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

Chapter 532 Don't Become a Miserable Wife in a Play
As soon as Tong Zhaodi and Tong Zhijie entered the martial arts studio, their eyes darted around.

Although this shop is not as spacious or as well-stocked as my aunt's Jufulai, nor as bustling or crowded, it is still a shop in the county town.

Tong Zhaodi had already started making plans. After she married Wu Musheng, the shop would be hers. She could run the business if she wanted, or sell it and collect rent if she didn't.

"Why is no one at the shop?" Tong Zhijie asked.

People were coming and going from the neighboring shops, but Wu Ji didn't have a single customer. Tong Zhijie was puzzled.

Wu Na forced herself to say, "It's getting late, and the guests have all gone home."

She hurriedly dealt with Tong Zhaodi and Tong Zhijie, pointed to the three rooms in the backyard and said, "My parents are there. You can go there first. I have something to do."

Tong Zhaodi said, "Okay, you go ahead and do your work. Zhijie and I will take the mountain produce we brought from home to Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu."

Tong Zhaodi straightened her back. She was determined to win over Wu Ren and his wife. Once they agreed, she could marry Wu Musheng.

Wu Na ran quickly to the warehouse.

Hearing Wu Na's movement, Gu Ruinian looked up and gazed at her expectantly.

Wu Na said, "I have already sent the message to the Zheng family."

Gu Ruinian looked up, grasped Wu Na's hand, and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you down."

Wu Na lowered her head and sneered, then quickly raised her head and said in a sweet voice, "I won't dislike you. Once you can get out of bed, I'll tell my father to arrange our marriage."

She was persuaded by Gu Ruinian and agreed to help him deliver a message to the Zheng family.

But when she arrived at the Zheng family's door, she wanted to come to her senses. If Gu Ruinian rose to power with the help of the second young master of the Zheng family, wouldn't they look down on her, the daughter of the village head?

If she wanted Gu Ruinian to marry her willingly, she had to keep him firmly in the hands of the Wu family.

Without hesitation, she tore up the note written by Gu Ruinian and threw it into the river, then walked around outside and came back as if nothing had happened.

It's still uncertain who will be trapped.

Gu Ruinian said, "Don't rush, let's put our business aside for now. If you go and talk to Uncle Wu now, he'll definitely not agree in his anger. Wait for me to think of a way to improve Wu Ji's business. Once Uncle Wu is happy, he'll agree."

Gu Ruinian was terrified by what happened at the Zheng family's house. He was afraid that Wu Ren would find out that he had seduced Wu Na and then break his other leg.

Wu Na is of great use to him, and he will definitely marry her, but he needs to make the Wu family willing to marry her to him.

Upon hearing Gu Ruinian avoid discussing her marriage, Wu Na thought to herself, "Gu Ruinian really does want to use me."

Fortunately, she wasn't so foolish as to be taken advantage of by him.

Wu Na had already planned it out. After she and Gu Ruinian got married, she would get rid of the Gu family, including Old Master Gu and Gu Youtian. She would rent out Wu Ji, and Gu Ruinian would focus on his studies. She would become a scholar's wife and a licentiate's wife. She hadn't thought about anything further. She felt that she would be satisfied if Ruinian could pass the imperial examination and become a licentiate.

As for the imperial examinations in Beijing, she had no intention of letting Ruinian go.

The opera tells the story of a poor young man who goes to the capital to take the imperial examination, becomes the top scholar, and then abandons his wife who has shared his hardships. She doesn't want to be that kind of wife in the opera.

She wanted to have Gu Ruinian firmly under her control.

Looking at Wu Na's flushed face, Gu Ruinian felt a surge of annoyance. He closed his eyes and said, "Wu Na, I'm a little sleepy." He hoped that the Second Young Master Zheng could use his message to threaten the Xu family not to cause him trouble.

"Okay, you go to sleep first, I'm going out. If you need to send messages or anything in the future, just leave it to me." Wu Na nodded, considerately tucked Gu Ruinian in, and then smiled as she left.

