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

Chapter 492 Don’t take the initiative and don’t refuse
He dared not look up, afraid that his disgust might inadvertently sting Wu Na.

Gu Ruinian did not expect that Wu Na's eyes would become even more fiery and passionate after hearing his words.

Oh no, Wu Na's feelings for him seem to be even more intense than he thought.

Enough is enough; even in the face of rejection, the young girl, Han Chun, refuses to give up.

Gu Ruinian doesn't like Wu Na, but that doesn't mean he's unhappy with his feelings for her.

Wu Na is just as spoiled and foolish as her aunt Gu Honglian. If she makes a scene, he can forget about staying at Wu Ji.

Since he didn't provoke the girl, he should just neither take the initiative nor reject her.

Gu Ruinian thought that Wu Na's performance this time was not all bad; at least it rekindled his hope for Miss Lian.

He could make Wu Na fall in love with him, and he could also make Miss Lian fall in love with him.

Gu Ruinian smiled, which Wu Na interpreted as a sign that he also liked her.

Wu Na made up her mind that she must marry Gu Ruinian, even if her parents objected.

Although Gu Ruinian was driven away by the gatekeeper, he was still determined to get close to Miss Lian.

He loitered around the Lian family's neighborhood every day.

I hope to meet Miss Lian's maid or old woman.

Women are generally easier to deal with than men.

After waiting for several days without encountering her, they instead encountered Miss Lian's carriage at Jufulai.

Unfortunately, the carriage drove directly to Jufulai's backyard, and he didn't even get a glimpse of Miss Lian's true face. He was so angry that he cursed Gu Taohua and Tong Huaqiong as cunning scoundrels in his heart.

Tong Huaqiong and Miss Lian are discussing going into the pearl business together.

Originally, Tong Huaqiong had no good feelings towards the Lian family because of the uproar caused by Huang Jingshan and the second son of the Lian family breaking off their engagement.

Even the second young lady shares the surname Lian, and she had previously been engaged to Gu Ruinian, so it was even less likely that Tong Huaqiong would remove her from the Lian family.

Therefore, when the Second Miss Lian took the initiative to visit Tong Huaqiong to discuss cooperation for the first time, Tong Huaqiong refused without even meeting her.

Undeterred, the Second Miss Lian continued to visit.

After meeting her once, Tong Huaqiong, with her discerning eye gained from two lifetimes, discovered that the Second Miss Lian was different from the legendary Lian family.

She has ideas, is decisive, and has principles.

When Tong Huaqiong learned that Miss Lian's pearls were not purchased from elsewhere but were cultivated by mussel farming, she began to look at her with new respect.

Miss Lian was interested in the customer traffic at Tong Huaqiong's Jufulai restaurant and wanted to find a spot there to set up her pearl stall.

All the items in Tong Huaqiong's supermarket are self-operated. She had no intention of opening other product stalls at all, but the second young lady came to her door several times to discuss cooperation and the pros and cons, which made it difficult for her to refuse.

Even the second young lady was willing to give Tong Huaqiong 40% of the profits. Tong Huaqiong did the math and realized that this deal was very worthwhile.

Jufulai Supermarket's entry into Pingchuan County, with its wide variety of products, has impacted other shops. Many shop owners see Jufulai as a wolf robbing them of the market. Only Miss Lian saw the new business opportunity and was willing to cooperate to achieve a win-win situation.

Tong Huaqiong admires people who have such innovative ideas, opening their own pearl stall in someone else's shop.

Tong Huaqiong has her own ideas about letting other merchants set up shop, not just in Jufulai Supermarket, but in her future mall plans.

Miss Lian's request prompted Tong Huaqiong to decide to implement the shopping mall model ahead of schedule.

“As far as I know, the Lian family owns its own shops, not only in Pingchuan County but also in the prefectural city. Why would the Second Miss want to place her pearl stall in my supermarket?” Tong Huaqiong asked.

Tong Huaqiong does business in Pingchuan County, so naturally she has a clear understanding of the major business tycoons in Pingchuan.

The Lian family is the largest pearl merchant in Pingchuan County. Miss Lian the Second laughed and said, "Outside, I am respectfully called Miss Lian the Second, but in reality, many people despise me behind my back because I am born out of wedlock. No matter how capable a lady is, even if she is born of the principal wife, her family would never hand over the shop to her, let alone someone born out of wedlock."

