The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 361: The Union of the Huang and Lu Families
The second young master of the Lian Family was envious of the Huang Family’s withdrawal from the engagement and falsely accused them, repeatedly claiming that Huang Jingshan’s poor conduct forced the Lian Family to end the engagement.
He even went around Yan Guan Town to spread the news.
While he was spreading the rumor, he was caught red-handed by Gu Taohua, who put a sack over him and took him to the Huang Family.
The matter of withdrawing from the engagement caused quite a stir. Though most people knew the fault lay with the Lian Family, Huang Jingshan’s reputation was also ruined.
It was rumored outside that Huang Jingshan was jealous and intolerant even before marriage; which respectable family would dare marry her when a concubine would just be an obstacle?
Mr. Huang was so upset over the rumors about his daughter’s jealousy that he hadn’t eaten properly for days, worrying about her future marriage. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
However, Huang Jingshan was calm and composed.
Just when Mr. Huang was so worried that a few strands of his hair had turned white and he couldn’t focus on celebrating the New Year, Tong Huaqiong visited the Huang Family once again.
This time, Tong Huaqiong formally proposed a marriage between Huang Jingshan and Lu Zhaoyang.
Upon hearing that it was the Lu Family from the city, Mr. Huang was stunned for a while. He carefully inquired from Tong Huaqiong about Lu Zhaoyang’s situation. Since his own mother had met Lu Zhaoyang and approved of him from appearance to character, he immediately decided to meet the Lu Family.
Tong Huaqiong quickly sent a message to Lu Zhaoyang, and Lu Zhaoyang, along with Mr. Lu, rushed to Yan Guan Town upon receiving the message.
Upon seeing Lu Zhaoyang, Mr. Huang immediately felt this was the future son-in-law for their family. No wonder he always felt that the likes of Fan Tong and others were a mismatch for his daughter; they were never meant to be the son-in-law of the Huang Family.
As for Lu Zhaoyang’s inability to eat wheat products, what did it matter? Both the Lu Family and Huang Family had other things to eat.
And Mr. Lu and Mr. Huang got along so well that they regretted not having met sooner.
Thus, the Huang and Lu Families hit it off at once, and the engagement was settled before the New Year, with the wedding date set for the warm spring after the New Year.
Of course, after their engagement, the Huang and Lu Families expressed their gratitude to the matchmaker, Tong Huaqiong.
Especially Mr. Lu, whose gratitude towards Tong Huaqiong grew even stronger.
First, she saved his grandson, then arranged for a good marriage for his grandson. If Tong Huaqiong hadn’t refused, Mr. Lu would have insisted on having Lu Zhaoyang recognize Tong Huaqiong as a godmother.
Tong Huaqiong only hoped that Lu Zhaoyang, this talented individual, would enter the cabinet to become a minister and, if ever he opposed Gu Jingzhe due to differing political views, would show some leniency towards Gu Jingzhe and Tong Huaqiong and their close ones out of respect for her.
When news spread of the engagement between the Imperial Merchant Lu Family of the city and the Huang Family, the Lian Family was infuriated.
The Lian Family’s second young master even went to the Wanliu Academy in the city to find Lu Zhaoyang to recount the details of Huang Jingshan breaking off the engagement, showcasing his astonishing ability to distort the truth.
Gentle people rarely get angry, but when they do, they can bring down your entire old house.
So, during the time every household was preparing New Year’s goods, something happened to the second young master of the Lian Family.
As they say, good news doesn’t go beyond the door, but bad news travels a thousand miles. The entire Pingchuan County was buzzing with the news that the second young master of the Lian Family had offended a noble young master from Shengjing at Tianxiang Building and was castrated by him.
This incident was so bizarre that it dominated the gossip headlines in Pingchuan County for days, with idle gossipers passionately discussing it in every corner of the teahouse during the winter lull.
The Lian Family, in turn, shut their doors to visitors, further confirming the rumor of the Lian Family’s second young master being castrated.
Those familiar with the Lian Family’s background revealed that it was all the vengeance of a maid named Luo Qiuyu, who was wronged by the second young master of the Lian Family and returned to seek revenge, causing him to live without heirs.
This was the Lian Family’s retribution.
As the rumor spread, everyone understood the true reason behind the broken engagement between the Huang and Lian Families.
