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

Chapter 678: Are they here to claim family or to seize the family fortune?
Aunt Li calmed herself down.

These three people clearly wouldn't listen to force, so she tried a softer approach and began to plead with Su Qing.

"Good girl, I beg you to give me back my silver. Fifty taels of silver is our life savings as farmers. This silver is for my son to get married. Please have pity on me. I don't need the job of an embroiderer. Just give me back my silver."

No matter what Aunt Li said, Su Qing had not seen any money; it was all just Aunt Li's slander.

He even boasted that he was upright and had nothing to fear, and told Li's second aunt to take the case to the authorities.

Li's second aunt fell into despair.

To accuse Su Qing of embezzling her money, we need witnesses.

Even if she didn't understand the law, she knew that her own son couldn't be a witness, otherwise she might be convicted of conspiring with her son to slander Su Qing and be flogged in court.

Just as Li's second aunt was in despair, Li Mingxiu flashed the box in her hand at her and whispered in her ear, "I forgot to tell you, second aunt, I've gotten back the jewelry you stole back then. Also, I've registered my household as a woman, so you can forget about selling me as a concubine. If you do too many bad things, a retribution worse than losing fifty taels of silver awaits you."

Aunt Li's eyes widened as she stared intently at the jewelry in Li Mingxiu's hand.

That's her stuff.

It was actually taken by that bitch Li Mingxiu.

Even the most foolish person would understand that the lucrative position of embroiderer in the weaving workshop, and the promise of becoming an embroiderer by giving Su Qing fifty taels of silver, was all a scheme by Li Mingxiu and Su Qing.

Okay, they conspired to scheme against her.

"You wretch, give me back my dignity!"

"Give me back my money!"

Aunt Li roared and lunged at Li Mingxiu, who kicked her hard in the back of the knee.

"Ouch."

Aunt Li, in pain, fell to the ground.

Li Mingxiu stomped with all her might, and Li's second aunt couldn't get up for a long time, collapsing to the ground in despair and weeping bitterly.

She cried because Li Mingxiu and Su Qing had lied to her, and she cried because of her lost money.
The three returned to the weaving workshop. Tong Huaqiong learned that Li Mingxiu had successfully established herself as a female householder and had retrieved her belongings from the Li family. She was happy for Li Mingxiu.

Li Mingxiu plans to buy a small house in town when the weather gets warmer. She doesn't have enough money yet, so she needs to work for another two years.

Anyway, she can stay at the weaving workshop.

In winter, sleeping in a pile of cotton is warm and cozy; in summer, sleeping in a covered walkway is cool and comfortable.

If Tong Huaqiong hadn't told her that girls need their own place to live, she really wouldn't have wanted to buy a house.

Li Mingxiu's establishment of a women's household caused a stir in the weaving workshop, which Gu Xiaoxue greatly admired.

She also wanted to establish a female household and break away from the Gu family.

But she could only dream about it.

Li Mingxiu's parents are both dead, and the clan bullies the orphaned girl; she can stand up.

Since her parents, grandparents, elder brother, and sister-in-law are all alive, she cannot be established as an heir.

It's almost the end of the first month of the lunar calendar.

The He family from Pingyang County, whom Tong Huaqiong and Hong Shi had been "waiting for," finally arrived.

There was a large group of people, both men and women.

Having found out where Manager He lived beforehand, the group headed straight there.

Upon receiving the news, the Hong family specifically asked Tong Huaqiong to stay at home and wait with them.

Zhao and Aunt Qin also rushed over to cheer them on after hearing the news.

A large crowd surged in, and an elderly woman with a full head of white hair stepped in and cried out, "Chao's daughter-in-law!" Her cries were abruptly interrupted when she saw Hong Shi and Tong Huaqiong, because she didn't know which of the two women was He Chao's wife.

She had only heard that He Chao's wife was very beautiful, and that the two of them looked even more beautiful standing on the right.

So he reached out his hand to Tong Huaqiong, but before he could say "Chao's daughter-in-law," Tong Huaqiong turned away and said, "You've mistaken me for someone else."

The silver-haired old woman showed no embarrassment whatsoever, turned her head and grabbed Hong's hand, calling her "my darling."

