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

Chapter 395 Crying is Contagious
After presenting the gift, Tong Huaqiong sat down.

Jia and Gu Youtian exchanged a glance.

My sister-in-law is so stingy.

Grandpa Gu took a puff of his pipe and said with a displeased expression, "I heard you've become quite capable now, starting a business, opening a shop, and building a new house."

Tong Huaqiong pretended not to understand the sarcasm, put her hands together and said, "Thanks to Buddha's blessing, he gave us, a widow and her children, a way to survive. This family, young and old, all need to eat, and there's no man to support the household. How can we make a living if I don't do business?"

Old Master Gu's lips twitched as he pondered how to make demands of his eldest daughter-in-law.

If his eldest daughter-in-law were to get angry easily as before, he would still have a way to deal with her.

He can't figure out what his eldest daughter-in-law is thinking.

Grandma Gu glared at Tong Huaqiong and finally couldn't hold back any longer, saying, "Eldest daughter-in-law, according to the old custom, you haven't finished your three-year mourning period yet. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you for dressing like this? You also have sons and daughters. Don't you think about them?"

Tong Huaqiong scoffed, "You said it yourself, it's the old rule. Old Gu is dead, and there's no income for the family. It's all thanks to my business that everyone has something to eat. Second brother knows that when doing business, people respect people's appearance before their character. If I were dressed in rags, who would care about me? It's their business if others laugh at me. I haven't cheated on anyone, and I haven't robbed anyone, so who would laugh at me?"

Grandma Gu clutched her chest in anger. Although she hadn't cheated on her husband, how could any man not want to steal her when she was dressed like that?

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Gu Jingzhe and the others and said, "I'm already doing these kids a favor by providing them with food, clothing, and education. Why should I care about them?"

shameless.

Grandma Gu wanted to hurl a few harsh words at Tong Huaqiong.

In the end, I held back.

There was no other way; the youngest son's business went bankrupt, and he had no future. He would have to rely on his eldest daughter-in-law in the village.

Tong Huaqiong glanced around and saw that the entire second branch of the family was there.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Why did my second brother return to his hometown all of a sudden?"

Zhao told Tong Huaqiong that the second wife's business had lost money, which was why she returned to her hometown. Tong Huaqiong was inclined to believe this explanation.

Otherwise, why would anyone who's making a fortune abroad want to return to their hometown to live a normal life?

Gu Youtian was clearly uncomfortable with Tong Huaqiong's question.

Just as Grandpa Gu was about to speak, his grandson Gu Ruinian spoke first.

Gu Ruinian said, "Auntie, as the saying goes, a tree may grow a hundred feet tall, but its leaves will eventually fall back to its roots. In addition, Grandpa and Grandma are getting old and have become increasingly homesick in the past two years, so Dad decided to move the whole family back to Qinghewan. I believe that if Uncle were here, he would also appreciate Dad's filial piety."

He knew what his grandfather was thinking; he wanted his aunt to lend him money to start his business.

It's not the right time to talk about these things; if we mess it up, it could backfire.

Tong Huaqiong looked towards the lamplight.

I noticed a clean-dressed boy.

As for her looks, she's of average appearance. Not to brag, but she's far inferior to her adopted son, Gu Jingzhe.

It's basically the difference between ordinary people and big stars.

This is Gu Ruinian, the second son of the second wife. He was the one who went to the house today to call her to come upstairs, but Gu Jingzhe sent her away.

As soon as Gu Ruinian said this, Gu Dahan and Gu Jingzhe glanced at him slightly.

This cousin of mine has always been unruly; when did he ever speak so politely?

However, this statement contained a hidden meaning, implying that Tong Huaqiong was not filial.

Tong Huaqiong nodded to Gu Ruinian and said, "This must be Ruinian. It's been several years since I last saw him. He speaks more eloquently now, and he's even more handsome than before."

Madam Jia looked at Gu Ruinian with doting eyes and said proudly, "My Ruinian passed the imperial examination last year."

Gu Jingzhe's mouth dropped open in surprise.

