It wasn't Second Brother Gu who spoke up to stop Master Gu, but Ms. Hua.
"Old man, that's not right."
Master Gu looked at Ms. Hua in confusion. She quickly went over and whispered in his ear.
Master Gu glanced at Gu Qingli and said no more, waving away the others in the room.
The old couple definitely had ill intentions, but what exactly were they planning? Gu Qingli knew that even if she came up with ten thousand countermeasures, it would be useless if she didn't know their scheme.
That afternoon, news swept through Qinghe Village: Second Brother Gu's second daughter had been deflowered, reduced to a "loose woman," and her engagement had been broken.
The rumor spread like wildfire. Some villagers condemned Gu Qingli, some sympathized with her, and still others reveled in her misfortune.
「In the main house」
Master Gu called Ms. Hua into the room.
Master Gu sat at the foot of the bed, knocked out his pipe, and refilled it with tobacco. He lit it, took a deep drag, and then asked Ms. Hua, "Wife, hurry up with that business. The sooner, the better. If we delay, that second daughter's reputation will only get worse, and it will affect the prospects of our Third Son, as well as the brothers Qingming and Qingyan."
Ms. Hua waved away the smoke Master Gu exhaled, glanced at him, and scoffed, "HUMPH! What's there for an old coot like you to worry about? It's not like she's Gu family blood. If we can get five taels of silver for her, that'll be enough to buy them writing supplies. I'll go see to it right away."
"Hmph. Keep a close eye on Second Brother Gu's wife. Don't let her mess things up."
"That worthless woman! If I so much as shout at her, she wouldn't dare utter a peep. If it weren't for the twin sons she bore, I'd have had Second Brother Gu divorce her long ago. Besides, Second Brother Gu never liked her or her daughter anyway."
"Alright, alright, enough talk of divorce. If he divorces her, are you going to do the housework? Or will you make the eldest daughter-in-law do it?" Master Gu said, growing impatient.
"That lazy hag," Ms. Hua muttered. That lazy woman has several older brothers, and one of them even passed the qualifying examination to become an Elementary Scholar a few years back. With such backing, she's untouchable now. There's no way to discipline her.
「In the west wing」
For the first time in ages, Second Brother Gu hadn't left the house. Usually, at this hour, he'd be off to the fields or up the mountain to chop firewood.
He sat by the doorway, lost in thought.
Ms. Wu sat on the kang, weeping pitifully.
Her ten-year-old twin sons, Gu Qingyun and Gu Qingyang—nicknamed Dashuang and Xiaoshuang—sat silently beside Ms. Wu. Their eyes were fixed on Gu Qingli, who was sorting through some herbs in the room.
Ten-year-olds in these parts were already quite sensible. They knew their Second Sister had become a "loose woman" and that her engagement had been broken.
Yet, they saw their Second Sister acting as if nothing was wrong. Usually, just like their mother, she would cry endlessly over the smallest things.
"Second Sister, what are these? They look like the herbs Physician Li from the village gathers," Dashuang couldn't help but ask, squatting down beside her.
Gu Qingli looked up at her good-looking younger brother and nodded. "Yes. I heard herbs are valuable. I don't know which ones are actual medicinal herbs, so I just dug up everything I found. We'll take them to town tomorrow and see."
Dashuang's eyes lit up. He nodded. "Then, Second Sister, let's go back to the mountain now and dig some more!"
Gu Qingli gently tapped Dashuang on the head. The ten-year-old boy is as skinny as a monkey. "Look at the time," she said.
"HEH HEH." Dashuang rubbed the spot where she'd tapped him and chuckled sheepishly.
He wanted to gather more herbs to sell. With the silver, he could pay for Mother's medical treatment.
Xiaoshuang also stared at the pile of herbs, then glanced at Ms. Wu. He had the exact same idea as Dashuang.
"Second Brother Gu, why haven't you gone out?" Ms. Hua was just about to leave when she saw Second Brother Gu sitting by the doorway, looking dazed. She called out as she walked over.
She stood at the doorway and peered inside. Spotting Gu Qingli packing the herbs, she curled her lip before turning her gaze to Ms. Wu.
When she saw Ms. Wu still sniveling, Ms. Hua's expression hardened. "Ms. Wu, are you wailing for a funeral? All you do is cry, cry, cry! You'll cry yourself to death!"
After her tirade, she glared at Dashuang and Xiaoshuang, a flicker of disgust in her eyes. "And you two little whelps! Why aren't you up the mountain cutting firewood and grass? What will the pigs eat? What will we use for fuel this winter?"
The family was accustomed to Ms. Hua's daily nitpicking and scolding. Only Ms. Wu wiped her tears and lowered her head.
Gu Qingli and her brothers ignored her. If you talk back to her, she'll rail at you for half a day.
Having vented her fill, Ms. Hua finally felt some satisfaction. Remembering her errand, she headed out.
Second Brother Gu picked up a knife, grabbed a rope, and also went out.
Once Second Brother Gu had left, Ms. Wu came over to Gu Qingli, took her hand, and gently pulled her to sit on the kang. She looked at Gu Qingli for a long moment, then sighed. "Second daughter, how are you going to live now?"
"Live how? Mother, why are you worrying about such things?" Gu Qingli looked at Ms. Wu's face. She looks like she's in her forties, but I remember her being only in her early thirties.
As Gu Qingli continued to study her, her brow furrowed. How could an ordinary village man like Second Brother Gu and a plain woman like Ms. Wu produce a child who looks like me? Then she looked at Dashuang and Xiaoshuang. They strongly resembled Ms. Wu. But she, Gu Qingli, didn't look like any of them.
"My child, in your state, who would dare marry you now? Second daughter, do you know who... who that man was? The one who... violated you?" Ms. Wu seemed to recall something abruptly, her grip tightening on Gu Qingli's hand as she asked.
Gu Qingli shook her head. The man wore a mask. I really don't know who he was.
Meanwhile, the man Gu Qingli didn't know was, at that very moment, lying in a courtyard not far from her home.
He was Xiao Yunjing, the twenty-year-old third son of the Xiao Family, who were outsiders in the village. He was infamous as a "wife-jinx." Ever since he turned fifteen, every girl introduced to him as a potential match had met a mysterious and untimely end.
The first drowned the day after their betrothal gifts were exchanged. The second was on the verge of marriage when she fell from a mountain and died. The third died suddenly from an unknown cause that even the physician couldn't identify.
Thus, his current reputation was now on par with Gu Qingli's.
His family were all hunters, making their living by the trade.
Today, while hunting in the mountains, Xiao Yunjing had been bitten by a particular kind of serpent. Its venom wasn't fatal, but it induced a powerful aphrodisiac effect that could only be neutralized through sexual intercourse.
Descending the mountain in a daze, he had encountered a girl. With no time to think, he had done the unpardonable.
By now, word had spread through the village, and he too had learned the identity of the girl he had assaulted.
Now, he was searching for the silver he had saved. I have to do something for her.
"Third Son, what are you looking for?" Ms. Jiang asked as she entered the room and saw Xiao Yunjing rummaging through chests and cabinets.
"Mother, it's nothing. Please, go on with your work."
Ms. Jiang eyed him suspiciously. Ever since Yunjing returned from the mountain, he hasn't been himself. He's been acting so strangely. Now what is he up to? But then again, he often behaves erratically like this. She shook her head and left.
「The next morning」
Gu Qingli rose, and without eating breakfast, prepared to leave with the herbs she had dug up the previous day.
"Second Sister, aren't you waiting for me?" Dashuang asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Oh, I forgot. Get up then. I'll wait for you."