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

Chapter 689: Ten Miles of Red Makeup
"okay."

"They're just two girls; acknowledging them won't help the Wu family line."

"The son in Zhao Di's belly is the continuation of the Wu family line."

Fearing that Wu Musheng would cause trouble and Tong Huaqiong would drive them all away, Wang stood by and tried to persuade them.

The more Wang Shi tried to persuade him, the more excited Wu Musheng became, and he lifted his leg and walked towards Master Su and the two children.

Before the time it takes to drink a cup of tea is up, Wu Musheng returned dejectedly.

Master Su was not going to tolerate Wu Musheng and berated him mercilessly.

In addition, many of the people present were the parents of Master Su's students. When they saw Wu Musheng walking towards Master Su, they eagerly surrounded him.

If Wu Musheng dares to speak disrespectfully to Master Su, he will immediately take action.

Some of the older women even spat directly onto Wu Musheng's face, followed by a barrage of profanities insulting his ancestors.

Wu Musheng was quite frightened by the scene and didn't dare to say a word. His face was pale as he turned around and came back.

“Brother, you’re such a coward. Hua’er is a child of the Wu family, and you, her biological father, are actually scared by her stepfather. If word gets out, it will be a disgrace to our Wu family.”

Wu Na, not one to shy away from stirring things up, kept making sarcastic remarks while munching on sunflower seeds.

She wished that Wu Musheng and Master Su would fight.

Why should Tong Pandi, a divorced woman, have such a comfortable life? She should be given some trouble.

"Shut up!" Wu Musheng vented his anger on Wu Na, looking like he wanted to devour her. "You still have the nerve to mention the Wu family? If you weren't so stupid, how could the Wu family have become what it is today?"

When her older brother got angry, the painful memory of being beaten last time resurfaced in Wu Na's mind, and she dared not continue dancing in Wu Musheng's minefield.

"Ruinian, where did Ruinian go?"

Wu Na changed the subject, her bright eyes darting around to find Gu Ruinian.

Wu Na and Gu Ruinian kept a close eye on her. She was heavily pregnant and required Ruinian to be by her side to take care of her at all times.

In the blink of an eye, Ruinian disappeared, so he called out loudly.

Gu Ruinian arrived at Tong Huaqiong's house, slipped into the kitchen when no one was looking, took two large steamed buns, filled a large bowl with meat, and then found a secluded corner to eat heartily.

Gu Ruinian no longer cared about taking the imperial examinations to become an official or stirring up trouble; all he wanted was to make a good living and fill his stomach.

Wu Na's voice was loud, so Gu Ruinian naturally heard it.

He had no intention of going out.

During this rare moment of respite, he wanted to stay alone a little longer.

The auspicious time has arrived.

The sound of suona and firecrackers was heard outside.

"The bride has arrived."

"The bride has arrived."

Man'er and the other children had been running towards the village entrance repeatedly since morning.

Upon seeing Gu Jingzhe riding a horse and carrying flowers, the children excitedly shouted and threw flower petals they had collected from the village at the returning wedding procession.

"I'm coming."

Everyone rushed to the main entrance.

Instantly, the road in front of Tong Huaqiong's house was completely blocked.

The dowry was carried in a long, winding line from Tong Huaqiong's house to the edge of the village.

This caused a stir among the crowd.

In rural areas, dowries are not common, so the people of Qinghewan were amazed by Lu Zhaozhao's dowry.

Even the well-informed Aunt Tang was wide-eyed. When Lian Hengruo got married, her dowry was quite large, but it was still less than half of Lu Zhaozhao's.

They were imperial merchants after all; they can't be compared to them, they can't be compared to them.

"Did they send the entire Lu family as compensation?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, this dowry, it'll take two lifetimes to spend it all."

The villagers were talking about it, their faces showing envy.

Grandma Gu's sister, Grandma Yang, stared at the dowry with eyes that looked like they were about to pop out.

“Look at this dowry, Jingzhe’s family is really generous.”

Grandma Ding nudged Grandma Yang's arm.

Grandma Yang's expression kept changing; this dowry was too heartbreaking.

Just as displeased as Old Madam Yang was Madam Jia. Her son had been overjoyed with the promised dowry of five hundred taels of silver when he married Wu Na, and the dowry itself was worth far more than that. The crucial point was that the promised five hundred taels of silver from the Wu family hadn't even reached them.

