Chapter 898: Paying a Visit
Hearing the news, Village Chief Shi rushed over. His face darkened upon hearing these remarks.
“You can’t blame our Shi Family Members for this. You have to ask Mrs. Shi Li. She was the one blocking us and refusing to let anyone near.”
Gu Yuanjin quickly stepped forward. “My brother is hot-tempered and doesn’t know the whole story. I apologize to you on his behalf, Village Chief.
“It’s just that this sudden news is too hard for us to accept, and seeing such a scene inevitably stoked the fire in our hearts. I hope you all can forgive us.”
His words dispelled some of the crowd’s previous displeasure. Everyone here had daughters of their own; if they encountered such a wretched situation, none of them would be able to bear it either.
“Gentlemen of the Gu family, it’s good that you’re here. We finally have someone to take charge,” Village Chief Shi said, breathing a sigh of relief seeing that the Gu Family was still willing to step forward. “Now, you just need to tell us how you plan to handle the funeral arrangements. Everyone in our village will cooperate.”
Otherwise, he had already been discussing with the other villagers to tie Mrs. Shi Li up just so they could get the funeral underway.
Unexpectedly, facing her uncles from the Gu family, Li Chuncao maintained the exact same attitude. She stood straight, blocking everyone’s path. “This is the Shi family’s business. Don’t interfere.”
“Move aside,” Gu Yuanjin demanded. He wanted to go inside to see his sister one last time, and his final shred of patience was slowly running out.
“Haven’t you already cut ties with the two of us? What are you doing here then?” Li Chuncao glared at them coldly. “She is no longer a daughter of the Gu family. She doesn’t deserve your care.”
“You silly girl, how can you speak of your mother like that?” Gu Yuanmu coaxed softly. “Move out of your uncle’s way first. Let us go in and see your mother one last time.”
“Uncle?” Li Chuncao shook her head. “I don’t have any uncles. I already said it—this is our family matter. Stay out of it.”
Gu Yuanjin’s face darkened. “Yuanmu, Yuanhuo, pull her aside. I refuse to believe she can stop us today.”
Before Gu Yuanmu could even move, Gu Yuanhuo forcefully yanked her out of the way. Seeing her still struggling, he growled in a low voice, “Are you really willing to let your mother go without being laid to rest in peace? Uncle Yuanhuo knows you have resentment in your heart, but you can’t be unfilial.”
Li Chuncao’s tears immediately spilled over. “So you uncles did know I was resentful, yet none of you bothered to lend me a helping hand all these years.”
No matter how hot-tempered Gu Yuanhuo normally was, he felt a wave of panic at this moment. “She is your biological mother, after all. We tried talking to her…”
It was just that Gu Yuanfeng seemed to have been fed some sort of magic potion by Shi Dayong and his son, stubbornly choosing to wrong her own daughter. Because of this, the brothers had grown increasingly displeased with their sister.
Hoping to make amends, they had tried their best to give Chuncao a larger dowry back then. They never expected the Shi family to disregard all face and snatch everything away right after the wedding. By then, the die was cast, and it wasn’t appropriate for them to meddle in the Shi family’s domestic affairs. They had repeatedly spoken to Gu Yuanfeng about it over the years, but to no avail.
“Talked to her…” Li Chuncao sneered. “Right, she is your biological sister, after all, while I’m just an abandoned daughter the He Family didn’t want. In the end, I can only blame my own terrible fate for not having capable brothers to support me.”
The more Gu Yuanhuo listened, the guiltier he felt. “Chuncao, let’s put these matters aside for now. Let’s handle your mother’s funeral first. As for your future, Uncle will help you figure something out.”
“There’s no need,” Li Chuncao replied. “I just have a worthless life anyway. If you truly care, Uncle, please look after Chun Ya for me!”
“Right, where is Chun Ya? Why isn’t she home?” Gu Yuanhuo finally realized someone was missing.
“This isn’t her home, after all. She went back to the He Family.”
“Why did you let her go back to the He Family? The He Family is even harder to deal with—she’ll be taken advantage of!” Gu Yuanhuo asked anxiously.
“Where else could she go besides the He Family?” Li Chuncao retorted.
Gu Yuanhuo was rendered speechless.
“My father hasn’t remarried all these years. He’s getting older now and says he’s given up on the idea. It’s perfect timing for Chun Ya to go back. When the time comes, she can register as a female-headed household and take in a live-in husband to carry on my father’s family line.”
Seeing that the crowd had already entered the wing room, Li Chuncao gave up on trying to stop them. She gave a Fuli to Gu Yuanhuo. “We sisters have suffered bitter fates since childhood and lack family support. I just ask that you, Uncle, look out for Chun Ya a little for the sake of our sliver of blood relation. I would be eternally grateful for that.”
“Child, it was your uncle who was wrong in the past. I definitely won’t just look after your sister—I will take care of you, too,” Gu Yuanhuo said. He was already planning to buy some fertile farmland for these two nieces later, at least enough to ensure they wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing.
Li Chuncao looked toward the wing room that was now packed with people. “Uncle, go see her one last time.”
Seeing that she truly seemed to have no intention of causing any more trouble, Gu Yuanhuo said softly, “Endure this hardship for a few more days. When it’s over, Uncle will take you away.”
After all, he still harbored brotherly affection for Gu Yuanfeng, so he had to go see her one last time.
Watching Gu Yuanhuo slip into the room, Li Chuncao smiled and murmured at the sky, “Chun Ya, this is the last thing your sister can do for you. Don’t be as foolish as me in the future. Don’t trust others so easily.”
She cast one last look over her shoulder and sneered before walking into the backyard.
The Gu Family Brothers saw Gu Yuanfeng lying lifelessly on the heated brick bed. Her face was nothing but skin and bones, and her eyes were staring wide open. Seeing her in such a tragic state, a deep sorrow swelled in their hearts. None of them could understand why she had let a perfectly good life turn into this.
Gu Yuanjin sighed, then turned to the older women who had come in with them. “Thank you for taking the trouble to help clean her up. If you need anything, just say the word, and we’ll have someone go buy it.”
One of the older women sighed. “You gentlemen go sit outside for a bit. We’ll give her a basic wash and change first.”
Ultimately, face had to be maintained. This was a funeral for a member of their Shi family; how could they let the Gu family dictate the arrangements? One look at this household and it was obvious they hadn’t prepared burial clothes in advance. It seemed they would have to ask the clan members to get some ready.
The women exchanged glances, and someone immediately stepped out to handle it.
Gu Yuanjin nodded silently in his heart. The villagers weren’t entirely clueless. They still wanted to preserve their final shred of dignity, and he wasn’t going to tear it down. After all, the ones truly at fault were Shi Dayong and his son.
Even if some people in Stone Village had their grievances, no one voiced them out loud since this concerned the reputation of the entire village. Everyone who could help came over, and the funeral arrangements actually started to look quite proper.
It wasn’t until they were assigning people to keep vigil that night that everyone finally remembered Li Chuncao.
As the biological daughter and the stepson’s wife, she was the only one holding up the entire Shi family right now. Yet, she was nowhere to be seen, which was highly inappropriate.
Gu Yuanjin turned to Gu Yuanhuo. “Where is Chuncao? Weren’t you supposed to be watching her?”
“She probably went to the backyard, didn’t she?” Gu Yuanhuo was also a little puzzled. “This child is pitiful. We brothers should really look after the two sisters more from now on.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be watching her?” Gu Yuanshui demanded.
“What’s there to watch? This is her home; she knows it better than we do,” Gu Yuanhuo dismissed nonchalantly. “She must be exhausted from keeping watch these past few days and went to the backyard to rest.”