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

Chapter 701: Chapter 701: Almost Flipped the Table by Accident

Soon, Tong Huaqiong discovered that Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu indeed went to Lu Zhaozhao to ask for the dowry.

To Tong Huaqiong’s relief, Jingzhe stood at the forefront, bearing the pressure from the two elders. Not only did he scold them, but he also declared that no one in the family should scheme for Lu Zhaozhao’s dowry.

After this confrontation, Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were still worried about Gu Honglian’s dowry. The Fan Family urged urgently, and the couple had been troubled for days without sleep.

The marriage negotiations between Fan Tong and Gu Honglian cooled down.

Gu Honglian cried like a weeping figure.

However, a few days later, the Fan Family unexpectedly sent a matchmaker to visit again.

Mrs. Gu was overjoyed, but Mr. Gu was indifferent; he carefully pondered Jingzhe’s words.

The reason Fan Tong proposed again was not because of Gu Honglian, but because of the relationship between Tong Huaqiong and Jingzhe.

No matter whether this relationship would be useful to the main house, that was a matter for later.

Mr. Gu decided to test Fan Tong.

As Mr. Gu hesitated, the Fan Family’s matchmaker visited more frequently.

Two days later, Fan Tong’s mother, Old Mrs. Fan, personally came to visit.

Mr. Gu thought his strategy was effective, not knowing that Jingzhe played a significant role in it.

At Mr. Su’s place, Jingzhe ran into Fan Tong and directly told him that neither he nor Tong Huaqiong agreed to Gu Honglian marrying Fan Tong. After all, Fan Tong had previously proposed to Gu Taohua, and if word got out, people would speculate maliciously about the two nieces.

Jingzhe hinted to Fan Tong that Tong Huaqiong originally prepared a dowry for Gu Honglian, but given the poor impression Fan Tong had made on her, the dowry was temporarily put on hold.

Upon hearing Jingzhe’s words, Fan Tong was startled.

Over the years, his actions were abandoned by the prestigious families of Yan Guan Town.

Indeed, there were prettier girls willing to marry with a dowry, but these girls came from ordinary families whose family backgrounds paled in comparison to Gu Honglian’s potential in the long run.

Gu Honglian was not very beautiful, and her family was not wealthy, but she had Tong Huaqiong and Jingzhe behind her, along with the relationships extended from the Gu Family’s main house with the Huang, Lu, and Liu families, and the Yao Family of Shengjing.

Now that he had become a scholar, if he continued to work hard in his studies, leveraging the relationships of the Gu Family’s main house, his future wouldn’t be bad.

He couldn’t believe that Jingzhe wouldn’t need help in the officialdom.

The only scholar in the Gu Family was Jingzhe. Once he married Gu Honglian, he would be Jingzhe’s uncle by marriage, and they could rely on each other.

He wanted to use his scholar status to press Gu Honglian into providing a dowry.

When Jingzhe got married, Lu Zhaozhao’s dowry was too tempting.

If pressed, the Gu Family could come up with five sedan loads of dowry like Lu Zhaozhao’s, his future would not only be worry-free, but he could also use the dowry to study at Wanliu Academy.

Unexpectedly, he overplayed his hand, and nearly lost it.

It was clear the marriage was about to fall through!

Fan Tong secretly thought no wonder Mr. Gu had become cold towards him; it must have been something Jingzhe said.

Now in the Gu Family, the one whose words carried the most weight was undoubtedly Jingzhe.

Fan Tong broke out in a cold sweat; if he lost Gu Honglian, where else could he find a backing like Tong Huaqiong and Jingzhe?

Therefore, in a hurry, he sent the matchmaker back again.

Initially, Old Mrs. Fan was unwilling to personally visit, putting on airs like Mrs. Jia, thinking her studious son was unique. Especially since Fan Tong was a scholar, Old Mrs. Fan looked down on ordinary people even more, believing that it was only a matter of time before her son became a scholar or a high official, and when he did, there would be many noble daughters competing to marry him.

Old Mrs. Fan never considered Gu Honglian as a suitable candidate for her daughter-in-law. It was only because she coveted the usefulness of Tong Huaqiong and Jingzhe for her son that Gu Honglian even made it onto Old Mrs. Fan’s list.

