Chapter 219

Chapter 219

That one remark sent shockwaves through the room.

As soon as these words were spoken, not only were the Shi Brothers dumbfounded, but even Old Man Zhao's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Everyone, even a wet-behind-the-ears kid like Zhao Xiaowu, knew what "unable to perform" meant.

Back in the village, when the men were tired from work, they'd huddle up and tell dirty jokes—about whose house made too much noise at night, who had scratch marks on his back that he blamed on tree branches but were clearly from his wife.

At first, Zhao Xiaowu didn't understand, but after hearing more and seeing the men's lecherous grins, and occasionally catching sounds from his parents' room at night, he got the gist without wanting to.

A man who could get it up was like his dad—making the bed creak and groan till it was about to break.

A man who couldn't get it up was useless in bed, his junk just for show, a total waste.

Not only useless, but shameful, because boys just naturally like to compare. Even when he and his brothers swam in the river, they'd grab each other's to see who had the biggest, who could piss the farthest. The village women all said that a boy with a proper dick could carry on the family line and needed protecting, not to be pulled or yanked, because it was vital for growing up and marrying a wife.

So Gan Lei's words shook not just the adults, but even the little boys instinctively grabbed their crotches.

Gan Xiu, the little girl, was utterly stunned. Her grandpa was a barefoot doctor, so she knew some herbs from trailing after him everywhere. She'd seen all kinds of patients and knew exactly what "can't get it up" meant.

The girl's face went bright red, and she hung her head, wanting to disappear.

"Ahem, well, Gan Xiu, go find Aunt Luo and get her to set up a straw pallet for you. You'll sleep next to her tonight." Taking advantage of the Shi Brothers' shock, Old Man Zhao quickly sent the only girl away, clearly the conversation that followed wasn't meant for her ears.

Even after that, he still felt uneasy, so he called out for his second daughter-in-law to come get Gan Xiu.

Gan Xiu clutched Gan Lei's hand tightly, not wanting to leave: "Lei Zi..."

"Xiu'er, go on." Gan Lei looked at the Shi brothers, then turned to her. "Don't worry. They... won't hurt me."

Ever since he found out he wasn't a Xu, with his dad dead and his mom gone, he'd felt like a leaf blown off a branch, floating with no roots. His maternal grandfather only cared about getting his mother back and treated him with contempt, even calling him a servant's brat behind his back. Because his father's parentage was unknown, and in Xu Dean's grand manor, with Xu Dean unable to perform, his grandmother could only have gotten pregnant with his dad by sleeping with a servant.

He'd heard these words with his own ears, of course spoken deliberately by his grandfather.

The big families in the city cared most about bloodlines and looked down on anyone who mixed them up, like him.

Thinking this, his young face twisted into a bitter smirk. Seeing Gan Xiu led away by Aunt Luo to the other side, he had no more qualms. He looked at Shi Dalang, still in shock and speechless, and said coldly: "Xu Dean was the third son of the main line, a man of silk and jade, born into luxury. Women of equal status, refined ladies from small families, rustic beauties from the countryside—who wouldn't fall for his looks? My grandmother, a farm girl from a remote village in Qingzhou Prefecture, not especially pretty, no good family background, and a tough, stubborn personality. Even if Xu Dean had taken a fancy to her in a moment of distraction, the Xu family—they started sizing up matches for their children from childhood, wouldn't even give a concubine her own courtyard until she bore a son, and vetted every maid. Would they really have never suspected when Xu Dean married a country girl with a grand sedan chair?"

Shi Dalang's face went ghostly pale, his lips quivering, not a word coming out.

He'd never thought about this question. After all, it was an elder's marriage. As the younger generation, he only knew that his aunt had found this match on her own, that she lived well after marriage and often helped her family back home, and that his uncle had never shown a hint of contempt.

The villagers all said his aunt was capable, unlike other girls who, at the right age, were only matched with families of similar means—a man with two more acres of land, two more rooms, and if he had an ox or a donkey, that was the best.

A family in business, a family of scholars for generations, one that knew officials—who would dare dream of such a door?

Only Shi Lianhua dared not only to dream but to act. She had the audacity to marry into a wealthy family as a young mistress.

Years passed, a son was born, a daughter-in-law married, a grandson arrived. She endured decades, going from young mistress to the old lady of the third branch, just about to enjoy a leisurely retirement. But as soon as her husband died, the household collapsed completely.

