Chapter Twenty-Nine: Rushing to the City

Chu Chengjin was somewhat surprised when he saw her turn back to support him, but his face still carried a gentle smile.

“I thought my dear wife had forgotten all about her husband!”

“No matter what, I still owe you a favor this time. Even though it was an exchange, you’re the one who suffered a loss.”

Gu Xiaoyao had no intention of delving into his secrets; given time, she would eventually know everything. However, bringing Li and Gu Xiaoshu back to Lotus Flower Village would surely provoke a stir from that old woman and the two younger brothers.

“There’s no need to be so formal, my dear. We are husband and wife; you shouldn’t be so polite with me.” Chu Chengjin’s eyes curved slightly as he smiled with refined grace.

If she hadn’t seen him standing there with a short blade in hand, Gu Xiaoyao might really have believed he was a frail scholar.

Yet, seeing him smile so beautifully made her feel a little uneasy.

“Xiaoshu, go ahead and get on the ox cart first and help steady your mother. You should sit down too. Later, you should visit the clinic as well.”

She still didn’t know exactly what injuries he had sustained; he looked deathly pale, and every step left him breathless, as if he were on the brink of death.

After settling them on the cart, Gu Xiaoyao climbed up as well. Once the driver, Uncle Da Tou, saw that they were all seated, he quickly snapped his whip and urged the oxen onward.

In the courtyard, Old Gu and Madam Yang exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with barely concealed dismay.

“What are we going to do? Do you think they really won’t come back?” Old Gu clasped his hands behind his back, pacing anxiously around the yard at the very thought.

“What can you do if they don’t? It’s all because Dachai is so useless. If he were like the other men in the village, willing to work and do his part, would our family have ended up like this?” Madam Yang was seething with frustration; her eldest son never wanted to do anything.

All he ever thought about was gambling, and that’s why their family had fallen apart. It was no wonder their daughter-in-law and Xiaoshu were unwilling to return. Sometimes, she even worried that her daughter-in-law would take both children and run away.

“That’s not something you should say in front of them, even if Dachai’s temper is bad. After all, between your son and daughter-in-law, your son is closer to you,” Old Gu chided. Sometimes, he really thought his wife didn’t know where to draw the line.

The villagers who had gathered to watch the excitement, especially a few of the local ne’er-do-wells, shouted with ‘kind’ reminders when they saw Gu Dachai still struggling.

“Uncle, Dachai is still tied up there! Aren’t you going to let him down? Let him go chase after his wife!”

“That’s right, that’s right! Dachai, your wife is running off—if you don’t go after her, you’ll end up a bachelor for life! Ha!”

Many of these layabouts had no wives or children themselves, so they found such spectacles especially entertaining.

Upon hearing their words, Gu Dachai was so furious his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He shouted at his parents in the courtyard.

“Father, Mother, what are you doing just standing there? Hurry up and get me down from this tree! I need to go after them right now!”

Old Gu wanted to untie him—he’d been hanging there long enough, and any longer could be dangerous. But Madam Yang thought he should suffer a bit more. Why chase after Xiaoyao and the others? Go after them just to get beaten up again?

“Don’t let him down. If he goes after them, there’s bound to be trouble,” Madam Yang shook her head.

Old Gu saw his wife’s reluctance, glanced at her, then at his son hanging from the tree, and could only sigh helplessly.

While they continued to agonize in the courtyard, Gu Xiaoyao and the others, traveling in Uncle Da Tou’s ox cart, had already entered the town.

“I’ll take you to the clinic. Do you want me to wait for you to finish seeing the doctor and then take you to the foot of Lotus Flower Mountain?” Uncle Da Tou believed in seeing things through to the end; he couldn’t bear to just drop them here and leave.