Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 321 The Reason for Meeting
Gu Tingye's birth mother's surname was Bai, so it was only natural for him to call himself Bai Ye.

However, since Gu Tingye is here, it's not hard to guess who this Shi Lao Er is.

After all, apart from the stone that had always followed Gu Tingye and never abandoned him, there was no one else by Gu Tingye's side.

If this were in the era of the 20th century, these two would undoubtedly be considered a legendary couple, beloved by countless female fans.

However, on the other hand, there was a reason why Gu Tingye left the Marquis's mansion, changed his name to Bai Ye, and wandered among the canal gangs.

Six years ago, around the same time that Sheng Changquan returned to his hometown to take the imperial examination, the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion in Bianjing City made a huge fool of itself.

Gu Tingye, the second legitimate son of the Ningyuan Marquis's family, was about to be married into the Yu family when it was suddenly revealed that he had two children.

Moreover, the mother of these two children was a lowly entertainer.

At that time, the status of street performers was extremely low, almost only slightly higher than that of unregistered vagrants. Even the women in brothels and theaters were much better off.

Therefore, faced with such a humiliating disgrace, the Yu family would naturally not agree to this marriage.

Despite his illness, Grand Secretary Yu spoke frankly to the old Marquis of Ningyuan in front of everyone, saying that the relationship between the two families was now severed!
Of course, the Gu family and the Yu family didn't have a very good relationship; it was just a superficial one.

However, even so, since Grand Secretary Yu has said so, it means that the two families will be enemies from now on.

In fact, the Yu family was gradually declining and should not have acted in this way. However, to be honest, Grand Secretary Yu had no choice but to do so.

After all, for a family like the Yu family, which rose from humble beginnings, if their offspring are capable enough to support the family, then there's nothing to say.

However, given the Yu family's situation, they really had nothing else to rely on besides the prestige of Grand Secretary Yu.

Because, the only son of Grand Secretary Yu, Lord Yu, he…

Forget it, let's not talk about it!

Therefore, the Yu family did not have sufficient wealth, that is, money, nor did their ancestors leave behind a deep foundation, such as a noble title. In fact, they could not even find any promising descendants.

Therefore, the only thing their family could rely on, or rather, the only thing that could be considered decent, was the family's good reputation.

Especially as Yu Ge Lao approaches retirement, he must not show any weakness, otherwise, others will surely try to take action against the Yu family and seize their interests.

Don't think that anyone will defend the Yu family out of old friendships; that's only true when the benefits aren't significant enough.

Moreover, while Grand Secretary Yu is still alive, his network of connections will naturally ensure that the Yu family's interests are not encroached upon by others. But what will happen to their family if Grand Secretary Yu passes away?

It's unlikely to end well!
Therefore, besides leaving the world with the impression that the Yu family was not to be trifled with, Grand Secretary Yu's main purpose in doing so was to warn his descendants that they had an enemy, so that they would be mindful of potential dangers and strive to improve themselves.

Grand Secretary Yu knew the Gu family well and understood their situation. To put it bluntly, the Gu family was actually quite similar to the Yu family. Of course, apart from a title and a decent fortune, the Gu family's heir wasn't much better off!
One was a sickly eldest son whose lifespan was uncertain, while the other, who was good-natured, had been spoiled and had little future to speak of.

As for the youngest one, judging from Grand Secretary Yu's perspective, he's probably a brainless one.

Therefore, Grand Secretary Yu's choice of the Gu family as his hypothetical enemy can be considered a brilliant move.

In fact, besides these reasons, Grand Secretary Yu chose the Gu family for another major reason: the Yu family was a civil official lineage, while the Gu family, or rather the Ningyuan Marquis lineage, was always a military family.

Because of the conflict between civil and military officials, Grand Secretary Yu was certain that even if the Yu family's descendants were to lose to the Gu family in the future, with the protection of civil officials, the Yu family would always have a chance to turn things around.