Shi Dalang had thought of many possibilities—maybe the first and second branches coveted the third branch's property and used foul play to take it all, committing heinous acts. Or maybe his aunt and uncle were so devoted that she truly couldn't bear his death and followed him. Or that, in grief, his cousin Xu Dayuan broke his vows and drank.

He'd thought of everything, but he never dreamed it was wrong from the start, from the root. If his uncle couldn't perform, how was Xu Dayuan born? Did his aunt have a secret affair? Was it exposed after his uncle's death, leading to everything that followed?

Impossible!

He instinctively rejected it, refusing to believe his aunt could be that kind of person. Even if he doubted her character, he trusted her mind. She wouldn't cut off her own lifeline.

That left only one possibility: this marriage was Xu Dean's scheme from beginning to end. He never loved her; he approached her with ulterior motives from the start. He deceived her and deceived the Shi family.

"But why?" Shi Dalang's mind was a mess. "What was worth scheming for in my aunt? She was just an ordinary country girl. She was clever, more resourceful than the village girls, good at small trades. Father said when she was at home, she could sell eggs and vegetables faster and at higher prices. She had a smooth tongue and spoke well. But after marriage, she stayed home as a young mistress. Xu Dean never took her into business!"

He racked his brain for what his family had that could be coveted, what his aunt had that could be schemed for. Since Xu Dean's intentions were clearly malicious, it couldn't be love at first sight.

Country girls, weathered by sun and wind, chopping wood in the mountains, washing clothes in the river, could never match the delicate charm of city girls. If he wanted looks, was Xu Dean blind?

If he wanted skill, he never let her use it after marriage, keeping her confined to the mansion to enjoy life, never letting her show her face.

Wealthy families had many rules. When he went to the city to pay respects every New Year, he saw his aunt change year by year. At first, she still had a touch of the country about her, but as the years passed, through who knows what, she became more and more like a young mistress, then a stern, dignified old lady...

What was he after?

What was Xu Dean after?

Even if he couldn't perform and needed a wife to fool people, Fengchuan Prefecture was big enough. He could easily marry a country girl closer to home, easier to control, right under his nose. Why go all the way to Qingzhou Prefecture to find someone from the Shi family?

Gan Lei said flatly, "He wanted someone from Qingzhou Prefecture—a girl from a remote village with her family far away, weak and powerless."

"The Xu family is large and wealthy. By ancestral rule, the eldest son inherits eighty percent of the property, the remaining twenty percent is divided among the other sons. There were over a dozen legitimate and illegitimate sons. By the time the old master was still alive, the property was already divided up, even though they still lived under one roof—outsiders didn't know. Xu Dean was the third son, with a small share. He had some business sense and was willing to work hard, but he was young and reckless. On a business trip, he got into a fight and was injured, leaving him unable to get it up."

"The Xu family cared about face more than anything. They had to cover up such a disgrace. Even the marriage that had been arranged for Xu Dean was called off with excuses. The other family was on the same level, and the Xu family couldn't afford to offend them. They didn't dare let the truth out because it would hurt the marriages of their other children."

The Xu family couldn't bear to become the talk of the town, with people whispering that the young master had become a eunuch. The old lady felt as if her skin was being peeled off and trampled.

"Only the Xu family knew. Servants and maids were repeatedly threatened, and the doctor who treated Xu Dean didn't last long." Gan Lei spoke as if he were telling someone else's story, his voice flat. "When he came of age, Xu Dean had to marry. His injury and being carried back were seen by many. Rumors were already circulating, though no one dared say it to his face. The excuse for calling off the earlier marriage was that Xu Dean had met a woman on a business trip and insisted on marrying her. A reputation for devotion was better than being known as impotent. The only one who suffered was my grandmother—she hadn't even met Xu Dean yet, and she'd already made enemies of a lot of families."

By now, Old Man Zhao could roughly guess what came next. Xu Dean, completely unable to perform, recovered and went on another business trip. To uphold the story he'd put out, he had to find a woman from elsewhere to marry. That would shut up the gossip, cement his reputation as a devoted husband, and cover up his condition.

The question was, what about Xu Dayuan? Did Aunt Shi know the truth?

Shi Dalang, having pulled himself together, thought the same. Whether his aunt knew the truth or was kept in the dark her whole life, it didn't change the fact that their meeting was a lie from the very beginning.

