Chapter 169: Provoking the Father-Daughter Relationship, Settled

Chapter 169: Provoking the Father-Daughter Relationship, Settled

Marry into the Zhu family?

Gu Mei was stunned for a moment: "You mean... let me marry my cousin?"

"That's right, marry your cousin." Old Mrs. Zhu said firmly, holding Gu Mei's hand and looking at her intently, without seeing any resistance on her face.

Old Lady Zhu was delighted and said, "I know that you have been very ambitious since you were a child and you wanted to marry into a rich family, but this is impossible.

We are farmers who make a living. How could those wealthy families be interested in girls of our background? Not to mention marrying us off with three matchmakers and six betrothals, even if we were carried in as concubines in a sedan chair, they would still dislike the smell of mud on us!"

Gu Mei was very unhappy to hear this, "Why? Am I so unbearable? I don't want to be the main wife, I can be a concubine! As long as the family is rich and noble, and I don't have to live a hard life, I am willing to be a concubine."

Old Mrs. Zhu's head went blank for a moment, and she opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

Seeing his granddaughter acting as if it was a matter of course, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

Although she looks 50% like her daughter who died early, her temperament is exactly the same as her daughter!

They are all equally greedy for wealth and fame, and they don’t even know their own weight!

People often say that when you marry a wife, you marry a virtuous woman, and when you take a concubine, you marry a beautiful woman. If you want to be a concubine, it depends on whether you are good enough.

The master of that wealthy family had seen lustful men among women before, and he only took concubines based on their good looks. How could he be interested in someone like her granddaughter?

It’s not that Old Lady Zhu looks down on Gu Mei, it’s just that family members know each other. Gu Mei’s appearance can’t be considered good-looking, but she can barely be said to be ugly.

What blind rich master would take a girl of average appearance and from a peasant family as his concubine?

Old Mrs. Zhu was very clear-headed. When her daughter Zhu Xiuer said she wanted to be a concubine, she was cruel and did not listen to her daughter's nonsense. She forced her daughter to marry into the Gu family.

Now, when it came to her granddaughter, she had such thoughts without knowing when.

Knowing that her granddaughter's temperament was very similar to her daughter's, Grandma Zhu did not say that people looked down on her. Instead, she changed the subject and talked about other things.

"At Zhu Dacheng's house at the end of the village, there was a girl two years older than you. Do you remember her?"

Gu Mei was stunned for a moment, didn't react, wasn't it talking about her marriage? Why did it bring up Zhu Dacheng again?

"What? You don't remember?" Old Mrs. Zhu asked again.

Gu Mei recalled it slowly and vaguely remembered: "Is it the one called Zhu Juaner?"

"Yes, it's her."

Old Lady Zhu sighed and said, "Zhu Dacheng's daughter is very outstanding. During the Lantern Festival last year, she was spotted by a Mr. Chen at the lantern parade in Bei'an City. Soon after, he sent someone to his house to take Zhu Dacheng's daughter back home as a concubine..."

Gu Mei's face darkened. If Zhu Juan'er could be a concubine, why couldn't she? !

This thought flashed through her mind, but then, what Old Lady Zhu said frightened her so much that she broke out in a cold sweat.

"At the beginning of this year, Mr. Chen sent someone to Zhu Dacheng's house again, saying that Zhu Juan'er had died! She died during childbirth, and the child was never born, so there were two lives lost!"

"How could it be?!" Gu Mei's face turned pale. "Don't they have people to take care of them and provide them with food and clothing? How could there be two deaths like this?!"

Old Mrs. Zhu's eyes flashed. For a woman giving birth, no matter if she is rich or poor, noble or social, it's the same. She is risking her life with one foot at the gate of hell!

Gu Mei was young and didn't understand these things. She thought that as long as she could live a rich life, having a child would be a safe thing.

Old Lady Zhu did not explain to her, but continued, "Logically speaking, this well-fed and well-clothed person should not have two lives. Zhu Dacheng kept the person who came to report the news for a drink, and after he got drunk, he got the truth out of him.

The reason why Zhu Juan'er died twice was because she violated the Chen family's taboo. The Chen family took girls of our background as concubines just to play with them, and to buy and sell them as gifts!"

Gu Mei was shocked when she heard this.

This is different from what Zhang said!

Zhang told her that the masters of wealthy families love beautiful concubines the most. If one is favored, even the mistress of the house has to give in a little!

Seeing her granddaughter panic, Old Lady Zhu continued, "Since it is a toy that can be bought and sold and given away, the Chen family will not allow Zhu Juan to get pregnant and have a child. But Zhu Juan didn't want to be given away, so she took the risk and got pregnant secretly. When the Chen family found out, they didn't punish her, so Zhu Juan thought she had gotten away with it.

