Free Web NovelChapter 630: Chapter 630: The New Bride Is Hard to Control
Mrs. Jia’s face turned stiff.
She knew Wu Na had a bad temper, but she didn’t expect her to be this tough right after getting married.
And that’s despite being pregnant before marriage.
Even Mr. Gu and Gu Youtian hadn’t expected Wu Na to curse outright.
Wu Na was very angry.
Who has a mother-in-law that starts doing the math right after the daughter-in-law serves her tea?
They want to make her the sucker to cover their debts.
But these debts weren’t her doing. Wouldn’t they have expenses if Gu Ruinian married someone else? Moreover, she didn’t ask for a dowry or a new house.
Two hundred silver coins—did they think she couldn’t do math?
What furniture was set up in the new room? Two red candles and a bedspread—how much could that be worth? The banquet was opulent, but even if they invited the whole village, it wouldn’t cost two hundred silver coins.
Furthermore, the guests attending the banquet usually give gift money, and the Gu family might have made a profit from her marriage to Ruinian.
Since Mrs. Jia was doing the math, she’d better calculate it well.
She had to get that gift money back.
Just as Wu Na guessed, the Gu family did borrow money from the clan to hold the banquet for Gu Ruinian’s wedding, but they didn’t spend two hundred silver coins—at most, fifty.
The two hundred silver coins had been discussed by Mrs. Jia and the others, solely to squeeze Wu Na of her five hundred silver coin dowry.
"Mother, are you crying poverty to me or trying to settle accounts? Don’t come to me for the debt incurred from marrying a daughter-in-law. You would have spent money marrying anyone. Where did the two hundred silver coins go? Let’s get the account book today and settle it." Wu Na took the initiative.
Mrs. Jia and the others almost spat blood.
How did Wu Na, this fool, become so sharp?
"Is this how you talk to your mother-in-law? I just said one thing, and you have ten things ready," Mrs. Jia said unsatisfied.
Wu Na, holding her belly, said, "Which mother-in-law starts calculating their daughter-in-law’s money as soon as she walks in the door? Trying to play the evil mother-in-law—see if I cooperate. Since you’re doing the math, show me the guest list and the banquet expenses from yesterday, let’s see what was spent. Don’t think you can trick me into covering your debt. I didn’t ask for a dowry or a new house."
Mrs. Jia was momentarily speechless.
Mr. Gu and Gu Youtian exchanged quick glances, realizing Wu Na wasn’t easily fooled.
Asking for the gift list and purchase records out loud—wouldn’t that be a slap in their own faces if they had to show them?
Wu Na could tell Mr. Gu and the others’ intentions with a glance.
They were in cahoots, with her mother-in-law as the representative for setting the stage, but she wasn’t buying it.
Her father is the village chief; who would she be afraid of?
Wu Na said coldly, "Without completing the six ceremonies, you got a daughter-in-law and a child for free, so hand over the gift money received yesterday. That’s not an unreasonable request. Don’t think I’m taking the gift money for myself; I’m saving it for my postpartum confinement."
Mr. Gu and the others took a deep breath; Wu Na immediately asked them for money.
Old Mrs. Gu couldn’t keep her kindly smile and said with a firm face, "Gift money isn’t for you young ones; it’s for us older generations to maintain our relationships. When you got married and received gift money, we have to reciprocate when they have an event."
Wu Na dragged the fire basin to her feet and said, "That’s your concern, not mine."
Mrs. Jia’s chest heaved with anger. Wasn’t an unmarried, pregnant daughter-in-law supposed to be easy to manipulate by the mother-in-law? She hadn’t even asked for the daughter-in-law’s dowry, and the daughter-in-law was already making her move.
"Impudent," Mrs. Jia lost her cool a bit.
Gu Youtian shot a warning look at Mrs. Jia.
They hadn’t coaxed the daughter-in-law to hand over the silver yet; they needed to stabilize her.
Mr. Gu pondered and slowly said, "Now that you’re part of the Gu family as our daughter-in-law, you’re already aware of our financial situation. We must keep the gift money to repay others. We can borrow from your dowry for the wedding costs, and when the family has money, we’ll pay you back. Frankly, now that your elder brother’s family has moved out, the family will be yours and Ruinian’s in the future."
They thought with Mr. Gu speaking as an elder, Wu Na would give some face.
But Wu Na retorted without discrimination.
"Getting married and wanting the granddaughter-in-law’s dowry to repay family debt—it’s like a knife cutting to the bone. The dowry from my parents is to support me, not fill your holes. I advise you to get rid of the idea of using my dowry. You speak well, saying the family will be ours, mine and Ruinian’s, but have you looked at what the family has? Nothing but debt?"
Mr. Gu was so angry he wanted to disappear into the ground.
Old Mrs. Gu worried Mr. Gu might faint and patted his back soothingly.
It just confirmed her belief that Wu Ren’s kind is not good seed; she saw it in Pingchuan County. How did Gu Ruinian end up bringing such a type home?
Five hundred silver coins—they could only look but not touch.
It was too frustrating.
She glared fiercely at Mrs. Jia. As the elder mother-in-law, she shouldn’t scold the granddaughter-in-law, but Mrs. Jia needed to step up and sternly teach her a lesson.
Wu Na, holding her belly, spoke arrogantly, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, trying to use my premarital pregnancy against me. Did you consider whether you’re capable of it? Make it clear: if you don’t want this child, they’ll take my family name, Wu."
Mrs. Jia fell back in anger.
She was just beginning to use the premarital pregnancy against the daughter-in-law, but the daughter-in-law turned the tables and even claimed the child’s surname.
This left Mr. Gu and Gu Youtian unsettled.
No family wants a new daughter-in-law causing such a ruckus—how would this reflect on the Gu family if word got out?
For a moment, the room fell into silence.
Mr. Gu looked to Gu Ruinian, signaling him to handle Wu Na.
Gu Ruinian sat dumbfounded, not responding, but internally he was ecstatic.
This group of so-called relatives calculating Wu Na’s money was effectively calculating his money; he would not support them.
He wanted to shut the door and live quietly in Yan Guan Town with Wu Na.
Mr. Gu and the others would have nothing to do with him in the future.
Wu Na was very satisfied with Gu Ruinian’s silence; it signified his support for her.
"Since we just got married and you’re already eyeing my dowry, let’s divide up the family then. I’ll live separately with Ruinian," Wu Na announced.
Wu Na’s proposal to separate caught Mr. Gu and the others off guard.
Just married and already clamoring for separation—this might be the first case in Yan Guan Town, as sensational as Tong Pandi’s divorce.
"Separate? Just got married and you want separation—aren’t you afraid of people talking behind your backs?" Old Mrs. Gu was so angry she wanted to stomp her feet, pointing at Wu Na, "You troublemaker, on your first day in the Gu family and you’ve already turned the house upside down."
She then went on to scold Gu Ruinian, questioning what he was thinking.
Gu Ruinian shrugged and said he would listen to his wife.
Infuriating the elders to no end.
"I’m not just saying this out of anger; we will separate today. I want nothing else but the gift money you received yesterday. After the separation, Ruinian and I will rent a house in town; the dowry from my parents is enough for us to live on."
Wu Na turned and went to her own room.
She wanted to organize her dowry, hoping to move to town with Gu Ruinian before the end of the year.
