Chapter 384 - 334: Shaoling Is Timid
Chapter 384: Chapter 334: Shaoling Is Timid
Tian Xueqin was stunned. ’Is the old man bored? The kids just bickered a little, why is he getting involved? When he gets serious, his Suppression is so intense even the boys in the family are afraid of him, let alone Shaoling and Sisi! I hope he doesn’t terrify the poor girls!’
She hurriedly looked toward Old Mrs. Gu, hoping her mother-in-law would take over. But Old Mrs. Gu, who had just lost her composure after being provoked by Old Mrs. Tang, was still a bit flustered. Now, coming to her senses, she recalled what Tian Xueqin had said to Manman and how Gu Shaoling had lashed out at her. She couldn’t help but feel annoyed at how this mother-daughter duo was so good at stirring up trouble and ruining a perfectly nice family gathering. Old Mrs. Gu shot Tian Xueqin a fierce glare, then took Shaoyu’s arm and, accompanied by Zhou Hui Lan, turned to walk toward where the Tang Family was seated.
Tian Xueqin felt vexed and wronged. She looked at the two girls standing side-by-side with their heads lowered, looking pitiful. Her heart ached. ’My precious daughter can’t even handle a single harsh word. How can I bear to hand her over to the old man? Gu Qiyuan once told me about being disciplined by his father when he made a mistake as a child. The process was beyond brutal—it was practically barbaric! And the old man has no qualms about hitting women. Back when Gu Qi Yue ran away from her engagement, they couldn’t find her anywhere. In his rage, the old man whipped Gu Qiyuan and his two brothers with a leather belt. When the old woman tried to intervene with just a few words, he whipped her several times too!’
’Now my own daughter... it’s just a few squabbles between children. It won’t be that bad, right?’
Tian Xueqin was filled with anxiety, her eyes darting around in search of Gu Qiyuan. But given her husband’s temperament—he was always completely obedient to the old man—she knew she probably couldn’t count on him.
Just as she expected, Gu Qiyuan was speaking with Madam Jun and Mrs. Zeng and their daughters, politely inviting them to the dining room for a meal. He glanced over at Tian Xueqin, signaling for her to hurry over. She had brought the guests, so she needed to take responsibility and entertain them properly.
Tian Xueqin felt a pang of regret. ’If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have invited guests over. I only did it to save money on a meal out, so I could send a little more to my family next month. My nephew is getting married... Ugh!’
Madam Jun and Mrs. Zeng had happily brought their daughters to visit the Gu family and catch up with Tian Xueqin. They felt quite awkward to have run into this sort of situation. It was already past lunchtime, and they were genuinely hungry, but since the family elders had said they weren’t eating, how could they possibly eat? They considered telling Tian Xueqin they should just take their leave, but Gu Qiyuan stepped in on his wife’s behalf to entertain them and insist they stay. Not wanting to be difficult, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow the couple to the dining room for lunch.
As they left the living room, Tian Xueqin asked Jun Ran, a frequent visitor to the Gu family, to help entertain the others and walk a few steps ahead. She and Gu Qiyuan fell behind, and she said to him anxiously, "I’ll take care of the guests. You should go back to the living room. Shaoling is timid; you need to talk to Dad and make sure he doesn’t scare her."
Gu Qiyuan glanced at her. "Shaoling is timid? I doubt it. The whole family was in the living room, along with guests, and she still dared to say something like that. And who was she mocking and insulting? Tang Manman! Who is Tang Manman? She’s the direct granddaughter the Tang family just found, and the future daughter-in-law of the Gu family’s eldest grandson... Both families treasure her. You think Shaoling doesn’t know that? Even if she lacks that bit of foresight, the Gu family’s upbringing isn’t that poor, is it? When she did it, she should have thought about the consequences! So, you don’t need to worry. Your daughter has guts, and she can take responsibility for her actions!"
