The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 26: The Plot Can’t Go This Way

"Mom, I’ve just heard some news. My little uncle hasn’t come to the private school these days. I heard he sold Man Er to a Zheng family in Pingchuan for two hundred taels of silver and went to Wanliu Academy in the city to study."

Gu Baishuang’s son, Nie Xiaofeng, learned from his classmates that Gu Jingzhe went to Wanliu Academy to study and hurried back home to report it to his mother.

That Man Er is his cousin, and she’s only six years old. How could his little uncle, that bastard, do such a thing?

"What?"

Gu Baishuang was well aware of the character of Tong Dajiao and her half-siblings, but this act that broke all limits shocked her.

Ever since she severed ties with the Gu family at her father’s funeral, she hadn’t paid attention to any news about the Gu family.

With her brother Gu Dahuan having compromised under their stepmother’s pressure, she no longer associated with Gu Dahuan either.

"May lightning strike, that black-hearted scoundrel, may he die a bad death." Gu Baishuang cursed through gritted teeth.

Man Er is only six years old!

"I heard that Man Er wasn’t sold to the Zheng family as a maid, but to be a warding bride for their dying eldest young master." Nie Xiaofeng said through clenched teeth.

Tears were about to fall from Gu Baishuang’s eyes.

Sending a six-year-old child to be a warding bride, that’s the kind of thing only a heartless rogue would do.

She wasn’t planning on confronting Tong Huaqiong; she wanted to go to Qinghe Bay to rally Chen Sufen and the clan leader.

Not only that, she also intended to take silver to Pingchuan to redeem her niece.

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

"I’ll go with you, ma’am." Fei Pozi was also shocked by the malicious actions of the Gu family’s wicked stepmother and brothers and went to call a carriage while cursing.

Just wait, when she comes back from Qinghe Bay with her mistress, she’ll spread the word in Yan Guan Town about how wicked Widow Tong is.

She still wants to do business, huh, what a dream, her stalls won’t be left intact.

"Mom, I’ll go with you too."

Nie Xiaofeng clenched his fists.

That cheap second uncle, Gu Dashu, isn’t easy to deal with, and as for his little aunt, Gu Taohua, she’s as big as a sow. What if they start a fight and his mom gets hurt?

His fists are strong, and he has to go too, besides, he’s long wanted to smash up the Gu family.

Soon, a carriage carrying Gu Baishuang raced toward Qinghe Bay.

...

Tong Huaqiong picked out two bright pieces of fabric intending to make clothes for herself, her eldest daughter, and her eldest daughter-in-law.

Chen Sufen always wore somber clothing and deserved to be dressed up nicely.

Although she was a widow, she disliked wearing gray, dusty clothes. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Didn’t they say that when a woman loses her husband, she should bloom for a second spring? She wanted to be the most dazzling widow in Yan Guan Town, even turning the dazzling widow into a marketing gimmick for her pastry business.

After pulling fabric for the adults, she also chose a piece of light green fabric with small floral prints to make a pretty dress for Man Er.

After buying fabric, she went to a nearby shop to purchase ingredients like sugar, eggs, and oil for making pastries.

"Oh, Brother Fan,"

Just as Tong Huaqiong finished buying the necessary ingredients, she saw a pale-faced scholar wearing a hat walking toward her.

Gu Taohua, upon seeing that pale-faced scholar, beamed with a sweet smile.

"Isn’t this Jingzhe’s younger sister, Taohua?" The pale-faced scholar walked up and smiled at Taohua.

A blush appeared on Gu Taohua’s chubby face.

Tong Huaqiong, searching the memory of the original Tong Dajiao, couldn’t help but sneer in her heart.

This was Fan Tong, Gu Taohua’s man from her previous life, someone with aspirations higher than the heavens but a fate fragile as paper. He never passed the imperial exams even at forty and only became a county magistrate thanks to Gu Jingzhe’s connections. He exploited the county like a plague of locusts and was eventually burned to death by refugees on the city wall.

Tong Huaqiong thought she had tried hard to steer Gu Taohua away from her fate, but she still ran into Fan Tong. Seeing Gu Taohua’s eyes filled with longing, she knew the girl was in love.

No, this isn’t how the story should go, she had to nip this in the bud.

"Who’s this?" Fan Tong noticed Tong Huaqiong looking him up and down and asked.

