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

Chapter 810 Hospitality
Gu Honglian and Fan Tong were brought before Tong Huaqiong like a pair of wild men.

Tong Huaqiong and the others gasped.

"Honglian, what happened to you two that made you look like this?" Madam Hong couldn't help but ask.

The two were covered in filth, and their clothes were so dirty that their original color was unrecognizable.

“We were robbed on the street,” Gu Honglian said, bursting into tears.

Fan Tong and Gu Honglian stayed in a village outside Shengjing city the night before because the city gates were closed.

The two stayed at a farmer's house.

Traveling through the wind and snow, the two were both hungry and thirsty. Fan Tong ordered a farmer to kill a chicken and buy wine, intending to have a good meal.

The agreed-upon price was changed after Fan Tong finished eating and drinking, and he made an excuse that it was too late and he would stay another day and pay for it all together.

The farming family believed Fan Tong.

Before dawn the next day, Fan Tong took advantage of the fact that the family had not yet gotten up, and planned to run away with Gu Honglian without paying them.

Unexpectedly, the youngest son of the family, who went to the outhouse in the early morning, discovered them.

The family was furious that Fan Tong had tricked them.

The two were detained on the spot.

They were finally able to escape only after the two of them kept begging for mercy and returned their luggage and money.

Braving the wind and snow, Gu Honglian and Fan Tong scrambled towards Shengjing City.

My feet were numb with cold, and I was rolling around in a disheveled state, but I finally arrived in Shengjing City in the afternoon.

Fan Tong had initially thought that Shengjing was so big that he had little hope of finding Tong Huaqiong's place.

Gu Honglian was very confident about this. She asked everyone she met where Peach Blossom Dessert and Jufulai were. Fortunately, these two shops were popular in Shengjing, and she found out about them without much effort.

Having found out about the shop, they easily found out where Tong Huaqiong lived.

Of course, Gu Honglian and Fan Tong only told Tong Huaqiong that they had been robbed, but they were too embarrassed to say why they had been robbed.

They did something shameless, yet they still had a sense of shame in front of Tong Huaqiong!

"Auntie, Uncle, have you been following us the whole time?" Gu Xiaoxue asked, speechless.

Gu Honglian nodded and said, "Yes, Fan Tong and I followed you all the way. We had a lot of trouble hiding so that you wouldn't find us."

Fan Tong looked embarrassed.

He was a scholar, and he had never been so embarrassed before.

Tong Huaqiong truly never expected that Gu Honglian and Fan Tong could run to Shengjing and even get close to her.

"Sister-in-law, I'm starving and freezing. Please don't kick me out. Let us stay in the woodshed. We have nowhere to go during the New Year. I promise we won't cause you any trouble," Gu Honglian pleaded with Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Honglian's lips, which were frozen purple. If she didn't take care of the two of them today, they would definitely freeze to death.

If they could stay in a hotel on normal days, but on New Year's Eve the hotels would close early and wouldn't take them in, the two of them really had nowhere to go.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Let's stay home today."

Upon hearing this, Gu Honglian felt as if all her strength had vanished.

Fan Tong's eyes lit up.

Tong Huaqiong said, "You must have come to Shengjing with full preparations. I can only take you in for a few days. Once the market opens, you should hurry up and find a place to live and a job. I can't support you for nothing."

If it were just Gu Honglian alone, she would have taken her in.

The key issue is that there's also Fan Tong, who absolutely cannot give the two of them any hope.

Fan Tong was able to persuade Gu Honglian to go to the capital together, wasn't his plan to seek refuge with her or Gu Jingzhe?
She had to dispel their idea of ​​seeking refuge with her beforehand.

Gu Honglian sniffed and nodded, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, we'll leave as soon as we find a place. Fan Tong said he'll find a job as an accountant in Shengjing, and he can also do copying for others. We'll definitely have no worries about making a living in the future." Fan Tong's vision went black.

He used these words to appease Gu Honglian.

The purpose was to reassure Gu Honglian and bring her to Shengjing.

