Old Madam Gu had considered Gu Changxing’s family as suspects, but those wretches did not even know where she kept her money, let alone which way the bed in her room faced.
That was one hundred taels, a full one hundred taels of silver!
Why would they set the house on fire for no reason if they were not after the money?
That was why Gu Changfang was the most likely culprit.
She had always been somewhat close to this daughter, so it was entirely possible that Gu Changfang had somehow discovered where she hid the money.
Steal the silver first, then set the house ablaze to destroy the evidence. That way, no one would ever be able to catch her in the act.
The only problem was that Old Madam Gu had no proof yet.
She had already fallen out with her eldest son’s family. Before Changsheng returned, she still needed someone in the household to order around.
As long as the money had not been destroyed in the fire, she could pretend it was merely in Gu Changfang’s hands for the time being. Once Changsheng came home, she would take every last bit of it back, with interest.
Having made up her mind, Old Madam Gu softened her tone.
“Forget about this house. Your father and I will leave the thatched cottage to you. Hurry and get Tiezhu to clean up your two rooms. Starting tomorrow, your father and I will move in there.”
There had originally been seven rooms in the courtyard.
The three central rooms were the main house. Old Master Gu and Old Madam Gu occupied one, the central hall was another, and Gu Changsheng had the third.
There were two rooms on the right, one large and one small.
Gu Changfang, Wang Tiezhu, and their son Gu Jinbao lived in the larger room, while the three sisters, Zhaodi, Pandi, and Laidi, shared the smaller one.
After the two older sisters married, Laidi had remained in the small room by herself.
There were another two rooms on the left, mirroring the ones on the right, one large and one small.
The smaller one had been turned into a storage room, while the larger one had once been crammed with Gu Changxing’s family of six.
Now that the three main rooms had been completely destroyed, Old Madam Gu and her husband needed one room, and Gu Changsheng would need another when he returned.
Gu Changfang was displeased.
“Isn’t the eldest brother’s room empty? Why don’t you and Father just move in there?”
“Then where will your younger brother sleep when he comes back?” Old Madam Gu snapped. “If you ask me, you should hurry up and marry that useless Laidi off. She’s doing nothing but wasting food by staying at home all day!”
With the house burned down, rebuilding it would cost a considerable amount of money.
Just thinking about it made Old Madam Gu’s head throb.
She was exhausted and desperately wanted to sleep, but every time she looked at the house reduced to charred ruins, she wanted nothing more than to settle accounts with those wretched people immediately.
Especially that ungrateful Gu Changfang!
After all the years she had doted on her, she had thought this daughter was a decent one. Who would have thought that once she developed ambitions, she would become even more ruthless than those little fox cubs from the eldest son’s family?
If only she had known, she would have insisted on using Laidi for that marriage to the Zhang family back then. Then she would never have fallen out with the eldest son’s family.
If they had not fallen out and the family had not separated, there would have been no issue with the house deeds or land deeds, no one-hundred-tael windfall, and certainly no fire tonight!
The more Old Madam Gu thought about it, the angrier she became. She glared daggers at Gu Changfang.
“What are you standing there for? Go clean up! Are you waiting for me to do it for you?”
The little bit of guilt Gu Changfang had felt vanished completely beneath her mother’s relentless scolding.
All she could talk about was marrying off Laidi. In her heart and on her lips, there was only Gu Changsheng!
Thankfully, she had acted first.
Otherwise, once that one hundred taels ended up squandered by Gu Changsheng, her Laidi would have no choice but to follow the same path as Zhaodi and Pandi.
Gu Changfang hardened her resolve.
She needed to discuss everything with Wang Tiezhu carefully and make absolutely certain that the truth stayed buried.
They would wait for the right opportunity to separate from the old couple. Then they could come up with an excuse to take the money out and spend it.
From her hiding place, Gu Qingqing watched Gu Changfang reluctantly go to clean the room. Behind her, Old Madam Gu wore a murderous expression.
Gu Qingqing curled her lip in disdain.
“That’s it?”
They had not even had a proper fight. What a disappointment.
