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

Chapter 167 Young Master Zheng is Gone
Liu Tielian was the village chief and also a well-known socialite in the Qinghewan area. He had a deep understanding of the land situation, so Tong Huaqiong wanted to buy the land through him.

After returning to Qinghewan from the shop, Tong Huaqiong went to Liu Tielian's house.

After hearing Tong Huaqiong's request to buy land, Liu Tielian smiled.

"You really are in luck. There are fifty acres of land for sale at the foot of West Mountain," Liu Tielian said to Tong Huaqiong.

“It’s quite a coincidence. Whose land is that, Brother Liu?” Tong Huaqiong asked.

Everyone knows that the fifty acres of land at the foot of Xishan Mountain in Qinghewan are fertile farmland, but it has never belonged to anyone in the village.

Every year, people come to cultivate and harvest that land, but they never speak to the villagers.

Very mysterious.

Tong Huaqiong was worried that the land might belong to bandits or royalty. If she bought it and they later denied it, she would be in deep trouble.

Liu Tielian said, "The owner of this land was a scholar who came from Moon Bay. After becoming an official, he returned and acquired some land. Later, he committed a crime and his family was raided. This land was reserved for sacrificial land, so it was not confiscated. His descendants were pardoned and could have lived a peaceful life with this land when they returned home. However, they were used to a life of wealth and did not want to return to their hometown after arriving in the prefectural city. In addition, they were not good at managing the land, so they decided to sell it."

Such things are not uncommon in this era.

Tong Huaqiong thought of how Lu Zhaozhao had set up sacrificial fields for the Gu family in the Qinghewan area in her previous life, thinking that if Gu Jingzhe's career encountered setbacks in the future, the whole family would have a way out.

However, before the sacrificial field could be used, Tong Dajiao's entire family was wiped out.

Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong asked Liu Tielian, "How much for this field?"

Liu Tielian said, "The old servant of this family is from Moon Bay. He and I were friends when we were young, so he asked me to sell the land. If you want to buy it, you can get it for 150 taels of silver."

Tong Huaqiong considered it and found that the price was indeed not expensive.

You know, good land is hard to buy, and such opportunities are rare.

She believed in Liu Tielian.

"Brother Liu, I trust you since I've come to you. Please help me arrange this field."

After Tong Huaqiong finished speaking, she placed two taels of silver in front of Liu Tielian and said, "This is your tea money."

Liu Tielian waved his hand repeatedly, saying that he wouldn't be able to become the village chief if it weren't for Tong Huaqiong.

It was just a small favor for him, why would he need money?

Tong Huaqiong insisted on giving it to him, which put him in a difficult position.

I don't know whether I should accept it or not.

“Brother Liu, I know what you’re thinking. You always feel that I pushed you to become the village chief. But Brother Liu, think about it, who else in our village can be a good village chief besides you? Your appointment is what the people of our village want.”

"So, Brother Liu, let's continue our relationship as usual. If you always hold my favor in your heart, it will feel awkward for both of us, and our two families will become estranged in the future. To be honest, you are the elder brother of my second son's wife, and I hoped to have this marriage with you. I don't want us to become estranged because of gratitude or not."

Tong Huaqiong felt that if Liu Tielian continued to treat her as his "benefactor," the relationship between the two families would become very awkward, and it would eventually break down.

Her life in the village required her to work closely with the village chief.

Perhaps she should expose Liu Tielian's true feelings and allow the relationship between the two families to return to a more natural state.

Liu Tielian was deeply moved when he heard Tong Huaqiong's explanation.

He did feel a little awkward around the Gu family, always afraid of accidentally offending their "benefactors," unlike how he acted naturally with other villagers.

“Great Heat Mother, what you said is exactly what I was thinking. Alright then, let’s continue to get along as before, whatever happens, happens.” Liu Tielian then put away the two taels of silver.

Liu Tielian saw Tong Huaqiong out the door and revealed an important piece of information to her.

