Chapter Fifty-Four: The Matter of the Wedding Gift
News of the theft from the Wang Clan spread throughout the capital almost overnight.
By early the next morning, people on all streets and alleyways were discussing the incident, speculating about how much wealth had been lost to make Clan Leader Wang Xu faint from anger.
It was said that he was still confined to his bed!
And according to what was revealed by the Wang Clan, the theft was actually related to the Gu family!
The famous Gu family, which had produced a female general.
People found it unbelievable that the Gu family was implicated, as Gu Qing was a good person who often risked his life to go to the front lines during wars.
Such a Gu Qing, who protected his country and people, should not be slandered by anyone with a conscience.
However, the theft from the Wang Clan this time had nothing to do with Gu Qing.
Although the Wang Clan and the Gu family had deep-seated animosity, it was not due to their confrontation in the imperial court with Gu Qing, but rather a rift with the family of the female general Gu Mengyao.
Now, within a day of Gu Mengyao and her husband arriving in the capital, their wealth was stolen, which clearly indicated it was deliberate on the part of the other party.
This theory quickly spread through the capital like wildfire.
The people of the capital, who hadn’t had any gossip to satisfy their curiosity for a long time, were now all energized, eagerly guessing how the story would unfold and what the real truth was!
Was it that the Wang Clan committed many evil deeds and encountered a hero who robbed the rich to help the poor?
Or did Gu Mengyao and her husband deliberately take action to retaliate against the Wang Clan?
The matter was all a mystery, waiting for the truth to be revealed.
Unfortunately, just as everyone was looking forward to further developments, the outcome was unexpected.
This was because the Gu family head, Gu Qing, a current Vice General, upon hearing that someone was intentionally defaming the Gu family and targeting his daughter’s family, did not hesitate. He directly went to the Imperial Palace to meet the Emperor and requested that the Emperor bring justice to the Gu family.
The Emperor had already heard about the matter, but he did not expect the fire to reach his own doorstep. This made him feel a headache, but he could not shirk responsibility.
After all, the entire Gu family were people of great potential. If their hearts were hurt because of this, it would be a loss that far outweighed any gain.
Not to mention anything else, Gu Qing himself would later take over Gongsun Jie’s position and become the Great General of Linfeng Kingdom.
Therefore, he could not be perfunctory.
Thus, as the Emperor thought this, the Vice Minister of Dali Temple eagerly mobilized, dispatching a group to the Wang Clan to find the truth of the matter and resolve it completely.
However, when Gu Yu and Gu Mengyao were searching for the silver, they turned the houses upside down.
Upon arrival, people had no idea where to start searching.
Of course, there were also neat freaks in the Wang Clan who had long since tidied up the rooms, leaving the Dali Temple officials with no clues to investigate.
Thus, the matter entered a stalemate for a time.
However, under the Emperor’s pressure, discussions about the Gu family in the capital became less frequent, with more focus on how much money the Wang Clan had lost.
When Wang Xu, lying in bed, heard about this development, he was so enraged that he threw the bowl of white porridge brought by the maid onto the ground.
Looking at the shattered bowl on the ground, Wang Xu thought bitterly that he and the Gu family were not done with each other!
It was clearly the work of Gu Mengyao and Gu Yu, and the words left on the wall were enough to prove everything.
However, Wang Xu could not reveal that he had sent people to hunt down Gu Yu and the others, as it would lead to endless trouble.
At the very least, it would be difficult to deal with the Emperor.
As the Emperor increasingly disliked the Wang Clan, Wang Xu was now trying to minimize any troublesome matters to avoid being even more disliked by the Emperor.
However, he did not fail to seek out the Empress Dowager to complain.
Even if the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, this mother and son, were to clash, it would not affect the Wang Clan.
It could also help relieve the pressure on the Wang Clan.
However, upon thinking of the Gu family, Wang Xu’s teeth still itched with hatred, wishing he could exterminate them completely!
The Gu family, just you wait!
…
“Father-in-law, thank you for your help. This is just a small token of my appreciation, nothing much.”
“Haha, why are you being so polite with me? I’m also very happy to see that old geezer Wang Xu embarrassed!”
In the study, when Gu Qing heard Gu Yu’s words, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Then, as he spoke, his hands did not slow down, and he directly took the box full of silver notes from Gu Yu.
After opening it and glancing at the silver notes inside, Gu Qing immediately closed the lid with satisfaction and then put it into his arms.
Generals don’t have much spare cash either!
Maintaining the expenses of the Gu Residence consumed a lot of silver. Now that he had received a considerable sum of money, Gu Qing naturally would not refuse it.
However, this son-in-law of his was truly excellent.
A master at accumulating wealth!
Gu Qing even wanted Gu Yu to visit the Wang Clan a few more times and bring back more silver.
After all, there was no evidence left behind, which made Gu Qing very relieved, and he was not afraid of the Wang Clan coming to their door.
Even if they did come to their door, he, Gu Qing, was not afraid.
Anyone who dared to harm his daughter and her family under his nose was simply tired of living.
Afterwards, Gu Yu bid farewell to his contented father-in-law, and as he walked out of the study, he was also in a very good mood.
