Chapter 94 A Very Poisonous Snake

Chapter 94 A Very Poisonous Snake

The three members of the Gu family stared at him in unison, each with a look of shock on their faces.

Du Min calmly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly picked up a piece of tea snack and handed it to Wang Zhou, indicating that he should continue eating.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Gu couldn't believe his own guess.

"Is it hard to understand?" Du Min glanced at him, then looked at Gu Wudong and asked, "Brother Gu, do you understand what I mean?"

Gu Wudong did not answer.

“Don’t understand? If you don’t understand, then I’ve misjudged you. You’re stupid, not suitable to work for me, and not worth my promotion.” Du Min said seriously, handing Wang Zhou his hand. “Come on, let’s go home. Walk fast on the way, we can still make it to dinner.”

Wang Zhou took his hand and obediently stood up and walked outside.

Gu's father and Gu Wudong exchanged a glance, both seeing the wavering in each other's eyes, but neither dared to take that step.

Du Min took two steps and then stopped. Without turning his head, he asked, "By the way, do you have a servant in your family with a big mole on his face? The year I entered the prefectural school, he and his men ambushed me in an alley, put a sack over my head, and beat me."

In a panic, Gu Wuxia flung the teacup in his hand away. He stood up in a fluster, knocking over the round stool in the process.

Du Min turned around in the darkness, quietly observing the panic and anger on the faces of the father and his two sons. He said, word by word, "I remember seeing a male servant like this in your house. He was in charge of sweeping the courtyard, wasn't he?"

“You’re mistaken, there’s no such person in our family,” Mr. Gu denied, his eyes darting around.

"Is that so?" Du Min smiled faintly. "If I remember correctly, I'll ask the old magistrate to come and inquire tomorrow. There must be someone with a good memory in Renfengfang."

"Lord Du, please wait." Gu Wudong said, "It's getting dark. Have a simple meal before you go back. I'll have the servants serve the dishes."

Du Min looked at him silently.

Gu Wudong walked to the seat where Du Min had been sitting, and he bent down to pull out the round stool. "Please sit down."

Du Min led Wang Zhou back to sit down.

Gu Wudong didn't look at his father and brothers again. He went out alone, gave an order, and came back in a little while later.

Not long after he entered, a male servant with a large mole on his face brought in a basin of warm water.

"Help Lord Du and the young master wash their hands," Gu Wudong said.

The male servant approached Du Min with his head down. Du Min glanced at Gu's father, chuckled, and rolled up his sleeves to wash his hands.

Wang Zhou looked up at the large mole on the servant's face, his bright eyes darting around cleverly. He said in a childish voice, "Third Uncle, he has a large mole on his face. Grandpa Gu is lying."

Sweat beaded on Gu's father's forehead.

Du Min grunted, then took Wang Zhou's hand and dipped it into the basin of water. He said, "Time can feel both long and short. Four years, only four years. The incident of beating someone with a sack happened in Confucian Academy. Such things happen only once a year. Those who came to my rescue after hearing the commotion should still remember it."

The servant's hands, which were holding the basin, began to tremble, and his head drooped lower and lower.

Gu Wuxia couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and admitted, "Yes, I arranged for someone to put a sack over your head and beat you back then. I just wanted to vent my anger. If you have any anger, take it out on me. Don't cause trouble for my father and brothers."

Du Min didn't even glance at him.

Father Gu closed his eyes. "Fool."

Gu Wudong waved his hand, dismissing the servants.

"Lord Du, were you serious about what you said before? Can you help me get on the path of officialdom?" Gu Wudong was forced into a corner and had no choice but to seek help from a powerful figure.

“Of course, I’m generous with money, and I’m willing to help anyone who can be of use to me,” Du Min said.

"What do you want us to do?" Gu Wudong asked.

“This is not my concern,” Du Min said with a smile.

"What grudge do you have against Chen Mingzhang? Why are you so determined to cut off his official career? Without him, you can't get into the prefectural school, you can't pass the imperial examination, let alone the metropolitan examination," Gu's father couldn't help but ask.

“This is not something you should be asking,” Du Min said dismissively.

Father Gu was annoyed. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell on him? Even a starved camel is bigger than a newborn horse."

"Father!" Gu Wudong called out to stop him.