“You know Zao Hua, right? She got married to the Zheng family in Pingchuan County the day before the Dragon Boat Festival. Her husband died last night, and the messenger arrived at the Xu family today to report the death.”

Xu Zaohua got married the day before the Dragon Boat Festival.

Because of the Xu family's downfall, and because Xu Jin had always looked down on families in the village who weren't surnamed Xu, most of the non-Xu families in the village didn't attend the banquet or give gifts. The Gu family naturally followed suit. Besides, Tong Huaqiong hadn't had much contact with Xu Jin to begin with, so it was normal for her not to attend the banquet or give gifts.

Besides, Xu Jin's family didn't send her an invitation.

Only a few days after the marriage, Young Master Zheng died of illness.

Tong Huaqiong was not surprised at all.

Wasn't the death of the eldest son of the Zheng family inevitable?
Thinking back to how the eldest son of the Zheng family had burned Man'er all over in her past life, Tong Huaqiong felt no sympathy for him whatsoever.

As for Xu Zaohua, she felt no sympathy for her either.

In her opinion, it was much better for Xu Zaohua to have a dead man than to stay with a psychologically disturbed man.

She lived a peaceful and comfortable life as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xu family, adopted a promising child from the clan, and devised ways to manage the Xu family's business. Her life was much more pleasant than having a man.

It all depends on whether Xu Zaohua can come to terms with it.

However, Tong Huaqiong was too optimistic.

At this point, Mr. and Mrs. Zheng had directed their anger at Xu Zaohua. They did not blame themselves for not giving their son a healthy body, but instead blamed Xu Zaohua for bringing bad luck to their son after she entered the family.

In their past life, they relied on Man'er like this.

Harboring resentment over her son's death, she relentlessly tormented Man'er.

Tong Huaqiong was walking home from Liu Tielian's house when she happened to pass by Xu Jin's house.

The Xu family's gate was closed, and faint sounds of crying could be heard coming from inside.

Xu family.

Xu Zaohua's mother, Madam Yu, held a handkerchief and cried her eyes out.

She hadn't expected that Young Master Zheng's condition was so serious; Xu Zaohua had only been married for a few days before he passed away.

The servant who came to deliver the news spoke rudely, implying that Xu Zaohua had brought misfortune to their eldest son.

Ms. Yu was so angry that she almost collapsed.

They haven't even accused the Zheng family of concealing the truth yet.

At first, the Zheng family said that the eldest son of the Zheng family was getting better soon, and Xu Jin and Madam Yu were full of hope, thinking that their son-in-law would at least live to have children.

On the day Xu Zaohua got married, they learned that the eldest son of the Zheng family was too ill to get out of bed, and even the wedding ceremony was performed by the young master of the Zheng family in his place.

After learning this news, they dared not confront the Zheng family. Their only hope was that Xu Zaohua could conceive a child.

Now, with the death of Young Master Zheng, all hope has been shattered.

“My poor daughter, her husband is dead, how is she supposed to live?” Yu cried.

"Just live your life as it comes. We can adopt a child from the clan, and Zaohua will still be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zheng family." Xu Jin seemed not worried at all. "Tong Dajiao died and her husband was still able to make a living, let alone Zaohua? The Zheng family is big and powerful. Even if she were a widow in the Zheng family, her life would be better than that of an ordinary family."

Yu cried and said, "You make it sound so simple. Tong Dajiao doesn't have to serve her in-laws, and she's served by her daughter-in-law. Besides, she already has a grandson. Can our daughter be the same? Our daughter is so young, and she's just going to stay like this? Moreover, her in-laws are not easy to deal with. Are you deaf? Didn't you hear them say that Zaohua (a woman's name) brought death to her son-in-law?"

"How are we going to get through this difficult time?"

The thought of the Zheng couple blaming their daughter for the death of their eldest son made Yu feel sorry for Zaohua.

"Why don't we take Zao Hua home? Widows can remarry sometimes," Madam Yu said to Xu Jin.

Xu Jin flatly refused, saying, "You have to think about our two sons."

Yu began to sob.

(End of this chapter)