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

Chapter 665 A person who gets carried away is prone to crashing.
In his previous life, Gu Dashu rose to prominence through Gu Jingzhe's connections. After arriving in Shengjing, he was further favored and respected because of Gu Jingzhe's influence, which led him down the path of corruption and depravity.

As a rising star in the imperial court, Gu Jingzhe was sought after by many to become their son-in-law.

Unfortunately, he already had a wife, and the princess had already taken advantage of him, so many families set their sights on Gu Dashu.

Anyway, Liu Yue'e was just a peasant girl, so it was too easy for her to divorce him.

One day, Gu Dashu rescued the Lin family's illegitimate daughter, who was frightened by a carriage, on the street. The illegitimate daughter fell in love with Gu Dashu at first sight.

The adoration of the daughter of an official, especially a beautiful and pampered young woman, made it hard for the rustic Gu Dashu not to be tempted.

With the encouragement and pressure from Tong Dajiao, Gu Dashu divorced Liu Yue'e and married Lin, a concubine's daughter from a minor family.

Gu Dashu still had feelings for Liu Yue'e from their childhood elopement, and his remaining conscience prevented him from abandoning her. Instead, he gave her a courtyard and assigned people to serve her.

Having been transformed from the first wife into a mistress, Liu Yue'e couldn't swallow this insult and refused to leave the Gu family. After several confrontations, she was tricked by Gu Dashu's new wife into becoming a nun at a nunnery.

Liu Yue'e was naturally unwilling to give up. She escaped from the nunnery and hid around the Gu family in Shengjing. She bumped into the bride's carriage.

The carriage was startled and dragged the bride wildly.

In the end, the bride lost her baby and became a cripple.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, Liu Yue'e rushed into the Gu family's house with a knife and started slashing at everyone she saw, until she reached Tong Dajiao.

Tong Dajiao was so shocked that she fainted, and one of her thighs was slashed.

Liu Yue'e was restrained, beaten thirty times, nearly killed, and then thrown outside Shengjing City.

The instigator, Gu Dashu, was unaffected except for shedding a few crocodile tears.

He had enjoyed the bliss of having two wives; his first wife was discarded, and his second wife was abandoned, yet he remained a sought-after marriage partner for many families in Shengjing.

Although Tong Huaqiong made a promise to her mother-in-law Zhao, she would never allow Gu Dashu to have any ulterior motives.

That was under the premise that Gu Dashu was in front of her.

Gu Dashu is currently at the border and will soon be going to Shengjing to receive his reward.

The merits written on the report and announced to the whole country, let alone Gu Dashu, would make her feel proud.

When people get carried away, they are more likely to have inappropriate thoughts and fall into other people's traps.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Gu Dashu, but that she didn't trust humanity.

Gu Dashu was always witty and eloquent, and with his handsome face and tall figure, he could really charm the girls in their boudoirs.

If she were to arrive in Shengjing and become dazzled by its allure, she would be too far away to help.

Liu Yue'e, this daughter-in-law, is not as honest and obedient as Chen Sufen, nor as upright and honest as Lu Zhaozhao. She is jealous, petty, and opportunistic. She is unruly and will cause trouble if not disciplined. If it weren't for Tong Huaqiong keeping her in check, she would have caused a huge uproar long ago.

Even so, Tong Huaqiong did not want her to suffer the same fate as in her previous life.

After all, Liu Yue'e is now contributing a lot to the family business.

Not only for Liu Yue'e, but also for the whole family, Tong Huaqiong did not allow Gu Dashu to marry the illegitimate daughter of the Lin family as he had in his previous life.

She wasn't like Tong Dajiao, who thought that if a daughter of an official took a liking to her son, it meant that her son was successful and that his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

Even a fool could figure out why the Lin family girl was rescued by Gu Dashu in the street, and why she fell in love at first sight with a married man with a son, still covered in mud. It must have been a scheme by the entire Lin family.

The Great Heat (大暑) is not the most sought-after season; the Awakening of Insects (惊蛰) is.

Sacrificing a concubine's daughter to marry into the Gu family and become Gu Jingzhe's second sister-in-law in order to establish a connection with Gu Jingzhe is simply too worthwhile.

