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

Chapter 552 Both jade and stone are destroyed
"What exactly happened?" Tong Huaqiong asked Hong, who had been at the scene of the incident.

After Liu Qingsong was carried home by everyone, Tong Huaqiong noticed that Gu Xiaoxue was standing blankly on the riverbank, not far from her, with Xu Dabao and Gu Ruinian standing there.

However, the three of them were surrounded by the Liu family members, who looked furious.

Hong Shi, holding Hua'er, trembled with fear. Tong Pandi patted his chest and whispered to Tong Huaqiong, "It was terrifying. Hong Da'er and I had just come out of the house to the riverbank for some fresh air when we saw Xiaoxue handing water to Xu Dabao and Gu Ruinian. At that moment, Qingsong suddenly rushed out, snatched the water bottle, and started chugging."

"Xiaoxue screamed and told me and Aunt Hong to hurry up and call for help because there was poison in the kettle."

Tong Huaqiong understood after a moment's thought.

Gu Xiaoxue did not agree to marry Xu Dabao from her own heart; she had long harbored the intention of mutual destruction.

She poisoned the kettle, first killing Xu Dabao and Gu Ruinian, then poisoning herself.

However, Liu Qingsong saw through the plan and rushed out to snatch the water bottle and gulp it down his throat.

Liu Qingsong was truly the first man Tong Huaqiong had ever met in both her past and present lives who had sacrificed himself for love.

Thinking of her disappointment and frustration with Gu Xiaoxue, and of the scallion pancakes Gu Xiaoxue had given her, Tong Huaqiong felt a pang of bittersweetness in her heart.

Gu Xiaoxue wasn't unaware of resistance; she was clearly resisting with her life.

"Xiaoxue," Tong Huaqiong called out to Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue forced a smile, which looked worse than crying.

Tong Huaqiong was speechless. What could she say?
If Liu Qingsong were to pour a pot of water down her throat, it's uncertain whether she would survive. If Liu Qingsong were to die, Gu Xiaoxue would not survive either.

Without saying a word, Tong Huaqiong went up and slapped Gu Ruinian.

It's all because of this bastard.

Anyway, she's an elder, so it's right for her to teach her nephew a lesson.

Xu Dabao tried to slip away, but was firmly held down by the Liu family members.

"No one can leave until the matter is clarified."

Soon, Liu Tielian returned, and Gu Xiaoxue, Xu Dabao, and Gu Ruinian were taken to the village meeting place.

Liu Tielian's eyes were red, but he forced himself to handle the matter.

If his son dies, Gu Xiaoxue, Gu Ruinian, and Xu Dabao will all be buried with him.

With such a big incident in the village, no one was in the mood for lunch, and the meeting hall was packed to the brim.

"It was Gu Xiaoxue who wanted to kill someone, what does that have to do with my Dabao? Dabao, let's go home."

When Madam Yu arrived, she tried to drag Xu Dabao away, and even took the opportunity to glare fiercely at Gu Xiaoxue.

This daughter-in-law is not suitable.

She wanted to kill her husband even before they were married.

She was about to break off the engagement with the Gu family and, while she was at it, force them to hand over five hundred taels of silver.

Liu Tielian said, "Xu Dabao cannot leave. This was originally a matter between the Gu and Xu families, but my Qingsong has suffered an undeserved disaster."

Liu Tielian was furious that his second son was so love-struck that he drank the poison himself to prevent Gu Xiaoxue from being implicated in someone's death.

Yu shouted, "Gu Xiaoxue tried to poison my Dabao! If we take legal action, my Xu Dabao will be the aggrieved party!" She paused and then added, "I'd like to ask you, what does Gu Xiaoxue's poisoning of Dabao have to do with your Qingsong? Why did he come all this way to snatch the medicine pot? Does he have some kind of affair with Gu Xiaoxue? Well, Gu Xiaoxue, you're already flirting with other men before you're even married into the family."

Liu Tielian was furious when he heard this.

