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

Chapter 519 It Takes Two to Clap
"What can I do?"

Grandma Gu panicked; she couldn't accept that her precious grandson would be unable to take the imperial examinations and become an official.

Ruinian is unable to carry heavy loads or lift anything heavy. He doesn't know anything except how to hold a pen. What future is there for him if he goes back to Qinghewan to farm?

Most importantly, this grandson is the hope for the resurgence of the old house and the second branch of the family.

If Gu Ruinian were unable to take the imperial examinations, his eldest daughter-in-law would be incredibly arrogant and would not respect her as her mother-in-law at all.

Being held hostage by her eldest daughter-in-law with no way to break free, she might as well be dead.

Grandpa Gu fell silent for a moment.

Gu Youtian, who had remained silent, stared coldly at Gu Ruinian, having completely given up on this good-for-nothing son.

Since he's useless, we shouldn't have even called that doctor.

“Mother, I am not like Gu Daqiao.”

Gu Ruinian finally spoke.

The way his family looked at him as if he were trash was more painful than the severing tendons in his legs.

Lady Jia collapsed in tears. Her Ruinian, the son she had placed her hopes on, the son who was looking forward to passing the imperial examination and bringing glory to the family, the son who had promised to earn her an official title—all of that was ruined.

Her son's leg was broken, but he endured the excruciating pain and still comforted her. How could she be willing to let such a filial son be destroyed?

It's all Xu Zaohua's fault, it's all that wretched woman's fault.

She is immoral, she is promiscuous, and she brings misfortune to Ruinian.

That's right.

It was Xu Zaohua who ruined Ruinian.

Suddenly, Jia stood up and rushed outside barefoot.

Gu Youtian shouted angrily, "Where are you going? Don't you think it's messy?"

Jia cried out, "I'm going to kill that harlot! I'm going to kill Xu Zaohua! It's all that vile woman's fault that ruined my son!"

Wei and Xiaoxue rushed over and grabbed Jia from both sides. Gu Honglian tugged at Jia's clothes and advised, "Second sister-in-law, what's the use of killing Xu Zaohua? Killing her won't bring back Ruinian's leg."

Jia's body trembled, and she almost collapsed.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wei and Xiaoxue helped Jia back into the house.

The petty-minded Gu Honglian still remembered the satin that Lu Zhaozhao had given her. She saw that Liu Yue'e was wearing the exact same one, which made Liu Yue'e look fair and beautiful. Compared to Liu Yue'e, who had already given birth, wouldn't she, a young lady still unmarried, look even better in it?
She hated her sister-in-law and nephew for their selfishness.

"Second Sister-in-law just scolded Zaohua loudly, but in my opinion, it takes two to tango. Xu Zaohua may have intended to seduce him, but it depends on whether Ruinian is willing to take the bait. Ruinian is the same; Xu Zaohua gave him a hook, and he took it, moving faster than a fish in water. With Ruinian's poor judgment, Second Sister-in-law still hopes that he can study and earn you an official title? I think Second Sister-in-law has made a mistake." Gu Honglian glanced at Gu Ruinian, who was lying on the bed sweating profusely from the pain, and looked on with schadenfreude.

“Jingzhe is smarter than Ruinian. When I was chatting with Pandi at my sister-in-law’s pig farm, Chunni said that Xu Zaohua had tried to lure Ruinian away in the village many times, but she couldn’t. What’s wrong with Ruinian? How come he was lured away so easily?”

Gu Honglian continued to stab her in the back.

"Alright, Honglian, shut up!" Old Master Gu shouted angrily.

Gu Honglian retorted, pouting, "Why should I say less? Ruinian gave my second brother bad advice in the south, causing the family business to go bankrupt. He used my last remaining dowry money to send him to the prefectural city for the exams, but he failed everything. He sold my satin to study, but instead got involved with Xu Zaohua. He's the one who caused all of this, yet you all treat him like a treasure. Ruinian, you should wake up. You're simply not cut out for studying or doing anything great. You're just a country bumpkin from Qinghewan."

