Chapter Seventeen: You Owe a Thorough Beating

Gu Dacai was not known for his good temper, and naturally, he was not well-liked in the village. The respectable villagers seldom wished to deal with him; those who did were mostly loafers who shunned honest work. Like Gu Dacai, these men believed they could become rich through gambling, and whenever they won, they would head straight to the tavern together.

“You can’t say that,” someone protested loudly. “Gu Dacai is still Gu Xiaoyao’s father—when has a daughter ever beaten her own father? That’s never happened in our village!”

“That’s right! Gu Xiaoyao is unfilial and disrespectful. In the old days, she’d have been thrown into a pig cage for this!” The crowd, eager for a spectacle, made sure their voices carried, almost as if they wished the whole village to hear.

Gu Dacai, hearing these words, felt both embarrassed and enraged. He had always boasted about his authority at home in front of these people, exaggerating his standing to the skies. Now, being dragged along like a dead dog by his own daughter, his pride and sense of shame reached their peak.

“Li, look at the daughter you’ve raised! If you don’t make her stop, I’ll be sure to make all three of you suffer for this!” he shouted. “How could you bring up such an unfilial girl? Why are you still alive, you wretched woman? This must be your doing!” He ground his teeth in fury, recalling how Li always seemed meek and submissive in public, yet secretly corrupted both children behind his back.

As Gu Xiaoyao listened to him hurl insult after insult, her grip tightened, pinning his arms behind his back so hard that Gu Dacai let out a howl of pain.

“Ah—! It hurts—!”

His cry startled the onlookers, who flinched as they watched his face flush with agony, their own hands aching in sympathy.

Gu Xiaoyao had no intention of wasting words on him. Catching sight of a rope nearby, she dragged him over and picked it up. The rope was filthy, and as Gu Dacai saw it, he remembered that someone had carried a pig past their courtyard that morning.

“Gu Xiaoyao, have you lost your mind? You really dare tie me up—”

She had long grown tired of his bluster. If he had the courage, he could settle things with fists, not just words.

“Of course I’m tying you up. Or do you think I picked up this rope just to show you how thick it is? Do you think I have that much free time? I’ve been sick of you for ages. Since you think you’re the master of this house, today I’ll make you see reality.”

After binding him tightly, Gu Xiaoyao tested the rope for strength, then threw it over a tree branch and hoisted him up.

Gu Dacai dangled like a turtle, rising higher above the ground, his terror mounting with every inch.

“Let me go! Let me down! Mother, Father, help me! Are you just going to stand by while this unfilial daughter treats me like this?”

Yang and Old Gu watched as their eldest son was truly hoisted up by their granddaughter. Everything was happening so swiftly that they were momentarily at a loss.

But when it came to actually intervening, Yang hesitated; part of her thought he deserved this lesson, lest he continue to throw his weight around at home.

“I think he needs to learn a lesson. I can’t bring myself to do it, so let someone else do it for once.” With that, Yang turned away, not wishing to see or hear her son’s wailing.

Gu Dacai’s mouth twitched, his face contorted. Was his own mother really abandoning him?

“Mother, you’re really not going to help me? Father, I’m supposed to look after you both in your old age, to carry out all the family rites!”

At last, Gu Dacai panicked. Even his own parents refused to intervene.

Seeing Gu Xiaoyao’s impassive expression, he realized there was no hope left for mercy.