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

Chapter 327 Cutting off the gossipy habit

Tong Huaqiong was relieved to have a place to house her private school.

"When will you be arriving, sir?"

The village chief asked him the question he was most concerned about.

The most important person in a private school is the teacher. There are no scholars in the villages near Qinghewan. Only Fan Xiucai in Yeniu Valley has passed the imperial examinations, so it is impossible for him to come to the village private school to teach.

Even if he wanted to come, Tong Huaqiong would object.

Gu Jingzhe is even less likely to be involved.

Although Tong Huaqiong told the village chief not to worry about the teacher, as the village chief, he still needed to know who the teacher was in advance so that he could make arrangements.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I asked Jingzhe to ask his teacher to invite a tutor. This Mr. Li is a scholar from Pingchuan County. He is over forty years old this year. His family is poor, so he did not continue to take the imperial examinations. He is currently teaching at a wealthy family's house. However, since the family is moving to the south next spring, Mr. Li does not want to go with them and plans to resign and find another teaching opportunity. When I heard about this, I quickly asked Jingzhe to ask Master Su to invite him. He said that he can come to our village at any time."

"I was thinking that the Mid-Autumn Festival is the day after tomorrow, so why don't we invite them over on the 18th of August?"

The village chief was overjoyed and said, "In that case, I will tell everyone the news today and then organize everyone to clean up the ancestral hall."

The ancestral hall is not cluttered and is easy to tidy up; it's just a matter of placing some tables, chairs, and benches there.

As for benches, whoever's child comes to class brings their own bench.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I'll follow the village chief's arrangements. By the way, I plan to invite Magistrate Liu to give a speech to the village children on the first day of class. On the first day of class, village chief, please organize the villagers to participate. Magistrate Liu will be happy to see that."

When the village chief heard that Magistrate Liu was also coming, he was so overjoyed that he almost fainted.

This is the glory of Qinghe Bay.

Not only will the villagers of this village attend the opening ceremony, but Liu Tielian also plans to invite the village head and all the village chiefs of Yanguan Town to attend the opening ceremony. He can already imagine how envious and jealous the village head and other village chiefs will be of him, the village chief of Qinghewan, when they see Magistrate Liu.

After leaving the village chief's house, Tong Huaqiong went to Liu Yue'e's parents' home on the way.

She remembered that she was out of soy sauce at home, and since the soldiers had been guarding the village entrance for the past three days, she hadn't gone to get any. So she went to Liu Yue'e's parents' house to borrow half a bottle.

Zhao took the soy sauce bottle, divided it in half, and handed it to Tong Huaqiong, saying, "Mother-in-law, Yue'e just came to our house. I'd like her to stay for lunch."

Tong Huaqiong said, "What's wrong with that?"

After leaving Liu Yue'e's parents' home, Tong Huaqiong reflected on herself, wondering if she had been too harsh on her second son's wife.

She has to be very careful when she goes back to her parents' home for meals now.

Liu Yue'e hid in the main room. After watching her mother-in-law walk away, she patted her chest, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and went to the kitchen. While cracking the melon seeds, she whispered to Zhao Shi.

Liu Yue'e told Zhao about her experiences in the prefectural city, saying, "Mother, I'm not sure about my mother-in-law's temper. You might think she's nice to me, but she defended me in front of Da Shu. You might think she's nice to me, but she doesn't agree to me staying in the prefectural city with Da Shu."

Zhao was tending a pot of steaming buns when she looked up at Liu Yue'e and said, "No matter what, you should just listen to your mother-in-law."

She knows her daughter all too well; if you don't discipline her for three days, she'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles.

She understood what her mother-in-law was worried about.

For the sake of harmony within the Gu family, it is indeed not appropriate for their daughter to stay alone in the prefectural city with Gu Dashu.

Liu Yue'e was indignant; why was her mother siding with her mother-in-law?

Liu Yue'e mentioned Chen Sufeng, saying, "Now that the eldest daughter is pregnant, my mother-in-law treats her like a treasure. Where will I have a place in the Gu family in the future?"

