Chapter 525: Can't emit green smoke twice
"Second brother, you are talking without any pain in your waist. You don't feel bad that Rui Nian is not your grandson."
Old Mrs. Gu was dissatisfied with Second Uncle Gu for blaming Gu Ruinian right away.
Second Uncle Gu glanced at his eldest sister-in-law coldly, then turned to Old Man Gu and said, "Brother, don't think I am being harsh. Ruinian's misconduct has caused our Gu family to lose face in the village. There are two boys in the clan who are the same age as Ruinian and Jingzhe. They were dating some time ago. When Ruinian's story spread to the village, the matchmakers were scared away. If Ruinian continues to behave like this without repentance, he will bring great harm to us sooner or later."
"If it weren't for the fact that many people in the village work for Dashu Niang to earn money, and if everyone respects our Gu family, otherwise we wouldn't be able to hold our heads up in the village because of Rui Nian's incident."
Old Mrs. Gu looked dissatisfied. No one looked at those two boys. It was all because of their family's poverty. How could she blame Ruinian?
From the moment Tong Huaqiong entered the house, Old Lady Gu and Jia felt uncomfortable.
Old Lady Gu felt that since such a big thing had happened to the Gu family, Tong Huaqiong had slipped away to the provincial capital, causing Gu Ruinian to suffer so much. If Tong Huaqiong had come forward and used the relationship of County Magistrate Liu, perhaps Gu Ruinian's legs would not have been broken.
Jia hated that his son would never be able to compete with Gu Jingzhe again.
In front of the village chief and Uncle Gu, Old Lady Gu said to Tong Huaqiong, "Uncle, what you said is true. We do take our family seriously. What can we do if someone doesn't care about the lives of other members of the Gu family? If our village lord comes forward, I don't believe this matter can't be suppressed."
Old Mrs. Gu called her "Country Lady" in a sarcastic tone.
Lady of the Country, what's wrong with being a Lady of the Country? Not to mention being a Lady of the Country, even a princess has to give some face to her mother-in-law.
Tong Huaqiong sneered and said, "Are you blaming me, old lady? Was it me who tied Gu Ruinian up and pressed him on Xu Zaohua's bed? Was it me who forced Gu Ruinian to get into trouble? If it was really my doing, Gu Ruinian wouldn't just have his legs cut."
Old Mrs. Gu's hands exploded with anger.
Liu Tielian and Uncle Gu looked at each other. Gu Ruinian's tendons were broken, so he would probably have no chance of taking the imperial examination from now on.
Uncle Gu has a bad impression of Gu Ruinian.
He ate alone, didn't work in the fields, and asked for money from his family all day long in the name of studying, regardless of his family's situation. He was not a down-to-earth person. Villagers saw him going in and out of Fenglelou Restaurant several times to eat good food. He was cruel to his family and even pawned his aunt's satin...
Uncle Gu whispered to Aunt Gu in private that they were afraid that Ruinian would do anything to cheat the people and his family after he became rich.
It's a pity that his leg tendons were cut, but it's a good thing for the people in the tribe. At least he will be quiet and the tribe will not be implicated by him.
Liu Tiejian pretended to comfort him: "Just take care of it."
Jia shed tears.
Liu Tielian understood it instantly and was afraid that he would be disabled from then on.
Uncle Gu said, "Since Ruinian's leg is injured, don't think about it, and don't feel like the sky has fallen. Daqiao's leg was injured as well, but he still lived. Don't blame others. If he can make baskets and carry a backpack to support his family, so can Ruinian. Don't think I'm being harsh. Our Gu family has been farming for 800 generations. The fact that Jingzhe won the first place in the case is already a huge smoke coming out of our ancestral grave. Don't expect to see smoke coming out twice. It's enough for us to have Jingzhe bring honor to our family. Ruinian's mind is not right. Even if he takes the imperial examination to become an official, he may get into big trouble. His affair with Xu Zaohua now affects the reputation of the clan. If he gets into trouble as an official, it may lead to the confiscation of property and extermination of the clan. Don't put out the smoke that Jingzhe has started with great difficulty."
