NOVEL WEB Vol. 1 - Ch. 383 - Time to Stand Tall!
"Old Master, are you awake?"
Outside the door, the old butler was calling to wake Gu ZhouTing. But in all the years he'd served him, the master had always risen early—without fail, unless he was unwell. It was already eight o'clock, and there was still no sign of movement from inside. That unsettled the old butler deeply.
He'd been with the old master for many years and knew all too well that his condition lately had not been good.
He carried too many burdens, too many thoughts unspoken.
In the past two years, several close friends had passed away one after another. Each loss had hit the old man hard.
At his age, perhaps the best outcome would be to live out the rest of his days peacefully.
And yet, with things as they were, the old butler couldn't shake the worry that something unexpected had happened.
"Old Master, if you don't answer, I'm coming in."
He opened the door, mentally bracing himself for the worst—only to find that the bed was empty.
The blanket lay in a disheveled heap, as if the master had left in a hurry. The window was slightly ajar, letting in a faint breeze that sent a chill through the room.
The old butler's eyes widened in shock, his mouth half open in disbelief.
The old master… was gone.
"Mr. Butler!"
A sharp, frantic voice rang out behind him. The old butler turned around abruptly.
One of the young maids had rushed up, panting heavily, almost unable to speak.
"The gatekeeper—he… he fainted!"
"What?!"
Startled, the old butler rushed to the gatehouse, where the guards were desperately trying to shake the gatekeeper awake. He remained unconscious, sunken deep into sleep as if trapped in a dream.
Something was very wrong.
The butler immediately phoned the hospital and arranged for the gatekeeper to be taken in. Then, without stopping to rest, he hurried to the security room to check the surveillance footage from the previous night.
Even his aged body, weary after just a few steps, couldn't slow him down now.
But the moment he saw the footage, he froze in place—utterly still, as if turned to stone.
In the surveillance feed, a man stood at the gate, staring quietly through it.
That man… was someone the old butler had watched grow up over more than a decade.
"Gu… Gu ZhaoChuan! You're the one who took the old master away?!"
…
Gu WeiYi never expected Gu ZhaoChuan to be so brazen—just walking off with their father in plain sight.
He stared at the monitor feed, but something didn't quite add up.
ZhaoChuan hadn't abducted their father. On the contrary, their father had left with him, willingly.
That was what Gu WeiYi couldn't wrap his head around.
He and his older brother had told their father about everything surrounding Gu ZhaoChuan and HuMing long ago.
But their father had taken it all in calmly, without anger or turmoil—he had simply accepted it.
"Have you told the eldest master about this yet?" Gu WeiYi asked the butler seriously.
The old man nodded.
"Master and madam were vacationing abroad and are just now flying back. They're still on the plane and haven't seen my message yet, but once they land, they'll know."
At such a critical moment, HuMing had gone back to Ye QiuXue's hometown with her but was already rushing back now.
Gu WeiYi didn't believe any of this was coincidence. This had to be Shi Zhong's move—seizing the opportunity to strike.
Grabbing their father was the same as seizing their lifeline. No one could predict what Gu ZhaoChuan would do with him.
Just thinking about it made Gu WeiYi clutch his chest—his heart was pounding furiously.
The last time something like this happened, he'd nearly passed out from the sheer stress.
But now wasn't the time to panic.
"Don't let anyone investigate," he instructed. "If anyone asks, just say the old master's not feeling well and is resting."
"If my brother returns, tell him I stepped out to handle an important matter. If the young ones ask where I went, say I'm out on business."
Gu WeiYi couldn't forget the look in Gu ZhaoChuan's eyes on that footage.
Even though he'd walked off with Shi Zhong, when they met again, Gu WeiYi could still read something in that gaze.
He had thought ZhaoChuan would have been brainwashed by Shi Zhong. But now… it seemed like he still wanted out.
Taking their father with him—this was his signal.
Which meant Gu WeiYi had to go find him.
…
After a quick round of packing, he headed to the hospital.
"You're saying you're leaving for a while and want me to go home? But didn't you say the danger isn't over yet, and I should keep pretending to be ill?"
Xie QiuLing looked at her husband, confused by his sudden change in plan. But if he insisted, she wouldn't argue.
After all, she had never wanted to stay cooped up in the hospital in the first place.
Her body had recovered a long time ago. She'd just been going along with the act—doing rehab exercises and staying out of sight.
People outside still thought she was frail and on the brink, but few knew the truth: she was completely fine.
She'd also heard about everything that had happened—she never imagined Gu ZhaoChuan would go so far. She never imagined that child she once raised would turn out like this.
It left her with a bitter taste.
To Xie QiuLing, it felt like a personal failure.
"Things have spiraled out of control. Even Father has been taken by ZhaoChuan. All we can do now is wait for my brother to return and take charge of the Gu family. And there's HuMing—he'll find a way to handle this."
Gu WeiYi trusted HuMing. If anyone could stand against Shi Zhong, it was him.
And truth be told, as one of the older generation, Gu WeiYi couldn't help but feel a little conflicted.
There were so many problems… and in the end, a child had to be the one to handle them.
But HuMing had proven himself time and again. So, Gu WeiYi chose to trust him.
"I'm leaving for a while. Please take care of yourself." He kissed Xie QiuLing on the forehead and turned to go.
But she caught his sleeve, eyes full of emotion.
"You have to come back safe. YunQin and YunZhou are still at home waiting for you."
"I will."
Gu WeiYi had no idea what lay ahead. Whatever ZhaoChuan had planned for him would no doubt be dangerous. Whether he would even make it back alive was unclear.
As she watched her husband's departing figure, Xie QiuLing was once again flooded with memories.
He'd always been like this—silently carrying burdens, whether as a husband or as the second-in-command of the Gu family.
It was that calm, unshakable nature that had drawn her to him all those years ago…
She took a deep breath and steeled herself.
With the men off facing danger…
It was time for the wives to stand tall.
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