Chapter 8: Reorganizing the Family Traditions

“Didn't the Bodhisattva say our family is committing sins? I’ve thought about it carefully, and we truly are. For instance, ever since I married into the Gu family, I have mistreated your eldest sister and brother, and now I am indulging you all in forming groups to bully your sister-in-law and Man'er. Take the matter of sending Man'er to the Zheng family to act as a 'luck-bringer' for that sickly boy—what decent family in Qinghe Bay could ever do such a thing?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days. Since the Bodhisattva says we are sinning, can't we just pay off our past debts? We will cast aside our former wicked intentions. I will no longer mistreat the eldest son's family, and from this Great Heat onward, you all must respect your sister-in-law and cherish Man'er.”

“As for whether we can change our fate, there are gods three feet above one's head; it all depends on whether the Bodhisattva can see our transformation.”

Tong Huaqiong laid out her entire plan to change the fates of every member of the Gu family.

“Mother...”

Chen Sufen’s eyes reddened with emotion.

What a wonderful dream this Bodhisattva had sent!

If her mother-in-law truly believed that gods were watching rather than acting on a momentary impulse, life for the first branch of the family would finally improve.

She didn't ask for a life of great luxury; she only prayed that Man'er could grow up safely until she was wed.

She would also dutifully honor her mother-in-law, cherish her sister-in-law, and be tolerant of the second branch and her brother-in-law.

“During these three days since the Bodhisattva visited me in my dreams, I have replayed the past in my mind. Do you know how I married into the Gu family to be a second wife for your late father?”

With a heavy voice, Tong Huaqiong transitioned from the Bodhisattva's dream to the past.

“Back then, your useless eldest uncle learned a few words from the village teacher, and your ambitious grandfather thought his son was destined to be a top scholar. Despite the family's crushing poverty, he insisted he study. What did he do when there was no money? Your grandfather took twenty taels of silver from the Gu family and married me off to them at the age of fourteen to be a stepmother. It was called marriage, but it was no different from being sold. Back then, I had a mutual affection for the village cowherd. If it weren't for your grandfather and uncle, would I have been severed from that fate?”

Tong Huaqiong wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, slapping her thigh as she sighed.

Gu Dashu and the others looked slightly embarrassed; they couldn't tell if their widowed mother was reminiscing about hardships or exposing her past romances.

“That cowherd was as handsome as Pan An and quite devoted. On the day I married, he jumped into a well; after being rescued, he disappeared. For all these years, I have thought of him. If only someone had spoken up for me back then, I would have had children with him. How could I have become a stepmother at such a young age, only to give birth to this brood of black-hearted, inhuman beasts like you Gu family members?”

Gu Dashu: “...”

Gu Jingzhe: “...”

Gu Taohua: “...”

Whether Tong Taijiao had thought of the cowherd during her lifetime, Tong Huaqiong didn't know; she only knew she wanted to give the Gu family brats in front of her another thrashing.

“I’ve wandered off. I just mean, I was unwilling to marry a widower at fourteen, let alone Man'er, who is only six. My heart is filled with guilt!”

The kind-hearted Chen Sufen, hearing this, began to cry aloud.

Mother-in-law had truly had a hard life!

Her mother-in-law's nature was fundamentally good; she had only become a wicked matriarch because she was forced by circumstances.

Half of the resentment Chen Sufen held toward her mother-in-law vanished instantly.

“A few days ago, I was misled by Jingzhe. I entertained improper thoughts, wanting to sell Man'er to secure a future for the Gu family. But one cannot take the crooked path. When your grandfather sold me to the Gu family to be a stepmother, did your eldest uncle ever graduate? He was even worse than Jingzhe; he studied until he was forty and never even reached the rank of a *tongsheng*.”

Gu Jingzhe thought to himself: *How is it my fault? Didn't you say Man'er was a money-sink and should be used to trade for a Gu man's future?*

Tong Huaqiong glared at Gu Jingzhe and continued, “Jingzhe, it is not wrong to want to study at Wanliu Academy to seek a future, but you should not plot against your niece. Have you ever considered that even if you used the silver from selling your niece to study and eventually rose to high office, what would happen when people discovered you sold your niece and betrayed your sister-in-law? Would you fare well? You are young and only see Wanliu Academy; you cannot see the future.”

Gu Jingzhe felt a sense of indignation.

Since ancient times, people have relied on selling sisters, daughters, or nieces to secure a way out in every dynasty. It wasn't entirely for himself. Once he became a high-ranking official, wouldn't that be the glory of the Gu family?

He was carrying the Gu family toward greatness.

In the process of ascending, someone always had to be sacrificed!

Besides, even if people used the sale of his niece as a weapon against him in the future, did he not have ways to respond?

Doesn't the truth of a matter depend entirely on how one argues it?

Gu Jingzhe lowered his head in silence. He felt for his widowed mother, who had married into the Gu family at fourteen to serve her in-laws and care for her sister-in-law, but he did not believe her grandfather's actions were wrong. The only mistake was that the uncle hadn't succeeded in his studies; if he had, both his mother and the Gu family would be beneficiaries now, and he wouldn't have needed to sell his niece for tuition.

