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

Chapter 525 Cannot Emerge Twice

"Second brother, it's easy for you to say that when you're not the one suffering. Ruinian isn't your grandson, so you don't care about him?"

Grandma Gu was unhappy that Uncle Gu immediately criticized Gu Ruinian.

Uncle Gu gave his sister-in-law a cold look, then turned to Old Master Gu and said, "Brother, don't take offense at my harsh words, but Ruinian's misconduct has made our Gu family lose face in the village. There are two young men in the clan who are about the same age as Ruinian, and they were being considered for marriage a while ago. But as soon as Ruinian's affair got out of the village, all the matchmakers ran away. If Ruinian doesn't repent and continues to do this, he will bring us great disaster sooner or later."

“If it weren’t for the fact that many people in the village work for Aunt Dashu and earn money, and that everyone respects our Gu family as a result, we wouldn’t be able to hold our heads up in the village because of what happened to Ruinian.”

Grandma Gu looked indignant. Those two boys had no suitors, which was all because their family was poor. How could she blame Ruinian?

From the moment Tong Huaqiong entered the door, Old Madam Gu and Madam Jia felt uneasy.

Grandma Gu felt that with such a big incident happening to the Gu family, and Tong Huaqiong sneaking off to the prefectural city, causing Gu Ruinian to suffer so much, if Tong Huaqiong had stepped in and used her connections with Magistrate Liu, perhaps Gu Ruinian's legs wouldn't have been severed.

Jia was furious that her son would never be able to challenge Gu Jingzhe again.

In front of the village chief and Uncle Gu, Old Mrs. Gu spoke to Tong Huaqiong with the airs of a mother-in-law, saying, "Uncle, what you're saying is true. We do care about our family. What can we do if someone doesn't care about the lives of the rest of the Gu family? If our village chief intervenes, I don't believe this matter can't be suppressed."

Old Mrs. Gu addressed the village head in a sarcastic tone.

Lady Xiang, so what? Let alone Lady Xiang, even a princess would have to give her mother-in-law some face.

Tong Huaqiong scoffed and said, "Is the old lady blaming me? Did I tie Gu Ruinian up and pin him to Xu Zaohua's bed? Did I force Gu Ruinian to cause trouble? If it really was my doing, Gu Ruinian wouldn't have just had his leg tendons severed."

Grandma Gu was so angry that her hands snapped open.

Liu Tielian and Uncle Gu exchanged glances. Gu Ruinian's tendons had been severed, and he would probably never be able to take the imperial examinations again.

Uncle Gu had a bad impression of Gu Ruinian.

He was selfish, never did any work in the fields, and ignored his family's financial situation, constantly asking for money from them under the guise of studying. He was an unreliable person, and the villagers saw him going to Fenglelou Restaurant several times to eat good food. He even pawned his aunt's satin, which was poisonous to his family.
Uncle Gu and Aunt Gu whispered to each other in private that they were afraid Ruinian would become unscrupulous in harming the people and his family after he became successful.

It's a pity that his leg tendons were severed, but it's a good thing for the tribe. At least he'll be quiet now, and the tribe won't be implicated by him.

Liu Tielian offered a perfunctory reassurance: "It'll be fine after some rest."

Lady Jia wept.

Liu Tielian instantly understood; he was likely to be crippled from now on.

Uncle Gu said, “Since Ruinian’s leg is injured, don’t think about anything else. Don’t feel like the sky has fallen. Daqiao’s leg was injured too, but he still lives. He doesn’t complain. He can weave baskets and carry loads to support his family, and so can Ruinian. Don’t think I’m being harsh. Our Gu family has been farmers for eight hundred generations. The fact that he passed the imperial examination on Jingzhe is already a great blessing. Don’t expect to receive two more blessings. It’s enough that Jingzhe brought us honor. Ruinian has impure thoughts. Even if he takes the imperial examination and becomes an official, he might cause a big disaster. His affair with Xu Zaohua is affecting the clan’s reputation. If he becomes an official and causes trouble, it could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the clan. Don’t let the good fortune that Jingzhe brought us be extinguished.”

