Tu Gu sulked alone at home, but unexpectedly, his mother and wife returned in a sorry state a few days later.
When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived home, they tried their best to maintain their composure, but when faced with a table full of delicious food, their recent embarrassment was revealed.
Putting everything else aside, in normal times, this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have never eaten pork knuckle. Every time Tu Gu eats it, they always have a look of disgust on their faces.
It's like eating pork knuckle will make you gain a lot of weight.
This made Tu Gu feel uncomfortable every time he ate.
Therefore, he preferred to eat with his concubine.
Although the concubine wasn't very pretty, and her family background couldn't compare to the wife's, eating with her was truly comfortable.
Both of them love meat, and sharing braised pork knuckle, roast chicken, and roast goose was an incredibly enjoyable experience.
Seeing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law practically ready to devour the pork knuckle, Tu Gu's mind was filled with a dramatic scene.
There were more than ten dishes on the table, but Tu Gu only ate a few bites, and the rest mostly ended up in the stomachs of the mother and daughter-in-law.
After the meal, she even let out an unseemly burp. Tu Gu's eyes widened in disbelief. Was this really the wife of his daughter-in-law, a high-born noblewoman from a marquis's mansion?
Tu Gu became increasingly suspicious. Either the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been switched, or something had happened to them.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a disheveled state, disregarding his image. He smiled calmly, put down his chopsticks, and waited for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to explain themselves.
After eating and drinking their fill, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finally had the mood to complain to their husband (son).
"My son, I almost didn't see you again. These poor, remote places breed unruly people."
We were robbed at your cousin's house. Not only were all the money we brought taken, but we weren't even left with a single piece of clothing.
As an old woman, I had no choice but to wear my nephew's wife's pink dress. I was so ashamed of myself.
My son, you must stand up for your mother! That county magistrate was just being perfunctory.
After reporting to the authorities, he was unable to find the thief. When someone urged him to do his best to apprehend the real culprit, he said that whether he could find him or not depended on luck.
What kind of officials act like this? When someone reports a crime, they have to find a way to solve it, while leaving their wives to rely on luck.
If that county magistrate hadn't been so incompetent, your wife and I might have brought my little grandson back together.
Oh, my grandson…
As Madam Tu spoke, she began to cry. Anyone who didn't know the situation would have thought that Tu Haoyu had met with some misfortune.
Madam Tu also remembered this and covered her face to weep.
“Husband, if Haoyu hadn’t pawned his jade pendant, my wife and I might not have made it back.”
Tu Gu frowned.
"Even if you lost your money, did the thieves also steal from your cousins?"
Can't we borrow some money from them to tide us over?
"Haoyu's jade pendant, is it that piece of black jade? You actually pawned it? Was it a permanent pawn or a re-pawn? How many taels of silver did you get?"
Tu Gu felt his forehead throbbing. What kind of situation was this? The mother of the dignified Vice Minister of Revenue, the moneybag of the Divine Dragon Kingdom, had to pawn her belongings to raise enough money for her wife's travel expenses.
If this gets out, people will laugh their heads off!
Madam Tu wiped her eyes.
"Haoyu said he pawned it for 500 taels, but I really don't know whether it was a dead pawn or a live pawn. Haoyu didn't give me the pawn ticket."
What's wrong? It's just a jade pendant.
"We can buy Haoyu something better later, why are you so concerned?"
Looking at his wife's face, Tu Gu suddenly felt deflated. Hadn't his wife always been like this?
"That jade pendant was carved by the old man himself when he was alive. Each of his grandsons has one. Didn't you know that?"
Upon hearing Tu Gu's words, Old Madam Tu's eyes flickered. She knew about this matter, but it seemed that her daughter-in-law really didn't know.
After all, the daughter-in-law brought a large dowry, so she really wouldn't care about a jade pendant.
When Madam Tu heard that the carving was done by her father-in-law before his death, her expression turned rather sour.
"I really didn't know that. I thought it was just an ordinary jade pendant of decent quality."
In that case, I'll send someone to deliver the money and redeem Haoyu's jade pendant.
My husband, it's not that I'm complaining to you, but that cousin of yours, well, I did think about borrowing some money from them to go back home.
But before I could even speak, your sister-in-law said that the family business was not doing well and that they hadn't made any profit in recent years.
Your cousin is no good at managing things; he only knows how to drink and sip tea every day, hanging out with a bunch of shady friends.
The family is still able to support itself, all thanks to her dowry. How can I possibly ask for more money?
But that's not all that's annoying.
We have 490 taels of silver on hand. If all goes smoothly, even with good food and lodging along the way, we should still have some left over.
They encountered robbers on the road, and only by Tu Wu and Tu Jiu risking their lives to protect them could they survive. Even so, the thieves still managed to steal a whole cart of supplies.
Even the maids and old women responsible for guarding the carriages were robbed.
What's most infuriating is that the old woman still had a hundred taels of silver on her, which she had given to cover all our expenses on the journey.
Tu Gu was very irritated listening to his wife and mother's incessant nagging.
"That's enough. You two have finished telling your grievances. Now we need to talk about what you actually did over there."
Also, Mother, Huifang, you two keep saying you love Haoyu, but I don't see any love for him at all.
Knowing full well that it had been stolen, and that he had no money on him either, he gave up the jade pendant that his father had passed down, worth 500 taels of silver, but you only left him 10 taels.
This was even after knowing that his cousin might not be able to provide any financial assistance.
If you love the child, either bring him back or leave at least half of the money to him.
But what have you all done?
All they do is complain, saying they were robbed. If you ask me, they were right to rob them, they did a good job.
The maids and servants who have served you for many years have been taken away. You don't feel sorry for them, but you do feel sorry for the hundred taels of silver that you put on the servants.
Those servants are truly unlucky to have masters like you.
I'm really too lazy to talk to you anymore. What exactly did you do in Lingnan Prefecture?
We angered the heir of the Duke of Protectorate, and now our family's business is being suppressed; we've already closed three or four shops.
If this continues, all of our shops will have to close down.
Furthermore, I am impeached daily in court. Tell me, what exactly have you been doing in Lingnan Prefecture?
Tu Gu's last words were almost shouted, which startled the mother and daughter-in-law so much that they trembled. They had never seen Tu Gu so angry.
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