On the other hand, how did the old Marquis Ningyuan react when Grand Secretary Yu made such a fuss?
His temperament was notoriously stubborn, and this incident only fueled the already bad mood of the old Marquis Ningyuan to the point of exploding with rage!
After leaving the Yu family, the old man actually picked up a stick and headed back. When he saw Gu Tingye, he even threatened to beat him to death!
Even more remarkably, the old Marquis of Ningyuan personally ordered the abduction of Man Niang, the woman who bore Gu Tingye's two children, and also wanted to take away Gu Tingye's two children, intending to take them to a secluded place in the countryside so that they could live out their lives in anonymity.

However, this immediately provoked Gu Tingye, who shared the same temperament as the old Marquis of Ningyuan.

He already suspected that his own mother had been deliberately angered to death by the old Marquis of Ningyuan. Now, having suffered this blow, he turned against the old Marquis of Ningyuan, resulting in the most intense conflict of his time.

Gu Tingye, who had been feeling depressed, directly questioned his father, asking him what the real reason for his mother's death was.
Was it because he coveted the Bai family's wealth that he deliberately married Gu Tingye's birth mother, and then forced her to her death for other reasons?

All of this had been weighing on Gu Tingye's mind, and now he seized the opportunity to ask about it.

However, the old Marquis of Ningyuan naturally felt guilty about this matter. However, out of respect for his father's dignity, he did not tell the truth, but instead chose the most ruthless way to respond to his son.

That is, give him another beating like this!
So, this beating ended up resulting in both sides suffering losses.

Like oil meeting a spark, the father and son finally had a complete falling out!

Gu Tingye changed his name and surname, no longer walking in the world as the son of the Marquis of Ningyuan, while the old Marquis of Ningyuan was so angry that he died. As a result, their family became the laughing stock of the people in the capital.

As for Rong Jie'er, whom Shi Tou mentioned, she is actually the older sister of Gu Tingye's two children.

At that time, when the old Marquis of Ningyuan ordered his men to take the child away and deal with the child's birth mother, Na Manniang immediately began to resist.

What was unexpected was that the other party was actually a rare expert. Moreover, after dealing with the people from the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, she directly took away the younger brother of the siblings, leaving only Rong'er for Gu Tingye, who caught up from behind.

It was at that moment that Gu Tingye suddenly realized that something was wrong with Manniang.

However, because she had a child in her hands, Gu Tingye could only abandon all his doubts and wander around with Rongjie, hoping to find Manniang and bring back his only son, Changge.

Coincidentally, Shi Tou's older brother, Shi Qiang, is the leader of the powerful Cao Gang in the martial arts world. Therefore, in order to find his son, Gu Tingye has no choice but to follow the Cao Gang and rely on their power to search for him.

That's why the scene we saw earlier happened.

……

"what?"

Shi Tou was startled by his older brother Shi Qiang's words and was immediately stunned!

For a moment, he didn't dare to speak.

However, Stone had grown up and was starting to use his brain, so after a long pause, he finally stammered, "Ah? No... Big Brother!"

"I...I...I was wrong!"

Facing his older brother, Shi Tou sincerely admitted defeat and apologized immediately.

"Brother, I was just joking. I just wanted my young master to relax. I didn't mean any disrespect to you at all!"

"Brother, please don't be angry!"

Stone raised his head, revealing a simple and honest look.

"Humph!"

Shi Qiang merely snorted in response, then raised his thick palm and swung it across the face.

"Snapped!"

Surprisingly, the sudden noise was quite loud; at least, Gu Tingye on the other side could faintly hear the commotion. "Heh, these two brothers!"

Although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Gu Tingye had already anticipated it. He simply shook his head inwardly and then put the matter aside, focusing intently on combing and braiding his daughter's hair.

"Sister Rong, be good and don't move!"

"Daddy will braid your hair into a pretty braid!"

"..."

It's truly unexpected that Gu Tingye, who is known as the dissolute prince of the brothels in Bianjing, would have this side to him!
If his friend Sheng Changbai were to see this scene, even with his rigid personality, he would probably be immediately disarmed.

"Humph!"

"Stone, you've really gotten worse and worse over the years!"

Shi Qiang patted his younger brother on the shoulder, making a loud "bang" sound: "Do you think Brother Bai Ye is like you? How could he not see through your thoughts?"

