Chapter 224 Questioning
Ningyuan Hou Mansion.

Gu Tingye, reeking of alcohol, walked in quickly.

In the front hall.

Gu Yankai, who had already used his connections to find out why Gu Tingye failed the exam, was also sitting in the hall. The room was filled with a depressing atmosphere, and the servants and maids who were serving tea were all moving very lightly, not daring to make the slightest noise.

The relationship between father and son was never good.

Now everyone felt uncomfortable.

When they met face to face, they were like a tit-for-tat confrontation.

Seeing Gu Tingye barging into the room aggressively, the anger that had been brewing in Gu Yankai's heart for a long time suddenly surged to the surface.

"Snapped!"

Gu Yankai slammed the table and roared:
"You evil creature, do you know what a stupid thing you did? How dare you drink?"

After hearing his father's question, Gu Tingye, who originally wanted to simply reply and go straight to confront Gu Tingyu, stopped immediately.

"Father, you are so angry, maybe you know why I failed the exam?"

Gu Yankai frowned.

Hearing this, he immediately understood that Gu Tingye also knew the reason why he failed the exam, which was something he had not expected.

However, considering that Yang Wenyuan and Gu Tingye studied at the same Sheng Family Academy, it is not surprising that the two have always had a close relationship.

Of course, questioning is still necessary.

After all, this delay could take up to six years.

"Since you know why, you should have kept your mouth shut!"

Gu Yankai was furious that his generation of descendants finally had a Jinshi degree, but was rejected by the government because of his bad words.

"Who is Yang Wuduan? He went to Beijing to take the imperial examination but failed repeatedly. He could only seek out prostitutes to indulge himself and write some idle lyrics. It would have been fine if he had gotten drunk and said that passing the imperial examination was not as good as spending time in a prostitute's house. The government's words were golden, and they did not allow him to take the exam again. But you kept gossiping about such things..."

Gu Yankai wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Gu Tingye:

"So my words of protesting for Yang Wuduan reached the ears of the government, and that's why they removed me from the top three?"

"As long as you know!"

Gu Yankai's chest heaved violently:

"I told you to stay at home and not go out to brothels, get drunk, or talk nonsense. Otherwise, how could you end up like this?"

"Six years. How many six years are there in a lifetime!" Gu Yankai said with regret.

A sword will rust if left for a long time, let alone a person.

I had wasted six years. If I had not been very determined, I would have been a complete failure, let alone taking the exam again.

Gu Tingye's anger about being rejected in the imperial examination had long been dissipated in Fanlou and on the road, so he did not feel angry or aggrieved towards Gu Yankai, but instead felt a sense of sympathy.

Corresponding to this was his burning anger towards Gu Tingyu.

"Father, don't you want to know where this rumor came from and why it reached the ears of the officials?"

"What?" Gu Yankai looked puzzled.

Gu Tingye sneered and immediately walked quickly to the backyard, saying as he walked:
"I will catch the person behind this and let my father take a look!"

"You...!" Seeing Gu Tingye walking towards the backyard, Gu Yankai immediately became anxious and hurriedly followed him.

At this moment, in Gu Tingyu's courtyard hall.

Gu Tingyu, who was exhausted and mentally tired, was drinking medicine with the help of Shao. He coughed from time to time, and Shao, who looked distressed, gently stroked his back.

At this time, Gu Tingye rushed in with an angry look on his face.

Facing the astonished gazes of Gu Tingyu and his wife, Gu Tingye quickly walked up to Gu Tingyu, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up easily.

Gu Yankai, who followed closely behind, saw this scene and immediately his eyes were red with anger, and he roared:
"What are you doing, you beast? Let go of your brother!"

Gu Tingye looked back and did not reply, but asked Gu Tingyu in a deep voice:

"Did you say that? Did you spread the word?"

Faced with this disaster that came out of nowhere, Gu Tingyu's face was full of confusion, and he pushed Gu Tingye's hand away forcefully:
"What did I say? What did I say?"

Gu Tingye's mouth curled up with a hint of sarcasm:
"When I was a child, I once joked with you, my brother, that the government was too harsh on Yang Wuduan and that it ruined his life.

You heard me say this once and kept it in your mind. Now that you know I will pass the imperial examination, you turned around and told the emperor about it.”

"Where in the world is there a brother like you?"

"I...I..."

