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

Chapter 768 I thought he was an orphan
Receiving Madam Lin's kindness, Tong Huaqiong nodded to her.

Two young women sat beside Madam Lin.

The two girls were dressed very similarly; they were clearly daughters of the Lin family.
Tong Huaqiong wasn't sure which one of them was the troublemaker Gu Dashu had been in his previous life.

Grandma Su glanced at Gu Taohua from head to toe and sneered, "Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—what's so great about being good at business? No matter how big your shop is, it's still just a business."

In Old Mrs. Su's mind, the social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were clearly defined and could not be easily broken down.

So what if you have the Crown Prince as your backer?
The grandson could not possibly drag the Gu family from commerce to a life of gentry.

In short, this girl is not worthy of Su Chengmin.

Tong Huaqiong retorted, not to be outdone, "As the saying goes, it's hard to eat shit and hard to earn money. I really think it's quite remarkable that I can make money. You look down on merchants, old lady, but what do we need from merchants for everything we wear, what we wear on our heads, and what we eat? Without merchants, how could goods from all over the country circulate? Take your birthday banquet today, for example, what item didn't we need to purchase from merchants?"

The retort made Old Mrs. Su frown.

She only said one sentence, but the widow had many more to say in return.

She might be the next Grandma Min.

This marriage is even more unacceptable.

Taking the opportunity, Madam Lu said, "Grandma, from now on we and Lord Suifeng are all one family, regardless of whether we are merchants or nobles. Our family is not the kind that discriminates against people, only allowing men to achieve success and not allowing women to be capable. Peach Blossom is capable of making money, so won't your eldest grandson benefit from it in the future?"

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Madam Lu.

These words, seemingly in favor of the Gu family, were actually intended to incite anger against Old Madam Su.

It means your eldest grandson might end up like your son, being controlled by his powerful in-laws.

Tong Huaqiong said, "It is indeed a good thing to be able to make money. No matter how capable Taohua is, the money she earns is her own. Only incompetent men rely on women. Although we live in the countryside, we are not blind. We can see that Chengmin is not that kind of person. Otherwise, he would not have been engaged to my Taohua."

What, is it a family tradition in the Su family to rely on one's wife and in-laws?

If Su Chengmin were truly that kind of person, Gu Taohua would never have gotten engaged to him.

Grandma Min nodded and added, "Cheng Min is fortunate to have grown up in the Min family since he was a child, unlike Su Shihang. Cheng Min's achievements are hard-earned, earned on the battlefield, and he can't rely on women."

Grandma Su's throat tightened with anger.

She felt that Sue-pung-kyo and Old Lady Min were targeting her son.

Did her son rely on women?
It was clearly because her son was so outstanding that people from Madam Lu to Min Baozhen flocked to him one after another.

Grandma Su glared at Madam Lu with displeasure. Her daughter-in-law was doing it on purpose, never mentioning anything negative, but bringing up her eldest grandson's association with the merchants' money.

Madam Lu's face stiffened.

Lately, everything has been going wrong; I always seem to run into bad luck when I speak or do things.

Grandma Su looked at Gu Taohua and said, "Is this Miss Taohua the girl who is engaged to my grandson?"

Gu Taohua nodded generously and said, "That's right."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Here it comes."

Grandma Su sent her the invitation because she wanted to renegotiate the marriage. It's not that easy to manipulate Gu Taohua.

Grandma Su said, "This marriage was arranged by your parents and a matchmaker. Your father didn't even know you were engaged to Chengmin, so this marriage shouldn't be valid. I wonder if the customs in Ningcheng are different from those in Shengjing?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "The rules are the same everywhere."

Then, with a puzzled look, she asked Old Madam Su, "Old Madam, Chengmin has a father? I've never heard of that. I thought he was an orphan. What's going on? Old Madam, you sent me an invitation to your birthday banquet. I thought you valued me and were taking the opportunity to make your acquaintance. Could it be that Chengmin is your grandson?"

Grandma Su was so angry that she was speechless.

Tong Huaqiong is cursing her son.

Madam Lu stared at Tong Huaqiong in disbelief. How could this person lie without batting an eye? Tong Huaqiong was clearly present when Su Shihang asked the Emperor to grant Su Chengmin a marriage decree in the palace. She was also knocked unconscious when Su Shihang went to the Gu family to break off the engagement a few days ago, yet she acted as if nothing had happened, constantly claiming that she didn't know Su Chengmin was Su Shihang's son.

Gu Taohua said, "Chengmin told me that I would not have parents-in-law after the marriage, so I agreed to the engagement."

Liu Yue'e continued, "What exactly happened? This marriage was arranged by the mighty General. No one told us that Chengmin's father was still alive. What kind of father would hide when his son gets engaged? I heard that Lord Su is a second-rank official. Is this how a second-rank official bullies people? Isn't this treating people differently based on their social status? Does our Gu family mean we are inferior just because we are merchants? We earn money honestly, pay taxes honestly, and don't steal or rob. My sister-in-law is engaged, but her father is hiding like a coward. How can anyone do things like this?"

Things took an unexpected turn.

Everyone present knows about Su Chengmin and Gu Taohua's engagement, and also knows that Su Chengmin didn't invite any members of the Su family to attend.

The Su family originally intended to take advantage of the situation to control Lord Suifeng, but they were outmaneuvered by Lord Suifeng and his daughter-in-law.

This matter cannot be blamed on the Gu family. Su Chengmin intends to sever ties with the Su family, and the Gu family has no right to interfere.

Grandma Min glared at Grandma Su and began her performance.

“Chengmin is indeed the son of the Su family, but Su Shihang has not fulfilled his responsibilities as a father. Chengmin grew up in the Min family since he was a child, so this marriage was decided by his uncle and me.”

"Stop spouting that nonsense about arranged marriages. If we're really going to get serious, even my Baozhen, as her mother, has to ask for her opinion. She's underground right now, so let's just send Su Shihang down to ask Baozhen if she agrees."

"The orders of one's parents are the orders of one's parents; one cannot only ask the father and not the mother, can one?"

"This marriage is a done deal. Su Shihang usually ignores Cheng Min, but now he's starting to care. Cheng Min doesn't need his care, and naturally he won't need to come to the Su family to observe the rules after the wedding."

Grandma Min put on airs, as if she wasn't afraid to ruin Grandma Su's birthday banquet if the Su family dared to cause trouble.

Anyway, it's Su Shihang who's the one who's embarrassed.

Old Mrs. Su couldn't swallow this insult and pointed at Old Mrs. Min, saying, "Cheng Min's surname is Su, he is a member of the Su family, and an engagement cannot be made without going through the Su family."

Grandma Min said, "If you are not satisfied, Cheng Min can change his surname to Min and be adopted by his uncle as his own son."

This sentence really got Old Mrs. Min under its thumb.

Whenever Su Chengmin was involved, Old Mrs. Min would use this phrase to shut Old Mrs. Su up.

If it weren't for fear of gossip, Old Madam Min would have changed Su Chengmin's surname long ago.

This is also what Su Shihang and his wife fear most.

In the eyes of the Su family, they could raise Su Shihang in the Min family, but they absolutely could not accept him changing his surname.