A single statent shocked everyone present.
Gu Jinli felt like she had been struck by lightning—Li Anzi was her cousin? She felt murderous!
Gu Dashan was beside himself with excitent and had already rushed over, grabbing Li Anzi’s arm and asking: "What, what did you say? The person in this portrait resembles your mother? Truly resembles her?"
Li Anzi was also stunned, shaken several tis by Gu Dashan before he ca to his senses and said, "Yes, she resembles my mother."
Third Grandma also hurried over, squinting at Li Anzi’s face. After a mont, she exclaid, "Oh my, I knew this young man looked familiar. Now that I think about it, doesn’t he look exactly like that peddler?"
She was referring to Qi Panzi, the peddler with whom Gu Daya had run away.
"Your parents are free citizens, aren’t they? How did they beco servants? Where are they now? Are they well? You ntioned having younger brothers and sisters—where are they? Hey, why the daze, speak up!" Third Grandpa also rushed over to question Li Anzi. But Li Anzi was too shocked to respond, frustrating Third Grandpa.
"Third Grandpa, Third Grandma, Father, please step aside." Gu Jinli shouted, and after they stepped aside, she walked over and slapped Li Anzi twice across the face.
"Ah~" Li Anzi, covering his pain-stricken face, teared up and looked at Gu Jinli. Why had this young girl suddenly struck him?
"Xiao Yu..." Gu Dashan was also shocked. Why had Xiao Yu suddenly lashed out at Anzi? He was her cousin, and it was generally not acceptable for a younger cousin to hit an older one.
But Gu Dashan knew that his daughter had always been impetuous since she was young, and ever since she ca to after being knocked unconscious, not only was she audacious, but she was also very decisive. Every action she took benefited them. Although he felt sorry for Anzi, he did not bla Xiao Yu and did not scold her aloud.
Gu Jinli looked at Li Anzi and asked, "Are you awake now?"
Li Anzi nodded.
"Good if you’re awake. Now, I’ll ask you one question, and you answer one. If you answer incorrectly or dare to lie, it won’t just be a matter of slapping you twice, understood?!"
Li Anzi nodded again: "Understood, understood?"
Gu Jinli then asked: "Your na is Li Anzi, you are twenty years old this year, and including you, there are five people in your family, all healthy, and all are servants of the Li Family of Daliang Prefecture, correct?"
It took a mont for Li Anzi’s slow-working brain to catch up before he nodded and said, "Yes, that’s right."
Gu Jinli continued to ask: "Are you the first child of your parents?"
Li Anzi shook his head: "No, my parents had a son before , but he did not survive. I was born soon after, and my older brother passed away young."
So, he was not the first child.
Gu Daya had once written a letter to Gu Dashan when he was seventeen—a ti when Gu Daya had already been gone with Qi Panzi for two years.
The letter said that Gu Daya had given birth to a son and was pregnant with another; this Li Anzi must be the one she was pregnant with at the ti.
Gu Dashan, Third Grandpa, and Third Grandma all knew about this. Upon hearing Li Anzi’s words, the three of them began to wipe their tears.
Seeing Li Anzi so thin from hunger, Mrs. Cui hurriedly ran to the kitchen, brought back a wooden box of tofu, and made him Fried Five-Spice Tofu.
Gu Jinli continued to question Li Anzi: "You were so young at that ti, how did you co to know about this?"
Li Anzi replied, "Every year on my older brother’s morial day, my parents would set up an altar to pay tribute to him."
"Where is your hotown? What were your parents’ nas before? Were you born into servanthood at the Li Family of Daliang Prefecture?" Gu Jinli asked.
Li Anzi shook his head: "I only know that my hotown is in Long’an Prefecture. As for the exact location, and my parents’ nas... they didn’t say... they forbade ntioning it... showing an aversion to our hotown."
Li Anzi spoke haltingly; it seed that Gu Daya and Qi Panzi had a falling out with the Qi Family.
"I wasn’t a servant from birth; I don’t rember when I beca one. Anyway, ever since I can rember, I’ve been serving others... At first, I worked at a wealthy household in Long’an Prefecture, and then I was sold twice, eventually ending up at the Li Family and beca their servant."
"Daya, oh~" Gu Dashan couldn’t help his tears from streaming down; why was his Daya’s fate so bitter!
"Dad, don’t cry yet." After saying this, Gu Jinli continued to look at Li Anzi: "What were your parents’ nas originally?"
Li Anzi still shook his head: "I don’t know; my parents didn’t tell , and the household forbade it too. After entering the household, we had to change our surnas and use the nas given to us by our masters."
Li Anzi was young when he was sold along with his parents; he couldn’t rember many things. He had changed his na several tis, and this na was given to him by the housekeeper after he arrived at the Li Family, according to the servant registry.
"How old is your sister? Do you know where they were sold to?" Gu Jinli asked the most crucial question.
"My sister is sixteen this year."
As for where his family was sold?
Li Anzi shook his head: "No, not really clear... We were sold separately. In the Li Family, the only servant sold with was Miss Chunxiao."
Miss my ass!
Gu Jinli felt like slapping him to death.
"Where does the Li Family live now? Are they in the Prefecture City?" Gu Jinli asked.
Li Anzi knew this, but before he could speak, Yan Chunxiao hurriedly said: "Replying to Young Master, the Li Family has distant relatives in the Prefecture City, and the whole family is currently staying at their relatives’ residence."
Yan Chunxiao was so excited she was almost going crazy. Before, she looked down on Li Anzi, thinking him a cripple and not very smart. She tried to get along with him just because they were sold at the sa broker, and she wanted to allocate so of his rations to herself, giving him smiles without ever wanting to be with him truly.
But just now, she heard that Li Anzi was a blood nephew of this family! It was like a street dog ascending to heaven, transford into an immortal.
Listening to this family’s conversation, they didn’t seem that poor; they apparently owned a profitable workshop and even had a connection with the Second Young Master of the County Magistrate’s Family. And the Second Young Master personally bought servants for this family. This relationship didn’t look ordinary.
Her body was spoiled by Old Master Li, and she was no longer a maiden, but Li Anzi was foolish. As long as she cried to him a few tis, claiming she was coerced by Old Master Li, Li Anzi would definitely pity her and continue to marry her.
Moreover, many maids from wealthy families had so unspeakable affairs with the n of the house. Li Anzi, having been a servant for so many years, would understand and probably wouldn’t mind that her body was spoiled.
Yan Chunxiao thought a lot and felt she could ensnare Li Anzi, which is why she boldly spoke to Gu Jinli.
Gu Jinli didn’t expect Yan Chunxiao to dare speak to her, especially when she deliberately withheld half the information, not telling her the surna or address of the household they were staying at.
Was she waiting for her to ask?
Gu Jinli smiled, looking at Old Zhu and Wang Yongfu: "Go, tie her up for and gag her!"
Old Zhu and Wang Yongfu were startled but quickly rushed over to Yan Chunxiao and tied her up quickly.
"Brother Anzi, Brother Anzi, save !" Yan Chunxiao cried out for Li Anzi’s help.
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