Faced with this sudden question, Gu Tingyu was completely confused. He was already having difficulty breathing, and with Gu Tingyu grabbing his collar, he was so hurried that he could only stammer and was unable to speak.

Seeing that he was about to suffocate, Gu Yankai immediately shouted:
"Let your brother go!"

Gu Tingye turned a deaf ear to him, but he loosened his grip a little because of Shao's pleading beside him.

After Gu Tingyu had a moment to catch his breath, Gu Tingye continued to ask:
"Tell me, why do you want to hurt me!"

"I swear to God, this is not happening!"

Seeing that Gu Tingye refused to listen to his advice and still refused to let go, Gu Yankai said sternly:

"Asshole, you've been having fun everywhere, talking without restraint, saying things that are extremely treasonous, and now you want to blame your brother?"

Gu Tingye sneered and said coldly:
"I didn't say this outside. I just complained about it when I saw my elder brother's beautiful handwriting and we practiced calligraphy together every day. There was no one else around at the time."

After that, Gu Tingye added:

"Big brother, I was less than twelve years old at that time. I almost forgot about it, but you remembered it so clearly and were able to find it out today."

"Not me, not really me."

However, as he spoke, Gu Tingyu's eyes flickered with a thoughtful look, and he was obviously recalling something.

"Uncle, please show mercy!"

Shao grabbed Gu Tingye's arm and cried:

"My husband has been weak and sickly since he was young, and he couldn't take the imperial examinations. He never argued with you about anything. What good would it do him if he framed you?"

Gu Tingye gently pushed Gu Tingyu's body, looked at the body falling in front of him, and sneered:
"I'm actually wondering why you always want to frame me, brother. You've always been against me since I was little.
He fell down on purpose and said I pushed him;

He got sick with a fever and said I was scared;
When you were five years old, you took your father's ring and said I stole it.

My cousins ​​at home followed suit, and whenever they went out to pay debts and got into trouble, they would always blame me."

After finishing speaking, Gu Tingye turned and looked at Gu Yankai:

"Where's my father? He doesn't even bother to ask questions every time, and he always beats me up. Why don't you think about why this brother always wants to frame me, his younger brother?"

Seeing that Gu Tingye was getting more and more lenient and more and more serious, Gu Yankai said sternly:
"Shut up! Your brother stays at home every day to recuperate and never leaves the house. How could he have said this? Don't push your own business onto others!"

Gu Tingye immediately showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, and turned to look at Shao, as if he had realized something:

"It turns out that it's not just about big brother. As far as I know, this word came from the nobles and their wives. It's impossible that big brother went to the backyard to say it himself. It turns out that you, my sister-in-law, are the one who is asking for trouble." Shao's eyes were filled with tears, and she cried softly:
"Uncle, this matter really has nothing to do with us."

Gu Tingye nodded:

"That's not my brother or sister-in-law, that can only be..."

There were only a few people in the family who could pass on messages to the officials' wives. Gu Yankai knew who Gu Tingye was talking about, so he interrupted loudly:
"Shut up! Don't involve other irrelevant people in your own affairs. If you didn't say such outrageous words, even if others wanted to spread them, they would have to have something to say."

"So that's what my father thought."

Gu Tingye turned around and said blankly:
"Father, do you really think so?"

Gu Yankai was furious, as if he was looking at an unrepentant piece of trash:

"You don't have to act so aggrieved in front of me. What have you done wrong? When have you ever admitted your mistakes? You always blame your brother or other cousins. They are the ones who cause trouble every time.

Do you dare to say that you have never been there before?"

After hearing Gu Yankai's words and expression, Gu Tingye remained silent. He opened his mouth several times but no sound came out.

Finally, he stood there in a daze for a while, then took a deep breath and said with a slightly choked voice:

"Okay, I understand. I understand everything. Even if I have mouths all over my body, it can't beat my father's partiality."

After that, he lifted his legs and left.

Watching Gu Tingye leave without arguing, Gu Yankai's anger subsided a little, but he still shouted loudly:

"Now that you understand, then don't go out drinking and partying and just squander your family's assets."

Hearing this, Gu Tingye paused for a moment, but immediately continued to walk away with determination.

At this moment, Xiao Qin, who came to inquire, saw Gu Tingye leaving, and immediately put away the gloating expression on her face, and instead showed a weak attitude and asked softly:

"Erlang, why did you quarrel with your father as soon as you got home? Listen to your mother's advice, and go back and say something soft to your father. I'll be by your side..."

