Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 18: Whining the grievances

There is an irreconcilable conflict of interest between the Gu family members and Chen Qing.

Or rather, there is an irreconcilable conflict between these members of the Gu family and Master Gu's goals.

Mr. Gu worked hard all his life, and he wanted his daughter to inherit and enjoy most of the wealth he had accumulated.

However, the Gu family's nephews and nieces did not think so.

In this era, this is a common occurrence and not hard to understand. In the eyes of these family-oriented men, a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; once married, she becomes an outsider.

If one adopts a son-in-law, the son-in-law who comes to live with the family is an outsider among outsiders.

In fact, in the past ten years or so, after Mr. Gu decided not to remarry or take a concubine, more than once, elders of the Gu family came to his door, wanting to make the decision to adopt a member of the Gu family clan into Mr. Gu's name.

They were all refused by Master Gu.

As Mr. Gu himself said, he did not value the continuation of the family line much; rather, he valued the only daughter he had with his first wife more.

Thus, it has eventually evolved into the situation we see today, which can almost be described as a distortion of human nature.

As for why things have escalated to this point, Miss Gu taking over the affairs of Anrentang in the past few days is certainly part of the reason, but it is by no means the main reason.

In Chen Qing's view, the main reason was probably what Master Gu had said to him, asking him to take over the Gu family business.

It's also possible that it was the phrase "young master" that Manager Lu uttered a few days ago.

Regardless, Chen Qing is now seen by these Gu family members as a huge threat to their family fortune, to the point that they are resorting to such perverse and desperate measures to try to drive him out.

The key to breaking the deadlock lies with Gu Shouyi.

And within the Gu family itself.

Because Gu Shouyi is at the heart of the whole affair, and it is impossible for the Gu family to be united.

The human heart is made of flesh.

Even if Gu Shouzhou and others try to instigate and sow discord, everyone knows in their hearts who has been kind to the Gu family and who has taken care of the clan over the years.

Miss Gu was only seventeen years old at the time. Although she was the legitimate young master of Anrentang, Mr. Gu had protected her very well over the years, and she had not actually experienced too many things.

At this moment, she also became a little nervous.

Fortunately, Miss Gu's personality was very much like her father's; she was somewhat strong-willed. After taking a deep breath, she asked Chen Qing, "Young Master Chen, what should I say to Brother Shouyi when I see him?"

Chen Qing tidied up his words and told Miss Gu about them. Then the two of them went over them again to make sure there were no problems before Chen Qing said, "Let's go. There's no time to lose. We need to act immediately. If we wait any longer, we'll be in a passive position in every way."

Miss Gu nodded, then looked at Chen Qing and asked, "Young Master Chen, are you alright going out alone? Should we hire a few guards to accompany you?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "In broad daylight, under the clear sky, and in the county town, if something were to happen to me, then there would really be no way to live in this world."

Having been in this world for half a year, Chen Qing had naturally learned about the situation of this era. Although the dynasty at this time was not any of the dynasties he remembered, and the emperor was not any of the emperors he remembered, the dynasty had been established since then.

It's only been a little over a hundred years.

In his observation, this was still the middle of a dynasty, far from the point of social collapse.

After finalizing their plan, the two quickly began to act. They parted ways at the entrance of the Gu family compound. Miss Gu headed towards the county jail, while Chen Qing went in the opposite direction.

Miss Gu grew up in Deqing County and knew this place very well. Before long, she arrived at the county jail. After Xiaoyue handed a few loose coins to the jailer, she was able to enter the county jail without any trouble.

The smell inside the prison was unpleasant, and Miss Gu covered her nose as she forced herself to walk inside.

On the surface, this matter has nothing to do with her, but in reality, it has the most to do with her.

Just like what she once said to Xiaoyue, those people were ostensibly bullying Chen Qing, but in reality, they were bullying her.

If she were more timid, she might have shrunk back and wouldn't have wanted to get involved in this, but Gu Pan is strong-willed, and she knows that very well.

Even setting aside her engagement with Chen Qing, she still had to face this issue. Otherwise, with Chen Qing gone, the next one might be even less of a match for her clansmen.

This struggle can only end if she finds a good-for-nothing who can't do anything, or if she gives up most of the Gu family's assets.

Enduring the pungent, rotten smell of the prison, Miss Gu made her way to one of the cells.

Whether it was because Deqing County had good public security or because the Gu family had made some arrangements, Gu Shouyi was placed in a single cell. He was wearing prison clothes, his hair was disheveled, and he sat alone in the corner without saying a word.

