Chapter 421: Chapter 422: More Than Just Money

The old man’s eyes were red with anger. It took him a long while before he spat out a single word, "Bastard!"

Xu Nuo nodded. "Yes, a bastard indeed."

Xu Wenhua roared, "That’s your third grand-uncle! Even if you don’t know him, you should respect him for his age."

Then, he continued, grief-stricken, "Your mother went too far. She took a perfectly good daughter of the Xu Family and raised you to be so ignorant of worldly matters.

Now that your father is here, I must correct this temperament of yours. Otherwise, who knows how much you’ll suffer once you marry into your husband’s family."

Someone in the crowd snickered. "So they’re not just after her money, but her life too."

The Xu family was speechless. ’These people are so annoying. What business is it of theirs?’

A wave of desolation washed over Xu Nuo. ’So this is my real father.’

Just then, Sanhua, who was beside her, whispered a reminder, "Miss, I see Granny Lao. She’s coming this way with the carriages."

From the moment they’d stepped out, Sanhua had been anxiously watching the end of the street. Seeing the mansion still surrounded by so many people, she grew frantic. ’Why couldn’t the carriages have been a little slower today?’

But her silent prayers were clearly not working; she could already see the procession turning into their lane.

Everyone present obviously noticed as well. The arguments stopped, and all heads turned in unison to look.

"That looks like Matchmaker Lao. And isn’t that the same carriage that went to the Xu Family before? Now this is going to be a show."

"I wonder if Miss Xu’s relatives by marriage will stand up for her."

"Stand up for her? People of their status hate getting involved in trouble. Just watch, they’ll probably turn the carriages around and leave."

Xu Nuo stood there apprehensively, wringing her hands. ’No family would want to welcome this kind of trouble through their doors.’

Gu Lehuan had already seen the crowd gathered there. He had been sitting on the shaft of the carriage, but without waiting for it to stop, he leaped off and sprinted over.

Matchmaker Lao vaguely recognized a few familiar figures. Cursing their ill fate under her breath, she hurried after him.

"What’s going on here? Why is everyone crowded around? It’s early in the morning, shouldn’t you all be about your business?" Matchmaker Lao ignored the people in the very center, using her walking stick to try and shoo the crowd away.

"What’s it to you? We’re handling our own family matters. You’re an outsider, so stay out of it." Mrs. Xu Zhong had already grown impatient after confronting Xu Nuo for so long. Now, seeing someone else jump in to disrupt things, she was just short of rolling up her sleeves and starting a fight.

Gu Lehuan ran directly to Xu Nuo’s side and stopped. "What’s going on?"

Xu Nuo glanced at him, stubbornly refusing to speak.

Sanhua, at her side, had no such reservations. The man before her was her mistress’s future support, so she quickly blurted out the reason for the Xu family’s visit.

Gu Lehuan pressed his lips together as he watched the Xu family up ahead, who were now arguing with Matchmaker Lao. He looked carefully at Xu Nuo. "What are you thinking? Are you going to acknowledge them?"

Xu Nuo asked, "Do you think I should?"

Gu Lehuan hesitated. "...I’ll listen to you." ’Even if he was a fool, he still had a basic instinct for self-preservation.’

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Xu Nuo stared at the farce unfolding before them and said coldly, "In my entire life, I’ve never known what my father looked like. Whenever I mentioned him, my mother would be heartbroken for hours, so eventually, I stopped using that word.

If they hadn’t shown up today, I probably would have gone my whole life without ever knowing his face."

At this, Xu Nuo gave a cold laugh. "Whatever fantasies I once had, they all shattered into something so sordid the moment I saw him.

I know why they’re here today. They see that I’m all alone now and want to come get a piece of the pie. No, it’s not that simple. They want to suck the marrow from my bones, and even then, they probably wouldn’t be satisfied."

Gu Lehuan didn’t know how to comfort her, so he could only stand by her side in silence.

Xu Nuo then continued, "Perhaps we’re fated to meet but not to be together. I’m sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing."

Gu Lehuan could no longer stand still. "You’ve changed your mind?"

Xu Nuo said with a self-deprecating smile, "In a situation like this, do you really think we can still get married?"

Gu Lehuan gritted his teeth. "No matter what, I’ll face it with you. If my family disagrees, I’ll marry into yours and help you protect this home."

Xu Nuo shot him a surprised look, then laughed. "You shouldn’t say things like that. I’d rather not make another powerful enemy for myself."

Gu Lehuan opened his mouth, wanting to say his family wouldn’t be like that, but when he saw the magnificent carriages up ahead, the words wouldn’t come out.

’Even if I were willing, for the sake of her own prestige, even my grandmother who has always supported me would never agree, would she?’

Xu Wenhua also noticed the young man who had suddenly appeared beside his daughter. Seeing the two of them chatting calmly while a huge argument was going on nearby, his face immediately darkened.

He paid no mind to his wife, who was locked in a heated dispute with the old woman. He strode over to them, raising his hand to slap Xu Nuo, but Gu Lehuan, a step faster, caught his wrist.

"Who do you think you are? Let go of me! I’m teaching my own wretched daughter a lesson. Where did a scoundrel like you come from, daring to interfere?"

Hearing such foul language, Gu Lehuan was momentarily stunned, which gave the man the opening to slap him across the face.

Jin Qianqian was listening to a report from one of her subordinates when she happened to look up and see that nephew of hers get slapped across the face.

She immediately turned to Lin Dapeng. "Take some men and see how Young Master Le Huan managed to provoke someone. To the point that they’d actually lay a hand on him?"

Lin Dapeng immediately dismounted with four guards and strode menacingly toward the crowd.

The gawking crowd, who had already been paying close attention, didn’t dare block their way and immediately parted to form a path. Even the people in the middle of the shouting match stopped and stared blankly at them.

After taking a hit to the face, Gu Lehuan snapped back to his senses. He gripped the man’s arms tightly, preventing him from getting anywhere near Xu Nuo, who was behind him.

"Let go of me right now! If I don’t teach you two shameless people a lesson today, then my name isn’t Xu!"

Xu Nuo also came to her senses. "Who gave you the right to shout and cause a scene here? Don’t forget, this is the Zhou Family’s residence. What does it have to do with someone named Xu?"

"As long as you are my daughter, as long as your surname is Xu, you belong to me. If you know what’s good for you, I can spare you some physical pain. Otherwise, as your father, I’ll have to bring out the family disciplinary rules, and you’ll have no choice but to take your punishment."

Xu Nuo was about to curse at him, but her eyes widened as she stared at something behind him.

Xu Wenhua thought his words had intimidated her and smirked triumphantly. "It would have been much better if you’d been this sensible from the start. From now on, you should stay obediently in the inner courtyard doing needlework. Don’t be like your mother, showing your face in public all day.

The Zhou Family may have no sense of shame, but we, the Xu Family, will not allow you to act so wantonly."

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