The Gu family had long noticed Old Seventh and his wife whispering in the corner. Now, seeing the couple walking toward them, the wives of the other brothers quickly pulled their husbands and children aside to dodge them.
Gu Wenheng ignored them. Leading Jin Qianqian, he walked straight up to Gu Dashi and the others.
Li Cuicui looked at them defensively. "Old Seventh, we don't have any food to give you. Why don't you go ask your brothers?"
She figured this couple must have already finished all their rations. Were they targeting their old bones now?
Gu Wenheng glanced at Gu Dashi, grabbed Li Cuicui's hand, and pulled her aside. "Mother, lend me 200 coins."
"What?" Li Cuicui stared at him, her eyes wide. "Why don't you just eat your mother alive? Opening your mouth to ask for 200 coins right off the bat... I don't have it."
She instantly realized the significance of that number. "What are you trying to do? Take your wife into the county town?
"Let me tell you, don't think you can just stay there once you get inside. There are curfews everywhere now. Once the time is up, they'll drag you right back out. Haven't those old scholars taught you this?"
Hearing Li Cuicui's mockery, Gu Wenheng already knew what to expect. "I don't plan on staying inside. I just want to go in to exchange for some money."
Li Cuicui looked him up and down. "I gave birth to you; don't I know exactly what you're capable of? Other than your skin and bones, you don't have a single valuable thing on you.
"Enough, go find a place to hunker down. I still have a lot of things to pack up and no time to bicker with you here.
"Borrowing money is impossible anyway. You're better off using this hour to go out and forage for wild vegetables. You might even scrape together another meal."
Gu Wenheng had long guessed that Li Cuicui wouldn't lend him copper coins so easily, so he directly revealed his trump card. "Mother, take a look. Is this a rare item or what?"
Li Cuicui looked down dismissively, only to see a weather-beaten face reflected in her pupils. Terrified, she stumbled backward. "What in the world...?"
Gu Wenheng quickly freed a hand to support her. "Don't be afraid. It's a mirror. A copper mirror, you know?"
Li Cuicui looked at him hesitantly. "This can't be a copper mirror. I've seen copper mirrors before, so don't try to fool me."
A copper mirror would only show a blurry outline of a face. How could it show such a distinct human face?
"Then look at me. Am I the one in the mirror now?" Gu Wenheng could only turn the palm-sized mirror toward himself, allowing Li Cuicui to see more clearly.
"Where did you get this?" Li Cuicui panicked. "We don't do such wicked deeds! Those who possess such things aren't people we can afford to provoke. Hurry up and return it."
Such a precious item was only fit for prominent and wealthy families. Holding onto it would only bring them disaster.
Gu Wenheng lowered his voice and spoke with a mysterious expression. "This is your daughter-in-law's dowry. We couldn't bear to touch it until this final moment.
"Besides, we've always been honest and dutiful right under your nose. Where would we even go to get such a precious thing?"
Li Cuicui still looked suspicious. "Could your wife really have such a background? Don't try to trick me. If this thing really existed, would her grandmother have laid in bed for over half a year without any medical treatment?"
Gu Wenheng knew this story was full of holes, but it was already the best excuse they could come up with.
The original Jin Qianqian had only lived with her widowed grandmother. Two years ago, knowing her failing health wouldn't hold out much longer, Grandma Jin hastily arranged a marriage for her granddaughter.
The conditions offered were very tempting. As long as her funeral arrangements were taken care of, she would ask for no betrothal gifts and would even give all her household belongings as a dowry.
At the time, Li Cuicui had put a lot of thought into securing this daughter-in-law who wouldn't be burdened by her maiden family in the future.
After all, marrying a wife would cost nearly ten taels of silver from start to finish. However, a simple burial for an old woman would only require two or three taels. Many people had their eyes on such a cost-effective deal.
She had enticed Grandma Jin with the promise that her son had many brothers to help out and that they would divide the household immediately after marriage. Grandma Jin loved her granddaughter dearly, and even though she knew that following Gu Yuan Yu meant enduring a long period of hardship, she still gritted her teeth and agreed.
Not long after they got married, Grandma Jin, having fulfilled her final wish, quickly passed away.
Li Cuicui kept her promise and allowed Gu Yuan Yu and Jin Qianqian to give the old woman a proper burial.
Gu Wenheng had also seen this scene from his memories. He knew that although the Gu family had a ton of flaws, their character was at least passable.
Otherwise, he would rather give some extra bribes to the government officials guarding the city gates than try to persuade Li Cuicui here.
Besides, they couldn't just cast aside their current identities. If he and Jin Qianqian wanted to survive in this era, showing filial piety to the Gu family parents was undeniably their responsibility.
"That was because the old lady was too timid back then. Furthermore, this was passed down from her ancestors, so she couldn't bear to exchange it for money.
"Now your son and your daughter-in-law have reached a dead end. If we don't pawn this thing, my wife and I will completely run out of food," Gu Wenheng said, pulling out the excuse he had prepared long in advance.
Seeing Li Cuicui's expression soften slightly, he added fuel to the fire. "I won't borrow it for nothing. When I come back, I'll pay you double."
"But no matter what, this is her family heirloom. If you pawn it like this, you'll be doing your wife a great injustice." Li Cuicui knew exactly how important a dowry was to a woman. If such a precious item was exchanged for silver coins, it would be difficult to buy it back later.
Gu Wenheng, however, looked indifferent. "This object is dead, but we are alive. We can't just clutch this dead thing and starve ourselves to death!
"Just give me one word right now—are you lending it or not?"
Li Cuicui smacked him hard twice. "I really gave birth to a bunch of debt collectors! But let me make this clear: your life is essentially given by your wife now. You must not treat her poorly in the future."
Gu Wenheng's expression softened. Even though this old lady usually looked sharp-tongued and mean, her heart was truly soft.
"I know." He also understood that the key to the relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law lay with the husband. Naturally, he wouldn't openly show his deep regard for Jin Qianqian in front of Li Cuicui. Otherwise, the mere word "filial piety" would be used to severely oppress Jin Qianqian.
Sure enough, his approach worked. Li Cuicui cast a sympathetic glance at Jin Qianqian not far away. "I can't control you anyway. Just remember, we must not lose our conscience in how we conduct ourselves."
Gu Wenheng impatiently urged, "Hurry up and lend me the money, or else the city gates will close."
It was already late afternoon, and they didn't have much time left.
Li Cuicui was speechless. It was her first time seeing someone borrow money with such self-righteous confidence.
She turned her back to Gu Wenheng, rummaging and fumbling around. It took quite a long time before she finally counted out 200 copper coins with trembling hands.
"You must remember to pay me back! I'm not asking you to double it, but don't let me be short even a single coin, or I won't be able to explain it to your father and younger brothers."