Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking towards the courtyard gate. It was a man in his forties. He first stopped and looked at the donkey cart, then slowly turned around and looked into the courtyard.
After taking in the situation inside the courtyard, he frowned and hurried into the courtyard. Whether it was because he was in too much of a hurry or something else, he almost tripped when he stepped over the door panel.
"Mother." The man went straight to the old woman, called out, and then looked at Hong Xiaoduo with a stern face.
“Son, don’t be rude. This young lady said she wants to ask you about something. I’m the one who asked them to come into the courtyard and wait.” The old woman quickly spoke up.
After hearing his mother's words, the man looked at Hong Xiaoduo again with some doubt.
Similarly, Hong Xiaoduo was also observing the other party. It is said that one's appearance reflects one's heart. This scoundrel, who was rumored to be despicable, was unkempt and slovenly. However, since he returned, his expression was tense when facing the old man and puzzled when facing her. He did not have the repulsive sneakiness, sleazyness, and greed of a local rogue.
“I have never met you before, young lady. Since you have come to me to inquire about something, you should have heard how despicable my reputation is. Aren’t you afraid that I will try to extort money from you?” Ge Jinsuo asked with a sneer.
Hong Xiaoduo laughed upon hearing this: "I travel around all year round. Even the fierce and brutal sea pirates and mountain bandits can't do anything to me. Would I be afraid of being extorted by you? That would be a joke."
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately grabbed his son's arm in alarm.
Ge Jinsuo gently patted his mother's hand to comfort her.
This simple gesture between mother and son, when observed by Hong Xiaoduo, confirmed one thing: regardless of how Ge Jinsuo treated others, he must have treated his own mother well.
Ge Jinsuo's gaze swept over the neatly stacked firewood, and after glancing at Tian Shu, whose clothes were still covered in wood shavings, he thought for a moment and said, "I wonder what the young lady wants to inquire about? I won't tell you for free; it will cost five taels of silver."
"Young lady, don't listen to his nonsense. Just ask him whatever you want to ask. It won't cost you a penny, not even a copper coin," the old man said hurriedly.
Hong Xiaoduo smiled at the old man; "Grandpa, I ate something a bit salty for lunch and I'm a little thirsty now. Could you please boil some water and make me some tea?"
"Okay, okay, but we don't have any tea at home," the old man said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Grandma, we have tea and everything else. You can just take me to boil some water." Tian Shu, being clever, immediately understood Hong Xiaoduo's intention and quickly came over to speak.
Watching his mother lead the half-grown child towards the kitchen, Ge Jinsuo looked at Hong Xiaoduo with even more confusion, wondering what it was about that required sending his mother away.
"Don't worry, we mean no harm," Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile.
Ge Jinshuo withdrew his gaze: "At my age, I can still distinguish between good and evil."
Hong Xiaoduo didn't argue with him. If you can distinguish between good and evil, why do those annoying things?
"I sent your mother away because I wasn't sure if she would find it inappropriate if she heard what I was about to say, because what I wanted to inquire about wasn't someone else's business, but the matter of your divorce from that Pang family," Hong Xiaoduo explained simply.
Pang? Upon hearing this, Ge Jinshuo immediately frowned and said unhappily, "I divorced that slut many years ago. No matter why you are asking about her, it is none of my business. You can leave."
"Don't rush to chase me away. Let me explain the reasons first before deciding whether to tell or not. I heard about some things between her and her current husband's family in Yaozhen. I'm very puzzled. Everyone says that mothers and children are connected by heart, but she doesn't care about her own child, yet she treats a child with no blood relation as her own. This doesn't make sense."
If she were greedy for wealth, why did she take your son with her when you divorced? Wouldn't it have been easier for her to remarry if she had left on her own?
I was traveling around and didn't have much to do. When I met someone who was curious, I wanted to find out the reason for your divorce, so I asked around and came here.
"If you won't tell me, that's fine. I'll leave right away and ask around. I should be able to find the answer eventually," Hong Xiaoduo replied nonchalantly.
Upon hearing this, Ge Jinsuo frowned even more. He thought he was already shameless enough, so how could there be someone like her in this world—a freeloader?
Just because they heard some things secondhand, they actually went to such lengths to seek the truth?
"Everyone outside says I'm a scoundrel, that I beat and scolded her all the time, and that she had no choice but to leave me. She didn't want her son to suffer by my side, so she took him away. You heard all that but you didn't believe it, so you came to me to ask why. You really have too much free time!" Ge Jinsuo sneered.
Hong Xiaoduo didn't care at all about Ge Jinsuo's sarcasm and ridicule. After all, she was the one who came to inquire about his personal affairs, so it was her fault for being impolite.
“I’ve met that Pang woman, and I didn’t like her after just one meeting. I’m sure she’s not a good person, so I want to prove that I haven’t misjudged her,” Hong Xiaoduo said.
She said these things not to curry favor with Ge Jinshuo or gain his trust, but simply to tell the truth.
Ge Jinshuo was taken aback upon hearing this, clearly not expecting her to say such a thing.
“Young lady, you’re not very old, but you have sharp eyes. She wasn’t a good person to begin with.” Ge Jinsuo’s tone softened considerably.
"Since that's the case, then let's talk about it. Do you really care about your marital relationship with her and want to protect her reputation?" Hong Xiaoduo provoked the other party slightly.
“Who cares about our marital relationship? If I said she was unfaithful and that even her so-called son wasn’t actually mine, would you believe me, young lady?” Ge Jinsuo blurted out.
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