Grief washed over him. His aunt seemed to live a glamorous life, but he had no idea what her reality was like. She was so clever, so capable. If she hadn't met Xu Dean, and her parents loved her so much, they would have found her a good match. She could have lived a fulfilling life.

"Xu Dean's body was ruined, his temper bad, and he liked to take random medicines, picking up bad habits. He wasn't long for this world." Before he knew the truth, Gan Lei had called Xu Dean "Grandpa" for years. Even though Xu Dean disliked him, he still approached him despite the cold shoulder.

As far back as he could remember, his father taught him to respect his elders. That applied to his grandmother and grandfather, regardless of whether they were kind or harsh. There was no reason for a junior to resent an elder.

But dislike was dislike. He hadn't known the reason before, but now he did. He and his father were constant reminders to Xu Dean that he was a eunuch, forced to swallow his disgust and listen to two bastards of unknown origin call him "Dad" and "Grandpa," watching them enjoy the Xu family's wealth and live lives that weren't theirs.

Poor health, a dark heart, and short-lived.

When he died, the Xu family's most guarded secret would be buried with him, and the decades-old cover-up would finally return to where it belonged.

"Grandma was strangled to death on the orders of the First Madam, with the Old Madam's approval. All branches knew. That night, I was sleeping in Grandma's room. The group came with force. Grandma seemed to sense it. Before they broke the door down, she shoved me under the bed." Gan Lei's eyelids drooped, his expression unreadable. "I heard Grandma ask why. The First Madam, thinking everything was settled, spilled everything."

"I saw Grandma fall before me. The white silk used to strangle her was torn from the funeral cloth. She died with her eyes still open."

He didn't escape, of course, but his mother saved him. Her family was powerful. Sensing something wrong, she'd sent word to her natal home in time. The Xu family didn't dare lay a hand on her.

His maternal grandfather came to the Xu house, personally forced his father to sign a divorce paper, and took his mother and her dowry home.

Gan Lei still didn't know what deal was struck between his maternal family and the Xu family. He only knew he survived because his mother demanded the Xu family not harm him.

As for his father, she didn't care anymore. She felt deceived. She hadn't expected that his father wasn't a Xu at all, but perhaps the son of a servant. This realization disgusted her. Their marriage had been opposed by both families from the start. She'd fallen for Xu Dayuan, dressed as a scholar, during an outing—loved his looks, admired his witty banter with friends, liked his gentle, upright demeanor. She'd raised hell to marry him.

But women from wealthy families were taught hierarchy from childhood: masters were noble, servants were base. She couldn't accept that her husband carried the blood of a lowly servant. Her maternal instinct made her save her son, but the deception made it impossible for her to face her child.

In the face of her husband's rejection, she went along with it, taking her dowry and returning to her maiden home.

Gan Lei didn't mention these things—he didn't want to talk about his parents' affairs with anyone. He bore both the good and the bad alone. He only said, "Father was pushed into the water by his personal servant. The servant stood on the bank and kept pressing him down with a bamboo pole, not allowing him to come ashore. He was choked to death."

"When the Grand Madam sent me to the countryside, these words were told to me verbatim by her old maidservant. The maidservant also said that before Father died, he kept calling my name, telling me to go back to the Shi family. The Xu family is not my home; my maternal grandfather's family isn't either. Only the Shi family is my home."

"They promised my mother they wouldn't harm me, or else she would expose Xu Dean's impotence and the scandal that Xu Dayuan was not his biological son. So they could only torment me this way—make me grieve, make me suffer, make me unable to bear it, and make me die on my own."

"I was sent to a village estate. The people there didn't dare to bully me openly; they treated me well with good food, clothes, and sleep on the surface. But every day, someone would whisper in my ear that Grandmother had committed adultery, that she was unfaithful, that Father and I were bastards, and that my mother would rather remarry rather than keep me."

By this point, Shi Dalang and Shi Erlang were already in tears, their teeth grinding with rage, their eyes bloodshot.

But Gan Lei, as if hardened by the harshness of the world, showed no sadness or joy on his face. He said, "They got what they wanted. I fell severely ill. The people at the estate didn't dare take responsibility, so they sent someone to town to fetch a doctor. The doctor didn't come, but the barefoot doctor from the village arrived first. I knew it—their original plan was to let that barefoot doctor treat me. If I couldn't be cured, they would send news to the city. Once I died, it would satisfy those in the mansion, shift the blame to the barefoot doctor, and also shut my mother up."

