Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 226 - 62: Take Her Back

Yan Bi heard this and glanced at Gu Chengyu, feeling secretly resentful. This little kid really knows how to sow discord.

Tears glistened in her eyes, and her body, supported by Gu Wanhua, seemed to be teetering, "Wanhua! Little Uncle is right, what will you do if you ruin your reputation because of me? It’s all my fault for not thinking this through. I think we should just let it go."

"What nonsense are you talking? I’ve already got you out, of course, I’m taking you back!" Actually, there was a moment of hesitation when Gu Wanhua heard what Gu Chengyu said. But when he saw Yan Bi’s tear-filled eyes, he felt like his heart was broken.

Gu Chengyu didn’t want to look at their lovey-dovey display anymore, it was an eyesore. Since Gu Wanhua was determined, not even ten oxen could pull him back, so he didn’t want to say more.

"Ming Mo will send you back in the afternoon!" He turned around and went into the room, closing the door to avoid seeing them.

Gu Chengyu planned to write a letter mentioning the course of this event. He couldn’t return today; he had to clarify the whole matter. This woman is not easy to deal with, and he needed to warn Uncle Gu and the others to be cautious.

The whole affair was quite strange. Could that woman not see whether Gu Wanhua had money? Why was she so determined to follow Gu Wanhua? Could it really be because of affection? Gu Chengyu found it a bit absurd.

And where did that money come from? It’s definitely a large sum. Since it’s for redeeming someone, wouldn’t Yan Bi’s foster mother ask for less? If it was borrowed from Huang Ming, if Huang Ming had money, he wouldn’t have always been thinking about the women of his family.

The worry was that these matters might implicate his own family again; sometimes it’s impossible to guard against! As for that foster mother, who knows if she was real or fake, Gu Chengyu felt things weren’t so simple.

"Ming Mo! Go find Steward Yu, didn’t he bring two people here? Have those two check where Gu Wanhua and Huang Ming went these past two days, who they met, and keep an eye on Huang Ming for me. Have him report daily on who Huang Ming met and what he did."

Gu Chengyu thought it over and still felt uneasy, planning to have Yu Tuanzi send someone to investigate. He reckoned Huang Ming couldn’t hold back much longer. They were about to return home, and would Huang Ming let such a good opportunity slip by? There must be some scheme behind it, and if Gu Chengyu caught it, he’d make sure Huang Ming couldn’t get away with it.

"Yes, young master, I’ll go find Steward Yu right away!" Ming Mo took the order and immediately left the room.

Yan Bi held Gu Wanhua’s hand, her expression anxious and uneasy, "Wanhua, taking me back like this, will your family accept me? What about your wife? Will she tolerate me?"

Actually, Yan Bi wasn’t dead set on Gu Wanhua, but Gu Wanhua had some genuine feelings for her. Living in a distant village was safer, and those people wouldn’t find her so quickly. Besides, escaping from the clutches of that old hag felt fortunate enough, and she didn’t want to live that life again.

Gu Wanhua hadn’t thought too deeply about these issues until now. He dared not think about it; surely the elder wouldn’t agree. As for Mrs. Xiao, he didn’t know what to do.

"Don’t worry, I’ll face it with you."

Yan Bi choked on his words. She was hinting for Gu Wanhua to drive his wife away, but Gu Wanhua didn’t mention this at all.

The next day, Gu Chengyu finally finished dealing with things at the restaurant. As long as the chef practiced a few more days, they could open for business when the time came. Vice Magistrate Wang had already confirmed he would come to congratulate them on that day.

Gu Wanhua and the others left yesterday, and Gu Chengyu planned to rent a carriage to return.

"Young master! I have found out what you asked me to investigate. We inquired with pictures along the way and finally found their movements. Huang Ming and another person had gone to a gambling den the day before yesterday, looking for a man named Gou. Gou confessed that Gu Wanhua borrowed two hundred taels of silver from his shopkeeper with a two-month repayment period."

Yu Tuanzi and his team had spent a lot of effort finding this Gou, and luckily the gambling den was not far from the inn where Huang Ming was staying.

"Oh? Was it usury? But Gu Wanhua had no collateral, would the shopkeeper still lend it?" Gu Wanhua had no money on him, and no land deed or such, so what did he use as collateral?

"Gou said there was no collateral because Huang Ming and he are from the same village, and they all knew where Gu Wanhua’s family lived. Naturally, they weren’t afraid Gu Wanhua would run away!"

Yu Tuanzi also thought Gu Wanhua was too bold to borrow usury money. With those escalating interests, it would likely lead to bankruptcy, and they wouldn’t be able to repay. From what he knew, Uncle Gu’s family didn’t have much wealth!

Gu Chengyu found it somewhat strange. Huang Ming was a relative of Aunt Gu’s family, so naturally, he knew where Gu’s family lived. But why was he so keen on helping Gu Wanhua? To even act as a guarantor for Gu Wanhua; if Gu Wanhua couldn’t pay back the silver, how could Huang Ming, the guarantor, fare well?

No, Gu Wanhua wouldn’t fail to come up with the silver, wasn’t there still him? Uncle Gu wouldn’t just stand by, and the most direct and effective way was for Mr. Gu to borrow money.

Humph! Everyone wanted to calculate against his family’s silver. He really didn’t understand; his family was just an affluent farmer at most, why did everyone see them as if they were a juicy piece of meat, all wanting to take a bite?

"Hmm! I got it! I’ll head back today, and you stay until the restaurant opens. If anything happens, send a message by pigeon!"

At this time, Gu Chengyu still didn’t know that yesterday, in front of the prefecture city’s gate, Huang Ming had hitched a ride on Gu Wanhua’s carriage to Shangling Village.

This time Gu Chengyu returned alone. As usual, he brought some exquisite jewelry for the girls in the family and put them all in his space. No one would know, and he could take them out when he got home, enjoying the light-heartedness in the meantime.

In the distance, patches of sunset hung over the mountains. Looking at the continuous mountain ranges, Gu Chengyu felt cheerful. After so many days in the prefecture, he was finally returning.

The hooves of the horse trotted on the yellow soil, kicking up a cloud of dust behind the carriage. Up ahead was Shangling Village.

"Little lad, where should I stop?" The sturdy man driving the carriage turned back to ask Gu Chengyu in the carriage.

"Uncle! Go a bit further, to that big tree at the village entrance. Stop in front of that house!" In the village, only his family had a green brick two-entry tile-roofed house, making it particularly conspicuous from the village entrance.

"Ah! Is that house yours? It’s really big! Even a green brick tile-roofed house!" The sturdy man driving the carriage had already guessed that Gu Chengyu’s family was well-off from his attire, and now it was confirmed. He was indeed envious.

The carriage quickly arrived in front of Gu Chengyu’s house. Gu Chengyu got off the carriage and took out a package of pastries from his bundle to give to the driver. It was already dusk, and smoke rose from every household’s chimney. Yet, the driver had to hurry back at night and likely wouldn’t have dinner.

The driver hastily declined; he had already charged enough for the fare, so how could he accept the pastries? Pastries were expensive, even more so with the First-class House’s mark on them.

These were the simplest pastries from Gu Chengyu’s shop, just wrapped in paper. He forcefully gave them to the driver, "Uncle, be careful on your way back, and eat these to fill your stomach on the road!"