Chapter 34: What the Old Immortal Told You
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No matter how hard she racked her brains, she could not figure it out. But naturally, they could not give him the money. If they did, there truly would be no good days ahead for them.
“Li Yuan, take out the money!” Old Madam Li struck and pinched her son.
In her eyes, refusing to give her the money meant ruining her comfortable life.
Li Rong tried to persuade her as well, but Old Madam Li would not listen to anyone. After all, the blind fortune teller’s predictions had always been accurate.
“Young lady, what a pity.”
Li Rong froze. “A pity? What do you mean?”
The blind man shook his head. “The old madam’s fortune could originally have come through her daughter. But now that the bringer of calamity has appeared, its baleful aura has turned your phoenix into a crow. It will be difficult for you to rise to greatness now.”
Old Madam Li was so superstitious—how could Li Rong be any different? Before, when the matter had not concerned her, she had been content to stand aloof. But now that she had heard she could once have risen to wealth and glory, only to end up in this state, she was furious.
Her body was weak, however, so she did not rise to strike Lin Siyan.
Old Madam Li’s weeping, shouting, and cursing gave Li Yuan a splitting headache. In the end, he had no choice but to say, “Fine, fine, I’ll give it to you. Is that enough?”
He took out the silver he had left and angrily handed it all to his mother. What else could he do?
“Something’s wrong. Why is there so little? How much did you spend on all those things?” Old Madam Li remembered clearly that they had demanded one hundred silver taels from the Gu family.
“Twenty taels went toward purchasing supplies, and three taels were spent on Rongrong’s medical treatment.”
Li Mumu’s eyes shifted as she calculated. “One hundred taels minus twenty, and then… then minus three more. That leaves seventy-seven taels.”
The members of the Li family merely glanced at Li Mumu, surprised as well, but they had no time to dwell on it. The matter of the money had not yet been settled.
The Gu family, however, was different—especially Gu Yuru. She had spent half a year teaching her daughter that one plus one equaled two. Her younger daughter had once struggled even to count from one to ten. How could she possibly perform such complicated arithmetic?
“Yuru, Mumu…”
Gu Yuru looked at her mother. Clearly, her mother had asked because of the same thought. She recalled what her daughter had told her and said, “Mother, let’s follow his instructions for now.”
Madam Gu nodded, suppressing her doubts as she continued to watch the spectacle.
Wasn’t it a good thing that her little granddaughter had become clever?
Old Madam Li counted the money in her hands. “That’s not right. There are still five taels missing!”
Li Yuan did not think much of it. “Siyan bought some things for women.”
“What did she buy? She came back empty-handed.” Old Madam Li had seen it clearly.
Lin Siyan panicked and shrank back.
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“Mother, why waste your breath on her? Search her, and we’ll know.”
In the end, they did not find the five taels of silver. There was only a little loose change left—not even one full tael.
Old Madam Li was so enraged she nearly fainted. “You little slut! You’re such a wastrel. Everyone else spent only twenty taels purchasing supplies. Tell me, where did you squander all that silver?”
“I…” Lin Siyan did not dare admit that she had given it to the blind man. “I… I ate it.”
She had indeed eaten something, but certainly not enough to spend that much.
“Did you eat gold? How could it have cost so much?” Furious, Old Madam Li struck her several more times.
Lin Siyan gazed imploringly at Li Yuan. This time, even Li Yuan felt that spending so much money on a single meal was excessive.
“You little wretch, just wait. I’ll settle accounts with you later.” Old Madam Li viciously twisted her arm before putting on a fawning expression and approaching the blind man.
“That’s all there is. Look, this time I truly devoted myself wholeheartedly. When will we be able to return to the life we had before?” Old Madam Li’s thoughts were filled with the wealth and splendor of the General’s Residence.
“Old Madam, Heaven sees your sincerity. When the time is right, everything that belongs to you will naturally be restored.”
Old Madam Li glanced at Lin Siyan again. “Then… what about the child in her womb? We can’t keep it, can we?”
Li Yuan frowned. “Mother, now that the calamity has been dispelled, this child is no longer a bringer of misfortune. It is my child—how could we abandon it?”
“Exactly. How could the Li family abandon its own child?”
Li Yuan looked at Li Mumu. The words themselves were not wrong, yet coming from her lips, they sounded deeply sarcastic.
But could a fool mock people?
He did not believe it.
Lin Siyan covered her belly. “Brother Yuan, believe me. This child is absolutely not a bringer of calamity.”
The blind man smiled. “Old Madam, simply wait and see.”
As for the child in her womb, the little girl had not given him any instructions. He could not very well cause the death of an innocent life.
Li Mumu was worried that if the novel’s heroine were to lose the child before birth, the entire story would collapse.
Besides, the heroine had harmed no small number of members of the Gu family. Shouldn’t those accounts be settled as well?
The blind man put away the money, then pointed toward Li Mumu. “Child, come here.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
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Everyone began talking at once. Gu Yuru clutched her daughter’s hand tightly. “What are you going to do?”
Old Madam Li would not stand for it. “What are you shouting about? Mumu is a child of the Li family. If an immortal wants to speak with her, it must be a good thing.”
Li Mumu scratched her mother’s palm. “Mother, the old immortal isn’t a bad person.”
“Young lady, when the mountains seem exhausted and the waters run dry, there will be no road ahead—but then, beyond the shadowed willows and bright flowers, another village appears. Let the past remain in the past. People must look forward. Cherish the person before you.”
Gu Yuru was stunned. What did he mean?
Li Mumu had specifically instructed him to say these words. Otherwise, she feared her mother might miss her chance with Ling Yunhe.
“That sounds rather accurate. But who exactly is the person before her?” Gu Mingjing asked.
“Hahaha…” The blind man stroked his beard again. “Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed.”
Li Yuan looked toward Gu Yuru, his face green as though he had been cuckolded.
Gu Yuru drew in a deep breath. So far, this blind man had not harmed the Gu family’s interests in the slightest. On the contrary, the Li family had been thrown into chaos, its members were divided, and all its money had been lost.
But as for what he had said about her, surely that could not be true. Her heart was already dead. She only wanted to raise her child. Remarrying was out of the question.
Half believing and half doubting, she released her daughter’s hand. Li Mumu walked over, and the blind man led her some distance away.
Old Madam Li pursed her lips. “What is the immortal saying to Mumu? Why won’t he let us hear?”
Li Mumu looked back at the Li family and determined that they could not see what was happening on this side. “Hand over the money. We agreed to split it half and half.”
“Hehe, I haven’t forgotten. I’m a man of my word.” The blind man no longer rolled his eyes. His eyes glittered brightly. “Little girl, if you have another opportunity like this in the future, come find me again.”
Li Mumu glanced at him and put away the banknotes. “There will be a future opportunity?”
“No, no, these will be enough for me to start a small business. Thank you, young lady.”
The blind man hurriedly slipped away. After securing the banknotes, Li Mumu strode back.
Old Madam Li seized her by the arm. “Why did the immortal leave? What did he say to you? Why did he want to speak with you?”
“Exactly. What did he say to you?” Li Yuan asked with a cold snort.
Li Mumu beamed brightly. “The old immortal said… he said I…”
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