Free Web NovelChapter 622: Chapter 622: Passed the Imperial Exam
On the second day, the village chief led people to escort Tian Fugui to the county government.
Tian Fugui was sentenced to exile.
People in the village said he went to keep Xu Si company.
If he couldn’t make it, they’d be companions on the road to the Yellow Springs.
Tian Fugui’s mother, the Luo woman, watched as her grandson disappeared and her son was exiled; she couldn’t endure it and fell ill.
If this were before, she would have definitely demanded an explanation from Tong Huaqiong, but after suffering continuous defeats under Tong Huaqiong, she had given up the fight.
She urged her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Cao, to seek Tong Huaqiong’s help in pleading with County Magistrate Liu.
Chun Ni stopped Mrs. Cao.
Chun Ni was very satisfied with everything that had happened in the family. Recently, Tian Fugui again had the idea of selling her to an old widower in town as a fill-in wife for two hundred silver coins, but before she could act, Tian Fugui was sentenced to exile for arson.
The Luo woman, sick in bed, was like a toothless tiger and would have to live looking at Chun Ni’s expressions.
Even the heavens were on her side, yet Mrs. Cao always backstabbed her.
Trying to morally coerce Tong Huaqiong.
Mrs. Cao, faced with Chun Ni’s cold stare, was left with nowhere to hide, muttering, "He is still your father, after all."
Chun Ni sneered and said, "So the owner’s weaving workshop deserved to be burned by him?"
"When he wanted me as a child bride to pave the way for Chun Wang, he didn’t think I was his daughter. When he wanted to give me to the old widower as a fill-in wife, he didn’t think I was his daughter. When he beat me, cursed me, and wanted to drown me, he didn’t think I was his daughter."
Chun Ni’s patience was exhausted by Mrs. Cao’s weakness.
Lately, for Chun Wang, she often spaced out while mixing pig feed. Continuing like this would deplete the owner’s kindness to her and her mother. Chun Ni made up her mind and said, "There’s no need for you to go to the pig farm anymore. I’ve already asked Aunt Pandi to help you resign from the pig farm. From now on, just stay home, do laundry, cook, and weep for your son."
Tong Huaqiong learned from Tong Pandi several days later that Mrs. Cao had resigned from the pig farm.
However, she wasn’t concerned.
After all, having Mrs. Cao work at the pig farm was to give her and Chun Ni a way out. Now that her husband and son were gone, only an unthreatening mother-in-law remained.
Besides, the pig farm no longer lacked staff, and Mrs. Cao’s departure wouldn’t affect the pig farm at all.
However, Chun Ni’s words to Tong Huaqiong, "I now call the shots in the Luo family," still struck a chord with Tong Huaqiong.
Back then, her casual support had allowed Chun Ni to grow into a resilient head of the household.
Having dealt with Tian Fugui, it was now time to deal with Xu Xinghua.
Tong Huaqiong sent a message to Aunt Tang overnight.
The day after the arson incident, someone from the Lian Family suddenly came to negotiate with the Xu family about advancing the marriage between Xu Xinghua and the Lian family’s young master.
It was said to be a negotiation, but it was actually the Lian family’s unilateral decision.
Of course, this was good news for the entire Xu household. They couldn’t wait for Xu Xinghua to quickly join the Lian family and solidify their family ties.
Three days after the attempted arson, Xu Xinghua hurriedly got married, and the Xu family didn’t even prepare a dowry.
The Lian family stated that their family was large and prosperous, so they didn’t need a dowry from the bride’s side.
Upon returning, those who accompanied the bride reported that the matchmaker misspoke. Xu Xinghua’s husband was actually the second young master, not the third.
The second young master was once engaged to Huang Yuanwai’s daughter, Huang Jingshan. People in Yan Guan Town were familiar with the second young master’s affairs, as were many in Qinghe Bay.
Someone whispered to the Xu family that the second young master was impotent and mentally unsound. It was meant as advice, but Xu Yong chased them out, accusing them of ill intentions and jealousy over Xu Xinghua marrying into a wealthy family in Pingchuan.
Xu Xinghua didn’t return to her natal home for three days and only visited Qinghe Bay with her husband before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
You could say the Lian family had strict rules. A large group of servants accompanied them, and the village people didn’t even get a good look at the second young master before they all swarmed into the Xu house.