"What use is a starved camel? Just tear its bones and feed them to wild dogs?" Du Min shook his head. "Uncle Gu, you're half-buried in the ground and still so naive. It's truly enviable. In officialdom, it's about value, not weight. What can he do to me even if he finds out? I was able to rise from a nobody to a seventh-rank county magistrate in three years. Could it really be just luck?"

Upon hearing this, Gu's father was completely disheartened, realizing that Du Min still had powerful backers.

Du Min looked at Gu Wudong and said, "You have done me no favor, so why would I help you? It's just that you are valuable to me. Face reality, this is your only chance in this life. Whether you can seize this opportunity depends on your performance."

Gu Wudong thought to himself, "You didn't give me a choice. If he doesn't listen, Gu Wuxia will be the one who suffers."

"Master, shall we serve the dishes?" a servant asked as he entered the room.

"Serve the food," Gu's father said, then looked at Du Min and asked, "Would it be alright to eat and drink first?"

Knowing his own alcohol tolerance, Du Min waved his hand and said, "No need for drinks."

Father Gu immediately nodded in agreement.

Once the food was served, Du Min didn't need anyone to serve him. He used chopsticks to put a bowl of food on Wang Zhou's plate and let him eat it himself, then ate his own food by himself.

The three members of the Gu family—father and sons—had no appetite. They ate a little, watching the shameless uncle and nephew feast as if they were in their own home.

Seeing Du Min put down his chopsticks and take out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, Gu Wudong asked, "Lord Du, are you full?"

Du Min nodded. "Have you thought it through?"

"You want us to go to Chang'an to accuse Lord Chen of indulging in pleasure during his mourning period? When are we going?" Gu Wudong asked.

"You can make your own arrangements. I have only one request: your lawsuit against him for indulging in pleasure during his mourning period stems from your grudges against him and has nothing to do with me," Du Min demanded. "If you implicate me, you will be the ones who suffer the consequences."

"I'll make the arrangements, and there's no need to involve Wudong in this matter." Father Gu had made his decision. Defending Chen Mingzhang would offend Du Min, and his family would suffer no benefit. But if he chose to listen to Du Min, his eldest son would have a chance to enter officialdom. The Gu family had been declining since his father's generation, and there seemed to be no hope in his grandson's generation. Right now, only Wudong could slightly turn things around, and he had to take the gamble.

“Luozhou is far from Wu County and not close to Chang’an either, so any news won’t get through. Wu Dong is also a nobody, insignificant. Let him bring his wife and children with you, so that he won’t be distracted by trivial matters and can focus on serving you.” Father Gu proposed the terms.

“Alright, I trust Uncle Gu’s abilities.” Du Min readily agreed and immediately made arrangements: “Gu Wudong can leave Wu County before me, and we can meet up halfway. That way, the people of Wu County won’t know where he is, and whatever you do won’t affect him. No one will know that he’s working for me. Once he has a career path, I will arrange a place for him to take up. As long as this conspiracy doesn’t involve me, I won’t implicate him. His official career will be clean and aboveboard.”

"Can you really make my elder brother an official?" Gu Wuxia asked.

“If he can’t pass the imperial examination, he can take the classics examination. As long as he passes the prefectural examination, I can pave the way for him,” Du Min said confidently.

"Okay, whatever you say." Father Gu completely sided with him.

Du Min stood up, took the hand that Wang Zhou offered, and said, "I'm waiting for Uncle Gu's good news."

The three members of the Gu family got up to see him off, and Gu Wudong took the initiative to ask him when he would leave Wu County.

"The day after tomorrow, the tenth day of the eighth lunar month." Du Min had achieved his goal of returning home, and he did not intend to stay any longer.

"I'll arrange a boat to take you back." The Gu family had a boat, so Gu Wudong led the way for him.

They escorted them to the ferry, and then followed the boat all the way to the Wumen Ferry.

Meng Qing, Du Li, and Meng Chun were all waiting by the bridge outside the neighborhood. When Wang Zhou crossed the bridge and heard familiar voices, he let go of Du Min's hand and ran over quickly.

"Mother!" he called out.

Du Min jogged over and crossed the bridge. When he saw the figures clearly, he exclaimed a few times, "Hey hey!" and asked, "Afraid I'll sell your precious little darlings? You're all waiting here."