Hong: "."

Tong Huaqiong's lips twitched.

This guy is shameless.

The old woman grabbed Hong's arm and wept. Anyone who didn't know the situation would think that Manager He had died at the border. Zhao and Aunt Qin exchanged a glance; this group of people didn't seem to have any good intentions.

The two men roused themselves and offered some words of advice, then helped the silver-haired old woman off Hong Shi, and the group of people swarmed into the house.

He Chao's relatives in Hejiazhuang made a living by farming, toiling in the mud, and their lives were not easy. Therefore, when they saw He Chao's mansion, they exchanged knowing glances and then looked around the house with their eyes darting around.

They made the right choice coming here.

"What do you all call each other?" Tong Huaqiong asked on behalf of Madam Hong.

The silver-haired old woman didn't answer, a feeling of unease rising within her. She looked at Tong Huaqiong and asked, "Who are you?"

Didn't they say He Chao's wife was an orphan? How come she has sisters?

Tong Huaqiong said with a half-smile, "I am Manager He's boss."

The silver-haired old woman felt reassured; the master of the house wasn't an official, and couldn't interfere in the He family's affairs.

"I am the mother-in-law of Manager He's family."

“I am the neighbor of Manager He’s mother-in-law.”

When Zhao and Aunt Qin saw the silver-haired woman sweeping her gaze over them, they cursed the old hag in their hearts while revealing their identities.

Aunt Qin noticed that among the women was Li's second aunt's cousin. Since that Zhang's cousin was pretending not to know her, she didn't need to rush to greet her.

The silver-haired woman's gaze swept over the two of them before returning to Mrs. Hong, her eyes reddening.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "This acting is a bit too much."

“Chao’s daughter-in-law, I am your second aunt, and this is your eldest uncle.”

Tong Huaqiong frowned: "Oh, they look like a married couple. So they are the elder brother and younger sister-in-law."

The silver-haired old woman and the old man with a cane were both speechless with embarrassment.

The silver-haired woman was angry that Hong had neither offered her tea nor a seat, but thinking of her next plan, she suppressed her emotions and pointed to the silver-haired old man with a cane next to her. The old man she pointed to had no emotion on his face and exuded a cold aura.

"This is your third aunt, this is your second uncle, third aunt, eldest cousin, second cousin, fifth cousin, eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, fifth sister-in-law," the silver-haired woman introduced everyone one by one.

Mrs. Hong smiled without greeting or nodding.

The silver-haired woman paused, then pushed the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy standing behind her towards Madam Hong, saying, "This is my third grandson."

"Pillar, come here and kowtow."

Tong Huaqiong and Madam Hong exchanged glances, and both of them frowned almost imperceptibly.

Why kowtow?

There is only one possibility: they want to adopt the child to He Chao and Hong Shi as their heir.

The boy named Zhuzi knelt down beside Hong Shi with a thud and kowtowed three times.

Tong Huaqiong had been observing the child ever since he came in.

When he looked around the room just now, his eyes were filled with greed, it seems that he had long regarded Manager He and Madam Hong's property as his own.

He Jiayaozu is like this!
Tong Huaqiong said indifferently, "Why are you kowtowing when it's neither a holiday nor a festival?"

Zhu Zi was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Tong Huaqiong, and he quickly lowered his head to hide it.

Madam Hong frowned, looked at the silver-haired woman, and asked with a puzzled expression, "My husband's family is all dead, so where would he get any relatives? May I ask, where did all these aunts and uncles of yours come from?"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

The He family never expected that even after they had come all the way to He Chao's house, Madam Hong would still refuse to acknowledge the marriage.

Uncle He pounded his cane on the ground, angrily saying, "He Chao has become successful, hasn't he? He doesn't even recognize his relatives from his hometown anymore."

Hong concealed the disdain on her face.

When He Chao was an orphan, they never treated him as a relative.

Although they are said to be relatives, they are actually only distant relatives, at most within the fifth degree of kinship, and hardly qualify as proper uncles or aunts.

A group of strangers came and tried to take advantage of her.

That's just wishful thinking.

Are they here to claim kinship or to seize family property?
Even a fool can see that.