novelraw Chapter 171 Instigating a conflict between father and daughter, setting a date
Chapter 171 Instigating a conflict between father and daughter, setting a date
Chapter 171 Instigating a conflict between father and daughter, setting a date
Marrying into the Zhu family?
Gu Mei was taken aback: "You mean... you want me to marry my cousin?"
“That’s right, I’ll marry your cousin.” Old Mrs. Zhu said firmly, holding Gu Mei’s hand and staring at her intently, seeing no resistance on her face.
Grandma Zhu was overjoyed and said, "Grandma knows that you have been very ambitious since you were a child, and you have always wanted to marry into a wealthy family, but this is not going to happen."
We're farmers, toiling in the fields. What wealthy family would ever look at girls like us? Forget about the elaborate betrothal ceremony; even if we were carried in as concubines in a small sedan chair, they'd still find us repulsive, because of the muddy smell we have!
Gu Mei was very unhappy to hear this. "What? Am I that worthless? I never thought about being a wife. I'd be happy to be a concubine! As long as it's a wealthy and noble family that doesn't make me suffer, I'd be willing to be a concubine."
Grandma Zhu's mind went blank for a moment, and she opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words to say.
Seeing his granddaughter's matter-of-fact expression, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.
Although her appearance resembled her deceased daughter by about 50%, her temperament was exactly the same as her daughter's!
They're all the same—greedy for wealth and status, and completely unaware of their own limitations!
People often say that when choosing a wife, one should choose a virtuous one, and when choosing a concubine, one should choose a beautiful one. If you want to be a concubine, you still have to see if your appearance is up to par.
The wealthy man was no stranger to women and was a lustful man who would only take concubines if they were pretty. Why would he be interested in someone like her granddaughter?
It wasn't that Old Lady Zhu looked down on Gu Mei; it was just that family members knew each other well. Gu Mei's appearance wasn't exactly beautiful; she could only be described as not ugly.
What blind, wealthy man would take a girl of average appearance, who is also from a peasant family, as a concubine?
Old Mrs. Zhu was very clear-headed. Years ago, when her daughter Zhu Xiuer said she wanted to become a concubine, she hardened her heart and ignored her daughter's nonsense, forcing her to marry into the Gu family.
Now, it seems that she has developed similar thoughts about her granddaughter.
Knowing that her granddaughter's temperament was just like her daughter's, Grandma Zhu didn't say that people looked down on her. Instead, she changed the subject and started talking about other things.
Do you remember the girl who lived at Zhu Dacheng's house at the village entrance, who was two years older than you?
Gu Mei was stunned for a moment and didn't react. Weren't they talking about her marriage? How did they start talking about Zhu Dacheng again?
"What? Don't you remember?" Grandma Zhu asked again.
Gu Mei thought for a moment, then vaguely remembered: "Is it the one named Zhu Juan'er?"
"Yes, it's her."
Old Mrs. Zhu sighed and said, "Zhu Dacheng's daughter is exceptionally beautiful. Last year during the Lantern Festival, she was spotted by a Mr. Chen while visiting the lantern festival in Bei'an City. Soon after, he sent someone to our house to take Zhu Dacheng's daughter back as his concubine..."
Gu Mei's face darkened. If Zhu Juan'er could become a concubine, why couldn't she?!
The thought flashed through her mind, but then Old Lady Zhu's words made her break out in a cold sweat.
"At the beginning of this year, that 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 not born either, a double tragedy!"
"How could this be?!" Gu Mei's face paled. "Weren't they pampered and provided for? How could this result in the death of both mother and child?!"
Old Mrs. Zhu's eyes flickered. When a woman gives birth, it's the same regardless of whether she's rich or poor or noble. She's risking her life with one foot in the grave!
Gu Mei was young and didn't understand these things. She thought that as long as she could live a wealthy life, having children would be a safe and secure thing.
Old Mrs. Zhu didn't explain to her, but instead went along with it, continuing, "Logically speaking, someone who is well-fed and clothed shouldn't have died along with their unborn child. Zhu Dacheng kept the messenger who came to deliver the message inside for drinks, and after the man got drunk, he tricked him into revealing the truth."
The reason Zhu Juan'er and her unborn child died was because she violated a taboo of the Chen family. The Chen family takes girls of our background as concubines as playthings, things they can buy, sell, or give away!
Gu Mei was horrified when she heard this.
This is different from what Zhang said!
Zhang told her that the masters of wealthy families love their beautiful concubines the most, and even the mistress of the house has to give way to the favored ones!
Seeing her granddaughter panic, Old Mrs. Zhu continued, "Since it's something that can be bought, sold, and given away, the Chen family naturally wouldn't allow Zhu Juan to get pregnant. But Zhu Juan didn't want to be given away, so she risked getting pregnant secretly. The Chen family didn't punish her when they found out, so Zhu Juan thought she had gotten through this ordeal."