The Wu family in the backyard.

When Tong Zhaodi and Tong Zhijie arrived without prior notice, Wu Ren and Qiao Shi's expressions turned rather unpleasant.

In their minds, Tong Pandi had disgraced them, and Tong Huaqiong had stolen Wu Ji's business. They believed that anyone with the surname Tong was a bad person, and Tong Fusheng and his family were no exception.

Wu Musheng showed no kindness to Tong Zhijie, but greeted Tong Zhaodi with a smile.

Wu Musheng is still hopeful for Tong Pandi. In the past, Tong Pandi disliked everyone in the Tong family except for Tong Zhaodi. Perhaps his former sister-in-law can help him bring Tong Pandi back to the Wu family.

"What brings you to my house?" Mrs. Qiao asked.

Tong Zhaodi said, "Tong Pandi ruined the reputation of Musheng and Wu Na. My parents were so angry that they asked my brother and me to atone for your sins."

Qiao said calmly, "There's no need for atonement. Our Wu family can't afford any girls from the Tong family."

Tong Zhaodi's heart skipped a beat, but she said with a smile, "Aunt Wu, Tong Pandi is no longer considered a daughter of the Tong family. She can neither give birth to a son nor be filial to her parents-in-law. Our Tong family will not have a daughter like her in the future."

Then, she said ingratiatingly, "Aunt Wu, Tong Pan and I are sisters after all. She hurt you, so I apologize on their behalf. You can scold or hit me, I won't say a word. I just ask that our family relationship continue."

Qiao said, "I heard that your family has arranged a marriage for you, saying you'd be a second wife for someone in the prefectural city?"

Tong Zhaodi blushed and didn't know how to speak, but Qiao said gently, "Your father is quite capable. In that case, we'll visit each other as relatives after you get married."

Before Tong Zhijie could say anything, Tong Pandi quickly interjected, "Aunt Wu, look at what you're saying. I've always regarded you and Uncle Wu as elders. This marriage was arranged by my father's old classmate, a friend of his. My father's friend is a scholar who can speak well of Prefect Yao."

She realized that Mrs. Qiao had misunderstood her marriage.

Her father did indeed use his old friendship with her classmates to help her become a concubine of a scholar. Her father was a scholar and had to maintain his reputation. He didn't want the concubine to be talked about, so he vaguely referred to her as a second wife.

The Wu family didn't kick her out because they saw that the marriage proposal she made was profitable.

However, what the Wu family didn't know was that the scholar in this family disliked her because she had a divorced older sister, and refused to let her become a concubine.

She looked down on ordinary farmers, and if she kept delaying, she would become an old maid. So Tong Fusheng and Wang Shi discussed it and decided that it was better to make it a done deal and let her marry Wu Musheng.

Tong Zhaodi was adept at reading people's expressions and acting accordingly. She thought that the Qiao family would likely be resistant to the idea of ​​a Tong family girl, so she wouldn't reveal her true intentions. She would wait for an opportunity to force a relationship with Wu Musheng into marriage.

However, before that, she needed to keep Qiao Shi and Wu Ren hanging. This was Wang Shi's plan for her. She wanted them to misunderstand that she had already promised to marry a scholar from the prefectural city as his second wife. Once she and Wu Musheng were on good terms, she could use that as an excuse to ask the Wu family for more benefits.

When Qiao heard about Tong Zhaodi's marriage, her expression softened. At the same time, she despised Tong Fusheng for being a heartless man who married his daughter off to an old man as a concubine for personal gain.

However, this has nothing to do with the Wu family; as long as the Wu family can benefit from it, that's fine.

Seeing that Qiao's expression wasn't as bad as before, Tong Zhaodi flattered Wu Ren and Qiao, then served them some wild game she had brought from home, and rolled up her sleeves to get to work.

Tong Zhaodi was diligent in sweeping the yard, washing clothes, and washing vegetables. Qiao Shi saw this and her anger subsided somewhat.