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

Chapter 56 The Rich Young Master Rides in a Car with a Pig

Gu Dahan was already being severely manipulated by Tong Huaqiong, and when his stepmother criticized him, he began to blame himself for what he had done wrong and for causing the Lu siblings to suffer.

He should have insisted on taking the two of them to the hotel in town.

Gu Dahan rubbed his hands together and said to Tong Huaqiong, "I can't remember right now."

Lu Zhaoyang said, panting, "Auntie, it was me who wouldn't let Dahan go to the inn in town."

There's no need to mention the reasons.

Gu Jingzhe then said to Lu Zhaoyang, "Young Master Lu, what a coincidence! My elder brother is actually your coachman. My family lives in Qinghe Bay nearby. It's so late, why don't you stay at our house for the night? Tomorrow, my elder brother can take you and Miss Lu back to the prefectural city."

Oh no, Gu Jingzhe has already invited people.

Tong Huaqiong was so angry she wanted to hit someone.

“My home is simple, and I’m afraid it will be inconvenient for Young Master Lu,” Tong Huaqiong said.

Just now, Gu Dahan kept calling Tong Huaqiong "mother," and Gu Jingzhe, Gu Dashu, and others called Gu Dahan "elder brother." Therefore, Lu Zhaoyang already knew that the aunt and her three children in front of him were the family of the coachman Gu Dahan.

On the way here, Gu Dahan mentioned that his home was in a nearby village. In addition, Gu Dahan was usually loyal and didn't talk much. Tong Huaqiong found the root of Lu Zhaoyang's illness. Therefore, Lu Zhaoyang and his sister Lu Zhaozhao felt that their encounter with the Gu family was a matter of fate.

Lu Zhaoyang was too weak to retrace his steps, and seemingly unable to understand the meaning behind Tong Huaqiong's words, he accepted Gu Jingzhe's suggestion and said, "Aunt Gu, thank you for your trouble."

Oh well, since it's fate that she's destined to encounter this, there's nothing she can do about it.

If the Lu siblings want to go to their own home, then let them.

However, Tong Huaqiong disliked being called Aunt Gu. She was not familiar with the deceased old man of the Gu family, and she insisted on keeping her surname, Tong.

So she said, "I don't take the old man's surname. My surname is Tong. You can call me Aunt Tong."

Lu Zhaoyang was slightly taken aback, but readily agreed, "Aunt Tong, thank you for your trouble."

Lu Zhaozhao also obediently said from the side, "Aunt Tong, please take care of my brother."

Tong Huaqiong smiled wryly. What else could she do but cause trouble? The person was already lying here; it wouldn't be right to just leave them lying there.

“Young Master Lu, it is not advisable for you to be in a confined space right now. The air in the sedan chair is not circulating well, which is not conducive to stabilizing your condition.”

Tong Huaqiong glanced at her flatbed cart. The castrated boar lay peacefully on it, occasionally letting out a soft grunt. Tong Huaqiong felt a pang of worry; there was no other way but to leave Young Master Lu and the pig on the same cart.

"Well, Mr. Lu, if you don't mind, you can lie down on my flatbed cart."

"Thank you, Aunt Tong."

Lu Zhaozhao swallowed the rest of her thanks. "Brother wants to lie down with a pig?"
Gu Dahan also saw the piglet on the flatbed cart, and a look of embarrassment crossed his face. He thought, how could a man of such integrity and elegance as Young Master Lu be lying on the same cart as a pig?

He dared not speak, for fear that his stepmother's outburst would aggravate Young Master Lu's illness.

"Mother, there are pigs on the cart," Gu Jingzhe reminded her awkwardly.

Lu Zhaoyang lay on his upper body in Gu Dahan's arms, raising his head. At this moment, the pig suddenly made a few grunts.

"It's alright, I'm already very grateful that Aunt Tong was willing to take us siblings in." Lu Zhaoyang smiled weakly.

It's impossible for Lu Zhaoyang not to care, but he knew that pigs were very important to farming families. Some families relied on the proceeds from selling their annual pig for everything, from oil and salt to soy sauce and needles and thread. The Gu family, being a farming family, was no exception. The fact that the pig was lying so peacefully on the cart showed how much Aunt Tong cherished it. How could he possibly ask Aunt Tong to place her precious pig above him?

Since Lu Zhaoyang has said so, Tong Huaqiong doesn't need to be polite anymore.

Besides, just because the pig's egg was choked, she would never let the pig get off and walk, unless Young Master Lu was willing to put the pig in the carriage.

Lu Zhaozhao took the soft blanket from the carriage to the flatbed, and Gu Taohua helped to spread it out, creating a comfortable environment for Lu Zhaoyang.