He was different from his uncle. He was more capable; he was a prodigy praised by both the Educational Commissioner and the County Magistrate.

As a seed grown from Tong Huaqiong's womb, she knew exactly what Gu Jingzhe was thinking the moment he shifted his eyes.

Tong Huaqiong didn't expect to reform Gu Jingzhe in a single day. Changing a person's mindset—especially that of a genius youth—was not something that could be achieved simply through a dream from a Bodhisattva.

“Jingzhe, you may not believe that gods are watching, but a person's actions determine their destiny.”

How did that saying go? The bullets fired in youth will hit the forehead many years later.

Gu Jingzhe stared fixedly at his mother. His mother, who had always been coarse and known only for throwing tantrums, was actually capable of speaking such profound truths.

“Jingzhe, think it over. Farming at home is fine; at the very least, you won't carry the stigma of selling your niece.”

Everyone realized then that Tong Huaqiong had no intention of letting Gu Jingzhe continue his studies.

The happiest person was Liu Yue'e. She had long been annoyed that her brother-in-law's studies drained most of the family's silver; if he stopped studying, the family's finances would be more relaxed.

“Mother, the third brother has already become a *tongsheng*. It is quite a pity,” Chen Sufen said.

Although Chen Sufen had hated that her brother-in-law wanted to trade Man'er for his future, now that her mother-in-law had changed her mind and asked the family to treat her and Man'er with kindness, the kind-hearted Chen Sufen had already forgiven them both.

She truly felt it was a waste for Gu Jingzhe not to study!

“How about I and Dahan go to the docks to carry sandbags to support the third brother's studies...”

“Jingzhe, they say an eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. Look at how your sister-in-law treats you better than I do. How could you bear to trade Man'er for a future?” Tong Huaqiong felt like grabbing her fire poker to give Gu Jingzhe another beating.

“Sufen, you have already done enough. If I let you support Jingzhe's studies, the Gu family could never atone for their sins against you. Let your third brother farm at home to atone.”

At this moment, Gu Jingzhe's ability to think had ceased. His mother had completely severed his dream of studying!

“Not just Jingzhe; you all must atone. Taohua and Yue'e will share the housework, and Dashu, you will take over the field work. As the saying goes, 'harmony in the family brings prosperity to all things.' From now on, we will work together to make our lives better.”

“Did you hear me clearly?”

Tong Huaqiong demanded a response from Gu Dashu and the others.

“We heard you clearly. I will respect my sister-in-law from now on,” Gu Taohua was the first to speak; she didn't want to be burned alive!

Gu Dashu and Liu Yue'e nodded in agreement.

Although Gu Dashu felt it was a pity he couldn't be the manager for the Zheng family, his mother had said that if they didn't atone, the descendants of the second branch would be executed by waist-cutting. How could he not be afraid?

Tong Huaqiong was satisfied with their initial responses.

Even if she couldn't completely straighten their moral compasses today, as long as they didn't continue to veer further astray, it was a successful start.

“Sufen, in the past, I was muddled and my heart was clouded. I tormented you and mistreated you. Since the day you married into the Gu family, you haven't had a single day of peace. I don't ask for your forgiveness for the past, but from now on, I will change my ways. Although I can never treat you like my own daughter, I will never bully or mistreat you again...” Tong Huaqiong apologized to Chen Sufen.

Hearing her mother-in-law's confession, most of the grievances in Chen Sufen's heart vanished, and she suddenly collapsed in tears at Tong Huaqiong's feet.

Tong Huaqiong: “...”

Having established the new family rules, Tong Huaqiong felt somewhat satisfied. She stretched and told Gu Taohua and Liu Yue'e to go cook.

“Uh, Mother, even if you don't want to hear it, I have to bring it up. Man'er isn't going to the Zheng family anymore, so what happens to the engagement?”

Gu Dashu brought up the matter of the engagement between the Gu and Zheng families again.

It had to be mentioned; if this wasn't resolved, the entire Gu family would be implicated.

“Didn't I say? We will break the engagement. Tomorrow morning, I will find Matchmaker Wang to cancel it.” As Tong Huaqiong spoke, she slapped the silver brought by Gu Jingzhe, making it clink loudly.

“But, the third brother already used fifty taels of silver from the Zheng family. Will they be willing to let it go?”

Tong Huaqiong smiled. “That's easy to handle. Doesn't the Zheng family just want a woman to act as a 'luck-bringer'? At worst, I'll go and be the luck-bringer for the eldest Young Master Zheng.”

“Mother, what kind of joke is that?”

Tong Huaqiong's words stunned the Gu family.

Tong Huaqiong wasn't joking. If she could, she actually wouldn't mind traveling into the Zheng household to be a widow.

She would be a widow regardless; it didn't matter to whom.

At least in the Zheng family, she could eat well and live comfortably without having to drag a whole string of dependents along with her.