"We originally came together, but we met the people from the Wei family who were looking for us on the way. They told us that they had found Tong'er and brought her into the mansion. That's when I changed my mind and only brought Kaiyang with me."
"I plan to leave in the next couple of days," Hong Xiaoduo replied.
"So soon? You won't even spend a few more days with that child? Are you really willing to do that?" Mu Rongjing hadn't expected her to leave so quickly.
“I have personally escorted him to his family, and I am at ease with them. Moreover, seeing you now makes me feel even more at ease.”
Whether I'm willing or not, what can I do even if I'm reluctant? He has a family and loved ones. Am I supposed to selfishly keep him by my side just because I'm reluctant to let him go?
As for why I didn't stay a few more days with him, I felt that the longer I stayed, the worse it would be. It would be unavoidable to feel sad, and it's better to have a short pain than a long one." Hong Xiaoduo said these words seemingly casually, but she was already feeling sad even before she left.
Even though they hadn't spent a year together, and even though they weren't related by blood, people are all made of flesh and blood. After hundreds of days together, the children's trust and dependence on her, and the companionship they gave her, she and the children had long since become important people in each other's hearts.
Even though she was facing the pain of parting, Hong Xiaoduo did not regret it. She did not regret bringing them with her in the first place, and she would not be sending Kaiyang home now.
She has a much better mindset now and has thought things through clearly. No matter how much longer she can stay with the children, as long as she is here, she will do as much as she can for them!
"Why do they suddenly feel more at ease when they see me? To them, I'm just Young Master Mu, not their uncle or maternal uncle."
"And you, if my parents and I hadn't come here today, we wouldn't have met, would we?" As soon as Mu Rongjing said this, she felt a little sour about it.
Hong Xiaoduo felt a little embarrassed after hearing this, because she really didn't intend to see him during her trip to Beijing.
The second time I saw him, when we parted, he did say that if I had the chance to come to the capital, I could look for him.
"As expected, sigh!" Looking at Hong Xiaoduo's expression, Murong Jing sighed with feigned disappointment and shook his head.
"Young Master Mu, where is Brother Fan? Why didn't he come with you?" Hong Xiaoduo tried to change the subject.
She can easily soothe a child, but trying to soothe a grown man feels strange to her.
"He's not here. He went out of the capital to take care of some business for me. But tell me the truth, you didn't even think about seeing him during your trip to the capital, did you?" Mu Rongjing really wanted to know.
If she didn't plan to look for him, what about Brother Fan? Was he also nowhere to be seen? Or was he the only one she'd seen quietly?
"Ahem, to be honest, on the way here, I was only thinking about the fake Tong'er, and I really didn't think about anything else." Hong Xiaoduo didn't want to lie.
Hearing her say that, Murong Jing felt a little better.
Hong Xiaoduo then asked Yuan Xi about Hai Dong, Zi Ming, and the others...
As for the Gu family mansion, after leaving the Wei family mansion, Gu Tongfan went straight home. After getting off the carriage and entering the gate, he immediately ordered the gate to be closed, allowing only entry and no exit. No one was allowed to leave the mansion without his permission.
The gatekeepers didn't know what had happened, but being good at reading people, they knew something serious had occurred, so they quickly closed the gate and bolted it shut.
"Father? Don't listen to that little girl's nonsense." Gu Liu, who followed into the mansion, panicked even more when he heard the door close behind him.
Hearing his most beloved youngest son call him "father," Gu Tongfan paused, turned around, and looked at the man who was his son before he left the mansion that morning. Who would have thought that going to a banquet would turn father and son into brothers!
"Shut up, I'm not your father." After angrily cursing, still feeling unsatisfied, he looked at his son's face and slapped him.
With a loud slap, this was the first time she had hit this son—no, not her son!
Brothers? Pshaw!
Manager Song, who rushed over, happened to see the Sixth Young Master being slapped, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Go, summon the master, the madam, Concubine Yun, Concubine Xiu, and Concubine Fang to the front hall," Gu Tongfan instructed Steward Song.
After thinking for a moment, he stared at Steward Song again, pondered for a while, took out a whistle from his sleeve, and blew it.
After a few sharp whistles, a man leaped over the courtyard wall, expressionless, with a knife at his waist.
"My lord." The man knelt on one knee in front of Gu Tongfan as soon as he landed.
"Get up, I'll need you today," Gu Tongfan said with a self-deprecating laugh.
This man is called Bai Qiang, a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world). He was rescued by him a few years ago and has been following him ever since, but no one in the manor knows this.
Gu Tongfan was being cautious and didn't tell his family about it. He didn't usually need the man, and planned to use the whistle to call him out to save his life if he felt there was danger.
I never expected that dealing with family matters today would require calling him out!
But there was nothing he could do; given the current situation in the manor, Gu Tongfan had no choice but to consider the worst-case scenario.
Of his six sons and one daughter, only the eldest son has been confirmed to be his biological son, except for the second son who is not in Beijing.
If only Gu Liu wasn't, then the only one who had an affair with his father would be Gu Liu's mother. But now, none of his four sons and one daughter are his biological children. These four sons and one daughter are not even born to the same woman, but rather to his one wife and three concubines!
His good father had affairs with four of his women for at least twenty years. How could he have kept it from being discovered? Was it because he was careless?
Even with the utmost care, it's impossible, isn't it?
Rumors about the accountant Liu Tugen and the cook Lan have reached my ears!
Therefore, Gu Tongfan no longer even trusts Manager Song, whom he trusts the most.
While waiting for Bai Qiang to sit down in the front hall, Gu Tongfan remembered to take out a large tonic pill made with ginseng and other precious medicinal materials. He poured out two pills, too lazy to put one back, and swallowed them both.
He cannot afford to fall now.
Before long, Gu Tongfan's wife, Madam You, and his concubines, Madam Liu, Madam Yu, Madam Tian, and Madam Zhang, arrived one after another. After entering, they went up to greet him, but received no response whatsoever, and they did not know what had angered him.
"What's wrong?" Gu Shucheng walked in, supported by his concubine, Madam Tang.
Gu Tongfan did not respond to his father's question. After his father sat down, he looked around and said, "Do you know why I called you here?"
"Could it be related to your return to retrieve our fingernails?" Gu Shucheng asked, stroking his beard.
"Father, what do you think I did when I came back at noon to collect your fingernails?" Gu Tongfan turned to his father and asked.
Gu Shucheng said with some displeasure, "How can you guess that? It's usually some kind of evil magic from the martial arts world. The person casting the spell needs to use things like fingernails or hair..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
