Chapter 448 Lemon Flavor
Tong Huaqiong did not hide the fact that Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao were engaged from the villagers.
Almost when Tong Huaqiong set out for the provincial capital, word had spread in the village that Gu Jingzhe was going to get engaged to the daughter of the Lu family, a royal merchant family in the provincial capital.
Some people are not clear about the Lu family, the imperial merchants in the city, but everyone will know about Huang Yuanwai's relatives in the city.
At this time, everyone in Qinghe Bay knew that Gu Jingzhe's elder brother-in-law, Huang Yuanwai's son-in-law, had won the top prize.
Many people in Qinghe Bay have seen Lu Zhaozhao, and they are a little jealous that Gu Jingzhe can marry such a beautiful girl.
But when Lu Zhaoyang became the top scorer in the imperial examination, everyone's jealousy faded.
This is really enviable.
Such a brother-in-law deserves to be the first in the case.
As soon as Tong Huaqiong returned to the village, she smelled a faint scent of lemon in the air.
Everyone said that Gu Jingzhe had a good marriage.
"Mother-in-law, we all heard that Jingzhe's brother-in-law won the top prize in the imperial examination. Congratulations." Zhao helped Tong Huaqiong down from the carriage with a smile.
A group of people gathered around to inquire about the top scholar's situation.
It’s not that they think the number one scholar has anything to do with them, but in this era, the number one scholar is always eye-catching. Plus, the number one scholar is Gu Jingzhe’s brother-in-law, so out of curiosity everyone wants to know more about the situation.
Tong Huaqiong praised Lu Zhaoyang, then took out various candies that she had bought in the city from the carriage and distributed them to everyone.
"My family Jingzhe is getting engaged, everyone enjoy the wedding candy."
Tong Huaqiong made no secret of her satisfaction with the marriage into the Lu family.
The head of the Gu family was taking a stroll in the village and naturally saw Tong Huaqiong's smug look.
Why do all the good things happen to Tong Da Jiao? Her son's success in getting the first place in the imperial examination has not yet faded, and he has married into a family with a top scholar.
The clan leader gritted his teeth and secretly regretted not having a good relationship with Tong Da Jiao.
The old house naturally got the news. Originally, Mr. Gu thought that his grandson was the first in the case and was engaged to a merchant girl, which was suspected of disgracing his ancestral tomb, but now he thinks this match is very good. The Lu family is a royal merchant and already has money, and now they have a top scholar. In the future, they will have both money and power in politics and business.
This is good for the Gu family.
Gu Jingzhe is a blessed person.
However, when he thought of Gu Ruinian, Mr. Gu's eyes became dim.
It would be better if this marriage was given to Gu Ruinian.
Thinking of Gu Ruinian, Old Man Gu felt resentful towards Tong Huaqiong. It was really unreasonable that he didn't invite him to attend such an important event as the engagement of his grandson, the first-place winner of the case.
When Old Lady Gu, Gu Youtian and Jia heard that Gu Jingzhe's eldest brother-in-law was chosen as the top scholar, their faces were so gloomy that water could be pinched out of them.
Especially Jia, who was hurt by Gu Youtian's kick in the heart, and thinking about Gu Ruinian's failure to pass the imperial examination, she lay in bed crying all day long. She just recovered enough to get out of bed in the past two days.
So many days have passed, but Jia is still unwilling to face the fact that Gu Ruinian failed the exam.
She didn't believe that her younger son failed the exam because he was not as talented as others, and she blamed the eldest wife Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe.
It is said that there is only one chance for smoke to come out of an ancestral grave. This opportunity originally belonged to Gu Ruinian, but now it has been taken away by Gu Jingzhe.
Jia pounded the bed and scolded the eldest wife.
He also cursed the coachman who threw Gu Ruinian off the carriage.
In short, in her heart, Gu Ruinian did nothing wrong.
Gu Ruinian has become unusually silent since failing the college entrance examination and no longer wanders around the village like he used to.
He couldn't stand the way the villagers looked at him, their eyes were filled with ridicule, mockery, and confusion...
Whether in his previous life or in this life before taking the imperial examination, Gu Ruinian had always lived in praise and envy. For the first time in his life, he tasted the pain of failure.
What he couldn't stand in particular was Gu Jingzhe's continuous pride.
