Chapter 1100 The loyal maid promoted to concubine (end)

Shi Chu and Zhu Yanli were not hypocritical people, and neither of them had many relatives. Oh no, Zhu Yanli did have some relatives, but those relatives had occupied his father's property before he was born, and drove them out to fend for themselves. When they found out that Zhu Yanli had passed the imperial examination and was about to become successful, they shamelessly came to recognize him as their relative, saying that they were blood relatives, and that even if their bones were broken, they were still connected, so they should rely on each other as a family...

Haha, when Zhu Yanli was still in his mother's belly, why didn't these people say that blood is thicker than water? Instead, they couldn't wait to seize the tribe's property and drove away the tribe's pregnant widow? Now that Zhu Yanli is about to make a name for himself, they come to suck his blood eagerly. How shameless.

Although Zhu Yanli's temper has improved a bit, there is nothing wrong with his brain. He has suffered so much with his widowed mother since he was a child, and it was all caused by these so-called clansmen. Otherwise, if he had the property left by his biological father, he and his mother would not have to live such a hard life, and his mother would not have died so early due to illness caused by overwork. He has no way to be filial to her even if he wants to.

Therefore, Zhu Yanli unceremoniously drove away all the clansmen who came to his door, and ruthlessly spread the news of how they had treated him and his son in the past, making it impossible for them to use public opinion and filial piety to force him to accept the clansmen. Instead, they themselves were scolded by those who knew the inside story.

So Zhu Yanli just shook off these insects that wanted to climb up and suck his blood. Although people of this era value the power of the clan, if the clan not only cannot help them, but instead harms their interests, then what fool would be willing to be the clan's blood bag?

It is very easy for two people who have no parents or clan to get married. After all, everything is decided by themselves and no one has the right to question it.

So the wedding of the two was soon held. At the beginning, some neighbors were invited, and Zhu Yanli invited his classmates and colleagues. It was quite lively.

Zhu Yanli actually married a commoner woman who sold buns in public, which puzzled many of his friends. After all, with Zhu Yanli's current status and position, he obviously had a better choice and could marry a woman who could help him more in his future. But why did he insist on marrying a woman who was destined to be of no help to him?

His friends also asked him this question tactfully. Zhu Yanli just said that he wanted to marry a woman he liked, someone who would make him happy from the bottom of his heart when he saw her every day. After all, this was the person he would spend his whole life with. If marriage was only for the sake of interests, then what was the difference between being at home and being in the officialdom? You couldn't do whatever you wanted, and you had to weigh the interests in everything you did. How tiring that would be.

Zhu Yanli's words left his friend speechless for a long time, and finally he said with emotion that he was the one who thought it through thoroughly.

In short, no matter how much outsiders don't understand why Zhu Yanli married Shi Chu, it doesn't prevent the two of them from living a simple and happy life.

When Zhu Yanli first entered the officialdom, he was indeed too green and inexperienced, and because of his good temper, he suffered a lot of bullying. However, he was good at learning from his lessons and was open-minded to learn from others. Gradually, he became successful in the officialdom and even made some contributions. He was promoted within a few years, and Shi Chu also became an official's wife because of her husband's status.

Her steamed bun shop was still open. The secret recipe of the steamed bun filling was given to a loyal servant, and the management of the steamed bun shop was also handed over to the servant. Due to the good taste and her legendary experience, the business became more and more prosperous, and the steamed bun shop expanded several times.

When Zhu Yanli became the Minister of Rites, Shi Chu also became his wife. She had a husband who was devoted to her and lovely and clever children. No other lady could live more comfortably than her, and many people envied her.

At this time, Zhang Qishan and Gui Yunlai, who were three thousand miles away, finally returned to the capital. Because the new emperor had issued a general amnesty upon his accession to the throne, the two of them benefited from it and no longer had to be exiles.

Over the past decade, the two of them have suffered a lot. Zhang Qishan's parents were old and suffered a lot during the exile. They died one after another not long after arriving at the place of exile.

After all, Zhang Qishan and Gui Yunlai are the male and female protagonists. Although their luck is gone, they are still alive, so they can survive until the new emperor ascends the throne.

But by the time they were pardoned, their faces were already haggard and they looked extremely old. Even though they were free again, they were penniless and in poor health. By the time they finally returned to the capital by begging, they were almost half dead.

Fortunately, when they were sentenced, their clansmen were not implicated, so they could seek help from their clansmen when they returned to the capital.

The tribesmen felt sorry for them and gave them a shabby little house to stay in and occasionally gave them a bowl of porridge.

Gui Yunlai listened to Zhang Qishan's rude insults in the room, and washed clothes by the well with a numb face. She had done all kinds of heavy work after being exiled, let alone just washing clothes?

She could hardly remember the days when she was the eldest daughter of the Gui family and the prince's consort in the Anding Marquis's mansion, where she lived a life of luxury. Those days of fine clothes, delicious food, glory and wealth seemed to have happened in her previous life, making her feel confused sometimes. Was she really such a noble person?

Life has worn away all her pride. After being exiled, even if she had thousands of tricks and schemes, she couldn't use them and could only endure.

When she was first exiled, Zhang Qishan still loved her and treated her very well. However, no matter how deep the feelings were, they would gradually disappear after day after day of hard work, because life was too tiring and bitter, leaving people with no time and energy to think about any feelings.

What's more, poor couples have many sorrows. Having no money, no power and being bullied can easily change a person's personality. Zhang Qishan was exhausted every day, and his parents died one after another. The pain and suffering weighed on him and made him despair.

If Gui Yunlai could continue to be his gentle and eloquent woman, comforting him and supporting him, then maybe Zhang Qishan could continue to love her as before, but Gui Yunlai would not have the mood to care about him? Moreover, she had to do hard labor every day, her beauty was gone, and her temper was not good. Facing such a woman, how could Zhang Qishan still be consistent with her?

So gradually Zhang Qishan started to scold her, and later even started to beat her. Whenever he was not satisfied, he would scold and beat her to vent his anger. Gui Yunlai was not the kind of person who would just accept everything, so she naturally resisted him. So the loving couple became a pair of resentful couple.

Now, if the Gui family had not been offended so badly by her in the past, they would never have accepted her back. Gui Yunlai absolutely did not want to follow Zhang Qiling back. However, she had no choice but to continue to endure this mutual dislike with Zhang Qiling.

(End of this chapter)