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

Chapter 8 Rebuilding Family Traditions
“Didn’t the Bodhisattva say that our family has committed sins? I’ve thought about it carefully and we have indeed committed sins. For example, ever since I married into the Gu family, I’ve mistreated your eldest sister and brother. Now I’m also condoning you all ganging up to bully your sister-in-law and Man’er. Take sending Man’er to the Zheng family to bring good luck to the sickly man, for instance. What kind of good family in Qinghe Bay would do something like that?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days. Since the Bodhisattva said we’ve committed sins, why don’t we just pay back our past debts? Let’s put away our past evil intentions. I will no longer mistreat the eldest brother’s family. During the summer, you all must respect your sister-in-law and love Man’er.”

"As for whether we can change our fate, the gods are watching from above. It all depends on whether the Bodhisattva can see our changes."

Tong Huaqiong revealed her plans to change the fate of everyone in the Gu family.

"mother……"

Chen Sufen's eyes welled up with tears.

This dream message from the Bodhisattva is wonderful!
If the mother-in-law truly believed in divine intervention and it wasn't just a momentary impulse, then the eldest son's family would have a much easier time.

She didn't ask for many good days, she only hoped that Man'er could grow up safely and get married.

She also needs to be filial to her mother-in-law, love her sister-in-law, and be tolerant of her second wife and brother-in-law.

"During the three days that the Bodhisattva appeared to me in a dream, the past went through my mind. Do you know how I married into the Gu family and became your dead father's second wife?"

Tong Huaqiong, in a somber voice, began by recounting a dream from a Bodhisattva and then moved on to the past.

"Back then, your good-for-nothing uncle learned a few characters from the village schoolteacher, and your ambitious grandfather thought his son was destined to be a top scholar. Despite the family's dire poverty, he insisted on sending him to school. What could they do when they had no money? Your grandfather accepted twenty taels of silver from the Gu family and married me off to them as a stepmother when I was fourteen. It was called a marriage, but it was practically selling me. I fell for the village cowherd back then. If it weren't for your grandfather and uncle, would I have broken off my relationship with the cowherd?"

Tong Huaqiong wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, slapped her thigh, and sighed.

Gu Dashu and the others looked slightly embarrassed, wondering if the widowed mother was reminiscing about her past or revealing her love affair.

“That cowherd was as handsome as Pan An, and also a devoted lover. He jumped into a well on my wedding day, was rescued, and then disappeared. All these years I’ve thought about the cowherd. If only someone had said a word for me back then, I would have had children with him. How could I have become a stepmother at such a young age and given birth to a bunch of heartless, rotten bastards from the Gu family?”

Gu Dashu: "..."

Gu Jingzhe: "..."

Gu Taohua: "..."

Whether Tong Dajiao missed the cowherd before her death, Tong Huaqiong didn't know. All Tong Huaqiong knew was that she wanted to give the Gu family's beasts in front of her another beating.

"I'm getting off topic. I was just thinking, I wasn't happy when I married an old widower when I was fourteen, let alone Man'er who's only six. I feel so guilty!"

Upon hearing this, the kind-hearted Baihua Chen Sufen burst into tears.

My mother-in-law had a really tough time back then!

The mother-in-law was kind by nature; she only became a wicked mother-in-law because she was forced into it.

Half of my resentment towards my mother-in-law has subsided.

“I was fooled by Jingzhe a few days ago and had some thoughts I shouldn’t have had. I wanted to sell Man’er to the Gu family to give them a better future. But you can’t take crooked paths. When your grandfather sold me to the Gu family to be a stepmother, did your eldest uncle learn anything? He’s not even as good as Jingzhe. He studied forty years and still didn’t even get a first degree.”

Gu Jingzhe thought to himself, "How could I have lied to you? Didn't you say that Man'er was a money-loser and that we should give the men of the Gu family a better future?"

Tong Huaqiong glared at Gu Jingzhe and continued, "Jingzhe, it's true that you want to study at Wanliu Academy and make a name for yourself, but you shouldn't be eyeing your niece. Have you ever thought that even if you use the money from selling your niece to get into university, what will happen when you become a top scholar and enter the imperial court, and people find out that you sold your niece and cheated your sister-in-law? You're young and only focused on Wanliu Academy; you can't see the future."

Gu Jingzhe was a little unconvinced.

Throughout history, there have always been people who sold their sisters, daughters, and nieces to survive; he wasn't doing it entirely for himself. When he becomes a marquis and a high-ranking official, won't that also be an honor for the Gu family?

He's leading the Gu family forward.

In the process of ascension, someone always has to sacrifice!

Besides, even if others use his selling of his niece as leverage against him in the future, wouldn't he have a way to deal with it?
The truth of a matter cannot be determined solely by words.

Gu Jingzhe lowered his head and remained silent. He felt sorry for his widowed mother, who had married into the Gu family at the age of fourteen to serve her in-laws and take care of her sister-in-law. However, he did not think that his grandfather's actions were wrong. The only mistake was that his uncle had not realized it. If his uncle had realized that his widowed mother and the Gu family were the beneficiaries, he would not have sold his niece because of the lack of tuition fees.

