Chapter 14: Agreement to Marry 2

Gu Hai Xiong knew that his reputation was at stake, so dealing with his daughter, who was about to get married and kept running out of the house every few days, was becoming troublesome for him.

Taking advantage of his mother’s ruckus, he decided to adopt the attitude of a family head and sternly warned his daughter, saying, “You’ve already asked your grandmother to check the auspicious date for your wedding. During this time, you need to stay at home and work honestly. The herbs you brought back, dry them out yourself, they might still be useful.”

“But, Father, I have a reason for going out. Brother Lu’s child is ill and the condition is unstable. I want to go check on them. We can’t be without conscience. I need to repay their kindness,” she explained.

Gu Le Shu quietly ate his meal, feeling nervous for his sister. Since the accident with his sister falling into the water, everything had seemed to change. She had become especially brave and no longer hesitated to challenge Father, something she would never have done before.

Gu Le Shu suddenly looked up and carefully studied his sister. This felt a bit strange. She was still his sister, but her personality seemed to have changed completely. Was this what the elders meant when they said that experiencing hardships could alter a person’s character? Or was she under some kind of influence?

Filled with doubt, he turned to his parents and asked, “Dad, Mom, do you think Sister is possessed? Who would want to get married so eagerly?”

Gu Le You couldn’t help but laugh at his question, giving him a glare. “Stop talking nonsense. If I were possessed, I would be acting strange by now.”

Lin Shi agreed with her daughter’s reasoning. Looking around cautiously, she said, “Don’t talk nonsense. Be careful, there might be someone listening.”

Following her warning, Gu Hai Xiong scolded his son, “Stop talking nonsense. If someone hears that, they’ll think your sister is an omen, and it will bring trouble to our family. If word gets around, we might even be driven out of the village. Do you want us to become beggars?”

Gu Le Shu thought it was no big deal. It was just a casual comment, who would take it seriously?

Gu Le You picked up her chopsticks and hit him on the head, pretending to be angry, “If you cause me to be stuck at home, I will never forgive you. I won’t play with you again.”

As soon as Gu Le Shu heard this, he panicked, “No way! If you don’t take me, I will make sure you can’t go out.”

Gu Le You also got upset, stood up, and chased after him. Gu Le Shu ran ahead, and they both playfully ran around the dining table.

Lin Shi watched them bicker and couldn’t help but smile. Gu Hai Xiong also smiled, though it was only for a short while.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, a rapid knocking sound.

Gu Le Shu quickly finished his meal and went to open the door.

When the door opened, Yang Shi rushed in and shouted, “How can you still be eating? Your mother is sick and lying in my house!”

Gu Hai Xiong, who was always a filial son, heard this and immediately rushed out, heading toward his older brother’s house.

The rest of the family was a bit confused. How could she be sick so quickly? Wasn’t there something suspicious about it?

Yang Shi, seeing that none of them reacted, said with sarcastic tone, “Your daughter is about to get married, so she’s acting tough, thinking she’s marrying into a good family, yet she doesn’t even care about her sick mother-in-law.”

Gu Le You didn’t care that Yang Shi was an elder; she snapped back, “Who said we don’t care about Grandma? We just heard the news and haven’t had time to react. Besides, Auntie, you’re also Grandma’s daughter-in-law. Why are you still here?”

Yang Shi was furious, raising her hand to slap them, but Lin Shi immediately stepped in to protect her children. Soon, a physical fight broke out, attracting the attention of nearby neighbors.

This news quickly reached the village chief, who rushed over with a few trusted people. Even though it was late at night, when something happened in a village, the village chief had to step in.

By the time the village chief arrived, the fight was over, and all four people had visible injuries.

Seeing their wounded faces, the village chief was furious. “You’re family! How can you fight like this? What’s the reason behind this? Do you think I have time to deal with your petty squabbles all the time?”

The four of them remained silent under the village chief’s stern gaze.

Not getting any answers, the village chief decided to wait them out, as wasting time was affecting everyone.

After a while, Gu Le You spoke up, “Village Chief, my aunt said that Grandma was ill, and we were just questioning it. That’s when she tried to hit us.”

A villager who came along with the village chief spoke fairly, “Which elderly woman jokes about being sick? If you don’t believe it, send someone to check. Also, none of your men have returned, so it’s probably true.”

After this reasoning, the family quickly left for Gu Hai Cheng’s house.

When Gu Hai Xiong arrived at his older brother’s house, his mother had already “fallen ill” and was lying in bed.

In reality, it was all orchestrated by his sister-in-law, who wanted to make sure the second family didn’t back out of the marriage and that they could collect the bride price. She would not let the opportunity slip away.

Thus, she had the old lady pretend to be sick to get Gu Hai Xiong to promise that the marriage would go through.

Gu Hai Xiong, upon seeing his mother’s weak state, immediately felt distressed and was almost in tears.

The old lady took the opportunity to say, “I’ve worked so hard for your family and got sick. You must promise me that your daughter’s marriage will go through without any changes.”

Gu Hai Xiong solemnly agreed.