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

Chapter 759: Talking nonsense

Huang Jingshan's words immediately embarrassed Madam Qin.

Putting aside the fact that the men from the two families have different stances, Huang Jingshan and Madam Qin are fundamentally different people.

I don't know what Madam Qin was thinking. She knew the two of them were not on the same wavelength, but she still insisted on asking Huang Jingshan.

She was certain that Huang Jingshan was younger and more delicate than her, and with her aloof demeanor, she would disdain to answer the question or change the subject. She would then seize the opportunity to "confirm" that Tong Huaqiong and the mighty general had an affair.

Madam Qin's face was very pale.

Huang Jingshan's voice was as cold as her face, making people's teeth ache.

"What does Madam Qin want to know? I've only heard of the mighty general who has fought in many battles and made great contributions to the Great Sheng Dynasty. I have no idea about this so-called 'green plum'. It's ridiculous that you're slandering Aunt Tong and the mighty general based on the fact that they both come from Ningcheng." Huang Jingshan's tone became increasingly cold.

Mrs. Qin, embarrassed by Huang Jingshan's retort, said, "It was just a joke, Mrs. Lu, why take it so seriously?"

Huang Jingshan said, "Madam Qin knows perfectly well whether it's a joke or not. What kind of joke involves romantic relationships? If Madam Qin wants to know who General Wei Wu's childhood sweetheart is, she should just call General Wei Wu over and ask him. It would be better than making up stories in private."

"Madam Qin, you surely understand better than I the principle that loose lips sink ships. If false rumors about Aunt Tong spread from today onwards, you can expect the consequences. The last person to offend Aunt Tong, Princess Mingyue, is still at Longhua Temple. Do you think Madam Qin is more respectable than Princess Mingyue?"

Madam Qin was speechless after being rebuked. Only then did she regret her slander of Tong Huaqiong and the mighty general. Tong Huaqiong was just like Old Madam Min; there was no benefit in offending her. However, she felt humiliated by being publicly reprimanded by Huang Jingshan and wanted to get up and leave in anger. But since the Crown Prince had not yet left, she dared not leave first.

Huang Jingshan felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction after she had humiliated Madam Qin.

She didn't think that Aunt Tong was inferior to the General because they had feelings for each other. She just didn't like Madam Qin using this to stir up trouble and gossip about the two of them.

The exchange between Huang Jingshan and Madam Qin naturally reached the ears of others.

No one dared to speculate whether Tong Huaqiong and the mighty general had any childhood sweetheart relationship.

At this moment, Zhao chuckled twice and said to the old lady Huang sitting to the side, "At first, my mother-in-law asked me to come to Shengjing to see my daughter. I thought, what kind of place is Shengjing? Is it a place for nobles? I'm just a country woman, with rude manners and vulgar speech. I like to gossip and chatter about this and that. Wouldn't I be a laughing stock if I went there? But when I came, I found that the people in Shengjing are not much different from those in our village."

"They both love to gossip and like to get together and laugh whenever they have nothing to do."

Grandma Huang smiled and chimed in, "People all eat the same grains, so how can one be more noble than another? The people of Shengjing are just as gossipy as us, always talking about who's who in the village chased whose chickens or whose child stole whose melons. They, on the other hand, talk about whose son and daughter are getting married, or whose son writes well."

His words made many people laugh.

The third wife of the Duke of Ningguo and Madam Qin were bothered by the subtle digs from the two old ladies.

Who says old ladies in the countryside are simple and honest? They can curse without using foul language, yet they can leave people speechless.

Isn't this clearly saying they're both gossipy?
However, they couldn't get angry at the two old ladies, since the two old ladies hadn't named them.

Thus, the topic of Tong Huaqiong and the mighty general was dropped.

Just as Zhao and Old Lady Huang said, people in Shengjing also enjoy gossiping about everyday matters when they get together.

Soon, everyone was discussing Gu Taohua and Su Chengmin's marriage again.

“I think the daughter of Lord Suifeng is a good one. She is beautiful and capable, no less so than the girls in our Shengjing.”

"Logically speaking, when the eldest son of the Su family gets engaged, Lord Su and his wife should be in charge of making arrangements to attend. How come it is the maternal grandmother and uncle who are making the arrangements? Anyone who doesn't know the situation would think that Su Chengmin is a child of the Min family."

