Xu Fanglian noticed that Meng Ruyi's face was deathly pale. She had been fine before going out, but after just a short while outside, all the color had drained from her face.
"I'm okay. I just caught a bit of wind," Meng Ruyi said, not really feeling anything amiss. It was only when she saw the anxiety on Xu Fanglian's face that she realized Song Huaizhi's medicine was really effective.
"Come and have a sip of hot water quickly!" Xu Fanglian and Lianqiao were both worried. They quickly pulled Meng Ruyi inside, added another stove, and then Xu Fanglian said to Lianqiao, "Lianqiao, go and ask if there's a doctor in the temple."
"Yes!"
"Wait," Meng Ruyi called out to stop Lianqiao. She explained to them, "Brother Song also knows medicine. He just checked me and said there's nothing wrong. It's just that I've been cooped up for so long and suddenly exposed to the mountain wind. My body couldn't take it for a moment."
Xu Fanglian knew that Song Huaizhi was knowledgeable about medicine. Hearing this, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Mother, I want to see Father," Meng Ruyi said aggrievedly, looking at Xu Fanglian with her big eyes.
"Okay, okay. Lianqiao, go and call the master here quickly," Xu Fanglian would never refuse her daughter's request. She immediately sent Lianqiao out and then fetched a hot-water bottle for Meng Ruyi to warm her belly.
"Tell me," Xu Fanglian sighed. "Ruyi, did something happen to you?"
Meng Ruyi looked up in shock. She never expected that Xu Fanglian could see through her little thoughts. She stammered and didn't know how to start.
"Ruyi," seeing her flustered look, Xu Fanglian couldn't help but chuckle softly. She reached out and gently stroked her daughter's head, then tucked the loose hair behind her ear. "Since that incident last time, you've started to have your own thoughts and learned to scheme."
"Father and I are both very happy to see you growing up," Xu Fanglian said, her gentle gaze making Meng Ruyi's nose tingle. "This is a good thing, so we didn't stop you. But it seems that you're not very happy, Ruyi."
"If there's anything, I still hope you can tell me, okay?"
Meng Ruyi's heart instantly broke. All kinds of emotions welled up and spread throughout her body. She silently looked at Xu Fanglian, then couldn't help but rub her nose. "…Okay."
Xu Fanglian smiled and stroked her head again.
"Mother, something bad is going to happen to the Gu family. Brother Song and I originally wanted to avoid it, but unexpectedly, we just ran into it," Meng Ruyi decided to only talk about the current situation for now and solve this problem first.
"Hmm?" Xu Fanglian was startled. She realized the seriousness of the problem and frowned subconsciously. "Ruyi did a good job. Now gather the whole family together. It'll be easier to deal with any situation."
"Sigh," Meng Ruyi let out a long sigh and then continued, "Brother Song said they might come to us later, but we don't know exactly what the situation is."
"Really…" Xu Fanglian knew that her family had been accidentally involved. She felt a bit of a headache and started to think about the next step slowly. "Don't worry. There's always a way."
Xu Fanglian still looked calm. She said to Meng Ruyi, "Your father and I are here."
…
It had to be said that Song Huaizhi really understood the Gu family.
After Meng Chengliang came, they had just explained the whole thing when the people from the Gu family knocked on the door.
"Madam Gu?" Meng Ruyi was surprised when she saw Lianqiao open the door. She didn't expect that it was Madam Gu and Gu Ling who came in.
"I'm sorry," Madam Gu looked full of guilt. "I'm really disturbing you, but there are some things I have to say."
"Come in quickly," Xu Fanglian got up to greet her. After seeing Madam Gu and Gu Ling sitting at the table, she asked, "Madam Gu, what's the matter?"
The two women looked at each other. They both saw the contemplation in each other's eyes, so they couldn't help but lower their heads, falling into a stalemate.
They didn't hesitate for too long.
The smile on Madam Gu's face became a bit forced, but her tone was still gentle. "I'm sorry, Master Meng, Madam Meng, Ruyi, and Huaizhi. Maybe you've heard about the current plight of the Gu family, but this scheme we set up here this time was really unexpected."
The moment she saw Song Huaizhi and Meng Ruyi at the temple gate, she suddenly felt that life was really unpredictable, just like a drama playing tricks on people.
Madam Gu had already given up on dragging the Meng family into this, but unexpectedly, they got involved at the last moment and were tied up with the Gu family.
"Yes," Xu Fanglian said calmly. She asked, "So, Madam Gu, is there anything you need us to do?"
Gu Ling was rarely quiet. Since he entered the door, he had been looking at everything in front of him indifferently. When he saw Meng Ruyi looking at him, he just pulled the corner of his mouth with some difficulty and then turned to the two people talking.
"Let's not beat around the bush," Madam Gu said. "There are several families in the capital who don't like us, so they set up a scheme to take advantage of this opportunity to deal with us."
"The Gu family has already set up a plan on this mountain. We're just waiting for them to fall into the trap."
"But judging from Madam Gu's expression, this plan is not foolproof?" Song Huaizhi said calmly, piercing through Madam Gu's words with one sentence.
"Yes," there was no trace of anger on her face. She just said to them, "No plan is foolproof. We can't stop those who want to die together, especially since it's also involved with…"
"It's involved with border affairs."
This matter was a bit beyond Meng Chengliang and Xu Fanglian's expectations. The two looked at each other.
"I don't dare to ask for too much. I just hope that if something goes wrong, you can lend a hand to help my son," Madam Gu said and was about to kneel down.
Xu Fanglian quickly stopped her. She just sighed and said, "We'll help if we can, but Madam Gu also has to understand that our small family may also be in trouble."
Xu Fanglian now knew that they might be coming for Song Huaizhi, so she didn't fully agree.
Watching the mother and son from the Gu family leave, Xu Fanglian turned to Song Huaizhi and said, "Huaizhi, be careful. I think the mother and son from the Gu family may be coming for you."
"It's okay," Song Huaizhi smiled faintly and explained, "They're just desperate, so they're grasping at straws. I don't have much ability. As long as I can protect the Meng family, that's good."
Xu Fanglian felt complicated. Looking at Song Huaizhi, her heart was full of gratitude.
[So exciting! It seems that tonight is really a major plot point!]
[Call for the spoiler party! Tell us what's going to happen tonight!]
[In the original novel, there wasn't much description of this part. It just said that something big happened to the Gu family. Then a year later, Gu Ling's father died, and his mother also passed away. From then on, Gu Ling's personality changed greatly, and he slowly climbed up in the military camp. He changed from a kind and sunny boy to a gloomy man.]
[Wuwuwuwuwuwuwu, I feel so bad! My poor Gu Ling!]
[It's so heartbreaking. I originally thought that Gu Ling's different personality from the setting was because of his age. I didn't expect it was because of this…]
Meng Ruyi was silent for a moment. She didn't expect to see a new plot at this moment.
So, what exactly happened in the original book that caused Gu Ling's family to be destroyed and his personality to change greatly?