Chapter Forty-Five
As Gu Yu brought his younger brother-in-law home, he couldn’t help but cast longing glances at the village entrance, wondering when he could freely sit there for an entire day, chatting happily with the villagers about various gossip! He was getting so bored studying at the academy every day!
However, as soon as Gu Qingheng was brought home, he was met with his sister’s “gentle” smile, instantly forgetting his previous thoughts and earnestly promising that he would never run off again. He swore on a stack of Bibles.
As Gu Qingheng said this, Mengyao Gu didn’t believe a single word. Gu Qingheng had made the same promise last time, but what was the result? The kid actually meowed like a dog a few times, which made Mengyao Gu laugh out loud in anger. She almost forgot that Gu Qingheng liked small animals, so she thought it wasn’t a big deal even if he imitated a dog. What’s more, he was at home now, facing his sister and brother-in-law, and he could even imitate a pig without any issues!
Feeling speechless at Gu Qingheng’s increasingly shameless behavior, Mengyao Gu, at Gu Yu’s suggestion, made Gu Qingheng read more books and eat mung bean congee for a week, thoroughly punishing him. After such a punishment, Gu Qingheng was indeed well-behaved for a while, but he soon relapsed into old habits and continued to sneak out to eavesdrop on gossip. This made Mengyao Gu wonder sometimes… who exactly this younger brother of hers took after, as he became more infuriating by the day!
Naturally, when his wife and younger brother-in-law had a dispute, Gu Yu unconditionally sided with Mengyao Gu, instantly forgetting his “friendship” with Gu Qingheng. If he also angered Mengyao Gu, he wouldn’t be allowed in bed that night.
“Qingheng, when will you ever change your nosy nature! Those sitting at the village entrance are all women, why are you going there?”
“Sister! I was just curious! It’s nothing serious, don’t scare yourself.”
“Nothing serious? I’m afraid you’ll turn out wrong in the future! Do you remember the Ruan family in the village? Their son always played with women, and now he talks like a woman, walks with a sway, and the last time he saw me, he asked me what kind of rouge I used with a flick of his orchid finger, wanting to buy some too…”
“Pfft, cough cough… It’s okay, Mengyao, you continue!”
While Mengyao Gu was scolding her brother, Gu Yu next to them couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Seeing Mengyao Gu and her brother look over at him, he quickly waved his hand, urging them to continue. Gu Yu initially thought Mengyao Gu didn’t want her brother-in-law to listen to gossip because she was afraid it would affect his studies, but after hearing this, he realized it was completely different! Mengyao Gu was worried that Gu Qingheng would become effeminate… Gu Yu had just been picturing his younger brother-in-law, Gu Qingheng, flicking his orchid finger and speaking in a high-pitched voice, “dead goblin,” pfft…
“My sister! You always think of the worst. Do you think your brother will turn out like that? I am a pure man, and when I grow up, I will bring you several sisters-in-law!”
With Gu Qingheng’s quick wit, after Gu Yu burst out laughing, he immediately knew that his brother-in-law was not thinking of anything good. Hmph! Brother-in-law is too disloyal, making him endure his sister’s scolding alone. If his brother-in-law ever falls into his hands, he’ll deal with him like this and like that, making him look bad! However, just as Gu Qingheng was speaking with a smug look on his face, Mengyao Gu poured cold water on him and grabbed one of his ears.
“Several? I’m worried if you’ll even be able to marry a wife!”
“Ow, sister! That’s my ear, not the pig’s ear you bought yesterday, be gentle.”
“If you don’t want me to twist your ear in the future, then behave yourself. If I catch you again, I’ll make you eat mung bean congee for a month.”
“…”
Finally, under the threat of a month of mung bean congee, Gu Qingheng nodded like a pecking chicken, agreeing that he would never sneak out without Mengyao Gu’s permission again. Seeing this, Mengyao Gu nodded with satisfaction and then went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, making a cold pig ear salad.
“Brother-in-law, you didn’t save me just now, hmph! I can see right through you, you henpecked husband!”
“Save you? Don’t drag me down with you. Didn’t you see your sister was in a rage just now? If I intervened, my ears would have suffered as well.”
After Mengyao Gu left, Gu Qingheng rubbed his ear and couldn’t help but cast a resentful gaze at Gu Yu, who helplessly shrugged at Gu Qingheng, indicating he couldn’t help. Gu Qingheng was right, who else could it be but him being a henpecked husband! However, he was happy to be managed by Mengyao Gu for his entire life, hehehe… “But you can’t be like this! If I can’t listen to gossip, what’s the point of life… Oh right, brother-in-law, before you came, did you also hear about that incident with Jiaojiao Yang? I’m telling you in advance, I didn’t leak anything.”
“I didn’t say you leaked it. It’s been so long, it’s normal for some information to get out. Anyway, it didn’t come from our Gu family’s mouths. We’ll see how the old Yang family resolves it.”
“Hehehe, I’m afraid there’s some fun to be had.”