But to everyone's surprise, when Zhu Juan'er was eight months pregnant, someone had laced her food with labor-inducing drugs! Unaware of this, and craving cravings during her pregnancy, she ate a lot of the drugs along with the food. Soon after, she went into labor, screamed all night, but the baby wasn't born, and she died too!
Gu Mei felt cold all over and couldn't say a word.
Old Mrs. Zhu seemed oblivious to her frightened expression and continued talking about another family: "There's another one in Daqing Village. Their daughter was also taken as a concubine, but she only lived for half a year before dying mysteriously..."
He only lived for six months?
Gu Mei looked terrified. Could she really die from not being able to conceive?
"And then there were the Zhou family girls and the Li family girls from Zhoujiaba. They were both very beautiful, but they were both taken away to be concubines. One only lived for a little over three months, and the other for a little over a month. They both died mysteriously, and their families didn't dare to ask any questions. They just received a sum of money, and then the matter was dropped..."
What Old Lady Zhu said sounded very convincing, but it's hard to tell if it's true or not.
Gu Mei believed this, thinking that her grandmother had no reason to lie to her. For one thing, Zhu Dacheng's family lived at the entrance of the village, and they had passed by Zhu Dacheng's house when they came to the Zhu family before.
Whether it's true or false, you'll know as soon as you ask.
Noticing that Gu Mei was wavering, Old Mrs. Zhu added fuel to the fire, squeezing out two tears as she tearfully tried to persuade her.
"My dear grandmother! Just for the sake of these lives, you can't become a concubine! I know you've had enough of this hardship. If you really don't want to live this hard life anymore, then marry into the Zhu family."
With Grandma around, you don't need to do any work. You can just wait to be fed and drunk, and sleep until the sun is high in the sky without anyone daring to say a word! If you become a concubine, and something happens to you, how will Grandma live? We sent your mother away more than ten years ago, are we going to send you away now too?"
These words were a very blunt way of telling Gu Mei that other people's daughters who became concubines never had a good 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 Old Lady Zhu's words had already frightened her.
The reason she hasn't agreed yet is because she dislikes the Zhu family's bad reputation.
When she was with relatives, she didn't think there was anything wrong with the Zhu family, but now that she was to marry into the Zhu family, she looked down on them.
But if she doesn't marry into the Zhu family, what good family can she find?
Even if you find a suitable family, you still have to endure decades of hardship before you can live a comfortable life.
Being a daughter is different from being a wife; you can tell just by looking at the young wives who are about to marry into the family in the village.
They had to help with all the housework and farm work, working themselves to the bone without any reward, and they even had to endure their mothers-in-law's criticisms. Every family was like this.
Gu Mei didn't want to do any chores. She had never done any chores since she was a child, and she didn't want to do any chores after she got married.
However, no family would prevent their daughter-in-law from doing chores.
Besides the Zhu family...
Gu Mei pursed her lips, glanced at Old Madam Zhu, and remained hesitant. After a moment of silence, she tried to express her request: "Grandma... I've never done any work since I was little. I can't do anything around the house, and I'm not in good health. My father never asks me to do anything; he just lets me rest in the house..."
"Grandma knows! If you marry into the Zhu family, Grandma won't ask you to do anything. You can just rest in the house. You won't have to do anything inside or outside the house!" Old Mrs. Zhu couldn't hide her joy and felt very reassured.
"Will my aunt have any objections?" Gu Mei was worried because everyone said that it was difficult for mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to get along.
Grandma Zhu patted her hand, telling her to rest assured: "Grandma is the one in charge of this family. Your aunt and the others live by Grandma's approval. Just to please Grandma, they have to fawn over you and coax you!"
Gu Mei felt relieved, and a hint of pride appeared on her face. She liked being flattered and pampered.
"Then... is this settled?" Old Mrs. Zhu asked hopefully.
Gu Mei blushed, a belated shyness creeping into her heart.
After comparing the options, the Zhu family, which didn't require her to do anything, was indeed the most suitable for her.
"I'll listen to Grandma..."
"Good, good, good! Your grandson is so filial!" Old Mrs. Zhu smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared. "In that case, you should talk to your father later, and in a couple of days, I will ask a matchmaker to go to your father to discuss the marriage."
Mentioning her father, Gu Lianshan, Gu Mei's shyness faded, replaced by unease: "My dad... he definitely won't agree to this. I'm afraid he'll beat me if I tell him!"
"Why not agree?" Old Mrs. Zhu urged. "Which father doesn't hope his daughter will find a good husband? If you marry into the Zhu family, you won't have to do anything. If you marry into another family, you'll have to take care of the whole family!"
