CHAPTER 159: CHAPTER 159: FIVE HUNDRED TAELS

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent.

Then it was as if a pot had boiled over, "How much? A hundred acres?"

"My God, isn’t that five hundred taels of silver?"

"Impossible, five hundred taels of silver?"

Zhao Lizheng said calmly, "Doctor Gu took five hundred taels of silver to buy her sister’s life."

Mr. Jiang’s face turned ashen, five hundred taels?

Even buying the entire Jiang family wouldn’t amount to that much.

Mrs. Zhou suddenly looked at Yun Jiao, her eyes seemed as if she wanted to devour her.

The wretched girl actually had so much silver!

The crowd practically exploded, almost everyone gazed at Yun Jiao with admiration and envy.

There weren’t even that many jealous people.

Mainly because the amount was too large.

It was a number they couldn’t even dare to imagine in their lifetime, so there was no foundation for jealousy to arise.

Yet everyone was puzzled, how could such a young girl have so much silver?

Even if Doctor Gu had been practicing medicine for years, earning twenty wen per consultation, that wouldn’t amount to five hundred taels, would it?

Zhao Lizheng waved his hand, "Alright, there’s nothing more to say, carry her away."

Two strong men from the Zhao family put the pole on their shoulders and started to carry her outside.

The crowd followed, surging towards the riverside.

Soon the crowd at the entrance of the ancestral hall was completely gone.

Gu Mei was still slumped under a tree.

Just then, Liu Er drove the carriage over.

Yun Jiao and Mrs. Chen exerted tremendous effort to get the limp Gu Mei onto the carriage.

Yun Jiao got on the carriage and said to Mrs. Chen, "Mother, I’ll take her to her maternal home."

"I might be back a bit late tonight."

Mrs. Chen quickly replied, "If it’s too late, don’t come back, stay at home first."

"Even if you’re with Uncle Liu Er, traveling at night is still not safe."

"By the way, let Ah Tie go with you too, it’s good to have someone to run errands."

Yun Jiao nodded, was about to lower the curtain when she saw Gu Chuan still standing by her side, his eyes full of fear.

Yun Jiao softly said, "Don’t run around, listen to the elder aunt, your sister is taking the big sister back home, I won’t return today, but I’ll definitely be back tomorrow."

Jiang Youzhi stood not far away, silently watching the carriage go off into the distance before he leaned on his cane and slowly made his way to the river.

Gu Mei lay limp in the carriage, in a semi-conscious state.

Yun Jiao reached out to check her pulse.

She was frightened and cold, but there wasn’t much else wrong.

However, experiencing such a major incident would definitely drain a lot of energy and spirit, which would inevitably affect her longevity in the future.

In just over a quarter of an hour, they arrived home.

Yun Jiao first went to Uncle’s house to get the key, opened the courtyard gate, and let Liu Er drive the carriage into the yard.

She first opened Gu Mei’s room.

Inside, there was a thick layer of dust.

As for the water tank, needless to say, it was empty.

Uncle Liu Er helped fetch water from the well, and Yun Jiao quickly tidied up the room, made the bed, and then let Uncle Liu Er help carry Gu Mei down, placing her on the bed.

Then Yun Jiao asked Ah Tie to watch over Gu Mei, while she took Liu Er’s carriage to town.

Not long after, they arrived in town, and Yun Jiao bought some charcoal, rice, flour, and eggs.

She was also hungry, so she bought some stuffed buns, gave a few to Uncle Liu Er, and ate two herself.

She also wrapped a few to take back for Gu Mei and Ah Tie.

Then she asked Uncle Liu Er to drive the carriage to the entrance of a household.

The courtyard gate was wide open.

As Yun Jiao got out of the carriage, she saw her mother, Mrs. Li, sitting under the eaves.

In front of Mrs. Li was a wooden basin, within which lay a washboard and a pile of dirty clothes. Mrs. Li was hanging her head, wiping away tears as she scrubbed the clothes.

She looked pitiful, as if she were being mistreated by a wicked stepmother.