He was different from his uncle; he was more capable than his uncle. He was a prodigy praised by both the provincial education commissioner and the county magistrate.

As the seed that crawled out of Tong Huaqiong's body, Tong Huaqiong knew what Gu Jingzhe was going to do the moment he bent over. At this moment, Tong Huaqiong naturally knew what Gu Jingzhe was thinking as he rolled his eyes.

Tong Huaqiong didn't expect to reform Gu Jingzhe today. Reforming a person's mind, especially the mind of a genius boy, is not something that can be fooled by a dream from a Bodhisattva. "Jingzhe, you may not believe that there are gods watching over you, but a person's actions will determine his fate."

What's that saying again? A bullet from your youth will hit you between the eyebrows many years later.

Gu Jingzhe stared intently at his widowed mother. His mother, who was usually so uncouth and only knew how to throw tantrums, could actually come up with such a reasoned argument.

"Jingzhe, think it over carefully. Farming at home is fine. At least you won't have to bear the stigma of selling your niece."

Only then did everyone realize that Tong Huaqiong did not intend to let Gu Jingzhe continue his studies.

The happiest person was Liu Yue'e. Her brother-in-law's studies had drained most of the family's money, and she had long been unhappy about it. Now that her brother-in-law was no longer studying, the family's finances would be more comfortable.

“Mother, it’s such a pity that my third brother has already passed the imperial examination.” Chen Sufeng said.

Although Chen Su-fen resented her brother-in-law for wanting to use Man'er to advance his career, her mother-in-law has now changed her mind and asked the whole family to treat her kindly and respectfully. Kind-hearted Chen Su-fen has already forgiven her mother-in-law and brother-in-law.

She genuinely felt it was a pity that Gu Jingzhe didn't study!

"How about Dahan and I go to the dock to carry sandbags to support my third brother's schooling..."

"Jingzhe, everyone says that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother. Look at how well your sister-in-law treats you, even better than I am her mother. How can you bear to trade Man'er for your future?" Tong Huaqiong wanted to pick up a fire poker and beat Gu Jingzhe up again.

“Su-Fen, you’ve already done enough. If you continue to support Jing-Zhe’s studies, the Gu family will never be able to atone for their sins. Let your third brother stay home and farm to atone for his sins.”

At this point, Gu Jingzhe was no longer able to think; his widowed mother had completely shattered his dream of studying!
“Not only do we need to atone for our sins during the Awakening of Insects, but you also need to atone. Peach Blossom and Moon Moon should work together on the chores around the house, and you should take on the work in the fields during the Great Heat. As the saying goes, harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things. From now on, let’s work together to make our lives better.”

Did you hear me clearly?

Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Dashu and others to express their opinions.

"I understand, I will respect my sister-in-law from now on." Gu Taohua was the first to speak up; she didn't want to be burned to death!
Gu Dashu and Liu Yue'e nodded in agreement.

Although Gu Dashu was a little disappointed that he couldn't be the manager of the Zheng family, his mother had said that if he didn't atone for his sins, the descendants of the second son would be cut in half at the waist. How could he not be afraid?
Tong Huaqiong expressed satisfaction with everyone's initial response.

Even if we can't completely correct everyone's thinking today, as long as we don't continue to bend, that's the beginning of success.

"Su-Fen, I was foolish and blinded by greed before. I tormented and mistreated you. You haven't had a single day of peace since you married into the Gu family. I don't ask for your forgiveness for what happened in the past. From now on, I will change all my bad habits. Although I can't treat you like my own daughter, I will never bully or mistreat you again..." Tong Huaqiong apologized to Chen Su-Fen.

After hearing her mother-in-law's explanation, Chen Sufen felt much better and collapsed into tears at Tong Huaqiong's feet.

Tong Huaqiong: "..."

With the new family traditions established, Tong Huaqiong felt slightly satisfied. She stretched and then told Gu Taohua and Liu Yue'e to cook.

"Well, Mom, even if you don't like hearing it, I have to bring it up. Man'er isn't going to the Zheng family anymore, so what about the marriage arrangement with them?"

Gu Dashu brought up the marriage proposal between the Gu and Zheng families again.

We can't leave this out; if this matter isn't resolved, the entire Gu family will be implicated.

"Didn't I say I'd break off the engagement? I'll go find Matchmaker Wang first thing tomorrow morning to break off the engagement." Tong Huaqiong said, slapping the silver coins that Gu Jingzhe had brought with her.

"No, Third Brother still owes the Zheng family fifty taels of silver. Do you think they'll be willing to return it?"

Tong Huaqiong laughed and said, "That's easy. Doesn't the Zheng family want to find a woman to bring them good luck? At worst, I'll go and bring good luck to Young Master Zheng."

"Mom, what are you joking about?"

Tong Huaqiong's words left the Gu family completely dumbfounded.

Tong Huaqiong wasn't joking at all; if she could, she really wanted to transmigrate into the Zheng family and become a widow.

Since they're all widows anyway, it doesn't matter who gets the role.

At least in the Zheng family, one can live a life of luxury and doesn't have to worry about a bunch of burdens.

(End of this chapter)