Chapter 175 - 163: The Second Day of the Lunar New Year
Chapter 175: Chapter 163: The Second Day of the Lunar New Year
Gu Shaozhen and Zheng Shaojin were, after all, nineteen-year-old boys. After patiently following their elders’ instructions and escorting their younger siblings around all morning, they were getting restless. They found an excuse to slip away and went to find their own circle of friends.
Xiao Man wandered the nearby streets for a while with Gu Shaoqin and Gu Shaoling before heading home. When she got back, Zhou Hui Lan pulled her aside and asked her how to make that braised winter melon dish. Her mother-in-law had come home last night praising it endlessly, but no one knew how to cook it.
Xiao Man followed Zhou Hui Lan to the kitchen. Since it was a gathering of the two families, someone from the Tang family ought to help out. It couldn’t be her grandparents, and Mr. Tang was a man with no culinary skills to speak of. That meant Xiao Man would be their representative.
In the kitchen, two aunties were utterly astonished to see a young girl of about ten preparing to cook. Zhou Hui Lan, however, had personally witnessed Xiao Man save her father-in-law with just a few needles and a single dose of herbal soup. She wouldn’t be surprised by any other skills Xiao Man might have. Her gaze simply grew more affectionate and delighted as she watched the little girl.
Meanwhile, in a small side hall at the front of the house, the four elders were talking. The conversation turned to Xiao Man, and her decision to return to the countryside on the second day of the New Year—tomorrow. Mr. Gu spoke up, "Why so soon? Isn’t she one of our family’s children now? She’s acknowledged her father and her ancestors. What’s the point of going back to the countryside?"
"She has two elders in the countryside. How can she forget the kindness of those who raised and supported her?" Grandpa Tang said, taking a sip of his tea.
"That’s true... In that case, I’d better find the little girl quickly. I haven’t had a proper talk with her yet!"
Grandma Tang asked, "She’s just a little girl. What could you possibly have to talk to her about?"
Mr. Gu gave an awkward chuckle. "Sister-in-law, you know we martial artists often need to practice our Qi Circulation. That little girl gave me acupuncture, and I don’t know what she did, but she sealed a few of my acupoints. I... something’s not right!"
Grandpa Tang set down his teacup and burst out laughing. "So what’s your condition now? Come on, come on, let’s spar a bit. It’s been a while since we practiced! It’s not fair that you always let me have a few moves. This time, I’ll go easy on you!"
Mr. Gu pretended to pour tea, remaining seated and refusing to readily accept the challenge. His hesitation was a clear sign of his lack of confidence, which only made Grandpa Tang laugh more heartily.
The two women simply ignored them and went on with their own conversation.
Old Mrs. Gu asked, "My dear old friend, tell me the truth. I really can’t believe our Qingshan would have a child out of wedlock. That girl..."
"Manman. The child’s name is Tang Manman," Grandma Tang said, slowly and deliberately straightening her cuff.
"Alright, Manman then. Is her surname really Tang? Is she Qingshan’s daughter?"
Since Mr. Gu wouldn’t spar, the two old men joined the conversation as well. Mr. Gu wore a serious expression, eager to get to the bottom of it. Grandpa Tang sighed. "According to what the child said last night, she was born in Wancheng Hospital. If all goes as expected, she’s probably our own flesh and blood. However, we’re his parents—don’t we know Qingshan’s character? The child isn’t his!"
"Then she must be Qingyun’s?" Old Mrs. Gu asked.
"It must be Qingyun! Our Qingshan would never be so unreliable!"
Before Grandpa Tang could answer, Mr. Gu nodded affirmatively. "Back then, my older brother said places like Jing City and Wancheng were remote and told Qingyun to just stay there for a while. He’s still in Wancheng even now!"
"But for Xiao Wen’s sake back then... Qingyun isn’t the type to mess around, is he? If he did have a child with someone else, that... that would be truly outrageous!" Old Mrs. Gu shot a sideways glance at Grandma Tang, as if it were all her fault that Tang Qingyun might act irresponsibly.
Grandma Tang laughed in exasperation. "What nonsense are you thinking? The Tang family’s rules aren’t just for show. Qingyun defied me, but that was also for the sake of his child. He wouldn’t do anything else so shameless! Manman said she was switched at birth in the hospital! My husband and Qingshan suspect that it was that stupid woman, Wu Xiaowen, who wasn’t watching her baby properly and let someone take her!"
"Something like that could happen?" Mr. Gu and Old Mrs. Gu were dumbfounded.
