Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 244 Hot Pot

The matter of the Li family was reported by the steward of the Marquis' Mansion early in the morning on the first day of the new year. Although the head of the Li family was not a human being, the elder of the clan was old and of a high generation, and there were many nobles in the capital who were nominally his juniors, so the steward came to report it specifically.

Gu Fengyun guessed that the man would die, but he didn't expect him to die so soon. It was several months earlier than he expected. The last time he saw the old man in the Ministry of Justice, he seemed to be in good health. Unexpectedly, he died in less than half a month.

Gu Fengyun hesitated for a moment, but decided to go to the Li family to pay his condolences. Gu Fengyue also insisted on going with him, but was stopped by Gu Fengyun.

"I'll go. Our family is now a mortal enemy of the Li family. If too many people go, people will think we are going to demonstrate. I'll go burn some incense for the old man and then come back."

Gu Fengyue wanted to say something, but Gu Fengyun had already got on the carriage. He stretched out his hand and waved, telling him to get in quickly. Gu Fengyue had no choice but to go back and wait.

Grandpa Song also asked a question when he saw Gu Fengyue come in. When he heard that Gu Fengyun was going to pay tribute to an elder, he couldn't help but sigh. Maybe people can't stand seeing these things when they get older. Grandpa Song was in a low mood that day. Until Song Yuanyuan woke up from her nap and was carried out by Song Qin and put into Grandpa Song's arms, the innocent little baby immediately made people laugh.

Seeing Grandpa Song recover, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Qin was packing the gifts to be taken to the Zhou family tomorrow. Since there was only one daughter-in-law in the family who was going back to her parents' home, everyone's work was relatively easy. In addition to the necessary pig's hind leg, there were also two jars of old wine, four bottles of homemade jam, and the cloth was fine linen, but Song Qin also added five pounds of cotton.

Cotton is still a rare commodity nowadays, and the first thing Zhou Ning thought of when he saw it was to ask Song Qinshi to collect it.

"We don't even have enough cotton at home, why are you giving it out as a gift? Mom, just exchange it for a few boxes of cakes."

Song Qinshi didn't agree, but comforted Zhou Ning: "Since your family grows cotton, you should naturally respect your elders first. No matter how they treated you in the past, as a descendant, you should do what you should do, so that no one can catch you. The gossips of the long-tongued women in this village are more spiteful than you think. You have fulfilled your duties. If they still spread gossip everywhere, you can justifiably shut them up. As for us, we will be more confident if we are justified."

Chen Yuer held her belly and smiled as she said, "You are still young. When you have a child in two years, you will know how to live your life. As long as you have a clear conscience, you will not be afraid no matter what others criticize you for."

Song Qin smiled and said, "That's right. As the younger generation, we can only fulfill our filial duties for a few years. Alas, they are old now. How many times can you go back?"

Talking about their maternal homes, the two sisters-in-law felt a little sad. They both had no maternal homes to return to. Song Qin's maternal home only consisted of her stepmother, brother, sister-in-law and younger brother. Chen Yuer's maternal home was similar. Her parents died during the drought, leaving only her younger brother and his wife's family. They did not follow them when they fled, and now no one knows whether they are still alive.

It was New Year's Day, and everyone felt that holding a funeral was unlucky, so not many people came to the Li Mansion to pay their respects. When the steward saw Gu Fengyun coming, he thought his eyes were blurry, and the family members kneeling on the ground looked at each other in bewilderment.

However, no one said anything. After Gu Fengyun finished burning incense, the wife of the head of the Li family snorted coldly and did not return the gift to Gu Fengyun.

"Lord Gu, please stop pretending to be sympathetic. We do not welcome you in the Li Mansion."

Gu Fengyun: “…”

"Gu is just a junior who comes to see the old man off. Madam Li, there is no need to be so angry."

"Hmph, angry?" Madam Li slowly stood up, staring at Gu Fengyun's face angrily: "Lord Gu is so shameless to teach us a lesson? Why did the old master pass away so suddenly? Isn't it because of you? Don't be so hypocritical here. If you hadn't forcibly kidnapped my husband and others, the old master would have been in good health and shouldn't have passed away so early. It's all because of you! Gu Fengyun, our Li family will never reconcile with you!"

Gu Fengyun's face also turned cold at this time. He put his hands behind his back and his aura was no longer restrained. He met Madam Li's gaze and said fearlessly, "Why was the head of the Li family arrested? I don't believe that you, the one beside me, would know nothing about it. Madam Li, if you don't want others to know, then you must not do it. It seems that your Li family has lived too comfortably these years. You have touched what you should touch, and you also touch what you shouldn't touch. Do you think His Majesty will tolerate your greed?"

Mrs. Li's face was pale and her body was staggering. She was not an ignorant woman. She knew about some things going on in the family, but she thought that everyone did the same thing and as long as nothing serious happened, they would just turn a blind eye and the matter would pass. But she had never thought that her husband would cause such a big mess this time.

That's treason!

Mrs. Li closed her eyes, feeling sad in her heart, because she understood that since Gu Fengyun dared to arrest them, he must have solid evidence in his hands, whether it was human or physical evidence, it must be enough to kill their Li family directly, otherwise Gu Fengyun would not be so arrogant.

Thinking of what he said about His Majesty, Madam Li's heart grew colder. If Gu Fengyun was only targeting the Li family, there might still be a glimmer of hope for this matter. But if the emperor was standing behind Gu Fengyun, then there would be no possibility for the Li family to turn things around.

After realizing this, Mrs. Li sat down dejectedly, not saying a word for a long time.

Gu Fengyun did not indulge them. He turned around and strode away. When he walked out of the gate of Li Mansion, he turned around and took a look at the imposing plaque of Li Mansion.

"A century-old family." After saying this, he let out a long breath, got on the carriage and left.

It was still quite early when he came back. Song Qin was just setting the table for dinner. When she saw him come in, she invited him to come to the table to eat. Gu Fengyun felt warm in his heart and responded with a smile.

The Song family doesn't have the custom of not talking while eating or sleeping at the dinner table. Everyone chats and laughs about family matters. Most of what they eat today is yesterday's leftovers, but most of them are raw. There are three hot pots in the middle, with a total of three flavors of hot pot for everyone to eat.

Song Chunlin's favorite is spicy hot pot. In the whole family, he and Fu Nian reach for the spicy pot with chopsticks the most. Seeing how they are eating so happily, others also try to take a bite with chopsticks, but in the end they all cough repeatedly because of the spiciness.

Chen Yuer also tried it out of curiosity, and was surprised to find that she could actually eat spicy food.