On February 16th, Tong Huaqiong set out with her brood to the prefectural city to attend the wedding of Lu Chaoyang and Huang Jingshan.

This time, apart from Tong Pandi and Hua Er, all the Gu Family members went, including the pregnant Chen Sufen and the non-family member Nie Xiaofeng.

The marriage in the Lu family stirred the entire prefectural city; nearly all merchants joined the celebration, and the banquet lasted for three days.

After the wedding ended, Tong Huaqiong stayed in the prefectural city for three more days, preparing the cargo for the Lu family’s sea ship, and didn’t return to Qinghe Bay until the end of February.

"In-law, you’re finally back."

Just as Tong Huaqiong returned home, Mrs. Zhao, Liu Yueer’s mother, came over with a mysterious look, eager to say something.

Tong Huaqiong dispensed with pleasantries and asked directly: "What’s the matter you want to discuss with me?"

Mrs. Zhao said: "While you were away, your younger brother-in-law’s family and your parents-in-law returned."

Tong Huaqiong had anticipated the return of her parents-in-law, but she hadn’t expected the younger brother-in-law’s family to come along.

Tong Huaqiong said: "Old people naturally want to return to their roots. My second uncle’s family probably brought them back for a short stay and will return themselves soon."

The younger brother-in-law’s family has been doing business between the north and south for many years; it’s unlikely they’d abandon their southern business just to move back.

Mrs. Zhao smirked and said: "Return? You think too much. I heard from Dashi’s second uncle that they won’t go back; they plan to settle in Qinghe Bay, even bringing pots and pans."

Tong Huaqiong just chuckled, not taking the news seriously. If they come, so be it; anyway, in the previous life, Tong Dajiao and the younger brother-in-law’s family didn’t get along, so in this life, there’s no need for her to maintain the relationship either.

Qinghe Bay doesn’t belong to her, Tong Huaqiong; she has no opinion on who comes to live here.

Mrs. Zhao said indignantly: "Your parents-in-law gave all their silver to your second house as capital for business. In the past, no matter how much you begged them, they wouldn’t leave you a penny for Jingzhe. Now they’ve returned because they see your family doing well; they intend for you to provide for their old age."

Tong Huaqiong said: "Supporting them isn’t a hassle. I’m certainly not going to run the household at dawn and dusk and give them everything."

She’d only feed them within the bounds of filial duty, not letting them starve.

"You’re right." Mrs. Zhao agreed and then brought up the younger brother-in-law again, hesitatingly, "Your second uncle’s family arrived in the village with great fanfare, hosting the Clan Leader and some notable villagers for dinner. The word outside is that your second house is flourishing. But in my view, it’s a facade; who truly prospers without renovating the courtyard and house to live in? Who returns home without purchasing land?"

Mrs. Zhao’s mention of Tong Dajiao’s younger brother-in-law piqued Tong Huaqiong’s interest. She asked: "Did both sons and the daughter of the younger brother-in-law come back along?"

Mrs. Zhao replied: "They did. The elder son is married with children now, and the strangest is the second son. He used to be so mischievous but has now become insightful in his studies, claiming to have passed the child student exam last year. This year, he’s supposed to take the Scholar exam like Jingzhe. In the past few days, the Gu Clan Leader has been praising your second house’s second son endlessly, even saying his studies are better than Jingzhe’s. The daughter from the second house hasn’t gone out since they returned, so we don’t know how she’s faring."

Mrs. Zhao rambled on about the situation of Tong Huaqiong’s younger brother-in-law’s family.

Tong Huaqiong focused her attention on the second son from the second house.

The second son’s studies are better than Gu Jingzhe? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Tong Huaqiong searched through memories of Tong Dajiao without finding the second son fitting the scholarly archetype.

In the previous life, the second son from the Gu family’s second house was wooden-headed in studies, only focused on eating, drinking, and merry-making.

A typical ancient version of a small-town spirited lad.

