Chapter 18: Eating Poisonous Mushrooms and Staying Fine—Tell Me, Are You Frustrated?

Li Mumu really wanted to give her third uncle a thumbs-up. Her original plan was just to infuriate the Gu family and watch them reveal their true colors out of hunger, but she hadn’t expected such an unexpected bonus!

In truth, whether she stayed with the Gu family or not didn't matter much to her, but she desperately wanted her mother and brothers to escape the clutches of the Li family as soon as possible. After all, as long as she remained in the Li household, nothing but misfortune would follow.

"Third Uncle, what about Mother and my brothers?"

Gu Mingjing looked at Li Yuan without a second thought. "Mumu is right. I don’t think the children are living well with you, Li Yuan. Why not just send them over to us?"

"Absolutely not!" Li Yuan blurted out. "They are my wife and children; how could they go to the Gu family? What would people say? Don't even think about it."

Li Mumu sneered inwardly. So, did that mean she wasn't considered a descendant of the Li family? She certainly hoped not.

However, she noticed that while Li Yuan was speaking, Lin Siyan was stealing glances at them. Her expression darkened, especially when she heard the "scumbag father" refuse to let her mother leave. That made sense; there wasn't a mistress in the world who didn't want to usurp the wife's position. It seemed that if she wanted to get her mother away from the scumbag, she would have to use the mistress to her advantage.

Gu Mingjing, being young and hot-blooded, remarked, "My sister truly misjudged the man she married." He wasn't unwilling to fight for them, but he didn't want to put his sister in a difficult position. Otherwise, would it really have been this much trouble?

"Then, may I at least take my sister and nephews back to share a meal?" Gu Mingjing asked. Li Yuan frowned but ultimately agreed.

However, Li Mumu secretly watched them. Once Li Yuan returned to his side, he began whispering excitedly with Lin Siyan, their faces animated and spittle flying.

Young Li Fenghua, seeing the fish and mushrooms being served, drooled with envy. "Grandma, I want to eat too."

"Eat, eat, eat! You’ll die if you eat that. Do you want to die?" Old Madam Li spat viciously, then silently cursed the satisfied members of the Gu family in her heart.

Li Mumu was just thinking that they should send some food to the guards—no matter how much she loathed them, she had to keep up appearances. But her second aunt was not only an expert cook but also a master of social graces; she had already sent a bowl over. It stood to reason; if they hadn't offered tribute to the guards, how could they have enjoyed this meal in such peace?

However, just as the guard, Zhang Xiang, was about to tuck into the delicious fish, Li Rong walked over and whispered something in his ear. Zhang Xiang set down his bowl and began to stare at the Gu family with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, Mumu’s bowl was piled high with fish, and everyone kept adding more.

"This fish is truly delicious, and it has so few bones. I wonder what kind it is; I’ve never eaten it before," Zhang Yi remarked. "We owe it all to Mumu that we can eat something this wonderful. Come, eat more," she added gently.

Gu Mingyu looked at his gentle wife, finding a moment of solace amidst their hardship. "When you're starving, even bran tastes as sweet as honey; when you're full, even honey loses its sweetness. Look at the others—being able to eat this well is a real blessing."

The more everyone thought about it, the more they felt this was all thanks to Li Mumu. With that, Gu Yuru felt less restrained with her sons.

Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Li Mumu thought of the heavy rain to come and deliberately said in a loud voice, "I'm full! I’m going to go watch the ants moving house."

"Ants moving house?" Gu Jian’s expression darkened. "Mumu, did you really see ants moving?"

Li Mumu pointed into the distance. "Over there, so many ants are climbing up the trees."

Gu Jian took a sharp breath. Having led troops into battle, he had plenty of experience. "Wife, aren't we supposed to rest in a populated area tonight? We should prepare some supplies then."

Old Madam Gu didn't even ask why; she simply nodded. They had been husband and wife for most of their lives, supporting each other through thick and thin. He respected and honored her, and she trusted him completely.

Li Mumu truly didn't understand. With such a wonderful example set by her grandparents, and even her uncles having decent marriages, how had her mother become so "love-brained"?

"Mumu said she saw the ants moving, which likely means a heavy rain is coming. We have old and young here, and Yunzhao’s wounds haven't healed yet. If we get caught in the rain, the consequences would be unimaginable, and we might not find a suitable place on the road."

Old Madam Gu smiled. "Even if you hadn't said it, I was planning to stock up. I’ve noticed that as long as we give the guards some benefits, they don't make things difficult for us. We can buy some food and supplies. I hear the North is bitterly cold; we’ll need cotton-padded clothes soon."

"It seems I spoke out of turn." Old Madam Gu glared at him, and everyone laughed.

Li Rong, seeing that the Gu family had been eating for a while with no reaction, couldn't help but whisper, "Mother, why is there no movement yet? Could you have been wrong?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Don't worry, the time probably just hasn't come yet. You saved Guard Zhang's life; he will definitely treat you well from now on."

Li Rong curled her lip. If it weren't for the sake of the child in her womb, she would never have surrendered herself to a guard. But this was her only bargaining chip for a comeback.

Li Mumu saw that her grandmother already had a plan, so she stopped worrying. Buying supplies would just be a cover so she could bring out her stored goods—otherwise, it would be impossible to explain where they came from out of thin air.

Once everyone had finished eating, Li Mumu noticed the whispering between the Li family members.

"It was so fragrant. I wonder if we’ll ever get to eat that again!" Gu Mingtang said.

Li Mumu laughed cheerfully. "Doesn't everywhere with water have fish?"

Gu Mingtang chuckled. "Little Mumu is so funny, but not every place with water has fish."

Li Mumu wanted to say that as long as she was around, they would never have to worry about not having fish to eat. But just as everyone was satisfied and preparing to set off, Li Mumu threw a bombshell.

"The poisonous mushrooms were really delicious."

The group froze. The gentle, scholarly Gu Mingyu asked, "Mumu, what poisonous mushrooms? Did you eat poisonous mushrooms?"

Li Mumu nodded, pointing to her own stomach and then to theirs. "Grandma said the mushrooms we just ate were poisonous and told me to give them to Grandfather and Grandmother."

Everyone’s faces turned pale. "The mushrooms we ate were poisonous?" Old Madam Gu looked as if she had been struck by lightning.

"What do we do?" Song Qiang’s voice cracked. "Why would she make us eat poisonous mushrooms?"

Fearing they were truly terrified, which wasn't her intention, Li Mumu nodded again. "Grandma said they were poisonous and that they would kill people; she said she wouldn't eat them."

"That wretched old woman! How can her heart be so black? Quick, check if we have any detox pills!" Song Qiang cried.

Li Mumu, fearing the situation was getting out of hand, added, "Second Aunt, if they were poisonous, why isn't Mumu dead? My tummy feels all warm; it doesn't hurt."

The little girl’s words brought everyone back to their senses. Gu Jian said calmly, "Don't panic yet. Logically, if we had eaten poisonous mushrooms, the effects would have set in by now. It seems these mushrooms aren't poisonous."

"Then why would she say they were?" Song Qiang asked.

As the group fell into a heavy silence, Gu Yuru said softly, "She wanted us dead."