How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 119 The Huang Family (3)

Qingru sat there for a while before finally managing to get up.

"Let's go, let's go to the Huang family."

Seeing Qingru's resentful expression, Guo Zixing stopped her from going, saying, "You should rest first. Although I don't know what happened, I can tell you're not in a good mood. You can go to the Huang family anytime."

"No," Qingru said bitterly, "I'll go now. It all started because of the Huang family. If it weren't for Huang Qian's evil deeds, I wouldn't have been kidnapped by human traffickers for so long, and if I hadn't been delayed for so long, I would have..."

Qingru interrupted, "Anyway, let's go now."

Guo Zixing had originally planned to visit the Huang family today, but upon hearing this, he immediately led Qingru and the others out the door.

The second day of the second lunar month is the day the dragon raises its head, which is considered an auspicious day. Today is also the day that Master Huang is quietly celebrating the full moon of his youngest son.

Master Huang usually behaved like a local gentry, and had a good reputation among the powerful and influential in Sifang City.

However, his offspring were indeed far more numerous than those of other families. The baby celebrating its one-month birthday this time was the twenty-third child born to his eleventh concubine.

It seems this concubine is quite favored; otherwise, why would they specially throw a party for this child?

The Huang family lived not far from the Marshal's Mansion, less than half an hour away.

Today, Guo Zixing and Qingru were dressed very richly. They usually prefer casual clothes, but today they specially wore mink coats and piled jewelry on their bodies as if it were free.

Most people might look dowdy dressed like this, but Guo Zixing and Qingru are both tall and slender with exceptional looks, making them appear incredibly wealthy despite their slightly flamboyant outfits.

Is this okay?

"Don't worry, no one can beat you."

Guo Zixing and Qingru entered the Huang residence hand in hand. The gatekeeper did not recognize them, but seeing their gold and silver attire, he knew they were no ordinary people.

They quickly invited the person inside and then hurriedly went to inform Master Huang.

Qingru and the others had just been welcomed into the reception room and hadn't even sat down when Master Huang arrived like a gust of wind.

"Young Master Guo, what brings you here?"

Seeing Guo Zixing's serious demeanor, Master Huang's heart skipped a beat; it seemed the visitor was up to no good.

Guo Zixing remained calm and said gently, "I heard that your household has welcomed a new member, so I came to offer my congratulations."

"Oh dear, it's just a young boy, why bother you?" Master Huang couldn't figure out Guo Zixing's purpose in coming here, so he could only exchange pleasantries while trying to find out.

"Oh dear, I heard that Young Master Guo has arrived, so I have come to pay my respects."

A fragrant breeze wafted from afar, and then a woman dressed in red and green, accompanied by her wet nurse, came from a distance.

Qingru glanced at Master Huang; it seemed this was his favored concubine, the eleventh wife. She looked quite young, probably only a teenager, but her mature attire added years to her otherwise youthful face.

The eleventh concubine seemed oblivious to Master Huang's expression, and hurriedly came over to bow to Guo Zi and greet Qingru.

"Let me see the child too," Qingru said. Now that the concubine had appeared, Guo Zixing couldn't speak to her directly.

"Yes," the eleventh concubine responded crisply, then handed the child to Qingru.

Master Huang had no choice but to deal with Guo Zixing on his own. No one knew who told this stupid woman, but she actually went out of her way to embarrass herself.

Qingru peeked over to look at the child. The child was still small, rosy-cheeked. Perhaps because of the abundant milk supply, the child was only one month old, but already fair and adorable. The child's features resembled those of Master Huang.

"His eyebrows and eyes are very similar to those of Master Huang."

"Yes, just like my husband, handsome."

Looking at Master Huang's wrinkled face, Qingru wondered how she could say such insincere things so naturally.

"Qingru, take out the gift and give it to this child."

Qingru responded and waved her hand. Xin Wuhui stepped forward and handed the gift box to Qingru.

"Master Huang, this is just a small gift, a blessing for this child."

Master Huang stared at Xin Wu Hui in shock, watching the man appear alive and well before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

What does that mean? Guo Zixing is suspicious of him?

"Ahem," Master Huang coughed to cover up his embarrassment, "Thank you very much, Young Master Guo. He's just a child, what's the big deal?"

