Chapter 30: Going Home to Catch Up on Sleep
After toiling away for most of the night, the magistrate had sent for a doctor and administered some medicine to the unconscious individuals. Before long, people began to wake up.
Upon opening their eyes and realizing they were safe, everyone couldn’t help but wail and cry, wishing they could flood the entire Jinshan Temple and let out all their grievances and fears from the past few days.
Mengyao Gu also broke down crying with her newly awakened little sister friends. Gu Yu, standing by, couldn’t bear to watch the two women cry, and Gu Qingheng, scratching his head by the side, also found the scene unbearable.
No wonder they say women are made of water; they just can’t stop crying now!
Fortunately, after crying their hearts out, their emotions quickly stabilized. Liu Juan, feeling a bit embarrassed, wiped her face with her sleeve. Not daring to stay by Gu Mengyao’s side any longer, she turned to ask the officials when they could go home.
Gu Yu thoughtfully took out a handkerchief from his embrace and handed it to her. Mengyao Gu shyly thanked him before taking the handkerchief and wiping her red, tear-filled eyes.
Seeing Mengyao Gu’s current appearance, Gu Yu couldn’t help but think of a red-eyed rabbit, which made him smile slightly. He thought how even when crying, his wife looked so beautiful, becoming more and more adorable the more he looked at her!
Now that the kidnapping incident was completely over, Gu Yu could finally breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that Mengyao Gu no longer had to live in fear.
This operation stemmed from Mengyao Gu’s little sister friends being kidnapped. Now that they had been found, and Gu Yu had also obtained a hundred thousand taels of silver for free, he had reaped substantial rewards, making him very happy.
However, as he looked up at the sky and saw it was gradually getting brighter, Gu Yu felt they should go home to catch up on sleep.
After the all-night revelry of the Lantern Festival, it was likely that many people would be listless during the day and might even stay in bed for the entire day to recover.
“Brother Gu, please wait, I have something I want to discuss with you.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“There are too many people here, it’s not convenient. Please, come with me to a quiet place for a thorough discussion.”
“Alright.”
Just as Gu Yu was thinking that they should go home and get some sleep, Li Ye suddenly walked quickly towards them. After stopping, he directly stated that he had something to discuss with Gu Yu.
And it was a secret that others couldn’t hear.
This made Gu Yu curious, wondering what a eunuch, an imperial envoy from the capital, could possibly want to discuss with him.
Asking the Mengyao Gu siblings to wait for a moment, Gu Yu then followed behind Li Ye. After finding a secluded corner where no one was around, Li Ye looked at Gu Yu seriously for a long time, making Gu Yu’s skin crawl, wondering if Li Ye had a problem.
They were both men; was it really appropriate to stare so intently?
Fortunately, Li Ye didn’t intend to keep staring. After looking for a while, he slowly began to speak, revealing what he wanted to say.
“Gu Yu, I hope you will treat your wife and her brother well.”
“???”
So, Li Ye just wanted to say something like this?
Gu Yu’s forehead was covered in black lines. His gaze towards Li Ye also became unfriendly. He didn’t need others to dictate his actions. Besides, even if Li Ye didn’t say anything, he wouldn’t have let Mengyao Gu and Gu Qingheng suffer.
Was Li Ye looking down on him by saying these words now?
“I don’t mean any harm. It’s just that your wife will become a very remarkable person in the future, even famous throughout the country, making everyone proud of her. At the same time, it is related to the prosperity of the nation. That’s why I am entrusting you with this, to protect Mengyao Gu well.”
“Even if you don’t say it, I will protect everyone in the Gu family. I wonder, how did Lord Li know that my wife would be destined for greatness? Could it be that you can predict the future?”
Hearing Li Ye’s unpleasant words, Gu Yu narrowed his eyes and spoke with a smile, which left Li Ye momentarily speechless.
Li Ye had been struggling for a long time, wondering whether or not to warn Gu Yu. He had initially thought that his rebirth couldn’t be exposed, so he decided not to say anything.
However, the longer he observed Gu Yu, the more uneasy Li Ye became.
If Gu Yu were just a honest and dutiful country bumpkin, Li Ye wouldn’t be so conflicted. After all, he wouldn’t cause much trouble in the countryside.
