Chapter 373: Decision (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Gu Xiao gripped his bow tightly and pricked up his ears for a while. He only heard the sound of arrows shooting from time to time in the martial arts arena, and there was no more sound.
Recalling what Gu Yanfei had said just now, Gu Xiao suppressed the anger in his heart and quietly bowed as he left. He walked faster and faster.
He first rushed to the outer study to look for Gu Jian, but he ran away empty-handed. When he found out that Gu Jian had gone to the main courtyard, he rushed back to the main courtyard again.
“Second Young Master!”
Amidst the exclamations of the servants, Gu Xiao rushed into the east room like a gust of wind. Gu Jian and Madam Wang looked at him when they heard the commotion.
Gu Jian frowned slightly. He felt that his eldest son was already so old, but he was still so rash.
Gu Xiao’s face was ashen, and his entire body exuded a cold aura.
He didn’t even bow to his parents. As soon as he opened his mouth, he mentioned that he had just met Gu Yanfei in the martial arts arena and repeated what Gu Yanfei had said just now.
“…She said that the Marquis Mansion and the title belong to Big Brother.”
“She also said that Big Brother had contributed to Feng He’s death. The Eldest Prince promised that he would definitely let Big Brother have his wish.”
Veins appeared on Gu Xiao’s forehead as he panted slightly.
Gu Jian and the Wang couple’s expressions became uglier and uglier.
When he heard the last sentence, Gu Jian frowned tightly in thought.
Seeing that her father didn’t speak for a long time, Gu Xiao’s grievances, anger, and heartache mixed together. He asked firmly, “Father, you still haven’t appointed me as the heir. Do you want to pass the title to Big Brother?”
“Could it be that you picked me up?”
“In other residences, the eldest son of the first wife has long been appointed as the heir, but I’m not.”
“Father, Mother, do you know that I can’t raise my head outside for the past two years? Everyone is pointing fingers at me behind my back…”
Gu Xiao was so excited that his voice almost broke. His eyes were red as he vented all the grievances in his heart over the years and his unwillingness to suffer at Gu Yanfei’s hands. He was a little angry and frustrated.
Anger surged in Gu Jian’s heart. He slammed his palm on the coffee table and scolded unhappily, “Unfilial son, what nonsense are you talking about?!”
“How can you say such things so casually?!”
Gu Jian’s eyebrows twitched. He was so angry that his beard and hair were spewing out. His face alternated between green and black.
“…” Gu Xiao pursed her lips into a stubborn smile and turned her face away.
The atmosphere between father and son suddenly froze.
Madam Wang noticed that her son looked a little disheveled. Her heart ached as she patted the dust off her son’s robe and tidied his hair. “Brother Xiao, how did you end up like this? Are you injured?”
The scene of being beaten up by Gu Yanfei in the martial arts arena until he couldn’t fight back appeared in front of Gu Xiao’s eyes again. The young man’s precarious self-esteem made him really unable to say it.
He said stiffly, “I’m fine.”
Madam Wang knew that her son was stubborn. She pulled his hand and advised him gently, “Xiao’er, don’t you know that you’ll hurt your father and I by saying such angry words just now?”
“Do you think your father and I don’t want to make you the heir as soon as possible? Your father is even more anxious about this than you!”
Madam Wang sighed faintly as tears welled up in her eyes.
She gestured with her eyes for Gu Xiao to apologize to his father, but Gu Xiao was at the most stubborn age of 13 or 14 years old. She pursed her lips and didn’t say anything.
Madam Wang tugged at Gu Xiao’s sleeve again.
Gu Xiao went forward with a stiff expression. He bowed to Gu Jian reluctantly and admitted his mistake. “I was impulsive.”
Gu Jian wasn’t really angry to begin with. His expression softened a little as he picked up the teacup and took two sips.
Madam Wang pulled the arrogant Gu Xiao to sit down on the bed and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
She composed herself and said, with some worry and uneasiness, “Marquis, that girl Gu Yanfei said that Brother Yuan has contributed to Feng He’s death. The Eldest Prince promised that he would definitely let him have his wish.”
“I got my wish… Do you think Brother Yuan really wants to snatch the title?”
“If the Eldest Prince is determined to help Brother Yuan fight for this title, what should we do?”
It was as if countless ants were crawling in Madam Wang’s heart. Her eyes began to turn red again as she sat uneasily.
It had been eight years since Gu Jian’s appointment, but he had never been able to name a successor.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling to appoint someone, but all the memorials handed over had been rejected.
This was also a sore point for the Wang family.
As long as her son wasn’t appointed as the heir, Madam Wang would feel that the title of Marquis was meaningless. It was like a beautiful dream and they didn’t know when they would wake up..