Free Web NovelChapter 1346: Chapter 1346: The Faces of the Multitude (2)
"Got it. You kid just talk too much—you’re already this naggy now, who’s going to be able to stand you when you’re old?!" Elder Hong shouted back, refusing to be outdone, then cupped his hands toward Qin San Lang and said, "Company Commander Qin, this old man used to run escorts, I know all the rules, and I’ve got a few small skills. Rest easy, I won’t cause you trouble; on the road I can even help you with odd jobs."
Qin San Lang nodded and said, "I’m at ease with you, elder."
The troublesome ones are actually Bu Dahu’s family.
Bu Dahu and Uncle Yu are from the same village, the two of them grew up together. Later Uncle Yu became a soldier and a Chief Commander, and he pulled him into the Military Office.
A couple of years ago, his eldest son Bu Fang also tested into the Military Office. Since the family had been hunters before, Bu Fang’s skills and archery were quite good; he was also loyal, which caught Qin San Lang’s eye, and this time Qin San Lang is taking both father and son with him to the Northwest.
The only bad part is Bu Dahu’s eldest daughter. Young and ignorant, she was tricked by a Young Master who came to the county to visit relatives and ended up pregnant.
When the Bu Family took the token and went to the Fang Family in the county to look for the Young Master Fan’s aunt, they were actually told by Mrs. Fang Fan that Young Master Fan had already married, with two sons, and simply didn’t care that Bu Ling was carrying the Fan Family’s seed.
The Bu Family felt as if struck by lightning and wanted to seek justice from the Fan Family.
But Mrs. Fang Fan said, "My nephew is indeed in the wrong, but your Bu Ling is no good thing either. What decent girl gets herself pregnant before she’s even married? She’s not even through the Fan Family’s door yet and she’s already got a child—who knows if this child is really my nephew’s?" freёwebnovel.com
Bu Dahu was so furious he nearly passed out and almost raised his hand against Mrs. Fang Fan, but was stopped by Bu Fang, who said, "Your nephew clearly said he hadn’t formally proposed, but he left a token for my eldest sister and said that counted as an engagement. Only then did my eldest sister give herself to him."
Although his eldest sister was indeed in the wrong, "Your nephew is a scholar. A scholar who tricks a decent girl—if our family sues in the government office, your nephew can forget about ever taking the exam in this lifetime!"
Only after hearing this did Mrs. Fang Fan become afraid. She sent word to the Fan Family, asking them to come take Bu Ling away.
Bu Fang frowned when he heard this. If they only came to "take" her, then that meant she’d go in as a concubine, right?
Bu Fang wouldn’t agree and made a fuss for a while. In the end, the Fan Family compromised and agreed to marry Bu Ling in as an equal wife.
Bu Ling married over just like that, but the Fan Family and Young Master Fan’s official wife all looked down on her. Within just two years they had tormented Bu Ling and the child badly.
If Bu Fang hadn’t noticed something was wrong when he went to visit Bu Ling, mother and son might have been tormented to death.
That very day, Bu Fang took Bu Ling and her child away. In the end he helped Bu Ling divorce the Fan Family, got one hundred tael of Silver out of them, and brought the child back to her natal home.
Bu Ling was pitiful, but she had brought it on herself, and neither the Bu Family nor Bu Ling herself dared to cry injustice. However, the villagers and people from several nearby villages still looked down on her, dragging her and the child into gossip every day, calling her shameless, cheap, trash who threw herself at men. They scolded her so viciously that she almost jumped into a well; fortunately, Aunt Bo saved her.
But there were only two men in the family, and they were often at the Military Office. Some of the bachelors from the neighboring villages were bold enough to think Bu Ling wasn’t a proper woman, just a worn-out shoe, so they came to take advantage and nearly succeeded in raping her.
Luckily, Bu Ling fought back with all her strength and injured that old bachelor; only then did she escape being violated.
But the villagers couldn’t stand it anymore either, saying Bu Ling had ruined the village’s reputation and wanted to seize her and the child and throw them into a pig cage!
After Bu Dahu and Bu Fang got word, they rushed home and finally decided that the whole family would follow the army, move to the Northwest, and start over.
