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

Chapter 566 Testing and Deceiving Each Other

The widow Tong is actually Gu Honglian's sister-in-law?

Gu Jingzhe is actually Gu Honglian's nephew?

Fan Tong was stunned by the news.

He never imagined that Gu Honglian and Tong Huaqiong had such a relationship.

Sisters-in-law and aunts-in-law are no different from parents and children.

This seemingly ordinary country girl actually has a powerful background.

At the same time, he resented Gu Honglian for not telling him sooner, otherwise he wouldn't have been so cold to her.

"Young Master Fan, what's wrong?" Gu Honglian asked when she saw Fan Tong standing there in a daze for a while.

Fan Tong suddenly laughed and said, "Your sister-in-law is really amazing. She runs a pastry shop, a department store, and now she even runs a weaving workshop."

Gu Honglian said, "My sister-in-law is already very capable."

Fan Tong was unaware that Tong Huaqiong and Gu Honglian had a bad relationship.

It is said that the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, so he naturally assumed that Tong Huaqiong, as the eldest sister-in-law, doted on this younger sister-in-law. No wonder the courtyard was bustling with people coming and going, but Gu Honglian was the only one who was leisurely.

Fan Tong had originally planned how to win Gu Taohua back, but now there's no need for that anymore.

Gu Honglian is also a big fish.

Moreover, Gu Honglian seems gentler and more compliant than Gu Taohua, unlike Gu Taohua who would hit people at the slightest disagreement.

"It was my poor eyesight that prevented me from recognizing you as Junior Brother Jingzhe's aunt."

Fan Tong's words made Gu Honglian's heart skip a beat.

She didn't want to be treated as an elder by Fan Tong.

Fan Tong's next words stirred Gu Honglian's heart.

Fan Tong said, "Since that's the case, I have a question I hope you can answer for me. Should I call you 'Aunt' like my junior brother Jingzhe, or should I call you 'Miss Honglian'?"

Gu Honglian said without hesitation, "Jingzhe is Jingzhe, and I am me. Let's talk about our own things. You can just call me Honglian."

Fan Tongchong smiled brightly at Gu Honglian and said, "Alright, then I'll still call you Miss Honglian."

The moment Gu Honglian heard the name "Red Lotus Girl," her heart melted.

Taking advantage of Gu Honglian's excited probing, Fan Tong asked, "Your sister-in-law must love you very much, right?"

Gu Honglian naturally dared not tell Fan Tong the truth, and said, "Of course."

"Why don't I see you going to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop or helping out at the weaving workshop like Gu Taohua?" Fan Tong held back but couldn't help asking the question that was on her mind.

Gu Honglian said, "I am the same age as Tao Hua Jingzhe. I have lived with my sister-in-law since I was a child. She loves me even more than Gu Tao Hua. My sister-in-law said that I would get married in a few years and that young women should be pampered guests in the family and not have to do any work."

Fan Tong thought that Gu Honglian was a straightforward person and would not deceive him.

When Gu Honglian mentioned marriage, Fan Tong continued to probe, "Getting married in just a few years? Miss Honglian, are you already engaged?"

After Fan Tong finished speaking, she stomped her foot in annoyance, her face flushed as she pretended not to have asked the question.

Gu Honglian was overjoyed and said, "I haven't been engaged yet. My sister-in-law always says that a girl will not be as comfortable in her husband's family as she is in her own family after marriage, so she doesn't want me to get engaged so early and says that I should stay at home for a few more years to enjoy life."

Fan Tong suddenly understood Tong Huaqiong's attitude towards him.

Gu Taohua and Gu Honglian are about the same age, no wonder no one has come to propose marriage to them, it turns out that Widow Tong wants to keep the girl for a few more years.

Gu Taohua used to have feelings for him, but he didn't like her and kept her hanging on. Who would have thought that Gu Taohua would have such good fortune, opening a shop with Widow Tong and making money.

Now, Gu Taohua has been instigated by Widow Tong to misunderstand him, and he saw in town that Gu Taohua treated the servant who gave her the carriage in an unusual way.

