Chapter 605: Rejection
Bai Suihe and her group did not hide their whereabouts, so the Gu Family quickly found out about them.
However, to the Gu Family’s surprise, the Bai Family hadn’t actually settled down here. Old Madam Bai had visited previously, but she had already left.
Gu Baijiang was somewhat disappointed. If they could just meet face-to-face, many things could be smoothed over.
“Since the Bai Family isn’t here now, what do we do?” Gu Kaichen had been having sweet dreams just last night, never expecting to be woken up to reality so soon.
“What else can we do? Figure it out yourself.” With that, Gu Baijiang walked out. Gu Kaichen quickly followed.
“Dad, where are we going now?”
“To find Gu Kaiyuan.”
“Dad, are we just going to walk there?” Gu Kaichen asked.
They had already inquired about the location, but it was quite a distance away. He heard the village was very remote. He couldn’t understand why they would choose such an isolated place to settle down when they could have lived a comfortable life elsewhere.
“We’ll rent an ox cart,” Gu Baijiang said. They happened to pass by a pastry shop. He paused for a moment before turning and heading inside. When he came out, he was carrying two oil-paper packages.
“Dad, how did you know I was hungry?” Gu Kaichen’s face lit up with joy. He reached out to take them, but Gu Baijiang slapped his hand away hard.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
“These aren’t for you. If you’re hungry, go buy a couple of steamed buns up ahead.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Dad! I’ve been running around with you for half the day, and you can’t even bear to spare some pastries for me?”
“These pastries are for building goodwill. We can’t show up empty-handed.”
“What does it matter? You’re the elder. You just need to say the word, and he should be the one coming to pick you up.”
Gu Baijiang glared at him. “Are you mocking me?”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Gu Kaichen hurriedly waved his hands. “I just think that since you’re the elder, there’s no need to suck up to him like this. Why give him face?”
“Enough. Keep your nose out of this. Just follow me and keep your mouth shut,” Gu Baijiang warned him. “We are the ones asking for a favor this time. Even I have to lower my pride, so don’t you dare offend them.”
“But…”
“But what? Just do as I say.” Gu Baijiang felt a surge of frustration at his son’s ineptitude. It was one thing to be stupid, but he couldn’t even read the room.
“I got it,” Gu Kaichen said hastily in fear, seeing his father raise a hand. “I’ll listen to you, Dad.”
The father and son rode the ox cart, bumping along the way, and finally arrived at the small fishing village.
Seeing the remote little fishing village, they both found it strange. Instead of staying in the perfectly good county town, they had run off to such an isolated place. What were those two up to now?
They had barely reached the village entrance when they were spotted by a guard on sentry duty. The man walked over and blocked their path. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
“We’re looking for someone.” Gu Baijiang eyed the man’s attire, suspicion rising in his heart. Was such heavy guarding really necessary for a small fishing village? “Gu Kaiyuan lives here, right? We have business with him.”
“Looking for our son-in-law?” The man guarding the entrance today was a guard from the Bai Family. He looked Gu Baijiang up and down. “Who are you?”
“We are Gu Kaiyuan’s father and brother.” Gu Baijiang was also sizing up the other party. It seemed the Bai Family treated Bai Suihe quite well, even assigning guards to her. He felt even more regretful. Why hadn’t he thought things through more carefully back then?
“You’re from the Gu Family?” the guard asked. Bai Suihe had guessed long ago that the Gu Family would come pestering them, so she had already given orders that no one from the Gu Family was allowed to pass.
“Exactly,” Gu Kaichen puffed out his chest. “Hurry up and tell your master to come out and welcome—”
Gu Baijiang was speechless. So all his previous warnings had fallen on deaf ears. This idiot…
“Then I’m truly sorry, but you can’t pass. Go back to where you came from,” the guard said with a cold face. “The Gu Family is not welcome here.”
“You’d better get your facts straight! Gu Kaiyuan is my third younger brother. How can he refuse to even see his own father?”
“Shut up,” Gu Baijiang snapped. He wasn’t here to ruin their relationship. He forced a smile and said, “Please, young man, do us a favor and pass on a message. Just say that I, Gu Baijiang, have important matters to discuss with him. I’m not here to cause trouble.”
The guard cast a suspicious glance at them. They had heard a bit about the Gu Family’s past deeds. Since they earned their living from the Bai Family, they naturally wouldn’t help these people. Moreover, this was their master’s order. There was a shipyard inside; how could they possibly allow these people in?
He drew his sword and pointed it straight at them. “If you can’t understand plain words, let’s try another way.”
As he spoke, two more guards appeared beside him, simultaneously drawing their swords and pointing them at the pair. No matter how calm Gu Baijiang usually was, being held at swordpoint made cold sweat break out on his forehead.
Gu Kaichen’s previous arrogance completely vanished, and he even quietly hid behind Gu Baijiang. The old man driving the ox cart was so terrified that he immediately turned the cart around. Not even bothering to ask for their fare, he scrambled onto the cart and drove the ox away in a mad dash.
By the time Gu Baijiang and his son snapped back to reality, they couldn’t catch up to the old man, nor could they stop him.
The two turned back, forcing apologetic smiles. “Gentlemen, we truly mean no harm.”
Gu Baijiang added, raising the pastries in his hand, “Ms. Bai has borne children for our Gu Family. I’m just here to see my little granddaughter.”
The guards didn’t buy his excuse at all. Their young miss was so adorable. If these people truly cared, they wouldn’t have waited until she was old enough to speak before finally showing up. Regardless, they were obeying their master’s orders. They were told these people weren’t allowed in the village, so they wouldn’t be allowed in. The guards exchanged a look and took a step forward with their swords raised, their stance making their intentions crystal clear.
“Dad, what do we do now?” Gu Kaichen could act tough in front of his own family, but when facing outsiders, he tucked his tail between his legs like a beaten dog.
“Forget it. Since they misunderstand us, we won’t force the issue,” Gu Baijiang said, holding the pastries forward. “Please pass these on to my third son. Consider it a small token of affection from me as a grandfather.”
The guards didn’t reach out to take them. Instead, they took another synchronized step forward, their refusal practically written on their faces.
Gu Baijiang sighed. He knew there was no reasoning with these men. After all, they belonged to the Bai Family and would naturally stand on Bai Suihe’s side. It was highly likely that Bai Suihe was the one who gave the order in the first place.
It seemed Bai Suihe and the others already knew that he had come to this county town. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had these guards on such high alert against them.
Placing the two packages of pastries directly on the ground, Gu Baijiang tried to drag Gu Kaichen away, but surprisingly, his son stood completely motionless.
“You little brat, what are you doing? Let’s go.”
Gu Kaichen’s legs were trembling. “Dad…”
He wondered how his father hadn’t noticed yet when he was making it so obvious. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave—he simply couldn’t move his legs. The way these three guards glared at him made it feel like they wanted to hack him to pieces, even though they hadn’t actually done anything.
Gu Baijiang could already feel the trembling coming from the hand he was holding. He felt even more contempt for this son of his…