The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 360: Engagement Annulled Successfully
Old Mrs. Huang, while instructing someone to inform Huang Yuanwai, held onto Tong Huaqiong tightly.
The reason for her granddaughter’s withdrawal from the engagement with the Lian Family finally became clear, though it was a pity for the girl from the Luo Family.
Old Mrs. Huang said to Tong Huaqiong, "Why is my Jingshan’s marriage so cursed? First, she was wronged by that Fan Tong, and this time she almost got wronged by the Lian Family. It’s quite the coincidence that you were the first to notice something was wrong in both matters."
Tong Huaqiong wished to escape into the ground.
Old Mrs. Huang’s words suggest not to blame Tong Huaqiong for Huang Jingshan’s misfortune in marriage alliances.
Indeed, she also felt it was odd how Huang Jingshan’s marriage was always disrupted, seemingly by her interference.
With a stiff expression, Tong Huaqiong said, "If the bad is gone, the good will come. Thankfully, these issues were discovered before the wedding, when they could still be salvaged. Your Jingshan seems blessed and is bound to turn misfortune into fortune."
Old Mrs. Huang said, "You’re right. This just shows the Lian Family isn’t the destined match for my granddaughter. Honestly, I never favored the Lian Family; this match was orchestrated by her maternal family’s aunt. If it weren’t for my daughter-in-law, I wouldn’t have agreed at all."
Seeing Old Mrs. Huang about to drift the topic towards mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relations, Tong Huaqiong hurriedly stood up to leave.
Old Mrs. Huang held onto Tong Huaqiong, saying, "You can’t leave. Dajiao, you’ve noticed the problems in both of my granddaughter’s marriage arrangements; it signifies that a good match is in your hands, or else why would you be involved every time."
Tong Huaqiong: "..."
Old Mrs. Huang continued, "Please arrange a good marriage for my granddaughter."
In Tong Huaqiong’s hands was the proposal with Lu Zhaoyang; Lu Zhaoyang had expressed his feelings for Huang Jingshan. She had intended to wait until Huang Jingshan properly withdrew from her engagement with the Lian Family and confirmed her feelings for Lu Zhaoyang before proposing.
Now, with Old Mrs. Huang entrusting her with Huang Jingshan’s marriage issue, it seemed she couldn’t escape her destiny.
Tong Huaqiong asked Old Mrs. Huang, "Old Madam, have you noticed anyone suitable?"
Old Mrs. Huang was straightforward, saying, "Yes, the young man who came over when you were conferred as the Township Lady."
"Are you referring to the boy from the Lu Family?"
Tong Huaqiong understood, Old Mrs. Huang had her eyes on Lu Zhaoyang at that gathering in Qinghe Bay.
This coincided perfectly with Tong Huaqiong’s thoughts.
Old Mrs. Huang beamed, saying, "He and my Jingshan are the perfect match. Aren’t you proposing for him? My Jingshan is just right."
Tong Huaqiong said, "Judging by the two young ones, it indeed seems to be a suitable match, only..."
Old Mrs. Huang interrupted, "There are no onlys, the Lu Family and our Huang Family are perfectly matched."
One is a Huang merchant, and the other a rice merchant; aren’t they both merchants, just perfect!
Tong Huaqiong knew Old Mrs. Huang misunderstood, quickly explaining, "That’s not what I meant, Jingshan’s demeanor, she could match even the Royal Family. I mean, since this is about arranging a match for Jingshan, we should at least ask for Jingshan’s opinion, right? If she doesn’t like him, wouldn’t we be doing her harm?"
Old Mrs. Huang said, "That’s simple, then let’s call Jingshan over and ask her first."
Tong Huaqiong held her down firmly.
"No, let’s settle the disengagement solidly before discussing this."
Old Mrs. Huang was extremely anxious, fearing someone else might take a liking to Lu Zhaoyang and snatch him away.
Tong Huaqiong said, "Old Madam, since you’ve taken a liking to Zhaoyang, I might as well let you in on something. The last time at our place, Zhaoyang took a liking to Jingshan and wanted me to arrange the match. I told him Jingshan was already engaged, and he was very regretful."
Old Mrs. Huang, upon knowing Lu Zhaoyang had feelings for Huang Jingshan, smiled so broadly that her eyes nearly disappeared.
No wonder her granddaughter’s marriage was so unsettled; the good match was waiting right here.
