Gu Honglian sat in the room, her face thickly powdered by the wedding maid.
Since she had a dark complexion, the thick layer of powder on her face made her smile look somewhat eerie.
"Sister-in-law." Gu Honglian obediently called her sister-in-law, smiling happily.
"You’re getting married. Once you’re in the Fan Family, don’t act willfully. Live well and be more mindful." Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Honglian with a few words of advice.
Because it was Gu Honglian’s big day, Tong Huaqiong was unusually gentle with her.
Gu Honglian, feeling flattered, nodded and said, "I understand."
Old Mrs. Gu wiped her tears at the side.
She was truly reluctant to see her youngest daughter get married.
"The groom is here."
The children, led by Man Er, shouted as they scampered into the room to deliver the news.
The wedding maid placed the veil over Gu Honglian’s head.
Everyone crowded at the doorway to see the groom, Fan Tong, dressed in a groom’s outfit.
Some young men in the clan, giving face to his status as a scholar, didn’t trouble him much, and soon allowed the groom and his party into the house.
A woman with high cheekbones entered and immediately scanned the room with her eyes. Seeing the boxes behind Honglian, she curled her lips and said, "Wasn’t it said that the bride’s sister-in-law had a fortune? How come there’s only so little dowry."
The one speaking was Fan Tong’s sister-in-law, who came along for the wedding, looking like someone who would cause trouble.
Gu Honglian didn’t have much dowry, just three chests.
They only contained ordinary materials like shoes and socks, and household items such as basins and chamber pots.
Old Mrs. Gu and Mr. Gu wanted to prepare more for her, but they lacked the silver to do so.
The gold ornaments given by Tong Huaqiong, Chen Sufen, and Gu Taohua were all kept in a small box close to Gu Honglian, the silver exchanged for silver notes hidden in her wedding dress.
These were her savings, which she wouldn’t use easily.
The woman continued to roll her eyes and sighed, clearly causing trouble at the bride’s home, making it obvious she was trying to embarrass the Gu Family.
Gu Baishuang couldn’t help but say, "What does a fortune have to do with you? We didn’t know a sister-in-law could eye a sister-in-law’s dowry. Is the Fan Family so poor that they rely on a sister-in-law marrying in to relieve poverty?"
Her words made the Gu Family wives glare angrily at Fan Tong’s sister-in-law, and a few outspoken wives already started to scold.
It wasn’t because they liked Gu Honglian, nor were they supporting her, but because they were one family. Gu Honglian, as a Gu Family girl, being bullied at her parents’ home by in-laws on her wedding day—if they didn’t fight back, outsiders might think Gu Family girls were easy to bully.
Fan Family’s sister-in-law was left speechless, thinking this was her sister-in-law’s home ground, and she obviously couldn’t argue.
However, once her sister-in-law was married into their family, she would have her ways to deal with her.
The eldest sister-in-law acts as a mother, and Fan Tong was someone she watched grow up, practically like half a son to her.
She had thought Gu Honglian would bring a large dowry into the Fan Family, and she was ready to enjoy herself. But Fan Tong had found out that the dowry had been reduced a few days prior, and she couldn’t accept it—so she planned to embarrass Gu Honglian during the welcoming ceremony.
But the Gu Family wasn’t easy to provoke.
"My sister-in-law has a straightforward personality, please don’t mind," Fan Tong felt dissatisfied seeing so many people ganging up on his sister-in-law, feeling that the Gu Family was bullying them. Seeing Tong Huaqiong present, he had no choice but to apologize to everyone.
"If having a malicious heart and an unrestrained mouth are covered up by being straightforward, dear brother-in-law, today you wouldn’t even be able to leave this door," joked Mrs. Wei, covering her mouth.
Gu Honglian’s eyes moved slightly under the veil.
She had heard of Fan Tong’s sister-in-law but never interacted with her.
According to Fan Tong, his sister-in-law couldn’t be better—cheerful and well-tempered, treating him better than her own son. But now she seemed harder to deal with than Old Mrs. Fan.
She had met Old Mrs. Fan, who was also a difficult person to deal with.
Aside from Fan Tong’s sister-in-law and Old Mrs. Fan, Fan Tong also had three other sisters, which meant she would have five mothers-in-law in the future.
The thought alone gave her a headache.
