, could he? Besides, he still had something to ask of Shen Ci!
What would happen if someone bullied her two eyeballs?
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go find Shen Ci.
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