Chapter 74
Huang Zhong said, "You can rest a.s.sured, I am not a bad person. This may be a bit abrupt, but I wonder if I could meet Young Lady Jiao?"
"No." Gu Changlu refused without thinking.
If they didn’t even let him see her, how could he bring people to the town to meet the Marquis? He couldn’t just knock the whole family out, could he?
Besides, he still didn’t know who that child was now!
Huang Zhong thought it was very likely that this Young Lady Jiao was his own young miss. He should avoid offending the people in the home of his young miss’ adoptive parents.
He slowed down and said, "Where are the parents of that child? I have something to discuss with them."
Wu shi replied, "Her parents are dead. I am her grandmother. It was I who raised her! If you have something to say, tell me!"
She actually lost her parents at an early age? Huang Zhong"s mood suddenly grew complicated. He thought for a moment before asking, "Can I come in and talk?"
Wu shi brought Huang Zhong into the house.
Huang Zhong inquired more details about Xu shi’s labor that year, especially the reason why Xu shi went up the mountain with a big belly.
It turned out that Xu shi wasn’t from this village. She married into the family from far away. Back then, a letter arrived from her parent’s home saying that her father was on the point of death, and her family asked her to find a way to go home.
Xu shi was pregnant, so naturally, her husband"s family didn’t allow her to travel far. In desperation, she decided to at least go to the temple to pray to Bodhisattva.
However, she went there without telling her husband"s family. She only said that she was going to pick some wild vegetables, and she was sure to return before dark. Who knew there would be a sudden thunderstorm, causing her to be stranded in the temple where she lost her footing and slipped.
The Marchioness"s premature labor was caused by twin fetuses, but Xu shi’s was an accident.
The Gu Family people didn"t know that she had gone to the temple at first. It was raining so heavily and they didn"t see her come back at all. Gu Sanlang was desperate to find his wife but was held down by his two older brothers.
Going into the mountain woods in such a thunderstorm was simply seeking death ah!
Xu shi came back home two days later. By the time she returned, the baby had already been born. It was a baby girl with a red mark on her face. She was so ugly you would question if she was really born to Gu Sanlang.
Gu Sanlang was known for his good looks that many people in this countryside rushed to be his wife. In the end, he chose Xu shi, mainly because Xu shi had the largest dowry.
Wu shi had once doubted whether Xu shi had actually fallen into the mountain and lost her child, so she picked up a random child and brought it back for fear of being blamed by her husband’s family.
Xu shi was an honest person. She stated that this baby was born to her and Gu Sanlang, and that she gave birth to her in the temple. She told them that they could ask the abbot in the temple if they had doubts.
Wu shi did just like that and sent her second daughter-in-law, Liu shi, to inquire. She then confirmed that Xu shi had indeed given birth to a baby in the temple, and that the baby was born just fine; her crying was even heard all over the temple.
"It wasn’t picked up?" Was what Liu shi asked at that time.
The monk laughed and said, "Do you know who was the other benefactor who gave birth here that same night? It’s a n.o.blewoman from the capital, who would dare pick up her children?"
This silence Wu shi in an instant.
A child of a n.o.bility was more precious than gold. It was impossible to pick it up, much less steal it.
Upon hearing everything, Huang Zhong was able to fully confirm that Xu shi"s child was really the person he was looking for.
But it seemed that Xu shi didn’t know there had been a mixed-up and she took the wrong child.
"What a coincidence that she’s also surnamed Gu." Huang Zhong suddenly felt a sense of fate. He quickly asked, "Do Xu shi and Gu Sanlang love that child?"
What a nonsense question? Xu shi and Gu Sanlang couldn’t even wait to tie that child to their waist all the time!
In fact, this was also what made Wu shi dissatisfied. Xu shi, a hen that couldn’t lay eggs, monopolized a good husband such as Sanlang, but couldn’t even give birth to a son.
Finally, she gave birth to a girl, but the baby wasn’t only ugly, but also a fool.
They didn’t discover she was a fool until she grew up. While other children could already jump, she still couldn’t walk, and only when she reached three years old was she able to call out ‘mother’.
Even so, the couple didn’t dislike her at all and only felt heartache for the child.
It was only after the death of the husband and wife that Gu Jiao"s hard life began.
Of course, Wu shi didn"t say this part.
Huang Zhong had too many clues to digest and didn"t notice the look of Wu shi wanting to say something but felt hesitant.
He looked at Wu shi and the rest and said excitedly, "To be honest, the n.o.blewoman who gave birth in the temple that same year is my Madame, and between my Madame and Xu shi’s children... There may have been a mixed-up."
Wu shi and several other people were all stunned.
"I, I... I didn"t quite understand. Say that again." Wu shi stammered.
Huang Zhong smilingly said, "Gu Sanlang’s daughter is my family’s young miss."
Wu shi said gapingly, "Your family is..."
Huang Zhong said in a gentle tone, "Marquis Ding"an Estate."
Boom!
A room of people seemed to have been struck by lightning.
They didn"t understand it all, but they could understand the two words.
Marquis Estate！
That d.a.m.ned girl belonged to the Marquis Estate?
"Is, is the Marquis Estate a bigger official than the County Magistrate?" Liu shi asked cautiously.
Marquis Estate wasn’t an official but a residence, but Marquis was indeed an official. Able to understand Liu shi"s meaning, Huang Zhong smiled and answered, "Naturally."
Huan Zhong didn’t tell how big was the gap between them since they wouldn’t understand it anyway even if he did.
Anyone who dared to ask such a question in the capital might have been pinched to death by the Marquis.
To compare him with a s.h.i.tty County Magistrate, just who do you look down upon?
Huang Zhong’s stance towards the Gu Family people became even more polite. After all, the Gu Family raised his young miss. He said kindly, "My Lord Marquis is in town. Can I take the child to meet my Lord Marquis?"
The people present had been scared silly completely that they couldn’t even utter a word. First, they were surprised. They didn"t think that that girl"s background was so formidable; Second, they were frightened. They didn’t bully that girl any less over the years. If the Marquis learned that they treated his own daughter badly, would he send them all to the Yamen and have them serve in prison?
Gu Changhai arrived home just as a room full of people was at their wit’s end.
First he found a carriage outside their house, and then he saw a room full of terrified-looking people.
He glanced at Huang Zhong, who had a powerful presence, frowned and asked Wu shi, "Mother, what"s the matter?"
"Where"s your father?" Wu shi looked behind him.
Gu Changhai responded, "Father went to uncle"s place and told me to return first."
"That..." Wu shi didn"t know how to tell his son the matter.
Huang Zhong smiled understandingly and said, "If that’s the case, I"ll have someone send a message to Lord Marquis first, and you can discuss how to tell the child. If it"s absolutely inconvenient for you to tell her, then I will do it."
This matter was such a major thing, naturally, he had to give people time to digest everything. However, he mustn"t put it off for too long either. He must see the child today no matter what.
After Huang Zhong went outside, the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law told Gu Jiao"s life story with trepidation.
Although Gu Changhai was a grown man, his reaction was still no better than that of the three women. His whole face went white and his legs and feet turned soft.
If they treated Gu Jiao kindly, they would be happy to hear such news of course. But the thing was… they never treated Gu Jiao as a person at all!
They had their meals without her. They let her do all the heavy and dirty work such as cutting pigweeds, feeding the pigs, and cleaning pig manure... But she was a fool who always failed to do anything well, so they gradually didn’t let her do things.
Beating and scolding was also common, and even before she was fourteen years old, they forced her to marry a cripple she had picked up and even drove them out to live separately.
If the Marquis learned about all this, would they still have a way to live?