Chapter 538 — You Ruin the Family's Harmony

"Then let's go, quick!" Gu Mengyao was impatient, afraid that if they arrived too late, her mother would have gone off somewhere else again.

All these years, not a moment had passed when Gu Mengyao did not hold her mother in her heart. She had never spoken of it, but beneath her tough exterior lay a deep, aching longing for her mother. She was, after all, only a nineteen-year-old girl; however mature she pretended to be, however much she played the big sister in front of Shen Yushu, she could not suppress her hunger for family.

Should she tell her father? Gu Mengyao shook her head. Over the years her father had never once mentioned the matter of her mother in her presence; it seemed he had long since put her out of his mind, devoting himself wholly to the company. That left Gu Mengyao rather displeased, yet there was nothing to be done -- her father was, after all, just as important in her eyes.

She did not know what her father and mother had quarreled about back then, nor why her mother had run away from home and stayed away all these years. But Gu Mengyao thought that if she could see her mother first and persuade her to stay, her father's side of things should not be a problem -- she might even give him a surprise.

At that thought, Gu Mengyao decided to meet her mother in secret. She had completely believed Zhong Yongliang's words and taken "that person" for her own mother.

"All right then!" Zhong Yongliang nodded helplessly and called out to Gao Xiaofu, not far off: "Xiaofu, come here!"

"What is it, Brother Liang?" Gao Xiaofu came over, a little puzzled. It had to be said, his acting was rather good -- clearly he had rehearsed this many times.

"Come with me and Mengyao to Shuangyan Mountain!" Zhong Yongliang ordered.

"What are we going to Shuangyan Mountain for?" Gao Xiaofu was taken aback.

"Why so many questions? Are you coming or not?" Zhong Yongliang clearly had no intention of explaining.

"Oh, coming!" Gao Xiaofu asked no more.

That Zhong Yongliang should bring Gao Xiaofu along when going out did not strike Gu Mengyao as at all improper; he was Zhong Yongliang's lackey, after all, and it was only natural to bring him along. Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu walked in front, while Chu Fenyao and Shen Yushu followed behind, and the four of them descended the stairs one after another and passed out through the school gate.

"Yao-Yao, what on earth is going on? What are you going to Shuangyan Mountain for? And who is that woman who looks so much like you?" Shen Yushu asked, puzzled, as they walked.

"Don't ask so many questions, just come along!" Gu Mengyao could not explain it clearly in a few words now, and besides, whether her mother was still there was anyone's guess.

"Oh, but I think it's a bit improper for the two of us girls to follow Zhong Yongliang out into the wilds, isn't it? Should we let Brother Arrowhead know?" Shen Yushu said, seeing that it was already getting dark.

"If you want to call Wei Zhao, just admit it -- no need to make so many excuses." Gu Mengyao mercilessly saw through Shen Yushu's intentions. "You're missing him, aren't you?"

"Oh! I thought it was Yao-Yao who was missing him!" Shen Yushu blinked. "So, shall we call?"

"Suit yourself!" Gu Mengyao gave a little huff. But then it occurred to her that perhaps Xiaoshu was right -- she really ought to let Wei Zhao know where they were going. Out in the barren hills, what if something happened?

Shen Yushu did miss Wei Zhao a little, though just what kind of missing it was, she could not say herself. She had simply grown used to the days when Wei Zhao lived with them; to have him suddenly gone left her a little out of sorts.

"The poor little wife is always the big wife's messenger," Shen Yushu muttered to herself as she took out her phone.

"What did you say?" Gu Mengyao nearly stumbled and fell. "What big wife, what little wife?"

"You're the big wife, and I'm the little wife," Shen Yushu said, not a bit afraid, grinning all the while.

"You rotten Xiaoshu, do you want your tongue pulled out? Who's Wei Zhao's big wife?" Gu Mengyao glared at Shen Yushu.

"Oh! So Yao-Yao really does like Brother Arrowhead!" Shen Yushu raised both hands in cheer. "I only said big wife and little wife -- I never said they were Brother Arrowhead's!"

"You! I'm so mad at you!" Gu Mengyao knew she had been tricked by Shen Yushu; the little minx had led her on step by step. But she really had never said whose big wife and little wife they were...

This whole matter of the principal wife and the concubine seemed to be something the two of them had cooked up between themselves, with no particular future husband in mind... She had really been duped! Hoodwinked! Gu Mengyao glared at Shen Yushu: "Open your mouth!"

"Wait a minute..." Shen Yushu shook her head, beaming from ear to ear.

"Why?" Gu Mengyao wondered to herself. Has this silly girl finally wised up? Does she know I'm about to tear at her mouth?

"I'm not that stupid, no sooner do I open my mouth than you'll rip my tongue right out..." Before Shen Yushu could finish the sentence, she let out a shriek: "Ah, no, ouch -- it hurts! It hurts so much!"

Gu Mengyao seized the moment Shen Yushu opened her mouth to speak and lunged to tear at her lips: "A silly girl is still a silly girl."

"A girl who's a little silly is the kind people like!" Shen Yushu pressed a hand over her mouth, her words mumbled and garbled: "Sister Yaoyao, you're far too wicked. You'll never win anyone's favor in the future!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gu Mengyao asked.

"You're bullying your little concubine and wrecking the peace of the household. In ancient times, that would make you a disfavored empress!" Shen Yushu said.

"Do you still want to keep that mouth of yours?" Gu Mengyao threatened her.

"Oh..." Shen Yushu fell silent, picking up her phone to make a call. But she could see that Gao Xiaofu had already flagged down a taxi across the way, so there was clearly no time for it.

"Mengyao, Xiaoshu, hurry and get in!" Spotting that Gao Xiaofu had secured a cab, Zhong Yongliang waved to Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu.

The taxi Gao Xiaofu flagged was a seven-seat Touran. Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were both slight in stature and darted straight up to the third-row seats, leaving Zhong Yongliang to sit in glum silence beside Gao Xiaofu in the second row.

Zhong Yongliang was so furious he wanted to kick Gao Xiaofu through the roof with a single blow. When you're hailing a cab, can't you take a good look first? At the very least you could have flagged a five-seat Jetta! Why in the world did you hail a seven-seater? What were you thinking?

He had planned to sit in the back row with Gu Mengyao; in a five-seat car, three people were bound to squeeze into the back, and he had been hoping he might at least steal a little closeness to her. Now everything was ruined.

Still, with Gu Mengyao seated right behind him, Zhong Yongliang could not very well let his temper show. He swallowed his anger and endured it in silence.

In the taxi, Shen Yushu sent a text message to Wei Zhao, telling him that she and Sister Yaoyao were heading to Shuangyan Mountain with Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu.

Wei Zhao received the message just as the second auction was getting under way. He glanced at it but did not reply, since Shen Yushu had reported their whereabouts in a purely matter-of-fact tone, and there was nothing he could interfere with in any case.