When Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng returned home from watching the excitement at the Yang family, Gu Qingheng was still in a very cheerful mood. It was clear that seeing the old Yang family in a predicament had dispelled his anger.
Gu Qingheng already had a bad impression of the old Yang family, and after they came to cause trouble again, he became even more impatient.
When would this family ever stop!
They were always following him like flies, which was truly annoying.
Was there no way to throw this family far away and never have them come to cause trouble again…
The more he thought about it, the more vexed he became, so Gu Qingheng stopped thinking and, upon returning home, picked up his beloved books and began to study diligently.
Because of his agreement with Tang Lian, Gu Qingheng was now particularly motivated when reading.
Although books wouldn’t really produce a “House of Gold,” they could help him become a better person.
When he met Sister Lian’ three years later, she would definitely be surprised!
Thinking of this, Gu Qingheng didn’t waste any more time. He quickly calmed himself down and started reading.
When Gu Yu saw his younger brother-in-law return home and go straight to his room to read, he became extremely conflicted.
Originally, Gu Yu had thought… Gu Qingheng would go to Mengyao to talk about what had just happened, and also brag about his heroic lesson to the evil villagers, making his little wife look at him with admiration, satisfying his small vanity.
But! Who knew that Gu Qingheng would immediately start reading as soon as he got home, almost becoming a bookworm.
This wouldn’t do…
Speaking of which, it was strange. Before, Gu Qingheng was unwilling to read, and Gu Yu was anxious for him. Now that Gu Qingheng was willing to read, Gu Yu was anxious for him instead.
In short, he was anxious no matter what.
“Yu, you’ve been back for so long, what are you spacing out about?”
In the room, Mengyao was sewing up a frayed piece of clothing. Seeing Gu Yu looking like his soul had wandered to the ends of the earth, she curiously asked.
Ever since she picked up Qingheng that afternoon, Gu Yu had been absentminded. Had something happened on the road?
“Ah? Oh! I was thinking, is Qingheng working too hard studying?”
“So that’s what it is! Don’t worry, Qingheng has always had his own ideas since he was young. He knows his limits.”
Hearing Gu Yu’s reason, Mengyao smiled and said that he didn’t need to worry too much about Qingheng’s studies.
When they were relying on each other, Mengyao had spent a long time on the mountain and was very worried about any accidents happening to her young brother at home.
However, after seeing that Gu Qingheng could take care of himself, Mengyao was finally at ease.
Instead, when Gu Qingheng was playing and unwilling to study, it made Mengyao anxious.
A child’s playful nature might become a big stumbling block on Gu Qingheng’s path to the imperial examinations, hindering his progress.
However, this problem had now been solved.
Thinking of this, Mengyao tidied up her needlework, preparing to rest for a while before starting to cook dinner.
Gu Yu, hearing his wife say this, clearly felt that there was nothing he could do about his younger brother-in-law’s studies. He could only hope that Gu Qingheng wouldn’t assign too much homework in the future!
“By the way, Mengyao, on our way back, Qingheng and I heard… Jiaojiao Yang, who married into the town family, eloped with someone. Before she left, she even stole her husband’s family’s silver. This caused the other party to come directly to Yang Family Village to find the Yang family and rob them of their valuables.”
“Something like that happened…”
After finishing with his younger brother-in-law, Gu Yu suddenly remembered the excitement concerning the old Yang family and quickly told Mengyao everything. Mengyao’s eyes widened in disbelief that something like this could happen.
What surprised Mengyao wasn’t that the Yang family was robbed, but that Jiaojiao Yang had eloped with someone.
Jiaojiao Yang was already married, and if she were caught, it would be a serious crime of adultery!
Her guts were truly immense.
“Yes, when the Yang family is at their wit’s end, they’ll probably cause more trouble. We should be careful these few days! If they really dare to come, let them taste the power of our medicinal powder.”
“But if Xingwang Yang and Madam Li come, if we do this, people will easily gossip.”
Afterwards, hearing Gu Yu’s guess, Mengyao couldn’t help but frown.
Although she really didn’t want the old Yang family to bother their peaceful life anymore, Gu Yu’s guess wasn’t impossible. After all, she had some understanding of the character of those people in the old Yang family through their interactions over a long period.
Even though Gu Yu said he would use medicinal powder as soon as they arrived… but taking action against elders would give the villagers an opportunity to gossip about the Gu family again.
In that case, their life, which had only been peaceful for a few days, would become ‘lively’ again.
“Don’t worry, I showed off my skills in front of the villagers today, so they won’t dare to point fingers at our family anymore.”
“?”
However, after hearing Gu Yu’s triumphant words, Mengyao looked at him in confusion, not knowing what had happened that made Gu Yu so happy.
And when Gu Yu said that he had beaten people with gold bars, Mengyao really didn’t know what to say.
