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

Chapter 26 The plot can't go this way

"Mother, I just got some news. My uncle hasn't been to the private school these past few days. I heard he sold Man'er to a family surnamed Zheng in Pingchuan and got two hundred taels of silver to send her to study at Wanliu Academy in the prefectural city."

Gu Baishuang's son, Nie Xiaofeng, learned from his classmate that Gu Jingzhe had gone to study at Wanliu Academy and rushed home to tell his mother.

That Man'er is his own cousin, only six years old this year. How could his uncle, that worthless wretch, bring himself to do such a thing?

"what?"

Gu Baishuang was well aware of the character of Tong Dajiao and her half-siblings, but she was still shocked by this behavior that crossed the line.

Since she severed ties with the Gu family at her father's funeral, she has never paid any attention to news about the Gu family again.

Furthermore, with her own brother Gu Dahan compromising under pressure from her stepmother, she even stopped having any contact with him.

"May you be struck by lightning, you black-hearted rotten seed, and die a horrible death!" Gu Baishuang cursed through gritted teeth.

Man'er is only six years old!

"I heard that Man'er went to the Zheng family not to be a maid, but to bring good luck to the dying eldest son of the Zheng family," Nie Xiaofeng said through gritted teeth.

Gu Baishuang was on the verge of tears.

Sending a six-year-old child to a wedding to ward off bad luck—what kind of heartless, rotten seed would do such a thing?

She didn't plan to confront Tong Huaqiong; instead, she wanted to go to Qinghe Bay, bring Chen Sufeng along, and go find the clan chief.

Not only that, she also wanted to take the money to Pingchuan to redeem her niece.

"Quickly, Granny Fei, hire a carriage for me. I need to go to Qinghe Bay," Gu Baishuang instructed Granny Fei, who had just returned from buying groceries, after calming herself down.

"I'll go with my wife." Granny Fei was also shocked by the wicked actions of the Gu family's stepmother and brothers. She cursed them as she went to call for a carriage.

Just wait and see. When she and her wife return from Qinghe Bay, she'll definitely spread the word about Widow Tong's wickedness throughout Yanguan Town.

She still wants to do business? Dream on! We'll just smash her stall.

"Mother, I'll go with you too."

Nie Xiaofeng clenched his fist.

His cheap second uncle, Gu Dashu, is not someone to be trifled with, and his aunt, Gu Taohua, is big enough to crush an old sow. What if his mother suffers a loss if they fight?
He had the power to back up his fists, so he had to go along, especially since he had long wanted to smash up the Gu family's house.

Soon, a carriage carrying Gu Baishuang sped towards Qinghe Bay.

……

Tong Huaqiong bought two bolts of bright fabric, intending to make a set of clothes for herself, her chubby daughter, and her eldest daughter-in-law.

Chen Su-fen always dresses in a dull and lifeless way; she should dress up a bit more.

Although she was a widow, she didn't like wearing drab, gray clothes.

It's said that when a man dies, a woman should have a second spring. She wants to be the most dazzling widow in Yanguan Town, and she also wants to turn being a dazzling widow into a marketing point for her pastries.

After buying fabric for the adults, I also bought a piece of light green fabric with small floral patterns, intending to make a pretty dress for Man'er.

After buying the ingredients, go to a nearby shop to buy sugar, eggs, oil, and other ingredients for making pastries.

"Oh, Brother Fan."

After buying the necessary pastry ingredients, Tong Huaqiong saw a pale-faced scholar wearing a hat walking towards her.

Gu Taohua smiled radiantly and spoke in a sweet voice when she saw the pale-faced scholar.

"Is this Peach Blossom, Junior Brother Jingzhe's sister?" The pale-faced scholar walked up to Peach Blossom and said with a smile.

A blush rose on Gu Taohua's plump face.

Tong Huaqiong searched through the memories of the original owner, Tong Dajiao, and couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

This was Fan Tong, Gu Taohua's man in her previous life. A man with ambitions higher than the sky but fate thinner than paper, he failed the imperial examinations even at the age of forty. He became a county magistrate through Gu Jingzhe's connections. He was like a locust, sucking the blood of the entire county dry, and was eventually bound and burned to death on the city wall by refugees.

Tong Huaqiong thought that she had changed the course of Gu Taohua's fate by trying her best to straighten her out, but she did not expect to meet Fan Tong. She could tell from Gu Taohua's watery eyes that the young girl was in love.

No, the plot can't go this way; she has to nip it in the bud.