If your father had even a shred of goodwill towards you, he would have happily agreed to this marriage. Unless, of course, he looks down on you and doesn't want you to have a good life!
Hearing this, Gu Mei's face darkened again, and she wholeheartedly agreed with her grandmother's words.
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 right now, her hopes of marrying into a wealthy family are slim, so she can only choose to marry into one of these rural families.
If that's the case, then the Zhu family is the most outstanding among these families!
If she married into another family, she would have to work herself to the bone to take care of the whole family. But if she married into the Zhu family, she wouldn't have to do any work, and her grandmother would support her. Her life would definitely be very comfortable!
After comparing the two, even a fool would know which one to choose!
"I'll try to see if I can convince my father..." Gu Mei's tone wasn't very firm.
Old Mrs. Zhu had a bad feeling and hurriedly said, "It's fine if you don't dare to go against 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; if you marry poorly, you will suffer for the rest of your life, and you may even die young!"
Your father doesn't care about you, so naturally he won't think of you. In my opinion, he probably wants to marry you off far away! Even if you're beaten and scolded every day, he won't come to your door to stand up for you!
Gu Mei felt a chill run down her spine. Indeed, if it were possible, her father would definitely do that!
"My dear! You need to learn to plan for yourself, to fight for yourself..."
Grandma Zhu pulled the person into her arms, looking as if she were speaking up for Gu Mei.
Gu Mei took these words to heart.
She's getting married soon anyway, and to her maternal grandparents' Zhu family. With her grandmother backing her up, it won't matter whether her father cares about her or not.
If her father agrees to the marriage, then fine; if not, then she'll go all out and make a scene!
She didn't care about being beaten; she didn't want to marry the wrong person and suffer for the rest of her life!
……
In the main room, Gu Lianshan, having eaten and drunk his fill, walked out of the room with a protruding belly and a satisfied look on his face.
He walked steadily, and since he hadn't drunk as much wine as he had, he wasn't really drunk.
The eldest and second sons of the Zhu family, along with Old Master Zhu, followed a step later out of the house, their faces dark with worry. They looked at Gu Lianshan, who was in a good mood, and felt their hearts bleed with heartache!
He ate all the meat and dishes on the table by himself!
They wouldn't even let him take a single bite. The cost of this table of meat and dishes was almost equivalent to the price of a bolt of cloth. I should have given him the remaining half bolt of cloth!
Thinking of this, the father and his two sons turned and glared at Zhu Laosan, who was picking his teeth.
The one who stole the cloth was the third son's wife. She didn't hand it over to the public treasury; instead, she kept it for herself.
However, the matter of spending copper coins to "treat" Gu Lianshan to wine and meat ended up costing money from the public treasury.
They had just wanted the third son's wife to hand over the half bolt of cloth so that Gu Lianshan could take it away.
But the third son's wife made a huge fuss and refused to agree!
The third brother was a scoundrel; he even sided with his wife in making trouble.
Zhu Laosan ignored the glares directed at him by the father and his two sons, knowing they were eyeing the half bolt of cloth.
Ha ha.
No matter how much you think about it, it's useless! Once it's in his wife's hands, no one can take it back.
Besides, the three families are always busy with household chores, but when it comes to food and clothing, they get the least!
Over the years, haven't the third branch of the family lived peacefully and never complained about any injustice?
Thinking of these things, Zhu Laosan became even more self-righteous, and continued walking towards the west wing without stopping.
The three men and their father had been treated coldly by Zhu Laosan for years, but they hadn't thought much about it. Right now, they just wanted to get rid of Gu Lianshan as soon as possible.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Gu Lianshan didn't need the Zhu family to urge him. He led the oxcart over, called out a few times towards the kitchen, and summoned Gu Mei to come home.
Gu Mei didn't want to go back; she wanted to stay at the Zhu family's place for a few days and get to know her cousins better.
Her grandma just said that she has five cousins, none of whom are engaged yet, and she can choose whichever one she likes to marry.
Grandma Zhu noticed that Gu Mei was unwilling to go back, so she stepped forward and whispered, "No rush, go back and talk to your father first, and I'll also tell your uncles and aunts about it. In a couple of days, I'll ask a matchmaker to go find your father..."
Gu Mei's reluctance softened, and she walked to the oxcart, climbed on, and still gave her father a cold look, remaining silent.
Gu Lianshan saw the grandmother and granddaughter talking quietly, and his brows furrowed unconsciously. He was very displeased that his daughter was getting too close to the old lady of the Zhu family.
The entire Zhu family is full of cunning and scheming, always looking to take advantage of everyone. His eldest daughter is too stupid to outsmart the Zhu family at all. She'll probably be sold out and still be helping them count the money!