“Yes. ……”
“Father-in-law ……”
Two voices rang out at the same time, one from Master Mo. The Gu family’s wealth was much greater than theirs, and the tonic was naturally first class, so he naturally agreed.
The latter one was Mo An’s, he always felt that Master Gu had sensed something and was afraid that Gu Hui would be in a bad way on this trip back.
Master Gu patted his shoulder, interrupting what he was about to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll have someone send them back when they’re fat and white.”
“No, father-in-law ……”
Mo An’s voice was eager, “Bao’er has just experienced nine deaths, I haven’t had a good look at him yet. And Hui’er, her body can’t stand the bumps either, why don’t we do this, let them recuperate well in my mansion first, and then go back when they’ve recovered a bit.”
“Yes father ……”
Gu Hui looked shaky and if it wasn’t for Mo An holding her up, I’m afraid she wouldn’t even be able to stand.
“I feel dizzy right now, I’m afraid I can’t go back with you.”
“Doctor Yao.”
Dr. Yao came forward and put his finger on her pulse, and Gu Hui reined herself in, not daring to move.
Doctor Yao let go of his hand, “Missy is not resting well, I will prescribe a pair of medicine for Missy when we return.”
“Then hurry back, Hui’er’s health cannot be delayed.”
Gu Hui held onto Mo An for dear life, Mo An opened his mouth, “Yue ……”
“What’s wrong with you child ……”, Master Mo frowned, the in-laws took the person back to recuperate is good, how can Mo An disagree?
“I ……”
Mo An’s lips twitched.
“You two hold up Missy and Young Master Bao.”
Master Gu commanded.
Two of Madam Gu’s maids answered and went forward.
Gu Hui went white.
“Uncle.”
Bao’er held out her hand towards Gu Yi, who tried to take it, but Gu Hui wouldn’t let go, “I, I’m holding it steady.”
Gu Yi’s hand landed on Bao’er’s head and petted it dotingly, “Uncle is not strong enough to carry you, I will play with you when we get back home.”
Bao’er nodded obediently and turned around to wrap her arms around Gu Hui’s neck. The two maids helped Gu Hui to walk outside the village, one on each side.
“Xiang Gong.”
Mo An closed his eyes, “Follow your father-in-law and mother-in-law over there at ease, I’ll go over to you after a day or two of rest.”
The group got on the carriage and left Mo’s village in great numbers.
On the way, Gu Hui was apprehensive and looked out of the car several times, the carriage was followed by four servants on horseback and a maid sat outside the carriage.
Before it was dark, the group arrived at the Gu family’s house not far away, and Master Gu, who was at the front of the carriage, heard Song Lin’s excited voice “How many days has it been and Yue’er still hasn’t returned! Tell me, has something happened?”
Master Gu lifted the carriage curtain, “My in-laws!”
Song Lin froze for a moment and immediately ran over, “Where is Yue’er, where is my Yue’er?”
“Father, I’m here.”
Song Wan Yue poked her head out.
Song Lin ran to her carriage and saw that her little face had lost a lot of weight, he was immediately distressed, “Come down quickly, let’s go home and let your mother make you some delicious food,”
“Father-in-law.”
Gu Yi also poked his head out to greet her.
Seeing that his face was covered with a hanky, Song Lin was startled, and at that moment, not caring about Song Wan Yue, he quickly walked over, “What’s wrong with you?”
Gu Yi coughed falsely, “The wind chill has not yet healed, so I’m afraid of catching the wind.”
Song Wan Yue had already gotten off the carriage, lest Song Lin see the signs, she hurriedly went forward to change the subject, “Father, you haven’t greeted Uncle Gu yet.”
“Right, right, right.”
Song Lin hurried over, “My in-laws are sorry, Yue’er hasn’t returned these days, I was too anxious, I was rude just now, don’t be offended.”
“It’s our fault, we forgot to send someone back to give you a message, you shouldn’t blame us either.”
“No, no.”
“It’s late, so I won’t keep you, take your time on the road.”
“Okay, okay.”
Song Lin stepped aside and waited for the carriage to pass, he ran to get his own carriage over and let Song Wan Yue get on it, happily raising his whip and driving it slowly away.
“Bao’er.”
Gu Yi got off the carriage and held out his hand towards Bao’er, who struggled to find her and Gu Hui held on for dear life.
“Big sister is hurting him.”
Two maids clamped Gu Hui’s arms left and right, Gu Hui was forced to let go, Gu Yi picked Bao’er up and went back to her courtyard without looking back.
“Little brother!”
Gu Hui suddenly shouted, and Gu Yi acted as if he had not heard.
“Help Missy in!”
Two maids helped her to follow Master Gu and Madam Gu into the flower hall.
