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

Chapter 237 Asking
With Magistrate Liu making his move, Tong Huaqiong knew that Xu Zaohua was in for trouble this time as well.

But she deserves all of this, since she was dishonest and used fake medicine to harm ordinary people.

"Xu Yong, you're not human. You're Zao Hua's uncle, what good will it do you to drag her down with you?"

Yu cursed Xu Yong fiercely.

Not satisfied with just scolding Xu Yong, Yu ran to Tian and spat in her face: "You still want your son to live a life of luxury with Zaohua? Keep dreaming! Your whole family can just wait to go to jail."

Yu was pulled away by the yamen runners and sat on the ground crying.

She said that Xu Yong and the Tian family were in jail, and what if her daughter were to go to jail?

The Zheng family never really looked down on Zaohua; she only got the treatment of a young mistress because she got pregnant. I wonder if the Zheng family will protect her if the fake medicine Zaohua prescribed comes out.

"Manager Tong, I will not only remember your righteous act, but if this medicine really leads to a bumper corn harvest in Pingchuan County, I will definitely ask for an official title for you."

After Tong Huaqiong presented the prescription to Magistrate Liu, Magistrate Liu made a promise to Tong Huaqiong.

The imperial decree was very important to Tong Huaqiong, since she planned to expand her business empire in the future, and even a plaque from the imperial court would be a talisman for her.

So giving away a prescription in exchange for a glittering golden amulet is totally worth it!

What made Tong Huaqiong even happier was that Magistrate Liu agreed to her request to sell pesticides.

Anyway, the villagers can't be allowed to mix their own pesticides, can they? What if they end up mixing pesticides that ruin the crops, like Xu Zaohua did?

Pesticides need to be sold.

If Tong Huaqiong doesn't get the right to operate the prescription she devised, who will?
She never intended to distribute the prescription for free indefinitely; she only offered it to Magistrate Liu to obtain an official sales license.

This way, it won't be so easy for anyone to pirate her prescriptions in the future.

Because of official promotion, everyone knows that the medicine to remove ear rot was formulated by Tong Huaqiong. From then on, Tong Huaqiong's pesticides became a living advertisement, and all other medicines sold or formulated by others were considered "fake medicines" in everyone's mind.

Tong Huaqiong is about to embark on a journey to improve agricultural planting techniques.

After taking the baby's pulse, Xu Zaohua was overjoyed at the thought that it was a boy.

Not only was she happy, but the entire Zheng family was overjoyed, especially Zheng Juren and his wife, who were so happy that tears streamed down their faces.

It's a foregone conclusion that the eldest son of the Zheng family will have an heir.

A steady stream of tonics was delivered to Xu Zaohua's room, where she happily ate a bowl of bird's nest soup.

The medicine for corn ear rot was ready, and she gave it to her uncle to sell in Yanguan Town. It was said that it had a good effect as soon as it was sprayed. She told the Zheng family elders about it, and they agreed to give her a shop to run.

It has now been diagnosed that the fetus in her womb is male.

It can be described as a double celebration.

Heaven was kind to Xu Zaohua.

However, Xu Zaohua had a cunning plan. She kept the pesticide formula tightly in her own hands and pretended to be naive no matter how the Zheng family elders hinted at it.

She would never give out the prescription; if she did, would she still have a chance to gain more benefits from the Zheng family?

Xu Zaohua planned to find an opportunity to take the prescription to the prefectural city and present it to the prefect.

At this moment, Xu Zaohua finished eating the bird's nest and was contentedly holding her belly, feeling her son's heartbeat. She was thinking about how to persuade the Zheng family elders to let her go to the prefectural city and how to use her father-in-law, Zheng, a scholar, to meet the prefect. Just then, she saw Granny Cai being summoned into her room.

"What is it, Granny Cai?" Xu Zaohua was very displeased, but because she was pregnant with a boy, she spoke with more confidence.

“Master and Madam ordered me to summon the young mistress. As for what it is, the young mistress will know when she goes to the front hall.” Granny Cai’s tone was flat.

