"Ow! You silly woman!" Gu Laosan stomped his feet in anger, saying, "Her filial gesture? Have you never wondered where she gets the fish from?"
"Caught from the river, right? Oh, how did she catch them?" Meng Qiuju finally remembered and exclaimed in shock, "Are you saying... this was given to her by someone else?"
Gu Laosan, breathing heavily with anger, said, "How can you be so careless as a mother? Don’t you care about Erya’s affairs at all? Do you know how often she mingles with those people in the village?"
Looking at Meng Qiuju’s expression, it was clear she knew nothing. He suddenly shouted, "How did I end up marrying such a foolish woman? You can’t even please your mother-in-law! You can’t learn anything from your sister-in-law, and you can’t even keep an eye on your own daughter. She’s losing her way because of you. You don’t know what she does all day long. Tell me, what do you know at all?"
Meng Qiuju was rendered speechless and couldn’t utter a word.
Gu Laosan continued furiously, "All you do is eat and idle away. What are you boiling water for when you have nothing else to do? Didn’t I tell you to keep a close eye on her these days? Sigh! Such an incorrigible woman."
After the scolding, he stormed out in a rage.
Meng Qiuju felt wronged after the scolding but quickly asked, "Where are you going?"
"I’m going out to find her!"
It had been many years since she’d been scolded since their son was born. The second year after she married into the Gu Family, she had a daughter, but no matter what, she couldn’t get pregnant again. Huang Xiangwen, who had married into the family not many years before her, had several children, while she only had one daughter. She had not suffered lightly during those years.
Indeed, it was during those years, without a son, that she couldn’t hold her head high and developed a character of endurance, always being suppressed by the Gu Family members.
It was only after Gu Sanbao was born eight years later that her life got somewhat better.
After enjoying better days for a while, she had almost forgotten how ruthless her husband could be; back then, he had often threatened to divorce her.
As her thoughts deepened, tears welled up in Meng Qiuju’s eyes. Gu Sanbao, who saw this, quickly asked, "Mom, what’s wrong? Are you crying?"
Meng Qiuju pulled at the corner of her mouth, smiling and saying, "No, I just got smoke in my eyes while boiling water."
Gu Sanbao, seven years old and not understanding the situation, uttered an "Oh" and then said, "Grandma told me to come and ask if the water is ready."
Meng Qiuju hurriedly wiped her tears and replied, "It’s ready, it’s ready. Tell Grandma I’ll bring the water over right away."
Why do I have to boil water in the kitchen? You think I want to do it?
Gu Youyou was picking herbs in the mountains. She didn’t dare to venture deep and was picking in the areas where the villagers also frequented. Today, by accident, she walked a bit too far and could see the village below getting farther away. She quickly retraced her steps.
Her hearing was much more sensitive than the average person’s and she kept hearing strange noises every few steps.
Gu Youyou was shocked, and her heart sank.
Had she run into a wild man again?
Could she be so unlucky? Jin Zijin searched the mountains every day without success and she, having entered the mountains only a few times, had encountered one again?
If it really was a wild man, with his speed, it was no use for Gu Youyou to run. The best thing to do would be to hide quietly.
She may have found him, but that didn’t necessarily mean he would notice her.
Gu Youyou crouched down and stealthily hid behind a bush, listening to the noises coming from that direction.
Listening carefully, it was a man’s and a woman’s voices—weren’t they Wang Shun and Gu Xiaoqing? Just the other day, Auntie Wang had doubted their affair, and now here she was, overhearing their secret rendezvous?