Gu Hui lost her strength to support herself all of a sudden and sat limply in her chair, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
Mrs. Gu noticed the difference and looked at her, “Hui’er, what’s wrong with you?”
Gu Hui’s lips opened and closed, but no sound could come out.
“Yi’er and Bao’er’s smallpox was manipulated by both her and Mo An.”
A blast exploded in Madam Gu’s head, exploding her body a few times and nearly falling off her chair.
“No, it wasn’t me ……”
Gu Hui lunged over and knelt down, her voice in tears, “Yi’er was raised by me, Bao’er is my own flesh and blood, how could I want them to die? It’s not me, it’s really not me!”
She said, grabbing Lady Gu’s clothes, “Mother, you have to believe me, you have to believe me!”
Snap!
Madam Gu slapped her face fiercely, hitting her head sideways, blood running down the corner of her mouth.
“You, how dare you lie!”
“I didn’t, I didn’t.”
Gu Hui was completely panicked, “Mother, believe me, if I really wanted my little brother to die, I wouldn’t have hitched a ride on Bao’er, and I wouldn’t have thought of such a poisonous method. You know, smallpox is contagious, one careless word will spread and the whole village, even the whole county, will suffer.”
“You don’t have a conscience ……”, Master Gu’s voice was deep and painful, “You are afraid that if that happens, the government will get involved in the investigation and you and Mo An won’t be able to escape. What’s more, you’re afraid that the two of you will also be infected and everything you’ve calculated will come to nothing.”
“No, father, no, you have to believe me, I would never do such a thing, I swear to you, if I do, I will be struck by thunder from heaven, I shall not be allowed to die.”
“It is true that you will not die a good death, just for the sake of this family business, you have joined Mo An in trying to kill Yi’er. To keep people from suspecting you, you were so ruthless that you didn’t even care about Bao’er.”
Hearing this, Madam Gu trembled, “Is what your father said true?”
“No, I’ve said I didn’t do it, why don’t you believe me, what proof do you have?”
“The two maids that died in the Mo family, one was called Hua’e and the other Yue’e, they were sisters by blood. I asked Gu Zhong to inquire, their father broke his leg some years ago and did not receive medical treatment, and is paralyzed in bed. Their only brother went to the county town two months ago to look for a job, but on the way back he had a conflict with someone and also had his leg broken. But years ago, the shouts suddenly disappeared, and when people from the village went to see them, they saw that the family had not only hired a doctor from the county, but had also bought many things, and even said that they would build a new house when the weather warmed up.”
Gu Hui’s face turned white with every sentence she heard, and by the time Master Gu had finished, her face was bloodless, yet she still held on to deny it, “Father, to say that I did it based on this is too far-fetched.”
“Hua’e was the maid who stayed to serve Bao’er and was the one who first got smallpox. But since you and Mo An left, she has been staying in Bao’er’s courtyard, not even leaving the courtyard door, and everything is brought to her by Yue’e. Yue’e is always wrapped up tightly and does not easily come into contact with the people in the house, even at night she comes to sleep with Hua’e in the courtyard. As they were maids in your courtyard, even the housekeeper could not order them around, which led to them having little contact with anyone between the time you left Mo’s house and the day Bao’er fell ill.”
“So what, on the basis of these guesses alone father concludes that I did it?”
“You and Mo An didn’t go to take care of business matters, but stayed at the inn in Dongming County, right?”
The blood that had just risen on Gu Hui’s face instantly receded all over again.
“You think that by finding a small and shabby inn and pretending to be poor people, no one will notice you. But you forget that it’s just after the New Year and there are only two of you in the inn, the shopkeeper will remember your faces clearly.”
Gu Hui sat paralyzed on the floor.
The room was terribly quiet.
“So what if I did it?”
Not knowing what had occurred to her, Gu Hui suddenly straightened her body, “The Gu family has so much property, why should it be given to a fool like him? Don’t think I don’t know that he’s not even your biological son, why should he inherit this huge family fortune, all this should be mine and second sister’s!”
Master Gu and Madam Gu’s faces changed dramatically.
“When did you know that?”
“Huh, huh ……”
Gu Hui sneered, “You guys think you’re hiding it well, but I still heard about it. I’m not convinced! Obviously I am your real daughter, why did you only give me such a small dowry? Why not share the Gu family’s wealth with me? I just want him dead, only when this fool is dead can I get this huge family fortune, can I be clothed and fed for the rest of my life, and can I say whatever I want in the Mo family!”
Snap!
Mrs. Gu slapped her face hard again, the anger in her eyes wanted to burn her to death, “You think you are our own child? You were saved by us from the mouths of wild dogs!”