“Qingheng, you’re always like this, that’s why your sister scolds you. Be smarter in the future!” Gu Yu shook his head at Gu Qingheng. When talking about the old Yang family’s gossip, Gu Qingheng’s face was full of excitement, looking as if he feared no chaos in the world, which made Gu Yu raise his hand and tap his younger brother-in-law’s head, telling him to be smarter. At least, don’t expose what you’re thinking on your face so casually, otherwise, you don’t even need to ask, you can tell from the expression. Although Gu Qingheng’s expression wasn’t so relaxed when facing others, being so casual at home would surely lead to him being lectured by Mengyao Gu in the future.
“Excuse me, is this the Gu family?”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
Just as Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng were talking, a strange voice suddenly sounded from outside the courtyard gate. After Gu Yu’s confused reply, he began to guess who the visitor was. The recent peaceful life of the Gu family made Gu Yu hope that no new trouble would appear.
“The master sent a letter from the capital and told me to make sure to deliver it to the young lady.” However, the visitor was not trouble, just delivering a letter. As for the real trouble, it was probably the letter Gu Yu was holding in his hand, signed by Gu Qing… The father-in-law’s sudden letter made Gu Yu very curious. It hadn’t even been two months since he went to the capital to help Gu Qing cure his illness, and the letter appeared so quickly. But thinking about how Mengyao Gu and Gu Qing’s relationship had eased a lot, the letter wasn’t a big deal.
“Brother-in-law, is this a letter sent by my father?”
“Mmm, you saw the signature, it’s indeed from your father-in-law.”
“You said last time that my sister and my father’s relationship had improved a lot. I’m very curious what my father wrote in this letter… Brother-in-law, give me the letter to read first.”
“Go away. We’ll talk after your sister reads it.”
After the Gu Residence’s servant handed the envelope to Gu Yu, he didn’t continue to stand at the door. He said he would come again tomorrow morning and left directly. Then, Gu Yu dodged his younger brother-in-law who wanted to snatched the letter. To prevent Gu Qingheng from pestering him further, Gu Yu quickly raised the letter in one hand and, while being chased by Gu Qingheng, rushed into the kitchen. He then told Mengyao Gu about the letter, asking her to put down her work for a moment. She walked out of the kitchen and, under the watchful eyes of Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng, opened the letter and carefully read its contents.
“My father said it’s almost the Mid-Autumn Festival and invited the three of us to the capital to celebrate.” After reading the letter, Mengyao Gu informed Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng of its contents, stating that Gu Qing had invited the three of them to the capital and that they would depart tomorrow, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to arrive in the capital before the festival. However, even though Gu Qing’s letter said so, Mengyao Gu didn’t want to go to the capital… The reason she didn’t want to go to the capital to celebrate was that Mengyao Gu wanted to stay in the Gu family home in Yang Family Village and celebrate the festival with her husband and brother. But after hearing about Gu Qing’s invitation to celebrate the festival, Gu Qingheng’s face was filled with excitement, eagerly looking forward to going to the capital to celebrate, which made Mengyao Gu hesitate. When she and Gu Yu left last time, because Gu Qingheng couldn’t go to the battlefield, he stayed in Lian Town to study hard and improve every day, so much so that after they followed the army back to the capital, Gu Qingheng was still boarding at Qingshan Academy. This time, she could take Gu Qingheng to see the capital.
“Mengyao, don’t hesitate. No matter what decision you make, Qingheng and I will not object.”
“I was just spacing out for a moment. Since my father has invited us, let’s go! This time, let’s take Qingheng along so he can see the capital too.”
“Yay! Sister is the best! I love you, sister.”
“You, just try not to upset me as much in the future.”
In the end, Mengyao Gu decided to go to the capital. Although she usually disliked this troublesome brother, Mengyao Gu still loved Gu Qingheng dearly. Seeing his desire to go to the capital, she didn’t refuse the Mid-Autumn Festival invitation to the capital. Anyway, she was already familiar with the Gu Residence, and there were no other awkward places.
…
“Master, don’t worry, Mengyao and the others will definitely come to the capital for the festival.”
“Sigh, I’m just worried that Mengyao will continue to be at odds with me. This Mid-Autumn Festival, I want our family to celebrate together.”
In the study room, Gu Qing sighed inexplicably. Gongsun Feifei, who pushed open the door and entered, immediately comforted Gu Qing, telling him not to overthink. The last time Mengyao Gu left, their conflict had already lessened a lot. However, it was precisely because Gu Qing understood his daughter’s stubborn temper that he was even more worried.
“Don’t worry, they will definitely come. But Master, you’ve been returning very late from court recently. Has something major happened?”
“Do you remember the war with Luoluo Kingdom before?”
“Yes, I remember. But didn’t the Emperor say he was going to send an envoy to Luoluo Kingdom to prepare for peace talks?”
“Mmm, recently, Luoluo Kingdom is also going to send envoys to discuss compensation issues.” When talking about official matters, Gu Qing shook his head repeatedly, saying that recently things had piled up, making his head ache. He now just hoped that Luoluo Kingdom wouldn’t play any tricks and would properly compensate, then everything would be resolved. If they dared to play tricks, Linfeng Kingdom was not to be trifled with.