Chapter 374: Ancestral Worship

Gu Shijie had little time left; besides compromise, he had no other option, so he had to agree.

Then, after counting the silver clearly, Gu Shijie took out the deed to the Gu family residence and handed it to Gu Kang.

Gu Kang casually pinched the deed, his expression showing no concern at all, indifferent.

Gu Shijie moved his lips and whispered: "This residence is now in your hands; you must not let it down, your mother……"

"Someone! See the guest out!" Gu Kang slowly rose and set down his teacup.

Gu Shijie's expression froze there; in the blink of an eye he became a guest of this manor.

Gu Shijie gave a cold snort, turned, and walked out of the main hall.

Gu Kang stared fixedly at Gu Shijie's back and murmured to himself: "Father, with all that silver on you, be careful on your long journey to the post."

Steward Zhang, standing nearby, felt his heart skip a beat; he quickly composed himself and dared not say anything.

At nightfall, a carriage headed out to the suburbs; from inside came a woman's terrified cry for help, which was then suppressed, the sound seeming to be choked back in her throat, producing a series of sobs.

Soon the carriage stopped beside the Du family ancestral tomb in the suburbs; over these years the Du family has declined, so even the tomb sees few visitors for worship.

Fortunately, later Gu Kang personally brought Steward Zhang and the former Du family servant to clean up, making it at least presentable.

Before Du Qingning died, she gripped Gu Shijie's hand tightly, making him promise her two requests.

One was to raise their two children well; the other was to bury her in the Du family ancestral tomb after death, not in the Gu family graveyard.

Initially Gu Shijie flew into a rage and refused, but Du Qingning forced him to agree in front of many people by using her own private savings.

Gu Kang changed into a dark blue cotton robe and slowly knelt before Du Qingning's tombstone.

The several Du family elders behind him immediately burst into tears.

Gu Kang picked up the incense and candles, performed the rites, but he had no memory of this mother at all.

Now he slowly raised his hand to touch the tombstone; the carved characters were so cold and unfamiliar.

"Mother, I've reclaimed the residence for you; tonight I'll send you a gift to play with."

"Actually, I've only ever seen your portrait; speaking of affection between mother and son, I feel none, but some things must be done by the child."

There was still something else he did not say.

When his elder sister left Jing Cheng, she left him the Du family's remaining financial veins and connections in the city.

The Du family members behind him were watching; he owed them an explanation.

This belated revenge truly came too late.

After the rites, Gu Kang slowly rose and raised his arm to wave.

Steward Zhang then ordered someone to bring a woman out of the carriage; her head was covered with a cloth sack, her fine dress wrinkled, and one of her embroidered shoes was missing.

A rough man from behind shoved her to the ground; she stumbled and knelt before Du Qingning's tombstone.

Steward Zhang stepped forward and pulled the sack from her head, revealing Lin Qingxue's terrified, distorted face.

She had been terrified all the way; now, pulled from the carriage, she lifted her head and saw a completely black tombstone, the three large characters "Du Qingning" gouging fiercely into her eyes.

In that instant, Lin Qingxue recoiled in fear, her whole body trembling.

She looked at the tombstone in disbelief, then lifted her gaze to Gu Kang standing nearby; with a gag stuffed in her mouth she could only emit muffled whimpers.

Gu Kang stared coldly at her and signaled Steward Zhang to remove the gag from her mouth.

She immediately burst out cursing at Gu Kang, "Whatever, lady of the manor or not—just vent however you like."

"Surely you're the vicious spawn of that slut Du Qingning!"

"Why didn't they just dash you to death back then?"

"You son of a bitch! You……"

"Someone! Pull out her tongue—my mother always liked quiet, and this woman is too noisy."

Gu Kang slightly lowered his head, slowly turning the ink‑jade ring on his thumb, his expression unchanged.

Lin Qingxue also did not beg Gu Kang for mercy; he had killed her two sons in succession, and she shared an irreconcilable enmity with him.

Faced with her enemy, how could she beg for mercy?

Lin Qingxue cursed even more loudly; soon a piercing scream rang out, a thick smell of blood drifting on the night wind across the wilderness.

The surroundings were terrifyingly silent, yet filled with a grim, ghostly aura.

Lin Qingxue could no longer utter even half a word of her insults; she collapsed face down, overcome by pain and fainted.

Gu Kang coldly regarded the prone Lin Qingxue on the ground, ordering her wounds to be treated and giving her blood ginseng to cling to her last breath.

Lin Qingxue slowly came to, unable to curse, she lifted her head and stared fixedly at Gu Kang before her.

This child, who had once lived with her in the rear courtyard for over a decade and had once sought her maternal affection, now dealt her such a cruel blow.

Lin Qingxue fixed her gaze on Gu Kang, wishing she could kill him with her eyes.

Gu Kang stared at her for a long time, then said slowly: "Lin Qingxue, do you know what the biggest mistake you've made in your life is?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Lin Qingxue's eyes.

Gu Kang gave her no time to think, looking at her and speaking word by word: "Your biggest mistake was caring about appearances; since you killed my mother, you should have eliminated me, this little brat, as well."

"Instead, you committed evil deeds yet still wanted to save face; sparing me was meant to uphold your reputation as a kind mother. But you made a mistake: as long as the enemy's son lives, he will someday take revenge, for after all, paper cannot wrap fire."

"Today I will teach you a move—what true extermination of the root means."

Lin Qingxue instantly fell into panic, looking at Gu Kang as if he were a madman.

No, not a madman, but a devil.

The devil who will make Lin Qingxue have nightmares for the rest of her life.

Gu Kang leaned close to Lin Qingxue's ear and laughed softly: "I won't let you die, after all, you still owe me the so‑called debt of raising me."

"Soon I will gouge out your knees, gouge out your eyes, and destroy your appearance."

"I'll leave you to beg in the beggars' den of Shang Jing; you will live on, forever in this filthy, lowly state."

"For every day of your life henceforth, you will recall one thing—you should never have let me live."

Lin Qingxue heard Gu Kang's words, trembling all over as they stood up, they desperately wanted to say something but were then violently dragged away from behind.

Gu Kang turned and walked toward the carriage, Steward Zhang hurriedly followed.

The scene before them was terrifying; Steward Zhang carefully helped Gu Kang onto the carriage.

The night wind carried a strong smell of blood, making it even more terrifying.

Early the next morning, Gu Kang had a new plaque made and hung it on the newly purchased residence.

Previously the three characters 'Gu Minister's Residence' had been taken down; the Second Master had no use for this sign, they went back and had a newly made gold-plated sign hung up.

Seeing the glittering characters 'Du Residence' barely hung on the plaque, the onlooking crowd was overcome with mixed feelings.

Steward Zhang whispered softly: "Old Master in heaven above, Late Lady in heaven above, Eldest Miss in heaven above; if they could see today's situation, but how happy they would be."