“What time is it? If this were Chang’an, there would have been a curfew by now. You two are still wandering around outside. How can I not worry?” Du Li said. “Let’s go back.”

“Mother, I have something to tell you…” Wangzhou wanted to speak.

"We'll talk about it when we get back," Meng Qing stopped him.

Back at the Meng family home, as soon as the gate was closed, Meng Qing immediately asked, "What were you doing at the Gu family's place?"

“I know, my third uncle wants to…” Wang Zhou interrupted.

"Shut up, I didn't ask you anything," Meng Qing stopped him again.

"Could you ask Brother Meng to step aside for a moment?" Du Min was not used to discussing private matters in front of outsiders.

"Oh, okay." Meng Chun awkwardly lifted her foot and left.

"Revenge! Kill Chen Mingzhang!" After Meng Chun's figure disappeared, Du Min answered decisively, no longer hiding anything. "In my first year at the prefectural school, you held a banquet on a painted boat laden with funerary objects. Chen Mingzhang also went there in secret. At that time, he was still in mourning, and this act constituted a banquet during the mourning period, which violated the provisions of the Tang Code. I will use this incident to cut off his official career and get my revenge."

Meng Qing fell silent. She had underestimated him. She thought he was just holding a grudge against Gu Wuxia for sending someone to put a sack over his head and wanted to scare him.

"They agreed?" Du Li asked. "How did you threaten them? You didn't leave any evidence, did you?"

“I’m offering incentives, not threats. When we leave, I’m taking Gu Wudong with me and keeping him by my side to work for me. I’ll also find an opportunity to give him an official position.” Du Min said smugly. “Don’t worry, I won’t give them a chance to turn the tables on me.”

"When did you first come up with this idea?" Meng Qing asked. "Have you been thinking about it for a long time?"

“When I broke ties with Chen Mingzhang, he threatened me with my unfilial act of disowning my parents, and that's when this idea came to me. I’ll use his own weapon against him and make him taste the bitter fruit of his own making.” Du Min scoffed. “He can’t threaten me with this move, but I can bring him down.”

"What a venomous snake!" Du Li thought with fear. But he couldn't blame Du Min. Although Du Min had benefited from Chen Mingzhang's sabotage, the torment and anger he had suffered were real. He had witnessed Du Min lying in the mud and getting soaked in the rain in the chilly late spring, crying and apologizing to Meng Qing, and then suffering from a high fever for half a month.

"Well done! Being merciful to your enemy is like cutting yourself with a knife." The chill that had gripped him had passed, and Du Li felt a great sense of relief.

The tension that had been building in Du Min's heart was released with those words. He felt as if he had found a kindred spirit and said, "We are truly brothers. It is my second brother who understands me best."

Meng Qing rolled her eyes inwardly. Who was she talking about?

"Come on, let's go back to the room, wash up, and go to sleep." She led Wangzhou away.

Du Min hurriedly went to stop him, running ahead of Meng Qing to block her path, and asked with a grin, "Second Sister-in-law, what do you mean? Are you unhappy? Why aren't you saying anything?"

“I’m not unhappy, I have no objections,” Meng Qing said.

"Say something, I feel uneasy if you don't," Du Min said honestly.

Meng Qing shook her head and said seriously, "This is your own business. You don't need to seek our understanding or approval. You've been harboring thoughts of revenge but haven't told us because you were afraid I would stop you, right? You've already done it, so don't hesitate."

Du Min pondered her words, "It's good that you're not angry. I was just worried that you might think I'm too ruthless."

Meng Qing thought to herself that her thoughts couldn't affect him—no, they could, which was why he was hiding them. She realized at that moment that Du Min was subconsciously choosing to avoid her. His respect for her was genuine, but perhaps that respect was also a constraint. This was a bad sign.

Meng Qing laughed heartily, "What kind of good person am I? If I had that kind of awareness, I would have been scared away by you long ago. It's getting late, go to sleep early. Aren't we going back to Dujiawan tomorrow? Get a good rest tonight and be well-rested to deal with all the monsters and demons when we get back."

Du Min came to his senses. That made sense. He could even harm his own parents, so why was he pretending?