Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Xu Yulan became anxious, "Father-in-law, you also have to consider the situation. Can we compare with those powerful families?"

We are just ordinary people now. Why don't you go to the village and ask the people in our clan how they usually divide their property?
Are you trying to force us to our deaths by being so unfair?

Gu Baijiang was suddenly in a bad mood. He remembered the promise he had made to his clansmen.

The last time Gu Kaiping was asked to bring the people back, the elders of the clan sent a letter, giving him a deadline. If the matter was not resolved this year, their branch of the clan would be exterminated.

This courtyard could fetch a good price, but if it's divided among the clan, there won't be much left.

Gu Baijiang couldn't even imagine the consequences if he dared not give it to them.

The current clan leader is not that soft-hearted old man Gu Li; he might actually keep his word.

"Yes, she still owes the clan compensation." As soon as Gu Baijiang said this, everyone's eyes were focused on Xu Yulan again, and they were all angry. He really knew how to rub salt in the wound, and he had brought up another creditor for them.

“We’re already too busy to take care of ourselves, let alone them. Besides, we didn’t confiscate their property,” Xu Yulan said somewhat timidly. She was just saying it casually and didn’t mean to bring it up.

"Don't look at me like that. It was my father-in-law who made the promise, not me."

"At worst, we can go to Lingnan, but not Tiancun."

Gu Baijiang gave them a cold glance, then stared at Liu Yun again.

Liu Yun was reluctant, but she knew that this matter was beyond question and she had to get the house deed out today no matter what. She could only take a deep breath, turn around and go back to her own courtyard. When she came out again, she had the house deed in her hand and handed it directly to Gu Baijiang.

"Father, is it possible to move around with An Tong? If not, we can bring her out and take her with us to Lingnan."

Gu Baijiang held the property deed but didn't answer him. He simply turned and left quietly, his back view looking particularly desolate.

Xu Shuanghong, “…” Damn it, she’s been dealing with Bai’s antics for almost a year now, it seems she can’t stay in the Gu family anymore.

They were calculating in their minds, thinking that if things really went as they said, life wouldn't be easy even in Lingnan.

"Are we really going to Lingnan?" Xu Yulan looked bewildered. It would be better to stay trapped in this backyard, at least there would be no need to worry about food and clothing.

“If you don’t go, you’ll stay here by yourself,” Gu Kaichen quickly accepted. Here, he would only be trapped in the backyard indefinitely. Lingnan was fine, at least he was free.

Liu Yun was silent for a while, then staggered towards the study. She had to ask how Gu Antong was doing.

Even if she couldn't take her out of the Prince Ning's residence, she would still try to see her before leaving.

When Gu Baijiang saw her arrive, he knew that if he didn't clarify things today, Liu Yun might make rash decisions in her desperation, so he told her what he had learned.

Finally, he added, "The royal family will not allow such a scandal to occur. I'm afraid An Tong has no other hope. She wrote a letter home before and is fully aware of her situation. She has already made the worst-case scenario plan."

Otherwise, do you think I'd want to leave Beijing? If I don't leave now, I'm afraid I won't even be able to keep this house.

Liu Yun said, "No way, this was bestowed by the Third Prince after all, and you even gave it to him before..." "I know you're smart," Gu Baijiang interrupted her, "People's hearts are unpredictable. Even you all think I'm hiding something. Do you think Rong Ruiyuan wouldn't think the same?"

Liu Yun: "...Then you really had something up your sleeve."

Seeing the expectation in her eyes, Gu Baijiang sighed, "At first, I did have a trick up my sleeve, but some thief stole it from me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been leading you through such a hard life."

Our family is really struggling right now, so this house is our last hope. Only by selling it and moving to Lingnan to start over can we hope to return in a few years.

He still held high hopes for his two grandsons. It was fine if they went to Lingnan, where he could dedicate himself to teaching them and one of them would eventually become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

At this moment, Liu Yun disregarded social hierarchy and stared intently at Gu Baijiang. Seeing the weariness in his eyes and the hint of regret, she knew that Gu Baijiang was not lying this time.

I couldn't help but feel disappointed. If I had hidden it, why didn't I hide it better?
"Dad, if something is stolen, there must be some clues, right..." She still held onto a sliver of hope that if they found out who stole it, there might still be a chance to get it back.

Gu Baijiang shook his head. He had been investigating these past few days, but he hadn't found a single clue.

He didn't dare to make a big fuss about this, so he was destined to suffer in silence.

"Go and prepare. Take everything you can. I'll sell the house and hire more carriages later."

"But are you really not going to take care of An Tong? She's our family's child..."

"How can we manage this? Why don't you send a formal letter of invitation to the Prince of Ning's residence now and see if you can get a meeting before you leave?"

Gu Baijiang was still soft-hearted and had another idea: if Gu Antong knew about the family's difficulties, he would see if she could give them something more.

After all, with such a large family, there will be no source of income in the future. They will have to rely entirely on their own efforts. The more they earn, the more security they will have in the future.

“Alright then,” Liu Yun still refused to give up. Maybe there was still a cure for An Tong. Even if there was no cure, once she left, she probably would never have the chance to see her again. How could she, as a mother, bear to do that?

Gu Baijiang let her make a fuss; if he were Rong Ruiyuan, he certainly wouldn't allow it.

Of course, there is another possibility: he could come up with a large sum of money, and Gu Antong's life would be better. But that's impossible. Even if the money hadn't been lost, he couldn't possibly fill Rong Ruiyuan's huge hole again.

That's a treacherous and despicable person. This time, he's going to flee in disgrace so that those court officials who want to pledge allegiance to Rong Ruiyuan can see what kind of despicable person he is.

As expected, Liu Yun's visiting card was thrown out as soon as it reached the gatekeeper of the Ning Prince's residence. Although he wasn't verbally abused, it already showed his attitude.

At this moment, Rong Ruiyuan had no time to care about the small Gu family. He had already begun to work closely with those wealthy businessmen, but the businessmen were cunning by nature and were unwilling to cooperate.

Some even stated explicitly that they wanted their own precious daughters to serve Rong Ruiyuan and looked down on the guards and stewards he had appointed.

Of course, some small fry were also caught, but even though these people agreed because of Rong Ruiyuan's status, they only allowed it to his unfavored illegitimate daughter.

It's important to understand that the dowries given to legitimate daughters, illegitimate daughters, and those who are favored in the family are all different. After facing setbacks several times, Rong Ruiyuan had even less intention to care about his family. (End of Chapter)