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

Chapter 693 The Arrogant New Bride
Gu Xiaoxue thanked them and promptly put the gift away without any hesitation.

My cousin's wife gave her the gift because she genuinely cared about her; there's no point in refusing it.

She secretly resolved to save money so that when Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Jingzhe had a child, she, as the aunt, would make a longevity lock with high gold content for her nephew.

Gu Honglian looked at the jewelry in Gu Xiaoxue's hand with envy in her eyes.

She was an unmarried elder, so logically she shouldn't have given Lu Zhaozhao a gift, and Lu Zhaozhao shouldn't have given her one either.

But Lu Zhaozhao did not overlook Gu Honglian; she gave Gu Honglian a gold hairpin.

Such a gift was already considered quite generous in Qinghewan, especially considering Gu Honglian was an elder. New brides only received gifts from their elders upon meeting the new bride; they never gave anything in return.

She gave it to Gu Honglian simply because Gu Honglian was about the same age as her, and giving her a hairpin was nothing.

Gu Honglian held the gold hairpin. She would have been very happy to receive just the hairpin, but compared to Gu Xiaoxue's complete set of glittering gold jewelry, the gift seemed insignificant.

Gu Honglian's envious and jealous gaze fell into the eyes of Old Master Gu, making him feel uneasy.

He couldn't help but resent Old Mrs. Gu in his heart, for embarrassing her granddaughter-in-law without any sense of propriety when she came in.

A granddaughter-in-law who is so generous should be treated with respect and flattery. If you please your granddaughter-in-law, will you still have to worry about your daughter's dowry?

Grandpa Gu has been worrying about Gu Honglian's dowry lately.

After three rounds of negotiations with the Fan family, they remained firm, stating that Gu Honglian must provide a dowry of no less than one hundred taels of silver if she wanted to become a scholar's wife.

The old Gu family house is no longer available.

Gu Ruinian had not yet paid off the money he borrowed when he got married, so he could not borrow any more.

Gu Youtian suggested that Gu Honglian marry an old widower as his second wife, just like Gu Baishuang did, and that she not only wouldn't need a dowry but would also receive a bride price. Old Master Gu hesitated, but under Gu Honglian's tearful pleas, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree to find a way to raise the dowry so that she could marry Fan Tong as she wished.

Grandpa Gu has now set his sights on Lu Zhaozhao. With so much dowry from his granddaughter-in-law, even a little bit leaked out between his fingers would be enough for Honglian to eat.

Thinking of this, Old Master Gu smiled and said to Lu Zhaozhao, "Once you marry into the Gu family, you are a member of the Gu family. You will be treated like family here. If Jingzhe ever wrongs you, I will definitely stand up for you."

Gu Jingzhe's lips twitched. What kind of drama were her grandparents putting on?
One cop and one lenient cop?
Based on Gu Jingzhe's understanding of his grandfather, he immediately realized that his grandfather probably wanted to get something out of Lu Zhaozhao.

The old man is probably mistaken.

Lu Zhaozhao responded obediently with an "okay".

But I remained unmoved.

What kind of trouble could Gu Jingzhe possibly cause her? Even if he did, couldn't she just follow Tong Pandi's example and divorce her husband? She doesn't need anyone to back her up.

Grandpa Gu was very satisfied with Lu Zhaozhao's obedient appearance.

It seems that my kind attitude was effective.

He'll have to ask Gu Honglian to coax Lu Zhaozhao properly later. He doesn't need much; two loads of Lu Zhaozhao's dowry will be enough for Gu Honglian.

Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao offered tea to everyone, and as they were about to finish, Gu Ruinian and Wu Na walked in.

Wu Na sat down in the chair with a yawn, which made Old Mrs. Gu stare at her.

Gu Ruinian was the eldest son, and since he was already married, according to the customs of Qinghewan, he and Wu Na were to drink a cup of tea with Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao. "My sister-in-law is so generous. I just saw Yao's family outside carrying writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. They said they were gifts from his third aunt." Wu Na drank her tea, touched her protruding belly, and said to Lu Zhaozhao, "My baby in my belly also calls you third aunt."

