The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 25: Expert

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

At this moment, Gu Jiao walked over from the backyard with a small basket on her back.

“It took so long for you to go to the latrine?” Feng Lin muttered softly.

Xiao Liulang’s gaze landed on Gu Jiao. When she approached, he asked her, “Are you feeling unwell? Let the doctor have a look at you.”

“I’m fine, let’s go,” Gu Jiao said.

She did not look like she was sick. Xiao Liulang went to get the herbs. When he paid the bill, he realized that the medicine for half a month cost less than one tael of silver. “Did you make a mistake?”

“No, that’s the price,” the clerk said.

“I told you long ago, their business is not good, so they lowered the price,” Feng Lin whispered into his ear.

But isn’t this too… ridiculous?

However, other than this, Xiao Liulang could not think of any other reason. It could not be that some noble was secretly helping him.

The group left the Spring Rejuvenation Hall.

The branch manager personally sent them to the door. When he brushed past Gu Jiao, the second boss grinned and extended five fingers to Gu Jiao.

The medicine’s five taels of silver. Its on your tab.

Gu Jiao gave him a domineering look. Deduct it… from the consultation fee!

Speaking of which, the branch manager had not asked her to treat anyone else yet, so she did not know what kind of business he would give her.

“Brother Xiao, I’ll send you back.” Feng Lin said.

Xiao Liulang said firmly, “There’s no need, Second Uncle Luo’s ox cart is just over there. Go back to the academy and study, you’re having your exam next year.”

At the mention of this, Feng Lin had a migraine. He was actually not very knowledgeable, and his teacher always remarked that his essays were too rigid and not creative enough. It was fine if he encountered a conservative examiner, but if the examiner followed the newer schools of thought he would definitely fail.

Feng Lin sighed. “Alright, I’ll go to the academy first. Be careful on the way back.”

With that, he glared at Gu Jiao again, as if worried that Gu Jiao would cause trouble for Xiao Liulang. However, ever since Xiao Liulang said that she had a name, he had never called her a little evil woman again.

After Feng Lin left, Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang did not return to the village immediately. Instead, they went to the stores to buy something.

Gu Jiao bought some candied fruits, peanuts, and melon seeds. She realized that the old lady was easy to coax; as long as she was given something to eat, she could stay in the house for an entire day.

Xiao Liulang, on the other hand, bought some brown sugar. Last time, he had borrowed brown sugar from Auntie Zhang’s family, but he had yet to return it to her.

When the two of them carried the items onto the ox cart, Second Uncle Luo smiled. “Are you buying New Year’s goods? It’s about time, it’s almost the end of the year.”

The two of them were stunned.

They suddenly realized that New Year’s was coming.

The two of them were not actually muddle-headed, it was just that they did not have the habit of planning for New Year’s. The lights of myriad households and the family reunions on New Year’s Eve were always the loneliest days for them.

In her previous life, Gu Jiao left home at the age of eight and moved into the organization’s research institute. Whenever New Year’s Eve rolled around, the organization would collectively take a break, and she would be the only one left in the empty institute.

Gu Jiao did not know much about Xiao Liulang’s situation. Perhaps he had lively New Year’s Eves before, but now it was all gone.

She was a lonely soul in a different world, and he was a loner in a foreign land.

Second Uncle Luo’s words left the two of them momentarily at a loss.

However, the two of them did not say anything. They only took the things in their hands and silently boarded the ox cart.

The ox cart traveled slowly. When they arrived at the village, the sky was already dark.

Second Uncle Luo drove the ox cart back to his house. Gu Jiao threw everything into her small basket, and walked towards her house with Xiao Liulang.

Halfway through, she saw from afar that something seemed to have happened at the entrance of her house. A throng of people surrounded it, and the crowd was impenetrable; there were faint curses coming from within the crowd.

Auntie Zhang, who was at the door and could not leave because she was feeding her two grandsons, shouted at the two of them, “Oh my, Liulang, why are you only back now? Something happened at your house!”

“What happened, Auntie Zhang?” Xiao Liulang asked.

