Chapter 822 - 825: Result

Chapter 822: Chapter 825: Result

Jin Qianqian wasn’t disparaging her own son. Except when facing his family, Gu Benluo always maintained a stoic expression. This behavior, which was exactly the same as his father’s, caused Jin Qianqian some distress.

Gu Wenheng did it to maintain his official authority outdoors; wearing such a face made it easier to suppress his subordinates. But for Luo Luo, a young lad, to walk around with a face like that—wouldn’t he scare off anyone interested in him?

It should be known that in these ancient times, the "aloof and edgy" trope wasn’t popular at all. A refined and gentle demeanor was the top choice for a spouse.

Seeing Li Cuicui sitting there listening attentively, everyone knew she was somewhat interested. They no longer cared about maintaining their families’ dignity in front of others. As long as it was an embarrassing incident or a problem that troubled them, they poured it all out in front of Li Cuicui.

Watching her daughters-in-law chime in one after another with their complaints, Li Cuicui suddenly realized, how did the family have so many troublesome matters?

It seemed these sons and daughters-in-law had been deceiving her all along. Their lives weren’t as good as they appeared; they were still quite a handful.

As her thoughts shifted to Gu Yuanfeng, she felt another bout of chest tightness.

"Where is Gu Yuanfeng? How is she doing now?"

Seeing that not a single daughter-in-law answered her, Li Cuicui laughed out of anger. "You don’t think I still care about her, do you?

"I just want to know how the clan dealt with her."

Before they fled from the disaster, when everyone couldn’t even protect themselves, the clan wouldn’t have bothered with such trivial matters. But things were different now. They had depended on each other all these years, and with Old Seventh’s current status, the clan couldn’t possibly ignore it.

At the thought of Old Seventh, Li Cuicui suddenly looked at Jin Qianqian and asked anxiously, "Daughter of the Jin Family, is Old Seventh affected? Will he lose his official position?"

As an old woman, she didn’t know much about outside affairs, but she had heard people mention that if they passed away, Old Seventh would have to observe a three-year mourning period at home. His original official post would also be stripped away. Once the mourning period ended, he might not even be reinstated.

Because of this, Gu Dashi had been cared for even more meticulously. Everything was done according to the doctor’s orders, and no one dared to slack off even a tiny bit.

Jin Qianqian was speechless. She thought, "This might actually be a good thing. If he observes mourning for three years, he might just avoid the transition of imperial power."

Her brief distraction, however, was misunderstood by everyone present. They all secretly cursed Gu Yuanfeng for not acting like a decent human being; she was simply a massive disaster.

Li Cuicui slapped her thigh and cursed, "That wretched girl! She has completely ruined her maiden family.

"From now on, I don’t have this daughter anymore. I’m going to sever our mother-daughter relationship."

She regretted it once again. It wasn’t that the clan elders hadn’t reminded her in the past, but she was her biological daughter after all. She thought Gu Yuanfeng was just taking a little advantage of her maiden home, and since the family had plenty, she just let her be.

"This is all my fault." Li Cuicui patted her chest bitterly. "If I hadn’t cared about our mother-daughter bond, I wouldn’t have dragged you brothers down..."

Jin Qianqian hurriedly stood up, grabbed the old lady’s hand, and said, "Mother, please don’t blame yourself. My husband doesn’t mind..."

Even if this matter didn’t seem serious to them and could even turn out to be a blessing in disguise, Jin Qianqian still didn’t want to make things easy for Gu Yuanfeng.

How could he not mind? That was what the others in the room were thinking. If this had happened to them, they would probably have eaten Gu Yuanfeng alive. But since Li Cuicui hadn’t fully recovered yet and truly shouldn’t get angry, they could only offer gentle words of comfort.

While things were left unsaid about Gu Yuanfeng’s situation here, the results of the discussion over at the ancestral hall had also been finalized.

They couldn’t make a big scene out of it, as that would ruin the reputation of the Gu family’s daughters. But it was also impossible for them to just let the matter slide easily.

Gu Wenheng waited until they couldn’t reach a conclusion before saying lightly, "We’ve had Gu Yuanlei expelled from the clan before, so adding Gu Yuanfeng to the list won’t matter much."

"But what about the future daughters of the Gu family?" Gu Sanbu had to consider the young children in the clan.

Because of Gu Wenheng’s existence, the Gu family’s daughters could all secure a good marriage. However, if their reputation was ruined, it would be extremely difficult for them to arrange good matches in the short term.

Gu Wenheng looked up at the crowd. "Madam has several nannies from the palace by her side. Over the next few years, they can stay in the village for a while to teach the girls."

With Nanny Gong’s teachings, the future daughters of the Gu family will also be cautious in their actions. At the very least, they won’t be as brainless as Gu Yuanfeng and cause such disasters. Besides, this was a great thing that would elevate their social standing. One could see everyone’s eyes lighting up the moment they heard it.

"Will all the children of the Gu family be able to attend the training then?" Gu Datian, who had two granddaughters of marriageable age, immediately asked.

"Of course," Gu Wenheng replied. "It’s just that these nannies are very strict. They’ll have to be able to endure the hardship."

"They can endure it, they can," a bystander with daughters at home quickly said. "If they can’t endure the hardship, our families won’t tolerate them either."

In the past, receiving Nanny Gong’s teachings was something they wouldn’t even dare to dream of. Even if they could just learn a little on the surface, it would be enough to benefit them for a lifetime.

Seeing this, Gu Sanbu naturally wouldn’t object. It was for the best if a muddle-headed person like Gu Yuanfeng could be dealt with once and for all.

He immediately had Gu Yi write down a letter of severance and stamped it with the Clan Leader’s seal right away. "But how is your mother’s health right now?"

After all, this was her biological daughter. Even if she didn’t sign and stamp it herself, she at least needed to be informed.

Gu Yuanjin was also a bit worried. "I am the eldest brother. I’ll sign it on my mother’s behalf.

"Afterward, I’ll go beg for her forgiveness in person."

Naturally, the others had no objections. With Gu Dashi absent, Gu Yuanjin truly had the authority to make decisions for their branch.

"This matter cannot just end like this. That boy from the Shi family should also be taught a lesson." Gu Sanbu didn’t even consult the others and issued an order directly. "Before letting them leave, drag the mother and son to the ancestral tablets and give them twenty paddings each.

"Whichever boy from your families runs the fastest, have them tell the Shi family to come pick them up. They are forbidden from entering the village ever again."

Naturally, the others didn’t object. By the time Shi Dayong took them away on his ox cart, the matter was considered settled.

***

Gu Yuanfeng lay on the ox cart with a pale face, while Shi Laiyun beside her kept cursing up a storm.

"A bunch of ruthless people! I think they simply look down on poor relatives like us and found this excuse to wash their hands of us completely.

"Mother, I have to say, you’re too useless. You shamelessly groveled to please them all these years, but who among them ever took you seriously? They kick us out and beat us whenever they please. We don’t even care for maternal relatives like them anyway!"

From the moment she pressed her thumbprint until now, Gu Yuanfeng still hadn’t snapped out of her daze. She thought she would at most suffer a beating, but she never expected them to make her press her thumbprint afterward.

Amidst her son’s cursing, Gu Yuanfeng turned to ask Shi Laiyun, "Has your maternal family really severed all ties with your mother?"

Shi Laiyun’s cursing came to an abrupt halt. He thought, "I almost forgot about that."