Only then did Gu Baijiang remember the Bai Family. He had heard earlier that the Bai Family moved to Lingnan. Did that mean they were nearby?

At the very least, he shared some old ties with Mr. Bai. Even if Bai Suihe and the others refused to acknowledge this connection, Bai Jingwen probably would.

“Do you know where they live?”

Liu Yun shook her head and clutched her chest. “Why would they tell me? I only said a few words, and that boy from the Bai Family kicked me. My whole body is still aching from it.”

She had hoped her father-in-law and the others would help seek justice for her after hearing this, but to her surprise, Gu Baijiang only fell into deep thought.

“Keep an eye out when you go out these next few days. Ask around and see if you can find out where the Bai Family is located.”

As soon as Gu Baijiang said this, the Gu Family members saw a glimmer of hope. As long as they could take a bite out of the Bai Family’s wealth, it would be enough for them to live a prosperous life.

“Leave this matter to me, Father,” Gu Kaichen said. “I’ll go ask around tomorrow. I refuse to believe they can stay hidden.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Gu Baijiang replied. “Hurry up and plant the field in the backyard so Liu Yun won’t have to buy vegetables every day.”

“Father, are you joking?” Gu Kaichen asked. “How many vegetables can we even grow in such a tiny plot of land?

“Didn’t you say you were going to buy a farmstead? How is that going?

“If you ask me, you should leave these errand-running tasks to me. Things would get done a lot faster.”

Gu Baijiang could not be bothered to pay him any attention. As for why he wouldn’t let him go out? Didn’t the fool have any self-awareness?

It was as if the family had found a new goal, and their moods improved significantly.

The women stopped bickering and quickly helped prepare the day’s meals.

In the dead of night, the Gu Family members tossed and turned. Thinking about the Bai Family’s wealthy lifestyle, they wondered how much financial support they could squeeze out of them.

Gu Baijiang was copying books in the study. Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he figured he might as well do something productive and add a bit to the family’s income.

Tonight, however, he was rather absent-minded. In his heart, he was scheming how to maximize his own benefits.

If he went to their door to beg, Bai Jingwen might feel too embarrassed to turn him away and give him some silver, but that was not what he wanted to see at all.

He wondered, “What if I get him to sponsor my two grandsons for the imperial examinations?

“If that doesn’t work, the worst-case scenario would be to arrange another marriage between my grandsons and their family.

“But those two boys from the Bai Family don’t seem to be married yet, let alone have daughters. Am I supposed to make my grandsons settle for less?

“That concubine-born daughter of theirs is unpresentable, not to mention she is of a different generation than my grandsons.”

At this thought, he couldn’t help but blame Gu Kaiyuan again. That boy was truly selfish! Clinging to the Bai Family’s coattails, he had probably schemed all along to kick the rest of his family to the curb.

“It looks like I still need to start with Kai Yuan,” Gu Baijiang muttered. After thinking it over, he realized that whatever they could get by directly approaching the Bai Family would definitely fall short of expectations.

Gu Kaiyuan’s side was different. He was the Bai Family’s son-in-law. As long as he was willing to help out, Bai Jingwen would have to do everything in his power to support them for the sake of his daughter.

At worst, he could just let Bai Suihe take charge of the Gu Family in the future so that she wouldn’t feel wronged anymore.

Thinking along these lines seemed to open up a brand new path. Even if he handed the Gu Family over to Gu Kaiyuan, it wouldn’t be completely out of the question.

If that was the case, he first needed to find out where Gu Kaiyuan and the others were currently staying.

In their room, Xu Shuanghong and her daughters were also discussing the matter.

“Mother, do you think they can actually get any benefits from the Bai Family?” A calculating glint flashed in Fan Mei Lin’s eyes. She had heard that the Bai Family’s two young masters were reaching marriageable age. If she could use this connection to get closer to them, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“We’ll see if they can even find the Bai Family tomorrow. But honestly, I think it’s highly unlikely.

“Back in the capital, it’s not like that old man didn’t send calling cards. They avoided him completely and turned around to move their entire household. I’m afraid they don’t take the Gu Family seriously at all.”

This family was full of idiots. To actually offend the God of Wealth in their own home and drive her out… she had no idea what was going through their heads.

If she were Ms. Bai, she probably wouldn’t give them a single chance. Wasn’t it better to close the doors and live a quiet, peaceful life?

But since their positions were different now, she naturally hoped the Gu Family would succeed.

“I hope they succeed. Just look at how we’ve been living these past few days. We haven’t had a single bite of meat for so long,” Fan Mei Bao pouted. “You should have demanded the right to manage the household just now.”

“Do you think I didn’t want to? It’s just that Gu Baijiang will never hand over the power to us. He won’t even let us touch the ingredients; the most he’ll allow is for us to be helpers,” Xu Shuanghong sneered. In her heart, however, she knew exactly what was going on. It was nothing more than their fear that she would poison their food.

Ever since the scandal with Gu Antong came to light, the Gu Family members hadn’t said anything explicitly, but their eyes were filled with defensiveness.

“I think it’s very risky,” Fan Mei Lin said. Although she also wanted to live a good life, her rationality remained intact. “The root of this matter lies with Ms. Bai. Going directly to the Bai Family probably won’t work.”

“That Bai Suihe is insidious enough,” Fan Mei Bao snorted coldly. “At the time, the Gu Family didn’t even do anything too excessive. There was just a slight bias in the resource distribution, yet she incited Gu Kaiyuan to turn his back on his family. If she hadn’t been so troublesome, who knows how much better our lives would be right now.”

Xu Shuanghong glanced at her foolish daughter. If Bai Suihe hadn’t fought back and the Gu Family had reaped all the benefits, the family wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state. That old hag wouldn’t have died so early, and the three of them would never have had the chance to step foot in this household.

Fan Mei Lin looked at her stupid sister and said with a smile, “Anyway, let’s just see how the Gu Family handles it now. We shouldn’t stick our necks out so easily and risk offending anyone else.

“If the opportunity arises, we can do them a favor. We might even get a chance to turn our luck around.”

Xu Shuanghong knew that her eldest daughter’s ambitions were higher than the sky. On second thought, she understood exactly what Mei Lin was planning.

If they could somehow forge a connection with the Bai Family, that wouldn’t be bad at all.

Although merchants had a low social status, they had plenty of silver. What else did people seek in this life if not a wealthy and prosperous existence?

“Don’t go out in the sun these next few days. Stay in your room and focus on your embroidery,” Xu Shuanghong instructed after a moment’s thought. “I’ll also go ask around to see who exactly is in the Bai Family, so we can figure out our next move.”

“Mother, didn’t you say you were going to take us away from the Gu Family?” Fan Mei Bao felt something was off. Why were they still getting tangled up with the Gu Family members?

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we have more important things to deal with.” Xu Shuanghong pressed her hands on her youngest daughter’s shoulders. “This might be the last hope for the three of us. Don’t go over to the Second Branch during this time. Stay here and assist your sister. Try not to let her do any hard work.”

“Why should I?” Fan Mei Bao grew anxious. “It’s bad enough that I have to work like a horse for the Second Branch, but now you and my sister want to enslave me too!

“Instead of letting me come back to enjoy a few days of peace, you expect me to do your chores…”

“Why are you being so unreasonable, child? Let me tell you…” Xu Shuanghong knew that if she didn’t explain things clearly, this little daughter of hers would probably end up holding them back…

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