You Owe Me, My Love

You Owe Me, My Love Chapter 458

Chapter 458 Birth And Death Are Part And Parcel Of Life

Bai Rong’s eyes turned red and sore as tears brimmed her eyes. Gu Mingchen’s eyes watered up looking at her, and he finally gave in. “Alright. We’ll stay together. The first thing I need to do is to bring Shen Ao and Sheng Dongcheng to the military court.”

“Shen Ao? Shen Yiyan’s father?”

“Yeah. Are you afraid?” Gu Mingchen lowered his head and looked at her. “No. There’s nothing I’m afraid of with you by my side.” “But I’m afraid for you whenever you’re by my side,” he refuted.

But he knew they would stay together no matter what came their way. An air of solemnity enveloped the Gu family manor. Song Xiyu asked some monks to come over and gave them explicit instructions on how to carry out the funeral.

Bai Rong thought of the guru she consulted and asked Gu Mingchen, “Do you think we should ask him to come over?”

“I don’t believe in all this,” Gu Mingchen answered skeptically. “Did he tell you something ominous?” Bai Rong held his hand.

“I don’t believe in all this superstitious stuff. I’m staying the night to keep my father company. You should go and rest. You’ll need to take care of my mom too,” Gu Mingchen said, deflecting the question.

“I can’t sleep alone, so I might as well just stay with you. I bet your mom wants to stay by your dad’s side too.” Gu Mingchen sighed at her answer. “Why are you always so stubborn?” Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“I know you’re asking me to go sleep because you’re worried. But I know myself. I won’t be able to sleep, so I should just stay here with all of you.”

“Alright then.” After they changed Gu Tianhang’s clothes, Gu Mingchen carried his father’s body into the coffin as the monks requested and covered his face with a piece of white cloth.

Bai Rong felt miserable at the sight. Two years ago, Gu Tianhang was still strong and healthy. It was difficult to imagine him lying in a coffin just after two years. They would send him for cremation after this, and all that would be left of him would be his ashes.

All his accomplishments were but a fleeting moment, and Bai Rong could not help but feel that life was fragile. She rubbed Gu Mingchen’s hands, trying to warm them up.

After getting the mourning hall ready, Zhang Xingyu, Leng Xiao, and his men informed everyone of Gu Tianhang’s demise.

Given the belated man’s extensive connections, it took the five of them one whole day to contact everyone. It was not until ten o’clock at night that they had dinner and slept over at Gu Mingchen’s home while Gu Mingchen, Song Xiyu, and Bai Rong stayed up.

They pulled out a mattress and the three of them sat down with their back to the couch. Song Xiyu was especially sorrowful looking at her husband’s coffin.

In front of the coffin was a picture of him. Beside it was an oil lamp and some fruits for prayer offerings. The fire danced brightly in the earthenware pot filled with hell banknotes to the funeral chanting.

Song Xiyu let out a sigh as she reminisced about Gu Tianhang’s life. “His whole life revolved around politics, and he died because of it too. He actually wanted to be the chief-in-command, but he made many enemies because of his temper. It was devastating for him when he found out he was not even eligible to run for chief-in-command. This was the biggest regret of his life.”

“Different people aspire to achieve different things in life. Some people find meaning in acquiring wealth, some love, and some power. It’s fine as long as he’s on the path he believes is right. After all,

we’re not living for other people, but ourselves. He will rest in peace because he had tried his best to live his life to the fullest,” Bai Rong comforted.

Song Xiyu smiled gently and patted her on her hand. “I think I know why Mingchen likes you so much now. You’re an understanding person.”

Bai Rong was moved to receive a compliment from Song Xiyu which was also a form of recognition. People had always rejected her kindness.

Likewise, Gu Mingchen was pleased to see the two of them getting along well. “Rong, why not you stay here in the future? You can keep Mom company.”

“Sure,” Bai Rong agreed readily. “I thought we’re leaving?” Song Xiyu asked, her curious gaze falling on Bai Rong. “Mingchen decided to stay and face whatever comes his way.”

“What do you have to face?” Song Xiyu looked at her son nervously. Gu Mingchen met her gaze and explained. “There are still things we need to do. Do you still remember your brother?”

Song Xiyu stared at him in surprise. “Yeah. Why?”

“Dad told me that he was the best candidate for the presidency back then. He was talented, accomplished, and competent. He was the youngest governor,” Gu Mingchen recounted, his gaze wandering to a faraway place.

Song Xiyu lowered her eyes, trying to blink away the tears welling up as she thought of her elder brother. “Indeed. He was a talented man. He got into the University of Political Science and Law at the age of thirteen and graduated with a Ph.D. when he was eighteen. He was then sent to serve at the poorest town in the country.

In the first year itself, he managed to bring in investment to the town and get businessmen to fix the roads. During his third year, the impoverished town became the most prosperous in the country. A year later, they promoted him to city-level administration. The city was surrounded by mountains, so he turned it into a tourist spot and planted cash crops.

The city became a renowned tourist destination and took the world by storm just within four years. That was how he ended up being the governor. He was only twenty-six back then. Throughout his governorship, he invigorated the agriculture industry and channeled in business investments once again.

He managed to build better infrastructure like roads and airports to facilitate international trading. Within just four years, GDP grew fourfold. He even mobilized his own assets to build schools providing free education and set up scholarships. And when he turned thirty-two, he was assassinated.”

“Assassinated?” Bai Rong was horrified.

“Yeah. He met a girl in the poor town after he graduated when he was eighteen, and that woman became the death of him. I’ve seen her before. She was older than him by two years, and she was a beautiful woman. She had such beautiful eyes. She never went to school because her family was poor, but she was a bright lady and taught herself English and Granatonian.

She was actually the one who helped him bring in foreign investments and trade partners, and build schools for free education. But my parents ultimately forced my brother to marry another woman from a prestigious family. On the day he passed away, he was at the woman’s house having a meal with her, her sister and her husband, her two brothers, and their wives, as well as their parents.

Her two brothers and their families were also there. On the night of the assassination, all seventeen of them died. None of them survived, and the youngest was a two-year-old boy.”