After thinking it over, Tong Huaqiong took out paper and pen and wrote a letter to Lu Zhaoyang.

Ask Lu Zhaoyang to keep an eye on Gu Dashu.

The main purpose was to prevent Gu Dashu from being schemed against like the Lin family, who would seize any opportunity to exploit him.

She certainly didn't want someone to drag Gu Dashu into the mess before Gu Jingzhe even took the imperial examination, just to win him over and then stab him in the back. Last time, when the Lu family discussed the marriage between Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Jingzhe, Old Master Lu revealed that after the victory in the border war, Lu Zhaoyang had regained the Emperor's trust due to his merit in coordinating grain supplies and his role in distributing charcoal to refugees during the harsh winter last year. He was now an unshakeable figure.

With Lu Zhaoyang keeping an eye on things, Gu Dashu should be able to evade the scheme.

But that's all she can do to avoid being schemed against. If Gu Dashu really does change his mind, Tong Huaqiong won't have any better options.

After all, she can't interfere with matters of the heart.

She has no choice but to disown this son and will protect Liu Yue'e's interests to the greatest extent possible.

At this time, Gu Dashu was recuperating at the border.

The wind at the border is bitterly cold, as if the spring breeze will never reach there.

The sky was overcast, and it looked like another heavy snowfall was about to begin.

Gu Dashu's injury was not inflicted by the enemy, but rather when the capital of Mobei fell, he excitedly ran towards Nie Xiaofeng, lost his footing, and crashed into a horse's leg, immediately fainting and having two ribs broken by the horse.

Nie Xiaofeng was so frightened that he almost cried on the spot. Half of his credit was given to this cheap uncle. If something happened to his uncle, how could he explain it to the Gu family?
Nie Xiaofeng ordered his subordinates to carry Gu Dashu back to the barracks. The army doctor did his best to treat him. Although his life was no longer in danger, he remained in a coma.

It is said that it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, but thanks to the care of Manager He and others, Gu Dashu finally woke up.

Shopkeeper He and Nie Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief and almost burst into tears.

"Why are you crying? I'm perfectly fine." After being examined by the military doctor, Gu Dashu said to Manager He and Nie Xiaofeng.

When Gu Dashu learned that his meritorious service had been reported in newspapers and spread throughout the country, he couldn't wait to return to Qinghewan.

Having been away from home for so long, he misses his mother, his wife, and his son.

He was more eager to go back and boast to the villagers about his experiences in the northern desert.

He said that no one could have lived a life as thrilling as him.

Looking back now, Gu Dashu admires his own courage; those spies were truly inhuman.

He might not be willing to take the job again if given the chance.

Although everyone now praises him as a hero, only he knows that during those days he was on edge every day, and the slightest disturbance would almost make him wet himself in fear.

Several times he thought he was about to die, but thankfully he always managed to escape danger.

When the city fell, Gu Dashu wept bitterly, as if he had survived a catastrophe. If the royal army had arrived a day later, Liu Yue'e would have become a widow like her mother.

Of course, there's no need to tell these things to the villagers or family members.

Not telling the villagers would damage his heroic image.

I didn't tell my family because I was afraid they would worry afterward.

Anyway, he survived and even made a contribution.

What excited him even more than his meritorious service was that he had started a business on the border, and he was no longer his mother's most useless son.

He has even greater ambitions regarding business.

This battle by Dasheng will at least guarantee border stability for fifty years. Now that Mobei has submitted a letter of surrender to Dasheng and become a vassal state, the trade routes that were previously disrupted due to Mobei's misdeeds will certainly reopen. He wants to control the market for daily necessities such as silk, oil, salt, and fur in Mobei.

Given his contributions to this war, the emperor should agree, right?

In a few days, he would be going to Shengjing with the army to receive his reward. The thought of meeting the emperor, Gu Dashu, made him incredibly excited.

I don't know if the emperor is easy to talk to. I'll find a general from Shengjing who has met the emperor and ask him.

Just as Gu Dashu was wondering how to speak to the emperor, the curtain was lifted and Su Chengmin entered, bringing with him a chill.

Su Chengmin didn't come in alone; there was another person who came in with him.