But seeing Gu Yu now, the more he looked, the more he felt that Gu Yu was not an honest person. Of course, this was somewhat of a generalization.
Mainly, Li Ye felt that Gu Yu was not like a pure country person. Even some noble’s children from the capital were not as cunning as Gu Yu.
If Gu Yu caused any major trouble in the future and implicated Mengyao Gu, it would be disastrous.
Therefore, Li Ye finally couldn’t help but speak, wanting to advise Gu Yu. But who knew that Gu Yu’s question at this moment left Li Ye unsure how to answer.
He couldn’t just say he was a reborn person and had seen and experienced everything that happened in his past life…
If he said that, Gu Yu probably wouldn’t believe him and would think he was hallucinating.
After all, it was like a dream. If Li Ye hadn’t experienced it himself, even he wouldn’t believe it.
“Well, there are various reasons for this. The main point now is… can you protect Mengyao Gu’s safety? If not, I have a way…”
“Should I call my father-in-law, Gu Qing?”
“…How did you know!!!”
Gu Yu’s lazy words at this moment rendered Li Ye speechless. He could only stare at Gu Yu with wide eyes, as if he had seen a ghost.
Li Ye knew about Mengyao Gu’s background because he was reborn. But at this moment… even Mengyao Gu herself didn’t know that her father, Gu Qing, was still alive. Yet, how did Gu Yu, this country bumpkin who married into the wife’s family, know?
Li Ye’s confusion was evident on his face, but Gu Yu wasn’t prepared to say much. Who didn’t have a secret? Was Li Ye the only one allowed to have one?
Hmph, he was also a transmigrator from modern times!
The conversation ended unpleasantly, and Gu Yu didn’t linger any longer. After bidding farewell to everyone, he led the Mengyao Gu siblings home.
After rushing home and getting into bed, Gu Yu found he couldn’t sleep.
Although he knew Li Ye had no ill intentions and had kept many secrets, the implications of his words made Gu Yu feel a sense of uncertainty about the future.
Li Ye had said that Mengyao Gu would become a great figure in the future.
In Gu Yu’s understanding, his little wife’s only notable trait was her innate divine strength. As for what she could achieve with her strength… Gu Yu thought of his cheap father-in-law, who seemed to have become a vice general in the military camp.
Could it be that his little wife would go to the battlefield in the future, eventually becoming a valiant female general, earning the love and admiration of people across the country, and her legend would be passed down through the ages?
Just the thought of it made Gu Yu feel it was unacceptable!
Setting aside everything else, how could his delicate and fragile little wife go to such a dangerous place as the battlefield, and even train and fight with a bunch of rough men?
Quickly dismissing this terrifying thought, Gu Yu looked down at his wife sleeping soundly in his arms and couldn’t help but sigh softly. He then tightened his arm, holding Mengyao Gu even closer.
No matter what the future held, he would always protect Mengyao Gu.
…
“Brother-in-law, so many days have passed, when can I go out and play?”
“That depends on your sister’s arrangements.”
“Hmph, now that my sister has friends, she’s forgotten about us. She goes embroidery and shopping with them every day. Her little life is going so well!”
On a warm sunny afternoon, because it had been a long time since they had seen such ample sunlight, Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng, who had nothing to do at home, moved chairs to the courtyard and lazily basked in the sun.
Compared to Gu Yu, who was comfortably basking in the sun, the unfortunate Gu Qingheng held a book in his hand, his small face wrinkled as he spoke, feeling that his life was truly miserable.
Why were they treating him, a pitiful eight-year-old child, like this!
Although the kidnapping incident had been resolved, Mengyao Gu insisted that he study diligently and improve every day, ordering Gu Qingheng to stay at home and read. Gu Qingheng had complained to Gu Yu about this for many days.
After the kidnapping incident in Lian Town was solved, except for a few victims who had already been sold, all others had been safely rescued. The government had also issued a consolation payment of five taels of silver to each family, leading the civilians of Lian Town to praise Magistrate Bai’s benevolence.
As for the Wang Chang family and their subordinates, who had been thrown into prison, their lives were not going well.
Not only were they suffering from hunger and thirst in prison every day, but they also had to endure the harassment of the prison guards, a stark contrast to their previous glorious lives where their word was law.