It turned out the Huang Family was forced to end the engagement. After all, which family would cancel an engagement for no reason? For the Huang Family to risk losing their reputation to withdraw from the engagement proved that the Lian Family’s ways and the actions of their second young master were even worse than the gossip.
Thus, Huang Jingshan was once again portrayed as a pitiful victim.
Lately, more insiders revealed that the owner of Taohua Dessert, Widow Tong, was moved by Huang Jingshan’s character and arranged an engagement for her with the Imperial Merchant Lu Family in the city.
Public opinion quickly shifted, painting Huang Jingshan’s story as one of perseverance finally rewarded.
The twists and turns of the tale even prompted the storytellers at Lian Teahouse to write plays about Huang Jingshan’s marriage.
The rumor about the Lian Family’s second young master’s castration reached Tong Huaqiong’s ears. While clearing snow in her yard, Tong Huaqiong merely thought he deserved it.
She was also amazed at Lu Zhaoyang’s swift tactics, ensuring the Lian Family’s second young master would never recover.
After another heavy snowfall, the Spring Festival arrived.
In this land of Hua Xia, no matter the era, the Spring Festival is always grand and lively.
This era was no exception.
New Year’s goods had long been prepared. At Taohua Dessert’s shops in both Yan Guan Town and the city, the accounts were settled on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, and they stopped business for the holiday, not reopening until the 16th of the first lunar month.
During this era, many shops, except for those like restaurants that cater to guests, typically resume business only on the 16th of the first month.
The village’s private school and the town’s private school had both suspended classes, with children running around the village, occasionally setting off firecrackers, adding a sense of excitement to the snow-quieted countryside.
Deep-frying food in preparation for the New Year was an annual tradition, frying sugar cakes, meatballs, and fish, immersing the whole village in a fragrant aroma.
Besides that, there was also the preparation of dumpling fillings and the steaming of buns.
After expanding their kitchen, Tong Huaqiong’s house was spacious and bright. Pregnant Chen Sufen was not allowed to do any work by Tong Huaqiong, so Gu Taohua, Liu Yueer, and Tong Zhaodi took on the main tasks, bustling about with fervor.
Of course, the men were not idle either.
Su Chengmin chopped firewood, Gu Jingzhe tended the fire, and Gu Dahuan kneaded the dough.
Gu Dashu had returned from the city by the 25th and wasn’t left idle either. He thoroughly swept the yard inside and out.
For Qinghe Bay, the most important task before the New Year was writing Spring Festival couplets.
There weren’t many literate people in Qinghe Bay, and Gu Jingzhe was the most accomplished scholar with the best handwriting, so every household came to him to write their Spring Festival couplets.
In the past, during couplet-writing at the Spring Festival, Tong Dajiao and her brood were always the ones receiving smiles and greetings from everyone in Qinghe Bay.
After all, purchasing a set of couplets wasn’t cheap, and one had to brave the cold winds to get them from the town.
Having someone in the village who could write couplets was something every villager looked forward to for their New Year celebration.
Never missing an opportunity to brag about her son in front of the villagers, even the usually overbearing Tong Dajiao would appear approachable when it was time to write couplets.
Every year before the New Year, Gu Jingzhe would be elevated to the cherished figure of Qinghe Bay, and this year was no exception.
Early in the morning, Gu Jingzhe set up a table in the yard, ground the ink, and laid out the brushes to start writing the Spring Festival couplets.
He would write his family’s first, then the villagers’.
After having breakfast, the villagers, holding red paper they cut in town, one after another, stepped into Tong Huaqiong’s yard.
In no time, Gu Jingzhe’s table was piled with red paper, reflecting the post-snow sunlight, glowing brightly in the rural courtyard, adding a touch of festivity to the New Year.
"Jingzhe, you’ve got to write a lot for me; even my pigsties and chicken coops need couplets this year," Gu Guangkui said cheerfully, bringing in a pile of red paper.
With Xu Si exiled, he could leave the village to make furniture for money. With Gu Xiaocao working at Taohua Dessert and their land’s yield, their income was substantial this year.
So he specifically bought extra red paper to paste couplets not just on the door frames but planned to decorate the beams, kitchen stoves, and the chicken and pig pens too.
Many villagers thought the same way, and with a bountiful corn harvest this year, numerous families had extra money. Having extra money, they wanted to celebrate the New Year more joyfully, thus wishing to use couplets and the character of fortune to decorate their homes inside and out.
