Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 156: Gu Residence

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Gu Residence

After entering the mansion, he hurriedly went to inform Gu Dalin and Ms. Wu.

Gu Qingli walked along the covered walkway, examining the residence. It was a three-courtyard house with a layout similar to the Xiao residence.

"Sister!" Dashuang and Xiaoshuang were the first to come out, running towards her the moment they saw her.

Gu Qingli smiled and caught them both, tousling their heads. "Where are Dad and Mom? Is Mom okay?"

Ms. Wu was due to give birth soon; Gu Qingli had calculated the due date to be within a few days.

"Mom is fine," Dashuang said.

"That’s good. Let’s go see her," Gu Qingli said, taking their hands and leading the way.

"Li’er." They hadn’t walked far when Gu Dalin hurriedly approached them, followed by the gatekeeper.

She must be the Eldest Miss after all, the gatekeeper thought.

"Dad," Gu Qingli called out with a smile.

"Eh? How are things at home?" Gu Dalin was worried about their home.

Gu Qingli looked at her father’s anxious expression. She wondered if he would faint if she told him there was nothing left of their house.

She said slowly, "Dad, please don’t worry. I managed to hide our grain. The main loss was the house; it completely collapsed. In fact, not a single house in Qinghe County is left standing."

"What?"

Gu Dalin was aghast. His skin crawled as he imagined how many people must have been crushed.

He knew the earthquake had struck at night when everyone was asleep.

As long as our family is alright, he thought, the material possessions don’t seem so important anymore.

Moreover, they lacked nothing here.

The twins also frowned deeply. Though they hadn’t seen it, they could imagine how horrific the scene must have been.

"What about the people in the village?" Xiaoshuang asked solemnly.

Gu Qingli explained, "About twenty villagers died. They were the ones who refused to leave. The night you all left, Second Grandpa led everyone from the village away. They only came back the next day."

"That’s good, then." The father and sons all sighed in relief. After all, these were people from their own village.

"Sister, where were you at the time? Were you injured?" Dashuang asked.

"Hehe, I was lucky," Gu Qingli said. "That night, Da Bai and I were up on the mountain."

"Oh." The three of them sighed in relief again.

Gu Qingli smiled; they really were worried about her.

The four of them went to the third courtyard, where Ms. Wu was already waiting.

She was heavily pregnant and found it difficult to move, so an old woman servant was supporting her. Seeing Gu Qingli arrive, she tried to hurry down.

"Madam, please don’t exert yourself," the old woman servant quickly stopped her.

"Li’er," Ms. Wu had no choice but to call out.

Gu Qingli looked at her and smiled.

When Gu Qingli reached her, Ms. Wu grasped her hand, her eyes welling with tears. "Li’er, I was worried to death about you! Seeing you safe and sound finally puts my heart at ease."

True to her sensitive nature, Ms. Wu’s tears began to stream down her face as soon as she finished speaking.

"Don’t cry. The child is safe and sound, yet you’re still crying. Take care of yourself," Gu Dalin said gently, wiping her tears away.

Ms. Wu sniffled, "Yes, it’s just because I’m happy."

The father and her three children felt speechless.

Alright, her way of expressing happiness is certainly unique, they thought.

The family entered the living room. Gu Dalin and Ms. Wu asked more about the situation in the village, mainly about the crops in the fields.

They both looked worried and sad after hearing the news.

Staying here was only temporary; they would eventually have to return to the village. But with the crops in the fields gone, there would be no harvest for the first half of the coming year. What would such a large family eat?

"Don’t worry, just stay here and rest. Speaking of which, Mom, you’re about to give birth, right?" Gu Qingli quickly changed the subject, as Ms. Wu wasn’t suited for such melancholy thoughts.

Sure enough, at the mention of the child in her belly, Ms. Wu’s worried frown smoothed out. She nodded. "I feel like it will be in these few days."

