Free Web NovelChapter 631: Chapter 631: The Dowry Slipped Away
Wu Na not only won’t bring out the dowry to support the family, but also wants to take away the wedding cash gifts.
It’s so ruthless.
Old Mr. Gu and others were so angry they almost vomited blood.
Yet, there was nothing they could do about Wu Na.
Mrs. Jia panicked, grabbing Rui Nian’s sleeve and said, "Rui Nian, we can’t split the family."
Gu Youtian rarely showed a smile to Gu Ruinian and said, "Your mother is right, we can’t split the family."
The banquet money has not been paid yet, and he still needs to have 500 silver taels as the capital. How can he let the duck that’s in his hand fly away?
Wu Na displayed her brazen nature.
Now they could only hope to rely on the son.
Wu Na had deep feelings for Gu Ruinian. She was willing to take a loss to marry him. As long as the son speaks, Wu Na would definitely give up the idea of splitting the family.
Gu Ruinian said with a troubled face, "You all know her temper in Pingchuan, she’s like a bomb that goes off at the slightest provocation. But we are family, after all, I will try my best to persuade her to change her mind."
Clearly, it was a decision to split the family made by the couple, but Gu Ruinian quickly shifted the blame onto Wu Na.
"I’ll go coax her first."
Gu Ruinian slipped away from the main room and into his own room.
Wu Na took out a key from her bosom and was opening a red lacquered wooden box.
Gu Ruinian was extremely excited inside, ten acres of good land, 500 silver taels, at least he wouldn’t have to live hard days in the short term.
The box was opened, but inside there was only a box of brain supplement pills.
Wu Na frowned.
"Strange, why is this empty," Wu Na was a bit panicked, "My mom clearly told me all important things would be placed here. Why are the land deeds and silver notes nowhere to be seen?"
Gu Ruinian also had a bad feeling, but with a glimmer of hope, he said, "Could you have remembered wrong?"
Wu Na shook her head, "No, I didn’t remember wrong."
The night before getting married, she specifically asked her mother where her land deeds and silver notes were kept. Her mother said all the important things would be in this box.
But why was there only a box of brain supplement pills?
Not believing it, Wu Na turned the box upside down, but still saw no land deeds or silver notes.
Then, she and Gu Ruinian unwillingly searched through the five chests of dowry, yet still found nothing.
Wu Na collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, the cold floor made her want to scream out loud.
"How could this be? Why didn’t they put the land deeds and silver notes into the dowry as promised?"
Wu Na couldn’t understand.
She couldn’t believe that Wu Ren and Mrs. Qiao had already given up on her, that there were no land deeds or silver notes at all.
Gu Ruinian seemed to have guessed something, his expression gloomy.
He married Wu Na for the dowry, without it, what did his marriage mean?
"Could it be that your parents changed their minds." Gu Ruinian said.
Wu Na was in an extreme panic, shook her head and said, "No, my parents love me the most, it’s impossible for them not to give me good land and silver. They must have figured out your family wanted to scheme my dowry, so they didn’t put it with the dowry. Once we split the family, they will surely give it to me."
Gu Ruinian hoped it was true, but was inexplicably uneasy.
If Wu Ren really intended this, he would have told Wu Na in advance.
Gu Ruinian pulled Wu Na up from the ground, saying, "The floor is cold, don’t catch a chill. Why don’t we ask your parents about it so that we’ll have a clearer idea."
Wu Na thought the same.
Tomorrow she would have to go to the Wu family to ask for clarification.
Old Mr. Gu and others were still thinking of how to persuade Wu Na not to split the family, but they found the usually unruly Wu Na suddenly quieted down.
They secretly asked Gu Ruinian, and Gu Ruinian made the excuse that Wu Na, being pregnant, was emotionally unstable to wave them off.
Before clarifying matters about the dowry, they decided to keep it from Old Mr. Gu and the others for the time being.