"This is my mother," Gu Taohua said.

"Oh, greetings, aunt," Fan Tong bowed to Tong Huaqiong.

Aunt my foot, Tong Huaqiong had no intention of acknowledging this blood-sucking nephew.

"If I remember correctly, the private school should be in session right now. Why isn’t Mr. Fan attending classes and instead wandering about?"

Because of her strong dislike for Fan Tong, Tong Huaqiong’s sarcasm was fully unleashed right from the start.

Fan Tong was a bit taken aback; he was the only scholar at the private school, and many people praised him as a prodigy as soon as they saw him. Why was Gu Jingzhe’s widow not playing by the rules?

It must be that Gu Jingzhe had passed the child student exam, so this widow was now bold enough to reprimand a scholar.

"The teacher has instructed us not only to study, but also to go out and expand our horizons. I’m here to get a feel for the people’s lives, as the only scholar in the private school, I need to set an example for my peers." Fan Tong said with a serious face.

Tong Huaqiong’s face was full of sarcasm.

Expand horizons, feel for the people’s lives, good at putting on airs. If he really wanted to understand the people’s lives, he’d go back to the village and weed his own few acres of land.

In Tong Huaqiong’s view, this scoundrel was just out to eat, drink, and have fun.

"Expanding horizons should be done at certain times, during rest or after class, can’t it be done anytime? But he chooses to skip class to expand his horizons. Scholar Fan is indeed outstandingly unique."

Tong Huaqiong continued to ridicule Fan Tong, determined to make sure this guy wouldn’t dare come near the Gu family.

"Aunt, I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave." Fan Tong, realizing the widow had exposed his truancy and having no retort, quickly took his leave.

"Mom, how could you be so rude to Brother Fan?" Gu Taohua was dissatisfied with how Tong Huaqiong had driven Fan Tong away.

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

As she watched Fan Tong’s departing figure, Gu Taohua’s eyes carried a hint of reluctance and she said with emotion, "Brother Fan is a good person. Last time when I brought something to my brother at the private school, many students teased him for having a princess sister, but only Brother Fan said I wasn’t fat; he even praised... praised me for being fair."

"Taohua, let me tell you, anyone who praises you for no reason is up to no good and wants to use you," Tong Huaqiong said.

"What Mom said isn’t true. What could Brother Fan possibly use me for? We’re not rich," Gu Taohua retorted.

Tong Huaqiong sneered; he’s using you to get his fiancée’s family to provide the silver. It just backfired in his last life, accidentally letting Gu Taohua climb the ranks.

"I advise you to give up. Unless I’m dead, Fan Tong won’t become our family’s son-in-law." Tong Huaqiong said bluntly.

"Mom, what are you saying?"

Gu Taohua stamped her foot, her face full of embarrassment, her mother’s discovery of her feelings.

But let it be discovered; she’s not afraid. If she truly could marry someone as gentle and scholarly as Brother Fan, it would be a blessing for the Gu family.

She believed her mother would eventually agree.

Tong Huaqiong knew Gu Taohua wasn’t ready to listen yet, but it didn’t matter, she had plenty of ways to separate the pair of wild mandarin ducks before they matured.

"We’ve bought everything, let’s go home now." Tong Huaqiong said.

Looking at so many items, Gu Taohua reluctantly picked them up, dreading the idea of walking home after an exhausting day.

"Let’s take Mr. Xu’s carriage home."

Tong Huaqiong wasn’t keen on walking home either, so she took Gu Taohua to where Mr. Xu had parked.

Mr. Xu was chatting with another old man, and Tong Huaqiong seized the chance to load the items and quickly got on the carriage with Gu Taohua to secure their spots before he realized it.

"You... Widow Tong... I’m not taking passengers today." Mr. Xu said.

"You will take us, whether you planned to or not. I’m not getting off once I’m on." Tong Huaqiong replied, embracing her shamelessness.

"Exactly, if others can ride, why can’t me and my mom? Unless you can carry me off the cart, Mr. Xu, I’m sitting firmly here." Gu Taohua planted herself down and wouldn’t budge.

Mr. Xu smiled wryly, at a loss with Widow Tong and her daughter. He certainly couldn’t manage to pull Gu Taohua off the cart.

And with Widow Tong’s troublesome nature, he feared she’d go off and curse his ancestors if he pushed any further.