The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 18: To Sever the Lineage

Just as Liu Yueer returned from Moon Bay to the entrance of Qinghe Bay Village, she met Matchmaker Wang.

Liu Yueer’s elder sister married into Moon Bay, which is next to Qinghe Bay.

Moon Bay has always been wealthier than Qinghe Bay, and Liu Yueer’s elder sister’s family lives quite comfortably.

Liu Yueer held Yaozu’s hand, criticizing her mother-in-law’s malicious intentions while asking her sister for money.

"If you were asking for three or five taels, I might find a way. But fifty taels is really out of reach. You know your nephew is getting engaged these days. He’s a bit rough in appearance, so we need more silver to make up for it, so the girls can take an interest."

"If you wait a little while, once your nephew’s marriage is settled, I can secretly raise fifty taels for you without your brother-in-law knowing."

These words left Liu Yueer speechless.

Her sister sure knew how to talk, asking her to wait awhile.

Doesn’t she realize that her son cannot afford to wait?

After all, it’s not the flesh from her own body, so she wouldn’t care as much.

If it were under normal circumstances, Liu Yueer’s fiery temper would have her snapping at her sister, but now, needing her assistance, she had no will to bicker.

"Why don’t you borrow a bit from our parents or maybe go to your sister-in-law’s place in town and ask for a trifle?" Sister Liu suggested to Liu Yueer.

Liu Yueer also wanted to borrow from her parents, but they weren’t well-off, and her parents and sister-in-law have always had a grudge against her.

She truly didn’t want to ask her family for money.

Back when they forced her to marry Gu Dashu, her parents were so angry that they nearly severed ties with her. Even though they live in the same village, she hardly dares to borrow anything from them.

As for her sister-in-law, there’s no need to mention it. Her mother-in-law and husband have a grudge against her sister-in-law, and given how they treat her family, even if she knelt at her sister-in-law’s door begging for forgiveness, her sister-in-law wouldn’t even twitch an eyelid.

Liu Yueer didn’t even know that her husband, Gu Dashu, had already gone off carrying a cane to apologize to Gu Baishuang.

"Alright, elder sister, if you can’t lend the money, then forget it. None of your suggestions are reliable. I suggest your nephew stop thinking about marriage and use the silver to treat those acne scars on his face first."

Liu Yueer held back as much as she could, but her words still hit hard like a punch.

After speaking, she was about to drag Yaozu back to Qinghe Bay, knowing that her sister, who’d known her sharp tongue since childhood, wouldn’t take offense at her harsh words.

Thinking about how her nephew was soon to be sent off as a servant as collateral, she felt some pity and rushed into the house to pack a few jin of red dates, a dozen steamed buns, and a roast chicken into a sack, chasing after and catching up with Liu Yueer and her son.

Liu Yueer didn’t stand on ceremony and took the offerings before leaving.

She planned to go back and create a scene with Gu Dashu, questioning what kind of man he is to let their son be taken away in front of his eyes.

Gu Dashu would have to steal or rob; she would force him to get those fifty taels.

And her brother-in-law, too—he went to town to borrow money from the private school; she didn’t know if he had succeeded. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t let him off the hook, either.

Liu Yueer alternated between cursing her mother-in-law as a malicious, perverse widow and accusing Gu Dashu of doing nothing and earning no money, while her brother-in-law was described as a heartless scoundrel and a curse to the family...

The distance between Qinghe Bay and Moon Bay wasn’t far, and crossing just two ditches, Liu Yueer had made her way back from Moon Bay to Qinghe Bay.

Matchmaker Wang, who had just left the Chen Family, perked up upon seeing Liu Yueer.

After the commotion caused by Tong Huaqiong at the Zheng Family, Matchmaker Wang had been busy for days without receiving any matchmaking fee and even got a scolding from Zheng Junren. Thus, encountering Widow Tong’s daughter-in-law, it was as if enemies were meeting, their eyes turning red with anger.

She glanced at Yaozu’s crotch with a sarcastic tone and said, "Second daughter-in-law of the Gu Family, in three days, that son of yours is set to enjoy the good food and drink in the palace. Maybe, in the future, he might catch the eye of some noble, and even as a eunuch, he could earn you noble title."

With that, she chuckled twice.

Liu Yueer’s mind couldn’t process the situation.

To go to the palace, a eunuch, what could this mean?

