Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 819: Han Xiao

The Qian Guangzong father and son were never good people to begin with. After arriving at He’an Prefecture, they wandered around the Prefecture all day, always looking for opportunities to make money or women. They’ve visited all the brothels big and small in He’an Prefecture.

It took just two months for the silver notes Lord Lai gave to Gu Dagu during the New Year to be spent, and now they’re short on cash.

Qian Chengcai had a lover in a brothel who gave him some advice, saying: "Doesn’t Lord Lai really like your cousin? Invite him over, and our sisters will entertain him. As long as he feels comfortable, he can put in a good word for you before Lord Lai, and you can receive the Qian Family’s silver and continue living the good life."

Further, she said: "Your cousin stays cooped up in the mansion all day studying. At such a vigorous age, how can he succeed without some comfort? If he doesn’t let off some steam, he won’t even pass the Scholar exam."

This lover, one of the twelve prostitutes of Chunfeng Pavilion, called Han Xiao, was quite eloquent.

Upon hearing Han Xiao’s words, Qian Chengcai slapped his thigh and said: "Xiao, you’re right. My cousin is just a few months younger than me. I already have a son, but he’s still unmarried. Back in the Capital, he had women with him every night, but now in He’an Prefecture, he’s been stuck with exam preparations, pretending to be a gentleman. I think he’s about to grow sick without some comfort; we need to bring him some relief."

Seeing that Qian Chengcai was persuaded, Han Xiao quickly leaned against him and said: "Tomorrow morning, a batch of Flower Fairies will come from Jiangnan. They’re all beautiful women with figures like flowing water. I’ll have the madam reserve them for you, but they can only reserve them for two days. You need to bring your cousin here quickly; otherwise, the old patrons who hear the news might snatch them away."

Because of the flourishing flowers in Jiangnan, He’an Prefecture and Linhe Prefecture often invite girls from Jiangnan brothels to grace the scene. After a while, they send them back, and the earned silver taels are split fifty-fifty.

Many girls who can’t become top-grade prostitutes in Jiangnan come to Jianghuai, where their value skyrockets, and they can make quite a bit in one visit.

Qian Chengcai had heard in the Capital about how alluring the Jiangnan prostitutes and Flower Fairies were, with skills unmatched by other women, and had long wanted to try them. Hearing that Flower Fairies from Jiangnan would be coming, the blood rushed to his head, and he immediately said: "Reserve them, reserve them! Keep them for us. I’ll definitely bring him tomorrow night."

Han Xiao was very satisfied when Qian Chengcai agreed and, after serving him for a while, sent him out of the room comfortably.

Qian Guangzong was also having fun in Chunfeng Pavilion. After Qian Chengcai came out, he went to find Qian Guangzong and told him about the Flower Fairies from Jiangnan coming, asking him to help bring Gu Chengxian. Only by winning over Gu Chengxian can they gain Lord Lai’s attention, and it would be easier to ask the Lai Family for silver in the future.

Qian Guangzong’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, rubbing his hands as he spoke: "Flower Fairies are coming? We have to bring your cousin here to open his eyes. Ever since he arrived in He’an Prefecture, he hasn’t loosened up. If he doesn’t enjoy himself soon, he’ll grow sick."

Qian Guangzong and his son returned to the mansion together and first went to see Gu Youwen.

Gu Youwen had already woken up, but after waking, he was like a dead person, not only was his mouth crooked and eyes askew, he couldn’t even move an inch, resembling a corpse.

Lord Lai sent two maids and two servants to care for Gu Youwen and spent a fortune to have Doctor Liu stay at the mansion, keeping watch over Gu Youwen until a famous doctor from the Capital arrived.

Even though Lord Lai knew that Gu Youwen wouldn’t recover for the rest of his life, he was still not resigned, sending someone to the Capital to invite a famous doctor, hoping to try his luck and see if they could cure Gu Youwen?

Doctor Liu thought Lord Lai was being redundant, but he wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs. If Lord Lai had the silver and was willing to invite a famous doctor, he just needed to keep watch over Gu Youwen.

However...

Doctor Liu frowned and looked at Qian Guangzong and his son with hostility: "You better leave quickly, reeking as you do will only worsen the patient’s condition."

The Qian father and son were quite something, with two people paralyzed at home; they still had the leisure to find girls in a brothel, returning with a body odor unafraid of others catching scent?

Qian Guangzong and his son were just there for appearance’s sake. Seeing Doctor Liu driving them away, they said to the motionless Gu Youwen with eyes open: "Youwen, take care of yourself, we’re leaving now."

Qian Chengcai: "Uncle, take care, we’ll visit you again tomorrow."

Gu Youwen heard their words, blinking at them as if trying to say something. But where did Qian Guangzong and his son have time to bother with him? Having spoken, they turned and left.

Gu Youwen wanted to speak, but he could only make ’ah ah’ sounds in his throat, unable to utter a single word.

After leaving Qingwen Courtyard, the Qian father and son cursed quietly: "What bad luck! We’ll have to bathe with grapefruit leaves later, otherwise it would be awful to end up paralyzed like him."

Qian Chengcai nodded in agreement, saying: "Father is right; we better have the servants prepare some grapefruit leaves for us to bathe with. We still need to visit Grandma; without enough grapefruit leaves, this bad luck won’t wash away."

Great Chu people believe in this and so do the Qian father and son. On the first and fifteenth days, they pray to God, asking Him to bless them with wealth. Thus, they are very afraid of Gu Youwen and Granny Gu being paralyzed, fearing they might catch it.

After seeing Gu Youwen, the father and son went to Granny Gu’s courtyard, starting to cry even before entering the courtyard gate: "Mother-in-law/Grandma, are you feeling any better today? Can you speak?"

Mind you, Granny Gu could indeed speak now.

She was much better than Gu Youwen, but could only utter a word, unable to say more.

But Granny Gu remained very dissatisfied, starting to curse as soon as she woke up, word by word, making Elder Gu feel very tired.

After cursing, she asked how Gu Youwen was doing?

Elder Gu feared that if she knew Gu Youwen would never recover, she might die outright, so he hid it from her, saying that Lord Lai had already sent someone to invite a famous doctor from the Capital, and Gu Youwen could be healed.

Only then did Granny Gu feel somewhat relieved.

But she deeply resented Mrs. Gu and Ms. Zheng, wanting to divorce them to avenge herself and Gu Youwen.

Elder Gu said: "Mrs. Gu and Ms. Zheng know too many things about our family, we can’t divorce them. If we do, the things that happened when our family fled from the famine will be spread across the entire He’an Prefecture, leaving us disgraced."

Little Sister Gu said: "That’s right, Mother. Those two shrews hold our family’s secrets. If we divorce them, I won’t be able to marry into a good family."

Mrs. Gu and Ms. Zheng know she was once married. If they reveal that she’s a widow, she’ll be ruined.

Granny Gu, for the sake of her youngest daughter, could only endure it, not divorcing Mrs. Gu and Ms. Zheng, but she came up with an even more vicious method, which was to cause them to die from illness.

Causing a wronged daughter-in-law to die from illness was very common in wealthy families. Granny Gu had seen it once when she was a child and knew this method.