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

Chapter 514 I won’t die until I reach the Yellow River

Gu Fengnian handed Jia Shi over to Wei Shi to help her up, and then walked outside.

"Wait a minute." Madam Wei called out to Gu Fengnian, staring intently at Old Master Gu, and said slowly, "Grandpa, the Zheng family is a prominent family in Pingchuan. How can their young mistress and Ruinian possibly find out? If they hear that Fengnian and Ruinian are brothers, won't even Fengnian be caught?"

Grandpa Gu was so flustered that he only realized he shouldn't rush to inquire after being reminded by Madam Wei.

What's infuriating is that they have no connection whatsoever in Pingchuan.

Seeking help from the Wu family?

I'm afraid even the Wu family in Pingchuan can't reach the Zheng family.

“Then I’ll go call Father and let him make a decision,” Gu Fengnian said.

Gu Fengnian has always been indecisive. When Grandpa Gu asked him to go to the Zheng family to inquire, he would go without hesitation. Now that Grandpa Gu doesn't want him to go, he can only go to Gu Youtian.

"Don't go! You can't let your father know!" Madam Jia gasped for breath and hurriedly shouted, "Don't go and call your father!"

If this were true, Gu Youtian could beat Gu Ruinian to death.

Madam Wei said, "Father will find out sooner or later. If he had known sooner, he could have rescued my second brother sooner."

Suddenly, Jia shouted at the top of her lungs, "It's not a lucky year, it's not a lucky year, it's the Awakening of Insects! People outside must have spread the wrong message."

Jia's horrified expression successfully scared Wu Na away.

Wei was speechless. It was already a done deal, yet she still insisted it was someone else's "Awakening of Insects." Her mother-in-law was just stubborn and wouldn't give up until she was absolutely certain.

"Fengnian, this matter must be discussed with Father. Go and call Father. Leave Mother to me." Wei Shi disregarded everything and told Gu Fengnian to go and call Gu Youtian.

Gu Fengnian glanced at his weeping mother and at the old lady Gu, who was wiping away tears, and gritted his teeth to go to the shop to find Gu Youtian.

Gu Youtian was taking inventory, thinking about how to persuade Wu Ren to agree to change the shop's name, and then the entire Wu family would return to Black Dragon Pool, with Gu Youtian taking full control of the shop.

Gu Youtian has been thinking about this matter for the past few days and has no time to pay attention to anything else. He hasn't even asked about his youngest son going to the home of a wealthy young master.

Hearing from Gu Fengnian that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zheng family and Gu Ruinian had broken ethical boundaries and been caught, he was momentarily dazed.

Who is Mrs. Zheng?
How could he be associated with his youngest son?

Gu Fengnian repeated it again, and Gu Youtian understood: his youngest son had slept with Xu Zaohua, the daughter of Xu Jin, the former village chief of Qinghewan, and had been caught by Xu Zaohua's in-laws.

Gu Youtian was so angry that he wanted to grab a knife and chop up this unfilial son.

During this period, the Wu family's bad reputation dragged down Wu Ji. He could stand up a little higher in front of Wu Ren, but this unfilial son gave him a good whack.

Gu Youtian and Gu Fengnian returned to the second house in the backyard, where the whole family was present.

Mrs. Jia and Old Mrs. Gu were shedding tears, and Old Mr. Gu had a worried look on his face.

“Father, Ruinian wouldn’t do such a thing. It must have been that shameless widow Zaohua who seduced him.” When Jia saw Gu Youtian arrive, she quickly defended Gu Ruinian.

Gu Honglian muttered, "Xu Zaohua seduced him, and he took the bait? What's wrong with his brain? It seems that his failure to pass the imperial examination wasn't without reason."

Jia glared fiercely at Gu Honglian.

"Alright, Honglian, stop making things worse." Old Master Gu was afraid that this silly girl would upset Jia Shi and cause her some harm.

Wei remained silent, agreeing with her aunt.

