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

Chapter 550 Voluntary Sacrifice
Liu Tielian sighed and said, "Qingsong, who you marry is a lifelong matter. Marriage is not just about finding a wife, but also about the family background and the kind of people the other person's parents are. Xiaoxue is a good person, but if Xiaoxue has parents and a brother like that, she will be a burden to you. Your parents object, but your parents will not harm you."

"Give up on this idea."

As the head of the family, Liu Tielian's attitude determined the course of Liu Qingsong's love life.

Liu Qingsong squatted on the ground, covering his eyes in distress.

Tong Huaqiong shook her head and sighed.

To be fair, Gu Xiaoxue is indeed a girl of the most beautiful type in Qinghewan Village, and she doesn't have the rustic air of a villager, but only the beauty of a flower.

She is capable, hardworking, and doesn't cause trouble.

Liu Qingsong's interest in Gu Xiaoxue shows that he has good taste.

But as Liu Tielian said, marriage is not just a matter between two people, but also involves both families.

In modern, civilized society, families like Gu Xiaoxue's would be avoided in the marriage market, let alone in ancient times when kinship ties couldn't be severed easily.

Moreover, judging from Xiaoxue's personality, Tong Huaqiong couldn't see any possibility that she wouldn't be continuously exploited by her parents.

Having witnessed Liu Qingsong arguing with his parents over love, Tong Huaqiong and Liu Tielian had an awkward chat for a while before hurriedly saying goodbye and going home.

I thought Liu Qingsong's love was like a piece of melon that Tong Huaqiong ate in Qinghe Bay, something that would disappear in an instant.

Unexpectedly, this incident soon caused a stir throughout Qinghe Bay, and even almost resulted in a death.

The second branch of the Gu family ultimately failed to raise the five hundred taels of silver. Gu Youtian disagreed but could not defy Old Master Gu. Jia Shi was unwilling but had no better solution, and finally reluctantly agreed to let Gu Xiaoxue marry Xu Dabao.

Xu Dabao had always been determined to have Gu Xiaoxue, and now that he had achieved his goal, he was excited to come and pick her up.

However, Madam Yu was not satisfied with the marriage proposal to Gu Youtian.

The feud between the two families means that the son's in-laws will bring no benefit to his own family. Since his son is so envious of Gu Xiaoxue, he will inevitably be influenced by Gu Xiaoxue's pillow talk to put aside his prejudices with the second branch of the Gu family and start to fawn over Gu Youtian and Gu Ruinian.

The thought that her enemy had become her son's brother-in-law made Madam Yu regret using Xiaoxue to pay off her debt.

After much deliberation, I decided that five hundred taels of silver would be better.

Five hundred taels of silver could buy a shop in the city, or even be enough to find two wives for Xu Dabao. Why would he need to marry his enemy's sister?

Yu was unwilling to arrange Xu Dabao's marriage, but she couldn't persuade Xu Dabao otherwise. So she decided not to arrange the marriage for the two of them, but to bring Gu Xiaoxue to the Xu family first, and she would become Xu's official daughter-in-law when she gave birth to a son.

Yu harbored resentment and had already devised a plan to torment Gu Xiaoxue with the hatred she felt for losing Xu Zaohua.

Xu Dabao didn't care about marriage, as long as he could get Gu Xiaoxue as soon as possible.

Uncle Gu firmly disagreed with Grandpa Gu's decision to use Gu Xiaoxue as collateral for the debt, telling the Xu family that the debt repayment period had not yet arrived and no one could take Xiaoxue away.

Uncle Gu gathered all the influential members of the clan to the clan head's house, and in the process, he got into a big argument with Old Master Gu.

The rest of the clan watched coldly, after all, five hundred taels was no small sum, and it wasn't something that could be scraped together.

After all, why should the clan clean up the mess that Gu Ruinian caused?

Besides, there's clearly a way to resolve this situation: just have Gu Ruinian marry Xu Xinghua.

Grandpa Gu spoiled Gu Ruinian. Even though Gu Ruinian was crippled, he insisted on not marrying Xu Xinghua, and Grandpa Gu let him do so, sacrificing a girl for nothing.