Tong Huaqiong said to Old Mrs. Huang, "Old Madam, it must remain a secret that Lu Zhaoyang is interested in Jingshan. Once the engagement with the Lian Family is nullified, I will openly propose on behalf of the Lu Family. If we propose now and it gets out, even though we are in the right, it might appear as if we aren’t."
Tong Huaqiong’s words served as a reminder to Old Mrs. Huang.
Exactly, now that the Lian Family had acted shamelessly, the Huang Family had every right to withdraw from the engagement. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
Now that she understood Lu Zhaoyang’s intentions, she wasn’t anxious.
As for her son and daughter-in-law’s views, she trusted they would not refuse once they met Lu Zhaoyang.
Old Mrs. Huang was filled with gratitude for Tong Huaqiong. Honestly, without knowing Tong Huaqiong and going to Qinghe Bay to celebrate her conferment as the Township Lady, her granddaughter wouldn’t have met Lu Zhaoyang.
Huang Jingshan stood behind the screen for a long time, then quietly left.
She had initially been chatting with Old Mrs. Huang, but upon hearing voices in the room, she hid behind the screen and overheard everything Tong Huaqiong and Old Mrs. Huang were talking about.
Tong Huaqiong stayed back with Old Mrs. Huang for a few more words before leaving.
"Aunt Tong." Huang Jingshan came forward to greet her.
Tong Huaqiong smiled and said, "Jingshan, you seem to have slimmed down quite a bit recently."
Huang Jingshan stood in the snow, with the red plum blossoms behind her, exuding a chilly, almost ethereal aura.
With the snowlight reflecting off her, Huang Jingshan gave a brilliant smile and said, "Aunt Tong, I just overheard you and Grandma’s private conversation in her room."
Tong Huaqiong promptly understood why Huang Jingshan had come out to meet her; it turns out she’d been waiting there intentionally.
Tong Huaqiong asked straight away, "Then what are your thoughts after hearing those words?"
Huang Jingshan said, "Didn’t Aunt Tong say you wanted to ask my opinion? I have affection for Mr. Lu."
Being a girl of these times, after speaking, Huang Jingshan lowered her head, her face blushing.
With her chilly demeanor paired with a bashful expression, there was a charming contrast in Tong Huaqiong’s eyes.
Tong Huaqiong laughed.
Huang Jingshan raised her head briefly before lowering it again, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s, "Aunt Tong, do you think I’m too... too improper..."
What decent girl takes the initiative to confess her feelings for a man?
Tong Huaqiong said, "What’s so bad about that? Daring to pursue your happiness is a good thing; don’t let those so-called rules bind you."
Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, if this is considered improper, then what about Gu Taohua chasing after Fan Tong down the street?
Huang Jingshan, hearing Tong Huaqiong’s words, lifted her head and smiled.
Tong Huaqiong said, "Jingshan, I understand your thoughts. Once you’ve withdrawn from the Lian Family, I’ll arrange for you and Lu Zhaoyang."
Huang Jingshan said, "Thank you so much, Aunt Tong."
...
Upon learning about the misconduct of the second young master of the Lian Family, who forced a maid into pregnancy and caused her death, Huang Yuanwai was naturally furious.
However, he did not rashly announce withdrawing from the engagement; instead, he first went to Moon Bay to inquire about the situation.
Coincidentally, the person he met was Liu Yuechang, who then took him to Luo Qiuyu’s house, just in time to encounter Luo Qiuyu’s brother, who had gone to the Lian Family in Pingchuan County to seek justice for his sister and was beaten to a pulp, carried back half-dead.
Huang Yuanwai, enraged, called for a doctor to treat Qiuyu’s brother and then rushed to the Lian Family in Pingchuan County to annul the engagement.
The Lian Family, of course, was reluctant to dissolve the engagement.
They believed which family’s young masters weren’t flirtatious, and having maids before officially marrying was normal.
The Lian Family had only dismissed the pregnant maid, not taken her as a concubine, precisely out of respect for the Huang Family and Huang Jingshan.
Compared to other wealthy families, the Lian Family felt they’d done well enough.
Listening to this twisted reasoning, Huang Yuanwai lost his temper and scolded the Lian Family up and down.
But the Lian Family firmly refused to end the engagement.
In the end, it was escalated to the government, and only through the intervention of County Magistrate Liu were the two families able to successfully annul the engagement.
