Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 1157: Old Scandal

Lady Gan gave the beggar a glance before leaving with her daughter.

After sending her daughter home, she didn’t rush over immediately. Instead, she sat at home for two hours, sending one of the household maids to secretly watch the beggar at the city gate. She saw that the beggar kept waiting, and during that time, a young woman in similarly tattered clothing came by to give him a pie that she’d taken a few bites from.

"A young woman? Is she a relative of that beggar?" Lady Gan asked, feeling relieved in her heart.

The maid nodded, "Yes, I stood not far away and heard the young lady call him ’dad’ and mentioned that the pie was begged from the back door of a restaurant, very clean. There were three in total; she gave him one and took the other two back for her grandmother and little brother. The beggar scolded her, saying that if she was waiting for meat pies, she should have given them to him first so he could distribute them."

Lady Gan was pleased, "So, that beggar has a family, and quite a sizable one at that."

With a son, a daughter, and an old mother, even if that beggar cheated her, she could find his family to take revenge.

The maid nodded, "Yes, the beggar indeed has a family, according to what I saw."

Lady Gan stood up, tidying her hair, "In that case, let’s go meet the beggar."

After inquiring about the beggar, Lady Gan went to see him with the household maid, and when they returned to the city gate, it was already afternoon.

The beggar was getting very impatient, internally furious but not daring to show anger toward Lady Gan, instead bowing and nodding to her, "Madam, you’re finally here."

Lady Gan nodded and pointed to an empty spot by the city gate.

The beggar, smart enough, immediately headed to that spot, with Lady Gan and her maid following closely behind. Upon arriving, Lady Gan said, "The woman you previously inquired about is indeed surnamed Chen. Her husband is called Gu Dagui. They have two sons and are refugees from the Northwest, now settled in Tianfu County under He’an Prefecture."

"Gu Dagui, her husband’s really named Gu Dagui?!" The beggar was tremendously excited, his face flushing with color despite the usual pallor from malnutrition, "Oh God, finally, I’ve found them. I never thought this shrew would have such luck, not only surviving the refugee trail but also riding a mule cart."

Lady Gan, hearing the beggar’s words, knowing his ties with Mrs. Chen weren’t amicable, was very pleased, "Not only riding a mule cart, but she’s also become a shopkeeper’s wife, now owns a large bean curd workshop in the northern city, and is decked out in gold jewelry. Her nephew even passed the imperial exam, truly blessed by heaven."

She’s quite arrogant, even dared to trick me. Without teaching Mrs. Chen a lesson, I can’t swallow this.

"What? Did you just say Chen Shuihua is now a shopkeeper’s wife and her husband’s nephew passed the Scholar exam?!" Chen Cangjin’s eyes nearly bulged out in shock. Unbelievable, Chen Shuihua, that shrew, has become truly wealthy and even a close aunt to a Scholar. Such noble kin, the family must reclaim her at once.

Lady Gan nodded, "Indeed, Mrs. Chen has truly risen to wealth, with endless gold and silver in her home."

Lady Gan described how wealthy Mrs. Chen’s family was, how much gold jewelry they had, and how promising her nephew was, making Chen Cangjin almost faint with excitement.

"Is Mrs. Chen truly your sister?" After Lady Gan boasted about Mrs. Chen’s riches, she asked the beggar, "If she is truly your sister, how did you get separated? From your speech, it seems your relationship with her isn’t too good."

Clearly, there’s enmity, and he would probably tear her apart if he could.

However, Lady Gan hoped for a strained relationship between Mrs. Chen and her family so she could use her family to deal with Mrs. Chen.

Chen Cangjin snorted, "Chen Shuihua is indeed my sister, but that shrew is an unfilial daughter. Ever since she married, her heart has sided with her husband’s family, ignoring her own. Whenever we asked for a little spending money, she’d brandish a knife at us, truly disregarding her family, a vicious and ruthless unfilial daughter!"

Chen Cangjin recalled the time Mrs. Chen almost split him in two, still feeling a chill as he touched his arm—he still bore a scar from that time.

Lady Gan, upon hearing this, frowned and said, "Your entire family couldn’t handle Mrs. Chen?"

This is too disgraceful. What’s the use of the old lady here, revealing information in vain?

Chen Cangjin forced a smile, "Please don’t be angry, Lady. The past was a misunderstanding. Now, our family has fallen into hardship, but Mrs. Chen’s husband’s family has risen to wealth, and her nephew is a Scholar. Surely, they need some reputation and won’t dare brandish a knife at her family anymore."

He continued, "Please rest assured, Lady. As long as you help us, our family promises to help you teach Mrs. Chen a lesson—vent your grievances!"

Lady Gan frowned, looking at Chen Cangjin, "How do you want me to help?"

What more needed to be said? It was obviously about money.

"Our family fled from the Northwest due to famine, and these years have been tough. We’re now staying by the Small Qingyun Temple, getting by with temple leftovers. But we have many people, and the men cannot stay within the temple..." Chen Cangjin glanced at Lady Gan, rubbing his hands, "You seem to be from a wealthy family, could you advance us a few taels of silver so we can rent a place, buy some clean clothes, and formally claim kinship with Chen Shuihua."

He further assured, "Once the kinship is claimed, my mother will firmly use her status as an elder to beat Chen Shuihua, fully venting your anger!"

Lady Gan sneered, "Only a few taels of silver for one beating? I might as well hire some city thugs to do it. What use are you?"

Chen Cangjin cursed inwardly, a beating isn’t enough? This woman’s heart is as wicked as hers, bound to be struck by lightning.

But Chen Cangjin aimed to deceive Lady Gan out of her money, hurriedly saying, "If you’re dissatisfied, how about once we proclaim kinship with Mrs. Chen, we expose her past scandals to ruin her reputation? What do you think?"

Lady Gan was delighted upon hearing this, "Did Mrs. Chen really have scandals back in her hometown? What kind of scandals? Can they ruin her reputation entirely?"

"Yes, yes." Chen Cangjin nodded hurriedly, "Those scandals involve her virtue, so your money will definitely be well spent."

Lady Gan, upon hearing this, was almost ecstatic, "Oh God, did Mrs. Chen back in her hometown have affairs with men?"

Chen Cangjin nodded, "Of course, otherwise how could it be such a huge leverage."

Though, the man Mrs. Chen was involved with was none other than Gu Dagui.

Chen Cangjin, true to the Chen Family’s nature, was even better at lying and deceit than Mrs. Chen, playing into what Lady Gan wanted to hear.

Lady Gan, believing she held an ancient grudge against Mrs. Chen, immediately handed five taels of silver to Chen Cangjin, "Take it, but you must keep your word. If within a month, you don’t ruin Mrs. Chen’s reputation, I’ll report to the government office, accusing you of stealing my family’s silver!"

Chen Cangjin earnestly replied, "Rest assured, Lady, I will definitely ruin Mrs. Chen’s reputation."

However, his true thoughts were: Ha, you fool, Mrs. Chen is so wealthy now, and if he could really acknowledge her, he’d treat her like an Empress. Only a fool would offend Mrs. Chen!