Chapter 182 - 181: Lying Through One’s Teeth (Third Update)
Gu Ruhai’s eyes were practically bulging out.
He felt murderous.
No matter how wrong Mr. Gu is or how biased he is, he is still his biological father. Blood ties aren’t fake. Seeing his own father thrown here, tossed amidst a pile of smelly and dirty blankets, pitifully waiting to die.
It’s icy and snowy here, in the dead of winter.
The room was devoid of any human presence, and Gu Ruhai dared not imagine, had he come a few days later, whether he’d be returning just to collect Mr. Gu’s corpse.
If all of this had nothing to do with Gu Rushan, Gu Ruhai wouldn’t believe it.
He was about to storm into Gu Rushan’s house but was held back by Gu Xiaoying and Li Xuemei.
If you go over there and Gu Rushan denies it, what can you say?
It’s better to call the village head and others to the house for witness, and then talk to Gu Rushan with something to say.
Gu Ruhai agreed upon hearing this.
He had been a bit too impulsive.
Gu Rushan’s nature will likely push responsibility elsewhere.
So, Gu Xiaoying went to find the village head, the director, and all the elders in the village, for witness.
Those blankets were still laid out in the courtyard.
Evidence.
Then they went to call Gu Rushan.
Soon, Gu Rushan arrived with Jiang Xiulan and Mrs. Gu.
At a glance, Mrs. Gu didn’t have the spirit of the once feisty old lady, now she looked completely like a shriveled, weary elderly woman, having lost much weight, her eyebrows no longer holding the former forceful presence.
She followed behind Gu Rushan and Jiang Xiulan humbly.
People were puzzled at how Mrs. Gu was so compliant towards her second son.
Upon seeing so many people in the room, especially the village head and the director, Gu Rushan knew it wasn’t good.
As soon as he entered, he rushed to Mr. Gu’s bedside, sobbing with tears and snot flowing.
Jiang Xiulan also held onto Mr. Gu’s leg, crying out.
The couple cried and spoke at the same time.
"Dad, what’s happened to you?"
"Dad, you weren’t like this a few days ago."
They both knew they couldn’t shoulder this blame themselves; being labeled as unfilial would be a disaster, even if it didn’t kill them.
This is not just unfilial conduct but elderly abuse.
Which differs greatly from unfilial behavior; unfilial actions make people whisper in private, but it’s personal family affairs, and no one can intervene. The reputation might be bad, but since Gu Xiaocheng’s marriage has been settled, Gu Rushan and his wife have no taboos about it.
But abusing the elderly will result in legal punishment, leading to imprisonment.
It’s not something left unchecked.
Gu Ruhai glared at the two, asking, "You still have the face to cry, with our father like this, what are you doing?"
Gu Rushan turned around and clutched Gu Ruhai’s leg, crying, "Big brother, big brother, I really didn’t know, when I visited Dad a few days ago, he was still lively, able to eat two large bowls of noodles.
It’s just that lately there’s been so much going on at home, no time to visit, it’s Mom who’s been taking care, visiting my home daily, without ever mentioning Dad couldn’t move."
These words pinned the responsibility onto Mrs. Gu.
Jiang Xiulan nodded repeatedly.
"Big brother, while you weren’t home, we were very filial to Dad and Mom, all of their meals were prepared at our home and brought over. We truly didn’t know about this. My poor father."
Gu Ruhai slammed the table, angrily stating, "Gu Rushan, do you even have a conscience? You ignore your own parents, how could you let Dad suffer for so long without seeing a doctor, leaving an elderly alone here? Is this something a person would do?"
Mrs. Gu glanced at Mr. Gu, their eyes met briefly, then parted.
Mrs. Gu took another look at Gu Ruhai and spoke woodenly, "Eldest, don’t say that, if we’re really going to talk about unfilial conduct, then you should be the first. You are the eldest, it’s your duty to care for us, but since you aren’t in the village, what can we do? Your dad’s in this state, and my health isn’t great, so I could only go to the second son’s house for meals. It was I who didn’t inform the two of them."
This pinned responsibility on herself.
Gu Ruhai was stunned.
No one else knew the details inside, but how could Mrs. Gu not know?
These words were spoken before the entire village, putting a hat on him, and Gu Ruhai felt chilled, seeing his father like this, he couldn’t believe Mrs. Gu wouldn’t care for Mr. Gu. After all, they had been decades-long companions, Mr. Gu’s care for Mrs. Gu had allowed her to maintain the highest authority in this home, with no one able to surpass her.
This was Mr. Gu’s love for Mrs. Gu; otherwise, how could she wield such power?
But this statement by his mother meant she was certain he would swallow this bitterness, not pull out severance papers in front of the village, forcing him into silence.
Two years passed, and Gu Ruhai thought his parents would change, at least miss him, and have some connection.
After all, they were father and son, mother and son, without deep-seated hatred.
But Mrs. Gu’s words left Gu Ruhai cold.
Cold from head to toe.
This is truly his own mother.
The surrounding elders spoke up too, after hearing this, as the village norm was for the eldest to care for the elders, they couldn’t say Mrs. Gu was wrong.
"Eldest, this is indeed your wrongdoing, it’s ancestral rule for the eldest to care for the elders. You’ve been away for two years, leaving your father sick like this, with your mother lacking money to treat your father; it really is your fault."
Joy showed in Gu Rushan’s eyes, knowing his mother surely stood on his side.
Before coming, he’d made it clear, if his mom didn’t say this, he wouldn’t return the five thousand yuan, with no papers, no one could force him.
Mrs. Gu immediately compromised.
Initially, Mrs. Gu expected to rely on that five thousand yuan for retirement.
With her partner in such a state, her elder son estranged, and with her third son’s family listening to the wife, Xiao Xue was definitely not going to support her.
Other than sticking with the second son, Mrs. Gu knew she had no other path.
Actually, Mrs. Gu regretted it.
If she had treated the eldest son better, she’d have at least had another option.
But now there’s no retreat left.
She could only follow Gu Rushan’s words.
Gu Changhai frowned; others might not know, but he and the director knew.
They had been the mediators.
Essentially witnesses.
To say this situation was related to Gu Ruhai was to falsely accuse.
It’s an attempt to frame. (To be continued. If you liked this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast a vote of recommendation or a monthly vote; your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)