Chapter 617 - 618: Cold-Hearted

Chapter 617: Chapter 618: Cold-Hearted

Xu Yulan coaxed and cajoled, finally bringing Liu Yun back home. Seeing the two return in such a sorry state, Xu Shuanghong and her two daughters took one look and knew they hadn’t gained any advantage. They quietly retreated to their rooms.

Gu Kaiping had a hangover from the previous night and had just woken up. Seeing their disheveled appearances, he frowned. "Even though our family isn’t what it used to be, you still need to pay attention to your appearances. Look at yourselves. What do you look like? You look like madwomen."

Xu Yulan was speechless. "She *is* a madwoman! Your wife has gone crazy, and you can’t even tell," she thought.

But on the surface, she put on a bitter face. "Kaiping, hurry up and take Liu Yun to her room, then go fetch a doctor. I think there’s something wrong with her."

"What’s wrong with her? Didn’t she go out with you?" Gu Kaiping looked her up and down. Aside from her messy hair and disheveled clothes, she looked perfectly fine—no illness, no injuries...

As soon as Liu Yun saw Gu Kaiping, she excitedly grabbed his arm. She used so much force that Gu Kaiping’s face instantly contorted in pain.

"Husband, let’s go to the authorities right now! Bai Suihe and her people are in that small fishing village, and who knows what they’re doing! The entire village is filled with only their people. I suspect they’re colluding with those Japanese pirates!"

"Let go of me." How could Gu Kaiping care about what she was saying right now? This madwoman was digging her fingernails right into his flesh.

"Are you crazy? Why are you using so much force?" Gu Kaiping tried hard to shake her off, but unexpectedly, Liu Yun gripped him even tighter.

She muttered, "Throw them all in jail. They all deserve to die. Once they’re dead, we can live a good life."

Xu Yulan was so frightened that she hid by the door. She felt somewhat fortunate that Liu Yun hadn’t gone crazy like this earlier. Otherwise, how could her small frame have withstood it? Look at Gu Kaiping’s contorted face—just how much strength was she using?

Seeing that he couldn’t shake her off, Gu Kaiping lost his patience. Unable to hold back anymore, he slapped her with his other hand. He used his full strength for this strike. With a loud SMACK, Liu Yun let go and stumbled to the ground.

"Kaiping, Liu Yun was acting strange while we were out earlier. It took everything I had just to bring her back," Xu Yulan didn’t forget to claim credit even at this moment. "She’s lost her mind. Hurry and get a doctor to look at her."

"What did you two do while you were out? Why is she like this?" Gu Kaiping directed his anger at Xu Yulan. "Did you do something?"

Xu Yulan felt deeply wronged. "Didn’t we tell you? We went to the Shangpu fishing village to see Bai Suihe, to see if we could get her to help our family out.

"But Bai Suihe has disowned all her relatives now. As soon as we met, she had someone block us. She wouldn’t even speak to us.

"Maybe Liu Yun was triggered then and started saying some nonsensical things. I was afraid something bad would happen, so I could only rush her back here."

Xu Yulan hurriedly shifted the blame. Even if there was a problem, it was caused by Bai Suihe. What did it have to do with her?

"I haven’t lost my mind!" Liu Yun struggled to her feet, speaking with agitation. "Husband, you have to believe me! We were never supposed to end up like this. You were supposed to be promoted by one rank, and Father too! All of this is because of Bai Suihe. If she and that bastard child of hers die, everything will return to normal.

"Everything they have now was stolen from our fortune. I just want everything back on track.

"This is a great opportunity. They must be hiding some dark secret in that remote little fishing village.

"Where did all the original villagers go? They must have all been murdered by them!

"Hurry up and report them to the authorities! We have to get them arrested. Once they fall into ruin, our Gu family will rise again!"

Gu Kaiping furrowed his brow. He was starting to believe Xu Yulan’s words—Liu Yun had truly gone mad.

Looking at her crazed state, how did she have any semblance of a lady of the house?

Her twisted expression made her look exceptionally mean and spiteful, no different from the rustic village women he had seen in the past. A flash of disgust involuntarily crossed his eyes. If the Gu family’s fortune had been affected by anyone, it was more likely tied to this madwoman than to Bai Suihe.

However, her words from a moment ago had also taken root in Gu Kaiping’s mind. He ignored Liu Yun and turned to ask Xu Yulan, "What did Liu Yun just say? Is it all true?"

Xu Yulan replied, "That’s just Liu Yun’s speculation. We went over there early in the morning, so it’s normal that we might not have seen any villagers.

"Besides, they live by the sea, so the villagers might have gone beachcombing.

"Kaiping, you know how it is. The common folk at the bottom can’t afford to be idle. They’re busy from the moment they wake up until the sky turns dark."

Xu Yulan had thought about this question on the way back and felt that Liu Yun’s reasoning was rather far-fetched. "Bai Suihe and her people have absolutely no need to do that," she continued. "Even if the village is just their own people now, with the Bai family’s wealth, they could just offer some silver for the villagers to move away. Plenty of people would be willing.

"Besides, that place isn’t exactly isolated. If a whole village truly disappeared, they’re bound to have relatives nearby. It would have caused a huge uproar a long time ago."

Gu Kaiping felt a bit disappointed. "That’s right," he thought. "Xu Yulan’s logic is that of a normal person. Bai Suihe and her people wouldn’t have the guts.

"The Bai family is just a merchant household. Plenty of people are looking to find fault with them. Anything that can be solved with silver is nothing to them; there’s no need to take such a massive risk."

But then he felt he had lost face in front of Xu Yulan. He had just been swayed by a few words from this madwoman. He coughed dryly. "Why is Liu Yun like this? Did Bai Suihe say anything else during all of this?"

Xu Yulan recalled carefully. "...No, Bai Suihe completely ignored us. After dropping off her younger brother, she turned and left. It’s possible her attitude provoked Liu Yun, causing her to get completely fixated on it."

Xu Yulan was also a bit disappointed. If Bai Suihe had said a few more words, she could have pinned the blame on her. Then they could have gone over to make a scene and perhaps extort some benefits from it. What a pity.

Gu Kaiping also felt it was a pity. Turning his head, he saw Liu Yun still muttering to herself. He felt deeply irritated and didn’t want to deal with this mess. Thus, he said to Xu Yulan, "Take Liu Yun to her room to rest. We’ll discuss everything else when Father returns."

"But, Kaiping, Liu Yun is in this state. Shouldn’t we get a doctor for her?" Seeing his callous demeanor, a wave of sorrow couldn’t help but well up in Xu Yulan’s heart. No matter how many flaws Liu Yun had, she was still wholeheartedly dedicated to the first branch of the family, to Kaiping and the others. She clearly wasn’t right in the head right now, yet he was just going to ignore her?

"How can I get one? Do you want all our neighbors to know our family has produced a madwoman?" Gu Kaiping bellowed angrily. "If word gets out, how are the children of this household supposed to marry in the future?"