“However, her pregnancy is also good for me. This way, Su Fen can't go to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop anymore. I need to get my sister-in-law and Xiu Xiu to get back on their feet and help me take control of the Peach Blossom Dessert Shop. That would be like having half of Peach Blossom Dessert Shop in my hands.” Zhao glared at Liu Yue’e.

My daughter has quite the ability to stir up trouble.

She wanted to keep half of the peach blossom dessert in her hand, but she figured if her mother-in-law found out, she wouldn't give her a single piece and would even kick her son and his family out.

Zhao observed coldly, knowing that the peach blossom desserts would eventually belong to Gu Taohua.

This is her mother-in-law's property; she can give it to whomever she wants. Yue'e cannot overstep her bounds and seize it.

She had to give this temperamental daughter a talking-to.

"Yue'e, don't try anything funny in front of your mother-in-law. If her business grows big, you'll be living the high life, and Yaozu will get his share too. Don't even think about anything else. Your brother's family working at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop is already a source of gossip among the staff. They don't dare make a single mistake, all for fear of embarrassing you and arousing your mother-in-law's suspicion. You idiot, you actually let your sister-in-law and Xiuxiu control the bakery. What are you thinking?"

“If that’s your attitude, I won’t let them do it. I don’t want people to gossip behind my back and say that my family and my daughter have taken all your husband’s family’s things to the Liu family. I can’t bear that kind of shame.”

Zhao gave Liu Yue'e a stern lecture.

Seeing that her mother was angry, Liu Yue'e said in a coquettish tone, "Mother, I was just saying, don't take it seriously."

Just saying?

Liu Yue'e couldn't keep anything to herself; what she said was exactly what she was thinking.

Zhao told herself that she had to get rid of her daughter's idea.

When her son and his family returned in the evening, Zhao decided to have a serious talk with her son and daughter-in-law, telling them to avoid contact with Yue'e in the shop as much as possible, and to work harder and keep a lower profile.

Zhao continued to lecture Liu Yue'e: "Your sister-in-law is pregnant now, so you should treat her with more respect and not compete with her. Su Fen suffered a lot at your hands before, so just consider it as doing Yao Zu a favor and treat her better while she is pregnant."

Liu Yue'e pursed her lips and said meaningfully, "She's now a big favorite of my mother-in-law. No one in the entire Gu family dares to offend her now. She's made such a big sacrifice."

Zhao's heart skipped a beat. She picked up a fire poker and was about to hit Liu Yue'e with it, saying sternly, "Yue'e, what do you want to say? Do you know what you can and cannot say? If you complain to others, they will take the meaning in your words and try to trick you. In the heat of the moment, you will blurt out everything. By the time you regret it and want to make amends, it will be too late."

Liu Yue'e stared blankly at her mother.

She almost blurted out that Chen Su-fen and Xiao Long were acting together.

Fortunately, it was at her mother's house that she interrupted the cooking at the doorway, which stopped the situation.

Zhao tapped Liu Yue'e's forehead and said, "You can say whatever you want about other things, but you can't say anything carelessly about this. Xiaolong is your eldest brother's son. Now that he's back, he's a descendant of the Gu family. Your sister-in-law is being magnanimous by accepting Xiaolong without holding a grudge. You can't use this to criticize her. Xiaolong's matter is between you and your husband. Remember this: if anyone outside discusses this matter with you, don't say a word."

Zhao was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat.

As for whether Xiaolong is Gu Dahan's illegitimate son, Zhao Shi tends to believe that he is not.

Like her, many people in the village had doubts about the matter. Whenever someone tried to discuss the issue of Gu Dahan's illegitimate child with Zhao, she would either avoid the topic or firmly state that Xiaolong was Gu Dahan's child.

She had to say it.

Zhao was not sure if Xiaolong was a remnant of the family, but she had to admit to the villagers that Xiaolong was Gu Dahan's son.

She hasn't been sleeping well these past few nights, fearing that Xiaolong's identity will be exposed and the Liu family will suffer as well.

Unfortunately, my own daughter has a loose tongue and wants to tell everyone everything.

She had to put an end to Liu Yue'e's habit of gossiping.