To placate Wu Na and get her to bring out the dowry, Gu Youtian had Mrs. Jia stew a chicken for Wu Na.
Whose daughter-in-law dares to ride over her mother-in-law, yet Gu’s own daughter-in-law did just that, driving Mrs. Jia to a headache, enduring disgust while currying favor with her daughter-in-law. Inwardly, she thought viciously, once the dowry was in hand, she would give her a hard time.
Wu Na had no mind to eat, while Gu Ruinian finished the entire chicken.
He thought maybe they could use the child in Wu Na’s belly to have Mrs. Jia prepare separate meals for them in the future.
What happened at the Gu family’s old house was quickly spread to Tong Huaqiong’s ears through Gu Honglian.
Standing at the Weaving Workshop entrance, Gu Honglian spoke not only for Tong Huaqiong to hear but also for the village folks.
Thus, the village soon knew that the Gu family wanted to scheme the new daughter’s dowry, while the new daughter was making a fuss to split the family.
The Gu family’s old house, indeed, was constantly a hot topic every few days.
Tong Huaqiong thought, there’s more drama to come.
Early the next morning, Wu Na took Gu Ruinian to Black Dragon Pond, not returning until it was dark.
"You’re back."
Mrs. Jia greeted the two with a lantern as they entered.
The two only mentioned going to Black Dragon Pond to retrieve Wu Na’s belongings without specifying what they were. The Gu family assumed Wu Na went home to file a complaint.
Gu Ruinian looked very upset, not even supporting his pregnant wife Wu Na.
Wu Na appeared distraught, her eyes red with tears continuously rolling down.
"What happened?"
Afraid the Wu family would come to support Wu Na, Old Mrs. Gu suppressed her anger to show concern.
Gu Ruinian angrily said, "The Wu family went back on their word. The promised ten acres of good land and 500 silver taels of dowry have been canceled. When Nana and I discovered there were no land deeds or silver notes on the dowry list, we went to demand it from the Wu family, and they said no such thing exists."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room’s expressions changed.
Especially Gu Youtian, who wished he could just faint right there.
The whole family got played by the Wu family.
Wu Na, without her usual arrogance from yesterday, was completely deflated, not expecting her parents to be so ruthless.
"Second daughter-in-law, didn’t your parents love you dearly? How could they go back on their word?" Mrs. Jia was so angry she wanted to slap Wu Na.
Wu Na glanced up and said, "It’s all my sister-in-law... Tong Zhaodi’s instigation."
She felt utterly miserable.
The entire way back from Black Dragon Pond to Qinghe Bay, Gu Ruinian was extremely indifferent to her.
Her dream of living a good life in town with Gu Ruinian was shattered without the dowry, she had no confidence to split from the family.
If they separated now, they couldn’t even afford food.
What pained her more was her parents’ attitude, they no longer doted on her like before, her mother even said the brain supplement pills were her best dowry indicating she needed to use her brain more.
She resented her parents but didn’t dare show it in front of her in-laws, so she dumped all the blame on Tong Zhaodi.
Old Mr. Gu and Old Mrs. Gu realized it wasn’t someone instigating, but Wu Ren felt resentful seeing them manipulating his daughter, deciding to withhold the dowry to let her suffer rather than letting them enjoy any benefits brought by Wu Na.
So ruthless!
Seeing Wu Na so downcast, Mrs. Jia let out a breath of frustration.
These past days to curry favor for her daughter-in-law’s dowry, she’d borne her anger, allowing her to ride over her head.
"Isn’t your Wu family deceiving in marriage? You couldn’t arrange a good marriage, so you dangled 500 silver taels and ten acres of good land to lure my Rui Nian. Your whole family thought my Gu family had no one to rely on, right? I can’t swallow this indignation. Either have your parents send the promised dowry, or take you back, this kind of daughter-in-law my Gu family can’t afford."
Mrs. Jia, blinded by rage, yelled at Wu Na.