She stepped out of the shadows, dusted off her clothes, and prepared to return to the thatched cottage to sleep.
She had only taken a few steps when she noticed someone curled up against the base of the wall, his shoulders trembling as though he were crying.
Gu Qingqing frowned and walked over.
“Father?”
Hearing his daughter’s voice, Gu Changxing hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes. He picked up the bucket and stood, pretending nothing had happened.
“Where did you go? I’ve been waiting for you so long I nearly fell asleep.”
His voice was thick with tears, and he kept his head lowered, afraid she would see his eyes.
Gu Qingqing did not expose him. She yawned.
“I went to watch Grandma and Aunt fight.”
“What? Your aunt fought with your grandma?” Gu Changxing immediately became concerned about his mother, almost out of instinct. “Is your grandma all right?”
Gu Qingqing looked at him.
His bloodshot eyes were filled with genuine concern.
She gave him a mocking smile.
“Aunt got dragged around by her hair until some of her scalp was torn. But she didn’t fight back.”
Gu Changxing let out a relieved breath. Then, under his daughter’s gaze, he grew embarrassed.
“Well… your grandma is old, after all…”
“It doesn’t matter. Do whatever you want.”
Gu Qingqing did not want to hear his excuses. She turned around.
“Let’s go. Mother and the others must be waiting for us.”
One person had casually ordered him to go into a burning house and risk his life. The others worried about him with all their hearts.
Gu Changxing was not stupid. He understood the difference.
It was just that after obeying his mother’s every word for so many years, that habit had been carved into his bones. He could not change overnight.
He followed behind Gu Qingqing and spoke quietly.
“Your father knows what’s right. Don’t worry. I’ll change from now on.”
The next morning.
Before dawn, Old Madam Gu quietly slipped out of the house.
Not long afterward, she quietly crept back.
Gu Changfang and Wang Tiezhu were hiding behind the window of the left-side room.
“What did Mother go out to do?” Wang Tiezhu asked.
“How would I know?” Gu Changfang replied irritably. “She sneaked out like a thief. In the dark like that, she isn’t even afraid of tripping and breaking her neck.”
Wang Tiezhu remained wary.
“Don’t tell me she found out something. You hid the money properly, didn’t you?”
“Relax. No one knows about that place except me.”
Wang Tiezhu visibly relaxed.
“I really wish we could move out soon.”
“What? Being my husband’s family son-in-law is too much for you?” Gu Changfang shot back. “If it weren’t for me, you’d still be getting bullied by your parents over at the Wang household!”
Wang Tiezhu shrank his neck.
“Yes, yes. I know how good you’ve been to me. I’m just worried about Laidi. My parents aren’t exactly easy to deal with either. It would be better to bring her back as soon as possible.”
Gu Changfang lowered the window and took a deep breath.
“Tomorrow, I’ll find an excuse to pick a fight with Mother. I’ll keep at it until she gets fed up and kicks us out.”
She had already thought everything through.
With one hundred taels in their hands, even if they received nothing else in the family separation, she would not be afraid of leaving with nothing but the clothes on her back.
But before Gu Changfang could start her quarrel, Gu Changsheng returned.
Old Madam Gu pulled him into the house. After mother and son exchanged what they knew, they immediately understood the situation.
Gu Changsheng had not left the academy the previous day, and Wang Tiezhu had never gone there to look for him.
From that alone, they could be certain that Gu Changfang and Wang Tiezhu had been behind last night’s fire.
And that one hundred taels had to be in their hands!
“That ungrateful little wretch! How dare she betray her own family? I’ll tear her apart!”
Old Madam Gu gritted her teeth and started toward the door.
Gu Changsheng grabbed her arm.
There was a calculating glint in his otherwise handsome features.
“Mother, calm down. If you go over there and confront her directly, she’ll deny everything to her dying breath.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?”
“Listen to your son. Here’s what we’ll do…”
Gu Changsheng leaned close to his mother’s ear and whispered his plan.
Slowly, a smile spread across Old Madam Gu’s deeply wrinkled face.