Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 42: Gu Residence

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Gu Residence

After lunch, Gu Qingli and Xiao Yunjing returned to Gu Qingli’s parents’ house. Ms. Wu had worked as a wet nurse in the Capital City Gu Residence for several months and should have some understanding of its people and affairs. To find out who wanted her life, she needed to learn more about the individuals and goings-on there.

When they arrived, the family had just finished their meal. Dashuang and Xiaoshuang were helping Gu Dalin walk slowly around the room, while Ms. Wu was washing dishes.

"Li’er and Yunjing are back! Come in quickly!" Gu Dalin called out cheerfully when he saw them.

"Alright. How is your leg, Father? Is it still painful?" Gu Qingli asked.

"It’s much better. By next spring, I should be almost fully recovered. You must have come to see Dashuang and Xiaoshuang, right?" Gu Dalin asked.

"Yes, we’ll check on how their studies are progressing in a bit," Xiao Yunjing replied.

"Brother-in-law, we guarantee there’s no problem!" the twins declared. They helped Gu Dalin sit down by the stove, then, one on each side, took Xiao Yunjing by the hand and led him into their room.

Gu Dalin watched them go in, filled with gratification.

"Father, have the people from the old Gu family residence not come by anymore?" Gu Qingli asked, sitting down and warming her hands by the fire.

"Gu Dahe came by a few days ago to borrow money, but your mother chased him out." Gu Dalin’s expression darkened, and his tone became somewhat harsh as he spoke of that family.

Gu Qingli was surprised that Ms. Wu had finally stood up for herself. "Heh, so Mother has a temper now! Excellent. That’s how you should treat shameless people; don’t indulge them."

"It’s because they’re just too infuriating." At that moment, Ms. Wu came in. She untied her apron, wiped her hands, and then sat down by the stove to warm them.

"From now on, no matter what tricks they try, Mother, just ignore them. Their only goal is to get money!" Master Gu’s family probably has little silver left. With the three from their family needing to go to the County Town for the imperial examinations next February, they will definitely come pestering for silver. I should warn them in advance.

"Yes, Mother knows. Ms. Hua has been ill for some time and is still bedridden. I heard they’ve spent a lot of silver on her. As soon as they came, I knew their purpose." Ms. Wu referred to her simply as "Ms. Hua," showing she no longer held any respect for her.

She added, "If their family had shown us a little kindness, your father and I wouldn’t disregard them completely."

Gu Qingli nodded. It was clear they now felt no affection for the old Gu family. She knew Gu Dalin and Ms. Wu’s temperaments best; they were the softest-hearted kind of people.

This was excellent; it would prevent them from making any unwise decisions in the future.

Gu Qingli decided to fan the flames: "Yes, especially regarding Father’s situation. Let’s not even talk about how they treated me. After all, Father called them ’parents’ for so many years and worked so hard for their family for so long.

"When Father was in such a critical condition, they didn’t send him to the town for a doctor immediately. Instead, they waited for us to come back and formally sever ties.

"Thankfully, Doctor Li bandaged him up; otherwise, I’m afraid it would have been too late by the time we returned.

"Sigh! You say people’s hearts are made of flesh, but their family’s hearts must be made of stone.

"Moreover, they held back Dashuang and Xiaoshuang. Look how capable Dashuang and Xiaoshuang are now; even Yunjing praises their intelligence."

Just as she expected, after listening to Gu Qingli’s words, Gu Dalin and Ms. Wu’s expressions turned even uglier, becoming as black as the bottom of a pot.

Especially Gu Dalin; when it came to a life-and-death matter, it was impossible for him not to hold a grudge.

He, the person involved, knew how perilous the situation had been then; he had practically returned from the gates of hell. Even now, hearing Gu Qingli mention it, he still felt a lingering fear and his resentment towards Master Gu and Ms. Hua’s actions intensified to an extreme.

Gu Qingli glanced at Gu Dalin’s hate-filled eyes. She was inwardly ecstatic.

She deliberately wanted to sow discord, to make their relationship so tense there would be no possibility of it ever warming up again.

The Original Host had suffered so much at the hands of the old Gu family; she had to help her get revenge, didn’t she?

And Ms. Hua had been bedridden ever since Gu Dahe, Gu Qingming, and Gu Qingyan had come and caused that major disturbance over a month ago. This must surely be Xiao Yunjing’s handiwork.

Heh, let them continue their antics. Let’s see what advantages Master Gu’s family could possibly gain.

Moreover, by mentioning the twins now, once they became successful in the future, Gu Dalin would hate Master Gu and his wife even more.

Gu Qingli allowed their anger to brew and ferment. When she felt the time was right, she finally spoke, "Mother, I have something I’d like to ask you."

"Wh-what is it?" Ms. Wu asked, snapping out of her thoughts about her past experiences at the old Gu family home.

"About the Gu Residence in Capital City."

"The Gu Residence’s affairs?" Ms. Wu was surprised. She glanced at Gu Dalin and, seeing his attention wasn’t on them, she rose and nodded to Gu Qingli. Mother and daughter went into an inner room together.

Gu Qingli followed close behind and gently closed the door.

Mother and daughter sat on the kang. Ms. Wu asked, "Li’er, why are you asking about the Gu Residence today? Are you thinking...?"

She didn’t voice the words "of going back."

Gu Qingli smiled and said, "Mother, do you think I want to go back?"

She shook her head and added, "I’m not thinking of going back. I just want to ask about the situation at the Gu Residence."

She still hadn’t mentioned Wuqing’s attempt to kill her.

"What do you want to know about the Gu Residence?" Ms. Wu asked with a frown.

"Mother, just tell me about the people there."

"Oh." Ms. Wu nodded after some thought. "There are quite a few people in the Gu Residence. You have paternal grandparents. Your biological father is their eldest legitimate son, and he has two younger brothers who are also married. Your biological mother is your father’s primary wife. You have an older brother, three years your senior. Additionally, your father has two concubines, Aunt Liu and Aunt Zhao. Aunt Liu entered the household first and bore a son, who is a year younger than your brother. Aunt Zhao bore fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, who are a year older than you. Your father is very fond of them.

"The Second Master, from the second branch of the family, has one wife and one concubine. Only his primary wife, the Second Madam, has borne a child, a daughter who is two years older than you.

"At that time, the Third Master was newly married and had no children yet.

"Oh, right, you also have two paternal aunts. The elder aunt was already married, while the younger aunt was still of marriageable age but unwed at that time."

Gu Qingli frowned as she listened. There certainly were many people in the Gu Residence. From what Ms. Wu said, the Original Host was a legitimate young lady of the main family. It was plausible that she had stood in someone’s way.

But she was the young lady who had gone missing, practically a non-existent person. Who would even think of her now?

Or could it be that someone knew the Original Host was still alive?

After a moment of thought, Gu Qingli asked, "Mother, when you went to the Gu Residence to be my wet nurse, you must have already been married and had a child. How old was your child then? A boy or a girl?"

A pained expression crossed Ms. Wu’s face. She said slowly, "My husband’s family was in the Capital City; he was a city guard. I had a daughter, about the same age as you. You were just two days older than my Huan’er."

Speaking of her husband’s family and her daughter in the Capital City, Ms. Wu began to weep silently again.

Gu Qingli gently patted her. She didn’t insist on knowing all of Ms. Wu’s past, but regarding the attempt on her own life, the more related information she gathered, the better she could sort things out.