The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!

Chapter 554: What’s Wrong with Fighting for Yourself?

Jingzhe stood silently to the side after speaking.

Lord Yao’s sharp eyes swept over Mr. Gu, Xu Dabao, and others, causing those involved in the incident to shrink back.

"Lord... Lord Yao, you must seek justice for a humble commoner like me. I have an engagement with Gu Xiaoxue. The engagement letters were exchanged, and she’s set to marry me in half a month..."

Xu Dabao was worried that Lord Yao might favor Gu Xiaoxue because of Tong Huaqiong and Jingzhe’s relationship.

He had put in so much effort and must marry Gu Xiaoxue.

The appearance of Liu Qingsong was especially intolerable, as he could not bear to see Gu Xiaoxue taken by Liu Qingsong.

Lord Yao did not even glance at Xu Dabao but instead looked towards Gu Xiaoxue and asked, "Are you willing to marry Xu Dabao?"

Gu Xiaoxue bit her lip and said, "I am not willing."

Xu Dabao glared at Gu Xiaoxue as if he wanted to devour her.

Liu Qingsong breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Dabao wanted to accuse Liu Qingsong and Gu Xiaoxue of having an affair, but with Lord Yao present, he dared not do so casually and was so furious his lips turned white.

Mrs. Yi heard this and said, "Lord Yao, since Gu Xiaoxue does not wish to marry my son, let’s cancel the marriage, but Gu Ruinian still owes us five hundred taels of silver."

Xu Dabao called out to his mother, only to be glared back into silence by Mrs. Yi.

Before even marrying, Gu Xiaoxue had the audacity to poison Xu Dabao. If she became Xu Dabao’s wife, she’d surely be capable of wiping out the entire Xu Family.

If Gu Xiaoxue valued her life, she might be controllable, but now clearly she did not and intended to take the Xu Family down with her.

Such a daughter-in-law, she could not accept.

The engagement could be canceled, but the debt must be repaid.

Even with Lord Yao here, repaying debt is a matter of course.

Mr. Gu, unwilling to show weakness, knelt down and complained to Lord Yao about how the Xu Family had wrecked the Gu Family and forced them to acknowledge a five hundred taels debt.

Mrs. Gu loudly cursed Xu Zaohua as a vile woman, claiming she as a widow had slept with her eldest grandson, hence the Xu Family should compensate the Gu Family. The Gu Family’s disadvantage lay in lacking beasts like Xu Dabao and Xu Erbao to support them.

Lord Yao’s expression remained unchanged.

A village case is a twisted rope, one knot binding another, even a just official has difficulty untangling it.

Moreover, this case clearly arose from entanglements between two families’ looser morals, with the culprits being Gu family’s son and Xu family’s daughter.

Did Gu Ruinian and Xu Zaohua violate any law?

Not really.

At the most, their actions are blemished in terms of morality.

Lord Yao was initially visiting rural areas during harvest season to gain firsthand agricultural knowledge, but found himself presiding over a village case instead.

In the end, under Lord Yao’s intervention, Gu Xiaoxue and Xu Dabao’s engagement was nullified, and the Gu Family’s debt of five hundred taels to the Xu Family was also nullified.

As for Gu Xiaoxue’s attempt to poison Xu Dabao and Gu Ruinian, a desperate girl’s retaliation under extreme circumstances isn’t considered a crime, especially as the so-called pesticide turned out to be sugar water, testified by Tong Huaqiong.

So how could Gu Xiaoxue be faulted for fighting for herself?

She could not be faulted!

Despite Xu Dabao’s discontent, he knew he lacked ground for a strong stance.

"A humble commoner dares to plead for Lord Yao’s ruling."

Just after Lord Yao finished addressing the Gu and Xu family’s drama, Liu Qingsong, unsteady on his feet, knelt down in the middle of the crowd.

"What grievance do you have?" Lord Yao asked.

Liu Tieshan wished to hit his youngest son, wondering what grievance he could possibly have.

Mrs. Yi, who had just arrived, looked at her youngest son, then looked at Gu Xiaoxue, and sighed.

"I wish to marry Gu Xiaoxue, and ask you, my lord, to make a decision on my behalf," Liu Qingsong said.