The brothers Gu Dahan and Gu Dashu worked together to lift Lu Zhaoyang onto the flatbed cart, and Gu Jingzhe took out a handful of grass and placed it between the pig and Lu Zhaoyang.

The pig nudged Lu Zhaoyang through the grass.

Tong Huaqiong: "."

It's truly astonishing that a wealthy young master would ride in a carriage with a pig!

"Aunt Tong, please come to the carriage with this young lady." After settling Lu Zhaoyang in, Lu Zhaozhao invited Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua to get into the carriage. "My name is Gu Taohua, you can just call me Taohua," Gu Taohua said.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua boarded the carriage one after the other. It has to be said that this carriage was much more comfortable than Grandpa Xu's oxcart and their own flatbed cart.

It is sheltered from the wind and rain.

That tall, magnificent horse was far more imposing and handsome than Grandpa Xu's ox.

If Grandpa Xu's oxcart is a Wuling Hongguang, then the Lu family's horse-drawn carriage is a BMW.

Gu Dashu and Gu Jingzhe continued to pull and push the cart, while Gu Dahan drove the carriage, and the group drove through the dense forest toward Qinghe Bay.

"Hey, my name is Peach Blossom, what's your name?" Gu Taohua asked Lu Zhaozhao.

“My name is Lu Zhaozhao, you can call me Zhaozhao,” Lu Zhaozhao said.

"Your family is so rich, why are you still so thin?"

Looking at Lu Zhaozhao's slender arms, pointed chin, and big, watery eyes, Gu Taohua felt a surge of jealousy.

It's understandable that the girls in the village are all skinny, since they are all called "money-losing goods" by their families, working every day but not getting enough to eat.

But Lu Zhaozhao looks so rich, travels in a carriage, and eats very well. She lives a life of luxury, so why is she so thin?

That's so unfair!

Lu Zhaozhao, looking completely bewildered, opened her large, innocent eyes and said, "I've been like this since I was little."

Gu Taohua snorted, becoming even angrier.

Lu Zhaozhao, not understanding why, took the pearl hairpin from her hair and put it in Gu Taohua's hair, saying, "Miss Taohua, I think this hairpin looks good on you, so I'm giving it to you."

From surprise to delight, Gu Taohua couldn't help but touch the hairpin. Touching the round pearls, she couldn't bear to pull it off.

Such a wonderful thing, even the older sister doesn't have it!
Tong Huaqiong simply couldn't bear to look at Gu Taohua's opportunistic behavior.

It’s so annoying!
"Peach Blossom, how could you take Zhaozhao's things? Quickly pluck them off and give them back to him," Tong Huaqiong scolded Gu Taohua with a stern face.

Although Gu Taohua was reluctant, she couldn't withstand Tong Huaqiong's sharp gaze, so she plucked it and handed it to Lu Zhaozhao.

Lu Zhaozhao waved her hand and said, "What's given to you is yours, and I have no reason to take it back."

Then he said to Tong Huaqiong, "Aunt Tong, it's just a hairpin, you don't need to worry about it. How about this, I think the velvet flower on the peach blossom hairpin is pretty, how about I exchange it for a pearl hairpin?"

Before Gu Taohua could finish speaking, he plucked the pink velvet flower from her hair and put it on his head.

Lu Zhaozhao had already said all that, so what could Tong Huaqiong say?

Gu Taohua cheered up and started chatting with Lu Zhaozhao, holding her hand.

The two girls were already showing signs of becoming best friends halfway through their journey.

In the fragmented memories of Tong Dajiao's past life, Tong Huaqiong saw that Lu Zhaozhao treated Gu Taohua like a younger sister, giving her food, toys, and other necessities like water.

Gu Taohua and Fan Tong had an affair without a matchmaker. Gu Taohua married Fan Tong while pregnant. To support Gu Taohua, she gave Gu Taohua a dowry of twenty-eight loads.

The goods were piled high, ranging from gold and silver jewelry to fine silks and satins, from shops and estates to fertile fields and woodlands—everything imaginable was there.

However, Gu Taohua was a brainless person and poured all of these things into the bottomless pit of the Fan family.

The only redeeming quality of Gu Taohua in Tong Huaqiong's past life was that she remembered Lu Zhaozhao's good qualities and always stood by Lu Zhaozhao's side.

After Gu Jingzhe secretly married the princess without his wife's knowledge, Gu Taohua stormed the princess's door to demand justice for Lu Zhaozhao and verbally abused Gu Jingzhe.

In this life, as if by fate, the Gu family encountered the Lu siblings again.

Tong Huaqiong wants to change the plot: Lu Zhaozhao can be best friends with Gu Taohua, but she shouldn't become Gu Taohua's sister-in-law.

(End of this chapter)