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

Gu Honglian wanted to lash out, but seeing her sister-in-law dressed in silk and the room full of fine furnishings, she lost her temper.

She also longed for a life like her sister-in-law's.

I want to move into my sister-in-law's new house.

How can I move in if I anger my sister-in-law?

After sitting down, Gu Honglian said with a wronged expression, "Sister-in-law, we've been back for several days. I've missed you so much. I thought I would see you as soon as I got back to the village, but you haven't been here these past few days. I just found out that you came back from the prefectural city, so I rushed over to see you."

Then Gu Honglian said coquettishly, "Sister-in-law, you missed me too, didn't you?"

Thinking about you is pointless. When Tong Huaqiong first met Gu Honglian, there was absolutely no emotional connection between them.

Gu Honglian was a complete stranger to her.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I'm so busy with family and business every day that I'm exhausted. I don't have time to think about people."

Gu Honglian was taken aback.

How could my sister-in-law not miss her?

When she first went south with her parents to stay with her second brother, even though her sister-in-law didn't get along with her parents and second brother, and even though she had hurt her sister-in-law's feelings before she left, her sister-in-law would still ask someone to bring her homemade food and clothes every year during festivals.

This is also why Gu Honglian is confident that she can completely control her sister-in-law.

Gu Honglian's voice choked with emotion as she said, "Sister-in-law, you have no idea how much I miss you."

Tong Huaqiong didn't take the bait, so she joked, "You're fifteen this year, you're a grown woman now, why are you still acting like a child?"

After saying that, she pushed the plate of snacks in front of her and said to Gu Jingzhe, "Jingzhe, invite your aunt to have some snacks."

Gu Jingzhe pushed the snacks toward Gu Honglian.

You think you can just give her a plate of snacks?
Gu Honglian was initially unwilling to eat due to resentment.

But the pastries were just too tempting; their aroma wafted straight into her nose.

She swallowed hard, picked up the pastry, and took a bite.

My sister-in-law's pastries are so delicious!

I heard that my sister-in-law opened a pastry shop with her excellent skills. She not only has a shop in Yanguan Town, but also a branch in the prefectural city.

Gu Honglian ate two pieces in a row, but her mood not only didn't improve, it became even more unbalanced. Since her sister-in-law was so good at making desserts, why didn't she make them for her before?

Moreover, the pastry shop kept it a secret as well as an iron barrel. If the clan chief hadn't sent someone to deliver a message to Old Master Gu, they would still be in the dark.

Seeing that Gu Honglian had finished her snacks, Tong Huaqiong said to her, "Go back and tell your parents that I just came back from the prefectural city today and I'm a little tired. I'll go see them after dinner."

This is an order to expel you.

Gu Honglian was stunned; she never expected her sister-in-law to be so heartless.

She had to invite the person over now, otherwise her second sister-in-law and the others would laugh at her when she returned.

However, compared to her sister-in-law's ridicule, she had more important things to do right now.

If her sister-in-law is willing to let her stay, then it doesn't matter whether her sister-in-law goes to visit her parents or not.

Thinking this, Gu Honglian looked around Tong Huaqiong's room and suddenly her eyes reddened.

"Sister-in-law, you don't know, it snowed yesterday and the old house was so cold. I couldn't sleep. There was no charcoal fire or stove in the house, and my hands are getting frostbite."

Gu Honglian stretched out her hands with tears in her eyes, her fingers red from the cold. However, she had gotten them from the cold on her way back from the south, not from Qinghe Bay.

"The old house has been uninhabited for many years. It's drafty on all sides. The windows that the clan chief patched up were torn last night, and the quilt was damp so I didn't get warm all night."

"Sister-in-law, your house is so big and warm, with so many rooms. Sister-in-law, can I move in with you today? I don't need a separate room, I can sleep in the same room as Taohua."

Let's not worry about anything else for now, let's just move in first.

Presumably, her sister-in-law wouldn't refuse. What her sister-in-law dislikes are her parents and second brother. As long as she leaves them and moves in, wouldn't she regain her sister-in-law's favor?
She really didn't want to live in the old house and sleep in the same room as her niece, Gu Xiaoxue.

She wants to have her own private room.

She had come in and seen her niece Gu Taohua's bedroom when her sister-in-law wasn't home. It was just like a rich young lady's room, and she had been envious of it for a long time.

Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Honglian with a half-smile.

It turns out that all the sister-in-law's plans were to move into her house.

That can't be done.

Gu Taohua came in from outside and said, "I don't like sleeping in the same room with other people."

Tong Huaqiong spread her hands and looked at Gu Honglian, saying, "Your niece is used to sleeping in her own room. You may think there are many rooms in the house, but they are all full of people. Your eldest nephew's family, your second nephew's family, Taohua and Jingzhe each have a room, and Jingzhe has a room for his studies because he is afraid of noise. Man'er, Yaozu, and Xiaolong are all grown up and need their own rooms. Your eldest nephew's wife is pregnant, and I'm worried that there won't be enough room for her baby."

Gu Honglian said, "Man'er and Yaozu are too young. They can sleep with their parents."

Tong Huaqiong said, "No, if children don't sleep well, it will affect the adults. I still need their parents to do chores for me. If they don't sleep well, they won't have the energy to work."

Gu Honglian glared angrily. Her sister-in-law was refusing her entry no matter what she did.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that this sister-in-law was really impatient; she wore her heart on her sleeve.

However, Tong Huaqiong doesn't care about her feelings.

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and then frowned and said, "Your second brother is really something. He knows you are our family's pampered young lady, yet he still brought you back to the countryside in this season. Doesn't he know you are afraid of the cold? He should have repaired the old house and made sure the rooms were in order before bringing you and Mom and Dad back. Since you're all back together, he should at least have prepared a charcoal stove to make the house warmer."

“Your second brother always said that I acted like an older sister-in-law to him. Just look at his way of doing things without thinking things through, and you'll know how unreliable he is.”

Tong Huaqiong scolded Gu Youtian.

Gu Honglian opened her mouth, unsure how to refute.

The eldest sister-in-law's tongue was even smoother than before, and her heart was even blacker. Not only did she not take any responsibility, but she also dumped all the blame on the second brother.

If my second brother had the ability to renovate the old house to be just like my sister-in-law's, would she need to be so subservient to her?

Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Jingzhe, "Jingzhe, give me a few sheets of paper you use for writing. I'll bring them from the old house later so your second uncle can use them to cover the windows for now."

Then she had Gu Taohua take out an unused hot water bottle and hand it to Gu Honglian, saying it was for warming her bed.

Didn't you say you couldn't sleep at night because it was too cold?
Gu Honglian, clutching a hot water bottle, walked all the way to the entrance of the old house, still unable to believe that her sister-in-law had treated her this way.

"Oh my, Honglian is back. My sister-in-law has a lot of influence, she must have invited her sister-in-law this time, right?" Jia Shi said sarcastically when she saw Gu Honglian with red eyes, clutching a hot water bottle in her arms, and looking around to find no one behind her.

Not wanting to be laughed at by her second sister-in-law, Gu Honglian gritted her teeth and said, "My eldest sister-in-law said she would come to pay her respects to my parents after dinner."

When Grandpa Gu heard the conversation between the aunt and sister-in-law inside the house, he was so angry that he almost fell over.

"The eldest son's wife is going too far. Honglian has already gone to invite her, and she still wants to come after dinner."

Shouldn't she come and cook?
In a fit of anger, Old Master Gu ripped off a new shirt he was wearing, the one he had changed into to see his eldest son's wife and grandson from his first marriage. (End of Chapter)