Chapter 880: Clearing the Air
Chapter 880 -883: Clearing the Air
Li Cuicui still harbored a trace of suspicion, feeling that this was all Jin Qianqian’s excuse. Otherwise, she wondered why Luo Luo had been seen so rarely around the village these days. Who knew how much grievance the child was holding in?
“You need to know what’s what,” Li Cuicui said. “Both are your sons, but there should still be an order between the eldest and the youngest.”
Jin Qianqian nodded hastily. She had considered this matter long ago. In the future, she would leave Luo Luo his fair share of things and wouldn’t let him suffer any losses.
As soon as they entered the house, Li Cuicui started looking for him. “Where is the eldest young master of your family?”
Xu Dawang quickly and respectfully replied, “Mrs. Gu, the eldest young master is reading in the study.”
Seeing his deep respect, Li Cuicui felt another wave of discomfort. Everything was great here at Old Seventh’s place, except there were too many rules. As an old lady from the countryside, she much preferred a comfortable and carefree life. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll go see him myself.”
“It is what I ought to do,” Xu Dawang replied.
Li Cuicui was left speechless. Jin Qianqian waved Xu Dawang and the others away before supporting Li Cuicui to the outside of the study.
Hearing the commotion, Gu Benluo hurried out to greet her. “Grandma, you’re here.”
“You child, don’t coop yourself up in the house all day,” Li Cuicui said. Thinking of how her other grandsons had easily landed jobs while Luo Luo still had to study hard here, the old lady felt even worse. “You’re just too honest. Come, go back with Grandma. I’ll have someone make you something delicious.”
Gu Benluo actually felt quite speechless as well. These days, the pitying looks from everyone made him exceptionally uncomfortable. He had even vaguely heard people saying that even though the seeds were clearly found by his parents, they bypassed their eldest son and credited the achievement to Cancan. Everything they said implied his parents’ favoritism and how much he was losing out. Even if he tried to explain that he was genuinely happy for Cancan, those people wouldn’t believe him anyway. So why bother going out and looking for trouble?
Now that his own grandmother was wearing this exact expression, Gu Benluo couldn’t just ignore it. He helped the old lady into the reception room. “Grandma, your grandson still wants to earn you an Advanced Scholar title. I have to put some effort into it, don’t I?”
Seeing that Jin Qianqian hadn’t followed them in, Li Cuicui affectionately grabbed Gu Benluo’s hands. “My good grandson, your parents have wronged you this time. But Cancan is also your blood brother. If you have any hard feelings, just tell Grandma directly. I’ll go get justice for you. You mustn’t keep it bottled up.”
The old lady felt increasingly certain that Luo Luo was hiding at home to escape reality. He used to go out with his brothers all the time, so why had he stopped recently?
Gu Benluo sat opposite the old lady and patiently explained, “Once bestowed an official position by the Holy Emperor, one can no longer participate in the imperial examinations. I want to be like Father and climb the ranks step by step on my own.
“I know everyone thinks I suffered a loss in this matter, but it was actually my idea.
“Cancan’s ambitions don’t lie in officialdom. Once these grain seeds are widely distributed, he’ll be completely free of duties. By then, this title will serve as his protective amulet.
“Grandma, this is something our family discussed and agreed upon beforehand. It’s also the best arrangement.”
Li Cuicui breathed a sigh of relief. “If that’s the case, then it’s not bad. I was just worried your parents were playing favorites.
“Since there’s no issue, don’t coop yourself up at home all day. Go out for a walk.
“Otherwise, who knows how much gossip the villagers will spread.”
It was exactly because she had heard too much of this gossip that Li Cuicui wanted to get to the bottom of it. She knew it. Old Seventh had always been reliable; he couldn’t possibly do something so outrageous.
Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, the old lady completely relaxed. “Come, take a walk with me. We’ll also go light a stick of incense for your grandfather, so the ancestors of the Gu family can bless our Luo Luo to become the top scorer in the imperial exams just like your father.”
Letting the old lady lead him, Gu Benluo supported her along the way. “Slow down a bit, Grandma.”
“I wonder if your grandfather is still as useless down there as he was when he was alive. Actually, let’s not ask him. We’ll pray directly to the great ancestors,” Li Cuicui said. Since this concerned her eldest grandson’s future, she suddenly felt that Gu Dashi was probably unreliable. She couldn’t count on him when he was alive, let alone after he died. He was probably getting whipped by his deceased parents in the underworld right now.
Meanwhile, at the Gu Mansion.
Gu Letian led a group of his younger brothers up to the entrance. Looking at the imposing main gate before them, they all felt a bit intimidated.
Gu Ben Can had received the news earlier. As soon as he stepped out, he saw his brothers standing by the carriage, staring quietly at the gate. “Brothers, you’ve finally arrived! It’s been a tough journey. Hurry up and come inside.”
Gule Shun, who was closest to him, asked in a low voice, “Is this the mansion bestowed by the Holy Emperor?”
In the past, he had followed Seventh Uncle to his posts and stayed in nice houses, but they truly couldn’t compare to this.
Gu Ben Can had been bored to death in the mansion these past few days. Now that his brothers were finally here, he naturally wanted to usher them in for some lively gathering. “Yes,” he replied, hurriedly taking the lead. “It’s even bigger inside. It’s just that a lot of things haven’t been unpacked yet, so we’re all temporarily staying in the front courtyard.”
In his father’s words, his mother was the lady of the house, so she should naturally be the one to manage and furnish it. The men of the family didn’t care about such details, so they just made do with the front courtyard for now.
Once inside, everyone couldn’t take in all the sights fast enough. Gu Letian asked, “Where is Seventh Uncle?”
Gu Ben Can said, “My father is busy with official duties, so he asked me to host you brothers today.
“However, there is no fine wine or meat, only a table of vegetarian dishes. Please don’t complain about my poor hospitality later.”
Gule Shun suddenly slung an arm over his shoulder. “Cancan, you’re an Uncle now. Do we have to bow to you when we see you in the future?”
Gu Ben Can rolled his eyes at him. “That’s a very insincere question. I never saw you bow to my father before.
“Besides, I’m just an Uncle in name only. It’s only good for bluffing commoners. Let’s drop the formalities among family; otherwise, I’ll be the first to lose my mind.”
His father had already analyzed the situation with him. He figured that once this batch of seeds was widely distributed, a meritorious contributor like himself should gracefully step down. In the future, even if corn was mentioned again, the credit would go to the current Emperor’s boundless fortune for bringing corn into the world.
“That’s a relief,” Gule Shun said, patting his chest with feigned fear. “On the way here, I was worried you would look down on us brothers after becoming an Uncle. Once we have some free time, let’s go fishing together again.”
Gu Ben Can said, “You shouldn’t say that for now. Don’t forget, we are still in mourning.
“All of you brothers are officials now. We really must adhere to the proper taboos.”
Although they were low-ranking officials, it was a massive difference from being small historians in the past. If someone wanted to make an issue out of them, it would be much easier than targeting him and his father. Thinking of the tutors his father had prepared for his brothers, Gu Ben Can couldn’t help but give them a sympathetic smile.
“Cancan, please don’t smile like that,” Gule Shun said. “Whenever you smile like that, I know you’re definitely hiding some wicked idea. I’m timid, so don’t scare me.”
Despite the boy’s innocent face, Gule Shun had suffered at his hands before.
Gu Ben Can wiped his face, restoring his completely innocent expression. “Listen to what Brother Le Shun is saying. Such a handsome smile is so unbearable in your eyes. It truly breaks my heart…”