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

Chapter 491 Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng
Gu Ruinian lived near the Lian family.

The best outcome would be to bump into Miss Lian at the door, just like in the play where Miss Lian falls in love with him at first sight.

Gu Ruinian cherished the beautiful hope of the story of Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng.

Unlike the girls from Qinghewan, the young ladies of wealthy families in ancient times rarely appeared in public and spent most of their days at home, so they were easily attracted to men from outside the family.

He had inquired and learned that Lu Zhaozhao's attraction to Gu Jingzhe stemmed from a chance encounter.

Widow Tong, along with Gu Jingzhe, offered assistance to Lu Zhaozhao and Lu Zhaoyang, and Lu Zhaozhao secretly fell in love with Gu Jingzhe.

Why doesn't such good fortune fall on him?

Gu Ruinian believed that although he was not as handsome as Gu Jingzhe, he was still quite good-looking. His refined conversation added to his gentle and elegant temperament. He could also write love poems and knew all the tricks of the trade. As long as he had the chance, he was better at winning a girl's heart than Gu Jingzhe. He was sure he could have an epic romance with a rich and beautiful woman from ancient times.

He had heard from Matchmaker Wang that Miss Lian was exceptionally beautiful, but he didn't know if she was as pretty as Lu Zhaozhao.

Lu Zhaozhao was the most beautiful girl he had ever met in both his lives.

What's infuriating is that the Lian family's carriage was completely covered up, so even when he passed by the entrance of Wu Ji, he couldn't get a clear look at the appearance of the second young lady of the Lian family.

He harbored resentment towards the Lian family.

First, seeing that he had a chance of passing the imperial examination, the matchmakers from the Lian family took the initiative to arrange a marriage with him. Later, when he failed the exam, the matchmakers from the Lian family stopped coming to their door.

The Lian family, who are so obsequious and snobbish, will surely make him regret his past indecisiveness once he becomes their son-in-law.

Similarly, the second young lady of the Lian family also seemed frivolous, agreeing to meet him only to forget about him again.

I wish I could meet Miss Lian's carriage again at the gate.

Gu Ruinian waited for a long time but no one came out.

He was trying to find someone to inquire about Miss Lian's whereabouts.

"Young man, who are you looking for?"

Old Zhang, the gatekeeper of the Lian family, saw Gu Ruinian lingering at the door for a long time and couldn't help but ask.

A feeling of surprise welled up in Gu Ruinian's heart.

Before he could even figure out how to strike up a conversation at the door, the other person spoke to him first.

Gu Ruinian bowed respectfully to the gatekeeper and said, "Brother, I am Gu Ruinian, the nephew of the owner of Jufulai Supermarket. I would like to visit your residence."

He originally wanted to say Wu Ji, but he was afraid that Wu Ji's terrible reputation would implicate him, so he used the name Jufulai instead.

If he could, he even considered using the name of Tong Huaqiong, the nephew of Suifeng Township.

The gatekeeper had heard of Jufulai, but he had never heard of Jufulai's owner's nephew.

Besides, he had never heard of any connection between the Lian family and Jufulai. Who knows if this kid is using Jufulai's name to do business with the Lian family?

If Jufulai wants to do business with the Lian family, either the head of the household or the young master should come forward; it wouldn't be appropriate for him to send a nephew.

Moreover, they only said they wanted to visit your esteemed residence, but did not specify who they were visiting.

This kid is acting suspiciously; he doesn't look like a good person at all.

For the past six months, the master has been furious about the second young master's affairs. Who knows if this kid is using the name of Jufulai to lure the second young master to brothels? If so, he will be responsible if he lets the person in.

The doorman, Old Zhang, said rudely, "What kind of Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to come here? Do you think I'm just a decoration? Go away, go away."

Gu Ruinian hadn't expected this treatment. He gritted his teeth, took out some silver from his pocket, smiled apologetically, and handed it to the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, saying, "Brother, please do me a favor."