Finally, after much persuasion from Fan Tong, for the sake of her son’s future backing, Old Mrs. Fan reluctantly made the visit.

The Fan Family showed enough sincerity, and Mr. Gu couldn’t keep up his reserved stance.

Gu Honglian’s marriage was quickly set, and Fan Tong changed his previous attitude, fearing the Gu Family would go back on their word.

Mr. and Mrs. Gu were puzzled.

When Tong Huaqiong learned the marriage was finalized, she was equally incredulous.

Lu Zhaozhao then relayed the encounter between Jingzhe and Fan Tong to Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong couldn’t help but laugh; this little son was truly scheming, directly securing Fan Tong and Gu Honglian’s marriage as if nailed in place.

The marriage of Fan Tong and Gu Honglian also aligned with the interests of the Gu Family’s main house, saving Fan Tong from pursuing Gu Taohua.

Though Gu Taohua wouldn’t fall for it again like in the past life, a fly buzzing about could still be irritating.

In this life, Fan Tong became Gu Taohua’s uncle by marriage, completely severing the ill-fated relationship between Gu Taohua and Fan Tong.

After the marriage was set, Tong Huaqiong decided to gift Gu Honglian a set of jewelry and two pieces of satin.

As the eldest sister-in-law, it was generous enough.

Jingzhe decided to give Gu Honglian fifty taels of silver.

Of course, this silver wasn’t taken from Lu Zhaozhao or Tong Huaqiong; it was saved from his earnings writing stories in the provincial city, which he handed over to Lu Zhaozhao after marriage.

When Lu Zhaozhao learned that Jingzhe intended to gift his young aunt fifty taels of silver as dowry, she immediately retrieved the silver Jingzhe had left with her.

Jingzhe had thought deeply.

Having Fan Tong as an uncle was better than as a brother-in-law.

Gu Honglian, as his young aunt, though selfish and capricious, was nowhere near as destructive as Gu Ruinian, posing no threat to the Gu Family’s main house now or in the future.

Jingzhe hoped his young aunt would live peacefully after marriage, and these fifty taels would be a security for her.

As for more, such as supporting Fan Tong in the future, that was out of the question.

However, if Fan Tong dared to bully Gu Honglian, Jingzhe wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Chen Sufen and Liu Yueer, along with Gu Baishuang, having heard of Gu Honglian’s finalized marriage, also contributed to her dowry.

Chen Sufen gifted a pair of Ruyi Bracelets, Liu Yueer a wedding dress, and Gu Baishuang twenty taels of silver.

Upon learning this, Mrs. Wei gifted Gu Honglian two pairs of shoes and a dressing mirror.

Even Gu Taohua, still unmarried, sent Gu Honglian two golden hairpins.

Gu Honglian, who once thought she would have nothing upon marrying, was overjoyed to receive so many items.

She finally had items to place at the bottom of her trunk.

Especially the silver from Jingzhe and Gu Baishuang, totaling seventy taels, which was considerable for a farming family.

Many people couldn’t save up seventy taels in a lifetime.

Wu Na stared longingly at the silver; Gu Honglian exchanged it for a silver note, kept it close in her clothing, and locked her jewelry in a box, wanting to carry it with her to prevent any household thief from stealing it.

Mrs. Jia, on the side, made sarcastic remarks, insinuating how Tong Huaqiong, despite her wealth, was unwilling to provide a dowry for Gu Honglian.

"The whole family of the eldest sister-in-law gave me wedding gifts, second sister-in-law, where are yours?"

Gu Honglian had been pondering over many things in recent days.

Though she was disappointed with the wedding gifts from the eldest sister-in-law, she decided to keep her disappointment to herself.

Old Mrs. Fan’s visit made her realize that regardless of how indifferent the eldest sister-in-law acted, as long as Tong Huaqiong was her sister-in-law, she was her support. After marriage, the Fan Family’s attitude towards her wouldn’t be too harsh.

And then there was her nephew Jingzhe, who, despite his annoyance at her asking Lu Zhaozhao for a dowry, still considered the family ties and gave her fifty taels of silver.

Therefore, upon hearing Mrs. Jia’s attempt to incite her hatred towards Tong Huaqiong, Gu Honglian became angry.