Chapter 330: Witness
Chapter 330: Chapter 330: Witness
Another witness, Zhu Ziqiang, sipped his tea calmly. Although he had heard some rumors about their feud, he wasn’t that familiar with these people. His presence here was only due to his position as the village chief.
He just needed to bear witness here, and he wouldn’t utter a single unnecessary word.
However, looking at the current situation, Gu Kaiyuan seemed to have the upper hand.
He was also quite curious about what Gu Kaiyuan was thinking. Even if living off the Yue Family, there was no need to willingly marry into the family.
Only those who couldn’t manage would want their sons to be a son-in-law, and the Gu Family shouldn’t have reached that point yet.
Wasn’t it clear that the two from the Gu Family came here to prevent this? Yet it seemed the east wind couldn’t overpower the west wind.
"Leaving the facts aside, do you really need to clash with your father to this extent?" Gu Li wanted Gu Kaiyuan to set up his own branch and ideally pull some family members along.
But the way he was acting now, cutting ties with the Gu Family and making his own choices, he likely wouldn’t support the family in the future either.
He regretted it inside, thinking he shouldn’t have been so hasty. He should have first eased the relationship between himself and Gu Baijiang before discussing anything else.
Didn’t Gu Kaiyuan also want to establish his own branch earlier? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have schemed to separate through adoption. Without titles, why couldn’t he first take a step back?
"If everything’s off the table, then what’s the point of talking?" Gu Kaiyuan took a sip of tea and said with an air of calmness, "Anyway, the household registration has been changed, and I’ve made the record in the county. From now on, I’ll be a son-in-law of the Bai Family. With the severance document in hand, we’ll have no more ties. This is exactly why I asked Mr. Chen and Village Chief Zhu to be witnesses."
After Gu Kaiyuan spoke, he turned to Gu Baijiang and asked, "Do you think we can call it even on our accounts, or should we have a good talk about it again?"
Gu Baijiang knew he wouldn’t gain anything today. He really didn’t understand why, but facing Gu Kaiyuan, he felt a faint sense of panic and guilt.
Clearly, he hadn’t done anything to wrong this son, so why this feeling?
Bringing up the account books again, Gu Baijiang realized today’s matter could only end hastily.
And from now on, he had truly lost this third son.
He didn’t understand why the child hated him so deeply that he wouldn’t even leave a little path for the family.
Enough, dragging this out any further would only make them the laughingstock.
"Since you’re so eager to leave the Gu Family and clear our relations, I shall grant you that."
Gu Kaiyuan sneered, "Don’t pretend to be so noble; you wrote the severance document yourself. Now you’re playing the victim?
Since that’s the case, and with the witnesses here, I have another document that I’d appreciate their signatures on."
Saying this, Gu Kaiyuan, already prepared, pulled out a stack of papers from his pocket, which had all the terms written on them.
Chen Dafu, curious, took a deliberate look at the terms and clicked his tongue in appreciation, "Gu Kaiyuan, tallying it up like this, you’ve really made a big loss.
The Bai Family’s past support for the Gu Family is offset, not to mention the help you gave to the family members; that’s also severed now."
Gu Li’s face flushed. Back when they were exiled with nothing, without Gu Kaiyuan, countless more would have perished and suffered.
"In the future, when helping people, choose carefully. Some are worth helping; others aren’t. Not everyone has a conscience."
Mr. Chen’s mouth was as foul as ever, yet to Gu Kaiyuan, he sounded incredibly pleasant.
"Mr. Gu, you’ve benefited greatly here, so know when to stop."
Gu Baijiang glared coldly at Chen Dafu. If this were the capital, he’d definitely find someone to deal with this old fellow.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but think of Ming Peifeng, who now refused to enter the village, pushing away anything he was asked to resolve.
For days, he hadn’t wanted to go to the city to meet him, as whenever they met, he’d be urged to return to the capital.
Unbeknownst to him, his absence from the city made him miss the latest news. He didn’t know that, at this moment, Rong Ruiyuan was heading towards Lingnan.
This lapse of information made him make a wrong decision, and in the future, regret would be futile.
Now, looking at Gu Kaiyuan, who gave him no dignity, exposing everything openly and allowing Chen Dafu’s mockery, he felt he had utterly given up on Gu Kaiyuan.
Without this one Gu Kaiyuan, he still had children and grandchildren to send him off.
"Do you really want to be so ruthless? Won’t you regret it?"
Gu Kaiyuan shook his head, "We’ve reached a point of no return."
His words had a double meaning. Unfortunately, Gu Baijiang couldn’t grasp it; he merely nodded in disappointment and said, "If that’s so, then I shall grant you this wish.
But no matter how you live from now on, it’s no longer the Gu Family’s concern."
"Rest assured, even if I beg on the street, it won’t be at the Gu Family’s door." While speaking, he prepared the pen and paper and was the first to sign his name.
"Since you’ve come to terms, we’ll sign now," Chen Dafu taunted Gu Baijiang, "Mr. Gu, once you sign, it’s irrevocable."
Saying this, he quickly signed his name and handed it to Village Chief Zhu.
Zhu Ziqiang sighed; after all, they were flesh and blood. Why let it come to this? He, too, signed his name right after.
Looking at the words, he felt somewhat grateful for following the private school teacher years ago. Otherwise, not being able to write his name today would have been truly embarrassing.
As for his poor handwriting, he didn’t mind. After all, he wasn’t taking civil exams and couldn’t compare with these gentlemen.
Gu Li took the pen with a trembling hand but knew indeed he had offended with his earlier proposal.
Closing his eyes and opening them again, he signed his name.
Gu Kaiyuan watched coldly. At the end, only Gu Baijiang was left. Yet he surprisingly acted without needing a reminder, swiftly signing his name and tossing the pen, "Does this satisfy you now?"
Gu Kaiyuan smiled; he had never felt so free, "Satisfied, I am finally free..."
In high spirits, he poured more tea for everyone, "If you all don’t want to wait for the ink to dry, I can have someone escort you out."
Preparing to sip more tea, Chen Dafu widened his eyes at Gu Kaiyuan, "Using us and then discarding?
After all I’ve contributed, you’re not even offering a meal?"
Gu Kaiyuan understood his nature; this meant he saw himself benefiting, but he didn’t care about such things. A single meal was trivial; he could certainly afford it, "Mr. Chen, since you’re open to it, do stay for a meal, and Village Chief Zhu as well."
Just as Zhu Ziqiang was about to decline, Chen Dafu grinned and chimed in, "That’s settled then, but you must provide good food and drink."