It was said that after Xu Xinghua arrived at her parents’ house, she caused a scene, smashing things, and was finally restrained by the Lian family’s mammas.
The Xu family didn’t demand any explanation from the Lian family about Xu Xinghua changing from the third to the second young mistress, happily accepting it as if they had expected it all along.
As long as Xu Xinghua could become the lady of the Lian household, it didn’t matter whether she married the second or third young master.
Xu Yong saw it clearly: if the second young master wasn’t mentally deficient or impotent, it wouldn’t have been Xu Xinghua’s turn to marry him.
Anyway, the Lian family promised to adopt a son from either the first or third house for Xu Xinghua to raise later. Her position was secure, even more stable than Zao Hua’s past role as the Eldest Young Madam Zheng, as long as she behaved.
After Xu Xinghua married into the Lian family, Xu Yong grew arrogant.
He boasted daily in the village that his daughter was the sister-in-law of Magistrate Yao.
Since Tong Huaqiong’s cotton cloth was promoted, Magistrate Yao advocated the planting of cotton throughout Ning City this year. When he visited the village with his wife to inspect the cotton fields, Xu Yong rushed to claim kinship, but his attendants stopped him.
Magistrate Yao and Lian Hengruo didn’t even glance at the Xu family.
The villagers realized that Magistrate Yao didn’t intend to acknowledge such a relationship, and with Liu Tieshan firmly holding the village chief position, any worries about Xu Yong’s resurgence vanished, and those who intended to cozy up with the Xu family abandoned their plans.
Aunt Tang visited Qinghe Bay several times.
Through Aunt Tang, Tong Huaqiong learned that ever since marrying into the Lian family, Xu Xinghua hadn’t settled down, constantly disdaining the second young master. On one occasion, she secretly beat the second young master, was caught by her mother-in-law, Mrs. Hua, and was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall. Naturally, Xu Xinghua was not reconciled and not only injured Mrs. Hua’s attendant but also verbally abused Mrs. Hua.
Mrs. Hua, regretful for bringing Xu Xinghua into the family, heard Xu Xinghua express that for her son, who was impotent, marrying her was not bad, and thus she frequently vented her anger by beating the second young master. Mrs. Hua had her hands full dealing with her daughter-in-law’s antics and couldn’t find the time to deal with Aunt Tang.
Tong Huaqiong listened, unsure if this was good fortune for Mrs. Hua or Xu Xinghua.
...
Autumn quickly arrived.
After half a year of development, the weaving workshop’s cotton cloth had opened up the entire Ning City market.
Due to Tong Huaqiong’s weaving workshop’s demand for cotton, the entire scale of cotton planting in Qinghe Bay expanded.
Looking up, the cotton fields were as dazzling as clouds in the sky.
Tong Huaqiong could see piles of silver coins among the snowy-white cotton.
Since around the Mid-Autumn Festival, people in the village began harvesting the cotton.
The abundant cotton harvest made the villagers of Qinghe Bay feel that this year had not been in vain; all the cotton in Qinghe Bay had been packaged by Tong Huaqiong’s weaving workshop, leading the villagers onto a prosperous path.
The cotton harvest not only provided an additional income for Qinghe Bay villagers but also significantly reduced the costs for Tong Huaqiong’s weaving workshop.
It was a win-win situation!
That autumn, another piece of good news that shocked Yan Guan Town occurred in Tong Huaqiong’s household.
Gu Jingzhe passed the scholar examination, even ranked as the top, the Jieyuan.
This was far more impressive than being the top-ranked case.
Yan Guan Town hadn’t produced a scholar in nearly sixty years; Gu Jingzhe was the first.
When the congratulatory message arrived, Qinghe Bay was crowded with curious people wanting to witness history while gossiping.
For the people of Yan Guan Town, the only Jieyuan tangentially related in recent years was Lu Zhaoyang, Huang Yuanwai’s son-in-law, a result of Huang Yuanwai’s constant self-promotion.
But Gu Jingzhe was different; he was a native of Qinghe Bay, which belonged to Yan Guan Town, so, in a way, Gu Jingzhe’s achievement was the pride of all Yan Guan Town.