Although Gu Xiaoxue and Xu Dabao’s engagement was dissolved under Lord Yao’s intervention, Xu Dabao’s temperament made it likely he would cause trouble for Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue, alone in the village, had no backing. Given that Mr. Gu and Gu Youtian had been willing to use Gu Xiaoxue as a debt repayment to the Xu Family, it was evident her future days would be difficult.

Mrs. Jia raised her head in a panic.

She wanted to object.

She didn’t fancy the Liu Family at all.

Since Xiaoxue and Xu Dabao’s marriage was dissolved, her Xiaoxue could now be married off to a prominent family in the town.

But with Lord Yao present, she dared not speak up.

Lord Yao said, "This matter I cannot decide, it requires Gu Xiaoxue’s consent."

All eyes turned to Gu Xiaoxue in unison.

Tong Huaqiong’s gaze fell on Gu Xiaoxue, also curious about her choice.

From Gu Xiaoxue’s future situation, choosing Liu Qingsong was not a bad choice.

Liu Qingsong was handsome and capable, and importantly, he was willing to risk his life for Gu Xiaoxue.

Liu Tieshan was the village head, even Xu Dabao would hesitate to provoke Gu Xiaoxue in the future.

Many young wives in the village hoped eagerly that Gu Xiaoxue would agree to Liu Qingsong, as this was a village romance unfolding before their eyes. Liu Qingsong was even more courageous than Gu Dashi, who endured a beating from the Liu Family to marry Liu Yueer, while Liu Qingsong was ready to risk his life for Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue stated calmly and emotionlessly, "I do not wish to."

The crowd fell into silence, quickly followed by sighs.

"I do not wish to."

Gu Xiaoxue stood amidst the crowd, her gaze firm.

Having been prompted to vomit, Liu Qingsong resembled a sapling battered by a fierce wind.

"Why doesn’t Xiaoxue want to marry him?"

"Qingsong is excellent, capable, handsome, and sincerely adores Xiaoxue. He would risk his life for her. How loved by her husband would she be if they married?"

"When Xiaoxue refused to marry Xu Dabao, I thought she was smart. But seeing this, she seems not that wise. If she truly were intelligent, how could she refuse Qingsong?"

The crowd shook their heads and sighed as they left the meeting hall.

Liu Qingsong, feeling disheartened, wanted to ask Gu Xiaoxue why she refused, but Mrs. Yi took him away.

Mrs. Yi did not want to marry into the Gu Family’s second branch, but as Gu Xiaoxue publicly rejected her son, she felt that Gu Xiaoxue was ungrateful.

What was wrong with her son, to be rejected publicly?

Just wait and see, she would find a good match for her son.

A match with both better looks and temperament than Gu Xiaoxue, and without any burdensome in-laws.

"Lord Yao, you still haven’t had lunch? Come to my house to eat," Tong Huaqiong said to Lord Yao.

Lord Yao was agreeable to this, smiling and nodding.

Tong Huaqiong looked back to see Gu Xiaoxue standing alone at the meeting hall and waved her over, saying, "Xiaoxue, come to my home to help with the cooking."

Gu Xiaoxue stood there in a daze, and was pulled along by Tong Pandi to follow Tong Huaqiong.

After Yao Lord had eaten, he needed to head to the next village, and didn’t linger long.

"Aunt Tong, I still owe Miss Lian the silver," Lord Yao hesitated before speaking.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, well, I could settle it for you.

Everyone is an adult, why play innocent games? Isn’t it obvious you’ve taken a liking to Lian Hengruo?

Tong Huaqiong remembered Aunt Tang asking her to play matchmaker for Lian Hengruo and directly asked Lord Yao, "Lord Yao, has your family arranged a marriage for you?"

The man with the dark face suddenly turned red.

Lord Yao awkwardly replied, "No marriage has been arranged. Aunt Tong, why did you suddenly bring up marriage?"

Tong Huaqiong wanted to roll her eyes.

Keep pretending. Tong Huaqiong was certain that Lord Yao had his eyes on Lian Hengruo.

Tong Huaqiong stated directly, "What do you think of Miss Lian? If you are interested, I could sound her out for you. Anyway, since you’re in Pingchuan, why don’t you visit the pearl stall and repay the silver while you’re at it? It’s not good to always owe money."

Lord Yao blushed and ran off.