He knew that Gu Jingzhe was engaged, and that the magistrate of Pingchuan County had acted as the matchmaker.
He learned from Old Man Gu that the girl Gu Jingzhe was talking about was a merchant's daughter. Influenced by Old Man Gu's dissatisfied attitude, he thought that Gu Jingzhe's marriage was forced by County Magistrate Liu for his money, and he couldn't help but sympathize with Gu Jingzhe.
But now I heard that Gu Jingzhe's marriage is not only to an imperial merchant but also his elder brother-in-law won the first place in this year's imperial examination.
That brother-in-law is called Lu Zhaoyang, why does he look so familiar?
By the way, he was beaten in the city and was recuperating at Gu Dashu’s place. The stunning girl who came to visit Gu Jingzhe was named Lu.
Gu Ruinian felt his chest surging and was jealous to the point of going crazy.
Gu Jingzhe's marriage has everything, including beauty, money and connections. He is so lucky.
If he can get the first place this year, the marriage will be his.
Gu Ruinian couldn't help feeling sad when he thought about the marriage of the second daughter of the Lian family.
Before the results came out, her family looked down on the second young lady because she was born out of wedlock. Ever since she failed the exam, matchmaker Wang never came to their house again.
I don’t know whether Matchmaker Wang conveyed her words to the second daughter of the Lian family.
Now he is in an awkward situation at home. His grandparents and mother firmly believe that he is a rare gem and support him to continue studying. Although his father supports his study, he is very cold to him and clearly stated that he will only support him for one year. His eldest sister-in-law is against his study at home and says some weird things all day long. His eldest brother neither opposes nor supports his study...
The atmosphere at home made him feel suffocated, and he always wanted to go out and find a new world.
Now he is looking forward to Wang the matchmaker coming to his house. He will agree to the marriage with the second daughter of the Lian family without hesitation and use the Lian family to escape from Qinghe Bay.
No matter how long they waited, Matchmaker Wang never came.
......
Tong Huaqiong returned home and washed up.
The weather in Qinghe Bay is pleasant in early summer, and the whole village is filled with the fragrance of flowers. Tong Huaqiong sits in the yard enjoying the breeze, and looks up to see the sky full of stars.
"Is there anything wrong at the old house?" Tong Huaqiong asked Chen Sufen.
It’s not that she cares about the situation of the old house, but she is worried about the impact the old house will have on her own family.
Especially Gu Ruinian, who was harboring evil intentions.
Chen Sufen said with a look of trepidation: "Grandpa came to ask Dahan to borrow twenty taels of silver. Dahan didn't want to borrow it at first, but he couldn't resist Grandpa's request and gave him ten taels."
Tong Huaqiong knew that this stepson had always been soft-hearted.
However, she did not stop Gu Dahan and Old Man Gu from interacting with each other.
Gu Dahan is a pure ancient person, it is unrealistic to ask him to cut off his relationship with the old house.
The fact that he was able to reduce his weight from twenty taels to ten taels was already considered an awakening.
Anyway, Gu Dahan does not control the family's financial power, so Old Man Gu can have more money than he wants. He can do whatever he wants with the money she gives to the first wife. Even if he gives it all to Old Man Gu, it will have nothing to do with Tong Huaqiong.
But if Gu Dahan had no money to live on because he gave the money to the old house, she would not care.
Tong Huaqiong said, "I don't care about your dealings with the old house, but you have to know that everything should be done in moderation. You gave them ten taels this time, but they may ask you for a hundred taels in the future. I have already said that I have no objection if you give all the silver I give you to the old house, but if you ask me for money in the future, I will not give it to you."
Chen Sufen said, "I told Dahan the same thing. Dahan is soft-hearted and he always feels it's hard to refuse. Just wait and see, one day he will see through it completely. Grandpa said he was lending this money for his own household expenses. I guess it's for Ruinian's studies."
Then Chen Sufen told Tong Huaqiong some gossip about the old house. Gu Fengnian’s wife, Wei, did not agree with Gu Ruinian continuing his studies, and she had a fierce outburst at home, scolding Gu Ruinian.
Tong Huaqiong did not find it surprising that the old house was involved in a bloody incident because of Gu Ruinian. According to the thoughts of everyone in the old house, it would be abnormal if there was no disturbance.