Chapter 6: Ruining the Road to Study
"The Gu and Zheng families don't have a marriage certificate, right?"
Tong Huaqiong thought about it and asked Gu Dashu.
"That's not the case." said Gu Dashu.
Although early marriage and early childbearing were common in this era, the marriage certificate had to wait until the girl reached the age of 15 before the marriage could be issued.
As for child brides, they are private "transactions" between the two families. As long as the girl has not yet reached the age of 15, this "marriage" is not legally valid and the child bride can be redeemed by her parents at any time.
Since there is no marriage certificate, it will be easy.
"When the two families were talking about marriage, didn't they say that Maner had to go to the Zheng family, right?" Tong Huaqiong asked again.
"Mom, have you forgotten?"
Gu Dashu glanced at the girl Gu Taohua who was rubbing her clothes with her butt raised, and said, "You were afraid that the Zheng family would dislike Man'er because she was a young girl, so you only asked the matchmaker to vaguely tell the Zheng family that she was a girl from the Gu family, but you didn't make it clear who she was. You said that once Man'er married, even if the Zheng family was not satisfied, they would have to swallow the rice that had already been cooked."
There was a smile in Tong Huaqiong's eyes.
You know what, Tong Da Jiao thought very carefully when it came to money.
Gu Dashu glanced at Gu Taohua again, his eyes lit up as he asked, "Mom, if you don't want Man'er to go, are you going to let Taohua go?"
Gu Dashu has no objection whether Man'er or Taohua goes.
As long as he can become the shopkeeper of Zheng’s shop and live a good life, that will be enough.
Maybe it would be better for Taohua to go than for her niece to go.
The eldest son of the Zheng family will not live for many days, and Taohua will be widowed as soon as she enters the house, so the Zheng family must adopt a son for her. When the time comes, he will fan Taohua's favor and adopt Yaozu out to inherit the Zheng family's huge fortune.
A son? Anyway, he and Liu Yue'e can still have one.
"Gu Dashu, you're a damn black-hearted, dirty bastard, with a belly full of evil. You want me to go to the Zheng family? Why don't you send your wife over there? It would be just right if your wife went over there, then the eldest son of the Zheng family would have a ready-made son who would come and wail and smash pots." When Gu Taohua heard that Gu Dashu meant to take advantage of her, she threw down the shorts in her hand, put her hands on her hips and started cursing.
"I won't go. I don't want to be a widow. Mother, think about it. You are already a widow. Can you bear to let me become a widow again? Mother, at least you have tasted a man. I haven't even tasted a man."
Gu Taohua acted coquettishly towards Tong Huaqiong, and the flesh on her face trembled.
Tong Huaqiong's face was filled with black lines.
She actually thought hard about sending Gu Taohua to the Zheng family. It would be a waste of food to keep this fat girl.
Although Gu Taohua is a little fat and has some bad intentions, he is very filial to his mother.
Besides, wasn't her fatness and badness caused by Tong Da Jiao? Now that she was Tong Da Jiao's body, she had the obligation to win her back. Besides, she couldn't bear to send a girl who was not even fourteen years old to become a widow.
"Taohua, you say you only have six steamed buns and four bowls of rice for one meal. Which family can afford to support you? Girls in our village start dating at the age of eleven or twelve. You are almost fourteen this year and no one is looking for you. Matchmakers avoid you. What good family can you find? If you go to the Zheng family and live a good life, what's wrong with being a widow? Meat and fish taste better than men." Gu Dashu said.
"Shameless thing, I will make my second sister-in-law a widow today."
With a "bang", Gu Taohua poured a basin of laundry water on Gu Dashu's head, then picked up a fire poker and started fighting.
Gu Dashu turned around, snatched the fire stick, and wrestled with Gu Taohua.
Although Gu Dashu was an adult man, he could not withstand Gu Taohua's rock-hard body, and soon Gu Dashu was pinned down by Gu Taohua.
Tong Huaqiong watched coldly as Gu Dashu was crushed by peach blossoms and listened to his wailing without any reaction.
He is planning to target his niece and sister.
Gu Dashu deserved to be beaten.
"Taohua, mother won't let you go to the Zheng family." Tong Huaqiong said.
Gu Taohua sat on Gu Dashu and suddenly started to cry.
After all, she is just a fourteen-year-old girl, and she has had enough of her mother's neglect and contempt in the past three days.
Her mother's words made her feel at ease.
Mother still favors her.
"Taohua, you are a girl, and your niece is also a girl. You don't want to go to the Zheng family, so why should you let Maner go?" Tong Huaqiong took the opportunity to educate her fat daughter.
