Free Web NovelChapter 449: Whoever Bothers the Little Girl Again
Old Man Gu’s cold gaze swept over them. "Don’t think for a second I don’t know what you’re all plotting. Get lost, all of you. From now on, if anyone dares to bother this little girl again, I’ll have them thrown out of the Gu family."
"Father?"
Gu Zhifeng and the others were all astonished.
"I’m not joking around with you." Old Man Gu’s tone was absolute.
"Father, please don’t be angry. We won’t do it again. We’re leaving right now."
"Father, don’t be angry! We’re going, we’re going, we’ll leave this instant."
Old Man Gu shot them a cold glare, and Gu Zhifeng’s group scrambled to turn and climb into their respective carriages.
They couldn’t have scrambled away faster.
Old Man Gu watched their carriages depart before letting out a heavy sigh. "Not a single one of them gives me a moment’s peace."
"I think the one who gives people the most worry is you, Great-Grandfather," Ye Qianning said as she approached.
Old Man Gu looked down, his mood finally easing a bit. He raised a hand and stroked her head. "I haven’t seen you in half a month. How is it you feel a little chubbier?"
"Maybe the food at the estate is just too good. You, on the other hand, have gotten thinner after being away for so many days, Great-Grandfather. Come, let’s get you something nourishing today." Ye Qianning took the large hand from her head and led him into the residence.
’I need to have a little talk with the old man,’ she thought. ’He’s getting on in years; it’s not good for him to worry so much.’
"Alright, alright." Old Man Gu’s spirits lifted instantly.
"Old Man Gu." Qian Fanji greeted him with a bow.
"Ah, you. No need for such formalities. I have you and the Zhan family to thank for looking after things these past ten-odd days while the city was locked down." Old Man Gu said as he stepped through the main gate.
Qian Fanji followed him inside. "It was our duty."
"It’s much more pleasant here at the General’s Estate," Old Man Gu remarked. The past half-month at the Gu family estate had felt like an eternity.
"If your heart is at peace, you can be at peace anywhere," Ye Qianning said, looking back at him.
"Hah."
Old Man Gu sighed at her words.
"Great-Grandfather, didn’t I have Luo Wen send you a message? Why didn’t you take any of it to heart?"
"It’s not that I’m unwilling to part with the wealth. It’s just that they are all descendants of the Gu family, and I can’t bring myself to shortchange a single one. Take your father, for example. He was removed from the clan registry. I was hoping to use this division of assets as an opportunity to get his name put back, so that you, in turn, could be officially added to the Gu family records." ’I thought the family fortune might make them compromise, but who knew they’d stand so united? Not a single one of them would yield.’
"The matter of the clan registry can’t be rushed. Boss Gu is an Imperial Merchant now. If he’s officially part of the Gu family again, how can he continue his business?" ’Whether I’m added to the registry myself isn’t important.’
’Besides, with my circumstances, it would be difficult to be added to the family registry anyway.’
"Hah, how can I not be worried? I won’t have a moment of peace until you’re officially in the Gu family records." Old Man Gu squeezed her small hand tightly in his. "Back then, I didn’t know your connection to Gu Shuo. I was just thinking of taking you in as a granddaughter or great-granddaughter, and that’s why I said what I said at the Gu estate. I truly regret it. If I hadn’t, those little rascals wouldn’t be here bothering you." Old Man Gu hadn’t left the Gu estate since the city was sealed, but for all his precautions, he couldn’t stop them.
Qian Fanji’s gaze fell. ’The clan registry... The little girl should be in our Qian family’s registry.’
’The clan registry...’
’He felt a strange sense of excitement at the thought of his and the little girl’s names being written together in the registry.’
"And I’m in even less of a hurry," she said. "Right now, neither my status nor my surname fits the requirements to be added to the registry, so let’s just let it be for a while. Besides, after the harsh words you just spoke, Great-Grandfather, they probably won’t show their faces at the General’s Estate again. And even if they did, it’s not like I can be swayed by a few paltry gifts."
"You don’t understand." Old Man Gu had his own plans.
