Chapter 447: Rebuke
Chapter 447: Chapter 447: Rebuke
"Times might be a bit tough right now, but our family needs to pull together." Gu Baijiang placed the book he had just copied in front of them and flipped it open. "From now on, everyone must earn their keep. If anyone refuses to work, be warned—the Gu Family doesn’t feed freeloaders."
"You must be joking, Father," Xu Yulan said. "We barely know how to read a few words. How are we supposed to copy books?"
Gu Baijiang looked at her with disdain. "Keep dreaming. Do you really think you’re capable of this?
"Copying books isn’t suitable for you and my second son. But since the two of you have entirely too much energy, you can go to the backyard and cultivate that plot of land. It’ll be the perfect way to grind down your tempers."
He wondered how she even dared to entertain the thought. Letting them copy books? It wouldn’t just be a waste of good paper and ink; it would likely end up as another laughingstock.
"Why do we have to farm the land? What about Liu Yun?"
"Liu Yun has to manage the entire household," Gu Baijiang said. "Besides, I’ve already found work for her. She’ll be completing embroidery tasks every day from now on. If you had her skills, you could join her."
Xu Yulan curled her lip. Forget it, she would rather choose farming.
She had thought marrying into the Gu Family would wash away her peasant roots, but after all this time, she was right back to tilling the soil.
But what did her father-in-law mean by those words? Was the family really in such dire straits? Had they truly been foolish enough to let Gu Antong take all their Silver as her dowry? Gu Antong wasn’t the only child in the Gu Family. Where did the old man’s actions leave his two grandsons?
"Father, is our family really struggling this much?" Had it been in the past, Xu Yulan would never have dared to question him like this.
"Isn’t it obvious? Our family has always been poor. You need to learn how to be self-reliant from now on." Gu Baijiang’s greatest hope now rested entirely on his two grandsons.
It would be wonderful if Gu Antong could give birth to a child of her own, but what he wanted most was for his two grandsons to make something of themselves.
He planned to have both boys try their luck in the imperial examinations in the latter half of the year. The two youths were studying very diligently now, and they might actually manage to earn official titles.
"Do not go out and cause trouble these days," Gu Baijiang warned. "The two boys in the family will be taking their exams soon, and you cannot bring any negative influence upon them."
At the mention of their children, Liu Yun and Xu Yulan had no choice but to suppress whatever grievances they held. Indeed, nothing was more important than their children’s futures.
For some reason, the image of Bai Suihe flashed through both of their minds at that moment. If they hadn’t offended her so deeply back then, would their circumstances be completely different today?
Bai Suihe was doing quite well in Lingnan. Now that the entire Bai Family had relocated there with their vast wealth in hand, and considering how much Mrs. Bai doted on her daughter, their lives must be unimaginably extravagant.
They had been incredibly short-sighted in the past. They could have enjoyed a lifetime of wealth and splendor, but they had thrown it all away.
Although both women thought about it, neither dared to bring it up. Gu Kaiyuan was a strict taboo in this household. Mentioning him was akin to lighting a powder keg, guaranteeing that there would be no peace for the rest of the day.
Seeing that neither of them voiced any opposition, Gu Baijiang finally felt a knot untangle in his chest. At least they weren’t contradicting him at every turn; there was still some obedience left in them.
Just as he turned to leave, Xu Yulan hastily called out to stop him. "Father, there’s something I’m not sure if I should mention."
"Speak your mind," Gu Baijiang said.
He found it incredibly awkward that a woman from a peasant background, who barely knew how to read, was trying to act so refined and polite with him.
"Aunt Xu has been taking Eldest Miss Fan out quite often these past few days. Regardless of the circumstances, she is considered part of our family now. If she makes a fool of herself outside, it will reflect poorly on our children..."
Liu Yun cast a sidelong glance at her. Xu Yulan was feeling exceptionally bold today. Not only was she openly tattling, but she was also lacing it with threats.
"Let them do as they please," Gu Baijiang sneered. "As long as our actual family members don’t show up with them, who’s going to recognize them?"
"But what if they do something completely scandalous?" Since Xu Yulan had already opened the door, Liu Yun naturally wasn’t going to let such a perfect opportunity slip by. "We can’t let them drag down our children’s reputations. My poor Tong Er..."
"Enough. Keep your mouths shut. I’ll discipline them later." Gu Baijiang hadn’t considered this angle before. It seemed he needed to have a serious talk with the butler soon to ensure that the female dependents of the inner courtyard were forbidden from leaving the estate.
Once Gu Baijiang left, Liu Yun offered a rare smile. "Xu Yulan, I’ll be off to my chores now. Just say the word if you need anything."
Xu Yulan knew exactly why Liu Yun’s attitude had suddenly shifted, and she didn’t take the polite gesture to heart.
Given Liu Yun’s personality, she would turn on her in a heartbeat when it suited her; the woman had absolutely no sense of gratitude.
She had only brought the matter up because of her father-in-law’s warning, fearing that the mother and daughter might damage her own sons’ reputations. After all, they were tied together now; Aunt Xu and Eldest Miss Fan were technically her sons’ step-grandmother and step-aunt in name.
Xu Yulan turned and headed back. Liu Yun was tight-lipped, so she certainly wasn’t going to pry any useful information out of her today. The servants in this courtyard were equally infuriating; other than doing their chores, they practically treated the family members like thin air.
Later, in the study, Gu Baijiang returned to find Gu Kaiping sitting there in a daze. He let out a light cough. "Well? Have you figured it out yet?"
"Father, I still don’t understand," Gu Kaiping replied. "If this matter gets exposed, it won’t benefit us in the slightest.
"Worse yet, others would have leverage over An Tong. Even if she attains a high position in the future, it would be an indelible stain on her reputation.
"Compared to that, our family defaulting on its debts would actually be the least of our worries."
In his mind, owing debts was proof of capability. As far as he knew, many high-ranking officials had borrowed Silver from the National Treasury, and rumor had it that they were the type of loans that were never paid back.
In the past, his father had refused to set such a precedent for the sake of his reputation. Now that they were out of Silver, their current status meant they couldn’t even touch the doors of the National Treasury.
"You really are a hopeless blockhead." Gu Baijiang had truly lost all expectations for this son of his. In the past, he used to break down the complex matters of the royal court and spoon-feed them to him, but after all these years, the man hadn’t made a single ounce of progress.
A person without the ability to think independently, who only knew how to rely on rote memorization, was nothing more than an educated failure.
"Your son is slow-witted. I beg Father to enlighten me."
Gu Kaiping put on his usual eager-to-learn expression, gazing at Gu Baijiang with intense earnestness.
Gu Baijiang let out a dry, infuriated chuckle at the sight of that look. What had been wrong with him in the past? How could he have ever believed that this son of his was eager to learn and improve?
He had just forced himself to look like he was trying hard, but in reality, there was nothing substantial in his head.
Gu Baijiang had taught him plenty of times before. Afterward, Gu Kaiping would always act as though he understood perfectly, but the moment he encountered a similar situation, he would remain completely clueless.
"You are well past thirty, and I’ve been teaching you for over three decades," Gu Baijiang scolded. "Yet, you remain hopelessly dense."
"Don’t give me that look," Gu Baijiang said angrily, pointing at his own head. "There is no shame in asking when you don’t understand something. But when I teach you the exact same thing five times, ten times, and you still don’t grasp it, it means there is something wrong up here!"
He wondered how he had managed to raise such unfilial sons.