Gu Dagu's face looked somewhat displeased; she hated it when people talked about her origins, saying she wasn't from the Old Gu Family.
Third Grandma and Granny Gu didn't get along, and Gu Dagu was quite afraid of Third Grandma. She quickly put on a smile and said, "Third Aunt, look at what you're saying. I'm also a part of the Old Gu Family, the eldest aunt to Sister Xiu and Brother Cheng. What could I possibly do to them?"
"You think we're blind, don't you?" Third Grandma looked at Brother Cheng, who was held in Gu Dashan's arms, his cheeks red and swollen from a beating, his mouth bleeding, and two teeth missing. Her heart hurt as she turned to scold Gu Dagu: "Pooh, you heartless witch, we don't have such a malicious person like you in our Old Gu Family. Look at what you've done to Brother Cheng!"
Gu Dagu, after getting a torrent of scolding from Third Grandma, felt a surge of anger herself and pointed at the sobbing Gu Jinxiu, saying, "Third Aunt, don't just grab someone and scold them to death. This isn't even my fault, it's..."
Bang!
Gu Jinli saw that Gu Dagu was about to blame Gu Jinxiu. Knowing how much people valued reputation in ancient times, she didn't let her finish talking. She swung the wooden stick in her hand at Gu Dagu.
Gu Dagu screamed repeatedly from the beating, trying to dodge as she cursed, "Gu Xiaoyu, you dare raise a hand against your elder. Your grandma won't spare you when she comes back."
Third Grandma, hearing Gu Dagu bring up Granny Gu, got so angry that she snatched the wooden stick from Gu Jinli's hand to chase and hit Gu Dagu herself: "Now it's this old lady beating you. If you don't like it, bring Ms. Pan here. This old woman isn't afraid of her."
Third Grandma used considerable force, and Gu Dagu cried out in pain. Qian Guangzong and his sons were so frightened that they didn't dare to help, and instead backed away several steps to avoid getting caught in the beating.
The nearby refugees, hearing the commotion, flocked to the Old Gu Family's resting place to watch the spectacle.
"The Old Gu Family is at it again."
"Aren't they always? Along the way, it's always the Old Gu Family that's the most dramatic. The Old Gu Family people are either beating or scolding the eldest family."
Granny Gu's constant fighting and berating made the Old Gu Family infamous among this group of refugees.
"What's the cause of the ruckus this time?" A refugee glanced over at Gu Dagu and exclaimed, "Today it's not Gu Dashan's family getting beaten, but Granny Gu's eldest daughter."
Some refugees smirked, "Who cares who's getting beaten? It's none of our business. We're just here for the show."
Elder Ding looked at the chaotic scene before him, his face dark with anger, glaring at Qian Guangzong as he threatened, "Qian Guangzong, are you playing tricks on me? If you don't hand the people over today, you can expect to compensate the Qi Mansion tenfold in grain and silver coins!"
Daring to deceive the Qi Mansion, did they really think of Qi Mansion as some rural bumpkin? Their Old Master was a Capital Official in the Capital.
Qian Guangzong knew the Qi Mansion was an official family and couldn't be offended, but he was no match for Third Grandma, so he could only signal to Qian Li'er to go bring back Granny Gu.
Qian Li'er quickly slipped away.
Granny Gu, for the sake of her reputation, had handed over the selling of Gu Dashan's family to Gu Dagu's family. Who knew they would mess it up? Hearing Qian Li'er's tearful plea, Granny Gu realized she couldn't hide any longer and had to bring her whole family back to the Old Gu Family's resting place.
Tap tap tap!
Granny Gu struck the ground hard with her cane and shouted, "What are you all doing crowding around my family's resting place? Shoo shoo shoo, all of you scram!"
Gu Dagu, hearing Granny Gu's voice, with disheveled hair, ran over and hid behind Granny Gu, crying, "Mother, Third Aunt has gone mad and keeps beating your daughter."
"Pooh, you're the mad one, you rotten-hearted dog! Do I need to explain why I'm beating you again?" Third Grandma, with her old fierceness, pointed at the injuries on Brother Cheng's face and said, "Look what your family has done to Brother Cheng! A child not even four years old, and you could still hit him."
