25. Our Folly...2

29 Years Ago...

Since he takes a long time to finish a small job, his earnings were too meagre to even feed him until the next job.

His life became a living hell for the next three years. At this point he was thirty one years old and unmarried and as the only offspring of both his parents, that felt like a sin.

But what could he do when he could hardly fend for himself and part of his house has already collapsed? How can he raise a family with no money and no job?

Chen Gu felt very frustrated at his life. So when his uncle whom he stayed with in the capital gave him this secret task with such a high pay, Chen Gu was more than happy to do it.

In fact who wouldn't be? The allowance was more than his six months pay at what he was earning at his uncle's and to top it up, the extra conditions were great!

He even wondered if it's because of his predicaments that's why his uncle was kind enough to let him do it instead his own sons (that is, his first cousins).

He was promised a new house plus he would be given the funds he needed to renovate his father's house and a large sum of money for him to use for business and farming.

All these were in preparation of making his assigned job easier.

But first and foremost he needed to get married before he could start with assignment but he was not allowed to divulged any information about this secret job to his spouse.

A reasonable explanation was given to him to use when asked about it.

Chen Gu himself wasn't told all the details and till date he still doesn't know that much about the truth other than what his uncle had told him all these years.

His uncle only informed him that due to a situation, he needed a normal home for a newborn baby. And he is the perfect candidate for the job since he has yet to start one of his own.

His uncle explained that he needed the child to be raised in a normal home by a mother and a father and as such should he agree to do it, he will make all the needed provisions for him.

Chen Gu didn't waste much time in agreeing to this.

To him, this was the light at the end of the tunnel and as such he didn't ask much questions about the baby.

At one point later on though, he had wondered if the child he has with him was his uncle's son.

Because the name given to him was Chen Yan which is the same family name as both Chen Gu and his uncle.

Meaning, one will no doubt believe Chen Gu to have given his surname to the baby thinking he was his own child.

But Chen Gu thinks it is his uncle who has given their family name to the baby.

This is why he suspects till this day that that baby is his uncle's son because whether he Chen Gu names the child or his uncle does it, it will still have the same family name.

And seeing that he is the one that is paying for everything is another proof that Chen Yan is his uncle's son and also his first cousin.

In less than a month after he agreed, Chen Gu was given a very big house complex with a wide compound.

A well-stocked trading shop was opened for him and two people were hired to help him with the bookkeeping.

A large sum of money was given to him to use part for his farming activities and the other part for any miscellaneous expenditures before the monthly stipends start flowing in.

In no time at all, Chen Gu was counted among the well to do hems in Zhe and the other neighbouring villages.

This made him quite eligible to marry any of the maidens from reputable families as he himself is also a noble and now quite rich.

Chen Gu didn't see any downside to this secret job he has been given as he hadn't started yet.

He was supposed to start once he got married though the monthly allowance would still be paid but he was expected to do so within a span of three months after he received the first gifts.

It was during the marriage talks that he understood the implications of what he had accepted to do.

He then understood why his uncle thought he was the best candidate for the job but still considering his previous condition, he would've still accepted the job a thousand times even if he knew then what he now realises.

Luckily, his upgraded status from just a poor noble to a rich one made him still attractive enough in the eyes of the maidens and parents despite falling short because of the secret assignment, so he was able to get one of the most beautiful mais from Wu village.

He is the may son of the head of Wu village which is just two villages away from Zhe. Zhe village is a lot closer to the capital city, Beiwang.

Wu Yen was known to be very beautiful but quite spoilt by his parents as he is the only may among his siblings who are all hems.

Now getting married was out of the way but having to keep the secret was the hardest of it all as it wasn't just him that was going to raise the child but it involved both him and his wife.

The reason he was expected to marry was because his wife will be the one to do the actual work. How then are they expecting Chen Gu to be able to keep the truth from him?

The reasonable explanation he was told to give to anyone who asked was that, Chen Yan is the seed between him and a first wife who died at birth.

Though Wu Yen knew that he already has a child before their marriage, he still hated the fact that he had to raise someone's child.