The eleventh concubine accepted the gift box without any pressure and opened it in front of everyone. "A little abacus? Oh my, it's so exquisite. I thank Young Master Guo on behalf of our young master."

"Nonsense, go back!" Master Huang scolded, finally deigning to send the eleventh concubine away.

As a concubine, how could she be qualified to thank the young master of the Marshal's mansion on behalf of anyone? Wasn't this a slap in the face to the Marshal?

The eleventh concubine realized she had misspoke, glanced at Master Huang reproachfully, and left with the child in her arms.

Master Huang was somewhat embarrassed; his concubine's lack of manners was a disgrace to him.

"Young Master Guo, I'm so sorry. I haven't been strict enough with my household and have offended you."

"Offending is a minor matter, but it's just that Master Huang, as a local gentry, has such lax family rules. No wonder so many absurd things have happened. Well, it's getting late, so I'll head back now. See you another day."

Master Huang couldn't wait for Guo Zixing to leave, but he couldn't show it, so he immediately got up and respectfully saw him off.

As soon as he turned around, Master Huang's kind face could no longer be maintained.

"Place the eleventh concubine under house arrest, and let the young master be raised by the wet nurse."

"Yes," the butler replied humbly, watching as Master Huang strode swiftly toward the backyard.

With a "bang," the door was kicked open. Huang Qian was drinking with a woman in his arms when he was woken up and was about to lose his temper.

"Who's blind...?"

"Slap!" Master Huang slapped him awake. The maid beside him, holding her clothes, trembled with fear.

"father?"

Huang Qian immediately became serious when he saw that it was his father.

"What's wrong?" Huang Qian asked the butler with a questioning look in his eyes, but the butler didn't dare to say a word.

"You're asking what happened? Look what you've done."

Huang Qian was completely baffled. He had been playing with the maids at home lately and hadn't been out fooling around. Why was his father suddenly so unhappy with him?

"Dad, just give me a straight answer. Nobody can read your mind, how am I supposed to know what you're thinking?"

Master Huang stared sternly at Huang Qian, "When you pushed the driver into the water that day, were you sure he was dead?"

"He's dead." Huang Qian was confused. "You found the body?"

"Hmph, what corpse? He's standing right in front of me today, alive and well."

"Impossible," Huang Qian blurted out. After pushing the driver into the water, he threw in several large rocks and only stopped when he saw blood rising to the surface. He later tried to retrieve the body, but the driver's remains were nowhere to be found.

Seeing his confident look, Master Huang couldn't help but feel angry. "Idiot, he's not dead at all. He even showed up at the full moon banquet today with Guo Zixing's female companion. Tell me, what was he doing here?"

"perhaps…"

Huang Qian thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out why the other party insisted on personally delivering the congratulatory gift.

"Fool, they gave your brother a golden abacus, which means they know everything about our plans. Now that they have witnesses, dealing with you will be a piece of cake."

Huang Qian finally became frightened. "No way, we've already sided with Guo Ziyou, otherwise Young Master Guo wouldn't have let me out. Are we going to bring this up again now?"

"Guo Ziyou didn't make any promises to you. Besides, he's from the second wife's family. Whether he can make decisions for Guo Zixing is still unknown."

"Father, you must save me! It's clear that Commander Guo is relying heavily on Guo Zixing. If he insists on taking revenge, what will become of me? Father, you must save me!"

Looking at his son, whose body had been nearly ruined by wine and women, Master Huang was filled with disappointment and frustration. "You, you... Fine, I'll go to the Marshal's Mansion for you again this time and send you out of the city. Don't come back for now."

Huang Qian subconsciously felt reluctant to give up his family's wealth in Sifang City, and murmured, "It's not necessarily true that we have to leave the city..."

But seeing Master Huang's furious expression, Huang Qian readily knelt down, "Father, I was wrong, I will listen to you, I will listen to everything you say."

"Hmph," Old Master Huang's deep brows furrowed again. Recent events had left him overwhelmed, and news of his sister had vanished without a trace...

Thinking of Xin Wu Hui's unapproachable demeanor, Master Huang felt a pang of pain in his heart.

Well, it's time to make a choice.

It was unclear what Master Huang was thinking, but a cold glint appeared in his eyes.