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

Chapter 456 Sending Holiday Gifts to the Old House

Gu Honglian pouted and looked down into the corridor.

Tong Huaqiong gave the old house quite a lot of gifts for the holiday.

Two chickens, two fish, five catties of pork, a basket of cherries, a bag of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and a pair of shoes for Grandpa Gu, Grandma Gu, and Gu Honglian.
This gift was considered generous by the villagers who valued filial piety.

Gu Honglian walked over and casually picked up the three pairs of shoes and put them in her arms.

If she only had one pair of shoes, she would feel it wasn't enough, but now that Lu Zhaozhao had given her a bolt of satin, she felt the holiday was alright.

"Dahan, I can't carry all this stuff. Can you deliver it for me?" Gu Honglian instructed Gu Dahan, who was chopping wood.

Gu Jingzhe said, "Auntie, let me deliver it for you. Don't ask your older brother to do it; he's busy."

He bent down, picked up the chicken and fish, and then picked up the cherries.

Gu Taohua picked up the pork and zongzi and said, "I'll go with Third Brother."

When Lu Zhaozhao saw that Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua were going to the old house, she wanted to go with them.

So the three of them accompanied Gu Honglian through the village road to the old house.

Along the way, many people joked about Gu Jingzhe.

While Grandpa Gu was at home twisting hemp rope, he asked Gu Honglian to go to the main house to invite Tong Huaqiong and others to the old house for the festival, not because he really wanted them to come.

He knew Tong Huaqiong wouldn't come, but he did this to embarrass Tong Huaqiong in front of his future granddaughter-in-law.

My parents-in-law live in the village; how can I celebrate the festival alone without them?

Many people in the village have separated their households, but they still celebrate all festivals together as a family, which is the proper custom and filial piety.

When Gu Jingzhe got engaged, Tong Huaqiong bypassed the old house and him, which made him very angry.

Although marriage is supposed to be arranged by parents and matchmakers, Gu Jingzhe was the only one who arranged his marriage without the help of his grandparents, who were still alive.

Moreover, even though her grandson's wife had come to visit, Tong Huaqiong did not intend to have Lu Zhaozhao come to acknowledge her as a relative.

Grandpa Gu had been holding back a lot of anger for some time, and he took advantage of Lu Zhaozhao's time in Qinghe Bay to unleash it.

"Father, my sister-in-law said she's not coming." Gu Honglian showed the shoes to Old Master Gu as she entered the door and said, "These are the shoes my sister-in-law gave us."

Grandpa Gu didn't even lift his eyelids.

"grandfather."

"Grandpa, we've come to bring you holiday gifts."

Gu Taohua and Gu Jingzhe followed Gu Honglian through the door, carrying gifts.

Grandpa Gu looked up and saw a beautiful young woman entering with Gu Taohua.

She knew that she was Gu Jingzhe's betrothed.

Gu Jingzhe then introduced Zhaozhao to Grandpa Gu: "Grandpa, this is Zhaozhao."

"Hello grandpa."

When Lu Zhaozhao saw Grandpa Gu looking her over, she greeted him politely.

Grandma Gu, along with Wei and Gu Xiaoxue, were busy in the kitchen when they heard that Lu Zhaozhao had come to the old house and were incredulous.

Given Tong Huaqiong's temperament, they weren't even allowed to attend the engagement ceremony, so why is Lu Zhaozhao being invited to the family now?

Jia was thinking that, according to custom, their second branch of the family should give Lu Zhaozhao a gift, but now the family was so poor that they had nowhere to give a gift.

Even if she could afford it, she wouldn't be willing to give it to Tong Dajiao's daughter-in-law.

Jia and Wei came out of the kitchen.

Grandma Gu was putting on airs and refused to come out, thinking that even if she came to acknowledge the family, Lu Zhaozhao would have to pay her respects first.

When Jia saw Lu Zhaozhao, she was momentarily stunned.

She only knew that Lu Zhaozhao came from the Lu family, a royal merchant family, and thought she was just a vulgar merchant's daughter. She didn't expect that Lu Zhaozhao's demeanor was no less than that of the young ladies from noble families in the south, and even her appearance was impeccable.

Gu Jingzhe and Tong Dajiao must have had incredible luck to catch the eye of the imperial merchant.