"Last time, Lord Su asked the Emperor to grant Su Chengmin a marriage, but Su Chengmin refused on the spot. His father was so embarrassed that he didn't even attend the engagement ceremony."

"It's not that he didn't want to participate, it's that the Min family didn't even notify him."

The crowd whispered among themselves as they noticed that Su Shihang and Madam Lu had not appeared at the engagement ceremony from beginning to end.

"So what if the Su family doesn't come? Su Chengmin has the mighty General as his backer, which is far better than his biased father. Besides, these days, in terms of who has more influence with the Emperor, Su Chengmin is more favored than his father. At such a young age, he's already the leader of the Imperial Guards. With his abilities, he naturally doesn't need to care about his father's feelings. Su Shihang is harboring wicked intentions in asking the Emperor for a marriage decree. If he truly cared for his son, he shouldn't have asked the Emperor to grant him a daughter from a prestigious family. Instead, he asked for a girl from the Lu family in the countryside. Isn't it because he's afraid that Su Chengmin will become too powerful for him to handle later, and he wants to seize Su Chengmin's position first?" These words were spoken by Madam Yao, Lord Yao's mother. Tong Huaqiong overheard these words.

Tong Huaqiong couldn't help but glance at Madam Yao a few more times.

Madam Yao, as Lian Hengruo's mother-in-law, was not a good mother-in-law, but she was fair in her words.

Everyone in Shengjing knew that Su Chengmin was raised by the Min family, but the fact that the Su family did not attend Su Chengmin's engagement was something the entire family had not expected.

By doing this, Su Chengmin clearly intended to sever the father-son relationship within the Su family.

Every cause has its effect. Some people feel that the Su family treated Su Chengmin unfairly, which is why they have reaped what they have today.

Some people also felt that Su Shihang was Su Chengmin's father after all, and that a son shouldn't treat his father like that.

Regardless of what people were saying, the marriage between Gu Taohua and Su Chengmin was settled without the Su family's involvement.

Su Shihang had no choice but to admit it, since the marriage was arranged under the witness of the "Grandson of the Crown Prince".

The Crown Prince represents the face of the royal family, and even though Su Shihang is Su Chengmin's biological father, he cannot object.

Su Chengmin and Gu Taohua have matched their birth dates and marriage plans are set for the following spring.

In the evening, the emperor sent someone from the palace to fetch the crown prince.

The grandson bid farewell to Tong Huaqiong and the others with reluctance.

Everyone respectfully saw the Crown Prince off as he returned to the palace.

After the Crown Prince left, the guests gradually dispersed.

After the guests had all left, Princess Yu sent someone to deliver gifts.

Tong Huaqiong opened the box and saw the jade lying inside, which looked like a pool of clear water.

You can tell at first glance that it is worth a lot of money.

Tong Huaqiong couldn't understand why the Prince Yu's Mansion, which had clearly become her enemy, would send her an engagement gift, and why they had to wait until after the engagement banquet to send it.

Tong Huaqiong couldn't fathom the thoughts of these upper-class figures in Shengjing, so she didn't bother trying.

Princess Yu's gift of betrothal gifts to Gu Taohua was entirely out of consideration for the Crown Prince.

Last time outside the palace, Princess Yu learned from Tong Huaqiong that Princess Mingyue had surrounded Gu Jingzhe and was furious.

I thought Princess Mingyue was just looking for a passing fancy, but I never expected that she would ask Prince Yu and Princess Yu to make Gu Jingzhe their son-in-law.

Even though she knew Gu Jingzhe was getting married, she didn't care.

Prince Yu was so angry that he almost fainted on the spot. He said that Princess Yu's attempt to make amends for Princess Mingyue was all due to Gu Jingzhe's deliberate seduction, and that his own daughter was too naive to be fooled.

Princess Mingyue immediately denied the Princess Yu's statement, saying that Gu Jingzhe, being from the countryside, couldn't understand the benefits of being a prince consort with the backing of the Prince Yu's mansion. She asked her father and mother to persuade Gu Jingzhe to divorce his wife and marry her.

Princess Yu wished she could crack open Princess Mingyue's brain to see how much water had gotten inside.

Because of this incident, Prince Yu and Princess Yu sent Princess Mingyue to Longhua Temple that very night.

Princess Yu sent betrothal gifts to Gu Taohua, reminding Tong Huaqiong that Princess Mingyue was about to leave Longhua Temple. This was a warning to Tong Huaqiong to keep a close eye on her son.