But who would have thought that when she was eight months pregnant, someone put a labor-inducing drug in Zhu Juaner's food! Zhu Juaner didn't know that she was pregnant and greedy, so she ate a lot of the drug and food. Not long after, she had an attack, cried all night, and the baby was not born, and she died too! "

Gu Mei felt cold all over and couldn't utter a word.

Old Lady Zhu seemed not to notice her frightened look, and she talked about another family: "There is also a family in Daqing Village. The girl in the family was also taken away to be a concubine, but she only lived for half a year and then died inexplicably..."

Only lived for half a year?

Gu Mei was horrified. Would she die if she didn't get pregnant?

"There were also the girls from Zhoujiaba and Lijia, both of whom were very good-looking. They were all taken away to be concubines. One lived for only three months, and the other lived for more than a month. They both died in unclear circumstances, and their families did not dare to ask about it. They just collected a sum of money and then let the matter go..."

What Old Lady Zhu said sounded very serious, and I didn't know whether it was true or not.

Gu Mei believed what she heard and thought there was no reason for her grandmother to lie to her. Apart from anything else, Zhu Dacheng's home was at the entrance of the village, and when they came to Zhu's house before, they passed by the door of Zhu Dacheng's house.

Whether it is true or false, you will know it by asking.

Realizing that Gu Mei was wavering, Old Lady Zhu added fuel to the fire, squeezed out two tears, and cried to persuade her.

"My dear! For the sake of these lives! You can't be my concubine! I know you've had enough of the hard life. If you really don't want to live this hard life anymore, you can marry into the Zhu family.

"With me here, you don't have to work. You just wait for food and drink, and no one dares to say a word to you when the sun goes down! If you become a concubine, what if something happens to you? How can I live? I sent your mother away more than ten years ago, so am I going to send you away now?"

This was a very straightforward statement to Gu Mei, telling her that other girls who became concubines all had a bad ending, and Gu Mei was no exception. If she became a concubine, she would die sooner or later!

Gu Mei cherished her life the most, and these words from Old Lady Zhu had already frightened her.

The reason why she didn't give in now was because she disliked the Zhu family's bad reputation.

When they were getting along with their relatives, she didn't think there was anything wrong with the Zhu family. But now that she was asked to marry into the Zhu family, she looked down on them.

But if she doesn't marry into the Zhu family, where else can she find a good family?

Even if you find a family that suits you, after you get married, you will have to wait for decades before you can live a comfortable life.

Being a daughter is different from being a daughter-in-law. You can tell by just looking at the young daughters-in-law in the village who are about to get married.

I have to help with all the housework and farm work. I work so hard but get no reward and even have to endure criticism from my mother-in-law. It's like this in every family.

Gu Mei didn't want to do any housework. She had never done any housework since she was a child, and she didn't want to do any housework after she got married.

However, no family would stop their daughter-in-law from doing chores.

Except for the Zhu family...

Gu Mei pursed her lips and glanced at Old Lady Zhu, still wavering in her heart.

After a moment of silence, she tried to express her request: "Grandma... I have never worked since I was a child. I can't do anything at home or outside. I am not in good health. My father never orders me around and only lets me rest in the house..."

"I know! If you marry into the Zhu family, I won't order you around. You just rest in the house and you don't have to do anything at home or outside!" Grandma Zhu couldn't suppress the joy on her face and felt relieved.

"Then...will my aunt have any objections?" It is said that it is difficult for mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to get along with each other, and Gu Mei was a little worried.

Old Lady Zhu patted her hands and told her to rest assured: "Grandma is the boss of this family. Your aunts and uncles all live by Grandma's mood. In order to please Grandma, they have to flatter and coax you!"

Gu Mei felt relieved and a hint of pride appeared on her face. She liked being praised and coaxed.

"Then... let's settle this?" Old Mrs. Zhu looked hopeful.

Gu Mei's face flushed, and a belated shyness crept into her heart.

After comparing them back and forth, the Zhu family, where she doesn't have to do any work, is indeed the most suitable for her.

"I'll listen to grandma..."

"Okay, okay! Grandma's obedient child is filial piety!" Old Mrs. Zhu smiled so hard that her teeth were showing. "In this case, you should talk to your father later. In two days, grandma will ask a matchmaker to go to your father to discuss the marriage."

When Gu Mei mentioned her father Gu Lianshan, the shyness on her face faded away and she became a little uneasy: "My father... will definitely not agree to this. I'm afraid that if I tell him, he will beat me up!"

"Why don't you agree?" Old Lady Zhu urged, "Which father doesn't hope that his daughter will have a good home? If you marry into the Zhu family, you won't have to do anything, but if you marry into another family, you will have to serve the whole family!

If your father had any wish for your well-being, he would have happily agreed to this marriage. Unless he despises you and doesn't want you to have a good marriage!"

