"You raise her? Ha, Gu Feng, you talk a good talk, but don’t think I don’t know what you’re really thinking. I just haven’t caught you red-handed yet. You think you’re so clean?"
After yelling at Gu Feng, Gu’s second son clutched Gu Feng’s legs and begged with tears, "Dad, you have to say something. You can’t just ignore this. Otherwise, our whole family will be ruined by him."
Gu Feng remained silent without showing any sympathy, his attitude was very clear.
He feared that if he spoke he would let out his anger and be angered to death by this unfilial son.
Seeing that begging was useless, Gu’s second son wiped away his tears, and his face turned ugly.
He said coldly, "Dad, you’re biased, way too biased. If Mom were still alive, she would never allow you to treat me . I admit my mistake, but Erbao and Sanya are innocent. You’ve protected Youyou for over ten years, but turned a blind eye to your other grandchildren. For the sake of Youyou, you’re willing to let our family fall apart; Dad, your heart is truly cold!"
"It’s all because of you and your wife’s doing!" Gu Feng almost passed out from anger and started coughing violently. Gu Feng’s youngest son quickly helped him by patting his back and soothing his breath, and Meng Qiuju brought water for him, which made him feel a bit better.
Suppressing his anger, Gu Feng sighed, "Second son, do you know why I favor Youyou so much?"
Gu’s second son was stunned.
He scanned the faces of everyone else one by one, finally resting his gaze on Gu’s youngest son and asked, "Youngest, do you know why I favor Youyou?"
The youngest son forced a smile and said, "Youyou’s been orphaned since she was young. If Dad doesn’t favor her, then she will have no way to survive."
Gu Feng nodded slightly and said, "That’s right, Youyou is not like Erya or Sanya, not like Dabao or Erbao who all have parents to dote on them. She has no parents to love her, and if I also neglected her like you do, she would have no way to live.
You always say I’m biased, that I’ve given her everything good, but have you ever thought about where all our property and lands come from, how we got such a big courtyard? All those things were earned by your older brother and his wife while they were alive, so these were originally Youyou’s. You’ve been enjoying the fruits of their labor—shouldn’t you be kinder to her?"
Hearing Gu Feng’s words, they all hung their heads in shame.
Gu Feng continued, "I didn’t want to send you and your wife to the Governor’s Office, but I had no other choice. If I let you off, that would be unjust and unfair to Youyou. How could I face your older brother and sister-in-law when I pass away? Off with you. As long as Youyou is safe, there’s no big issue. At worst, you’ll be beaten and locked up for a year or so. We’ll take care of the children for you. Reflect well while you’re in prison, truly repent, and come back to live a good life."
With that, he said no more; there was nothing more to say.
"Youngest, help me back to rest." He was exhausted after staying up all night and needed to rest in order to extend his life a bit longer. So he could live to see Youyou return, live to see the return of those two beasts, he had to rest now.
Gu’s second son was pushed forward again; fearing he would escape, some villagers tied him up with ropes.
He had given up hope, knowing Gu Feng wouldn’t spare them. He sat on the ground, letting the villagers discuss how to tie him so it wouldn’t impede his walking yet still be secure.
Someone was also tying up Huang Xiangwen and Liu Dazhuang; the person binding them chuckled softly, "Liu Dazhuang, who would have thought you’d get into trouble again less than a year after getting out. It’s not going to be as easy as last time. If you go in again, it won’t be just a two-year stint—you’re looking at at least ten years. When you get out after ten years, your life is pretty much over."