Tong Huaqiong's lips curled up, Uncle Gu is really a wonderful person.
But what Second Uncle Gu said is right. Gu Ruinian behaves improperly and has evil thoughts. He thinks he is the male protagonist and has no moral concepts. Such a person in officialdom is like Fan Tong in the previous life, who brings disaster wherever he goes like a locust.
In this era dominated by clans, Gu Jingzhe, as his cousin, would still be one in the eyes of outsiders, even if they broke off ties. Gu Jingzhe would then have to clean up his mess everywhere, and might even extinguish the incense that had finally come out of the Gu family's ancestral tomb.
Uncle Gu’s worries are not unfounded.
Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Ruinian's leg. It was good that it was disabled. From then on, his path to scientific research would be cut off, and he would not be able to make any splash in such a small place as Qinghe Bay.
Liu Tielian wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, so he picked up the teacup and drank tea to cover it up.
He agreed with his second uncle Gu's words. If Gu Ruinian was a member of his own clan, he would probably have locked Gu Ruinian up to prevent him from leading other ambitious young people in the clan astray.
Gu Ruinian clenched his hands tightly. Has even his clan given up on him?
Just wait and see, he is not completely defeated yet.
Jia was touched upon by the fact that Ruinian was unable to take the imperial examination, and she burst into tears again.
Mr. Gu, Mrs. Gu and others were unhappy to hear this, and their faces looked ugly as if they were slapped in public.
However, Uncle Gu always spoke directly, and the old couple didn't know how to refute him.
Old Man Gu forced himself to force a smile that was uglier than crying. He couldn't turn against his own brother, and he had to rely on Second Uncle Gu for everything in the village.
The most difficult problem at the moment is how to deal with the Xu family.
Jia said nicely that she would go to settle accounts with the Xu family and ask them how they raised their daughter. But can she really settle accounts just because she wants to?
The Xu family is not easy to deal with.
Old Master Gu felt a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have established good relationships with the first wife when he returned to Qinghe Bay. Now, the ones who can hold the Xu family down are his eldest daughter-in-law and Jingzhe.
"Ruinian was at fault in this matter." Old Man Gu finally spoke, and said slowly, "Ruinian was also punished, and one of his legs was crippled. What does the Xu family want from Ruinian? His life? The government has not convicted Ruinian of any crime, so why should the Xu family want his life? I would like to ask the village chief to mediate and have a good talk with the Xu family to see what they really want. Whatever my Gu family can afford, I will give without hesitation."
Liu Tielan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Mr. Gu finally mentioned the purpose of his visit.
However, he didn't like what Mr. Gu said. Even at this point, he was still acting so arrogantly.
Although Xu Jin and his family are not good people, what kind of good person is Gu Ruinian?
Liu Tiejian pondered for a moment and said, "The Xu family is angry now. They smashed your old house. You should just take it as a loss and don't take it to heart. Even if the Xu family doesn't want Ruinian's life, they can't escape the punishment for Ruinian. This is what they call a death sentence can be avoided but a living crime cannot be escaped."
The Xu family did want to kill Ruinian, but for the sake of the village chief's dignity, he had to stop them from killing him.
Old Lady Gu raised her eyes and said, "No one can touch Ruinian. Only the Xu family dares!"
Liu Tielan smiled and said, "Whether you dare or not is not up to you, an old lady."
"Aunt, think about it, if it was the Xu family in the past, they would have captured Ruinian and killed him long ago. These past few days, it was my second uncle and I who were dealing with him. To put it bluntly, they want to vent their anger now, and you have to let them vent it. If you don't let them vent their anger now, they might find a chance to do more harm to Ruinian in the future. It's fine if you don't go back to the village, but you will have to live in Qinghe Bay in the future. I'm not here to discuss this matter with you to favor the Xu family. I'm here to take care of your family for the sake of Dashu Niang."