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

Chapter 811 The Emperor Gives Food
Gu Dashu opened two jars of fine wine and personally filled them for everyone.

The aroma of wine and food filled the entire room, making one's mouth water.

Just then, a commotion arose outside, followed by red lanterns flashing into the courtyard.

Tong Huaqiong had a vague guess in her mind and stood up.

When everyone saw Tong Huaqiong stand up, they also put down their chopsticks.

"May the village lord receive his reward for a bountiful harvest."

Tong Huaqiong guessed correctly; it was someone from the palace.

Tong Huaqiong led everyone out and knelt in the snow.

The visitors were Eunuch Pan, who served the Emperor, and the Imperial Guards led by Su Chengmin.

It turns out that on New Year's Eve, the Emperor, as was customary, bestowed dishes upon important officials and members of the imperial family. This year, Tong Huaqiong, an unofficial member of the imperial family, was also among those receiving the gifts.

Tong Huaqiong accepted the food box and thanked her.

"It's cold, everyone. Let's have a glass of light wine to warm up before heading to the next place."

Gu Taohua saw Su Chengmin. While everyone else was having a reunion dinner, he was leading the Imperial Guards to deliver vegetables to each household in the freezing cold, and ordered someone to bring a pot of hot wine from the house to the Imperial Guards.

Su Chengmin accepted the wine and shared a knowing smile with Gu Taohua.

While Su Chengmin turned around, Gu Taohua slipped him a hand warmer.

After seeing off Eunuch Pan and the Imperial Guards, Tong Huaqiong carried the food box and led everyone back into the house.

Gu Dashu asked, "What dish did His Majesty bestow upon you?"

Zhao and the others craned their necks, looking on with curiosity.

Fan Tong was shocked. Gu's eldest sister-in-law had only been in Shengjing for a short time, yet she had already infiltrated the royal inner circle and was even personally served food by the emperor.

He made up his mind that he must cling to Tong Huaqiong's coattails.

Having no hope of passing the imperial examination again this autumn, he pinned all his hopes on Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe.

The food boxes in the palace were exquisite, and Tong Huaqiong opened them.

There are four main dishes and two desserts inside.

The food in the palace wasn't necessarily better than the food outside. Tong Huaqiong's conclusion after attending several palace banquets was that the imperial kitchen mainly focused on avoiding mistakes, but it wasn't very innovative either.

"The food in the palace isn't very good," Zhao said to her husband after glancing at the food.

Actually, she mainly wanted to show off that she had eaten at a palace banquet by associating herself with Tong Huaqiong.

Liu Yue'e's father, elder brother, Gu Honglian, and Fan Tong had never attended a palace banquet before, and their eyes were filled with undisguised excitement.

“Even if there’s not much to eat, it’s still a gift from His Majesty,” Liu Yue’e’s father, Liu Tiechui, smacked his lips.

Tong Huaqiong placed a plate of cherry meat in front of Man'er; this was a dish personally ordered by the Emperor to be given to Man'er.

The remaining dishes—crab meat lion's head meatballs, braised deer tendon and pig's trotters, pearl jade and white jade soup, and two desserts—were placed on the table. He then invited Liu Tiechui and Gu Xiaoxue to try them, saying, "They are indeed from the palace."

Liu Tiechui picked up a piece of deer tendon and said, "We can finally eat this imperial delicacy. I'll show it off to everyone when I go back to the village after the New Year."

His words made everyone laugh.

While no one at the table was paying attention, Fan Tong quietly took a crab meat lion's head meatball.

He had already figured out how to write a letter to his classmates in Yanguan Town to brag about the taste of the imperial meal.

I originally intended to savor it, but I was starving after not eating all day, so I swallowed it before I could even taste it.

When he tried to take a second one, Tong Pandi retorted irritably, "There are only four lion's head meatballs in total. If you take them all, how are the others supposed to eat them?"

All eyes fell on Fan Tong.

Fan Tong blushed.

He secretly vowed to himself that he would definitely make a name for himself.

If Su Shi, a mere country scholar, could become the Crown Prince's teacher, why couldn't he? No one paid attention to Fan Tong's inner thoughts; everyone quickly became engrossed in a lively conversation.

"Peach Blossom, I heard you're engaged? Is it the Imperial Guard Commander who came to deliver food to the Emperor today?" Gu Honglian asked Gu Taohua about her marriage after eating half a plate of beef and two large steamed buns.