"Second sister-in-law, you should look for someone else. You have a grandson. I heard from Man'er that Master Su boasted that his family is the third smartest child in the village, second only to Man'er and Xiaolong." These words cut Gu Ruinian's heart to pieces like knives. Jia Shi looked at Gu Honglian with eyes that seemed to be spitting fire.

Gu Honglian had even harsher words in store, but seeing the old man's grim expression, she snorted and shut up.

Wei looked at Gu Honglian with admiration. Although this little aunt was lazy and greedy and would sometimes cause trouble, what she said today was just what she wanted to hear.

Only his aunt could speak so bluntly, making Gu Ruinian face reality.

This was something she had wanted to say for a long time.

If it weren't so inappropriate, she would have asked Gu Honglian when Man'er mentioned that her Yao family had received praise from Master Su. The Yao family hadn't told her about this.

Mentioning the Yao family, the Wei family wanted to return to Qinghe Bay.

Yao's family is currently being looked after by his second grandmother in the village. I wonder if he's been missing his mother lately.

"What does it have to do with you if the Yao family is successful? If Ruinian is successful, he can find you a good husband. By the time the Yao family is successful and can support you, how old will you be?" Jia Shi mocked Gu Honglian.

Grandma Gu doted on her grandson and daughter, and couldn't bear to criticize either of them. So she turned her ire on her daughter-in-law, scolding Jia Shi: "You don't need to worry about Honglian's marriage."

Then he turned to Gu Honglian and said, "As her aunt, you shouldn't be so petty. Ruinian was really tricked by Xu Zaohua this time."

If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't enter the Zheng family's courtyard, Old Madam Gu would have wanted to tie Xu Zaohua up and drown her in the pond.

Grandpa Gu had accepted the fact that his grandson could neither study nor be granted an official position, but he aged ten years in an instant.

Grandpa Gu was always someone who saw things more clearly than others, so he asked Gu Ruinian, "Ruinian, how come the Zheng family released you so quickly?"

This was the question he had wanted to ask ever since he was thrown back from Ruinian.

Even a fool could figure it out: Gu Ruinian had caused his family such humiliation, they might have even been beaten to death, yet the Zheng family released Gu Ruinian. How could the Zheng family be willing to accept this? He feared there would be even bigger trouble later, so he had to find out the truth.

Madam Wei looked at Old Master Gu. She also had doubts about this, but she didn't dare to ask.

“This isn’t Ruinian’s fault, it’s their daughter-in-law’s fault. They’re in the wrong,” Jia said stubbornly, speaking up for her son.

Grandpa Gu glared fiercely at Madam Jia.

Despite the excruciating pain in his right leg, Gu Ruinian opened his eyes and met the gaze of Grandpa Gu before quickly closing them again.

"The Zheng family." Gu Ruinian slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at Old Master Gu. "The Zheng family needs my help."

He originally wanted to say that he was useful to the Zheng family, but the humiliation he suffered there made him unable to speak of it.

Gu Youtian's eyes widened, and he said angrily, "The Zheng family needs your help? What help could you possibly offer? You little brat, you still won't tell the truth, huh? I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son."

Gu Youtian couldn't stand that even now, this good-for-nothing son still looked down on everyone in the Gu family.

He squandered all the family's money and brought disaster to the family time and time again. How dare he look down on his family?

"Father, don't be impulsive." Gu Fengnian stopped Gu Youtian.

There was no other way but to stop him; he had injured Gu Ruinian and couldn't call a doctor. The money he had just used to pay for the doctor's services was the silver Wei had obtained from pawning her dowry bracelet; he didn't want to cover Gu Ruinian's losses.

Gu Ruinian looked coldly at Gu Youtian and said, "Father, don't you think about it? If the Zheng family didn't need my help, and I didn't have anything they wanted on me, why would they let me out? Xu Zaohua, the wife who gave birth to their eldest grandson, was sent to the family temple."