Tong Huaqiong and Gu Xiaoxue, along with Aunt Qin and Liu Qiaoyun, returned to Qinghe Bay, only to find that Gu Dahuan and Gu Fengnian had been called to the Gu Family’s old house by Mr. Gu.
"Why are you going to the old house?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
"They said Aunt is back and we need to go over." Gu Dahuan replied.
"Aunt, what’s the big deal? If little Aunt wants to come, she can just come. Why do we nephews have to go? I really don’t want to talk to that little Uncle at all," Gu Fengnian complained. "It really delays work. Grandpa had Brother Dahu come and urge us three times. If we don’t go, he’ll keep pestering us, and we won’t be able to work."
Gu Dahuan and Gu Fengnian really didn’t want to go. So what if Aunt is back? Why do they have to accompany her? They really didn’t want to drink with that little Uncle, whose words were even sourer than pickled vegetables marinated for over ten years.
No wonder he failed the imperial exam three times.
Tong Huaqiong said, "Go, I’ll go and see too."
Tong Huaqiong didn’t think it was as simple as Gu Dahuan and Gu Fengnian thought, with Gu Honglian just coming back home.
Given the troublesome antics of the three big bullies in the Fan Family, Gu Honglian probably suffered greatly and came back for help, with the old Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu seeking Gu Dahuan and Gu Fengnian as reinforcements.
However, if it really was as she thought, Gu Dahuan and Gu Fengnian likely wouldn’t be useful as reinforcements.
Tong Huaqiong decided to go along to see what was truly going on.
Because of the matter of forming a border trade caravan, Gu Baishuang happened to be in Qinghe Bay during this time. Seeing Tong Huaqiong heading to the old house, she pulled Mrs. Wei along to go with them.
Tong Huaqiong originally had the mindset of a bystander, but upon entering the room of Mrs. Gu and seeing Gu Honglian’s condition, she was taken aback.
Gu Honglian had been married for just over a month, and she was already much thinner.
Gu Honglian, looking black and thin, sat beside Mrs. Gu, and for a moment, Tong Huaqiong didn’t recognize her. Once she realized it was her, she thought Gu Honglian had just returned from laboring in a coal mine.
Mrs. Gu was holding Gu Honglian, sobbing.
Mrs. Jia, seeing Tong Huaqiong come in, put away her gloating expression, while Wu Na was cracking melon seeds, maintaining a bystander attitude.
Gu Honglian’s eyes were red and swollen from crying. Seeing people enter, she turned her head towards Tong Huaqiong and the others, looking blank and without any spirit.
Upon careful inspection, Tong Huaqiong noticed Gu Honglian’s cheeks were swollen an inch high, with several scratch marks on her neck.
Tong Huaqiong gasped.
Was this the doing of the three big bullies from the Fan Family, or was it Fan Tong?
If it were the latter, Tong Huaqiong, even though not fond of Gu Honglian, would call Fan Tong a scoundrel.
Any man who commits domestic violence should be damned, no matter the time period.
In the previous life, Fan Tong didn’t reveal his abusive nature, partly because he couldn’t beat Gu Taohua, and feared Jingzhe and Tong Huaqiong.
In this life, being Gu Honglian’s husband might be different.
"What’s wrong with little Aunt? Who hit her?" Gu Baishuang asked.
Gu Baishuang also didn’t like Gu Honglian.
But as a daughter of the Gu Family, seeing little Aunt beaten, she wasn’t pleased.
Mrs. Gu cried and said, "Who hit her? Her neck was scratched by her sister-in-law, and her face was hit by Fan Tong."
Tong Huaqiong thought, Fan Tong really is a scoundrel.
"Why did they hit little Aunt?"
Gu Baishuang got angry. Even if Fan Tong was sly, how could he hit people?
"Why else, little Aunt has such a bad temper, tolerated at her maiden home, but not at her husband’s home. A subdued wife is like kneaded dough, that’s what my grandma said to Rui Nian when he was asked to hit me right after our marriage, and now it’s realized on little Aunt." Wu Na sneered coldly.
Mrs. Gu exploded at Wu Na: "You talk too much."
Wu Na pouted.