Tong Huaqiong couldn't bear to watch Gu Xiaoxue slide into the fire pit. That day, she asked Gu Xiaoxue if she knew how to weave cloth, hoping to give her a way out.

Gu Xiaoxue is very good at weaving. Once Tong Huaqiong's weaving workshop opens, Gu Xiaoxue will be able to support herself entirely through weaving.

Tong Huaqiong had already discussed it with Uncle Gu and Aunt Gu in advance. She used the imperial edict conferring the title of Lady of Suifeng Township on her to pressure the Xu family into protecting Xiaoxue, while Uncle Gu pressured the clan to kick Gu Xiaoxue out of Old Master Gu's lineage and make her his granddaughter.

As for the five hundred taels of silver, whoever wants to return it can return it.

If the Gu family couldn't repay the debt, they arranged for Gu Ruinian to become the son-in-law of the Xu family. Before coming to the clan chief's house, Tong Huaqiong called Gu Xiaoxue over and asked her what she thought.

Gu Xiaoxue kept her head down and remained silent for a long time.

Tong Huaqiong simply thought that Gu Xiaoxue was timid and lacked initiative. Considering that she had been brainwashed by Jia Shi since childhood and was devoted to Gu Ruinian, she wouldn't dare to rebel so easily.

Uncle Gu and Grandpa Gu were arguing fiercely in the clan, and the two old men almost came to blows.

"Even if you spare my old life, I will not let Xiaoxue marry Xu Dabao."

Uncle Gu kept repeating the same sentence.

Grandpa Gu's face turned red with anger.

"Xiaoxue, you're here?" Gu Taohua was sitting next to Tong Huaqiong, listening to her second grandfather and grandfather arguing. She looked up and saw Gu Xiaoxue appear at the door.

The arguing inside stopped, and everyone looked towards Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue walked in quietly, raised her head, and calmly glanced at everyone.

"Second Grandfather, please don't fight for my grandfather anymore." Gu Xiaoxue said, her voice trembling slightly. Then she turned to Tong Huaqiong and said, "Auntie, I know you and Second Grandfather don't want me to marry Xu Dabao."

She paused, a gentle smile on her face, and said, "Thank you for considering my situation. I've thought it through. I'll marry Xu Dabao."

"Little Snow."

"No."

Tong Huaqiong and Uncle Gu spoke in unison.

“Xiaoxue, you didn’t cause this mess, why should you sacrifice yourself?” Tong Huaqiong said. “You can’t make such a foolish decision. Xu Dabao is not a good match. This isn’t marriage, it’s debt settlement. Think about it, what kind of good life can you have in the Xu family as a debt settlement?”

Gu Taohua chimed in, "Your brother is your brother, and you are you. Are you stupid? You're going to ruin your whole life for your brother. Xiaoxue, it's not worth it."

Gu Xiaoxue smiled and said softly, "Auntie, Sister Taohua, I've made up my mind. I'm going to marry Xu Dabao."

After saying that, he walked out.

Uncle Gu let out a long sigh.

Tong Huaqiong had initially felt some sympathy for Gu Xiaoxue, but now she was filled with disappointment and frustration.

Before the matter was even finalized, she couldn't wait to jump out and offer her sacrifice.

What else could it be but stupidity?
Tong Huaqiong shook her head and left the Gu family patriarch's gate. Under a poplar tree on the village road, she saw Liu Qingsong blocking Gu Xiaoxue's way.

Liu Qingsong said something to Gu Xiaoxue, and Gu Xiaoxue took out a hairpin from her bosom, stuffed it into Liu Qingsong's hand, and hurriedly walked home.

Liu Qingsong stood there, stunned, holding the hairpin.

Tong Huaqiong noticed that his eyes were red as she passed by him.

The heartbroken man was probably too sad to notice Tong Huaqiong as he walked past him.

Tong Huaqiong shook her head.

This is a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Gu Xiaoxue was willing to marry Xu Dabao, so what can anyone say? They can't save her even if they want to.

Originally, Xu Dabao wanted to welcome Gu Xiaoxue into the family immediately, but under the strong interference of Gu's second uncle, the Xu family agreed to the traditional betrothal ceremony and marry Gu Xiaoxue.

The wedding date is set for October.

After the autumn harvest, the villagers are in a slack season, which is a good time to hold weddings.