With his father-in-law here, the subsequent troubles were no longer troubles. Gu Yu’s pre-prepared countermeasures were now useless. He was happy to stay at home, not having to think about anything.
Of course, he would also have more time to spend with his wife.
“Yu, tomorrow is the wedding day of Shan Chengfeng and Bai Lin Yue. What gift should we prepare?”
“Hmm… Wine, perhaps. And also some Tang Sect hidden weapons. Auntie Fei has already prepared some other miscellaneous items for us.”
When Gu Yu returned to the room, he saw Gu Mengyao frowning at a piece of paper. When Gu Yu leaned closer, he saw that it was a list of various gifts.
However, several names were crossed out, clearly indicating that Gu Mengyao was not satisfied with giving such gifts.
Then, when Gu Mengyao asked Gu Yu, Gu Yu did not think for too long before deciding on the gifts.
Although Gu Yu really wanted to give Shan Chengfeng a box of gold…
However, it was better to keep a low profile in the capital for now. If people knew that imperial gifts were being resold, another major accusation would be leveled.
Besides these, some more silver notes would suffice.
However, among the gifts that Gu Yu mentioned, the wine was of very high value.
Previously, Gu Yu and Shan Chengfeng had partnered in business. Besides chili peppers, they also had the rare item of wine.
As soon as it entered the market, it was sold at a price even higher than gold.
It was even called “liquid gold,” which made Shan Chengfeng very happy. For this reason, he wanted to order more wine from Gu Yu.
But Gu Yu told Shan Chengfeng that the quantity of wine was scarce and that it was not something that could be mass-produced.
Upon hearing this, Shan Chengfeng quickly protected the remaining wine and, at the same time, raised the price.
Even though regular buyers who were accustomed to drinking it felt heartbroken about the money, they still had to buy it.
Gu Yu had originally planned to mass-produce wine, but after thinking about it, he changed his mind. After all, the current high price of wine was due to its scarcity. If the supply increased, the price would fall.
Wine was originally something for the rich to drink. If the price were to be lowered, it would not be good.
“Is that all? Won’t it be too little?”
When Gu Mengyao heard the gifts Gu Yu mentioned, she immediately spoke with some worry, feeling that the quantity was too small. She was afraid that they would lose face because of these gifts.
Although Gu Mengyao had witnessed grand occasions in the military camp, she was still clueless about these matters. Thinking that she had grown up in a village since childhood, if the gifts she gave were of low value, she would be laughed at by other guests…
The more she thought about it, the more entangled she became, making her want to go to Gongsun Feifei to ask for her opinion. However, she felt that since this wedding was for her and Gu Yu to attend, the gifts should be prepared by the two of them to show sincerity.
“My foolish wife! Only you would say these are too few. Don’t look at the small quantity; they are very expensive!”
“Very expensive? We drink this wine at home often, don’t we? I even saw you feed Xiaobai quite a lot last time, which made Qingheng angry with you for a long time, saying that foxes cannot drink alcohol.”
“Hehe, I was just bored and had nothing to do then! I wanted to see what a fox looked like when drunk, so I tried it… But now, the price of wine outside is very high. I’ll just move a vat of wine over, and you’ll see everyone else’s reaction.”
Upon hearing Gu Mengyao’s words, Gu Yu felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
His little wife truly did not understand the value of things.
“Is that so! Then Yu, you take care of these things. I’ve been agonizing over it for half a day, and my head is about to hurt to death! It would be better for me to just go to the battlefield and kill enemies than to ponder these matters.”
When Gu Mengyao heard Gu Yu say that these were extremely valuable, she couldn’t help but stick out her tongue. Then, as she spoke again, her face looked dejected, clearly feeling that organizing these things was simply too agonizing.
If she were on the battlefield, she only needed to swing her weapon to resolve everything!
“Mengyao, you can’t stay on the battlefield forever, so you must adapt to these kinds of things in advance.”
“Don’t I have you, Yu? I won’t think about these headache-inducing matters!”
“You really…”
After resolving the issue of the wedding gifts, Gu Yu had to speak up, wanting Gu Mengyao to get more familiar with things that she found troublesome.
This way, when she encountered such matters in the future, she would have some experience and could handle them better.
However, Gu Mengyao looked unwilling, clearly not wanting to worry about these things anymore.
“Mm, decided! In the future, I’ll be the one to deal with people! And when it comes to strategizing, it’s all up to you, Yu.”
And what came out of her mouth afterwards made Gu Yu, although knowing it was not ideal, unable to suppress a smile. He thought that indeed, with him around, why should his wife worry?
However, Gu Mengyao’s insistence on ‘dealing with people’ gave Gu Yu a sense of role reversal between genders.
After all, in a normal development, the man would be incredibly powerful in martial arts, and the woman would be resourceful. Now, it was completely reversed.
Thinking of this, Gu Yu couldn’t help but sigh, then thought that practicing martial arts in his life was impossible.
On the other hand, the feeling of being protected by his wife was quite good.
What if the roles were reversed?
As long as he was happy with it.