Just after getting married, when Gu Ruinian was incited to lay hands on her, if she hadn’t brandished a knife recklessly and scared Gu Ruinian out of his wits, Gu Honglian’s present would have been her past.
"What actually happened?" Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Honglian.
Seeing Tong Huaqiong, Gu Honglian felt even more aggrieved.
Mrs. Gu glanced at Tong Huaqiong, unsure if she came to laugh at them or to sincerely show concern.
"Sister-in-law, the Fan Family bullied me..."
Gu Honglian started crying as she spoke.
Fan Tong’s mother never really fancied Gu Honglian.
She agreed to the marriage because of the resources and support Jingzhe and Tong Huaqiong could provide.
They assumed Gu Honglian would bring a large dowry. To their surprise, the apparent dowry consisted only of bedding, a washbasin, a chamber pot, and a mirror.
The eldest sister-in-law of the Fan Family didn’t believe Gu Honglian had only these. She forced Gu Honglian to hand over money and land deeds.
The silver that Jingzhe and Gu Baishuang gave was clutched tightly by Gu Honglian, who didn’t reveal she had money, nor did she have land deeds. She said there was no dowry when asked.
Fan’s grandmother and the eldest sister-in-law, not getting any money, began to show their displeasure towards Gu Honglian, with their mouths as if dipped in poison. Later, they found different ways to torment her.
When Fan’s grandmother chilled herself by waking up in the night, she demanded that Gu Honglian lay a floor bed by her bed to serve her. Gu Honglian served for three days, with the daytime farm work wearing her down until she fell sick.
This caused an uproar. Fan’s grandmother cried about her bad fortune, refused to get medical treatment for Gu Honglian and accused the scholar son’s wife of being unfilial.
Gu Honglian argued back a bit, which made Fan’s grandmother faint on the spot.
Upon hearing the news, the eldest sister-in-law ran over to the Fan Family and scolded Gu Honglian severely, leaving her with grievances unspoken.
Every day, Gu Honglian would cry to Fan Tong, hoping that they could split from the family and move to the town for a better life since Fan Tong studied in a private school there.
Fan Tong refused, claiming Gu Honglian was unfilial and didn’t want to serve her mother-in-law; she just wanted to enjoy a comfortable life in town.
The eldest sister-in-law and Fan Tong shared a common enemy view, saying which wife doesn’t serve her mother-in-law, but instead wants to live with her husband who’s reading books, Gu Honglian’s actions were simply rebellious.
Gu Honglian was infuriated and argued back with Fan’s eldest sister-in-law, saying her own nephew was heading to Sheng Jing for the imperial exam, and her sister-in-law let the wife go together, so why couldn’t she and Fan Tong live in town.
As soon as she said this, Fan’s eldest sister-in-law asked how much dowry Gu Honglian had brought. If she brought a large dowry like Lu Zhaozhao, Fan’s family would treat her like a noble lady too.
Fan’s grandmother then verbally abused Gu Honglian as a wanton woman who couldn’t live without a man, at a level of vulgarity surpassing Mrs. Gu by a whole eighteen degrees.
Even Fan Tong was dissatisfied with Gu Honglian’s suggestion. He married her for her family’s wealth; since she had none, her role was to serve her mother-in-law and handle the heavy work while also bearing and raising children.
How could she deserve to live with him in town?
He still hoped to get a position after passing the imperial exam, to take a concubine to improve his status, using Jingzhe and Tong Huaqiong’s influence to secure Gu Honglian as the legitimate wife, strengthening his family’s hold.
He thought Gu Honglian wasn’t virtuous at all, unfilial to her mother-in-law, disrespectful to her sisters-in-law and lacked concern for him as her husband; always ranting about the troubles at the Fan house whenever she saw him, as if he were there to solve family disputes.
Fan Tong was deeply disappointed in Gu Honglian, and he expressed this disappointment clearly, making Gu Honglian feel neglected in the following days.
Unwelcomed by the mother-in-law, frequently troubled by her sisters-in-law and the eldest sister, ignored by her husband, Gu Honglian’s life was sheer torment like being in oil.
The situation escalated to family violence just a day ago.