Jia was extremely agitated.

My whole body felt like it was being pricked by wheat awns.

Tong Huaqiong was speechless when she saw Jia's face, which seemed to be both crying and laughing.

The two families clearly didn't get along, so Jia had no reason to attend Gu Jingzhe's wedding. But for some reason, she insisted on coming.

Every time she saw the spirited Gu Jingzhe and compared him to Ruinian, she would be consumed by jealousy, which would linger for days.

This kind of internal conflict only hurts yourself.

Not to mention Tong Huaqiong, even Jia Shi didn't understand her own thoughts.

Despite hating Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe so much, she never wanted to miss the glory of the eldest son's family.

It's like someone has a serious illness.

The dowry continued to be carried towards Tong Huaqiong's home, and the roadside was crowded with people.

"This is only part of the dowry; the bulk of it is in the new house in the prefectural city."

At this moment, Song Qiaoniang, the sister-in-law from the same clan who had gone to the prefectural city to welcome the bride with Gu Jingzhe, came to the front of everyone, pointing to the dowry with a proud look on her face.

what?
Everyone was shocked once again.

Is this only part of the dowry?

How much would the total dowry be?

They finally witnessed the so-called "ten-mile-long red bridal procession".

Tong Huaqiong was equally shocked.

The dowry agreed upon during the marriage negotiations could be carried directly to the new house in the prefectural city, or it could remain with the Lu family; it was all going to end up there anyway.

Unexpectedly, the Lu family carried it directly to Qinghe Bay.

Grandpa Lu is really making Gu Jingzhe proud.

However, Tong Huaqiong did not expect that the dowry carried to Qinghe Bay was only a small part of Lu Zhaozhao's dowry, with the majority in the prefectural city.

"The bride has alighted from the sedan chair."

"The bride has alighted from the sedan chair."

A group of children cheered, and in an instant, the bridal sedan chair was surrounded by a huge crowd.

Wei and Song Qiaoniang helped Lu Zhaozhao out of the sedan chair, while Chen Sufeng and Liu Yue'e handed a red silk ribbon to the newlyweds on either side.

Originally, Gu Jingzhe was in front, holding the red ribbon, while Lu Zhaozhao walked behind.

The groom and bride walk in this manner on the way to the wedding ceremony.

Gu Jingzhe suddenly stopped and, in full view of everyone, took Lu Zhaozhao's hand.

Lu Zhaozhao, under her red veil, blushed instantly.

During the wedding ceremony, Tong Huaqiong sat in the highest position.

Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu watched Tong Huaqiong receive the newlyweds' homage, their hearts filled with complex emotions, lamenting that their son had not witnessed his youngest son's marriage.

After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds were taken to their new home.

The new house was packed with people.

Especially those relatives who had never met Lu Zhaozhao were all inside watching the spectacle.

"The feast has begun, everyone hurry up and eat."

Seeing a large group of people crammed into the new house with no room to even step, Gu Baishuang was afraid that Lu Zhaozhao would be trampled in the chaos, so she shouted "Let the feast begin!" and instantly chased half of the people away.

"With such a large dowry, the bride must be as ugly as a woman without salt."

From the moment she saw the dowry, Mrs. Gu's sister, Mrs. Yang, suspected that the bride was missing limbs; otherwise, what family would be willing to give so much money to marry off their daughter?

The moment Lu Zhaozhao stepped out of the sedan chair, she disappointed Old Madam Yang.

Grandma Yang was still unwilling to give up, and said this at the door of the new house.

"They say ugly people are often troublesome, and it's true. You old hag, look at your face, it's like a donkey's face." Gu Taohua pointed at Old Mrs. Yang's elongated face and retorted without any politeness.

Chen Sufeng said angrily, "If you can't speak properly, then shut up. Your grandson is incompetent at getting married, so you're just jealous of Jingzhe."

Tong Huaqiong said to Su Qing beside her, "Go tell Daqiao and Fengnian, who are in charge of keeping the gift book, to return the gift money to Second Aunt. Don't let her eat at this banquet, and the two families should not have any contact afterward."

Su Qing answered "yes," waved her hand toward the stream and pond, and two strong maids grabbed Old Madam Yang and quickly threw her outside.

The scene left Lu Zhaozhao's maids and nannies speechless.