Tong Huaqiong stopped Yu Shi and said, "Stop talking nonsense. The matter is not clear yet, and you are already throwing accusations around. If you ask me, your Xu Dabao is a scoundrel. He worked as a servant in Zheng's shop for a few days and then acted like a young master, doing despicable things like extortion and robbery. Such a beast will either be poisoned to death or struck by lightning."

As soon as Tong Huaqiong opened her mouth, Madam Yu held back and dared not speak.

Tong Dajiao was not to be trifled with in the past; she would slap her hands and fight like a scalper, even going so far as to take people to their homes. Now, Tong Huaqiong has money, a scholar son, and the title of a county magistrate, making her even more invincible in arguments.

Yu shut up, and Jia rushed in, grabbed Gu Ruinian and wailed, "Ruinian, are you alright? You didn't drink that water, did you?"

"Gu Xiaoxue, you're so vicious! That's your own brother! What grudge do you have against him that you want to poison him? I'll beat you to death, you vicious little thing!" Madam Jia raised her hand to slap Gu Xiaoxue across the face.

Tong Huaqiong reached out and grabbed Jia's hand, then pulled and yanked Jia to the ground.

"You still have the nerve to scold Xiaoxue. Do you know what your biggest mistake is? It's that you gave birth to Gu Ruinian, this son. You'd be better off giving birth to a piece of char siu. He's not even as good as a piece of char siu, yet you treat him like a treasure. He might as well have been poisoned to death and reincarnated sooner." Tong Huaqiong cursed.

Madam Jia trembled with rage, pointing at Tong Huaqiong and saying, "You..."

Tong Huaqiong nearly broke her hand: "I hate being pointed at. I'll chop your hand off next time."

With Tong Huaqiong's barrage of attacks, the thoughts of all parties were quickly suppressed.

All three parties involved—Gu, Xu, and Liu—were present.

Liu Tielian looked at Gu Xiaoxue and asked, "Xiaoxue, if Qingsong can come back to life, we won't report it to the authorities. But if he dies, I will definitely report it to the authorities. I need to know what exactly happened."

In general, people rarely report incidents to the authorities unless it's a murder.

It's usually handled by the village or clan.

Therefore, as the village chief, Liu Tielian needed to first understand what had happened today.

Gu Xiaoxue knelt down with a thud and said, "I put the pesticide in the kettle. I wanted to poison Xu Dabao and my second brother. Uncle Liu, please take me to the authorities."

Both Yu and Jia's eyes were bloodshot, and they wished they could tear Gu Xiaoxue to pieces.

Gu Xiaoxue raised her head and said to Jia Shi, "Why should I be the one to sacrifice myself for the trouble my second brother caused? From childhood to adulthood, the family never thinks of me when there's something good to do, but when they need me, they push me out. Mother always says I'm a money-loser, but I've done laundry, cooked, and other chores since I was little. Every bite I eat isn't free. On the contrary, my second brother has never done any work since he was little, and he spends money on his studies and causes trouble. Compared to my second brother, who is the money-loser?"

“I don’t want to marry Xu Dabao. He’s a gambler, a womanizer, and a good person. What kind of good family would take someone else’s sister to pay off a debt? If I marry Xu Dabao, I’ll definitely suffer for the rest of my life. I might as well die now. I’ll take them with me before I die.”

Gu Xiaoxue said while crying.

Many of the village's wives and older women wiped away tears.

"What a tragedy!" Aunt Gu said.

“I didn’t force you to marry me; you agreed to it yourself,” Xu Dabao said.

Gu Xiaoxue said bitterly, "If I don't agree, will you let me go? The day after I got home, you blocked me and said that even if my family paid back five hundred taels of silver, you still wouldn't let me go. So if you die, I won't have to marry you."

Gu Xiaoxue clenched her sleeves tightly.

Tong Huaqiong stared at Gu Xiaoxue's movements and suddenly noticed a bottle peeking out from her sleeve. Tong Huaqiong pointed at Gu Xiaoxue and said, "Village Chief, quick, take the bottle out of her sleeve."

Before Tong Huaqiong could finish speaking, Gu Xiaoxue took out a bottle, unscrewed the cap, and was about to drink it.