Gu Tingye turned his head, looked at Xiao Qinshi, and interrupted:
"Madam, did you hear anything from the official's wife?"

"What?" Xiao Qin looked confused.

"I see." Gu Tingye nodded with sudden realization.

"The lady has been sincere in her advice, Erlang has learned from it."

Xiao Qin nodded with a smile and said softly:
"Erlang, I'm glad you understand. Then..."

As they were talking, Gu Tingye had already left.

Seeing that Gu Tingye left without listening to the words, Xiao Qinshi was not angry. She just put away the smile on her face in an instant, thought for a while, then put on a sad face and walked towards Gu Tingyu's room.

Soon, Xiao Qin called the maid to clean up.

All the actors on the stage also left the stage one after another.

inside the house.

Gu Tingyu and Shao were sitting comfortably in the room.

After everyone had left, Gu Tingyu pushed away the reheated medicine that Shao had brought over, stared into his wife's eyes, and asked:
"Ma'am, did you tell anyone about this?"

He had been confined to his bedchamber for so many years, and most of the time he could only chat with Shaw to relieve his boredom. Both of them were young, so the only things they could talk about were interesting childhood memories.

However, over the years, they talked about so many things in so much detail that Gu Tingyu was not sure whether he had told Shao about Gu Tingye.

Shaw shook his head slightly.

"I'm at home every day, how can I tell anyone?"

Gu Tingyu nodded.

Indeed, the two of them stayed in the small courtyard all year round, just thinking about living a comfortable life, so how could they spread messages outside?

Gu Tingyu was also good at the process of elimination. There were only a few people in this family, and those who were strongly hostile to Gu Tingye were too numerous to count on one hand, so it was natural for him to figure it out.

Gu Tingyu thought for a moment and let out a long sigh.

Gu Tingyu does not hide anything from the person next to him.

"This is also my fault. When I was young, I didn't know much and I believed everything I heard. I felt resentful and didn't care who I was directed at or whether I was right or wrong. I just took it out on anyone who was related to me."

As he said this, Gu Tingyu smiled bitterly:
"I never thought about the result. Now I think more clearly and want to stand aside and watch, but someone keeps pulling me and insists on standing in front."

Shao was not a fool either, and asked in a low voice:
"Husband, are you talking about mother?"

Ever since she married into the Gu family, Xiao Qin has taken care of her from time to time. To be honest, compared to her rude and unreasonable second uncle, Shao has a lot of good feelings towards Xiao Qin.

Gu Tingyu has been very smart since he was young, and when he was in poor health, he had many thoughts in his mind.

There are many things and words that I couldn’t understand when I was young, I now think about them every day and ponder them every night, and now I can see through them.

He had long understood Xiao Qin's thoughts and also knew Shao's feelings.

Knowing that his health was deteriorating, he just let it go.

It is better to live in confusion than in clear hardship.

"No, I just feel a little emotional."

Gu Tingyu shook his head and didn't want to say more.

After quickly finishing the medicine, Gu Tingyu felt exhausted, so he went back to the bed with Shao's help, lay down with his eyes closed and rested.

After a long illness, sleep is not stable.

In the matron's courtyard.

Gu Yankai walked out of the door with an angry look on his face, while Xiao Qinshi sat in the hall enjoying herself, unable to suppress the joy on her face.

Killing two birds with one stone really makes people feel relaxed and happy!

At this time, a maid who was not from the courtyard came over, whispered a few words to my mother outside the door, bowed, and left quickly as if she was in a hurry.

After listening to his mother, he immediately turned inside and whispered to Xiao Qin.

After hearing what was said, a happy smile appeared on Xiao Qin's lips.

"It's good to reminisce about the past. Life is running out. It's time to reminisce about the 'glorious years' we had together, and also to think about how we should live in the future."

Xiao Qin took a sip of tea and said calmly:

"Although death is like the extinguishing of a light, we should still consider how our family, wife and daughter will live and survive in the future, right?"

Nodding in response to my mother.

"The girl is considering it."

"correct."

Xiao Qinshi seemed to remember something and couldn't help laughing:
"Since Erlang has no hope of passing the imperial examinations in recent years, he should consider getting married now that he is getting old, right? This is a good opportunity to help him find a good family."

(End of this chapter)