Since the government had issued a notice, the people of Lian Town were no longer kept in the dark. They had been wondering why the Wang family had disappeared overnight. Now that they knew the truth, everyone couldn’t help but spit on the ground.
How could people like Wang Chang act so unconscionably and engage in human trafficking? Weren’t they afraid of descending into hell?
The Wang family’s gate had also been pelted with rotten eggs, the stench of which could be smelled from far away, forcing people to take detours when passing by.
After the kidnapping incidents ended, Lian Town returned to peace, as did Yang Family Village.
When Liu Juan returned home unharmed, she joined her little sister friends again and exaggerated Mengyao Gu’s participation in the rescue, earning even more admiration from the group.
Originally, Mengyao Gu hunting on the mountain alone to earn money had already earned her great respect from the women in the village. Now that the news of her working with the government to rescue people had spread, the Gu family’s popularity continued to soar.
It was even trending upwards, with the potential to occupy the top spot on the village’s news rankings.
However, with Mengyao Gu spending the past few days playing with her little sister friends, both Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng were left at home feeling extremely bored.
Gu Yu was fine. After all, he had a reclusive nature in modern times, so he didn’t feel anything even if he didn’t go out. Moreover, with everything at home being well, he could take this opportunity to relax for a while.
It was Gu Qingheng who, upon staying at home, felt restless, as if sitting on pins and needles.
Especially when stacks of books were placed in front of him, Gu Qingheng was miserable.
Therefore, Gu Qingheng complained to Gu Yu at this time, wanting to play the victim and use this opportunity to get Gu Yu to take him out to play.
However, Gu Yu didn’t fall for it. While taking his younger brother-in-law out to play was not a problem, facing Mengyao Gu upon their return would be.
“When sister gets back today, I must have a good talk with her! She can’t always be going out. What if she’s seduced by some pretty boy outside? Brother-in-law, aren’t you even worried at all.”
“Are the men outside as good-looking as I am?”
“No.”
“Can they make money like I can?”
“No.”
“Are they as considerate as I am?”
“No.”
“Then what am I worried about? Your sister had a hard life before. Let her relax a bit! She’s not old, but she’s always putting on a serious face. It’s exhausting just watching her.”
“…”
Warmed by the pleasant sun, Gu Yu slumped lazily in his chair. After rendering Gu Qingheng speechless, he comfortably shifted his body, preparing to take a nap.
This leisurely life was truly pleasant.
“Yu, Yu! Look quickly, what did I find!”
Just as Gu Qingheng was talking about Mengyao Gu, she herself returned home at this moment, startling Gu Qingheng. He thought thankfully that his sister hadn’t walked in while he was complaining, otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to leave his room later.
Hearing Mengyao Gu’s voice, Gu Yu opened his eyes and saw her delighted expression. He couldn’t help but feel curious about what could make his little wife so happy.
Then, as Mengyao Gu swiftly ‘floated’ to Gu Yu’s side, Gu Yu silently marveled at Mengyao Gu’s increasingly improved lightness skill.
When Mengyao Gu handed him the bamboo basket she was carrying, Gu Yu looked at the small purple grapes in the basket and became interested.
Gu Yu had originally thought that there were no grapes in this era, as he hadn’t seen any in the market. He didn’t expect Mengyao Gu to bring a basket of them now.
“Sister, what is this!”
“I went up the mountain with Juan and the others to play, and found a place with these fruits. When I asked someone, I found out they were wild grapes from the mountain, and they’re edible! I didn’t wait for them to finish talking before picking a basket to let you all try something new.”
“Then I must try it… Ptooey! Why is it so sour? Really sour! No, I need to rinse my mouth.”
As Gu Qingheng eagerly reached out and picked up a grape to put in his mouth, a few seconds later, he frowned deeply and hurried inside to rinse his mouth.
Seeing this, Gu Yu naturally didn’t try it himself. Mengyao Gu, looking a bit confused, picked up a grape. As soon as she broke the skin, her small face also constricted, and she followed suit, running inside to rinse away the sourness.
Gu Yu chuckled and shook his head as he watched the siblings run off. He then looked at the basket placed on the ground, thinking that grapes were indeed a good thing.
If they were made into wine, their value would be very high!