Xu Zaohua tried to figure out why her parents-in-law had called her to the front hall.

Aside from the prescription, she couldn't think of anything else.

She wasn't afraid, since the prescription was in her hands and the Zheng family wouldn't force her to hand it over. Besides, she was carrying the Zheng family's heir.

Aren't they afraid that she will die out her family line?

Xu Zaohua was certain she now had leverage against her in-laws. She planned to use the prescription and the incense she was carrying to gain even greater benefits from them.

"Please wait a moment, Granny, I'll change my clothes and then go," Xu Zaohua said.

Granny Cai waved her hand and said, "No need, Master and Madam are waiting."

Xu Zaohua had no choice but to follow Granny Cai to the front hall.

Upon entering the front hall, two men who looked like yamen runners immediately caught Xu Zaohua's eye.

Xu Zaohua was overjoyed. She wondered if the pesticide she had concocted had reached the authorities.
The county magistrate, Lord Liu, is a man who cares most about agriculture. It must have been his own father who went to the county office beforehand to discuss the pesticides so that his uncle wouldn't steal the spotlight.

No wonder Granny Cai treated her worse than before; she didn't want to see her being commended by the government.

Xu Zaohua looked up at her parents-in-law and noticed that their expressions were not very pleasant.

Indeed, the news of her concocted pesticide reached the government, but it didn't come from the Zheng family; it came from her maternal family. It's understandable that her in-laws were unhappy.

But if you're unhappy, then you're unhappy.

She made a great contribution by developing a pesticide and was commended by the government. With the government's support, even if her parents-in-law were unhappy, they had to respect her.

"Is this the eldest young mistress of your household?" a yamen runner asked.

Zheng, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, was a well-known figure in Pingchuan County. He was not required to kneel before officials, so the yamen runners naturally spoke very politely to the Zheng family.

"That's me. May I ask what brings you two to my house?" Xu Zaohua asked with a smile.

The yamen runner did not answer, but glanced at Zheng, the scholar.

Zheng, the scholar, looked rather displeased and said to the yamen runners, "Just ask me whatever questions you have."

Then he said to Xu Zaohua, "Eldest daughter-in-law, think it over before you answer."

Xu Zaohua didn't understand the deeper meaning in her father-in-law's words. She thought he didn't want her to steal the limelight, and she felt annoyed.

The yamen runner bowed to Zheng, the scholar.

"Young Madam, we are here on Lord Liu's orders to ask you a few questions. What is your relationship with Xu Yong of Qinghe Bay?"

If it were an ordinary person, the constables would have already tied them up.

However, Xu Zaohua is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zheng family, and they cannot rashly kidnap someone in the Zheng family.

So the bailiffs patiently questioned Xu Zaohua, hoping that she had nothing to do with the pesticide and that it was all a frame-up by Xu Yong.

This way, they wouldn't have to kidnap anyone to the county government office, and they could still give Lord Liu an explanation.

Xu Zaohua was a little puzzled as to why the other party would mention her uncle, Xu Yong.

Could it be that my uncle reported the pesticide issue to the government and then claimed the credit for it?
Given his personality, it would be strange if his uncle shared the credit with Xu Zaohua.

If her uncle tries to take all the credit for himself, she will definitely not let him off the hook.

Fortunately, Lord Liu was wise enough to send someone to inquire about her.

“Xu Yong is my uncle,” Xu Zaohua said.

The constables exchanged a glance; that was correct.

"Excuse me, why are you asking this?" Xu Zaohua asked.

"There's another question I'd like to ask you, young mistress." The constable didn't answer directly but continued, "Was it you or Xu Yong who concocted the pesticide to eradicate corn ear rot?"

Xu Zaohua couldn't contain her excitement.

She was right; the authorities found out about her concocting the pesticide.

However, even if the eldest uncle took all the credit, it was useless. After all, Magistrate Liu had keen insight and did not believe the eldest uncle's one-sided story.