Chapter 129: A Qualitative Change in Mother-Son Relationship

e some reason for the rumors. If there are such rumors, there must be a reason behind them."Xu Huaiyi said meaningfully, "At first, Huta Village was said to be cursed because the harvests were poor co...At this point, most of Gu Xiaoyu's hidden secrets had been revealed, except for his origins and real name. Gu Huanxi had a vague idea of where to start her investigation, but she didn't pressure him to reveal everything at once. She simply asked with confusion, "Since your father sent you away, he must have found a suitable family to care for you. Why did you run away on your own"

Gu Xiaoyu, hearing this, a flash of hatred crossed her downcast eyes. “My father originally entrusted me to my uncle, asking him to raise me. But word got out, and my stepmother sent people to chase me all the way. My uncle's men fought bravely to protect me, but they lost most of their numbers in the process. Even then, the assassins kept coming relentlessly. Helpless, my uncle left me with a peasant family in Tongxian County for temporary care, luring the assassins away himself…”

Then what

“My uncle said that he would come for me after dealing with those assassins, in at most seven to eight days. But half a month passed and I still hadn't seen him. The family who adopted me only cared about the money my uncle gave them and treated me poorly. Seeing that my uncle didn't return, they hatched a wicked plan to sell me. I had no choice but to run away.”

"Link by link, it all connects," Gu Huan nodded in satisfaction, but a new question arose, "If you ran away, wouldn't your uncle be unable to find you when he comes back"

Gu Xiaoyu thought of the painting in her dream, she shook her head hesitantly, "Perhaps, he won't come back for me."

Gu Huanxi's heart skipped a beat, "You suspect your uncle..."

Gu Xiaoyu took a deep breath, "I don't know how he is now, but I know that if I hadn't run away at the time, I wouldn't have waited for him to come back to pick me up anyway, and the ending would definitely have been very miserable. So, I can't just rely on others for my safety. I have to save myself."

Gu Huanxi, after hearing this, felt a weight in her heart. She couldn't help but get up and go over to him, pulling him into her arms and softly comforting him, "You did a good job."

Even a child of only five years old, even if ancient people were precocious, to achieve this level is quite remarkable. Some adults may not have that decisiveness and courage.

Gu Xiao Yu buried her face in her bosom and mumbled, "It was my good fortune to run into my father on the road. He brought me home and introduced me to you, giving me a place to stay. But... I selfishly concealed everything from you, dragging you into this trouble as well. If my stepmother ever finds out, she might take her anger out on you. That day, if it ever comes, my son would truly be beyond reproach!"

Gu Huanxi gently patted his back, her expression calm, and said, "The fact that we can become family is fate. It doesn't exist where one person drags the other down."

Gu Xiaoyu raised her face, her eyes reddened with a mixture of emotion and disbelief. "Now that you know everything, are you still willing to accept me Are you really not afraid of my stepmother's retaliation"

"Gu Huanxi smiled faintly, "If we had met when you were carrying so much weight, I might have chosen to protect myself. But now, we are family. You call me mother, and that means I have a duty to protect you. I wouldn't abandon you out of fear of retaliation. As I told you before, family cannot be abandoned. No matter the time or circumstance, family should always come first."

"Mother!"

He blurted out the words, tears welling up in his eyes instantly. However, he didn't let them fall, allowing them to flow freely, as if venting years of suppressed grievances, resentment, unwillingness, and anger.

Gu Huanxi didn't try to persuade him, she just silently accompanied him until he calmed down. He felt a little embarrassed and rubbed against her in her arms, then shyly raised his head to look at her again.

To please him, I didn't tease him and instead asked a serious question at an appropriate time, "If you were to appear in the capital, how likely is it that someone would recognize you"

Gu Xiaoyu thought for a moment, "It should be very small." After finishing speaking, she added, "I rarely went out before. There were few people outside who had seen me. It was just at home... Actually, not many either, because my mother was often ill. Apart from studying, I spent every day by her side. The most common sight was the maids and servants attending to her, as well as the head stewardess. After my mother's death and my stepmother took charge, those people were either sent to the countryside estate or sold. Unless I deliberately sought them out, there wouldn't be a chance to meet them."

And what about your stepmother and father, and the rest of your family

They won't be walking around outside at random, and we wouldn't go to the places they might appear in, making it difficult for us to cross paths.

Hearing this, Gu Huan smiled and poked his head, "Just say it directly, our family is far from reaching their circle yet."

Gu Xiaoyu whispered, "That circle is not good at all."

Gu Huanxi raised an eyebrow, her tone half-serious and half-joking. "Really High position, power over others, silks and satins, mountains of delicacies, aren't these good enough How many people spend their whole lives chasing after these things, and you say they're not good"

Gu Xiaoyu repeated, "It's really not good."

Gu Huanxi curiously asked, "What's wrong"

Gu Xiaoyu said with a serious face, "Being in that situation, I wasn't happy at all. Not being happy means it was bad. Now being with you all, even if we were just ordinary people, eating plain rice and gruel every day, or even wandering and escaping as refugees under the open sky, I would feel happy. There's no scheming, no flattery, no constant fear of being plotted against and harmed in secret. Every day is especially peaceful and secure. I don't have to worry anymore that closing my eyes at night will be the last thing I ever do..."

Gu Huanxi's heart ached, so she quickly patted his head and comforted him, "It's all over now. You don't have to worry about going through that kind of life again. Our family is small and there are only a few of us. Even if you want to play mind games, no one would join in. As for plotting or scheming, it's impossible. Your father has such a temper, if he disliked you, he would just punch you directly. He's too lazy to think about such things."

Gu Xiaoyu heard this, raised the corner of her mouth, and smiled silently.

After a deep conversation, the biggest change was that their interactions became more intimate and comfortable. Anyone looking at them would definitely not believe they weren't related by blood.

When Xu Huaiyi returned home slightly tipsy, he felt this qualitative change in the mother-child relationship. He was puzzled, wondering what had happened while he was away.

Gu Huanxi didn't explain, but instead asked about the topic they had discussed while drinking.

Xu Huaiyi talked about a few things in general. "Master Liao said, he didn't know what resettlement policy the capital had for disaster victims right now. He suggested that it would be best for us to send people to inquire first, so we could make preparations in advance. After all, we have many people, and it's impossible to put everyone in one village. If we have to separate them, we need to figure out how to do it beforehand..."

“If you don't want to separate, then you have to rent a large courtyard house. I think it's unreliable, so I refused. Xu Village Chief and the others weren't willing either. When we get to Beijing, we have to register our household first before we can rest assured about the future. Old Master Liao has a business in Beijing, he did suggest arranging some villagers to work there, but who to choose and who not to choose is quite difficult. Xu Village Chief didn't agree right away, probably worried about inequality.”

"Master Liao also asked about my plans. I said I wanted to study, which surprised him! Hahaha, even Xu Village Chief and the others were startled. My uncle was quite supportive, especially when he heard I wanted to take the military examination. He even said that if money was a problem, he could try to help me out."o grind the beans with their donkeys. Only with soybean milk could they cook tofu, and only then could they make all sorts of bean products. As demand for tofu grew, two more stone mills were added, g...