Gu Mei's face darkened again after hearing this, and she agreed with her grandmother's words in her heart.

Now she no longer wants to be a concubine. If a wealthy family can hire her as a wife, she will not marry into the Zhu family.

But now, her hope of marrying into a wealthy family is slim, and she can only choose to marry into a family in this country.

If this is the case, the Zhu family is the most outstanding among these families!

If she married into another family, she would have to work hard to serve the whole family. But after marrying into the Zhu family, she doesn't have to do any work, and she has her grandmother to support her. Her life will definitely be very smooth!

Comparing the two, even a fool would know which one to choose!

"I'll try and see if I can convince my father..." Gu Mei's tone was not very firm.

Old Lady Zhu secretly cried out in dismay, and quickly said, "It's ok that you don't dare to contradict your father on ordinary days, but getting married is the most important thing in life! If you marry well, you will have no worries for the rest of your life, but if you marry badly, you will suffer for the rest of your life, and you may even die of illness early!

Your father doesn't have you in his heart, so he won't think about you. From my point of view, he probably wants to marry you off far away! Even if you are beaten and scolded every day in the future, he won't come to support you!"

Gu Mei's heart trembled. Indeed, if possible, her father would definitely do this!

"My dear! You have to learn to plan for yourself and fight for yourself..."

Old Mrs. Zhu hugged the person in her arms, looking as if she was speaking up for Gu Mei.

Gu Mei took these words to heart.

Anyway, she is about to get married, and her husband will be from her maternal grandfather's family, the Zhu family. With her grandmother's support, it won't matter whether her father controls her or not.

If her father agrees to this marriage, then that's fine. But if he doesn't, then she will go all out and make a scene!

She didn't care even if she got beaten. She didn't want to marry the wrong man and suffer for the rest of her life!

…

Over in the main room, Gu Lianshan, who had eaten and drunk his fill, walked out of the room with a bulging belly and a look of contentment on his face.

He walked steadily and didn't spill much of the wine, so he wasn't drunk.

The eldest and second sons of the Zhu family, as well as Old Man Zhu, followed slowly out of the house, their faces dark, and they were so distressed when they saw Gu Lianshan, who was in a good mood!

He ate all the meat and vegetables on the table by himself!

They were not even allowed to pick up a piece of food with their chopsticks. The cost of this table of meat and vegetables was almost equal to the price of a piece of cloth. If they had known earlier, they would have returned the remaining half piece of cloth to him!

Thinking of this, the father and his two sons turned their heads and glared at Zhu Laosan who was picking his teeth.

The one who stole the cloth was the third son's wife. She did not hand the stolen cloth over to the public but kept it for herself.

But in the end, he spent copper coins to "treat" Gu Lianshan with wine and meat, but asked Gongzhong to pay silver.

Just now they wanted the third son's wife to hand over the half piece of cloth so that Gu Lianshan could take it away.

But the third son’s wife just kept making a fuss and refused to agree!

The third brother was also a bad guy and actually helped his wife to make trouble.

Zhu Laosan ignored the glares from the father and his two sons, knowing that they were thinking about the half piece of cloth.

hehe.

There's no point thinking about it! No one can take back what has fallen into his wife's hands.

Besides, the third room has to do a lot of housework at home and outside on a daily basis, but when it comes to food and clothing, they get the least!

Over the years, hasn't their third room been living in peace and stability, without ever complaining about injustice?

Thinking of these things, Zhu Laosan became more and more righteous. He walked without stopping and staggered all the way to the west wing.

The father and his two sons have been treated so coldly by Zhu Laosan over the years, and they didn't think much about it. They just wanted to send Gu Lianshan away as soon as possible.

Gu Lianshan, who was full and satisfied, didn't need the Zhu family to urge him. He pulled the ox cart over, shouted a few times towards the kitchen, and called Gu Mei out to go home.

Gu Mei didn't want to go back. She wanted to stay at Zhu's house for a few days and get along well with her cousins ​​in the Zhu family.

Her grandmother just said that she has five cousins, and none of them have found a marriage yet, so she can choose whichever one she chooses and marry him.

Old Lady Zhu saw that Gu Mei was reluctant to go back, so she stepped forward and whispered to her, "Don't worry, go back and talk to your father first, and I'll tell your uncles and aunts about this, and I'll ask a matchmaker to go look for your father in two days..."

The reluctance on Gu Mei's face eased. She walked to the ox cart and climbed on. She still had a bad face towards her father and said nothing.

Gu Lianshan saw the grandmother and grandson talking in whispers, and frowned subconsciously. He didn't like his daughter getting too close to the old lady of the Zhu family.

Everyone in the Zhu family is cunning and wants to scheme against everyone they meet. His eldest daughter is stupid and can't beat the Zhu family at all. She might be sold out and still help the Zhu family count the money!

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