The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!

Chapter 687: Chapter 687: Trying On the Wedding Robe

It is said that auspicious red nurtures people.

Jingzhe perfectly embodies this idea.

The top scholar in Pingchuan County, the next candidate for Champion Scholar at Wanliu Academy, and soon-to-be groom marrying a beautiful and wealthy bride...

With so many joyous events stacked together, Jingzhe’s already handsome face looked even more spirited.

Even his temper became nonexistent; he greeted everyone he met in the village warmly, and even when annoying kids ran up to him asking for wedding candies, he didn’t get annoyed but smiled broadly.

Seeing her youngest son’s joyous demeanor, Tong Huaqiong originally wanted to give him a warning.

But then she thought, if it were her, and someone poured cold water on her excitement and criticized her, she would feel quite disheartened.

At this moment, she did not want to be that kind of old mother criticized in some forums in later generations as a bane.

Besides, she had reprimanded him countless times.

She had already set the bad bamboo Gu Jingzhe on the right path, what more could she do?

Jingzhe was no longer a child.

If he still wanted to follow the same path as his predecessors, no amount of scolding would work.

"Mother, do you have anything to tell me?"

Jingzhe was a very sensitive person and quickly noticed the change in Tong Huaqiong’s disposition.

He felt slightly uneasy.

Facing his own mother, he inexplicably felt an invisible pressure.

Tong Huaqiong waved her hand and said, "No, I noticed you seemed a bit chubbier than before the New Year. I wonder if the wedding outfit your sister-in-law sewed for you still fits. You should try it on quickly, and if not, let her adjust it."

Upon hearing about the wedding outfit, Jingzhe felt a bit shy.

He smiled and slipped into the room.

In fact, Jingzhe hadn’t gained weight; throughout last year, he had studied hard for the scholar exam, becoming so thin that a strong wind could blow him over like a weakling.

Lu Zhaozhao said that his thin body didn’t look good.

Jingzhe was greatly stimulated; after passing the exam, besides reading, he began to eat well and exercise. Over the past few months, he finally regained his weight.

Only Jingzhe himself knew that now he had a body that looked slim in clothes but was muscular beneath.

Not related to being fat at all.

Soon, Jingzhe came out wearing the wedding outfit.

Just at that time, Mrs. Wei and Gu Baishuang and others were at Tong Huaqiong’s house helping with the wedding preparations, and upon hearing that Jingzhe was trying on the wedding outfit, everyone came over to watch.

In his wedding outfit, Jingzhe’s looks reached another level.

With a tall posture, a bright red outfit, matched with a handsome face, no wonder he captured Lu Zhaozhao’s heart across two lifetimes.

"Handsome," Tong Huaqiong genuinely praised.

"Third Uncle’s groom attire looks so handsome," Man Er clapped her hands.

"Even more handsome than my father," said Duo Er, referring to Mr. Su as her father.

Jingzhe smiled and revealed white teeth, his face reddening to his ears.

Chen Sufen complimented, "Third Brother looks even better in this wedding outfit than when he rode through the streets as the top scholar."

Having just returned from Pingchuan County, Liu Yueer said, "On the wedding day, I’m afraid Third Brother walking down the street might cause traffic."

Gu Baishuang jokingly said, "On the day Third Brother gets married, as soon as he stands at Lu Family’s door, the Lu Family might be reluctant to make it difficult for him and will just bring out the bride."

Jingzhe’s face turned even redder from all the teasing.

Mrs. Wei asked, "Is the waist too tight? If so, take it off, and I can fix it overnight."

Mrs. Wei was skilled with needlework, so Tong Huaqiong entrusted the sewing of Jingzhe’s wedding outfit to her.

Being given such an important task to sew the wedding attire, Mrs. Wei was so happy she almost cried.

This meant she had finally entered the inner circle of the main branch after leaving the old household.

She used all her skills to sew Jingzhe’s groom outfit to be both exquisite and luxurious.

At that moment, the outfit fit Jingzhe perfectly, rewarding all her days of effort.

Jingzhe said, "It fits perfectly. Thanks to Sister-in-law."

