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

Chapter 796 Do you plan to remarry?
Once the twelfth lunar month is over, it's almost Chinese New Year.

The first New Year since arriving in Shengjing is approaching.

The snow in Shengjing is plentiful, and it keeps falling in a flurry of snow.

Fortunately, the prefect and the Ministry of Revenue, where Lu Zhaoyang worked, had contingency plans in place, and no snow or cold disasters occurred.

The houses in Shengjing had underfloor heating, making them warm and cozy.

The weaving workshops in Shengjing opened as scheduled before the New Year, and Tong Huaqiong could finally catch her breath and happily hibernate indoors.

Compared to Qinghewan, Shengjing has a wide variety of entertainment options, especially as the Lunar New Year approaches.

Acrobatics, drama, juggling, shadow puppetry, magic tricks—there are all sorts of new shows on the street every day.

Gu Taohua, Liu Yue'e, and Zhao Shi took Man'er, Yaozu, and other children out to play every day.

After watching the fire-breathing magic trick twice, Tong Huaqiong felt that it was more comfortable to sit in a warm room.

She bought many unofficial histories and local chronicles from the bookstore and stayed in her room reading them with great interest.

The Yao, Lu, Lin, and Min families sent New Year's gifts to Tong Huaqiong early on, and Tong Huaqiong returned the gifts to each of them.

The Lin family brought good news: Su Qing's brother's case has made progress, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should be able to return after the New Year.

Su Qing cried tears of joy, thanked Tong Huaqiong profusely, and worked even harder.

Tong Huaqiong intended to groom her as her right-hand woman, and she delegated many tasks to Su Qing.

She was happy to have some peace and quiet.

That day, Old Madam Min arrived at the door in a sedan chair.

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong was the only one at home reading, with neither Hongshi nor Zhaoshi keeping her company, he thought he had arrived just in time.

Grandma Min wasn't one to mince words. After talking for a while, she asked Tong Huaqiong if she had any plans to remarry.

"Now that you're single, and my son Han Niu is unmarried, you two have grown up together since childhood, and now you've met again in Shengjing. This is a destiny bestowed upon you in your past life. If you don't mind, why don't you marry my son Han Niu? You know I've liked you since you were little, and I've been looking forward to you growing up. In my heart, I've long considered you my daughter-in-law," said Old Madam Min sincerely.

She had always wanted to bring this up with Tong Huaqiong.

Firstly, Tong Huaqiong was too busy for her to find an opportunity, and secondly, her son didn't seem very enthusiastic about the marriage, which she interpreted as him being afraid to bring it up.

So she brought it up.

Tong Huaqiong: "."

So, it turns out that Old Mrs. Min came here to act as a matchmaker for her own son.

Seeing that Old Mrs. Min had gotten straight to the point, Tong Huaqiong didn't mince words either, saying, "Aunt Min, I remember all the kindness you've shown me. I've already been married once, and it's all the same. Now all I want to do is make money in business, eat and drink when I have nothing else to do. Especially getting married, I would rather die than marry a second time."

Putting aside the fact that her soul is still young, the mighty general is an old hand in her eyes.

Even if a handsome young man like Gu Jingzhe stood in front of her, she wouldn't marry him.

If she doesn't marry, she'll remain the matriarch of the household.

Even though her children are unfilial, she can still stand on the moral high ground by virtue of her status as a widow.

Life was so carefree and unrestrained.

Even if you marry a powerful general whom everyone thinks is a good man, life isn't necessarily easy.

She had to entertain the female relatives of the mighty general's colleagues, be filial to her mother-in-law, manage the household affairs, and her only identity was that of a daughter-in-law of the Min family.

When Old Mrs. Min heard Tong Huaqiong say this, she thought that Tong Huaqiong had been wronged in the Gu family and was so disheartened that she had the idea of ​​remaining a widow.

Or perhaps it's because Tong Huaqiong's children are all grown up, and she's afraid of gossip from outside.

Grandma Min said, "You're still young, there's no need for you to stay. You suffered as a stepmother in the Gu family, but you won't suffer after marrying into the Min family. You know Han Niu's character."

"Are you afraid of what people outside will say? What are you afraid of? Let them say what they want, just ignore it like a fart."

Upon hearing this, Tong Huaqiong knew that Old Madam Min had misunderstood her meaning. She truly did not want to get married.

It wasn't because I was wronged by the Gu family, nor was it because I was afraid of gossip.

She simply doesn't want to get married.

She might consider it if she were to be brought into the palace to become Empress Dowager.

Tong Huaqiong patiently said, "Aunt Min, from childhood to adulthood, when have you ever seen me beat around the bush when speaking to you? I really don't want to get married again. Let me tell you the truth, I'm living a free and independent life now, doing whatever I want. If I marry Brother Min, I will be Mrs. Min, not the free Manager Tong."

“When Brother Min came to me last time, I already made things clear to him. Aunt Min, I appreciate your approval, but please don’t mention becoming your daughter-in-law. Even if I don’t become your daughter-in-law, we are still family. I treat you like my mother, and you treat me like your daughter. Isn’t that better than a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship?”

Grandma Min finally understood.

Tong Huaqiong had no intention of remarrying.

A look of regret appeared on her face.

However, she wasn't the kind of person to hold a grudge, and quickly recovered, saying to Tong Huaqiong, "I was being presumptuous. You're right, even if we can't be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, we're still family."

Let's leave this topic at that.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, the family begins preparations for the celebrations.

Chen Sufen looked at the heavy snow falling outside with a worried expression.

According to the plan, Gu Dahan was to come to Shengjing to reunite with everyone.

Gu Dahan did not come to Beijing alone.

Accompanying him were the shopkeepers of various shops in Ningcheng and Gu Xiaoxue.

"I wonder where they are?" Chen Sufeng was very anxious.

This era is terrible; you can't send messages anytime, anywhere.

The further north Gu Dahan and his group went, the heavier the snow became, and the more difficult the road became. It was already the 26th of the year, and they still hadn't reached Shengjing.

Chen Su-fen's concerns are not unfounded.

After all, this was Gu Dahan's first time traveling far from home.

However, Tong Huaqiong was not worried.

The three shopkeepers in Ningcheng are often on the road and have a lot of experience dealing with various road conditions and emergencies.

In addition, Tong Huaqiong had no confidence in the security of this era, so she signed a cooperation agreement with the Ningcheng Escort Agency early on. This time, when Gu Dashu and his group came to Shengjing, it was the Ningcheng Escort Agency that escorted them.

If anything untoward had happened on the road, the escort agency would have already sent word.

Since there's no news, that's good news.

Tong Huaqiong said to Chen Sufeng, "Wait two more days, and Dahan will definitely arrive in Beijing smoothly before the New Year."

Seeing his aunt's anxiety, Nie Xiaofeng, who happened to be on vacation, led his men out of Shengjing to welcome Gu Dashu.

Gu Baishuang's face looked very unpleasant.

Nie Mingyuan and his two stepsons and their entire family also came to Shengjing. By the time Gu Baishuang received the letter, the Nie family was almost at the border of Shengjing.

Nie Xiaofeng's trip out of Beijing this time was not only to welcome Gu Dashu, but also to welcome Nie Mingyuan.

Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Baishuang, "If you don't want to be with Nie Mingyuan anymore, then get a divorce. The whole family will support you."

Gu Baishuang envied Tong Pandi, but considering Nie Xiaofeng's future, she could not get a divorce.

She got divorced. No matter what outsiders say about Nie Xiaofeng or how they view him, she is willing to endure it for the sake of her son.

Anyway, since she has the shop and the money, Nie Mingyuan can't do anything to her.