Chapter 547: Chapter 549: Confidante

The more Gu Dashishi thought about it, the more justified he felt. ’Am I, the grand patriarch of this family, not even allowed to find a confidante?’

When Li Cuicui saw the fierce look on Gu Dashishi’s face, she felt a fire of rage flare up within her.

The family had worked so hard to achieve their current status, and her sons were all ambitious and striving. She absolutely could not let this old man ruin everything.

After a lifetime as husband and wife, she knew all too well the selfishness that was etched into his very bones.

If a self-centered person like him was allowed to continue like this, he might bring disaster down upon their sons.

He never stopped to think about it. Back then, Seventh’s wife had lived in the county town for so long. Why had she returned every gift she received with one of equal value? It was all to avoid giving people any reason to gossip about Seventh.

But look at him! It had only been a few months, and he had already bought a residence in Fu County.

If Hu Dong hadn’t stumbled upon the news by chance, who knows how long he would have kept it a secret.

Gu Dashishi saw the unpredictable storm on Li Cuicui’s face and, for some reason, suddenly felt a pang of panic.

He tried to sneak out along the wall, but before he even reached the door, he found Luo Gang already standing there, waiting.

"Get the hell out of my way," Gu Dashishi growled. All he wanted at that moment was to escape.

Luo Gang remained rooted to the spot. "Old Master, the young masters said they will be back shortly to discuss an important matter with you. Please go back inside and wait."

"If they have something to say, they can tell me when they get back! Since when does a father wait for his sons?"

Luo Gang said, "The Eldest Young Master said they will be back very soon. They might even be on their way right now."

"Get lost," Gu Dashishi snapped. He knew this Luo Gang was Li Cuicui’s dog. To block his path now meant he had no respect for him whatsoever.

Luo Gang still stood there as straight as a ramrod. Even when Gu Dashishi tried to go around him and head straight for the door, Luo Gang sidestepped and blocked his way again.

Li Cuicui watched Gu Dashishi flailing about like a buffoon, a cold smile playing on her lips as she stared at his still-agile legs.

The connections Gu Yuanjin and his brothers had built over the past few years were nothing to scoff at. Just as Gu Dashishi was still struggling to get out, the brothers returned.

The main gate was shut tight, and all their faces were grim.

The brothers always remembered the stakes Seventh had explained to them. Other than developing their power quietly, they didn’t dare get involved in anything unnecessary.

But what their old man was doing was hardly human.

In just that short time, the information Hu Dong had provided was already enough to be deeply alarming.

"That old bastard, what exactly has he done?" Seeing the looks on her sons’ faces, Li Cuicui’s heart dropped. ’That old fool hasn’t done something completely immoral, has he?’

As the eldest, Gu Yuanjin had to be the one to speak up. "Father’s small courtyard in Fu County isn’t registered in his name. It’s under the name of that Ms. Chen."

Gu Dashishi flinched, but then he quickly stiffened his neck and said, "I told you, that courtyard isn’t mine at all! You’re framing me..."

"Shut up," Li Cuicui shot him a look of disgust. "If you make another sound, I’ll stuff your mouth shut."

Gu Dashishi glared at his wife and sons but ultimately didn’t dare to argue back.

He could use filial piety to suppress his sons, but when faced with the wife who had toiled her entire life for the family, he had no confidence.

.bg-ssp-10081{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;display:flex;justify-content:center;}

’Especially that woman,’ he thought. ’She’s gotten more and more irritable these past few years and never gives me a pleasant look. She really scares me a little.’

"To keep us from finding out, Father always went over in broad daylight and would return in the late afternoon." After all, he was talking about his own father’s private affairs, so Gu Yuanjin kept his head down and spoke in a low voice.

"You unfilial son! I’ll teach you to frame me!" Gu Dashishi lunged forward to hit Gu Yuanjin, but his brothers quickly stood up to block him.

"All of you, get out of my way! Today, I’m going to teach this eldest son of mine a lesson for spouting nonsense!"

"Father, we all went and asked! The neighbors where Ms. Chen lives have all seen you many times." Gu Yuanshui couldn’t let Gu Yuanjin take all the blame, so he shouted it out.

’People always say sons are the troublemakers, but why is it the opposite in our family?’ he thought. ’He’s already so old, a great-grandfather even! Can’t he just settle down a bit?’

Gu Dashishi stared coldly at his sons. Now that everything was out in the open, there was no need for him to hide anything. "No matter what, I’m still your father. So your wings have hardened, have they? You dare to meddle in my business now?"

At that moment, Li Cuicui walked over, and with a sudden burst of all her strength, she kicked him viciously in the groin.

Gu Dashishi let out a blood-curdling scream, immediately clutching his groin with both hands as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

It was the first time Gu Yuanjin and his brothers had ever seen their mother act so fiercely. Their first instinct was to cover their own vital areas as quickly as possible.

Li Cuicui, still feeling that her anger had not been vented, viciously kicked his legs a few more times.

"I give you an inch and you take a mile, huh? You really think you’re something special? You’d better just listen quietly from the sidelines. If you keep running that mouth of yours, I’ll cripple you."

Li Cuicui turned and shot her sons a fierce glare. "And you all better remember this! If any of you make the same mistake as your father in the future, I don’t care if you came from my own womb—I’ll kick you just the same."

Gu Yuanjin and his brothers gulped and nodded mechanically.

Right now, none of them dared to doubt the truth of their mother’s words, nor did they dare to be the one to stick their neck out.

"Now, tell me. What exactly has he done?"

"Fourth, you’re a better talker. Why don’t you say it?" Gu Yuanjin felt that he had barely started and had already drawn his father’s curses and his mother’s violence. He really didn’t want to get chewed out again.

Gu Yuanshui couldn’t believe his eldest brother would be so disloyal. He had just backed him up a moment ago.

Gu Yuanjin gave him a pleading look. "..." ’It’s so hard being the eldest brother,’ he thought. ’Father won’t listen, and my own brothers won’t even help out...’

Li Cuicui had been holding her breath since last night and was now just waiting for the truth. She was in no mood to pay attention to the silent squabbling between her sons. "Fourth, you speak."

Gu Yuanshui knew it was his turn to be the bad guy. He shot a mournful glance at his brothers before steeling himself and continuing.

"We made a point to ask around near the courtyard. For the past few months, Father has been very generous, bringing many things with him each time he visited.

But we brothers all asked each other, and none of us has given Father any Silver recently.

There was another piece of news that shocked us even more. Not long ago, that Ms. Chen actually purchased a small estate nearby.

At first, we thought Ms. Chen might have some family wealth, but someone nearby revealed that she was originally just a servant in Landlord Duan’s household. We heard her servant status was only removed two months ago."

After speaking, Gu Yuanshui looked at Li Cuicui with concern, his heart aching with injustice for his own mother.

Growing up, he and his brothers all knew that their mother had raised them practically single-handedly. Their father, at most, did some farm work and rarely earned more than a few copper coins.

But now, he was putting so much effort into someone else. The irony was galling.

.bg-ssp-10016{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;display:flex;justify-content:center;} #dl-banner-300x250 { max-height: 0 !important; overflow: hidden !important; }

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.