Chapter 816 - 819: Good Wine

Chapter 816: Chapter 819: Good Wine

"Good, you are all good." Gu Dashi didn’t even bother with a cup, taking a sip directly from the jug. "Good, excellent wine."

God knew how long he had craved a taste of this. Unfortunately, his stinking old wife and those bratty sons kept a strict eye on him. No matter how much he pleaded, he hadn’t had a single drop in years. Satisfied, he took a few more sips, grabbed a piece of duck meat, and tossed it into his mouth. He bobbed his head to a rhythm. This was the life.

Gu Yuanfeng stood nearby, her face full of smiles. "Father, your youngest daughter treats you best, doesn’t she? Rest assured, I’ll have your eldest grandson bring you more in the future. I won’t let you suffer."

Gu Dashi couldn’t be bothered with her at the moment. Today’s side dishes for the wine were quite good, unlike the tasteless food he usually had. He shoved chunks of meat into his mouth one after another and guzzled the wine. He didn’t care if the sky was falling; right now, he only wanted to enjoy himself.

Seeing that Gu Dashi was solely focused on eating and drinking without acknowledging her, Gu Yuanfeng couldn’t help but nudge him. "Father, say something. Do you still want your eldest grandson to risk bringing you things?"

"Bring... of course..." Gu Dashi mumbled. "I’ll mention it to Old Seventh later... I’m his father, he has to listen to me."

Gu Yuanfeng smiled in satisfaction and urged him, "Father, don’t just focus on the wine and dishes. I personally stewed a large pork trotter soup for you. You used to praise my cooking for this dish."

"Good daughter..." Gu Dashi slurred. "Much more considerate than your mother... I told her so many times, but she wouldn’t even let me touch a piece of meat..."

"Then eat more. Tell me what else you want, and I’ll bring it over next time," Gu Yuanfeng said.

"Just bring the same as this..." Gu Dashi finally paused for a moment and looked up at Gu Yuanfeng. "I’ll handle your eldest grandson’s... matter. I’ll definitely make Old Seventh arrange it properly."

Gu Yuanfeng gave a hollow smile. Her father clearly hadn’t memorized Jincai’s name. However, that wasn’t the main point; she had finally achieved her goal for coming today.

Elsewhere in the manor, Li Cuicui was completely baffled. Her eldest grandson, who was never close to her, had grabbed her and chattered endlessly about trivial things for an absurdly long time today. When she asked if he needed a favor, he just kept shaking his head, speaking in riddles. Even when she used visiting neighbors as an excuse to leave, the boy shamelessly stuck to her like glue, following her in and out. She had no idea what he was plotting.

Eventually, she lost her patience and turned to head home, but Shi Laiyun shamelessly blocked her path again. "Grandma, why don’t you tell me more about the famine back then? I heard our family had a really hard time..."

Li Cuicui was just about to have Granny Song pull him away when she saw Gu Yuanfeng running out of the front gate, looking panicked.

"How come she is at home? Didn’t you say you came alone?" Li Cuicui asked.

"My mother might be here looking for me," Shi Laiyun replied, his eyes darting around quickly.

Li Cuicui didn’t believe him. She shouted at Gu Yuanfeng, "What are you doing, rushing around in such a panic?"

Gu Yuanfeng hadn’t expected to run into Li Cuicui right outside the gate. Her face instantly went pale, and sweat poured down her forehead. "I... I..."

Li Cuicui’s expression changed. "Where is Luo Gang?"

Just then, Luo Gang came running from a distance. "Old Madam, did you need me?"

"Why weren’t you staying in the courtyard? Where did you run off to?"

Luo Gang looked at Gu Yuanfeng. "Eldest Daughter said you had some things at the village entrance for me to carry over. But I searched for a long time and couldn’t find anything, so I came back."

Li Cuicui narrowed her eyes at Gu Yuanfeng. "First, let’s go in and see how the old man is doing."

Luo Gang’s face changed, and he bolted inside.

"Mother... if there’s nothing else, I’ll take Laiyun and head back first," Gu Yuanfeng stammered, looking at Shi Laiyun in a panic, even reaching out to grab his hand.

But Li Cuicui caught her by the arm. "Since you’re already here, let’s go in together and see what on earth could make you lose your color like this."

Gu Yuanfeng froze.

"Old Madam, this is bad! Something’s happened!" Luo Gang ran out looking frantic. "Quickly, send someone to get a doctor! The Old Master drank wine and has fallen unconscious!"

Li Cuicui’s face darkened. "Where did the wine come from? Where is everyone else in the courtyard?"

Besides Luo Gang, there were two old maidservants and two young maids serving Gu Dashi. How could such a thing happen?

"There’s no one in the courtyard," Luo Gang said, glancing at Gu Yuanfeng. He had been sent away by Eldest Daughter earlier, so the others were likely dismissed in the same manner.

As Gu Yuanfeng was still one of the masters, Luo Gang couldn’t point fingers directly, but Li Cuicui understood immediately. She ordered Luo Gang, "Go call for help. Tell them to fetch a doctor immediately."

She then questioned Gu Yuanfeng sternly, "What exactly is going on? How could your father get drunk and fall unconscious? Don’t you know his condition forbids him from having even a single drop of alcohol?"

Knowing she couldn’t cover this up, Gu Yuanfeng put on a bitter face and said, "Father wanted to drink, what could I do? As his daughter, of course I had to listen to him..."

Hearing this, Li Cuicui slapped her hard across the face. "You unfilial daughter! Are you trying to kill your father?

"It’ll be fine if your father survives, but if not, let’s see how you explain this to your brothers!"

Unable to stay outside any longer, Li Cuicui hurried inside with Granny Song supporting her.

Shi Laiyun, having caught the gist of the situation, asked nervously, "Mother, what do we do now?

"You never told me Grandpa couldn’t drink! How can I take responsibility for something this serious?

"Mother, you and Father were the ones who told me to do this. You can’t blame this on me when the time comes."

Gu Yuanfeng didn’t hear a word he said. Her eyes lost focus as she muttered, "It’s all over now... Father, if you can’t drink, you shouldn’t have forced it! Aren’t you just trying to get me killed?"

***

Meanwhile, Gu Wenheng was in his study practicing calligraphy. When he heard his subordinate’s report, the ink bled wildly across the rice paper.

"How could he be allowed to drink?" He had strictly guarded against this. Even when they dined together, the dishes placed before Gu Dashi were always light and bland, not to mention the absolute ban on alcohol.

"This subordinate does not know, but we have already sent someone to ride hard to Fu County for a doctor," the captain of the guards hurriedly replied. They dared not delay in such a critical matter.

Gu Wenheng tossed aside his brush, allowing his painstakingly written characters to be ruined. "Send someone to inform Madam."

"Housekeeper Xu has already sent someone."

Gu Wenheng rushed out, followed by a group of servants and guards. Such a huge commotion quickly attracted the villagers’ attention. Not daring to step forward to ask, they could only drop their work and follow behind.

Gu Yuanjin and the other brothers lived closer, so they arrived even faster than Gu Wenheng. The area outside Li Cuicui’s courtyard was already swarming with neighbors. Seeing Gu Wenheng approach with a crowd, they consciously cleared a path to the front gate.

Under the protection of his guards, Gu Wenheng stepped through the door.

"Old Seventh, you’re here." Gu Yuanshui, who had been squatting at the doorway, instantly stood up.

"What exactly happened?" Gu Wenheng asked.

"We don’t know yet," Gu Yuanshui replied. "Mother has been calling him for a long time, but she hasn’t been able to wake him."