Seeing that she had implicated her whole family, Bu Ling felt too ashamed to stay at home. She tried to hang herself in the middle of the night, but was rescued by Bu Fang, who gave her two resounding slaps and cursed her out: "If you don’t want to cause more trouble for the family, then live properly and stop stirring up more mess!"
The Bu Family People thus came along to the Military Office.
Once they reached the Northwest, no one would know about Bu Ling’s past, and she and the Bu Family could start living a normal life again.
Bu Fang was determined to fight for a future under Qin San Lang and didn’t hide anything from him. He told him everything about Bu Ling’s case, saying clearly that the root of it all lay with Bu Ling, that she had been foolish and brainless and got herself duped.
But Bu Fang promised he would not let Bu Ling cause trouble for Gu Jinli. If Bu Ling dared to do anything that delayed the group’s journey, he would deal with her himself.
Blood kin can’t be cut off with a single word. Qin San Lang wanted to make use of Bu Fang, so he agreed to him and allowed the Bu Family womenfolk to follow the army safely to the Northwest.
Bu Fang was deeply grateful.
Qin San Lang also told Gu Jinli about the Bu Family’s matter, explaining, "You’re the Company Commanders’ Wife. To them, you’re the mistress. You don’t need to pay them much mind—just live however you feel comfortable."
His woman didn’t need to curry favor with the subordinates’ relatives, and there was even less need for her to meet a woman like Bu Ling.
So Qin San Lang only had Aunt Bo go pay respects to Gu Jinli, while Bu Ling and her child were handed over to Aunt Xiong to arrange. They had a cart to ride in, food to eat, and someone traveling along to look after them; that was already quite good. freeweɓnovel.cøm
When Gu Jinli met Aunt Bo, she spoke a few words with her. Seeing that she didn’t seem like the sort of malicious woman, but rather someone timid, and even apologized for the trouble Bu Ling had caused her, saying that she’d burdened her and calling Bu Ling stupid, saying only her stupidity had led to this calamity, with no intention of favoring Bu Ling—
Gu Jinli nodded in satisfaction. Being reasonable was enough. As long as the family members were reasonable, taking them along wouldn’t be troublesome. She smiled and said, "Auntie, you’re too serious. We all belong to the same Military Office; once we reach the Northwest, we’ll be one family. Looking out for each other is as it should be; there’s no trouble in it."
After hearing this, Aunt Bo’s tears fell. "This civilian woman thanks the Company Commanders’ Wife... It’s a great kindness that Madam doesn’t despise mother and child."
The villagers and the Bu clan all wanted to drag Sister Ling off to be drowned in a pig cage; they were set on taking mother and child’s lives. That Madam was willing to take them west without any sign of disgust put Aunt Bo’s heart at ease. After saying a few more words, she tactfully took her leave.
After Aunt Bo left, Old Bao’s wife brought her adopted son over to pay respects to Gu Jinli: "Greetings, Madam. This civilian woman and her son pay our respects to Madam."
Old Bao’s wife was tall and thin, but her features weren’t sharp; instead she leaned toward a gentle look, with a straightforward smile on her face. You couldn’t tell at all that she was a pitiful woman who had miscarried three times and lost one son in infancy.
The Old Bao family wanted to go to the Northwest and settle down for a very simple reason: in the village, people kept talking about their adopted son, always saying the child had been picked up, not born of them, and that adopted children wouldn’t be truly close.
Old Bao doted on his wife and didn’t want her constantly hearing people say she couldn’t bear children and had to pick up a little beggar to be her son. In a moment of resolve, he sold their fields and took his wife and adopted son to the Northwest.
Seeing Old Bao’s wife’s smiling face put Gu Jinli at ease. She liked dealing with people who smiled: "Aunt, no need to be so polite. From now on, we’re one family; let’s look after each other on the road."
As she spoke, she looked toward the adopted son and handed him a beef meat pie. "Here, eat this."
The child looked around eight, and had been with the Bao Family for three years already. There was a hint of wariness in his eyes, but he was an understanding child who remembered kindness. He gave Gu Jinli a bow before taking the beef pie. Then he split it in half and handed one half to Old Bao’s wife. "You eat."
Old Bao’s wife took it naturally, showing that this wasn’t the first time the child had shared food with her.
The child then split his remaining half again, took a piece over to Old Bao, who was standing in the ranks, and, knowing Old Bao shouldn’t talk much at this moment, stuffed the pie into his hands before running back.