Seeing Liu Yueer’s wooden reaction, Matchmaker Wang’s words became more straightforward.

"The Shengjing Palace is selecting palace maids and inner attendants from various places. Housekeeper He has connections with the local specialist that perform the procedure; he plans to have your son operated on and sent into the palace."

Hearing such earth-shattering news, Liu Yueer’s mind buzzed as if it had been flattened.

"You should be happy. Isn’t this sending your son a good opportunity? It’s like your Gu Family’s ancestors have ascended to heaven; look, who else in Qinghe Bay has the luck like your Yaozu to go to Shengjing. You should hurry back to your wretched mother-in-law and share the good news..."

"Oh my, are you scared? I say to you, second daughter-in-law of the Gu Family, try to think of it positively. It’s a good thing. You may give up this son, but you are young, and you won’t lack for new sons in the future."

After adding a few more stinging remarks, Matchmaker Wang, satisfied with the sight of Liu Yueer’s ashen face, dusted her hips and hummed a tune as she climbed into the carriage.

Liu Yueer let out a wail and, grabbing Yaozu’s hand, ran towards her family home.

Now there was no time for anything else; she had to go ask her family for money to save her son.

Yaozu, being quite young, didn’t understand what going to the palace or being a eunuch meant. While still clutching the chicken leg his aunt had given him and eating, he was swept along by his mother to his grandparents’ home.

"Dad, Mom, please save Yaozu."

"If you don’t save him, Yaozu will have his roots cut and be turned into a eunuch."

...

"Yue Er, get up and speak clearly."

Liu Yueer’s mother, Mrs. Zhao, helped her up.

This daughter of hers who was always out of sorts, speaking in such a mess was practically headache-inducing.

After calming herself, Liu Yueer explained that Gu Jingzhe wanted to study and curry favor with the Zheng Family, planning to use the eldest son’s Man Er to bless the Eldest Young Master Zheng, and how all these events led to her son being caught up in trouble, detailing each point one by one.

Liu Yueer’s father, Liu Tiechui, sat with a dark expression. His daughter had opened her mouth asking for fifty taels of silver. Was there no end to her unrealistic expectations!

Although the Liu Family had saved a little over the years, they only had a bit more than ten taels, which was meant for the grandchildren to eventually marry.

Mrs. Zhao gave her grandson Yaozu a complicated look, mentally cursing the Gu Family, especially the in-laws Tong Dajiao, up and down.

Tong Dajiao was notoriously malicious, and the children she raised weren’t any better.

Especially this Gu Jingzhe, who even as a student of literature seemed to have his education go straight to the dogs—a person like this progressing in study would only harbor ill against the common folk.

Back then, the Old Liu Family had opposed Liu Yueer’s marriage to Gu Dashu, but her headstrong daughter refused to listen and seemed to be under some spell to marry Gu Dashu.

In truth, the Old Liu Family was full of reasonable people; it was just this daughter who was unreasonable from a young age.

Ever since she married into the Gu Family, it was as if she was a turtle climbing into its shell; she and Tong Dajiao became birds of a feather. She acted no better, joining in with bullying her own family.

"I can’t believe this of her. It’s not like her to even offer Taohua or Man Er to the Zheng Family, yet she sacrifices my child for money." Liu Yueer cried and scolded, "It must have been Chen Sufen’s doing, bewitching my mother-in-law."

Mrs. Zhao wanted to knock sense into her daughter’s dizzy head.

Despite the fact that Mrs. Zhao understands the serious rights and wrongs, she also feels sorry for Yaozu. She couldn’t understand what Tong Dajiao was up to, resorting to having a grandson used to settle debts.

Widow Tong was becoming more and more malicious; now she didn’t care about sending away her own grandchild as collateral.

"Dad, Mom, I’m begging you to save Yaozu." Liu Yueer pleaded, fat tears splashing down.

Liu Tiechui’s face was sour; back when Liu Yueer married Gu Dashu, he stated outright that he didn’t want to have Tong Dajiao, such a vile person, as an in-law, nor to consider Gu Dashu his son-in-law, but now could he really just watch as his grandson was taken away without a word?

"But let me tell you this in advance, our family doesn’t have that much money. I only have seventeen taels, and at most I can give you ten. You’ll have to figure out where to find the rest. That scoundrel Gu Dashu needs to level up his ability to support his own child."

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