The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

To prevent her beloved youngest son from being looked down upon by his future in-laws, Old Madam Chen secretly used 60% of the family's silver to prepare his betrothal gifts. Of course, she told everyone it was only 30%, which put everyone's minds at ease.

"In-laws, let me tell you the truth, my family simply can't afford this much money. In my opinion, you weren't sincerely discussing the marriage. We clearly agreed that we would get married after the mourning period, but it's been almost half a year and there's still no result." Thinking about the meager amount of money her family had, Old Chen decided to give up and stop pretending.

When they got engaged, they knew about the Zhuge family's situation. Now they're suddenly making things difficult for each other. Isn't this just deliberately making things difficult for them?

Zhuge Yunshu looked at the calm Liu family members, then at his own family members who were clearly flustered, and sighed helplessly.

Actually, resolving this matter was quite simple. So, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to her, she secretly moved closer to Grandpa Zhuge and whispered a few words in his ear.

After a while, when faced with such a thorny issue, Old Master Zhuge calmly said, "My dear in-laws, since ancient times, marriage has been a bond between two families, and no one wants to become enemies over it. I believe you already knew the Zhuge family's situation before the engagement. Since you were willing to engage with us despite knowing that the Zhuge family was poor, it is a form of recognition for the Zhuge family and your fourth son, Laigui."

Perhaps he got a little carried away while talking, for Mr. Zhuge suddenly started coughing.

Zhuge Yunshu quickly and obsequiously brought the water on the table to Grandpa Zhuge, and even thoughtfully patted his back.

Having moistened his throat, Old Master Zhuge felt much better and continued, looking at everyone: "Today, our in-laws are behaving so strangely. Could it be that they look down on our Lai Gui family again?"

Zhuge Fengshou thought to himself that if Da Hua hadn't reminded him, he really wouldn't know how to handle this matter.

Seeing the obvious change in the expressions of the Liu family members, Zhuge Fengshou felt smug. "Hmph! Your family knows how to play dumb, but do you think our family doesn't?"

"Father-in-law, what are you saying? Our family is more than satisfied with Laigui. We're just thinking about the future of our two children, so it's understandable that we're overthinking things!"

Old Mrs. Li hurriedly explained that they would not take the blame for their daughter's future.

It's infuriating that her brat is so infatuated with that scoundrel Lai Gui, insisting on marrying no one but him.

"If that's not what you mean, then why is that? Farmers hate these roundabout ways and don't understand them anyway. If you have something to say, please speak frankly." After saying this, Old Master Zhuge calmly picked up his water cup and took a sip.

Zhuge family members: ?w?

They looked at Master Zhuge with adoration, practically begging to be his leg.

The Liu family members all sighed in admiration, "Old ginger is indeed spicier."

Since they've already exposed our mistake, what can we do but keep going?

“My dear in-laws, everything we’ve done is for the future of our two children, and that will never change. Our intention in having Lai Gui and his wife buy a house in town is also sincere. Although our Liu family can’t compare to the wealthy landowners in town, we’ve accumulated a certain network of connections over the years. Having them live in town is to help them.”

Despite Old Master Liu's sincere words, he didn't provide any useful information; they seemed to have shifted the blame back to the Zhuge family.

“In-laws, you know the Zhuge family’s situation. Buying a house is not an option for now. Do you have any good suggestions?” Old Master Zhuge said directly, not wanting to beat around the bush anymore.

"Look at what you're saying, in-laws. We don't have any suggestions. But since our Liu family cares about our son-in-law and thinks it's too much trouble for him to travel back and forth, let him stay at our Liu family's place for now. When the restaurant is closed for holidays or festivals, we'll let them go back to Zhuge Village," said Old Liu.

"You've got a really good plan. The Zhuge family has raised their son with great care for over a decade, and now he's going to become your Liu family's live-in son-in-law." Old Madam Chen laughed angrily.

"You...you..." Old Liu pointed at Old Chen. That wasn't what they meant, but then they realized they were in the wrong.

Looking at the expressions of the Liu family members, Old Master Zhuge understood. "My dear in-laws, please don't blame my wife for being short-sighted and misunderstanding. After all, farmers are straightforward and can't stand any convoluted arguments. Don't you think that your Liu family already has so many sons and grandsons? Why would you need a son-in-law like me?"

Then, looking at the silent Old Master Liu, they said, "Your Liu family also dotes on your daughter, and so do we. Since our in-laws are willing to provide the young couple with a place to live after their marriage, why shouldn't our Zhuge family agree? On the contrary, we should thank our in-laws for being reasonable. However, a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; how can she bring her husband back to her parents' home to take advantage? There's no reasoning about this anywhere, and it's unfair to our in-laws' son and daughter-in-law. How could the Zhuge family do such an unethical thing? So, what we're thinking is that Lai Gui and his wife can live at her parents' home after the marriage, but we need to provide monthly rent and living expenses. If our in-laws don't agree, then to avoid gossip from the neighbors, it would be more convenient to rent a place in town. What do you think?"

Looking at her grandfather, Zhuge Yunshu couldn't help but sigh, "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure." Although her reminder had been given, the key was how to solve the problem.

Sure enough, as soon as Old Master Zhuge finished speaking, the three daughters-in-law of the Liu family looked at each other thoughtfully. Finally, the eldest daughter-in-law couldn't help but speak up: "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I think what you said makes perfect sense. Money is secondary, but my sister-in-law's reputation is the most important thing."

What kind of thing is it for a sister-in-law to live at her parents' house? Only her biased in-laws would do something like that.

Seeing that her sister-in-law had said so, Liu's second daughter-in-law hesitated for a moment, but still said, "I think what my sister-in-law said makes sense. My sister-in-law should have a good reputation since childhood. We can't let her be criticized by outsiders because of this."

Actually, she still didn't want her sister-in-law to live at home. Given her mother-in-law's favoritism, they would definitely be the last to get all the good things.

“That’s right, what my eldest and second sisters-in-law said makes sense, but I still think it’s better for my sister-in-law to live in our house, since it’s more convenient to take care of her.” Liu’s third daughter-in-law didn’t want to waste the money she had. She had plenty of houses and didn’t need her sister-in-law and her husband.

The eldest and second daughters-in-law of the Liu family looked at their third sister-in-law and felt like strangling her. They regretted not letting this shallow-minded girl speak.

Looking at the performance of Liu's three daughters-in-law, Zhuge Yunshu couldn't help but admire her grandfather's brilliance, who had turned the situation around by sowing discord.

Looking at their own chaotic situation, the elderly Liu couple couldn't help but sigh helplessly. In fact, they had never intended for Lai Gui to buy a house in town from the beginning; this idea was just a pretext.

Their ultimate goal was simply to get the Zhuge family to agree to let their daughter live with her parents after marriage, so they wouldn't be angry while feeling guilty towards their family.

After all, no mother-in-law wants her daughter-in-law to leave her sight and not be by her side to serve her.

Looking at her three disappointing daughters-in-law, Old Li felt a pang of anger in her chest. She gave them a warning look, thinking she would deal with them when she got back.