“The Gu family went to your house and quarreled with your, uh… great-aunt!”

Great-aunt?

When did such a person come to their house?

Could it be… that old lady?

The old lady was suffering from dementia. She would be bullied badly!

Gu Jiao turned to Xiao Liulang and said, “I’ll go take a look first.”

Aunt Zhang hurriedly said, “Hurry up and go! Your grandmother’s not easy to deal with!”

Gu Jiao had been here for so long, but she had never seen the original owner’s grandmother; she only knew that her surname was Wu. When she was young, she was a shrew and got herself married to Old Master Gu. Old Master Gu was a scholar, and later became the village’s administrator—reasonably speaking, Madam Wu should restrain herself accordingly, but Madam Wu instead became more and more arrogant.

In the village, Madam Wu was known as the foremost person who should not be trifled with. That was why Auntie Zhang was worried that Xiao Liulang’s ‘great-aunt’ would be bullied.

When Gu Jiao arrived at her house, she realized that all the women from the Gu family were here. Madam Wu and her two daughters-in-law, Madam Zhou and Madam Liu.

Of course, Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Ershun were also there.

Gu Ershun stood beside her mother, while Gu Xiaoshun stood beside the old lady.

However, it was different from what Auntie Zhang had described… It seemed to be Madam Wu and the other two who were being scolded until their faces turned beet-red!

“You, you, you, you, you… If you have the guts, say what you just said again!” Madam Wu placed her hands on her hips and pointed at the old lady.

The old lady had someone bring a stool for her. She sat on it boldly, crossing her legs, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds. As she ate, she said casually, “Why do I have to repeat myself? Is your brain not good enough to understand, or are you deaf?”

Madam Wu had domineered in the village for so many years, but no one had ever humiliated her like this.

It was no wonder that her two daughters-in-law invited her over to join them; with this old woman’s abilities, her two daughters-in-law would not be able to withstand it at all!

“I don’t care! He must give me a tael of silver tonight!” Madam Wu could not win the argument, and instead started to act shamelessly.

The old lady spat a mouthful of melon seed shells on her face. “Pfft! Did he eat your rice, or drink your porridge? Even prostitutes aren’t as shameless than you! Don’t mention a tael, he won’t be giving you even a copper coin!”

To actually compare Madam Wu to those shady women from the brothels, Madam Wu was about to blow up in anger!

Madam Wu: “You, you, you, you…”

The old lady did not give Madam Wu a chance to retort at all. “Also, don’t say that it’s for my Jiao’jiao’s food. How much does she even eat? Yet you’re asking for so much? Jiao’jiao originally wanted to find a husband to marry into the Gu family, but you went and chased them both out. Since you chased them out, they have nothing to do with your Gu family anymore!”

Madam Wu was so angry that she was trembling. “That’s… that’s just living in separate houses!” What did she mean by chasing them away? If word got out, the Gu family’s reputation would be ruined!

The old lady munched on another melon seed. “Oh, so you admit that you’re living separately! Since you’re living apart, why do you still ask Liulang to give you money?! So shameless!”

Madam Wu’s eyes were spinning.

Where did this crazy woman come from!? Pm, I’m, I’m… Pm so pissed!

On the other hand, the villagers were about to die of laughter.

Madam Wu had never lost a spat in the village, yet today, she was rebuked and shut down completely.

It was the Gu family’s fault that they were living separately. However, at that time, the Gu family announced to the public that it was Xiao Liulang’s idea; if it was Xiao Liulang who was unwilling to live with the Gu family, the villagers could not say anything.

Everyone in the village also knew that Gu Jiao had been eating at the Gu family’s house despite that, but they did not expect the Gu family to be receiving money for it!

Gu Jiao was only a fourteen-year-old girl, how much could she eat? However, the Gu family actually asked Xiao Liulang to give them one tael a month!

Was this not simply extortion?

One tael of silver was enough for an entire family to eat for two months!

Madam Zhou and Madam Liu only came to ask for it because they realized that Xiao Liulang had not given it to them this month. Who would have thought that the situation would go out of control?

What should we do now?