Gu Taohua slipped through his fingers. He didn't have a better match to propose to right now, so he might as well settle for being Gu Taohua's aunt's husband. Gu Honglian had a doting sister-in-law and a promising nephew, so this marriage seemed to be the best he could get at the moment.

As for Gu Honglian's appearance, one cannot expect everything to go smoothly.

He plans to use the Gu family's money to study in the prefectural city, and then take a beautiful concubine after passing the imperial examination.

Fan Tong originally wanted to ask Gu Honglian whether her marriage was decided by her sister-in-law or her parents, but then he thought it was too hasty and didn't ask.

A straightforward girl like Gu Honglian is easy to fool. No matter who is in charge, as long as you have her under your control, you're good to go.

Fortunately, Master Su teaches in Qinghewan, so he can visit Master Su and have more contact with Gu Honglian in the future.

Thinking of this, Fan Tong smiled at Gu Honglian, then turned away, blushing.

Gu Honglian thought to herself, "This young scholar blushed when he heard that I hadn't proposed marriage."

She became increasingly certain that Fan Tong had feelings for her.

Gu Honglian had already inquired in town and learned that Fan Tong was unmarried. He had been engaged to the daughter of the village chief of Yeniu Valley Village, but the engagement was later broken off.

Gu Honglian didn't want to investigate the reason for the broken engagement; hadn't she also been broken off with an engagement before?

Thinking this way, Gu Honglian felt that she and Fan Tong were somewhat in the same boat; otherwise, how could they be so destined for each other?

This scholar's wife deserved to fall into her lap.

Gu Honglian began to complain that her parents were too biased towards her second brother. If her parents hadn't offended her sister-in-law so badly, she could have gotten her sister-in-law to arrange for her to marry Fan Tong, given that Gu Jingzhe and Fan Tong were fellow disciples.

The door of the private school creaked open, and after bidding farewell to Master Su, the children scattered and ran off into the village.

Fan Tong bowed to Gu Honglian and said, "Miss Honglian, I'm going to see my teacher now. Thank you for staying with me."

Gu Honglian was a little reluctant to leave, but she waved her hand and said, "Go inside quickly. When you come to visit the teacher next time, you can wait at my house. You won't have to stand here in the wind."

After saying that, Gu Honglian covered her face and ran away.

Fan Tong smiled and stepped into the private school.

When Gu Honglian returned home, she saw Gu Ruinian fiddling around in the yard. He kicked a piece of sulfur on the ground, and the pungent powder made the two of them cover their mouths and noses and cough.

"Are you sick in the head?" Gu Ruinian roared.

Gu Honglian snorted and went into the house.

"Where did you go?" Grandma Gu asked.

Gu Honglian said, "I went to take a look at my sister-in-law's weaving workshop."

Grandma Gu snorted.

Gu Honglian said, "Sister-in-law's weaving workshop is bustling with activity. Not only do girls and wives from our village come to apply, but people from surrounding villages also come. There are more than a dozen looms and cotton gins in the room. How much silver will they earn every day after they start working? Those girls and wives are using all their skills to get the job. Sister-in-law pays a lot of wages. She said that after the workshop starts working, a female worker can earn more than three or four taels of silver a month. Who wouldn't want to go?"

Hearing this made Jia feel uneasy.

Gu Xiaoxue is now working in the weaving workshop, so wouldn't Xiaoxue be earning three or four taels of silver a month?

Three or four taels a month, that adds up to nearly fifty taels a year, enough for Ruinian to study and get married.

If she had known this would happen, she would have desperately stopped Gu Xiaoxue from living with Gu Fengnian. Now all the money is in Fengnian's hands.

Madam Jia thought that her eldest son was honest and simple-minded, and that it must have been Madam Wei who instigated Gu Xiaoxue to separate from the family.

Gu Xiaoxue was gentle and obedient from a young age and never disobeyed her elders. To this day, Jia Shi still can't understand why Gu Xiaoxue's personality changed so drastically overnight.

Her family hadn't mistreated her; they provided her with food and drink. How could she possibly poison her entire family?

It must have been the eldest daughter-in-law who instigated it.