Later, the spirited lad thought that because Tong Dajiao and Lu Zhaozhao had mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, he could intervene, going to Tong Dajiao’s home hoping to act inappropriately with Lu Zhaozhao. Tong Dajiao’s issues with Lu Zhaozhao belonged to the mother-in-law realm, while the second house mistreating her daughter-in-law was a slap in her face she wouldn’t tolerate. Hence, summoning Gu Jingzhe home, Gu Jingzhe severed the tendons of this opportunistic cousin’s hands; after achieving honors and returning gloriously, he even had the Clan Leader expel him from the Gu Family.

Now Mrs. Zhao said this spirited lad has transformed into a diligent scholar, making Tong Huaqiong think it might be the Gu Clan Leader forcefully elevating him to suppress Gu Jingzhe.

"And your younger sister-in-law..." Mrs. Zhao brought up Tong Huaqiong’s younger sister-in-law.

Tong Huaqiong appeared bemused: "Which younger sister-in-law?"

Mrs. Zhao glanced at Tong Huaqiong, noting that her in-law mother seemed to only have room for her biological children, only allowing the younger sister-in-law into her heart.

After not seeing her for years, has she forgotten the younger sister-in-law?

Indeed, this younger sister-in-law was highly competitive from a young age, spoiled to the point of no limits by the Gu family’s elder couple, showing no respect for the sister-in-law who nursed her as if she were a surrogate mother.

Mrs. Zhao had always found it puzzling that her in-law mother, being so formidable, had no temper with the younger sister-in-law.

To outsiders, it might seem as though the younger sister-in-law had saved her life.

Mrs. Zhao, after careful consideration, said: "She was engaged and then broke off the engagement; her temper seems worse than before. A few days ago, she went to your house wanting to open your jewelry box. When Pandi stopped her, she retorted at Pandi. Pandi, thinking she was an elder after all, didn’t escalate the matter."

Tong Huaqiong was still pondering whether she actually had a younger sister-in-law.

From Mrs. Zhao’s words, it seemed her younger sister-in-law had a significant relationship with her; otherwise, Mrs. Zhao wouldn’t mention the younger sister-in-law so readily.

Tong Huaqiong searched Tong Dajiao’s memories extensively.

If Tong Dajiao had any ties to the elder couple, it was the younger sister-in-law, Gu Honglian.

Gu Honglian was the old-age daughter of the elder couple, born two months after Gu Jingzhe and Gu Taohua, and raised alongside Tong Dajiao.

As a child, Gu Honglian was very close to Tong Dajiao, treating her elder sister-in-law like a mother, sparking jealousy from the mother-in-law, who later incited Gu Honglian to change her attitude towards her.

This matter profoundly hurt Tong Dajiao in the previous life.

Tong Huaqiong was truly surprised that Tong Dajiao in the previous life nursed a girl with no blood ties to herself.

Exactly because of this, after the younger sister-in-law betrayed her, Tong Dajiao felt so disheartened that even after becoming successful, she refrained from interacting with this younger sister-in-law.

The deeper one loves, the deeper the pain.

Tong Huaqiong told Mrs. Zhao: "In-law, you also know they’ve been off for years without contact. After Old Gu died, they returned for mourning and funeral, then left. I’m not very aware of their situation. So, thanks to you for telling me about them, it allows me to prepare."

Mrs. Zhao smiled contentedly.

Now, her family Yue Er and the whole family and the in-law are like locusts on the same line, keeping an eye on the in-law’s poor interactions with the second uncle’s family on behalf of the in-law mother.

After all, she hadn’t done much, merely shared what she knew with her in-law mother.

"While you were away, your father-in-law sent people to come to your house every day to check if you’d returned. Now that you’re back, I suspect your parents-in-law will ask you to visit them. Take my advice, respond to them; don’t begrudge them."

Mrs. Zhao advised Tong Huaqiong warmly, worried that she might end up opposing her parents-in-law.

The in-law mother is in business, and business people should avoid having a reputation for disrespecting parents-in-law.