Chapter 459 They Are Having Another Child
Bai Rong was downcast hearing Song Xiyu told her brother’s story. It reminded her of Yanny and her own past. The scariest thing in life was not beasts or wild animals, but the hearts of men.
Animals stopped killing once their hunger was satiated, but not demons as their appetite was big and bottomless. Tangqian Village’s massacre was a good example. “Did anyone investigate the case? After all, seventeen people lost their lives,” she asked gloomily.
“My family and my sister-in-law saw the incident as a shame, so they said he died falling down from the mountains when he went on a field trip. My brother died a man of legacy, but his death was brushed aside just like that.
Neither my parents nor my sister-in-law dared to probe further because they were afraid it would affect the family’s good name. I’m actually surprised Tianhang told Mingchen about this. But come to think of it, Tianhang and my brother were very close. They grew up together and they were like brothers.”
Seeing Song Xiyu started sobbing again at the thought of her loved ones, Bai Rong handed her a piece of tissue. Beside them, a glint of dejection flared in Gu Mingchen’s eyes as he stood up and walked outside. “Mom, I’ll go check on him.”
Song Xiyu nodded and Bai Rong went after Gu Mingchen. When she saw him, he was standing below a shady tree smoking away. The flickering end of the cigarette reflected some light on his depressed face.
There was resentment and sadness written all over his face as he smoked the cigarette over and over again. Bai Rong approached him and asked, “Did Sheng Dongcheng and Shen Ao do it?”
Gu Mingchen looked at her with his bloodshot eyes, took another puff, and blew the smoke out in another direction. Bai Rong hugged him from behind and rested her face on his sturdy back. “I will be here for you, just like how you’ve always been there for me when I felt so helpless.”
“I’m actually not Gu Tianhang’s son,” Gu Mingchen said, his voice hoarse. “But you look a lot like your mother though,” Bai Rong blurted out. But she instantly understood what he meant right after.
He was not Song Xiyu and Gu Tianhang’s son. “So you’re your mother’s brother’s son?”
Gu Mingchen turned around and looked at her in the eyes. “To be precise, I’m my uncle and the woman’s son.” ”My mom didn’t know that Dad was also there the night her brother went over to the woman’s house. But Dad didn’t join them for a meal because he felt out of place. When he came over, he found everyone dead, except for me.
I was about a month’s old back then. The woman didn’t bring me along with her because I was down with flu. Instead, she put me under the care of the housemaid that night. My mom happened to give birth to a son that year as well.
The six-and-a-half-pound baby died after staying in the incubator for a few days. Dad was afraid Mom would be devastated, and it so happened he needed someone to take care of me as well, so he told her he wanted to bring their own child away for recuperation. After a few months, he brought me home instead.”
“So Song Xiyu doesn’t know you’re not her son?” Bai Rong inquired.
“I don’t want her to ever find out. I finally understood why Dad always went against Shen Ao and Sheng Dongcheng, and why he was so adamant about being involved in politics. But I’ve let him down in so many ways, and I’m the reason why he deteriorated and passed on.”
“I’m sorry…” Bai Rong said softly. She felt she was the reason why Gu Mingchen was guilt-stricken.
“It has nothing to do with you, and I’m sure you don’t want this to happen to. We’ve been too merciful and passive toward our enemies in the past. I’m gonna change that now. I’m returning to the military base and Mom can take care of the company,” Gu Mingchen told her his plan.
“Alright. We have to plan our moves. After all, our enemies are strong. We have to face Su Zheng, Shen Ao, and Sheng Dongcheng all at once, and not to mention some threats that we have yet to identify. Besides, Su Junhao is your friend, so things will get tricky,” Bai Rong reminded him.
“I’ll let Su Zheng go as long as he stops coming against me. But if he continues picking on me, he only has himself to blame.”
Bai Rong knew Gu Mingchen was willing to go easy on Su Zheng because of his friendship with Su Junhao.
She could not help but wonder if it was a good thing.
“Let’s go in first, or Mom’s gonna worry. I’ll do everything I can to help you. Psychology and hypnosis are my forte. I know I haven’t practice for some time, but I’m still top ten in the field,” Bai Rong offered with a smile on her face.
Gu Mingchen smiled back at her and nodded. He just did not want her to get too worked up.
After they got back in, the three took turns to stay up the night. Each of them only managed to get two to three hours of sleep.
Early the next morning, the monks came over again and conducted the funeral ritual. They set up a temporary tent and the chef brought cooking utensils and ingredients over to cook.
Gu Mingchen and Song Xiyu put on sackcloth and white bands around their foreheads as they knelt down on the right side of the coffin.
Since Bai Rong was still not officially married to Gu Mingchen and was having a stomachache, she did not join them.
“You should go back to the room and rest. You’ll only distract me here. I’ll ask Zhang Xingyu to get the doctor over,” Gu Mingchen told her gently.
“I’m fine. I think it’s just the time of the month. It’s always painful before my period comes,” she replied. It was really untimely since she had missed her period for a few months already.
“I’ll get you a drink. Go back to the room and rest after that. I’ll have to stay here to attend to the guests,” Gu Mingchen said.
Bai Rong did not want to add to his burden, so she agreed. Just as she was about to go back to her room, she heard the monk announcing the arrival of a guest.
She walked down the corridor and looked over to the mourning hall. It was Su Zheng and his family.
Su Zheng looked sorrowful as he held the joss sticks in his hands. She wondered if Su Zheng even thought about his friendship with Gu Tianhang when he plotted against Gu Mingchen. She felt disgusted looking at him, so she turned and went back to the room.
“My condolences,” Su Junhao told Gu Mingchen after he paid his respects to the dead. Gu Mingchen nodded without saying anything.
After eight o’clock, friends and families came one after another to see Gu Tianhang one last time. Bai Rong fell into slumber on the bed until someone came into the room.
Zhang Xingyu had brought a TCM practitioner over. “Ms. Wu, Mr. Gu is worried about you, so we called the doctor over. I hope you don’t mind,” Zhang Xingyu said with a glee on his face.
“It’s fine,” Bai Rong said, smiling faintly.
The Chinese medicine doctor came over and checked her eyes before asking her to stick her tongue out. His expression became serious as he examined her.
“I’ve been missing my period lately. Even when it’s on time, it’s extremely painful,” Bai Rong explained. The TCM practitioner took her pulse and his frown deepened.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“You’re pregnant, but there are signs of miscarriage, so you stay in bed. I’ll give you a prescription and you need to take the medicine every day after your meals. Hopefully, your condition improves after a week. But if you’re not at ease, we can just take your blood now and get it tested at the hospital, or you can just stay at the hospital,” the doctor suggested.