She overheard the servants whispering that Gu Taohua was going to marry the commander of the Imperial Guards after the New Year, and she was really curious how Gu Taohua, a woman of advanced age, could find such a good match.

She didn't know how high the rank of the Imperial Guard Commander was, but being able to represent the Emperor in delivering food to the imperial relatives meant he must be one of the Emperor's most trusted people.

When the food was served, she didn't dare to look up, but only glanced at it in the lamplight and noticed that the commander of the Imperial Guards was very young and heroic.

She didn't realize that it was Su Chengmin.

Gu Taohua readily agreed.

Gu Honglian said, "You're so lucky."

That was a genuine compliment.

When Gu Taohua was just an ordinary country girl, Gu Honglian always felt inexplicable hostility towards her; now that Gu Taohua is the young mistress of the Tong family business, controlling money and resources, Gu Honglian dares not compete with her.

Fan Tong secretly glanced at Gu Taohua.

Gu Taohua exudes confidence and poise.

He suddenly felt that the meat and fish in his mouth had lost their flavor.

A wave of regret washed over me.

Many years ago, when Gu Taohua was still a chubby girl in Qinghewan, she brought him food and writing materials. At that time, he disliked Gu Taohua for being chubby and felt it was too shameful to be with such a chubby girl.

But he couldn't bear to let go of Gu Taohua's efforts, so he kept Gu Taohua hanging on.

I don’t know when it started, but Gu Taohua began to devote herself entirely to her business and never looked at him again.

If he had known back then that Tong Huaqiong would become successful and move from Qinghewan to Shengjing, and that Gu Taohua would have shops and money, he would have married Gu Taohua even if he was ridiculed by the crowd. There would have been no chance for the leader of the Imperial Guard.

Fan Tong kept raising his eyes to look at Gu Taohua, which was no different from flirting with a blind man, but Gu Taohua didn't even glance at him.

In Gu Taohua's eyes, Fan Tong was just a poor uncle who came to freeload.

"Jingzhe, you'll be taking the imperial examinations in a few months. How are your preparations going?"

Everyone was chatting enthusiastically at the dinner table, but Fan Tong felt neglected and quite uncomfortable, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Gu Jingzhe.

Gu Jingzhe said, "The preparations went well. Uncle, how did your autumn imperial examination go?"

Fan Tong paused, regretting bringing up the topic.

Gu Jingzhe really knows how to bring up the most sensitive topics.

He failed the imperial examination again this autumn.

Gu Honglian said, "Your uncle-in-law is unlucky; he failed the exam again."

In Gu Honglian's mind, Fan Tong had already passed the county-level imperial examination, so the reason he failed the provincial-level examination three times in a row was not because he lacked ability, but because he was unlucky.

Fan Tong said sheepishly, "I ate stewed beans and pig's trotters before the exam and got diarrhea, which is why I didn't perform well."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Although none of the people present, except for Gu Jingzhe and Fan Tong, had ever taken an exam, they all knew that Fan Tong's words were pure nonsense.

Gu Honglian, with a rib in her mouth, said, "Ningcheng's feng shui is bad for your uncle, so we came to Shengjing to try our luck. Maybe he'll pass the imperial examination next year in Shengjing. Jingzhe, you must do well in the spring imperial examination. When you become a high-ranking official, you should help your uncle."

Gu Honglian was unfamiliar with officialdom.

Fan Tong kept brainwashing Gu Honglian, saying that in officialdom, one needs to leverage each other's strengths to gain a foothold. He cited the example of why Lu Zhaoyang married Lu Zhaozhao to Gu Jingzhe, who had no official rank, mainly because he valued Gu Jingzhe's potential and was investing in him early. Once Gu Jingzhe entered officialdom, he and Lu Zhaoyang could mutually support each other.

Gu Jingzhe is now investing in him, and he and Gu Jingzhe will naturally become a supportive force.

Gu Jingzhe said, "My uncle is a phoenix among dragons. He is the first scholar in our Yanguan Town private school. His future is limitless. I might even have to rely on him."

Gu Honglian and Fan Tong were both very pleased with what he said.

Tong Huaqiong looked at Fan Tong's flushed face, which was tinged with alcohol, and fell into deep thought.