Tong Huaqiong understood that no matter how many shops the Lian family owned, they would ultimately have nothing to do with the Second Miss Lian.

The Lian family has three legitimate sons. No matter how much the second young lady does, it's all just making wedding dresses for her half-brothers. Even if the master dotes on her, he will at most prepare a dowry for her when she gets married. He would never hand over the pearl business to her.

If it were the Second Miss, would she be willing or not? She definitely wouldn't be willing.

Even the second young lady is the same.

Starting a new business outside might not be as successful as the existing shops owned by the Lian family.

Partnering with Jufulai and leveraging its customer traffic and reputation could potentially open up a new path.

This is also why Miss Lian was willing to give Tong Huaqiong 40% of her profits.

It must be said that Miss Lian is indeed capable and determined. Tong Huaqiong likes this kind of girl and is therefore willing to cooperate with her.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Second Miss, I can give you a stall. But I'm worried that if I give it to you, Jufulai will get into trouble. Jufulai and the Lian family have always kept to ourselves. If we get targeted by the Lian family because of a pearl stall, wouldn't that be a loss?"

The Lian family has three legitimate sons. As Miss Lian said, the Lian family fortune would never fall to her, and she is unwilling to be a stepping stone for her three half-brothers. She seems to be favored in the Lian family now, but in reality, she is surrounded by dangers. She is unwilling to be a mere foil for her half-brothers, but do you think they will be willing to support her ambitions?

Her starting her own business at Jufulai will definitely displease her three half-brothers.

When her three older brothers came to Jufu to cause trouble, Tong Huaqiong believed she could subdue them.

However, she still wanted to hear what Miss Lian had to say. She only wanted to do business with Miss Lian and had no obligation to clean up her messes.

Even the second young lady smiled brightly, realizing that Tong Huaqiong was even smarter than she had thought.

They were both smart people; she understood what Tong Huaqiong meant.

"Aunt Tong." Miss Lian changed her address for Tong Huaqiong from Manager Tong to Aunt Tong. "We've already cooperated once before."

Tong Huaqiong narrowed her eyes, a thought flashing through her mind. Could it be about Huang Jingshan breaking off the engagement with the Lian family?
Instead of using riddles, the Second Miss Lian simply said, "I heard that you were the matchmaker for Miss Huang and the Lu family of Fucheng."

Tong Huaqiong smiled; she had guessed correctly.

“My second brother is a good-for-nothing. All he does is eat, drink, gamble, and cause trouble for me and my stepmother. How can I let him have a good in-laws?”

Miss Lian's eyes were bright, and she didn't mind revealing how she ruined the marriage between the Lian and Huang families.

"At first, I just wanted to deal with my good-for-nothing second brother, but I didn't expect that it would lead to a good marriage between the Huang and Lu families."

Tong Huaqiong chuckled to herself.

She thought Huang Jingshan and Lu Zhaoyang were a match made in heaven, but it turned out that it was the Second Miss Lian who pushed things along.

It was because of her efforts that the news of the Second Young Master forcing his maid to death could not be covered up. The Huang family took the opportunity to propose breaking off the engagement. Ultimately, under Lu Zhaoyang's further cunning scheme, the Second Young Master was eliminated.

A young master who had lost his lineage was almost abandoned by his family.

It has to be said that Miss Lian is ruthless enough.

How old is Miss Lian?
She's at most two years older than Gu Taohua, but with her shrewdness and skill, Gu Taohua looks rather naive in comparison.

Tong Huaqiong casually asked, "The girl named Qiuyu who was forced to her death by your second brother was from the village next door. It's such a pity about her."

Miss Lian said, "Yes, it's a pity about Qiuyu. Aunt Tong, do you suspect that Qiuyu and my second brother were also set up by me? Whether you believe it or not, I didn't interfere. My stepmother was my father's personal maid, and I feel disgusted by any young master taking a personal maid."

Tong Huaqiong said, "I believe you."

Ultimately, the topic returned to the pearl stall.

After reaching an agreement with Tong Huaqiong, Miss Lian left Jufulai.