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

Chapter 680: What happens next in the plot?

Hong sat calmly.

Not afraid at all.

He wants to divorce her on behalf of the clan; the old man's wishful thinking is too good to be true.

He Chao's household registration is in Qinghewan, which has been officially certified by the government.

He Chao's name is now on the official report, which means he has made contributions to the country. As He Chao's wife, if the clan dares to divorce her without He Chao's consent, not only will Magistrate Liu intervene, but Prefect Yao will also intervene.

Let alone the clan wanting to divorce her, even if He Chao himself wanted to divorce her, it wouldn't be so easy.

Based on the fact that she stayed at home for more than two years while He Chao was on the border, she was a meritorious person, and He Chao could not divorce her.

Hong said coolly, "Family? What kind of family member is someone pretending to be? At most, they're just a fraudster."

Tong Huaqiong chimed in, "That's right. He's an old conman with one foot in the grave, rotten to the core. He's probably done a lot of bad things like bullying orphans and widows to swindle money, otherwise how could he be so adept at it?"

"You want to divorce someone on behalf of your clan? They're a married couple who've gone through a wedding ceremony and have a marriage certificate. Even the imperial court can't divorce them. And you want to divorce someone on behalf of your clan? Do you think you're more important than the emperor? What kind of clan are you? Your clan rules are above the law of the land. Are you royalty?"

Uncle He looked at Tong Huaqiong with gloomy eyes. Why is the cursing so vulgar? I've never seen a boss interfere with his employee's wedding banquet.

They all found out that He Chao was Tong Huaqiong's manager, not her servant.

“Sister-in-law, your uncle was just speaking in the heat of the moment, what talk of breaking up, don’t take it to heart. Sister-in-law, we’re all from the same family. You and your fourth brother have been away for so many years, without the help of your maternal family or the support of your in-laws, you must have suffered a lot to build such a large family fortune. It’s our fault for not taking you back to Hejia Village to recognize your relatives all these years, it’s normal for you to be angry now. What respectable daughter-in-law doesn’t have to open the ancestral hall to pay respects to the ancestors?” A long-faced woman stepped forward and said to Hong Shi, “If you’re angry, just let it out, we can apologize to you in front of the clan. When your fourth brother comes back tomorrow, the clan will ask him to take you back to Hejia Village to open the ancestral hall to recognize your ancestors and be included in the genealogy.”

This woman is Qian, the daughter-in-law of the silver-haired woman's second aunt. According to the birth order, He Chao should call her his second cousin-in-law.

She called him "younger brother" and "sister-in-law" affectionately, but in reality, He Chao was only nine years old when he left home, and she didn't even know whether He Chao was black or white.

All she knew was that her cousin in the clan had become rich, and everyone wanted to get a piece of the action, so naturally she wanted to too.

Seeing her uncle and Hong Shi at odds, she was extremely anxious.

Zhu Zi is her third son. Her main goal this time is to get Madam Hong to recognize Zhu Zi as her adopted son. If she wants Madam Hong to agree, she must make Madam Hong happy.

Her uncle's incessant remarks just now were not in her best interest.

She could tell at a glance that Hong was too old to have children. If she really divorced Hong, and He Chao married a young and fertile wife, what chance would her son have?

She has four sons anyway, and if one of them is adopted out to inherit the huge family fortune, her family won't lose out at all.

My uncle offended the Hong family, which is not good for Zhuzi's adoption.

The old man clearly agreed at home that everything would be based on Zhuzi's adoption, but things changed once we entered Qinghewan.

Uncle can just put on airs at home, but why can't he distinguish between what's important and what's not when he's with He Chao? He deserves to be scolded.

The prize was within reach, so Qian, the second sister-in-law of the He family, quickly came out to apologize to Hong.

Madam Hong looked at them coldly and said, "You bunch of fraudsters, how dare you mention your ancestors? What, are all your families dead? Do you need someone else to take their wife and sue your ancestors?"

Qian's smile froze on her face.

She couldn't understand why He Chao's wife couldn't distinguish right from wrong; she had spoken up for her, yet her wife showed no appreciation whatsoever. Her mouth began to spit out a barrage of insults.

She genuinely believed that Madam Hong was angry with them. Firstly, they hadn't acknowledged the marriage for so many years, yet they suddenly tried to claim kinship when He Chao was at the height of his power; she would have been angry too. Secondly, her uncle's words were too harsh, frequently suggesting that Madam Hong couldn't have children and should be divorced, so it was normal for Madam Hong to be angry.

She spoke up to dispel Hong's anger towards the He family and to give both sides a way out.

However, Ms. Hong did not follow her script.

"No, sister-in-law, why are you saying such harsh things? I'm only thinking of you."

"Two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed, and a bunch of scoundrels can't help but do evil. I don't know if you're deaf or if you don't have ears, it's like you can't understand human speech. I said He Chao has no family, but you jumped out and called him sister-in-law."

"They're all from the same opera troupe, and the roles are all assigned quite completely. After Second Aunt finishes singing, Eldest Uncle sings, and after Eldest Uncle finishes singing, Second Sister-in-law goes on. Can you guess what the next act is?"

Tong Huaqiong interrupted Qian Shi and turned her head to ask Hong Shi with great interest.

"That must be because they're worried that Sister Hong doesn't have any children, so they're proposing to adopt a child to live with her so that Sister Hong and Manager He can take care of her in their old age," Zhao said sarcastically.

Aunt Qin chimed in, "Providing for someone's old age? You're too kind-hearted. In my opinion, the real motive is to seize Sister Hong and Manager He's assets. Putting aside the fact that Manager He is making money doing business with Manager Tong, just consider that Manager He has rendered meritorious service on the border and has been personally rewarded by the Emperor. This will attract many unscrupulous people to have ulterior motives. If Manager He is penniless, do you think anyone would abandon their unborn child?"

When Zhao and Aunt Qin kowtowed to Hong at the pillar, they saw through the wolfish ambitions of this group of people.

Even one's own nephew can't always be trusted, let alone a nephew from a distant relative beyond the fifth degree of kinship.

That pillar is already fifteen or sixteen years old. If they're not here to seize property, what are they here for?
Anyway, neither Zhao nor Aunt Qin believed that this kid would do charity work.

These words turned the silver-haired woman, Uncle He, and Zhu Zi's parents' faces ashen.

There was a look of embarrassment and anger in his eyes, as if his scheme had been exposed.

They've predicted everything that will happen; how are we supposed to proceed from here?
I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go through with it.

Just as the silver-haired woman was about to speak, Zhu Zi couldn't hold back and spoke up.

"Fourth Aunt."

He Chao was the fourth child in the entire He family, so Zhu Zi called Hong Shi "Fourth Aunt".

"My fourth uncle has no son. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother were worried that my fourth uncle would be looked down upon, so they discussed giving me to my fourth uncle and fourth aunt for adoption."

The family had originally planned to give their fourth son to He Chao and Hong Shi, since the fourth son was under ten years old.

Firstly, He Chao and Hong Shi are more likely to accept it because of his young age, and secondly, it is not too late for a ten-year-old child to start his formal education.

But the pillar jumped out.

Zhu Zi has reached the age where he can be married.

The family was poor, and there was an older brother who was not yet married. The family's money was to be saved to build a house for the older brother, so his marriage was not yet on the agenda.

He said that if he were adopted by Ho Chiu and Hung, his marriage would go smoothly. At his age, he could follow Ho Chiu into business or become an official. Once he had control of Ho Chiu's assets, his fourth brother would not have to worry about studying.

His words convinced his grandmother, and he was thus granted the opportunity to be adopted.