"Brother Shouyi".

Miss Gu called out.

After saying that, she turned to look at Xiaoyue, who immediately understood. She took out a piece of silver from her sleeve, handed it to the constable following her, and forced a smile: "Have some tea, constable."

The constable glanced at the group of people, calmly took the document, and then coughed, saying, "Miss Gu, please feel free to ask if you need anything."

After saying that, he turned and left. Gu Shouyi wasn't a serious criminal; he'd probably be released in a few more months, so there was no problem for his family to contact him privately.

After the constables left, Miss Gu looked at the motionless Gu Shouyi and continued, "Brother Shouyi?"

Gu Shouyi remained silent.

Miss Gu frowned and asked, "Have Seventh Brother and the others been here?"

Gu Shouyi then looked up at Miss Gu. His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was extremely hoarse.

“Miss, this matter is between me and that man surnamed Chen. You and your third uncle should... not get involved.”

He clenched his fists and growled from his throat, "Wait until I get out of here, wait until I get out of here..."

Upon seeing this, Miss Gu knew that Gu Shouzhou and the others must have come before, otherwise, Gu Shouyi, being in prison, would not have known what was happening outside.

Miss Gu looked at Gu Shouyi and said, "Brother Shouyi, the child was lost last night. He was seen before dawn today, and it's not even noon yet."

"All morning, Seventh Brother and the others were busy running around, and they even went to my house to look for Chen Qing. How could they possibly find the time to come here and see you?"

Don't you find this strange?

Gu Shouyi's breathing became rapid, and he looked up at Gu Pan.

Gu Pan was also looking at him, and continued, "Brother Shouyi, you didn't even know Chen Qing before he came to Deqing, so why did you hire someone to beat him up? Think about it, who told you that he was here to steal our Gu family's property?"

"Even if he were here to seize the Gu family's assets, you shouldn't be the one who's worried, Brother Shouyi, right?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Shouyi's eyes became somewhat blank.

Gu Pan looked at him and continued, "Brother Shouyi, listen to me. There's something fishy about your son's situation. You can't stay confused any longer. We need to work together to figure this out."

"If it really was Chen Qing who did it, you don't need to tell me, I will definitely have him tied up and sent to the authorities for questioning."

Gu Shouyi looked up at Gu Pan, his voice hoarse: "How can I find out the truth while I'm in prison?"

"I came here to ask Brother Shi Shouyi to leave."

"But once you're out there, don't act impulsively. If this matter isn't clarified, both you and your son will be manipulated by others."

“If you don’t stay calm and do something impulsive, your sister-in-law and your two nieces will be in danger.”

Gu Pan shook her head: "From now on, there really won't be any days left to live."

Gu Shouyi looked at Gu Pan: "Why did you let me out, Miss?"

“I have no choice, but Chen Qing can.”

Gu Pan said, "Brother Shouyi, he is the aggrieved party in your imprisonment. As long as he goes to the county government to explain things clearly and spends some money, Brother Shouyi will be out soon."

Gu Shouyi clenched his fist: "That petty Chen fellow, how could he let me out?"

"He has already gone to the county government office."

Gu Pan looked at Gu Shouyi and continued, "He went to the county government office not only to release you, Brother Shouyi, but also to report the case to the county government."

Gu Shouyi asked, "What case?"

"The case of your son's violent death."

Miss Gu said, "That child is dead, but Seventh Brother and the others haven't reported it to the authorities. If they don't report it soon, they'll probably bury the child in the next few days!"

……

Just as Gu Pan was in the prison, arguing with Gu Shouyi, Chen Qing, dressed in a blue robe, strode to the front of the Deqing County government office and struck the grievance drum at the entrance without hesitation.

This drum is not something that anyone would easily strike. Normal people don't need to strike this drum when they file a complaint with the authorities; there are specific people in charge of it.

Once the drum is beaten, the matter becomes significant.

Chen Qing beat the drum to make a commotion so that more people in Deqing City would see that he, Chen Qing, had come to the county government to report to the authorities!
As soon as the drum sounded, a constable strode over. He looked Chen Qing up and down and demanded, "Where are you from? What are you doing beating the grievance drum?"

Chen Qing glanced at the constable, put down his drumsticks, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Please inform them."

Chen Qing remained calm.

"Chen Qing from Huzhou requests an audience with the county magistrate."

(End of this chapter)