Having given birth twice before, she recognized the distinct sensations of approaching labor.

The baby in her womb was moving particularly vigorously.

"When the time comes, just send someone to call me."

I had thought about moving in, Gu Qingli mused, but it’s not too far. I’ll make it in time.

"Alright, Mom understands," Ms. Wu replied, not one to stand on ceremony in such matters.

"Li’er, stay for lunch today and chat with your mother," Gu Dalin said to Gu Qingli, now that he knew what he needed to.

"Sure," Gu Qingli nodded.

Gu Dalin took his two sons out. With only mother and daughter left, they could talk about childbirth, a topic that would have been rather awkward for the men to overhear.

Only the mother and daughter remained in the room. Gu Qingli checked Ms. Wu’s pulse again.

Her pulse was normal.

This baby is a girl, Gu Qingli thought. Mom will surely be overjoyed.

"Mom, our little sister is doing very well."

"A little sister? Li’er, can you really tell if it’s a boy or a girl?" Ms. Wu was overjoyed; she had been hoping for a daughter.

"Yes, I’m certain it’s a little sister."

Ms. Wu was grinning from ear to ear. "Your father also said he hoped it would be a girl."

Gu Qingli only smiled at that. He already has twin sons. With another daughter, he’ll have both sons and daughters—the epitome of ’good fortune.’ But I, this daughter, am not his biological child, after all. There’s a vast difference between being biological and not.

Lunch was simple. Afterward, Gu Qingli left five hundred taels in silver notes and headed to the Gu Clinic.

「Capital City.」

Chu Yan, carrying two hundred thousand taels in silver notes, an imperial decree, two attendants, an official from the Ministry of Revenue, and ten guards, set off for Qiyang County.

These two hundred thousand taels in silver notes had been painstakingly scraped together by the Ministry of Revenue. Chu Yan hadn’t anticipated that the national treasury would be depleted of silver.

He took a deep breath. He knew that two hundred thousand taels wouldn’t be nearly enough to address the disaster in Qiyang County.

Chu Yan was immensely glad he had personally requested this assignment. If any other official had been sent for disaster relief, at least half of these two hundred thousand taels would have undoubtedly lined someone else’s pockets. Very little would actually reach the victims, who would truly be left with no choice but to await death.

Even if Chu Yan’s heart burned with a towering inferno of rage, he could do nothing. He was not the Emperor, merely a prince with no real power or position.

But on this trip to Qiyang County, he was determined to use every ounce of his ability to help the victims survive this calamity.

「Fenghua County.」

On Tiantai Mountain, within Fengjue Temple, Master Wujue opened his eyes, a hint of doubt flickering in his bright, sharp gaze.

The Emperor Star and Empress Star had appeared in the southwest. So why had Qiyang County, also in the southwest, suffered a once-in-a-century natural disaster?

He gazed towards the southwest, lost in thought.

After a long while, he picked up a letter and began to read it again.

This was the fifth letter from Jueliao, all asking whether they should continue to protect Daqian or shift their allegiance to the newly emerged Emperor Star.

Their monastic order’s legacy was to safeguard the divinely ordained Emperor. Since Emperor Chu of Daqian’s destiny was clearly waning, and it was beyond their power to reverse it, they ought to select a new Emperor to support.

Yet, this natural disaster had undoubtedly altered the fate of the newly appeared Emperor Star. When he had observed the celestial phenomena last night, that new Emperor Star was indeed considerably dimmer than before.

The Phoenix Star, however, had not dimmed.

Truly strange.

Master Juewu, unable to perceive the secrets of Heaven, could only suppress his unease and continue to observe.

「At the border.」

Meanwhile, Xiao Yunjing was wrestling with a major headache. The Xichen Kingdom’s three-hundred-thousand-strong army, which had previously pressed to their borders, had remained strangely inactive. He never imagined they would choose to launch an offensive precisely during the earthquake and heavy snowfall.