He finished by bowing to Mrs. Wei.

Mrs. Wei was startled and sidestepped.

Mrs. Wei thought, if her mother-in-law saw Jingzhe in the groom’s outfit, she might go mad.

After trying on the wedding attire, Jingzhe went into the room, took it off, and carefully hung it up.

He wouldn’t even let the maid help; he insisted on doing it himself.

The courtyard, expanded two years ago, was large, and there were many rooms.

Tong Huaqiong allocated three rooms in the east wing as the new marriage chamber for Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao.

These three new rooms were just for the wedding.

There were houses in the provincial city, and three days after the wedding, Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao would live there, soon to set off for Shengjing.

Jingzhe was deeply grateful to Tong Huaqiong for this.

For scholars like them going to the capital for exams, those who were married were almost forced into living separately.

The wives were expected to stay at home to serve the in-laws.

For this, husbands could not say anything, or they’d be accused of being unfilial, ruining their future.

Worse, in-laws would blame the wife, accusing her of inciting it, and not only would they not let her accompany her husband, but they would also find ways to torment her.

Many of Jingzhe’s senior brothers were in this situation, and whenever the topic came up, they would sigh.

It was very rare for someone like Lu Zhaoyang to take Huang Jingshan to the capital for exams.

Jingzhe looked around the new room, feeling a bit dazed surrounded by the red decor.

He’s really going to get married.

After marriage, he would truly become an adult, responsible for the family’s fortunes and bearing his own responsibilities.

Especially, he must not let his old mother continue to plan for him everywhere; he must learn to share the burden with her and, when necessary, take on the responsibility himself.

The eighteenth of March is an auspicious day.

The spring sun was warm, and the sky was clear.

The entire Qinghe Bay was enveloped in a robust spring, with the air full of a rich floral fragrance.

The almanac indicated it was suitable for weddings.

With almost two hours of travel from Qinghe Bay to the provincial city, to not miss the auspicious timing,

Jingzhe took the wedding procession from the village to the city residence the day before, to greet Lu Zhaozhao to Qinghe Bay on the wedding day.

Nowadays, as a wealthy merchant in the area, Tong Huaqiong could hardly keep a family event low-key even if she wanted to.

Hence, Jingzhe’s wedding attracted great attention.

For days before the actual wedding day, the house was already lively.

On the day of Jingzhe’s wedding, it was even livelier, with guests arriving continuously from early morning.

Even though she had delegated many tasks to others, Tong Huaqiong was still incredibly busy.

In Qinghe Bay, for such a joyous occasion as a wedding, practically the whole village would come to help, even those from the Xu Family, who usually didn’t get along with Tong Huaqiong, except for Xu Yong and Xu Kun, everyone else came.

Guests are expected to help with weddings, and as long as the Xu Family didn’t cause a scene, Tong Huaqiong accepted their help, otherwise, she handed them over to Tong Pandi for arrangements.

Tong Pandi had her own ways of dealing with them.

The people from the old household also arrived, including Tong Fusheng who had found out about the event and came along with Mrs. Wang and Tong Zhijie.

Tong Zhaodi and Wu Musheng came trailing behind.

Tong Zhaodi was visibly pregnant, while Wu Musheng lacked his previous arrogance.

Tong Zhaodi had already started showing, and Wu Musheng seemed to have lost his past confidence.

Tong Huaqiong didn’t cause any trouble this time because neither the Tong Family nor the Wu Family were in any position to make a fuss, so Tong Huaqiong left them to Tong Pandi’s care.

She knew Tong Pandi had her own ways of handling them.

Even the ones from the old household came, including Mr. Gu and Mrs. Wei.

Gu Baishuang and Mrs. Wei wore their best New Year’s clothes and came early, standing at the entrance to greet the Gu Family relatives and Mrs. Wei’s family.

Mrs. Wei occasionally glanced sideways at Tong Huaqiong and snorted, quickly turning her head away.

She couldn’t believe that Tong Huaqiong would be disrespectful to her in front of so many prominent guests during her son’s wedding.