Gu Honglian believed it so easily, making it impossible for him to ask Tong Huaqiong to take him in again.

Tong Huaqiong smiled and praised, "My brother-in-law is indeed ambitious. With his status as a scholar, it won't be difficult for him to make a living in Shengjing."

The tall hat made Fan Tong feel heavy on his head.

Before Gu Honglian and Fan Tong could continue their nonsense, Tong Huaqiong sent someone to take them to bathe and change their clothes.

The two of them looked like beggars, which was too filthy and ruined the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Gu Honglian and Fan Tong were taken away by servants to clean up and tidy up.

Su Qing knew that Tong Huaqiong didn't like them. They were just Tong Huaqiong's sister-in-law and brother-in-law in name only, and she was only taking them in temporarily.

They ordered the maids and servants to prepare a servants' room for the two of them.

After washing up, Gu Honglian looked at the sturdy bed and the charcoal fire, and breathed a long sigh of relief. After the journey, she felt that this little house was already quite nice.

Fan Tong frowned almost imperceptibly.

Since he is the son-in-law of the Gu family, and as the saying goes, a son-in-law is a distinguished guest, he was given a servant's room.

When he and Gu Honglian were taking a bath just now, the clothes they were given were servants' clothes. Although they were thick cotton clothes, they were ultimately not suitable for distinguished guests.

The Gu family's hospitality truly opened his eyes.

Gu Honglian, completely oblivious to Fan Tong's displeasure, excitedly said, "Husband, my sister-in-law is so good to us. When I knocked on the door just now, I was worried that she would kick us out, but she let us in. Did you hear what she said? There are many opportunities in Shengjing. With your status as a scholar, you will definitely be able to make money. Once you make money, we won't have to worry about life anymore."

Fan Tong said, "Your sister-in-law lives in such a big house, and you only give us this small room. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Gu Honglian looked around the room and said, "You're complaining now. This room has thick blankets and charcoal fire, so it's not cold at all. It's much better than your Fan family's drafty, dilapidated house. Your mother even scolds me for being wasteful if I burn a little more firewood. My sister-in-law keeps a full basin of charcoal in our room, which is much better than your mother."

Whenever Gu Honglian felt wronged, she would use Fan's mother as a scapegoat.

Fan Tong was speechless.

Gu Honglian is simple-minded.

She was terrified of the hardship she had endured in the cold wind today. The hunger and cold had also cleared her mind considerably. She was afraid that if she listened to Fan Tong and asked Tong Huaqiong for a big house and nice clothes, she would anger Tong Huaqiong and be kicked out, leaving her with nowhere to cry.

"You still have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't been so greedy, would our money and luggage have been stolen? You better behave yourself, or your sister-in-law will kick us out, and we won't even have this little shelter from the wind."

Gu Honglian felt more and more aggrieved the more she thought about it.

Soon, it got completely dark.

Red lanterns were lit in the courtyard.

Gu Honglian and Fan Tong were invited to have New Year's Eve dinner together. Gu Honglian was so flattered that she couldn't stop smiling.

As they walked through the long corridor, the red lanterns lit up the courtyard made the whole place look even more magnificent, leaving Gu Honglian and Fan Tong completely stunned.

Because so many people are spending the Spring Festival in Shengjing this year, two large tables need to be set up in the main room to accommodate everyone.

Maids and servants moved about, bringing dishes to the table one after another.

Soon, both tables were filled to the brim with home-style dishes as well as shark fin and bird's nest.

Fan Tong and Gu Honglian stared wide-eyed.

Tong Huaqiong invited everyone to take their seats.

Gu Jingzhe helped Lu Zhaozhao sit down next to Tong Huaqiong. Fan Tong almost burst into tears when he saw Gu Jingzhe, as if he were seeing a relative. Gu Jingzhe gave Fan Tong a faint smile, and Fan Tong was unsure of Gu Jingzhe's attitude towards him.

Then Tong Huaqiong said, "Everyone, don't be shy. Eat and drink as you please, and have a lively and joyful New Year together."