Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Pleading on One’s Knees

Gu Kaiyuan rushed over just in time to see Gu Kaichen looking foolish. Is this the filial son in the eyes of father and mother? It’s really laughable.

With that brain, no wonder the family’s main house returned to the capital, leaving him behind.

Quietly moving to the back of the Gu Family people, he handed his fishing gear to a woman. If he remembered correctly, this was Uncle Gu’s wife, a very virtuous woman.

"Aunty...," Gu Kaiyuan realized that the two of them were not familiar yet, but he still said, "Aunty, this is a fishing gear I made myself. Later on, let’s see if Uncle and the others can get some meat from the river."

The female members of the Gu Family were all curiously looking at Gu Kaiyuan. They certainly knew him as Gu Baijiang’s son; only Gu Baijiang’s whole family was kneeling at the front, so why was he here?

"I can’t make the decision on this," Liu Fengyu had heard before that Gu Kaiyuan had caught several fish with this fishing rod, which was tempting, but she didn’t dare to make a decision, "You’d better ask your Uncle later."

But Gu Kaiyuan directly stuffed the gear into her hand and squeezed to the front, quietly kneeling beside Gu Kaichen.

He initially just wanted to watch the show, but he knew if he did nothing, he would stand out too much.

"Why did you only come now? You’re becoming more and more reckless without any sense of family..." Gu Baijiang had just slapped him once, and Gu Kaichen was angry, making Gu Kaiyuan the perfect target for venting.

Gu Kaiyuan rolled his eyes, "Second brother, forget the lesson just now. Sometimes when it’s not your turn to speak, it’s best to keep quiet.

If you’re feeling cold, why don’t you go and replace father?"

Gu Li glanced at them. Although he had a reasonably good impression of Gu Kaiyuan, he figured that even though he was Gu Baijiang’s son, he was probably bluffing.

"You’ve seen the demands from the family; the whole family is affected by your involvement. Each household’s loss is something you’re supposed to bear, and some of these damages cannot be calculated, so they will be doubled.

If the Silver isn’t enough now, that’s okay; write an IOU with your sons and grandchildren. If one generation can’t repay it, two generations will; if two can’t, three will. To ensure you don’t delay indefinitely, each household must at least repay one or two lyaos of Silver every year."

"Uncle, you’re forcing our whole family to death," Gu Baijiang knew that though the family was poor, as the saying goes, it would still amount to a significant sum.

"We’re not trying to cheat you. While every household is having a tough time, the basic decency still remains. I’ve also prepared a list for you. Since you’ve lived in the village, you should know whether we are being unreasonable."

When Gu Li finished speaking, Gu Baihe placed the already prepared list in front of him, listing clearly what each family had lost and its estimated cost.

After just a glance, Gu Baijiang couldn’t find the slightest flaw; all added up, it was over nine hundred lyaos of Silver.

In the past, he wouldn’t have paid much attention to it. At this moment, however, where could he find so much Silver?

"Uncle, I really can’t afford it."

Gu Kaiyuan sneaked a peek, instantly understanding why he was given a thousand lyaos of Silver in the past life. Gu Baijiang was indeed calculating. At that time, he claimed to have ten thousand lyaos of silver notes; even if he had given out two thousand as compensation, people would have called him generous, but this kind of personality, with a facade of hypocrisy, had deceived many people.

"This is only part of what you need to bear," Gu Li took a deep breath and pulled out a thick package, retrieving the family genealogy from it, "Given the conduct of your household, the family can no longer accommodate you. Today, on behalf of our ancestors and the entire family..."

"Uncle, you can’t do this; give us a way to survive," Gu Baijiang became truly anxious. If Uncle finished speaking, this branch of the family wouldn’t be able to stand in the world anymore.

"This is the result of the family’s deliberation. If we don’t do it this way, can you face the wrath of the entire family?"

Knowing that the Third Prince was present, they had to change the plan made earlier, moving directly to the final step, which was in a way favorable for Gu Baijiang.

"But..."

The people who had been kneeling behind him also looked up at Gu Li in surprise. Although the sentence wasn’t completed, everyone knew it meant cutting off their future. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Liu Yun and Xu Yulan were both hoping their children would become dragons, with the Third Prince’s backing, surely their family could eventually return to the capital. The Gu Family people were truly ruthless. Without a family, there was no foundation; even taking the imperial exams would be much more challenging than for others, let alone promotions after entering government service.

"Father," Gu Kaichen felt weak all over, looking at Gu Baijiang as if he was a life-saving straw, "You must plead with Granduncle. I still need to return to the capital in the future.

And think about your grandsons and granddaughters; don’t you care for them?"

Gu Baijiang knelt forward a few steps, trying to grab Gu Li’s leg, but was blocked by Gu Baihe and his brothers, "Uncle, I truly know where I went wrong; you must give us a chance to make amends.

I am truly wronged. I believe that one day we can all receive pardon. You must give me time.

If you really can’t swallow this grievance, then punish us."

Gu Kaiyuan frowned slightly; this wasn’t like in the previous life, but why was it different?

Gu Kaiyuan thought it over; Gu Baijiang’s face hadn’t been ruined, and upon their first meeting, he had produced compensation money, yielding a buffer opportunity.

But that can’t be right; this should have been a result that everyone in the family had discussed long ago. Why in the last life did it take two days for them to speak up?

As he wondered, he coincidentally saw Gu Antong, and images of Rong Ruiyuan also surfaced in his mind. Could it be because of him?

In the last life, the Third Prince didn’t appear, and he didn’t tell Granduncle about the Third Prince’s identity, but such a status couldn’t be hidden. The Gu Family people only discovered it two days later, which was when they expelled this branch from the family.

That’s the time difference between the two lives, so this time it occurred earlier.

The Gu Family people didn’t want to get involved in the royal disputes, and as common folk, it didn’t make any difference to them who became emperor; why then should they become entangled with Gu Baijiang’s entire family’s misfortune?

Putting himself in their position, Gu Kaiyuan felt that if he were in the Gu Family’s place, he would make the same choice.

They just wanted to farm peacefully, to feed themselves well—now Gu Baijiang had harmed them once, they couldn’t afford to give a second chance.

"This matter cannot be altered," Gu Li internally apologized to his long-deceased cousin, opened the family genealogy, and began searching for the information on Gu Baijiang’s branch.

Seeing only Xu Shi and Gu Kaiping listed after Gu Baijiang, Gu Li sighed. They truly forgot the root. After many additions to their household, they never returned to enter their names in the genealogy—could it be said they were saving him ink?

Gu Li found bitter amusement in adversity, while juniors on the side had already prepared the ink and brush.