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

Chapter 608 Honest people's words are the most hurtful.
"Are you satisfied with my son turning out like this?"

Jia was filled with pent-up anger and had nowhere to vent it. When she saw Tong Huaqiong walk in, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

Just then, Gu Jingzhe returned from the prefectural city. He, along with Gu Taohua, Gu Dahan, and others, entered with Tong Huaqiong, which further aroused Jia Shi's displeasure.

Jia blurted out words of jealousy.

Tong Huaqiong felt completely bewildered and didn't want to pay any attention to Jia.

Undeterred, Madam Jia tugged at Tong Huaqiong's sleeve and continued, "Are you satisfied now? Are you satisfied now? My son's luck has been completely drained by your son. If it weren't for your son, my son wouldn't be the way he is now."

Tong Huaqiong brushed Jia's hand away, spat on Jia's face, and said, "For what your son did, it's already a miracle that he's still alive."

Then he looked Jia up and down and sneered, "You can't put all your eggs in one basket. You just want a successful son, right? If one isn't enough, you want two. If two aren't enough, you want three. I don't think you're old. You and Tian seem to be able to work. Why don't you and Tian have a second child? It's not too late."

What kind of talk is this.

Jia was speechless after being rebuked.

As Chen Sufeng passed by Jia's house, she said, "Second Aunt, don't listen to my mother. Having a son is no good at all. Tell me, what's the use of raising a son? You raise him with so much care, and he'll just go to someone else's house to become a live-in son-in-law. And he won't even earn you a dowry."

Honest people are often the most hurtful when they speak.

Jia was so angry from being pricked that she wanted to tear Chen Sufeng's mouth apart. Looking at the little girl in Chen Sufeng's arms, she said, "If you're so capable, how come you can't even give birth to a son?"

Chen Su-fen said nonchalantly, "It's precisely because I'm afraid of having a son like Ruinian that I'd rather not have one."

Jia: "You"

Grandpa Gu shouted angrily into the courtyard, "Enough! What's all the noise about? What kind of behavior is this?"

"The Xu family will be here soon. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if our in-laws saw us?"

Tong Huaqiong then went inside.

People from the clan then flocked to the Gu family's old house. Tong Huaqiong looked them over, and everyone's expressions were not good.

The main problem was that no one else in the village had a son-in-law marrying into their family. Gu Ruinian set a precedent, which made the Gu family members feel ashamed in the village.

The son-in-law, Gu Ruinian, sat in the room, dressed in a new blue outfit, his face expressionless.

"Ruinian is really going to marry into the Xu family? Grandpa, you have no idea how nasty the villagers are saying. If you ask me, even if he doesn't get married, he shouldn't go to the Xu family to be mistreated." Gu Dahu complained to Grandpa Gu as soon as he entered the house.

The clan chief glared at Gu Dahu, but inwardly he agreed. He said to Old Master Gu, "Why don't we discuss this matter again? Anyway, today is for marriage negotiations. If the negotiations go well, we can finalize the engagement. If they don't go well, we can simply cancel the engagement."

There was something else on his mind that he hadn't said: if Gu Ruinian were to become a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations and be chosen by the princess of Shengjing, it would be an honor for the clan. What was the point of him becoming a live-in son-in-law at the former village chief's house?

The Xu family is wealthy, but the Gu family is not bad either. The eldest nephew's wife is the village head and the richest man in Yanguan Town. In any case, the Gu family is superior to the Xu family.

When someone in the clan marries into another family, he, as the clan chief, feels like he's being talked about behind his back in the village.

Grandpa Gu said, "The Xu family promised to treat Ruinian's leg. If he goes to the Xu family, his leg might be cured and he might have a chance to study. If he stays with our Gu family, he'll be stuck with it for life. Besides, the Xu family said they would let one of Ruinian's sons return to the family line in the future. Isn't the purpose of raising sons to carry on the family line and bring honor to our ancestors? Since our descendants will return to the Gu family name in the future, we won't lose out."

The clan chief, looking displeased, raised his voice and said, "Treat his leg, treat his leg! His leg has been lame for years, how can it be cured?"

After speaking, he looked at Gu Youtian. But he didn't know that if Gu Youtian hadn't wanted to use the Xu family's money to do business, would he have been willing to let his son marry into the Xu family?

Gu Youtian avoided the clan chief's gaze.

"We can't joke about our son under any circumstances. There are ways to heal his leg and get him back to school."

The clan chief wondered why they didn't marry Gu Xiaoxue off; with her looks, she could easily marry into a wealthy family in Pingchuan County.

But when he thought of Gu Xiaoxue's ruthlessness in wanting to poison the whole family, the clan leader's eyelids twitched, and he swallowed his words.

He then turned to Tong Huaqiong and said in a consultative tone, "Elder sister-in-law, you are now the village head. It would be bad for you if our clan had a son-in-law who married into the family. It would also be unpleasant to talk about if Jingzhe became a high-ranking official and had a cousin who married into the family. Why don't we just drop this matter?"

Tong Huaqiong said calmly, "I don't look bad at all, and Jingzhe doesn't care about this empty title."

The clan leader gritted his teeth and glared at Gu Jingzhe.

Gu Jingzhe said, "My mother is right. I came back from the prefectural city to visit my grandparents, not to interfere with Ruinian's marriage. Since my grandparents are alright, I'm going to town now."

Grandma Gu asked with displeasure, "So you've gotten too big for your britches now, what are you doing in town?"

Grandma Gu didn't care that Gu Ruinian would become a son-in-law of the Xu family; what she cared about was that the Xu family would say some unpleasant things at the engagement banquet, and that Gu Jingzhe could stand up for them. Now that her grandson, who was supposed to be standing up for them, wanted to leave, she naturally had to stop him.

Gu Jingzhe said, "The results of this year's provincial examination are out. My classmate Meng Yanping passed and became a Xiucai. His family is having a banquet today. I came back from the prefectural city to receive his invitation. A few of us classmates plan to invite Master Su to go to Meng's house together."

Grandma Gu snorted.

Upon hearing the results of this year's provincial examination, the clan chief sighed first, then said casually, "I almost forgot that the results of this year's provincial examination are out. It's a pity. I thought our clan could produce a scholar this year, but not a single one of them even took the exam."

Gu Ruinian, who had been calm all along, suddenly raised his head.

With so many things piling up, he had long forgotten about the provincial examination.

Thinking back to last year when the whole clan saw him off, he set off for the prefectural city full of vigor, thinking it was the beginning of his stirring up trouble, but in the end he gained nothing.

A sudden surge of emotion welled up in my heart, which had long since resigned itself to fate.

Jia started to sob.

Grandpa Gu's face was very grim. He waved his hand and said to the clan leader, "Don't mention these things on such a joyous day. It's all fate."

He originally wanted to scold Gu Jingzhe for bringing up such a sensitive topic, but then he remembered that Gu Jingzhe was the grandson who brought him the most honor, so he suppressed his emotions.

Uncle Gu said, "The Xu family will be here soon, everyone get busy. Don't look so gloomy. Wives, go start the fire and cook. Da Hu, you guys go chop wood."

Meat and vegetables were piled up in the courtyard of the Gu family's old house, which were purchased in advance for Gu Ruinian's engagement banquet.

Seeing that the clan leader was only focused on arguing with Old Master Gu, Uncle Gu stood up and directed everyone to get to work.

Uncle Gu's beaming appearance stood out slightly from the group of clansmen who all wore long faces.

He not only approved of Gu Ruinian marrying into the Xu family, but also wished that Gu Ruinian would immediately go to the Xu family.