"And who says I don’t?"
Old Man Gu chuckled but said no more.
Ye Qianning led Old Man Gu to the gate of the Yuehua Small Building’s courtyard. In a nearby corner, a figure was partially hidden by the wall. She turned her head to look at Qian Fanji.
Qian Fanji had seen the person as well. He nodded to Ye Qianning and walked straight toward them.
"Who’s that?" Old Man Gu had only caught a glimpse of a dress hem protruding from the corner.
"One of my father’s concubines has been bored lately and started studying with Minister Qian. She probably has a question about something she doesn’t understand." Ye Qianning pulled him into the courtyard.
Old Man Gu stole a few glances back as he walked. "Your father’s concubines... each one is more clever than the last. Now they’re taking up academics? All that talent makes the wives in other families look rather dull."
"..."
Ye Qianning rubbed her nose. She had to agree. The mistresses were highly accomplished in the four arts—zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. Pick any one of them at random, and she would outshine the rest in both beauty and talent.
Once inside, Ye Qianning took out some recently roasted tea leaves to make tea. This batch was carefully prepared, not as crude as the last one.
She also instructed the kitchen to prepare Old Man Gu’s favorite dishes.
"Don’t fuss so much. Come sit for a bit. I have to head back soon anyway." A wave of warmth washed over Old Man Gu as he watched the little girl bustling about.
Ye Qianning finished preparing the tea. She then took out some restorative pills from her personal space and handed one to him. "Take one."
Old Man Gu took it and popped it straight into his mouth. It tasted faintly bitter.
"Why didn’t you take the pills I had Luo Wen send over?" Ye Qianning asked as she climbed onto a chair.
"A few of the old geezers in the clan were making a fuss those couple of days, and it slipped my mind. But don’t you worry about me. These old bones are still tough. I won’t rest until I’ve outlasted every last one of those old coots."
"You need to be healthy to win a battle of wills, and you can’t be healthy without taking your medicine. Your breathing is unsteady, and your internal fire is raging. If you let them anger you a few more times, you’ll end up coughing up blood." She had already checked his pulse when she took his hand at the gate.
’His internal heat is too high. He shouldn’t get angry again.’
"Hah." Old Man Gu’s face was clouded with worry.
"I know you want to add me to the clan registry so you can legitimately leave me a part of the family inheritance. But Great-Grandfather, I really don’t need the money."
"All of you are descendants of the Gu family; no one will be left out. Whether you accept it is your business. Whether I give it is mine." Old Man Gu didn’t care one bit whether she needed it or not.
"It’s really not worth it over money. The chaos in the Gu family is all because of the inheritance. Why don’t you just tally up all the Gu family’s shops and assets, lay it all out in front of them, and divide it evenly according to its assessed value? You could even ask the Clan Leader to witness it, so no one can complain about favoritism later. As for Boss Gu, I don’t think he wants any part of it. So you should make it clear to the other branches of the Gu family that they can divide his share amongst themselves." ’Ye Qianning wasn’t fabulously wealthy right now, but she was still young and didn’t want to attract too much attention.’
’When she was a bit older, she planned to go into business herself. She needed to cultivate talented people, and she also had expenses for her sect to consider.’
Old Man Gu listened intently at first, but his expression soured toward the end. "How could we do that? Give away your share and Gu Shuo’s? That would be letting them off way too easily."
"Oh, Great-Grandfather, why can’t you wrap your head around this? Why did they kick Boss Gu out in the first place? It was because you always favored that grandson of yours so much. They were afraid that control of the Gu family would eventually fall into his hands, and they could only rest easy once he was gone. Now you’re going to all this trouble to bring Gu Shuo back, and they’re even more terrified than before. But if the family is divided and the wealth is split up, it won’t matter to them whether Gu Shuo is in the clan registry or not. He’ll no longer be a threat, so they’ll have no reason to stop it." From what Ye Qianning knew of Gu Shuo, he had no desire for that fortune in the first place; otherwise, he never would have become an Imperial Merchant.
