Chapter 14: The Child Who Appeared in the Room

"Perhaps they’ve long since gone down to meet the King of Hell along with the second and third brothers! Bah!"

"Slap..." The heavy sound of a palm striking flesh echoed across the fence shared by the two households. Then, Feng’s heart-wrenching, shrill voice followed.

"Gu Litang, you hit me! You dare hit me! You thousand-knife-slashing wretch, I’ll fight you to the death!"

...

The members of the Gu family’s fourth branch exchanged glances. Listening to the clatter and commotion from next door, everyone fell into a heavy silence.

As for the things Feng was shouting, everyone here—except for Zhen Mi’er, who had just married into the family, and Gu Tingzhi, whose mind was clouded—had heard them at least eight hundred, if not a thousand times.

Feng never changed her script; she always grabbed onto the same accusations. Gu Qingsong and Gu Qingbai, who had grown up listening to this, could already recite them by heart!

Gu Qingsong, being a straightforward person, couldn't take it anymore. He tossed the fish in his hand into the water vat and was about to go next door to reason with Feng, with the indignant Gu Qinghe following close behind.

"Get back here!" Gu Lizong barked, stopping them both.

The two looked dissatisfied and stubbornly refused to turn back, until Gu Qingbai, Su Hehua, and Lin Huiniang rushed forward to hold them back.

The family no longer had the heart to finish cleaning the fish; luckily, there were only two left.

Zhen Mi’er sped up her movements, rinsed the blood from the remaining fish, and placed them with the others. Fearing that a cat might sneak in to steal them, she grabbed the heavy lid used for the water vat and covered the fish.

After washing up, everyone returned to their respective rooms to sleep.

Zhen Mi’er was curious about the events from years ago that Feng kept mentioning, but given the atmosphere tonight, it wasn't the right time to ask, and she couldn't ask her husband, so she had to hold it in.

Gu Tingzhi didn't understand why everyone had suddenly become unhappy, but he was currently thrilled! His eyes darted around; he was planning a surprise for Manman!

And his surprise certainly did shock Zhen Mi’er!

The next morning, she dreamed she was performing the stunt of breaking a large stone on her chest! But the stone didn't break; instead, it almost suffocated her!

Zhen Mi’er woke up gasping for air. It would have been better if she hadn't woken up; once she did, she suspected she was still dreaming.

Rubbing her eyes, she discovered a child lying on her chest. She rubbed them again—the child was still there! And it was a mud-covered child!

Who could tell her who this child was? Where did she come from? And why was she in her bed?

Perhaps sensing her presence, Gu Tingzhi slowly opened his eyes. Zhen Mi’er noticed that every morning when he woke up, his eyes were particularly hazy, as if he didn't know where he was and needed a few moments to regain his senses.

Sure enough, Gu Tingzhi opened his misty eyes, turned his head left and right, and once he realized where he was, his gaze slowly cleared. He then beamed a big, wide smile at Zhen Mi’er. "Manman!"

Zhen Mi’er was momentarily dazed by his smile, but she hadn't forgotten the lump on her chest.

"Husband, there's an extra child in our room!" she said, propping herself up to show him the mud-caked child sleeping soundly on her.

Gu Tingzhi blinked his large eyes and nodded. Zhen Mi’er could see that he seemed very happy.

"Husband, do you know this child?"

He shook his head, then nodded again.

Zhen Mi’er was extremely confused. "Then, husband, do you know whose child she is?"

Gu Tingzhi: "Yours."

Zhen Mi’er: "...Mine???"

Could he not be so terrifying? When did she ever give birth to such a big child without knowing it?!

Gu Tingzhi affirmed, "Yours. A support."

Zhen Mi’er didn't understand. Before she could ask further, the little mud-child woke up. Only then did she notice that the toddler had a piece of half-chewed pastry in her mouth, and her two chubby, mud-caked hands were each clutching another piece.

Although the pastry was covered in a layer of mud and hard to recognize, she felt it looked familiar, though she couldn't quite place it.

The mud-child seemed starving. Upon waking, she didn't fuss or cry; she simply opened her small mouth wide and, seeing she was about to shove an entire piece of mud-covered pastry inside, Zhen Mi’er quickly stopped her.

The child opened her large, black-grape-like eyes and looked at the chubby aunt who had stopped her. Her bright, dark eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of fear.

Zhen Mi’er tried to snatch the pastry away while the child was distracted, but the little one was very protective of her food. As soon as Zhen Mi’er touched the pastry, the toddler clenched her chubby little hands tight and let out a wail that made both their ears ring.

Gu Tingzhi scrambled up and jumped a meter away.

He didn't understand either why the child who had been clean, plump, and well-behaved just yesterday had turned into this! Not only was she filthy, but she was also prone to crying and had such a loud voice—nothing like a little "Manman" at all!

Gu Tingzhi pouted, feeling a bit wronged.

The Gu family members were all startled awake by the wailing. After dressing, they followed the sound and gathered at the door of Gu Tingzhi’s room.

They exchanged confused glances, not understanding the situation. Why did they hear a child crying? It was a child’s cry, right? But it was early in the morning, the courtyard gate hadn't even been opened yet—where would a child come from?

Zhen Mi’er didn't keep them waiting long. Before long, she opened the door, carrying the incessantly crying child. Everyone crowded around to look at her; she was so caked in mud they almost thought the Earth God had sent them a baby.

Zhou, being older, couldn't bear to see a child cry. She reached out, took the child, and began to gently rock and soothe her.

Of all the people there, she was the only one who had given birth and raised four children herself.

"Hurry and cook some porridge for her; she must be hungry."

By the time they finished breakfast and brought it to the main room, Zhou had already washed the little one from head to toe. She was now a perfectly fair and plump little "fortune doll," with not a trace of the mud-monkey left.

The clothes the child had been wearing were too dirty to look at, so they needed to be washed.

Zhou was a frugal woman. Her three sons were each about two years apart, and clothes were passed down from the eldest to the third son.

Only when it came to Gu Qinghe, since she was a girl, did it seem inappropriate for her to keep wearing her brothers' old clothes. Because everyone doted on her, whenever the family had a little extra money, they would buy her a couple of new outfits.

When she outgrew them, Zhou couldn't bear to throw them away or give them to others for nothing, so she washed them clean, folded them, and tucked them into the cabinet, thinking they would be for her future granddaughter to wear. She never expected they would come in handy now.

The bright red jacket was embroidered with two lifelike, chubby fish. Between the two fish, near the top, were several gold ingots embroidered to represent the bubbles the fish were blowing. The ingots grew from small to large, from bottom to top, symbolizing the attraction of wealth and treasure.

The outfit was still fifty percent new; Zhou had kept it in excellent condition.

At that moment, the chubby child, quietly drinking her porridge without a fuss, was quite adorable. Even Gu Tingzhi, who had been so repulsed by her earlier, couldn't help but glance at her several times.