She optimistically thought it’d be better when they lived separately.
Separate homes would mean living life behind closed doors with Fan Tong, and it wouldn’t matter as long as the mothers-in-law could save face.
"Alright, alright, don’t delay the auspicious hour," Old Mrs. Gu came out to mediate.
She was displeased with Fan Tong’s sister-in-law’s rude remarks. Had it been any ordinary day, she would’ve shouted her down, but on her daughter’s big day, she didn’t want any trouble that might delay the auspicious hour.
She was also worried that if she enjoyed scolding too much and incurred Fan Family’s wrath, her daughter might be bullied in her husband’s home.
With the auspicious hour announced, Gu Honglian, clad in her red shoes and covered by her veil, stepped out.
After Gu Honglian was put into the sedan chair, Old Mrs. Gu’s tears did not stop flowing, and Mr. Gu felt terrible.
At the wedding feast, when the guests talked about Gu Honglian’s marriage, they enquired about Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua’s marriages under the guise of concern.
Tong Huaqiong was fed up.
Luckily, Gu Taohua had gone to Shengjing. In this era, being unmarried at her age in Qinghe Bay was indeed unusual.
Three days later, Gu Honglian returned to visit.
Her eyes were red as if she had cried.
Obviously, she had suffered at her husband’s home.
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Gu’s heart ached intensely.
Fan Tong, looking awkward, was called over by Mr. Gu.
Oddly, the hearts of Mrs. Jia and Wu Na, her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, lifted. Gu Honglian had been doted on in the old Gu Family residence—any good thing, Old Mrs. Gu thought of her first. Her words were often sharp and biting—it was fitting she’d get bullied in her husband’s home.
"Honglian, what happened? Did Fan Tong bully you?" Old Mrs. Gu pulled Gu Honglian into the room to inquire.
Gu Honglian just lowered her head, only focused on wiping her tears.
"Speak up, was it the old shrew or Fan Family’s sister-in-law bullying you?"
Old Mrs. Gu instinctively felt Fan Tong wouldn’t blatantly bully Gu Honglian.
After all, Fan Tong still hoped to achieve great success with Gu Jingzhe’s help.
Gu Honglian let out a whimper and started crying.
Old Mrs. Gu guessed correctly, that Old Mrs. Fan, along with Fan Family’s sister-in-law and eldest sister-in-law, bullied Gu Honglian.
Yet their bullying left Gu Honglian speechless.
Under Old Mrs. Gu’s pressing questions, Gu Honglian hesitantly confessed.
On the night she married into the Fan Family, while expressing mutual feelings with Fan Tong, Fan Family’s sister-in-law suddenly clutched her chest and wailed like someone about to die, forcing Fan Tong to leave and make decisions.
Calling a doctor, asking about the condition caused a fuss late into the night, leaving Gu Honglian alone in the bridal chamber.
Fan Tong didn’t return until early morning, leaving Gu Honglian quietly in tears, finally falling asleep drowsily at the call of the rooster.
By the time she awoke, the sun was already high.
Remembering to serve tea to her mother-in-law, Gu Honglian rushed to get ready and went to offer her mother-in-law tea.
Her mother-in-law, seeing her red crying eyes, publicly reprimanded Gu Honglian for not being virtuous and clinging to a man in front of sister-in-laws from the clan, which made Gu Honglian so aggrieved she cried on the spot.
Before Old Mrs. Fan could react, Fan Family’s sister-in-law started crying dramatically.
Covering her chest, she cried as if her life depended on it.
She lamented how, though she had treated Fan Tong like a son all these years in the Fan Family, their long-awaited opportunity to marry Fan Tong off was spoiled by her fragile health, causing Fan Tong to briefly neglect his new wife and making her unhappy.
She insisted it was her bodily weakness that had led her mother-in-law to endure grievances as well.
Though claiming to take the blame upon herself, she implicitly accused Gu Honglian of being heartless, more concerned with keeping Fan Tong to herself while being indifferent to her sister-in-law’s illness, directly labeling her as unfilial.
Though scheming existed within the Gu Family, Gu Honglian, as a girl, never needed to deeply involve herself because Old Mrs. Gu protected her.
Gu Honglian, having no outlet for her grievances, ended up spilling the tea, disgusted by Fan Family’s sister-in-law at the scene.