Gu Taohua opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
She had never thought about this question.
Gu Dashu's hands fluttered as he was pressed down.
Tong Huaqiong also didn't want to hold a funeral at home, so she ordered Gu Taohua to get up.
"Dashu, if you set your sights on Man'er and my niece again, I will not only be crushed by peach blossoms, but I will beat you to death." Tong Huaqiong said as he weighed the fire stick beside him.
Gu Dashu felt as if he had escaped a disaster, and nodded quickly while holding his ribs.
"Dashu, go to the town's private school and call Gu Jingzhe back home. The Zheng family's affairs were caused by him, and he must go home to discuss it."
Gu Dashu said in a muffled voice in pain: "No need to shout, Third Brother will have a day off tomorrow."
"Just go when I tell you to, and let Gu Jingzhe bring the Zheng family's silver." Tong Huaqiong looked serious.
The two hundred taels of silver sent by the Zheng family are with Gu Jingzhe.
Gu Jingzhe must spit out the silver!
Only then can she be sure to solve the Zheng family’s problems.
Gu Jingzhe returned home in the dark.
This was the worst member of the Gu family who later became a second-rank official in the imperial court, but did so many bad things that his entire family was executed and confiscated.
When Tong Huaqiong saw Gu Jingzhe come in, she subconsciously picked up the fire poker.
"Mom, how are you? I heard from my second brother that you were knocked unconscious for three days by my eldest sister-in-law. Your son must have been scared."
Gu Jingzhe was holding medicine and pastries in her hands. As soon as she entered the room, she fell on Tong Huaqiong's legs and started crying.
That expression and that crying sound didn't seem fake.
"My eldest sister-in-law dared to bully my mother. I divorced her on behalf of my eldest brother."
Gu Jingzhe stood up and was about to cause trouble for Chen Sufen, but was slapped in the face by Tong Huaqiong.
No matter how filial this evil bamboo is, Tong Huaqiong couldn't bear it if he wanted to sell his sister and niece to pave the way for himself.
You have to show me some color as soon as you meet me.
Gu Jingzhe covered his face with his hands, looking incredulous.
He is the golden nugget of the Gu family. Ever since he passed the examination to become a scholar, he has been able to act like a big shot in the Gu family.
His own mother actually hit him?
It seems that what my second brother said about mom's drastic change in temperament was true.
"Have you read so much that you can't even remember the words? Do you understand that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother? Divorcing your elder sister-in-law is like divorcing me, your mother." Tong Huaqiong was so angry that she was gasping for breath.
"Where is the silver given by the Zheng family?" Tong Huaqiong asked, stretching out her hand.
Gu Jingzhe usually listened to his widowed mother. When his second brother told him to take the silver home, he dared not disobey.
"it's here."
Gu Jingzhe's face was burning with rage, and he took off the package of silver from his body and handed it to Tong Huaqiong with a wronged look.
"Why is there fifty taels missing?"
Tong Huaqiong counted and looked up.
"My son has paid the tuition fee for the first year of Wanliu Academy."
When Gu Jingzhe mentioned Wanliu Academy, his voice got louder. The teacher of Wanliu Academy tested his knowledge and was very satisfied with him.
Ten days later he will go to Wanliu Academy to study, but at this time Gu Jingzhe is a little nervous. He has learned from his second brother that his family plans to break off the engagement with the Zheng family.
If Maner didn't go to the Zheng family, it would be a question whether he could still go to Wanliu Academy.
"Can it be got back?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
Gu Jingzhe was shocked. His mother was not going to let him go to Wanliu Academy.
How does this work?
He had been planning for so long, he absolutely could not disrupt his plan.
The provincial governor of the city looked at his local examination paper and said that he had great potential. He wanted to pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official in the future, and he couldn't be buried by the private school in the town.
It took so many years for the private school in this town to produce just one scholar. How could it compare with Wanliu Academy?
"Mom, I am the hope of the whole family. I swear to become a high-ranking official and win an imperial decree for you. When will I be able to make a name for myself if I stay in a private school in town? I must go to Wanliu Academy." Gu Jingzhe said anxiously.
"Forget it. You can't even be a good person and you want to be an official. What the hell do you want? You are such a rotten seed who cheats your sister and niece, and you still want a good future? Not only will I not let you go to Wanliu Academy, you don't even need to study. From now on, just stay at home and farm."
According to her current mentality, this evil bamboo would be a locust that brings harm to the people, and if she is not careful, it might even cause her to lose her head.
Just cut off his path to study!