This cousin, a few months younger than me and always mischievous, who barely knew any characters, actually passed the imperial examination. It's simply unbelievable.

Grandpa Gu said, "Ruinian is our family's unicorn. He will take the imperial examination next month to become a scholar."

This is because Gu Jingzhe was deliberately ignored.

When Jia heard Old Master Gu praise Gu Ruinian, she looked smug and said to Tong Huaqiong, "Jingzhe has been good at studying since he was little. My parents said he also passed the preliminary examination last year. I thought he had already passed it a long time ago. He will also take the county-level examination next month. He is half a year older than Ruinian. I will feel at ease knowing that the two brothers will have him as their older brother."

This is because Gu Jingzhe is older than Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian told Jia that Gu Jingzhe was a child prodigy but not necessarily a great adult, and now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Tong Huaqiong secretly curled her lip; her Gu Jingzhe was destined for high office.

Even if he was a notorious traitor in his past life, he was still a top scholar who fought his way through countless battles; he just went astray.

Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong said, "What's so great about being a scholar? My Jingzhe will be a third-place scholar in the future. Jingzhe's disadvantage is his face. If it weren't for the fact that his face is so good-looking like mine, he would definitely be a top scholar in the future."

Gu Jingzhe: "."

Gu Ruinian: "."

This aunt is ridiculously confident. Even a modern 985 university graduate wouldn't dare make such a boast. How could this ancient rural woman dare to do it?

Gu Ruinian smiled impeccably and said to Gu Jingzhe, "Then I'll congratulate you in advance on winning third place."

Ignoring Gu Ruinian's sarcasm, Gu Jingzhe said expressionlessly, "How does my brother know I won't become the top scholar?"

Gu Ruinian: "."

Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Jingzhe with a smile.

This cunning son is getting more and more interesting.

She really hoped that the old emperor in Shengjing could ignore Gu Jingzhe's good looks and just appoint him as the top scholar.

Jia's eyes darted around; she wanted to win back a round.

Upon spotting Gu Taohua, he asked with a smile, "Is Taohua engaged yet?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "Not yet, she's still young."

Madam Jia sighed, "That's true. It's never as comfortable as being a daughter-in-law in your own family. It's better to get married a few years later. My Xiaoxue has had too many marriage proposals these past two years. I'm afraid of offending anyone if I agree to one or the other, so I haven't given my consent. The other day I was saying that now that she's come to our house, all the old connections are gone and I don't have to worry about matchmakers anymore. But I didn't expect that matchmakers would come to our door again yesterday."

Gu Xiaoxue sat to the side, her face flushed.

Jia thought that Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua would react violently, but Gu Honglian reacted violently instead.

"Second sister-in-law, what do you mean? Are you implying that I'm unwanted? Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You're deliberately trying to steer good marriages toward Xiaoxue so I won't see them."

After saying that, she buried her face in Grandma Gu's arms and began to sob.

Grandma Gu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

In the past two years, Grandma Gu has asked people to find a husband for Gu Honglian, but Gu Honglian has a bad personality and is of average appearance, so every match she's been asked has fallen through.

They finally got engaged, but when they heard that the second son's business had failed and he had returned to his hometown, they had the matchmaker break off the engagement with Gu Honglian.

Gu Honglian's shrill cries scraped painfully against Tong Huaqiong's eardrums.

Old Madam Gu scolded Jia Shi, "Honglian is right, you're just deliberately trying to cause trouble. You know your sister's engagement has been broken off, yet you keep proposing marriage to her. Last year, someone told Honglian that the Xu family's young master and Scholar Chen had run into trouble, don't think I don't know it was you who sabotaged things, trying to stop them from marrying Xiaoxue. Don't you even consider whether Xiaoxue is a good match?"

Jia looked embarrassed after being scolded.

Gu Xiaoxue, caught in the storm, was restless and felt as if she were being pricked by needles, looking completely at a loss.

After finally managing to coax Gu Honglian, Grandma Gu herself ended up crying.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Crying is contagious! This mother and daughter are never going to stop."