Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Chapter 1275: One More Hit and He’ll Die

Gu Jin’an stood at the doorway of the inner room, hands folded in front of him, his gaze dark and fixed on Brother Cheng, who was standing on tiptoe, trying to stuff the scroll painting into a porcelain vase on the treasure shelf.

"Gu Jincheng, what did you do?" Gu Jin’an asked coldly, his voice carrying a suppressed fury.

Brother Cheng was so startled that his hand shook, almost knocking down the porcelain vase that held the painting. He hurriedly steadied the vase, then quickly hid the painting behind his back and lowered his head, saying, "I, I thought Big Brother’s painting looked nice, so I took it to have a look, wanted to copy it, but there was too much homework today and I had no time to paint, so I just put it back~"

After he finished, he lifted his head and stole a quick glance at Gu Jin’an. Seeing how terribly dark his expression was, he was frightened into ducking his head again.

Took it to copy?

Heh, go fool a ghost.

Gu Jin’an’s face was as cold as ice. He stood unmoving and only said one sentence: "Gu Jincheng, I’ll give you one more chance. Either you confess honestly, or you keep lying—choose for yourself. Just remember, once you choose you bear the consequences. I will not indulge you!"

Brother Cheng knew his big brother was truly angry this time. Terrified, his body shrank a little, his small hand clutching the painting tightly. He stared at the tips of his shoes in silence.

Seeing he wouldn’t speak, Gu Jin’an grew even angrier. But after all, this was his own younger brother whom he had personally brought up, and he was still young, so he gave him yet another chance: "You can’t make up your mind? Then let me tell you: I hate liars the most. If you confess honestly, you might escape a beating. But if you refuse to talk, then don’t ever call me Big Brother again. I don’t have a younger brother who steals, lies, and doesn’t even dare admit his mistakes!"

When Brother Cheng heard this, he turned pale with fright. To him, Big Brother was even more reliable than Father and Mother. If Big Brother refused to acknowledge him in the future, what would he do?

Brother Cheng was scared now, and spoke with a sob in his voice: "I, I just wanted to help Big Brother, so I took the painting and showed it to Third Sister~"

By the end, his voice had dropped so low it was almost inaudible.

Over the past few years, Gu Jin’an had been practicing martial arts all along, so his hearing was keen. He caught every word clearly, and his expression instantly turned pitch-black: "What did you say? You took the painting to show Third Miss? Gu Jincheng, you’ve got a lot of nerve. Is this something you’re allowed to meddle in?!"

Forcing down his fear, Brother Cheng said, "I know I’m not allowed, but I just wanted to help Big Brother."

Gu Jin’an let out an angry laugh. "Help me? What ability do you, a little brat, have to help me?!"

Seething, he strode over in a few quick steps and yanked Brother Cheng away from the treasure shelf. "Stand still and tell me word for word what you did today. Leave out a single syllable and don’t you ever call me Big Brother again in this lifetime!"

When he saw Gu Jin’an truly erupt in anger, Brother Cheng was scared into tears.

Seeing that only infuriated Gu Jin’an further. He roared, "Swallow those tears back! You’re supposed to be a man—make a mistake and you don’t dare admit it, you only know how to cry. You might as well go reincarnate right now as a little girl!"

Brother Cheng flinched at the shout, hurriedly wiped away his tears, and dared not cry again. He then told Gu Jin’an everything he had done today.

After listening, Gu Jin’an was so angry he nearly slapped Brother Cheng across the face. He bellowed, "Kneel!"

With a thud, Brother Cheng dropped to his knees on cue.

Gu Jin’an walked out the door, grabbed a broom from under the eaves of the outer corridor, snapped the long broom handle with a crack, tossed away the end with the bristles, and came back in holding the stick. With a loud smack, he brought it down hard on Brother Cheng’s back.

Brother Cheng was struck so hard he sprawled onto the floor, but he didn’t dare cry out. Instead, he gritted his teeth, braced his hands on the ground, and didn’t dare move an inch.

