Chapter 515 - 516: Causing Trouble
Chapter 515: Chapter 516: Causing Trouble
Gu Kaiping felt truly bitter. The Third Prince had doomed them. None of the promises made earlier had been kept. After they had handed over so much silver, the Prince just stood by and watched them suffer in poverty. However, if he hadn’t come to take up this post, he would still be getting hand cramps from copying books every day, which barely covered the family’s expenses.
"Clan Leader, you’ve completely misunderstood. That courtyard isn’t ours," Gu Kaiping pleaded. "Our home was confiscated ages ago, so where would we get the silver to buy property?
"It’s just that the Third Prince saw how difficult our lives were and allowed us to stay in that courtyard temporarily.
"As you brothers and nephews could see when you arrived in the capital, we of the Gu family have no real authority in that courtyard."
Gu Kaitian hesitated slightly. It seemed plausible, but those servants had been extremely respectful to them. Besides, who knew if this was just a new trick played by Gu Baijiang and his son? This family had always been good at pretending. Who knew if they were just feigning poverty in front of them again?
From what they knew, not long after they arrived, debt collectors from the gambling house had shown up, and Gu Baijiang had paid off the gambling debt without a second thought. Claiming to have no silver? They probably just didn’t want to help their fellow clan members. This family had a history of deceit. They should have listened to the old Clan Leader back then. Now that things had reached this point, they had no way out, so they had to latch onto Gu Kaiping no matter what. Even if he was going to a neighboring county to work as a minor official, they could still keep an eye on him. They couldn’t just let him slip away.
He quietly relayed his thoughts to Gu Baimu. Gu Baimu felt even more resentful. Fine, if Gu Baijiang and his family dared to play these mind games with them, they couldn’t be blamed for playing dirty.
Gu Kaiping stammered, unable to come up with a solution. Finally, he said, "How about you go find Gu Kaiyuan..."
The moment he spoke, a slap landed squarely on his face. He immediately clutched his cheek, looking at Gu Baimu in disbelief. "Clan Leader?"
"If it weren’t for you sowing discord, our relationship with Gu Kaiyuan wouldn’t be so strained! Now we have no face left to approach him. If you’re so capable, you get him to solve our problems. Otherwise, we’re holding you solely responsible for this!"
What could Gu Kaiyuan possibly have of his own? It all belonged to the Bai family. Back in the village, they often heard news from the city. They knew Gu Kaiyuan had close ties with the noblemen in the county town and was always accompanied by the Imperial Inspector’s family. How could they afford to offend someone like that? They inwardly cursed Gu Kaiping for trying to instigate them into doing something foolish. If they offended those people, would their entire family have any place left to stand?
"But I really can’t come up with it," Gu Kaiping was truly on the verge of tears. If people at the post station weren’t looking in their direction, he would have broken down completely, abandoning his dignity.
"We don’t care. As long as you don’t produce the silver, we’re sticking by your side.
"If you want to shake us off, then have your father come back to handle this as soon as possible."
Anyway, the one thing they had plenty of was time. Following Gu Kaiping meant free food and lodging. Anyone could see that all those young men were already looking eager to try.
Gu Kaiping felt terrified as he looked at the predatory gazes around him. Along the way, he had been constantly frugal to take care of these people and feed all these mouths. If he let them keep following him, he’d have to cover their food, clothing, housing, and transportation, even after he received his official salary. How could he possibly afford that?
"Why don’t you head back to the capital and find my father?" With no way out, Gu Kaiping chose to throw his own father under the bus. At worst, they could stay at the Gu Mansion. After all, the Third Prince sent people to purchase the rice and grain, so they wouldn’t go hungry.
"Heh, what do you take us for? Are you playing us for fools?
"We finally made it to the capital, and you dragged us all the way back here. Now you want us to walk back again?"
Gu Kaishan shook his head in fear. "I’m not walking anymore. This journey has been exhausting." Although there was no danger now, they were basically sleeping in the open and eating in the wind. No one wanted to suffer like that anymore.
"But I really have nothing," Gu Kaiping said, truly scared now. "If you don’t believe me, search my bags. I really can’t give you what you want.
"I’ve just arrived and haven’t even started working yet, so where would my salary come from? Plus, I’m a stranger in a strange place. It’s impossible for me to offer everyone any conveniences." He hadn’t even figured out his own situation yet. If he dragged so many people along with him, his life would be completely ruined.
"This won’t work, that won’t work! So everything you promised us before was just empty talk!
"We’ve already been made to suffer so miserably because of you. Why do you get to live a good life now while we have to struggle bitterly?"
The clan members crowding around were having none of it. They started pointing fingers and cursing at Gu Kaiping.
"You bastards... We had our own homes and businesses, and our lives were visibly improving! But because of you, we had to leave our hometowns and come all the way here. And what did you do? You just turned around and went back to your wealthy lifestyle!
"And what about us? We’re still struggling bitterly in the mud!"
"Exactly! We can’t just let this go. If you don’t give us a proper explanation, we’ll go to the capital and find Gu Baijiang. He’s living a life surrounded by servants, so why shouldn’t he pay the debt he owes us?"
"We want our family businesses back! We want to return to our old lives!"
"That’s right! We don’t expect to get rich off them, but we shouldn’t be shorted a single copper coin of what’s owed to us."
"If he refuses, we’ll tie him up and drag him back to the capital to confront Gu Baijiang!"
The crowd grew increasingly agitated, their voices growing louder and louder. He Guangtian, who had been hiding in the post station minding his own business, was now forced to send someone out to check on the situation. After all, Gu Kaiping was someone entrusted to him by the Third Prince. If something happened to him, He Guangtian wouldn’t be able to explain it.
"Stop your shouting. If you have an issue, sit down and discuss it properly." Following He Guangtian’s orders, the stationmaster kept a stern face, pointing at the Gu family members. "If you dare cause trouble here, don’t blame me for reporting you to the government officers."
The crowd finally quieted down. Gu Baimu hastily bowed and nodded. "We are truly sorry, sir. Everyone got a little emotional while handling some family matters. We’ll change locations right away." With that, he gave a pointed look to the young men nearby. They immediately surrounded Gu Kaiping, coercing him as they prepared to drag him toward the village.
Gu Kaiping panicked. Turning his head, he happened to see He Guangtian and quickly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mr. He, save me!"
The expressions of the Gu family members changed drastically. They all had lingering trauma from dealing with officials. Back then, it was government officers like these who had stormed their village, calling out their names one by one from a roster and arresting them.
He Guangtian was incredibly annoyed. He had only come out to prevent the situation from getting out of hand, yet Gu Kaiping had unexpectedly treated him like a lifesaver. However, now that he had been called out by name, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Maintaining a stern expression, he stepped forward and said, "Talk things out peacefully. Where are you trying to take Gu Kaiping? Kidnapping someone is a crime."