Old Zhang's eyes widened.

He said, "This person is no good; he even tried to bribe him."

Now, the Lian family is managed by the second young lady, a ruthless and decisive woman. If she finds out that he let people in so easily, he'll be fired. Without saying a word, Old Zhang ordered the servants in the outer courtyard to drive Gu Ruinian away.

Gu Ruinian was so frightened that he ran away as fast as he could.

I ran two blocks before finally getting into Wu Ji Restaurant, panting heavily.

"Little devils are hard to deal with."

Gu Ruinian angrily cursed, "He's just a gatekeeper, yet he's acting all high and mighty."

Gu Ruinian secretly vowed that once he became the son-in-law of the Lian family, he would repay the gatekeeper for today's humiliation tenfold.

"Brother Ruinian, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Gu Ruinian looked unhappy, Wu Na went over to comfort him.

Ever since Wu Na failed to snatch the flowers from Wu Musheng, her reputation as a vicious sister-in-law has spread throughout Pingchuan County. These past few days, Qiao Shi has not allowed her to leave the house, so she has had to pass the time in the shop.

Since there weren't many customers in the shop anyway, Wu Na had more time to spend with Gu Ruinian.

Wu Ren had already subtly hinted that he wanted to marry her off to another county, but Wu Na didn't want that; she wanted to marry Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian felt annoyed at the sight of Wu Na and said irritably, "Nothing."

Wu Na said coquettishly, "Brother Ruinian, you haven't been giving me a nice look these past few days. Is it because my father is not nice to you, and you're taking out your dissatisfaction with my father on me?"

Gu Ruinian's heart skipped a beat.

He couldn't let Wu Na see his dissatisfaction with Wu Ren.

He also wanted to salvage Wu Ren's impression of him and stay in Pingchuan County by using Wu Ren's shop.

Gu Ruinian suppressed his nausea, smiled gently at Wu Na, and said, "You've misunderstood. How could I possibly have any complaints about Uncle Wu? I'm more than grateful to him. I'm just worried about our shop's business."

Not good.

Wu Na smiled and said to Gu Ruinian, "Brother Ruinian, would you like to go to the prefectural city to study?"

Gu Ruinian thought to himself, "Who wouldn't want that? They dream about it all the time."

He now spends his days holed up in the shop reading, only able to concentrate in the noisy environment.

Wu Na saw through Gu Ruinian's thoughts and said, "My father dreams of having a scholar in our family. My brother was sent to a private school when he was young, but he was too stupid to learn. My father said that if I were a son, he would send me to study in the prefectural city. Unfortunately, I am not a son. If I could find a husband who is good at studying, my father would treat him like a son."

Gu Ruinian felt a chill run down his spine as he met Wu Na's burning gaze. Wu Na's meaning was all too clear: she wanted him to be her husband.

Gu Ruinian felt humiliated by Wu Na's declaration of love.

Wu Na was neither a talented woman nor a beauty; she was merely the daughter of a village head, yet she dared to covet him.

His bottom line is the second young lady of the Lian family, who is born out of wedlock.

Suppressing his anger, Gu Ruinian said to Wu Na, "Sister Wu, someone as good as you will surely find a good husband who is also well-educated. I think that if one can only study by relying on his wife's family, then he is no different from a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family. To me, a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family is a disgrace to the integrity of a scholar."

Gu Ruinian wanted to go all out against Wu Na, without even considering whether she was worthy of him.

Ultimately, I didn't dare.

Having no other choice but to refuse in this tactful manner, Gu Ruinian felt that he had done a very proper job.

This way, he neither offended Wu Na nor hurt her feelings, but also made his stance clear.

Wu Na completely misunderstood Gu Ruinian's words. She interpreted them as Gu Ruinian having received her feelings and not rejecting her affections, but he would not accept the Wu family's sponsorship of his studies.

Wu Na was deeply moved.

Brother Ruinian is such a principled person; it's no wonder my father is blind to have such prejudice against him.