Since Mr. Gu insisted on entering, Gu Chengyu couldn’t very well stop him.
He supported Mr. Gu inside and found Doctor Li was withdrawing the silver needle.
"Get things ready! He’s gone, so hurry with the funeral arrangents." Doctor Li had applied the needle to see if there was any glimr of hope, since the body still felt warm.
Doing nothing was sothing he couldn’t bear, though any efforts were futile.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li and the others began to wail again. Their hearts were filled with fear and uncertainty about the future.
Mr. Gu approached the side of the bed, and seeing Gu Chengyi in this state, felt a sharp constriction in his chest. He leaned on Gu Chengyu for support.
With just one glance, it seed all his strength was drained.
Gu Chengyu looked worriedly at his father, regretting not having kept him out.
After a long while, Mr. Gu wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and choked out, "Wipe him down and change him into presentable clothes."
Gu Chengyu, however, didn’t agree, "Not yet; we must wait for the second son and third son to return."
"Ming Yan! Hurry and take the carriage to the county to fetch the second son. Ming Mo, go to the town to fetch the third son, and bring along two more doctors as quickly as you can."
Gu Chengyi had just died, but now he couldn’t be moved. His son, Chang, was there, but Chang was so young and of no help at all.
Sanya had been staying with the eldest household all this ti, and as a young girl, was even less helpful. At such a mont, the presence of the second and third sons was necessary.
Mr. Gu was montarily stunned, then realized that Gu Chengyu was not well-suited to handle the matter.
He knew what kind of temperant the second son had, and feared that once the funeral began, the second son might still bite back.
"Uncle Li! It’s not a matter of distrust in your dical skills. Although we can all see my second brother’s cause of death, to avoid future troubles, it’s best to call in two more doctors to prevent unnecessary disputes."
Doctor Li naturally understood what Gu Chengyu ant and nodded, considering there was no point in dwelling on it now.
"That’s the right thing to do, I won’t mind."
Doctor Li packed up his dicine box, "Your second brother overdosed on potent dicine. In this condition, it seems to have been several hours already."
He shook his head, unable to fathom why Gu Chengyi would neglect his own health in such a way.
Hearing this, Gu Chengyu suddenly rembered sothing.
"Uncle Li, did my second brother take this type of dicine previously?"
Doctor Li nodded, "There must have been tis. I noticed it once when taking his pulse, though it wasn’t frequent, and he didn’t take much. Yet from the body’s condition, it was clear he had used it before."
Doctor Li truly couldn’t understand how Gu Chengyi had co to this point. Gu Chengyi had seed a sensible person before; why would he take such dicine?
Moreover, since Gu Chengyi had suffered from the harmful effects of such dicine before, he should have detested it.
Although influenced by Heavenly Tail Grass, tiger penis powder was equally harmful to the body.
Gu Chengyu began to feel puzzled; if Gu Chengyi had previously used it willingly, he must have known the dose he should take.
Seeing him in his current state, it was clear he’d taken far more than usual, which was suspicious.
Could it be that with one more person, he consud more than usual? But that still wouldn’t account for such an excess, would it?
As this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly turned to look at the three won on the side.
The three of them were crying bitterly, whether their tears were genuine or just for show.
But with Gu Chengyi’s death, it was true they had lost their support for the rest of their lives.
Among them, the most likely with motives were Wang Yue and Mrs. Li.
Mrs. Wang was unlikely, since she was still waiting for Gu Chengyi to marry her.
Mrs. Li felt a pang of fear as Gu Chengyu’s gaze rested upon her.
Those Gu Chengyu had brought from the Capital were still temporarily in the Prefecture, leaving him short on people at hand.
"Xiao Bao! What on earth happened?" Gu Chengli and Uncle Gu hurriedly entered the room, questioning Gu Chengyu.
"The second brother is dead!" Gu Chengyu said in a low voice, contemplating whether to separate and question the three won.
"What? Dead? How could he be dead?" Gu Chengli was stunned, not expecting this result.
He rushed forward to look at Gu Chengyi lying on the bed.
Upon seeing Gu Chengyi’s miserable condition, he couldn’t help but let out a cry of grief, "Second brother!"
Gu Chengli’s feelings for Gu Chengyi were special; they were blood brothers, and had never been apart since childhood.
When the family was poor, they went out together seeking odd jobs, and worked in the fields side by side.
Although the second brother developed so misconceptions later and chose to ignore him, Gu Chengli never held it against him.
"Second brother! How could you do this to yourself?" Gu Chengli finally broke into loud sobs, a man in his thirties crying like a child.
Hearing this, Gu Chengyu felt a pang in his heart. He stepped forward, pressing onto Gu Chengli’s shoulder.
He understood that his elder brother’s feelings for Gu Chengyi were unparalleled, even Mr. Gu couldn’t match them.
"Xiao Bao! How did the second brother die?" Gu Chengli turned to ask Gu Chengyu, though he already had an answer in mind.
Considering the situation in the room, it had to be due to excessive excitent.
"The second brother took potent dicine, probably too much for his body to handle, leading him to pass away."
As the elder brother, Gu Chengli had to explain the cause of Gu Chengyi’s death; after all, there was no need to hide things from family.
"Potent dicine?" Gu Chengli cast his gaze toward the three won in the room, finally settling on Mrs. Wang.
He had heard before that Gu Chengyi returned this ti with a young woman in her late teens, could it have been for this woman that the second brother took the dicine?
He had planned to advise the second brother, but rembered the second brother’s dissatisfaction with him these past two years and felt his words might go unheard.
Then he thought, as the second brother already had two concubines, one more wouldn’t matter much.
But he hadn’t known the second brother was taking such dicine! How could the second brother be so foolish? This isn’t sothing to take recklessly.
He sighed deeply; no wonder he often heard people say that beauty was a snare.
"I had advised him not to take it before, but he said the doctor at the town’s dical hall assured him a small amount would be fine." Doctor Li suddenly spoke with a sigh.
Gu Chengyu found it odd, "Didn’t you say this dicine harms the body? Why would the town’s dical hall say such a thing?"
Doctor Li shook his head, a look of indignation crossing his face.
"At the Renhe Hall in town, they sell tiger penis powder, along with other types. The sitting doctor likely saw that your second brother had desires of that sort and, for the sake of making money, told him that. All dicine has its toxicity; taking too much will inevitably harm the body."
Gu Chengyu understood Doctor Li’s implication, that the town’s dical hall had downplayed the side effects of the dicine to earn money.
"Uncle! Could you find people to bring in Dashun?"
Gu Chengyu pulled Uncle Gu to the side, wishing for him to find those overseeing the clan’s penal matters.
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