"But I refused to let them have their way. While they weren't paying attention, I crawled through a hole meant for dogs and escaped."

A dead person and a runaway are two different things. The people at the estate couldn't find me, so they dared not send word to the city. My mother couldn't stand to see a corpse, so the Xu family couldn't fool her.

The barefoot doctor was naturally fine. He came to the estate as he was, and left the estate as he was, without even carrying a bundle. There was no way he could have taken me away.

Besides, the people at the estate felt guilty. They knew what was really going on. Even if they wanted to pin the blame on the barefoot doctor, they couldn't. The barefoot doctor might not be well-liked in the town or county, but in the countryside, he was deeply respected and cherished. The servants from wealthy families were still just servants; they didn't dare to do anything to him.

Moreover, in the end, this whole affair was meant to be a show for my mother. No one would believe there was no conspiracy if they actually killed a doctor. My mother was not an easy person, and my maternal grandfather doted on her. If she really made a fuss about this, the Xu family wouldn't get off easy.

Using that to my advantage, I escaped.

I was unlucky—I collapsed halfway through my escape and passed out. But I was lucky—I happened to faint right where the barefoot doctor was returning home. He saved me.

He brought me back to the Gan family, hiding me in the woodshed. Until the floods came, the villagers never knew there was one more person in the Gan household.

The Xu family in the city, and my mother, never knew that one person had gone missing from Qiaotuo Village.

And now, the floods have erased all traces. Even if I were to walk through the front gate of the Xu mansion, they couldn't do anything to me. After all, on the surface, I am still the only surviving young master of the third branch of the Xu family.

But I'm not going to court death. I still have many things to do. I can't afford to die.

"Grandmother's dowry maid, who accompanied her from Qingzhou Prefecture, left service years ago and married into Niujia Village. I want to find her and ask about the matters in Grandmother's chambers in the early days."

Speaking of this, a trace of discomfort crossed his face. After all, Grandmother was his elder, and this was a private, sensitive matter: "I carefully compared the servants in the mansion. None of them resemble me or my father. The night before Father died, he also mentioned this to me. We don't look like Grandmother either, so we must take after that person."

He wanted to find that person not to claim kinship, but to clarify the matter. If possible, he would take revenge.

Whatever the reason, having an affair with a married person was definitely not something a gentleman would do. Whether he knew about it or was kept in the dark, no matter what the hidden circumstances were, he couldn't let that person off easy.

Of course, that was assuming the person was still alive.

As for the Xu family, he wouldn't let them off either. They all had to be buried with Grandmother and Father—the Old Madam Xu, the Madam of the main branch, and Father's personal servant. All of them had to die.

He didn't speak of these matters; he kept his thoughts buried deep. He hadn't even revealed a single word to Gan Xiu.

As for the two men in front of him, he didn't know what to feel. Grandmother often spoke of the Shi family. Father also mentioned them before he died. Honestly, he had no deep attachment to the Shi family. He had never even met his older and younger maternal uncles before. Compared to them, Gan Xiu meant more to him.

But they were still Grandmother's natal family. They seemed to like him; their words revealed they were looking for him, wanting to raise him to adulthood. After experiencing abandonment by his own mother, having relatives who accepted him regardless of everything moved him deeply.

Shi family, Lei—when he was named, what he missed were Grandmother and Father.

Now, the only root he could find in this world was the Shi family.

But since they had just been reunited, he didn't know how to interact. He glanced at his two uncles, who had bitten their lips until they bled, sobbing so hard they couldn't speak a single word.

He simply turned his head to look at the equally silent old man, grateful for his help along the way, and said, "Grandma Xiu Zhu's husband's family is in the night soil business. They have a way into the city. If you need it, Gan Lei is willing to help set it up."

Clearly, he had overheard Old Man Zhao talking on the road about wanting to visit Er Niang's family in the city and had taken it to heart.

Old Man Zhao was startled. He hadn't expected such good fortune. Without thinking further, he immediately nodded: "Lei Zi, then your old uncle thanks you first. If there really is a way, I'll spend silver to grease the wheels. I won't let people work for free."

Thinking about the things Xiaobao got from the Immortal Land—the cotton quilts, clothes, farm tools, and grain—he really didn't dare to take them out without a good excuse.

With the famine still going on and the weather getting colder, he had to find a way.