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

Chapter 543 We can't let our family lose face.

The people on this side of the old house walked towards it, meeting the inquiring gazes of the entire village.

Gu Youtian should be grateful that his son Gu Ruinian's scandal attracted the gossip of the whole village; otherwise, he would have been the one caught in the vortex of public opinion.

Didn't we say we were going to open a shop in Pingchuan?

Didn't you say we'd definitely make a fortune this time?

Didn't you say you'd never come back?

Why did you come back so dejectedly?

Gu Ruinian was the focus of the entire village, but after being scolded by Old Lady Gu, no one dared to ask about him. Instead, the topic shifted to Gu Youtian. The villagers were straightforward and didn't hide anything. Along the way, many people directly asked Gu Youtian why he had returned, whether his business had failed, and when he would return to Pingchuan County.

Gu Youtian brushed it off with a gloomy face, wishing he could kick Gu Ruinian to death.

If it weren't for this good-for-nothing son, I would still be doing a good job running my business in Pingchuan County.

The whole family carried their luggage and bedding, with Gu Fengnian supporting Gu Ruinian, and they arrived at their front door with great difficulty.

Although Grandpa Gu and others had prepared for their home to be ransacked, the ruthlessness of the Xu family still exceeded their expectations.

The yard was a complete mess.

The fence was completely torn down, the wooden door was chopped into strips and scattered all over the ground, the bean and eggplant vines in the yard were snapped off, and a row of loofahs at the corner of the wall were pulled up clean. The oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar in the kitchen were broken all over the floor, and a pot on the stove and a large water vat at the entrance of the kitchen were smashed to pieces.

The inner room wasn't much better off; the door lock was smashed, and all the valuables inside were looted. The porcelain jars, tables, and chairs were either smashed or chopped to pieces.

The whole house looked like it had been ravaged by bandits.

"My God, this is terrible! That damned Xu Jin, how can we live like this?"

"Is there no justice left? We might as well just burn it all down; that would be better than having this rotting mess that's ripping my heart off."

"That heartless bastard not only ransacked our house, but also tried to swindle five hundred taels of silver from us."

Grandma Gu sat down on the ground and started crying. She cried even more when she thought about the five hundred taels of silver that the Xu family had extorted from her.

The villagers watching from outside shook their heads and sighed as they saw the Gu family's house smashed to pieces.

"The Xu family is too ruthless, especially Xu Dabao and Xu Erbao. That day, they rushed in like wolves and started smashing things. Anyone who dared to stop them would have their house smashed up by the two brothers."

"Xu Dabao and Xu Erbao are usually not good people, but this time it's understandable. They were doing well as managers at Zheng's shop, but after Xu Zaohua and Ruinian's incident, the two brothers were kicked out. How can they be content to farm in the village after this?"

"Ruinian is really something. He never talks properly. We thought he was a scholar, different from us farmers, but how could he do something like stealing? And stealing Xu Zaohua no less! When did they get together?"

"When I got off the carriage, I saw that my leg was broken. I wondered if I would be like Daqiao and never be able to study or take the imperial examinations again. They said that even if a cripple passed the exams, he wouldn't be given an official position."

The villagers were talking a lot.

Grandma Gu knew she couldn't drive the villagers away, and besides, the villagers had probably already gossiped about Gu Ruinian and Xu Zaohua several times over, so she didn't care about being ashamed anymore.

It's not just the Gu family who should be ashamed; the Xu family should also be ashamed.

Besides, what's shameful about the Gu family? A man cheating is considered romantic, but Xu Zaohua cheating is considered unfaithful. Having figured this out, Old Mrs. Gu clapped her hands and denounced the onlookers.

"The Xu family raised such a fine daughter, yet she didn't uphold the virtues of a wife even as a widow. Do you know how she seduced Ruinian?" Old Mrs. Gu said in a fit of despair.

The villagers became interested.

“It’s not that Ruinian is strong.” Aunt Qin squeezed to the front and was the most enthusiastic.

When Grandma Gu saw this, she knew that the Xu family was taking advantage of their presence in Pingchuan to distort the truth and shift the blame onto their precious grandson, portraying Xu Zaohua as a great innocent victim.

How did this happen?
She needs to have a good talk about it.

Grandma Gu said, "You all listen to Xu Jin's nonsense. He claims my Ruinian was forced. Don't you see that my Ruinian is talented and good-looking? He could find any kind of young virgin, yet he insists on snatching that secondhand goods?"

Grandma Gu raised her voice, attracting more people to watch, and continued, "Xu Zaohua wanted a man whose family wouldn't let her remarry, so she took a fancy to her brother-in-law and flirted with him several times. Now that her brother-in-law is getting engaged, she's afraid the bride will push her out of his bed once she enters the house, so she came up with a wicked plan. She secretly drugged her brother-in-law outside, making a scene so he would marry her. Her brother-in-law is friends with my Ruinian, and she accidentally put the drug in Ruinian's bowl. Her brother-in-law is also pregnant and wanted to get rid of his sister-in-law, so he moved my Ruinian into Xu Zaohua's bed."

"My Ruinian was tricked by this scoundrel, waaaaah!"

This explosive news caused an instant uproar, and the crowd immediately began discussing it.

"This is different from what the Xu family said," someone asked in a low voice.

This question reached Old Mrs. Gu's ears, and she raised her voice, "Xu Zaohua did such a shameless thing, how can the Xu family have the face to talk about it? You can go to Pingchuan and ask around to find out the truth."

Of course, what Old Mrs. Gu just said was made up. She was so angry that she was determined to smear Xu Zaohua and the Xu family.

Anyway, nobody cares whether the story is true or false.

Xu Jin led his entire Xu family to smash up her house, causing Wu Ren to break up the second son's marriage. No one should have an easy time.

The Xu family has more than one Xu Zaohua. Those who pressured them along with Xu Jin all have daughters, so let's ruin the reputation of all the Xu family's daughters.

She'll see who dares to marry a girl from the Xu family.

"What good is Xu Jin anyway? When he was the village chief, he always went to Moon Bay to pick up young widows, and he had an affair with the young wife of Black Dragon Pool. And Xu Si was exiled for being a hooligan, wasn't he? That's the Xu family's style. The girls follow suit, stealing their brothers-in-law, and even eyeing any decent-looking outsider." Old Mrs. Xu started with Xu Zaohua and then went on to talk about all the girls in the Xu family.

With a look of satisfaction on her face, Jia saw more and more people gathering, and even noticed that Xu's daughter-in-law, who was watching, had changed her expression. She then raised her head and revealed another piece of news that she had heard in Pingchuan about Xu Zaohua's lack of virtue as a woman.

“Xu Zaohua has a history of doing this.”

Madam Jia glanced at the Xu family's wives, noticing their flushed faces, and said gleefully, "Xu Zaohua's deceased husband was too weak to consummate the marriage, so how could he leave Xu Zaohua with a posthumous child for protection? It was Xu Zaohua who drugged the servant to conceive the child."

"Jia Daya, how dare you slander my Zaohua."

Before Jia could finish speaking, Xu Zaohua's mother, Yu, kicked Jia away.

“My daughter Zaohua is the dignified eldest daughter-in-law of the Zheng family. How could you slander her? You filthy bastard, spewing filth from your own mouth. Your son did something shameless, and all you can do is drag my daughter into it.”

Not satisfied with shoveling Jia's head away, Yu went up and grabbed Jia's hair.

She was furious. If it weren't for her son, Xu Zaohua would have been drowned by the Zheng family long ago. How could she tolerate Jia's slander of her grandson?

Jia's back was almost broken, and Yu grabbed her hair, making her scream like a pig being slaughtered.