Lu Zhaozhao smiled at Jia Shi and, following Gu Jingzhe's lead, addressed her as "Second Aunt." Jia Shi forced a smile in response and praised Lu Zhaozhao a couple of times.

A sense of sadness welled up in my heart. If Ruinian had topped the imperial examination, this marriage might have been Ruinian's.

Such a beautiful girl, such a wealthy family background, and I heard that one of her brothers just became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Wei felt that her mother-in-law was very rude. No matter what, it was inappropriate for the eldest son's daughter-in-law, who was not yet married into the family, to come and acknowledge the new family.

Even if you're going to pretend, at least pretend to be enthusiastic.

Wei praised Lu Zhaozhao enthusiastically, saying, "I've heard that Jingzhe has arranged a good marriage, saying that the girl is beautiful and well-mannered. Seeing her today, I can confirm that it's no exaggeration."

Then he joked, "Jingzhe is a lucky person."

Lu Zhaozhao blushed slightly upon hearing Wei's praise.

Wei said, "Please come inside."

Then he asked Gu Xiaoxue to boil water and make tea.

Gu Jingzhe said, "Sister-in-law, don't rush. We've come to deliver holiday gifts to Grandpa and Grandma. We'll go back as soon as we put the things down."

Grandpa Gu was stunned.

So they weren't here to learn about the place.

This completely disregards his status as an elder; Gu Jingzhe is, after all, his grandson from the Gu family.

Anger welled up inside him, and he couldn't help but say, "Is your mother afraid that we'll benefit from your wife's fame? You should take her back quickly, so that others won't think we have any ulterior motives."

Gu Jingzhe said, "Grandpa, why do you think like that? I'm here to give you a holiday gift. As for what you mean by 'taking advantage,' it's indeed inappropriate to take advantage of the Lu family. If you really want to take advantage, then your grandson will work hard in the future so that you can take advantage of me, okay?"

Old Master Gu snorted.

Then he asked, "When are you getting married?"

Gu Jingzhe said, "When I pass the imperial examination with flying colors."

Grandpa Gu felt that Aunt Tong was incompetent after waiting for so long. Shouldn't such a good daughter-in-law have gotten married sooner?
Jia's face was equally grim; Gu Jingzhe's words about passing the imperial examination had deeply stung her.

Ever since Gu Ruinian failed the imperial examination, any topic related to studying and exams would sting Jia Shi.

Gu Taohua waved the meat in her hand and asked, "It's so heavy, sister-in-law, where should we put it?"

Madam Wei quickly took it and said, "Put it in the kitchen."

Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua then carried the things to the kitchen.

Grandma Gu was chopping vegetables when she saw Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua carrying meat in, so she straightened up.

Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua greeted Old Lady Gu, who snorted in response.

Gu Xiaoxue timidly raised her head and called out, "Brother Jingzhe, Sister Taohua."

When Gu Taohua saw that Gu Xiaoxue's clothes were tattered and short, she couldn't help but shake her head. Her second aunt was too careless, dressing her only daughter like this. No wonder Gu Xiaoxue, who was clearly very pretty, was reluctant to go out all day. Even when she did go out, she would lower her head and hunch her shoulders to hide herself. How could she be embarrassed to appear in front of others in such tight clothes?

Lu Zhaozhao did not follow Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua to the kitchen, but instead stood in the courtyard chatting with Wei Shi.

A pair of eyes were fixed on Lu Zhaozhao, who was standing next to Wei Shi, from under the eaves.

It can be said that Lu Zhaozhao was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in both his lives, even more beautiful than the college class beauty he had a crush on.

Thinking of the class beauty, Gu Ruinian felt a surge of hatred.

Back then, in order to pursue the class beauty, he took half a month's salary from his sister on Valentine's Day to buy roses and gifts. He arranged candles in a circle under the girls' dormitory and shouted the class beauty's name, hoping that she would become his girlfriend.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the class beauty came down, and he thought she would be so moved that she would throw herself into his arms.

Unexpectedly, the class beauty brought a basin of water and extinguished all the candles before walking away.

He was speechless with embarrassment, holding the roses and gifts, his heart bleeding, and he became the laughingstock of the class.

Lu Zhaozhao reminded him of the unbearable pain of his previous life.

For a moment, he projected his hatred for the class beauty onto Lu Zhaozhao.

A girl like Lu Zhaozhao should be his. His engagement to Gu Jingzhe was just because he saw Gu Jingzhe as a promising prospect.