"And who is this?" Fan Tong asked, noticing Tong Huaqiong looking him up and down. "This is my mother," Gu Taohua replied.

"Oh, hello Auntie." Fan Tong bowed to Tong Huaqiong.

Auntie, you're a jerk! Tong Huaqiong has no intention of acknowledging this bloodsucking nephew.

"If I remember correctly, the private school is in session right now. Why isn't Young Master Fan in class? Why is he wandering around aimlessly instead?"

Because she really disliked Fan Tong, Tong Huaqiong started with full-on sarcasm.

Fan Tong was a little flustered. He was the only scholar in the private school, and many people praised him as a prodigy. Why was Gu Jingzhe's widowed mother acting so unpredictably?

It must be because Gu Jingzhe passed the preliminary imperial examination that this widowed mother became so arrogant, daring to scold even the scholar.

"Our teacher taught us that we should not only study, but also step out of the private school to broaden our horizons. I've come here to observe the people's lives and broaden my horizons. As the only scholar in the private school, I should set an example for my fellow students," Fan Tong said with a serious expression.

Tong Huaqiong's face showed a sarcastic expression.

To claim to broaden one's horizons and understand the people's plight is ridiculous. If he truly wanted to understand the people's plight, he should go back to his village and weed his own few acres of land.

According to Tong Huaqiong, this guy was just out eating, drinking, and having fun.

"There's a time and place for broadening one's horizons. You can't do it during breaks or after class. Why come out to broaden your horizons during class? Young Scholar Fan is truly unique and different from others."

Tong Huaqiong continued to target Fan Tong, determined to make him so afraid to approach the Gu family.

"Auntie, I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." Seeing that the widow had exposed his truancy and that he couldn't argue with her, Fan Tong hurriedly took his leave.

"Mother, why are you so rude to Brother Fan?" Gu Taohua expressed her dissatisfaction with Tong Huaqiong for driving Fan Tong away.

"Why should I be polite to him?" Tong Huaqiong said irritably.

As Gu Taohua watched Fan Tong's departing figure, a hint of reluctance appeared in her eyes. She said affectionately, "Brother Fan is a good person. Last time I came to the private school to deliver something to you, many students joked that you had a rich little sister. Only Brother Fan said I wasn't fat. He even praised me... praised me for being fair-skinned."

“Peach Blossom, let me tell you, anyone who praises you for no reason doesn’t have good intentions; they all want to take advantage of you,” Tong Huaqiong said.

“Mother is wrong. What can Brother Fan do for me? Our family has no money,” Gu Taohua said.

Tong Huaqiong sneered, "You used him to get his fiancée's family to provide the money, but you messed up in your past life and actually let Gu Taohua take the place of him."

“I advise you to give up on that idea. Unless I’m dead, Fan Tong can’t be our son-in-law,” Tong Huaqiong said bluntly.

"Mother, what are you saying?"

Gu Taohua stamped her foot, looking embarrassed. Her mother had actually discovered her thoughts.

But so be it, she's not afraid. If she can really marry a gentle and refined scholar like Brother Fan, that would be a blessing for the Gu family.

Mother will agree sooner or later.

Tong Huaqiong knew that Gu Taohua wouldn't listen to her now, but that didn't matter. She had plenty of ways to break up this pair of wild lovers who hadn't even gotten to the point of being together yet.

“We’ve finished shopping, let’s go home,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Gu Taohua looked at all those things and reluctantly picked them up. She was exhausted after a long day and had to walk home, which gave her a headache.

"Let's go ride with Grandpa Xu home."

Tong Huaqiong didn't want to walk home anymore, so she took Gu Taohua to where Grandpa Xu had parked his car.

While Grandpa Xu was bragging to another old man, Tong Huaqiong took advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, put her things on the bus, and quickly pulled Gu Taohua onto the bus, securing their seats.

“You… Widow Tong… I’m not taking anyone in this car today,” said Grandpa Xu.

“I have to pull you up, whether you want to or not. I’m not planning on coming down now that I’m up here.” Tong Huaqiong displayed her shameless nature.

"That's right, if others can sit here, why can't my mother and I? Unless you can carry me off the bus, I'm not sitting here." Gu Taohua sat down and refused to get up.

Grandpa Xu smiled wryly. He was really helpless against Widow Tong and her daughter. He didn't have the ability to drag Gu Taohua out of the car.

Adding to that, Widow Tong's temperament was quite difficult to deal with; he was afraid that if he chased her away again, she would jump up and curse his ancestors.

(End of this chapter)