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

Chapter 662 News of Merit Spreads Everywhere

"Who? Who did you say performed meritorious service?"

Tong Fusheng's brow twitched, and he stopped the waiter.

Watching the waiter run towards Jufulai, who was his sister, the young master was his nephew.

Neither Gu Dashu nor Gu Jingzhe seem like people who could achieve merit on the border.

The waiter beamed with joy and said, "It's our young master who deserves the credit."

Tong Fusheng asked, "Who is your young master?"

The waiter announced loudly, "Our young master of Jufulai is Gu Dashu."

Tong Zhijie exclaimed in surprise: "How could Gu Dashu have made a contribution? Didn't he die in the northern desert?"

The waiter was so angry that he slapped him across the face.

They cursed the young master of the house without any grudge against him.

While it's true that Fujilai has many competitors in Pingchuan, no one dares to curse the young master to his face.

So he deserved that slap.

Tong Zhijie's tooth was knocked loose, and he covered his face, groaning.

Wang rushed forward, heartbroken, and helped Tong Zhijie up, questioning the waiter: "Why did you start hitting me when we were supposed to be talking? Be careful, or I'll report you to the authorities."

The waiter angrily said, "Auntie, how can you be so shameless? Didn't you hear your son cursing our young master? This slap was too lenient. Go ahead and report it to the authorities. The yamen is right ahead, hurry up and go. I'm afraid Magistrate Liu will convict you of slandering the imperial court."

Several government officials happened to be passing by on the road. They were the ones who posted the notices. When they heard someone slandering a person who had rendered meritorious service to the court, they couldn't help but glare angrily at Wang.

Wang was so frightened that she dared not utter a sound.

Tong Fusheng, being knowledgeable and experienced, asked further, "Young man, I am Dashu's uncle. What merit did my nephew achieve? Where did you get this information?"

The waiter looked Tong Fusheng up and down, never having seen an uncle like this before; he stood like a statue when his son cursed his nephew.

He doubted whether this person was actually Gu Dashu's maternal uncle.

I'm afraid this uncle isn't a good person; he's hoping the employer will suffer misfortune, but things just don't go as planned.

The shopkeeper, his face hardening into a smile, clapped his hands and said, "The report came from Shengjing, and it's posted on that wall over there. It clearly states that our young master, Gu Dashu, has been infiltrating the northern desert under the guise of doing business since he went to the border. He has made a great contribution to the victory of our Great Sheng border army. The black and white words are still fresh. If you don't believe me, why don't you go and see for yourself?"

After saying that, the guy ran off to Jufulai to share the good news with everyone there.

Not only should we share the good news with Liu Yue'e, but we should also share it with Gu Baishuang, since Nie Xiaofeng's contribution was also mentioned in the report.

After listening to his colleague's words, Tong Fusheng jogged all the way to the place where the notices were posted.

A huge crowd gathered, and Tong Fusheng pushed through the throng to stand under the newspaper and look up.

Wang and Tong Zhijie followed closely behind.

Tong Fusheng and Tong Zhijie were literate and saw that Gu Dashu's achievements were indeed listed in the report.

Wang asked, "Really? Did Gu Dashu really perform a meritorious service?"

Tong Fusheng nodded, his expression quite unpleasant.

Tong Zhijie said indignantly, "Gu Dashu really got lucky. For someone like him to be able to make a contribution shows that God is blind."

Wang sneered, "This only says that he made a contribution, it doesn't say whether he's alive or dead. He went to the northern desert to be a spy, he was probably killed by the northern people long ago. The higher-ups only gave him a merit to appease the Gu family."

As soon as Wang finished speaking, the people around her turned their sharp eyes on her, as if they wanted to devour her alive.

"Is this old lady's mouth stuffed with feces? How can she speak so foully?"

"The document here clearly states that he will be going to Beijing in March to receive an award, so what else could he be but still alive?"

"Who do you think you are? You wish people dead instead of good ones. You have a son of your own, how dare you curse someone else's son? Be careful, it might backfire on you." The crowd criticized Wang, and some older women even shoved her.

Someone recognized them and said, "These are the maternal elder brother and sister-in-law of the owner of Fujulai."

The crowd grew even angrier.

Tong Fusheng and Wang Shi slunk out of the crowd amidst the condemnation of the crowd.

Looking up, I saw Liu Yue'e and Gu Baishuang walking hand in hand.

Tong Fusheng gritted his teeth, hating Tong Huaqiong to the core.

How could this girl be so heartless? He felt he had treated her well from childhood to adulthood, but she seemed to be bewitched and severed ties with the Tong family.

As the uncle, he couldn't benefit from his nephew's achievements.

When Jufulai heard the news, they were as happy and excited as if it were Chinese New Year.

Liu Yue'e had known for a long time that her husband had made a contribution, but the news had been kept under wraps, and she didn't want to show off.

Otherwise, Tong Huaqiong would be the first to not let her off the hook.

Now that the news has been made public, and that the imperial court has issued a report to commend her nationwide, Liu Yue'e was overjoyed.

He grabbed Gu Baishuang and ran towards the place where the notices were posted.

Gu Baishuang was equally excited. Her brother and son had contributed to the achievement. She had only heard about it during the Spring Festival, but seeing it in person now was a completely different experience.

News of Gu Dashu's meritorious service spread like wildfire.

The news reached Qinghewan half a day later than in Pingchuan County.

In this era, reports of wrongdoing generally only reached the county government. When the news reached the lower levels, it was relayed through the yamen runners to the village head, who then passed it on to the village chiefs.

If you encounter an irresponsible county magistrate, the news will be suppressed and unable to get out.

This is why many remote villages are unaware when emperors change or the dynasty is overthrown.

Magistrate Liu was a responsible official who immediately sent messengers to various towns and villages, especially Yanguan Town and Qinghewan, upon receiving the report.

After all, Gu Dashu and Nie Xiaofeng had both made meritorious contributions, and their families needed to be informed of the news in a timely manner.

"We won a great victory in the border war."

Upon receiving the news, the village chief struck the gong and drum, excitedly announcing the news to the entire village.

The villagers didn't pay much attention to important matters of the imperial court, after all, Shengjing was too far away from ordinary people.

The villagers were very happy about the victory in the border war, mainly because the end of the war meant that they would no longer have to serve in the military or perform corvée labor, nor would they have to pay additional grain taxes.

"Gu Dashu and Manager He from our village made great contributions in the war against the northern deserts."

The news brought by the village chief's second sentence reverberated through the hearts of the villagers of Qinghewan.

"What? My grandson has done a good deed? What kind of good deed?" Grandpa Gu asked excitedly, his hands clasped behind his back.

The village chief looked at Grandpa Gu and thought to himself, "You call him 'grandson' so affectionately. I've never seen you show much affection for Gu Dashu before."

The villagers all turned to look at the village chief, eager to know what merit Gu Dashu and Manager He had made.

After all, Gu Dashu and Manager He went to the border to do business, and for the past two years, rumors have been circulating in the village that the two were captured and killed by the northern people at the border.

Ever since the rumors were dealt with by Liu Yue'e and the Zhao mother and daughter, no one dared to speak openly, but they couldn't help but murmur about it in private.

They couldn't understand how Gu Dashu and Manager He could have distinguished themselves in the war, so someone asked if the two of them had joined the army without any real fighting skills.

Just then, Boss Qian arrived, rubbing his hands together like flies, and gave everyone a mysterious smile. The villagers were even more eager to know how he had performed his service.