"..." Tian Xueqin stared, clutching her chest as if she couldn’t breathe. "Gu Qiyuan, how can you be like this? That’s your daughter, the only girl in the Gu family! You can just stand by and let the old man discipline her? You know his methods!"
Gu Qiyuan’s eyes narrowed, his gaze sharp and his voice low and cold. "Tian Xueqin! I think there’s something wrong with your head. You’re not fit to keep working at the hospital; you might cause a medical accident and kill someone one day! The third brother’s daughter, Shaoying, is already a year old. Have you forgotten? Do you still think your daughter is the only girl in the Gu family?"
Tian Xueqin’s eyelids twitched, and she hastily tried to explain, "I—I haven’t forgotten, of course! It’s just a habit, that’s all! For so many years, she was the only girl in the family!"
Gu Qiyuan snorted. "Over so many years, your bad habits have only piled up. If you don’t change, the consequences will be severe!"
"Hey, what do you mean by that? What bad habits?"
"Think about it yourself. I don’t have time to point them out one by one."
"Qi Yuan, are you really not going to do anything about Shaoling? The old man, he..."
"The old man isn’t as scary as you make him out to be. He’s Shaoling’s grandfather. Everyone has their own way of raising children. If you couldn’t stand it, why didn’t you raise the children yourself back then? You dumped both Shaofeng and Shaoling on my father and mother right after they were born, didn’t you?"
"Wasn’t that because we were both too busy with work to take care of them? We took Shaofeng in when he started school, but he couldn’t get used to it and insisted on running back to the old estate. Shaoling is a girl. If she grew up with us in that small town, her temperament and worldview would suffer. She’s a girl of the Gu family! Her status was extraordinary from birth; she should be raised in Beijing by the old madam’s side. The old madam has three daughters-in-law but only had one granddaughter. She doted on her like crazy! Wasn’t her huge dowry just waiting for Shaoling to grow up and inherit it?"
"..." Gu Qiyuan frowned and glared at Tian Xueqin. If they hadn’t already reached the dining room entrance, he would have turned around and left.
With everyone feeling uneasy, neither the hosts nor the guests had any appetite. After a few sips of soup and barely touching their food with their chopsticks, they declared the meal finished.
With Gu Qiyuan acting as the representative, Madam Jun and Mrs. Zeng didn’t have to return to the living room to see the other Gu family members. They exchanged a few polite words with Gu Qiyuan and then took their leave.
Tian Xueqin told Gu Qiyuan to go back to the living room and check on the situation while she saw the guests out.
Once they were outside the main gate, Tian Xueqin finally sighed and apologized to Madam Jun and Mrs. Zeng. "My dear sisters, I’m so sorry about today! And Rongrong, Jun Ran, Auntie will invite you out again some other time!"
Madam Jun, Huang Wei, shook her head with a smile. Mrs. Zeng also chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, every family has its own problems. Yours, the Gu family, is one of the most peaceful and has the fewest issues. Really, today was nothing—just kids bickering. There was no need to make such a big deal out of it. If you ask me, that girl from the Tang family was a bit much. She had the upper hand and wouldn’t let it go. She seems difficult to get along with!"
"Isn’t that the truth?" Tian Xueqin finally heard a sympathetic word, and the tightness in her chest eased a bit. She began to pour out her grievances. "This Tang Manman is even worse than the previous one, Tang Yaxuan. She has no upbringing at all! Who acts so domineering at their future in-laws’ home, especially toward their future sister-in-law? Our Shaoling didn’t say those things on purpose; she must have heard the rumors going around. And if you say the rumors are baseless, then why, out of all the girls out there, is everyone talking about Tang Manman? We all know perfectly well that not only Tang Yaxuan, but also that couple, Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen, were all kicked out because of Tang Manman. That’s not just baseless gossip! I ran into Wu Xiaowen by chance the other day, and when we talked about it, she cried until her eyes were red! So that girl... Ugh, never mind, let’s not talk about it! Thank goodness she’s marrying into the main branch. If she were set to be my daughter-in-law, I would have sent her packing a hundred years ago!"