Grandma Tang snorted coldly. "Nothing is surprising when it involves the Wu Family! This matter is for my husband to investigate. As soon as all the evidence is collected, I’ll be waiting for that Wu Xiaowen. I’ll settle all our scores, new and old!"
"Now, now, why say that?" Old Mrs. Gu tried to soothe her. "Even if it’s true, she surely didn’t do it on purpose, did she? After all, the child came from her own body. How could a mother not cherish her baby?"
"Her body? Who cares about it? There are plenty of good women in Beijing. Which one of them can’t have a child?" Grandma Tang said with disdain.
Mr. Gu was speechless. Grandpa Tang cleared his throat. "Old woman, can’t we be a little more civilized?"
Grandma Tang ignored him and continued speaking to Old Mrs. Gu. "Don’t you forget, back then Wu Xiaowen was always seen in the company of the Bai Family’s second son. How many times did she parade around in front of us? Then the situation changed, the Bai Family gave her the cold shoulder, and just by chance, Qingyun returned from Nanjing. In the blink of an eye, she had seduced him! It was history repeating itself, the past coming back to haunt us. Tell me, how could I possibly swallow that insult? It was my own fault, too. I wasted all my love raising Qingyun, and for what? He didn’t care if I lived or died, he just wanted to run off with her. So I said, fine, go! But then I couldn’t resist my husband’s pleading. I kept thinking that the baby in her belly was, after all, Tang family blood, so I turned a blind eye. I let them secretly provide for and support them. When it was time for her to give birth, I even sent a specialist gynecologist over. Life in the countryside is hard, and it was inconvenient for the couple. Wouldn’t it have been better to bring the child back for me to raise? But no, she refused! She played hide-and-seek with us, terrified I would take the baby and Qingyun would stop paying attention to her! You call that being a mother? Cherishing her child? Look what happened! She let her child be taken away by someone else. How much has she suffered? And the one she has been raising by her side, we’ve provided her with the finest clothes and food. Who knows..."
"That’s enough, Qing Lan!" Grandpa Tang cut in, and only then did Grandma Tang fall silent.
Old Mrs. Gu sighed. "If the babies really were switched, then that Wu Xiaowen really does deserve a good scolding. Not recognizing her own child? What kind of mother is that!"
Mr. Gu frowned. "Well, that’s hard to say. Look at Shaozheng, Shaolian, and Shao Jin. They’re the same age, and you used to mix them up all the time when they were little!"
Old Mrs. Gu paused for a moment, then became annoyed. "Hey, you old man, how can you say that’s the same thing? No matter how much I mixed those three up, they were all here in this courtyard. They’re all my biological grandsons, so it’s never too much to dote on them! But Manman... she was taken to someone else’s home. Do we know if they cherished her? What kind of life did she live?"
Grandma Tang’s eyes turned red. "You’re right. Manman was taken to be a servant girl. She started working at five or six, was beaten and scolded, went without proper food and clothes, and couldn’t even go to school. Thankfully, that old couple took her away. The Grandpa knew Imperial Doctor Sun, which is how she came to be where she is today!"
"My heavens, what a sin!" Watching Grandma Tang wipe away her tears, Old Mrs. Gu’s own eyes began to redden.
Grandpa Tang said, "We haven’t started the investigation yet, but no matter how you look at it, Manman is our flesh and blood. We couldn’t afford to waste a single minute, which is why we’ve registered her under Qingshan’s name. Can you two understand?"
"We understand, we completely understand. That’s the right way to handle it." Mr. Gu and Old Mrs. Gu nodded repeatedly. Qingshan had been their most favored choice for a son-in-law, but their own daughter had run away from the marriage, bringing shame upon both families. In his anger, Mr. Gu had disowned his only, most beloved daughter, refusing to hear any news of her and forbidding anyone in the family from searching for her. In the end, it was Qingshan who went through countless hardships to find her, only to discover she was already dead. Qingshan personally buried his runaway fiancée and used his own body heat to keep her two newborn infants warm, rushing them to a major hospital overnight to save their lives. That was how Shaolian and Shao Jin came to be. For so many years, Mr. and Mrs. Gu had truly come to see Qingshan as their own son.
Mr. Gu said to Old Mrs. Gu, "Don’t go telling your daughters-in-law about this yet. Once the investigation is complete, everyone will find out naturally. After all, this concerns a smaller family unit. That boy Qingyun is very protective of his wife; he might have his own considerations. It’s better to have Manman under Qingshan’s name. That way, nothing will be expected of Qingyun’s family."
Old Mrs. Gu nodded, then shot him a displeased glare. "As if you needed to tell me that! Am I such a gossip? Honestly!"