Chapter 392: Seeking Reunion
Chapter 392: Chapter 392: Seeking Reunion
If the Third Prince truly cared, he wouldn’t have left them here ignored and neglected for so long. His actions today were likely forced by circumstance. Their return to the capital, along with An Tong’s dowry when she entered his mansion, couldn’t have gone unnoticed. Yet, after the Third Prince got what he wanted, his attitude toward the Gu family—who had sacrificed everything for him—became rather intriguing. This perceived ingratitude could even become grounds for his enemies to attack him. Therefore, to win over public opinion, he had put on that display today.
No wonder Rong Ruiyuan had deigned to greet him and his son in public today. But Gu Baijiang didn’t care about the underlying motives. As long as he secured tangible benefits, that was all that mattered.
He had previously considered using public opinion to force the Third Prince to support the Gu family, but the capital was full of spies. His petty tricks would likely be quickly discovered by those in power, which was why he had hesitated to act. Rong Ruiyuan’s behavior today served as a signal to everyone: even if the Gu family had fallen on hard times, they still had the Third Prince backing them. From now on, whenever Gu Baijiang went out, no one would dare kick him while he was down.
Having figured all this out, the heavy weight in Gu Baijiang’s heart finally lifted a little.
Just as he was daydreaming about how the Gu family would reclaim its former glory, a porter from the front gate came in to report that three beggar women had arrived, claiming to be the old madam and the two young misses returning home.
An old madam? Two young misses? Gu Kaiping opened his mouth to say there were no such people in the mansion and that they must have the wrong place, but he suddenly remembered Xu Shuanghong and her daughters, whom they had left behind on Lingnan Road.
"What old madam and young misses?" Liu Yun said. "They probably got the wrong relatives. Just chase them away."
Hearing this, the porter turned and walked out. As a servant, he was somewhat familiar with the powerful families in the capital. He knew the Gu family’s only young miss was already married, and he had heard that the old madam died during their exile. So, these beggars really must have gotten the wrong place.
"You should go. We don’t have an old madam here, nor do we have any young misses wandering outside. Go ask somewhere else," the porter said. Seeing their pitiful state, he didn’t make things difficult for them.
Xu Shuanghong knew she didn’t look presentable right now, but what else could a few women traveling to the capital do? They had no choice but to make themselves look as ugly as possible to avoid trouble. "We didn’t get the wrong place. This is Gu Baijiang’s residence. I am his legally wedded wife. Go call Gu Baijiang out here. He won’t deny knowing me. I even have the marriage certificate he gave me right here."
The porter’s face stiffened. He was starting to believe the woman before him, but why was the master of the house unwilling to acknowledge them?
He realized this was going to be a thankless task. Should he go inside and report this again? He figured he had no choice but to go in, because in just this short amount of time, a crowd had already stopped to watch, eager for some Gu family drama.
"Listen here, young man," a bystander called out. "They’ve come all this way and made a compelling case. You better hurry inside and inform your master. If this really is the matriarch of your household and you keep blocking her at the door, you might just lose your job."
"Exactly!" someone else chimed in. "Whether they’re lying or not, just have someone from the Gu family come out, and everything will be cleared up. Look at their wretched state. Who knows how much they’ve suffered? It’s truly pitiful."
"Hurry up and fetch someone!"
Xu Shuanghong looked deeply moved. She repeatedly bowed to the crowd around her. "Thank you all for your kindness. We came so suddenly and didn’t send a letter beforehand, so it’s only normal that my husband doesn’t know we’ve arrived."
Look at what a good person she was. Even at a time like this, she didn’t forget to make excuses for Gu Baijiang.
However, the onlookers all knew that the original Mrs. Gu had died during their exile. The Gu family really had no sense of propriety, taking a new wife so soon. Everyone was astounded that a man with a face as ugly as Gu Baijiang’s still had such a wandering eye.
Hearing these whispered discussions, the older women watching the spectacle curled their lips in disdain. Men only truly became honest when they were dead and turned into memorial tablets.
If this had happened before yesterday, everyone would have eagerly discussed it at length. But given the Gu family’s relationship with the Third Prince, no one dared to make too much of a fuss.
Still, that didn’t stop them from enjoying the show. They huddled together, whispering to one another, spreading who-knows-what new rumors.
Staring at the imposing courtyard before them, Xu Shuanghong and her daughters felt that making this trip had been the right decision. If they had actually stayed in Tian Village, it was only a matter of time before they were forgotten, or worse—they might have been played to death by Gu Kaichen!
"Mother, do you think they’ll acknowledge us?" Mei Lin asked, pursing her lips. Even though they had rushed as fast as they could, they still hadn’t made it back before Gu Antong entered the Third Prince Mansion.
Since she was technically Gu Antong’s elder in terms of generational hierarchy, she couldn’t have entered the Third Prince Mansion as a dowry maid anyway. However, before things had been finalized, the Third Prince surely would have visited the Gu family, which would have been her only chance to catch his eye. Now, even that opportunity was gone.
"It doesn’t matter if they refuse to acknowledge us. I have the marriage certificate in my hand anyway. We’ll just take it to the authorities," Xu Shuanghong said, completely unruffled. She still understood Gu Baijiang to some extent.
Even though Gu Baijiang was currently disgraced, he was a man who cared deeply about his reputation. He definitely wouldn’t want her to blow this matter out of proportion.
Now that Gu Antong had already entered the Third Prince Mansion, their previous plans would have to be adjusted. But regardless, they just wanted to live a good life. Being the matriarch of the Gu family wouldn’t be so bad.
Mei Bao listened quietly from the side. Given her current condition, she desperately wanted to seek revenge against Gu Baijiang, but she also knew she was completely outmatched. It didn’t matter, though. She was still young, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Each preoccupied with her own thoughts, the mother and daughters endured the stares of the crowd until Gu Kaiping and his wife finally appeared.
The couple had been standing just inside the gates for a little while, listening to the commotion outside. Realizing there was no way to cover this up, they had no choice but to force smiles onto their faces and come out to greet them.
"Aunt Xu, you’re here," Gu Kaiping said. "These damn servants didn’t explain things clearly. Please, hurry inside."
But Xu Shuanghong wasn’t going to let them brush this off so easily. "Gu Kaiping, I never expected you to put on such grand airs when we haven’t even been apart for that long.
"Although I am your father’s second wife, I was officially entered into the family genealogy. I know you all despise us, and I know we shouldn’t have come to the capital unannounced, but we truly couldn’t survive on Lingnan Road anymore. We had no choice but to beg all the way here..."
As soon as those words came out, Gu Kaiping knew the Gu family was about to become the center of a new scandal. Left with no options, he had to keep up his forced smile. "What are you talking about? Ever since we arrived in the capital, we’ve been so busy that we simply couldn’t get away to bring you back. Let’s go inside, and I’ll explain everything to you slowly."
Liu Yun had initially wanted to grab the women and drag them into the mansion, but seeing their filthy state, she dropped the idea. "That’s right, Aunt Xu. You should also think about my two younger sisters. Let’s go home first before we talk."
Hearing this, the crowd immediately understood the situation. These three women really were members of the Gu family.
Looking back at the Gu family’s initial reaction, it was obvious they hadn’t wanted to acknowledge them. And judging by their ragged clothes, it seemed Gu Baijiang didn’t value this wife and her daughters at all.