If he were a paragon of virtue, no amount of seduction could seduce him. Gu Youtian's head was buzzing with anger.

Shameful, so shameful!
How could his son do such a disgraceful thing?

I did it, and yet I got caught.

Madam Jia cried, “I remember now. Ruinian told me before that he had become friends with the second young master of the Lian family and was going to the Lian family to keep the second young master company. That Lian family is the same Lian family that the matchmaker Wang came to our door to arrange a marriage between Ruinian and the second young lady of the Lian family. Since Ruinian was in the Lian family, how could he have been seduced by Zaohua? Father, you should find a reliable person to inquire about this, lest you have misheard.”

Jia prayed to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in her heart. If it really was Ruinian, she hoped that the woman was Miss Lian Er and that Xu Zaohua was a misrepresentation.

If it were the Second Miss, there would be no need to worry. Both the man and woman are unmarried, so even if the son gets beaten up, he can still get a wife for free.

Unable to contain her mother-in-law's illusions, Wei said, "I heard that she was captured in the Lian family's courtyard and then handed over to the Zheng family."

This news almost made Jia vomit blood.

"I'm working myself to the bone, while he's out there causing trouble."

"Where am I supposed to find out? I might as well let him die out there, he's a disgrace."

Despite her cursing and resentment, Gu Youtian eventually succumbed to the persuasion of Old Master Gu and the tears of Old Madam Gu, and went to Wu Ren's place.

Living in a backyard, Wu Ren heard the commotion at the Gu family's place but didn't even think about the gossip about Young Mistress Zheng and her childhood sweetheart.

When Wu Na got home, she didn't say anything, fearing that if she did, she and Gu Ruinian would never be able to be together again.

Before she could decide whether to speak up, Gu Youtian came to her door.

After Gu Youtian explained his purpose, Wu Ren was about to explode.

He didn't care which widow's bed the second son of the Gu family was in; what worried him was that if word got out that it was Gu Ruinian, the son of a partner in Wu Ji, wouldn't that make Wu Ji's already precarious business even worse?

He had been hoping that an even more explosive piece of news would emerge from Pingchuan County to overshadow the rumors surrounding the Wu family, so that the Wu family could then find a way to rise again.

Unexpectedly, an even more explosive scandal emerged, yet the male protagonist still revolved around Wu Ji.
What's going on? Wu Ji has taken over all the top headlines and trending topics in Pingchuan! Now everyone can't forget about Wu Ji even if they want to.

How can we turn things around?

"I don't know anyone from the Zheng family, let alone anyone related to them." Wu Ren flatly refused Gu Youtian's request to ask someone to inquire about Gu Ruinian's whereabouts from the Zheng family.

If you really want to find a connection, you can find one. He's not Wu Ren's son, so why bother?

He wished Gu Ruinian would just die in Zheng's arms, so he could gain the reputation of a devoted lover and give Wu Ji a boost in public opinion.

Grandpa Gu and the others waited for news from Gu Youtian, but when they saw him return in silence, their hopes were dashed.

Jia cried again on the spot.

Madam Wei watched coldly. She knew that her brother-in-law had always harbored inexplicable resentment towards the Gu family, feeling that this family was not good enough for him and that he was eager to marry into a higher social class. She really did not expect that Gu Ruinian would be so bold as to get entangled with the young mistress of a wealthy family.

Jia's crying annoyed Wei, who thought to herself, "What's the use of crying?"

Pingchuan already has readily available people, so they don't need to ask for help.

Anyone from the main branch of the family could ask for help more effectively than Wu Ren. The eldest aunt was so well-received that even Magistrate Liu treated her with great respect. Ruinian, being a scholar, didn't need to kneel before officials. Gu Taohua, as the second mistress of Jufulai, was very friendly with all the ladies who came and went.

If we swallow our pride and beg the eldest son's wife, perhaps they will give us a chance to change things out of consideration for the eldest son's wife.

But even if they swallow their pride and beg, will the first wife's family help?