Gu Dagu, shameless as ever, relied on the fact that no one had seen Qian Chenggui hit Brother Cheng, loudly denying it: "We didn't hit Brother Cheng, he fell and got hurt on his own."
Brother Cheng, understanding Gu Dagu's words, pointed his little finger at Gu Dagu and Elder Ding, sobbing, "Bad people, they, they are all bad people, trying to take Sister away. I wouldn't let them, so they hit me."
Gu Jinli had been watching Elder Ding all along. Hearing Brother Cheng's words, her eyes turned cold; this matter indeed involved him.
Granny Gu, hearing Brother Cheng's words, looked towards Qian Guangzong.
Qian Guangzong immediately said, "What bad people? This is Elder Ding from the Qi Family in the Prefecture. He wasn't trying to take your sister, it was your father who sold your family, and Elder Ding came to take them away."
With one sentence, the area burst into murmurs.
The refugees whispered among themselves, "So it's about selling people."
In hard times like these, the selling of sons and daughters was all too common; it wasn't unusual for Gu Dashan's family to sell themselves into servitude.
Gu Dashan was stunned, looking at Qian Guangzong to confirm he was saying he had sold his family of six, and hurriedly denied it: "No, I didn't sell Sister Xiu and them."
Qian Guangzong, sly and cunning, took out a piece of indenture and waved it in his hand: "This indenture here has your fingerprint."
"Four days ago, knowing we were out of grain, you couldn't bear the family going hungry, so you said you wanted to sell yourself into servitude to exchange for grain. I tried to persuade you then, but you said you couldn't let your father-in-law and mother-in-law suffer and had to sell yourself. So I had no choice but to help find a way. Finally, we contacted the Qi Mansion, and in front of Elder Ding and me, you personally placed your fingerprint, selling your family of six. Now that you're regretting it, it's too late." Qian Guangzong lied, pushing the blame of selling Gu Dashan's family onto Gu Dashan himself.
Granny Gu, wiping her tears, looked at Gu Dashan and said, "After your father and I found out, we scolded you thoroughly and told you to return the grain to Elder Ding and get back the indenture, but you're so stubborn, you refused... Now that Elder Ding is here to fetch people, you deny it again. Dashan, what do you want? Do you want everyone to think this old lady is heartless and wants to sell off your whole family?"
Granny Gu was all theatrics, crying with tears and snot flowing, looking every bit the wronged mother of an unfilial son.
Little Sister Gu also added, "Yes, big brother, the family persuaded you about this, but you didn't listen and even told us to hide it from elder sister-in-law, saying you would tell her when the Qi Mansion came to fetch them."
Qian Li'er, even more venomously, added, "Big brother, today's plan to trick Sister Xiu and Brother Cheng over was still your idea."
Ms. Zheng gloated and shouted, "Big brother, you did this, now that it's coming to a head, you can't falsely accuse us."
The Old Gu Family, one after another, left Gu Dashan without a chance to refute, leaving him pale-faced, trembling, and unable to utter a single word.
Gu Jinli didn't believe that Gu Dashan would sell their family; today's events were clearly Old Gu Family setting them up, trying to sell them off given the opportunity.
"Dad, don't be afraid of what you didn't do; there is justice in this world. We'll go find the village chief and reason about it."
Luo Huiniang was furious at Qian Guangzong's words. Hearing Gu Jinli wanting to find the village chief, she volunteered, "Xiao Yu, wait here. I'll go get the village chief right now." With that, she ran off.
Gu Dashan finally came to his senses, looking panicked at Gu Jinli, "Dad didn't sell you, Xiaoyu, you have to believe Dad."
"Dad, I know, you wouldn't sell us; someone doesn't want to see our family do well." Gu Jinli's cold gaze swept over the members of the Old Gu Family, memorizing each of their faces.
The Old Gu Family felt a chill under Gu Jinli's stare, but knowing they had the indenture, they were confident that Gu Dashan had no choice but to accept it, so they glared back at Gu Jinli with brazen faces.