The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 143 They're all drama queens
The child who cried to Magistrate Liu was Gu Yaozu.

It must be said that Liu Yue'e's cousin, Liu Tong, had a cunning mind hidden beneath his honest appearance.

He whispered a few words to Gu Jingzhe, then hitched up a donkey cart and went to Niujiazhuang to invite Magistrate Liu.

Before leaving, his mind raced, trying to figure out how to convey Tong Huaqiong's grievances to Magistrate Liu.

He was ultimately an outsider with no connection to Tong Huaqiong, so it seemed rather strange that he was standing up for his cousin's mother-in-law.

What if it's a child?

Liu Tong thought of his cousin's son, so when he drove away, he took Gu Yaozu from the field ridge and dragged him to Niujiazhuang.

It has to be said that everyone in the Gu family is a master of acting. Gu Yaozu was not intimidated at all. He hugged Magistrate Liu's leg and cried pitifully. Although he didn't speak very fluently, he got the point out that Xu Si, that rogue, had bullied his widowed grandmother.

Tong Huaqiong was unaware that Gu Yaozu had actually put in so much effort in helping Magistrate Liu to uphold justice for her.

They also didn't notice that Magistrate Liu was holding Gu Yaozu's hand as they came together.

But the others and Liu Yue'e noticed, and some looked at Gu Dashu with envy.

Liu Yue'e thought to herself, what incredible luck her son had to be held by Magistrate Liu's hand? Other officials' sons weren't even being held by the hand.

Xu Yong, the village chief of Qinghewan Village, paused as he approached Magistrate Liu. In the past, when Magistrate Liu visited the countryside, he would hold a child in his arms during the fun activities with the villagers. However, Xu Yong still broke down when he saw the magistrate holding Gu Yaozu's hand.

In the past, the children that Magistrate Liu carried in his arms when he went to the countryside were all children of the Xu family whom he had arranged.

Even Gu Jingzhe, a mere student, couldn't get into the core circle of villagers surrounding Magistrate Liu.

When did Gu Yaozu quietly catch the eye of Magistrate Liu?

A bad feeling rose in Xu Yong's mind.

"Father, it turns out my godmother was bullied." Liu Yanhong ran to Magistrate Liu and began to complain.

Magistrate Liu frowned.

The bullied widow was her son's savior.

Last month, his mother took her son to her best friend's birthday party. When they came back, she mentioned that her son had been saved by a widow who made pastries. His mother then told her son to recognize this widow as his godmother.

His mother originally wanted his wife to bring their son to Qinghe Bay to thank Widow Tong.

He stopped him.

As a local official, he has been approached by people who have tried to get close to him through his mother and son over the years. Fearing that his mother and son would be tricked, he has not allowed his wife and son to come to Qinghewan.

He was relieved that no one from Qinghewan had tried to establish a relationship with him over the past month.

It seems that Widow Tong wasn't trying to trick her mother and son, but was genuinely her son's savior.

With this in mind, Magistrate Liu decided to take advantage of his visit to Qinghewan to inspect the fields and offer his condolences to Widow Tong.

Now that Widow Tong has been bullied by a rogue, Magistrate Liu will definitely have to take it seriously.

My godmother was bullied.
Xu Yong grasped the key words: this kid is the son of Magistrate Liu, and isn't the godmother he mentioned Tong Dajiao?

This unbelievable plot twist filled Xu Yong with horror.

If Tong Dajiao is the godmother of the county magistrate's son, then wouldn't Magistrate Liu be Tong Huaqiong's godson?

Xu Yong was so frightened his heart nearly snapped. Regardless of how Tong Dajiao had managed to curry favor with Magistrate Liu, the Xu family was definitely in for a rough time today. "Lord Liu..."

Xu Yong wanted to use his position as village chief to gain some face in front of Lord Liu.

Magistrate Liu looked at Xu Yong with a cold gaze.

How could this village chief be so incompetent, allowing village thugs to bully widows? What kind of behavior is this?

Xu Yong felt the unfriendly gaze of Magistrate Liu, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Lord Liu, as you know, we are all from the same village. It's inevitable that we'll have some minor disagreements from time to time. It's nothing serious. The misunderstanding between Widow Tong and the young men in the village has been properly resolved."

Xu Yong specifically emphasized "young people in the village" instead of mentioning Xu Si, knowing that the Xu family members would implicate him, the village chief.

"Verbal sparring? Isn't that bullying orphans and widows?" Magistrate Liu asked with an air of authority despite his lack of anger.

Xu Yong was so frightened he almost couldn't stand up. He hurriedly said, "Lord Liu, if you ask around, you'll find that Widow Tong is not someone to be trifled with. She'll make trouble for you in the village no matter what."

Xu Yong wanted to slap himself as soon as he finished speaking.

Because Magistrate Liu's piercing gaze almost pierced him through.

Magistrate Liu thought of his own mother, who had also been spoken to in the same way by the clan.

Being a widow is not easy. If you're not strong-willed and have a bad temper, you'll be spitting out by everyone in the village.

To outsiders, that's just a difficult and unreasonable widow.

Magistrate Liu began to imagine that Widow Tong was living a miserable life in the village, suffering from bullying as an orphan and her child, which is why she went to the town to work.

"Village Chief, if you could uphold justice for Widow Tong in the village, would she have to make such a fuss, whether she's right or wrong? We all see how a widow and her children live without a man to lead the household; they're constantly being bullied. For example, in the spring, Granny Yan took two extra feet of Widow Tong's land for planting, and not only did you not uphold justice, you even let Granny Yan take that land. I'm not saying this in front of Lord Liu, but I simply can't stand by and watch." Liu Tielian seized the opportunity to sow discord between Xu Yong and Xu Yong.

Xu Yong knew that Liu Tielian was up to no good when he forced his way into Magistrate Liu's side.

"Liu Tielian"

“Magistrate Liu, the one who bullied Widow Tong today was Granny Yan’s son, Xu Si. He’s a good-for-nothing who makes all the young women and wives in Qinghe Bay afraid to go out. By the way, this good-for-nothing is related to the village chief. He calls the village chief ‘uncle’.”

Liu Tielian interrupted Xu Yong and continued applying eye drops.

The story goes that all the hardships faced by widow Tong, who had to sell pastries in town to make a living, Gu Jingzhe who had passed the imperial examination but dropped out, and Gu Dahan who went out to work to supplement the family income, were all attributed to the difficult life of orphans and widows in the village.

Now that he had decided to bring Xu Yong down, he wanted Magistrate Liu to vividly imagine the miserable state of Tong Huaqiong being bullied by the Xu family.

Xu Yong gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't very well chase Liu Tielian away in front of Magistrate Liu.

Magistrate Liu's face turned ashen as he strode into the threshing ground.

The villagers at the threshing ground automatically made way for them.

"Lord Liu, Your Honor, you must do justice for my mother-in-law!" Zhao, Liu Yue'e's mother, shouted boldly.

What was she afraid of? Her mother-in-law was already the godmother of the county magistrate's son, so she had no choice but to add fuel to the fire.

"Lord Liu," Tong Huaqiong said, her eyes reddening.

When Magistrate Liu saw that Tong Huaqiong's clothes were torn in one corner and that her head and body were covered in wheat awns and mud, he instantly understood the meaning of the fact that the widow Tong had been bullied by the rogue Xu Si.

How dare Xu Si be so arrogant!

(End of this chapter)