Tong Huaqiong smiled and thought, "Uncle Gu is truly a remarkable person."

However, Uncle Gu is right. Gu Ruinian is immoral and has ulterior motives. He is also arrogant because he is the male lead and has no moral compass. If such a person goes into officialdom, he will be like Fan Tong in the previous life, causing trouble wherever he goes like a locust.

In this clan-based era, even if Gu Jingzhe, as his cousin, publicly severed ties, he would still be seen as one family by outsiders. Gu Jingzhe would have to clean up his messes, potentially extinguishing the ancestral spirits that had been painstakingly preserved in the Gu family. Uncle Gu's concerns were not unfounded.

Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Ruinian's legs. It was good that they were crippled. His path to scientific research was cut off, and he wouldn't be able to make a fuss in that tiny place, Qinghewan.

Liu Tielian wanted to laugh but dared not, so he picked up his teacup and drank some tea to cover it up.

He agreed with Uncle Gu's words. If Gu Ruinian were a member of his own clan, he would probably lock him up to prevent him from corrupting other ambitious young people in the clan.

Gu Ruinian's hands were clenched tightly. Had even the clan abandoned him?

Well, just wait and see; he hasn't been completely defeated yet.

When Jia's heartache over Ruinian's inability to take the imperial examinations was touched upon, she burst into tears again.

Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu were displeased upon hearing this, their faces turning ashen as if they had been slapped in public.

However, Uncle Gu always spoke directly, and the elderly couple didn't know how to refute him.

Grandpa Gu forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace. He couldn't afford to turn against his own brother, as he still needed to rely on Uncle Gu for everything in the village.

The most pressing issue right now is how to deal with the Xu family.

Jia's words sound nice, that she wanted to settle accounts with the Xu family and ask them how they raised their daughter, but could she really settle accounts as she pleased?

The Xu family is not someone to be trifled with.

Grandpa Gu regretted it a bit. If he had known, he would have cultivated a good relationship with the eldest son's family when he returned to Qinghe Bay. Now, the only ones who could easily dominate the Xu family were his eldest daughter-in-law and Jingzhe.

"Ruinian was at fault in this matter," Old Master Gu finally spoke, slowly saying, "Ruinian has also been punished, losing a leg. What does the Xu family want Ruinian to compensate for? His life? The government hasn't convicted Ruinian, so why should the Xu family take his life? I would like to ask the village chief to mediate and have a good talk with the Xu family to see what they really want. My Gu family will give whatever we can without hesitation."

Liu Tielian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Grandpa Gu had finally mentioned the purpose of his visit.

However, he didn't like what Grandpa Gu said; even at this point, he was still acting all high and mighty.

Xu Jin and his gang were certainly no good, but what kind of good person was Gu Ruinian?

After pondering for a moment, Liu Tielian said, "The Xu family is angry right now. They smashed up your old house, so just accept it as a loss and don't hold it against them. Even if the Xu family doesn't take Ruinian's life, they can't escape punishment for him. This is what they mean by 'the death penalty may be avoided, but the punishment is inescapable.'"

The Xu family did want Ruinian dead, but for the sake of the village chief's authority, he had to stop them from killing him.

Grandma Gu squinted and said, "No one can touch a hair on Ruinian's head. The Xu family wouldn't dare!"

Liu Tielian laughed, "Whether you dare or not is not up to an old lady like you to decide."

“Auntie, think about it. If this were the Xu family in the past, they probably would have taken Ruinian back and beaten him to death long ago. These past few days, it's all thanks to my second uncle and me mediating. To put it bluntly, they just want to vent their anger now, and you have to let them do so. If you don't let them vent their anger now, they might find an opportunity to do even more harm to Ruinian later. It's fine if you don't go back to the village, but you'll still have to live in Qinghewan in the future. I'm here to discuss this with you not because I'm biased towards the Xu family, but because of Aunt Dashu’s sake, I'm taking care of your family.”