The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 2: Selling Granddaughter
Tong Huaqiong transmigrated into the body of this wicked woman the instant she breathed her last, and was reborn when the wicked woman continued to cause trouble.

This person actually gave her a second chance at life.

Tong Huaqiong felt that being dressed up as such a wicked woman was a punishment from heaven for the wrong person.

She only rejected a male classmate's confession before she transmigrated, so why should God punish her so cruelly?
"Mother, are you alright?"

"Mom, I was so scared these past two days."

Two thugs beside her helped Tong Huaqiong sit up, and their constant use of "mother" was irritating to listen to.

Tong Huaqiong leaned against the pillow with a gloomy face.

The young woman who was protecting the little girl from being hit, Chen Sufeng, the stepson's wife, walked into the house trembling as she carried the bowl of medicine.

"You take so long to bring the medicine, do you want your mother to die?" Gu Dashu's mouth was full of unkind words.

The chubby girl, Gu Taohua, snatched the medicine bowl from Chen Sufang's hand and handed it to Tong Huaqiong's mouth, forcing her to drink it without saying a word.

The bitter taste of the medicine made Tong Huaqiong's eyes grow even more gloomy.

In Chen Sufang's eyes, this meant her mother-in-law was about to go too far.

Terrified, Chen Sufang knelt down by the bedside with a thud, sobbing uncontrollably: "Mother, I shouldn't have pushed you. You can hit me and scold me, but please don't send Man'er to the Zheng family. That's a living hell."

Before Tong Huaqiong could react, Yaozu, the third-generation grandson of Daizhu, grabbed his granddaughter Man'er and brought her into the house.

Man'er was forced to kneel beside her mother, Chen Sufeng, by Yaozu. Her small body trembled and her face was covered with tears.

That damned, venomous old woman!

That's absolutely inhuman!

A six-year-old girl, as thin as a bean sprout, was actually to be sold to the Zheng family as a wife.

This story begins with Gu Jingzhe, the youngest son of the Gu family.

Gu Jingzhe has a natural talent for studying. He passed the county examination and became a student, which is a great honor for the Gu family, who have been farmers for generations. This made Tong Dajiao very proud.

Gu Jingzhe became quite smug and suddenly felt that the private school in town couldn't contain his great luck, so he insisted on going to study at Wanliu Academy in the prefectural city.

The tuition fees at Wanliu Academy were quite high, and the Gu family could not afford them.

Gu Jingzhe painted a rosy picture for Tong Huaqiong, saying that Wanliu Academy was one of the top academies in the entire Great Yan, and that half of the world's talents came from Wanliu Academy. If he could study in such a place, not to mention the teaching staff, his fellow students at Wanliu Academy would also have a powerful network when he participated in the imperial examinations.

Without connections in the imperial court, even if he became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he might still be assigned to a remote region to endure hardship. How could his dream of becoming a prime minister and a marquis to earn an official title for his mother be realized quickly?

Upon hearing this, Tong Dajiao slapped her thigh excitedly and declared that her son was filial and had earned his mother an imperial title, so he had to go to Wanliu Academy in the prefectural city.

Even if there are no conditions, we should create them and go.

Tong Dajiao considered her family's assets. She couldn't sell the few mud houses; where would the whole family live if they did? She couldn't sell the few acres of land either; what would they eat if they did? The only things she could sell were a pig, a flock of laying hens, and a dozen or so loads of grain, but even that combined wouldn't be enough to cover her son's expenses for half a year at Wanliu Academy!

Gu Jingzhe said that raising money was not difficult; he could simply earn a dowry for his sister's marriage.

Tong Dajiao doted on her daughter but loved her son even more, so she was tempted by Gu Jingzhe's suggestion. However, Gu Jingzhe was as big as a peach blossom stone block and had a temper that would explode at the slightest provocation, so even if the matchmaker offered him money, he wouldn't agree to a marriage.

Gu Jingzhe said that this was not difficult. If good families didn't want Gu Taohua, then they would look for less desirable families. He had already inquired about suitable people. The eighteen-year-old son of Zheng, a scholar in the county, who had contracted tuberculosis, was willing to spend a lot of money to marry him to bring good luck.

When Gu Taohua learned that her brother had his eye on her and wanted to marry her off to a man with tuberculosis to bring him good luck, she chased Gu Jingzhe for two miles, brandishing a knife.

Tong Dajiao couldn't bear to marry her daughter to someone with tuberculosis, so she turned her attention to Man'er instead.

