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

Chapter 258 Rejecting the Marriage Proposal
Lu Zhaozhao got up and left.

My heart felt empty.

She had already guessed that the person her aunt had arranged for Gu Jingzhe to marry was her.

Now Aunt Tong has refused.

Is she bad?
Lu Zhaozhao was unwilling to give up. Instead of going to find Liu Yanhong, she sneaked to a corner to eavesdrop.

Han was quite surprised by Tong Huaqiong's straightforward refusal.

No, you didn't even hear me mention who he was talking to before you refused.

The county magistrate's mother is arranging a marriage for your son, so the girl can't be bad.

After silently criticizing her for a while, Han then tried to make amends for Tong Huaqiong.

What does this show? It shows that Tong Huaqiong is not someone who tries to curry favor.

Most women, upon hearing that an official's wife was arranging a marriage for their son, would have readily agreed, regardless of the girl's background.

Madam Han persisted, saying, "I've heard that your son has a talent for studying, and it's only a matter of time before he passes the imperial examinations. As the saying goes, one should settle down before establishing a career. Once he has a family and someone who cares for him, he'll be even more motivated to pass the examinations."

Tong Huaqiong laughed and said, "That's true, but we also have to consider whether the girl is willing. Why should the girl have to be attentive and caring for him just because he passes the imperial examination? It's fine if he passes, but if he doesn't, wouldn't that be a waste of the girl's time? What if he changes his mind later and becomes like Xue Pinggui? It would be too unfair for the girl to become Wang Baochuan."

Han: "."

No, if you want to refuse, just say so. How can you talk so badly about your own son?
Tong Huaqiong sighed and began to confide in Han Shi: "This is not an excuse. I have a daughter. If someone told me to marry Taohua to a scholar without any official rank, and that she would have to shoulder the entire burden of the family so that he could pass the imperial examinations, would I be willing to do it? I would definitely refuse. Even if that person were to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations, would my daughter's suffering end? Not necessarily. It all depends on the scholar's conscience. What if the scholar gets tired of my daughter or is favored by a more powerful family and divorces her? What if my daughter, having given everything, ends up in such a situation? These things depend entirely on the man's conscience. I am not willing to entrust my daughter's happiness to a man's vague conscience."

This was Lu Zhaozhao's situation in her previous life.

Lu Zhaozhao, hiding behind the wall, overheard Tong Huaqiong's reasons for refusing, but didn't quite understand.

She felt that Tong Huaqiong was applying a story from a play to reality.

Tong Huaqiong continued, "I don't want my daughter to gamble with a scholar's future, so how could I be willing to let someone else's daughter marry Jingzhe, who hasn't even achieved any official rank yet? Since you've brought this up, there must be a suitable girl you want to introduce to my Jingzhe. With your knowledge, that girl must be beautiful and virtuous, more than a match for my Jingzhe. That's why I can't agree so rashly."

Ms. Han did not have a daughter, but she understood Tong Huaqiong's thoughts.

After her son passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, people came to propose marriage. She refused several marriage proposals because she was afraid that her son would become addicted to women, but she also had the consideration of the girls in the other party.

The marriage was not arranged until Magistrate Liu passed the imperial examination.

Tong Huaqiong's consideration is very correct.

Gu Jingzhe is only a student of the Imperial Academy, so it is indeed inappropriate for him to be engaged so early.

But Han really didn't want to give up. She felt that Gu Jingzhe was a very good young man and Tong Huaqiong was a very good mother-in-law.

When a girl gets married, she not only needs to consider the man's conscience, but also needs to spend a lot of time with her mother-in-law. Often, the mother-in-law is the key to whether or not the marriage is going smoothly.

If Lu Zhaozhao were to marry into the Gu family and live with a mother-in-law like Tong Huaqiong, her life would certainly be more comfortable than if she were to go to other wealthy and powerful families.

Han said, "When I saw Jingzhe, I thought of a girl from my relative's family. I thought that since they are about the same age and have similar personalities, they would be a good match. I did have the idea of ​​playing matchmaker for them. Since you don't have any plans to find a wife for Jingzhe now, I'll just mention this to you. But when your Jingzhe wants to find a wife, don't think about other girls yet, come and ask me first."

"Although you are considering the girl's feelings, saying that Jingzhe's lack of official rank might cause her hardship, what if the girl and Jingzhe are a match made in heaven? Wouldn't it be a waste to miss out on each other?"

Tong Huaqiong thought so too, so she said, "Okay, when my family reaches the age of marriage proposal, I will definitely ask you, sister, to take a look." Tong Huaqiong did not make a definitive statement.

There was still a chance, which put Han's mind at ease.

Many girls Lu Zhaozhao's age are already engaged. The reason why Lu Zhaozhao is not engaged is firstly because Old Master Lu wants to keep her for a few more years and train her to become a daughter-in-law of a prominent family, and plans to marry her to someone in the capital in the future; secondly, her marriage still needs to be personally handled by Lu Zhaoyang, who does not want his younger sister to get married so early.

Han didn't think Old Master Lu's idea was good; it's not easy to marry into a prestigious family.

In the future, Lu Zhaozhao will marry someone from a poor but well-off family in the capital, not someone like Gu Jingzhe.

However, Old Master Lu didn't insist that Lu Zhaozhao marry into a prominent family; he simply had such a plan. Sometimes hope is one thing, reality is another. As long as Tong Huaqiong was willing, Madam Han was willing to persuade Old Master Lu.

"Um, Sister Han, I have something else to say. If the girl has a good match, we shouldn't bring up this topic anymore," Tong Huaqiong added.

She was afraid that Lu Zhaozhao would meet a more suitable match, and that waiting for Gu Jingzhe would be a waste.

"That's for sure." Mrs. Han nodded; she naturally understood this principle.

Han and Tong Huaqiong reached an agreement and changed the subject to talk about other things.

Tong Huaqiong served the mooncakes she had baked herself to the Han family as "afternoon tea".

"You are so skillful, you can even make mooncakes in various shapes."

Out of curiosity, Han tried the mooncakes with ham filling and egg yolk filling.

It is indeed unique and delicious.

However, Ms. Han still prefers to eat five-nut filling.

In her heart, only the five-nut mooncake is a true mooncake.

When Tong Huaqiong saw that Han Shi was praising the ham and egg yolk as delicious, and then put them down after taking a small bite, and picked up the five-nut mooncake and took a bite with a smile, she knew that Han Shi still preferred traditional mooncakes.

I believe that many people in this era, like Han, adhere to tradition, especially when it comes to what to eat during festivals.

Like Ma Huateng, zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are sweet, and mooncakes must be filled with five kinds of nuts and red bean paste.

Therefore, while innovating pastries, Tong Huaqiong will not abandon traditional pastries.

As the sun began to set, Han stood up to say goodbye and return home.

Out of politeness, Tong Huaqiong tried to persuade her to stay.

Liu Yanhong took this plea seriously and insisted on staying.

"Grandma, let's stay one more night and leave tomorrow," Liu Yanhong said, snuggling into Han's arms.

He really didn't want to go back.

The thought of having to get up early to study when he got back made him want to stay in Qinghewan permanently.

Mrs. Han doted on her only grandson. How could she refuse when her grandson made such a pitiful request?
Moreover, Ms. Han had already elevated Tong Huaqiong to the level of a close friend, and she also loved the climate and scenery of the countryside, so she agreed to stay at Tong Huaqiong's house for one night before leaving.

Staying an extra night at Tong Huaqiong's house made both Liu Yanhong and Lu Zhaozhao happy.