"Since he didn't laugh just now, it means you were just wasting your time!"

"How can we even talk about anything else?"

It's obvious that the eldest brother is still holding a grudge about his younger brother making fun of him before, and he's determined to get revenge.

Shi Tou had guessed this as well, so he didn't dare to say anything more. He just looked at Shi Qiang pitifully and asked weakly, "Then... Brother, what do you... what do you suggest we do?"

"hehe!"

"Stone, you said it yourself!"

Upon hearing Shi Qiang's words, Shi Qiang immediately burst into laughter.

However, seeing his older brother's beaming smile, Shi Tou's face immediately turned bitter.

"Big...Big brother, you...you wouldn't be trying to get your wife to let you drink, would you?"

Stone stammered tentatively as he asked.

"Haha, you little stone!"

The eldest brother of the Shi family laughed heartily again, and said with a touch of Qiao Feng's spirit, "Truly worthy of being my most beloved younger brother!"

"Stone, since you've already guessed it, then go!"

Ignoring Shi Tou's pained expression, Shi Qiang pushed him away and urged his younger brother impatiently, "Quick, Shi Tou!"

"Go steal some wine from your sister-in-law!"

"These days, I've been floating on the water all the time, and my mouth is so bland I can't stand it anymore!"

"..."

Unlike his brother, whose mouth tasted bland, Stone's mouth tasted as if he had eaten durian, so bitter that it was unbearable!
"Oh no, I'm doomed this time!"

Compared to the eldest brother of the Shi family, the eldest sister-in-law of the Shi family was even more intimidating, so the fate of the stone was predictable.

……

Meanwhile, while the Canal Gang was unusually quiet, the battle on Sheng Changquan's side had already ended.

"Uncle Wang, how is the situation?"

After completely repelling the river bandits, Wang Bo ordered his deputy and Fan Yigong to manage the battlefield, while he himself quickly went to Sheng Changquan to report on the battle losses.

"Lang Jun!"

The longer Wang Bo spent with Sheng Changquan, the more impressed he became.

At this moment, Wang Bo saw that Sheng Changquan, as a mere scholar, could stand calmly at the edge of the battlefield and watch the entire brutal battle from beginning to end. He couldn't help but feel great admiration for him.

After all, in their minds, the image of a scholar, besides being precious and intelligent, also included being timid.

However, Sheng Changquan was different. His performance tonight truly impressed most of the people on the ship.

Therefore, without Wang Bo's notice, or perhaps without even realizing it himself, he addressed Sheng Changquan with even greater respect, directly using the honorific "Young Master".

From the somewhat distant "Young Master Sheng," to the intimate "Young Master," and then to the respectful formal title "Young Master," this evolution represents the public's recognition of Sheng Changquan.

"Lang Jun!"

Wang Bo cupped his hands in greeting to Sheng Changquan, called out again, and then said, "We don't know the specifics yet, but our losses aren't too great!"

Wang Bo was very experienced, so he could tell at a glance how much the losses were on both sides.

"Oh? It's good that the loss wasn't too big!"

Sheng Changquan nodded, but his face didn't show much relief.

After all, this is only the first one. Who knows how many more attacks await them?
Seeing Sheng Changquan's calm reaction, Wang Bo's admiration grew even stronger.

"It seems that you know the way ahead, young master!"

Wang Bo narrowed his eyes, secretly pondering Sheng Changquan's thoughts, before speaking, "Young master, actually, if we want the journey ahead to be safer, I have another idea!"

"Ok?"

Sheng Changquan was startled by Uncle Wang's words and immediately asked, "Uncle Wang, what are you saying?"

"Do you have a way to defend against these pirates?"

Sheng Changquan didn't really understand these things, so he was filled with trepidation.

Actually, if he were the only one here, it wouldn't be a big deal. At that time, it would be hard to say who would win!

But not now!

Because there were also Old Madam Sheng and Minglan on the ship, Sheng Changquan wanted to ensure their safety with 120% certainty.

I've been quite busy lately, so there might be some typos or something. Please feel free to point them out! I'll fix them during the holiday... (Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance!)

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(End of this chapter)