She had originally planned to sell Man'er to a wealthy family as a maid when she was a few years older.

Sending Man'er to the Zheng family for a marriage to ward off bad luck is better than selling her as a maid. A marriage to ward off bad luck is a wedding, and the Zheng family is willing to spend money; the dowry alone is enough to send Gu Jingzhe to study at Wanliu Academy.

Man'er is a bit young, but that makes her easier to handle.

The Zheng family quickly made the deal. Tong Dajiao took two hundred taels of silver, four bolts of gold, and some cloth from the Zheng family and was about to rush to give Man'er to them.

Seeing her daughter about to enter a living hell, Chen Sufeng, who was usually as tough as a clay figure, suddenly became defiant and blocked the door to prevent Man'er from leaving the Gu family home.

Tong Dajiao slapped Chen Sufeng across the face twice. Chen Sufeng, for the sake of her daughter, went all out and rammed her head into her mother-in-law, sending her flying against the door frame.

Tong Dajiao was knocked unconscious.

"Sister-in-law, don't be ungrateful. It's a miracle that Man'er is going to the Zheng family. Our Gu family's ancestors are blessed. Once Man'er goes there, she'll be living a life of luxury, with gold and silver, and servants. This isn't a pit of fire, it's a paradise." Gu Taohua coldly glanced at her sister-in-law Chen Sufeng.

“Peach Blossom is right, the Zheng family is a blessed place. Sister-in-law, where did you hear those evil words about a pit of fire? If Jingzhe hadn’t passed the imperial examination, this marriage wouldn’t have been our Gu family’s turn. And you’re still complaining, sister-in-law, if my Yaozu hadn’t been a boy, how could Man’er have gotten such a good marriage?”

Gu Dashu glanced at his son Yaozu, and he really regretted that Yaozu was not a girl.

Otherwise, he would be the eldest son of the Zheng family's father-in-law.

So what if my daughter is young? So what if she marries into the family and becomes a widow?
They were living a life of luxury, eating and drinking to their hearts' content.

My sister-in-law just can't seem to get over it.

“It’s just that other people who want to marry into the family can’t,” Gu Taohua chimed in.

Pity!
If the eldest son of the Zheng family hadn't been suffering from tuberculosis, he would have been widowed soon after marrying her. She would have insisted on being with him no matter what.

What should we do now?
Chen Sufen stopped Man'er from going to the Zheng family, worried that if the Zheng family got angry and broke off the engagement, how would they handle the situation?

She didn't care about the future of her twin brother, Gu Jingzhe; what she cared about was that if things didn't go well, the Zheng family would make her return the betrothal gifts, since the new clothes she was wearing were made from the same fabric ordered by the Zheng family.

She was also planning to use the gold she had placed a deposit to make a necklace and two bracelets.

Because of her sister-in-law's outburst, all the jewelry she had almost gotten her hands on was lost.

Chen Sufen took a breath. Her sister-in-law's words sounded nice. Since the Zheng family was such a lucky place, why wouldn't she marry into it?

She could only think these words in her heart, but dared not say them aloud. If she did, Man'er probably wouldn't be able to stay at the Gu family until tonight.

“Mother, Man’er has to go to the Zheng family. Our family has already accepted the gifts from the Zheng family. If Man’er doesn’t go, I will have to return this dress. Also, I have already arranged with the jewelry shop in town to have the gold that I put down. It will be sent to make jewelry in a couple of days.”

Gu Taohua's small mouth opened and closed on her chubby face, making a buzzing sound that gave Tong Huaqiong a headache.

"Furthermore, the Zheng family's steward has promised me a job as the manager of the Zheng family's shop, and Yaozu will become the study companion of the Zheng family's youngest son. If anyone ruins the future of my second branch of the family, I will hold them accountable."

“This marriage absolutely cannot be called off! My elder brother isn’t home, so as his uncle, I’ll make the decision.”

Gu Dashu threatened Chen Sufen with a roguish expression.

Chen Sufen hugged Man'er, who was kneeling beside her. Both mother and daughter were pale and collapsed to the ground in tears.

Tong Huaqiong wanted to slap the two wicked children across the face.

In matters of life and death, these two scoundrels were only concerned with their own clothes and jewelry, and their own and their son's future.

Unfortunately, she had just woken up and couldn't lift her hand because she was too weak.

She deeply regretted not having transmigrated when the two wicked bamboos were just born; otherwise, she would have drowned them in the chamber pot without hesitation.

"Shut up!"

Tong Huaqiong mustered all her strength and shouted loudly
(End of this chapter)