"If I don’t beat you today, you’ll never learn what you can do and what you absolutely cannot do!" Gu Jin’an was in a towering rage. The stick in his hand came down on Brother Cheng’s back again and again with sharp cracks. In barely a dozen strokes, he had beaten the skin on Brother Cheng’s back to the point of bleeding.

Gu Jinli couldn’t bear to watch anymore. She rushed in, and with two swift moves, snatched the stick from Gu Jin’an’s hand. "Big Brother, if you keep hitting him, you won’t have a little brother anymore."

She hadn’t expected Big Brother to actually strike Brother Cheng, and so ruthlessly at that.

Gu Jin’an glared at Gu Jinli, snapping, "Did you teach him this? He learned it all from you—the older he gets, the more outrageous he becomes!"

Gu Jinli was dumbfounded, full of grievance: "What’s it got to do with me? Brother Cheng clearly felt sorry for you, afraid you’d end up single, so he took it upon himself to bring the painting to Third Sister."

You can’t just pin every mistake on me just because I usually don’t follow the rules.

Brother Cheng was raised by you from childhood; you taught him. When he does something wrong, you should blame yourself, not me.

"Besides, you’re not blameless in this either. If you hadn’t painted that picture, Brother Cheng wouldn’t have had anything to take to Third Sister." Gu Jinli shot back, then squatted down to help Brother Cheng up.

But Brother Cheng shook his head and refused to get up, continuing to kneel.

Gu Jinli clicked her tongue. You really do listen to Big Brother—he tells you to kneel and you just kneel.

Seeing that he truly didn’t want to get up, she didn’t force him, but worried he might be injured internally, she quickly took his pulse. Then she said to Gu Jin’an, "He’s still so young, and you hit him this hard. If you damage his internal organs or his bones, his life will be ruined."

Mm, thankfully it was only a dozen strokes or so; he hadn’t sustained any internal injuries.

Gu Jin’an was startled and suddenly afraid, worried that he had used too much force and permanently harmed his youngest brother. But Brother Cheng had committed a grave mistake, and he wanted to ask about his injuries yet didn’t know how to bring it up.

Seeing his anxiety, Gu Jinli thought to herself: Now you’re worried? You were swinging that stick awfully happily just now.

Still, she told Gu Jin’an, "Don’t worry. Brother Cheng’s health has been well tended these past few years. A dozen strokes like that are nothing serious—it’s just some flesh wounds."

Gu Jin’an let out a sigh of relief, then hardened his expression again as he looked at Brother Cheng. "Do you understand how serious what you did today is?"

"I’ve always taught you: don’t turn yourself into a beast for the sake of others, or because you envy power and wealth. Yet what you did today is on par with the behavior of a lecherous brute!"

Brother Cheng froze, lifting his head slightly to glance at Gu Jin’an. Clearly he didn’t quite understand what Gu Jin’an meant by that.

Gu Jin’an said, "If someone liked your Second Sister, and without a matchmaker, without the knowledge of elders, and without your Second Sister knowing, that person’s younger brother suddenly brought her a painting to see, thus letting your Second Sister find out that man liked her—put yourself in your shoes as her younger brother. Wouldn’t you be angry when you learned of this?"

Gu Jinli: "..."

If you want to make a point, just make it. Why are you using me as the example?

"Anyone with a shred of decency would be angry and would treat that man as a vulgar scoundrel." Gu Jin’an continued, "Do you still remember Zhan Er? What you did today is about the same as what Zhan Er did. Both are selfish acts that completely ignore the girl’s feelings, only thinking about securing benefits for your own family!"

"Don’t think that just because Third Miss forgave you, this matter is over. What you did is an insult to Third Miss and an insult to the Ouyang Family!"

Marriage is a grave matter that must follow parental orders and a matchmaker’s words. Secretly bringing a painting to tell a young lady that someone likes her doesn’t just break the rules—it’s outright slapping the Ouyang Family’s face.

A well-bred young lady, carefully raised and protected—how could you treat her so lightly?!