Although the method was a bit violent, it was effective.
At least, after driving the Yang family out, the villagers wouldn’t dare to say much about the Gu family.
Mengyao had been a bit puzzled before. Even if Gu Yu wasn’t thanked by the villagers for treating the epidemic, why did they still not let the Gu family off after the Emperor bestowed an imperial decree? They always found opportunities to fabricate things and spread rumors.
Logically, shouldn’t they have shown great respect to the Gu family?
Even if not respect, as long as they didn’t target the Gu family.
When Mengyao expressed her doubts, Gu Yu smiled slightly upon hearing them and then explained to Mengyao.
It wasn’t that the villagers didn’t respect the Gu family. They should recall that when the imperial decree was first issued, many people came to the Gu family, wanting to catch a glimpse of the imperial decree’s glory.
However, after the Gu family repeatedly refused, the villagers’ interest gradually waned.
As time passed, they felt that having an imperial decree wasn’t a big deal, as they weren’t appointed as high officials, just received some rewards, and otherwise, they were the same as ordinary villagers, with no other differences.
This resulted in the villagers, even knowing that the Gu family had an imperial decree, not treating the three members of the Gu family with the same deference as they would treat a magistrate.
Even more so, due to excessive attention, upon learning that the Gu family’s meals were quite good, constantly featuring chicken, duck, and fish, they became even more envious.
This led to them targeting the Gu family, not wanting them to prosper.
Of course, this didn’t represent the thoughts of everyone in the village. There were still some people who greatly admired Gu Yu. After all, it was truly amazing that Gu Yu, at such a young age, could cure an epidemic.
His future was boundless!
They weren’t envious of the Gu family, so they naturally weren’t adversaries. They just watched from the sidelines, not participating.
Sometimes, they would even put in a good word for the Gu family.
As for anything else, it had nothing to do with them.
However, now that Gu Yu had beaten people with gold bars, he believed that these villagers would realize the difference between the two parties and would no longer foolishly come to pick fights.
Although no one in the Gu family was an official, with the gold bars bestowed by the Emperor, they could hit anyone they wanted without any responsibility.
It was just that Gu Yu wasn’t someone who liked to cause trouble. Otherwise, he could carry gold bars and squat at the village entrance every day, smashing anyone who came by, and no one would have grounds to argue!
“If that’s the case, then we don’t have to worry! Let’s continue living our good lives and not care about the Yang family’s fate.”
“Mhm.”
After hearing Mengyao’s words, Gu Yu nodded at her.
The Yang family should solve their own problems.
It had nothing to do with him.
“Gu Yu, are you home?”
Just as Gu Yu and Mengyao were talking, the village chief’s voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate. Gu Yu was puzzled, wondering why the village chief was looking for him at this time.
Could it be that something else had happened?
“Mengyao, I’ll go see what’s wrong. You keep busy.”
“Mhm.”
After Gu Yu finished talking to Mengyao, he then walked to the courtyard gate. Upon opening the gate, he saw the village chief standing at the entrance with a distressed expression.
“Village Chief, what happened? Why are you looking for me at this time?”
“Alas, it’s still about that bear. Gu Yu, did you really not see that bear?”
“No!”
“Zhiwu Yang has gone mad from fright and has been sent to town for treatment. I went with him… The doctor said it was due to excessive fright, and it’s not easy to recover!”
When the village chief spoke, Gu Yu’s mouth twitched speechlessly upon hearing that Zhiwu Yang had gone mad from fright, thinking that this guy was too easily scared!
He had actually gone mad from being scared by a bear.
No wonder the village chief came over to ask again. He was probably worried that another person in the Gu family would go mad from fright.
“That’s too terrifying! But I really haven’t seen a bear. However, I suddenly remembered something related to Zhiwu Yang.”
“What?”
“Because I didn’t give Zhiwu Yang any silver, after he hurled a few curses, he strode up the mountain, saying that my family earned a lot of money by killing a wild boar, so he could too…”
Seeing that Zhiwu Yang had already gone mad from fright, Gu Yu felt that even if he said there was no bear at his doorstep, the village chief might not fully believe it. It was better to go along with it and shift the blame to Zhiwu Yang.
Since the person was already mad, he wouldn’t refute it.
When the village chief heard Gu Yu’s words, he felt that it was more plausible. After all, if he hadn’t really encountered a bear, a normal person wouldn’t have been scared like this.
Since Zhiwu Yang encountered the bear on the mountain, he would have to notify the villagers later not to go up the mountain recently, and to be careful of being attacked by a bear.
“Young Master Gu, my master sent me to deliver a letter.”
Just as the village chief was clarifying the reason and was about to leave, someone on horseback appeared at the Gu family’s doorstep. He then dismounted, quickly approached Gu Yu, and directly took out a letter.
