Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 1151: Longing

Those people may look down on the Gu Family and harm them as they please, but when facing the Ouyang Family, they dare not make a move.

The Ouyang Family is different from noble families and families of nobles. They not only have the trust of Emperor Chu but also earn the admiration of scholars. As long as Master Ouyang’s teachings on filial piety reach the Capital, no one will pressure them with tales of filial duty.

Qi Kangming heard this and breathed a sigh of relief: "That’s good, otherwise we would be disgusted once more."

Filial piety can crush a person; they have already disgusted Elder Gu enough and don’t want to be sickened by him using filial piety again.

However...

"Master Ouyang’s family is indeed formidable. Not only is their family head, Elder Ouyang Hong, a two-generation master to the Emperor, but Master Ouyang’s fame spreads across Great Chu, and the family’s youth are promising," Qi Kangming praised the younger members of the Ouyang family.

Gu Jin’an thought of the Ouyang family’s young lady... That lady was heroic, skilled in horseback riding and archery, with the ability to lead troops. When faced with fierce bandits, she quickly organized the family’s Shadow Guards into a cavalry, leading them into battle to rescue him.

Recalling the scene where he was saved by Miss Ouyang, Gu Jin’an’s gaze softened, thinking that she must have reached Master Ouyang’s residence by now.

He wondered if a noble family’s young lady could adapt to life in a small town? Would she dislike the countryside? What would happen if she hated the countryside? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Hmm, this could indeed be tricky, but it’s not without solutions. In the future, he can take her with him to his appointment, so she doesn’t live in the countryside.

Gu Jin’an’s thoughts had already wandered far beyond reality, Qi Kangming observed his increasingly gentle face and inadvertently raised smile, furrowing his brows, and asked aloud: "Good Brother An, what’s wrong with you?"

What beautiful thought has crossed your mind? Are you smiling unconsciously?

Gu Jin’an snapped back, retracting his smile, and said, "It’s nothing, just thinking about the joyful expressions on our family’s faces when we return home made me a bit happy."

Qi Kangming didn’t believe him; although Gu Jin’an cared deeply for his family, to the point of being willing to die for them, the smile and gaze he had earlier were clearly not directed toward his family, but rather... resembled the expression when someone longs for a young lady.

That kind of joyous affection is very different from the joy of missing one’s family.

However, since Gu Jin’an wasn’t willing to explain, Qi Kangming didn’t press for more.

Before long, Xiao Sui arrived. Seeing Qi Kangming in the room, he hesitated briefly but still entered.

Good Brother An knew he would come and kept Qi Kangming here, indicating his intention to let Qi Kangming become aware of his presence.

"Young Master Gu." Xiao Sui swiftly flipped from outside the window before appearing in front of Gu Jin’an in the blink of an eye, saying, "The arrangements have been made. Those storytellers, city hoodlums, and beggars bought off by Tong San and Cao Juren have been dealt with. They will no longer use Elder Gu as a lever."

Gu Jin’an nodded as he listened, "Hmm, that’s good."

Qi Kangming only then realized that Tong San and Cao Juren had indeed bribed so many people, feeling indignant: "Their tactics are truly endless. Knowing that rumors and gossip can ruin a person, they deliberately bribed so many people to try and ruin you."

Truly despicable and shameless!

Gu Jin’an laughed: "Cousin Ming, no need to be angry. No matter how many tricks Tong Family and Cao Family have in their arsenal, they have now been defeated."

He managed to resolve the Tong Family issue without even showing his face.

He then addressed Xiao Sui: "This is Cousin Ming from the Qi Family, you’ve seen him."

San Lang cares deeply for Xiao Yu, and all his men know of Xiao Yu and all their relatives. If their family members encounter trouble, San Lang’s people can promptly come to the rescue, avoiding any identity mix-ups.

Xiao Sui bowed to Qi Kangming: "Greetings, Young Master Ming."

Qi Kangming nodded and returned the courtesy.

Xiao Sui was somewhat surprised, but the feeling of being respected made him accept Qi Kangming. If the Qi Family ever runs into trouble, he will lend his help.

...

The next morning, Mr. Ouyang Hu’s article spread throughout the Linhe Prefecture, with several storytelling halls, street folks, and city beggars chatting about how Cao Juren framed Gu Jin’an and was ultimately embarrassed by the Ouyang Family.

"The Cao Family has hit a brick wall this time, initially trying to harm First Place Gu, but now their reputation has almost been slapped away by the Ouyang Family."

"It’s more than just reputation gone; Cao Juren was so enraged he vomited blood. If not for timely doctor intervention, he might have died or suffered a stroke."

Some who heard this sighed at Cao Juren’s good health: "Cao Juren is quite elderly, yet his health is surprising. Vomiting blood and not having a stroke, that’s something."

Some chuckled meaningfully, saying, "Isn’t it remarkable? If not for a strong constitution, how could he have produced a son?"

The topic was about Cao Juren’s late-life romp in the fields, fathering a son with a prostitute at over sixty.

Hey, if you talk like this, the crowd will surely be intrigued.

"I’ve heard Cao Family’s daughters-in-law were furious upon learning of this, wanting to involve elder sisters-in-law in capturing and selling off the prostitute."

"What? You’re saying Cao Juren even kept the prostitute?" someone excitedly asked, "Wasn’t it ’keep the child, discard the mother’? How was the prostitute kept too? Oh my, Cao Juren is truly vigorous!"

"Hmph, isn’t he vigorous indeed? I’ve heard that every year, Cao Juren still goes to see them, staying in the countryside for a stretch. Staying for a while just to see an illegitimate child? Or is it for the prostitute’s care?"

The crowd clicked their tongues hearing this: "Cao Juren surely is something, how many kids did Cao Juren and the prostitute have? After all these years and considering Cao Juren’s diligence, wouldn’t they have three to five children?"

Goodness, this statement instantly shifted the town’s gossip to claims that Cao Juren consumed potent pills and fathered twins with the prostitute last year.

The Cao Family was furious upon hearing this, cursing at home: "Nonsense, Father only had one son with the prostitute, where did twins come from?"

Even more outrageous claims circulated, saying a total of five offspring were born. No matter if the prostitute was as prolific as a pig, producing so many, it’s impossible for Father.

But the public paid no mind, continuing to spread the gossip, each story more absurd than the last. And now, they even claim there were multiple prostitutes who bore children for Cao Juren. These prostitutes are currently bringing their sons to the Cao Family seeking recognition, wanting a share of the inheritance before Cao Juren passes.

Cao Family’s three sons were on the verge of madness, bribing storytellers to insist there’s no truth to the rumor, but no one believed them.

The daughters-in-law of Cao Family initially had no intentions of getting involved in this mess. However, the town gossip spread too excessively. They couldn’t take it, so they took their daughters back to their parent’s homes for temporary accommodations, saying: "The old man has crossed the line; there are still girls in the family without marriage prospects. As mothers, we need to show an attitude. Otherwise, others might assume our Cao Family lacks decorum, who then would be willing to come and marry our girls?"

"We’re leaving now; once this mess clears up, we’ll bring the girls back."

They left without mercy, leaving the chaos for Cao Family’s three sons to handle.