Jia was absolutely furious.

Tong Huaqiong's daughter-in-law already completely outclassed her own daughter-in-law, yet her own daughter-in-law begged for gifts from Tong Huaqiong's daughter-in-law like a beggar. She was so ashamed that she couldn't stand it if word got out.

Aunt Gu and the others' faces darkened. As Lu Zhaozhao's sister-in-law, Wu Na should have given her a gift. Not only did she not give her a gift, but she also took advantage of her status as sister-in-law to ask her cousin's wife for a gift. This was a disgrace to all the wives of the Gu family.

Lu Zhaozhao said in a neither soft nor hard tone, "Sister-in-law, he will naturally receive a gift after the baby is born."

The wives of the Gu family present thought that Lu Zhaozhao might look weak, but she was not someone who could be bullied.

Gu Jingzhe, however, was not polite at all, and said, "Sister-in-law Fengnian gave Zhaozhao shoes and socks, and you drank Zhaozhao's tea and gave her something in return?"

To everyone's surprise, Gu Jingzhe did the opposite and directly asked Wu Na for a gift.

Wu Na said awkwardly, "She's so rich, why would she lack shoes and socks?"

"It's getting late, let's go to the ancestral hall to pay respects to our ancestors," Uncle Gu said, pulling the awkward situation back from the brink.

So, led by the clan chief and Old Master Gu, Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao went to the ancestral hall.

As Gu Ruinian watched the couple walk away, he felt a mix of emotions.

When he first met Lu Zhaozhao, he fantasized that he would marry a girl like her so that his life in this era would not have been in vain.

At that time, he really thought that marrying Lu Zhaozhao wouldn't be a difficult thing.

He knows a lot, he can say sweet words and write love poems, he knows things that men of this era don't. What does Gu Jingzhe have? Besides being a bookworm, what else does he know? He doesn't understand how Lu Zhaozhao could fall in love with Gu Jingzhe.

Is it just because of his pretty face?
Women of this era were not allowed to enter the ancestral hall except on their wedding day and the day they died. Therefore, after the newlyweds left, Old Lady Gu and the women of the clan talked at home.

In front of the many women in the clan, Old Madam Gu spoke restrainedly, but once they left, in front of her own family members, such as Jia Shi, she spoke without restraint.

"Jingzhe has no backbone of a scholar at all. He's completely controlled by his wife. And this is only the beginning of their marriage. What will happen in the future?" Old Mrs. Gu was furious when she thought of the famous scene where Gu Jingzhe defended Lu Zhaozhao.

Wu Na said, "Who told his wife to be rich? Everyone fawns over and respects rich people. If all those dowry items were brought to our house, you and your mother would kneel down and kowtow to her a few times."

Wei couldn't help but laugh.

Although she didn't like Wu Na, Wu Na's words accurately grasped the thoughts of both her great-grandmother and mother-in-law.

Jia said angrily, "I'm not that cheap, to let the top scholar's son marry a merchant's daughter for a little money."

Wu Na rolled her eyes and said, "You talk as if you're so noble. You schemed against me back then just for the five hundred taels of dowry."

Jia was speechless.

Grandma Gu scolded, "What's all the noise about? These days, who doesn't want a dowry when they get a daughter-in-law?"

When the topic of dowry came up, Old Mrs. Gu thought of Gu Honglian's marriage.

Thinking about Gu Honglian's marriage makes him worried.

Grandma Gu smiled kindly at Gu Xiaoxue and said, "Xiaoxue, you and your aunt grew up together. Your aunt is currently getting engaged to a scholar named Fan. If she marries him, she'll be a scholar's wife. Scholars aren't easy to marry; there are only a few scholars in our entire Yanguan Town. So, the family plans to prepare a dowry for your aunt, but as you know, we can't just scrape together the money. Could you give your aunt the jewelry you have, so that your aunt can have it first?"