Chapter 524 - 525: Returning to the Village
Those two large families were truly unreasonable, and the villagers were afraid they would bring a bad influence into the village. However, since most people worked for the Gu family, and Zhuang Datou and the others were managers, no one dared to say much.
Even so, the villagers had been secretly laughing at them these past few days. It used to be such a harmonious household, but sooner or later, it would be torn apart by those troublemakers. Seeing Gu Kaiyuan’s guards driving the carriage, everyone knew the two young women had returned to the city early in the morning to call for backup.
At the same time, they couldn’t help but feel envious. Look at Dongmei and Chunxiang—after being maids for a few years, they lived like little landlords in the village. And when trouble struck, they still had powerful people to rely on.
Gu Li, who was basking in the sun at the village entrance, watched from afar as the carriage entered the village before lowering his head to stare at his shoes. Kai Yuan and his wife truly valued loyalty and relationships. Back then, his own family had been completely in the wrong.
Upon returning to the familiar village, Gu Kaiyuan and the others did not go directly to Zhuang Datou’s house. Instead, they brought everyone to the Gu family’s home. They wanted to hear what Zhuang Datou and the others had to say about the situation.
The weather was unbearably hot, making it impossible to stay indoors. They moved to the backyard by the original greenhouse. Leaning against the mountain wall, it was still quite cool here.
"Speak up. What exactly is going on?"
Zhuang Datou didn’t wait for Huang Pingguo to speak and explained the situation himself. His account was more or less the same as what Dongmei had said, though there was a hint of bitterness in his tone. He added a few times that his family had it rough, and that they had only come to seek refuge because they could no longer survive on their own.
Before Bai Suihe could say anything, Gu Xingyang was already muttering in her mind, "His family has it rough and can’t survive? They survived for so many years just fine! But the moment Zhuang Datou and the others went home for a visit, suddenly everyone became frail and weak?
"Since they know they are seeking refuge, they should act like it—honest and well-behaved. Yet they actually want to play the cuckoo in the nest and take over everything. This is all because they were spoiled!
"If they had stood on Ms. Dongmei’s side from the beginning, would their families have dared to go this far?"
Gu Kaiyuan and Bai Suihe exchanged a glance. Even a child understood this logic. Were these two men playing dumb, or...?
"Your families have indeed had a hard time. After all, they have suffered for so many years," Bai Suihe said. "Now that they finally have you to rely on, it is perfectly understandable that they want to live a good life.
"This is originally your family matter. As sons, it is a sign of filial piety that you are willing to do your duty.
"Therefore, I feel that Dongmei and Chunxiang are the ones failing to see the big picture this time. They are unfit to be capable wives. Since that is the case, just write them two letters of divorce. Then you can find yourselves dutiful, hardworking daughters-in-law, and everyone will be happy."
Hearing the beginning, Zhuang Datou and Huang Pingguo breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Mrs. Gu wasn’t entirely siding with Dongmei and Chunxiang. However, as they continued listening, things took a sharp turn. Terrified, the two men immediately fell to their knees. Even though their positions as managers over the past few days had made them slightly arrogant, they knew exactly where everything they had came from.
If they really got divorced, they would probably be stripped of everything and knocked right back to where they started, returning to being wandering little beggars—no, big beggars... Although it probably wouldn’t be quite that tragic, their situation definitely wouldn’t be good either.
"What are you doing?" Bai Suihe looked puzzled. "I just helped you solve the root cause of your family conflicts. There’s no need for such a grand gesture."
"Mrs. Gu, we were wrong," Zhuang Datou was the first to admit his mistake. He knew how unreasonable his family was, but he also had to manage the mountain orchard and couldn’t spare much time to focus on his household. In truth, he was also annoyed that so many people had come to sponge off him. He had finally saved up a bit of wealth, and feeding so many mouths every day was no small expense.
Huang Pingguo also snapped back to reality. Although his family was important, his wife was even more important—especially since she was carrying his child. "Mrs. Gu, we will definitely keep our families in check from now on."
"When you stood by and watched Dongmei and Chunxiang being bullied and marginalized without intervening, you actually already made your choice." Bai Suihe’s face turned cold. "Since your parents and elders keep claiming that the two of them are unfilial and dislike them so much, for the sake of our past master-servant relationship, I can grant you this separation."
Although these two men verbally admitted their faults, Bai Suihe did not believe their nonsense. At the same time, a surge of unnamed anger rose in her heart. Some deep-rooted beliefs were simply impossible to change.
They only had their current comfortable lives mostly because of what Dongmei and Chunxiang brought to the marriage. Yet in the blink of an eye, these men took it all for granted and treated everything as their own. Deep down, they still believed that women were merely meant to manage household chores and blindly serve the elders.
Those were virtues, but they shouldn’t be shackles. It was obvious that these people treated Dongmei and Chunxiang as the absolute bottom of the family hierarchy. They even thought it was harmless when a mere child bullied them.
The only reason they were scared now was that the people they expected to endlessly yield had refused to tolerate it anymore and stood up to fight back.
"It’s not our place to interfere too much in your family matters, but no one is allowed to bully my people." Bai Suihe spoke bluntly and assertively. If they thought these two young women had no one to rely on here, she, Bai Suihe, would absolutely not allow it.
Zhuang Datou and Huang Pingguo looked ashen, cold sweat continuously dripping down their foreheads. They didn’t even know who to blame anymore—should they blame their families for pushing their luck, or their wives for not enduring it in silence?
"Since you say you’re wrong, where exactly do you think you went wrong?"
Gu Kaiyuan stepped forward to smooth things over. He felt they should still give Zhuang Datou and Huang Pingguo a chance. It wasn’t because he thought their actions were right, but rather for the sake of the unborn children in Dongmei and Chunxiang’s wombs. He couldn’t let the children suffer as soon as they were born.
Moreover, Bai Suihe was currently in a fit of anger. If she completely burned the bridge now, and the couples later reconciled and went back to living happily together, she would end up looking like the bad guy.
"Mr. Gu, Mrs. Gu," Zhuang Datou immediately said with a sincere attitude. "It’s all my fault. I failed to mediate the conflicts at home.
"I let Dongmei suffer a lot of grievances. I will figure out a way to resettle my family."
Huang Pingguo chimed in, "Yes, I was wrong too. I should have taken good care of Chunxiang. I’ll make separate arrangements for my family as well."
Bai Suihe looked at them coldly. Despite their words, they still hadn’t recognized the true root of the conflict. Saying this here and then going back to resettle their families separately would bluntly tell everyone that Dongmei and Chunxiang did not welcome the extended family. In the end, all the accusations of being unfilial would still fall squarely on the two women’s heads.
In this ancient era where reputation meant everything, could these two men really not understand that? No, they understood it perfectly well. They just wanted to avoid the issue and get past the current hurdle.
"That would be too much of an injustice for you," Bai Suihe said, staring at them coldly. "Dongmei and Chunxiang should respectfully wait on your families hand and foot. They should also hand over everything they own for your elders to manage. That way, everyone will be happy. What do you think of that?"