"Do the Gu and Zheng Families have a marriage contract?"
Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and asked Gu Dashi.
"No, they don't," Gu Dashi replied.
Although it's common in this era to marry and have children early, a marriage contract shouldn't be written until the girl comes of age.
As for child brides, those are private "transactions" between families. As long as the girl hasn't come of age, the "marriage" isn't legally binding, and the parents can reclaim her at any time.
Without a marriage contract, it's easier to handle.
"When both families talked about the marriage, they didn't specify Man Er had to go to the Zheng Family, right?" Tong Huaqiong asked again.
"Mother, did you forget?"
Gu Dashi glanced at his sister, Gu Taohua, who was crouched down scrubbing clothes, and said, "You were worried Zheng Family might dislike Man Er for being just a little girl, so you vaguely told the matchmaker it's a daughter from the Gu Family without specifying who. You thought that once Man Er marries into the family, even if Zheng Family wasn't satisfied, they'd have no choice but to accept it."
Tong Huaqiong's eyes sparkled with laughter.
To be honest, Tong Dajiao was quite thorough for the sake of silver.
Gu Dashi glanced at Gu Taohua again, delight in his eyes, and asked, "Mother, if you're not letting Man Er go, are you going to send Taohua instead?"
It didn't matter to Gu Dashi whether Man Er or Taohua went.
As long as he could become the shopkeeper at Zheng's shop and enjoy a good life, he'd be content.
Sending Taohua might even be better than sending his niece.
The Eldest Young Master Zheng didn't have long to live; once Taohua entered the house, she'd be a widow. Zheng Family would certainly have to provide her a son. Then, he'd persuade her to adopt Yaozu to inherit Zheng Family's vast estate.
A son? He and Liu Yueer could have more.
"Gu Dashi, you despicable, vile person, born with a scheming heart. You want to send me to Zheng Family? Why not send your wife? She'd be perfect; the Eldest Young Master Zheng would have a son ready to mourn him." Gu Taohua heard Gu Dashi's intention of targeting her and threw down the shirt she was holding, putting her hands on her hips and cursing.
"I'm not going; I don't want to be a widow. Mother, think about it, you're already a widow. Can you bear to make me one too? You've at least experienced having a husband; I haven't even tasted that yet."
Gu Taohua whined to Tong Huaqiong, her cheeks wobbling.
Tong Huaqiong's face turned dark.
She almost made up her mind to send Gu Taohua to Zheng Family; after all, the chubby daughter was a waste of food.
But even though Gu Taohua was a bit chubby and sly, she was very devoted to her mother.
Moreover, her weight and slyness were nurtured by Tong Dajiao. Now that she had taken over Tong Dajiao's role, she had an obligation to set Taohua on the right path, especially as she couldn't bear to send a girl not yet fourteen to become a widow.
"Taohua, you eat six steamed buns and two bowls of rice at a meal. What family can afford to raise you? Here in the village, girls are sought after by age eleven or twelve, and you're nearly fourteen with no suitors. Matchmakers avoid you; what good family can you marry into? At Zheng Family, you'd be eating well; who cares if you're a widow? Big fish and meat are better than a man." Gu Dashi said.
"Shameless creature, today I'll make your second sister-in-law a widow."
With a bang, Gu Taohua poured a basin of laundry water over Gu Dashi's head and picked up a firewood stick to attack him.
Gu Dashi turned and grabbed the stick, wrestling with Gu Taohua.
Although Gu Dashi was a grown man, he couldn't withstand Taohua's hefty physique, and soon he was pinned beneath her.
Tong Huaqiong watched coldly as Gu Dashi was crushed by Taohua, unmoved by his cries.
He dared to scheme against his niece and sister.
Gu Dashi deserved a beating.
"Taohua, I won't let you go to Zheng Family," Tong Huaqiong said.
Sitting on top of Gu Dashi, Taohua suddenly began to cry.
After all, she's just a fourteen-year-old girl, and she was truly tired of her mother's cold shoulder and harsh looks over the past three days.
Her mother's words reassured her.
Her mother was still biased towards her.
"Taohua, you're a girl, and your niece is a girl too. If you don't want to go to Zheng Family, why should Man Er go?" Tong Huaqiong took the chance to educate her chubby daughter.
Gu Taohua opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.
She had never thought about this question.
Gu Dashi flailed his hands helplessly from being pinned down.
Tong Huaqiong didn't want any trouble with funerals, so she told Taohua to get up.
"Dashi, if you try anything with Man Er or your niece again, it won't be Taohua crushing you; I'll beat you to death myself," Tong Huaqiong said, hefting the firewood stick beside her.
Gu Dashi nodded quickly, clutching his ribs as if he'd narrowly escaped a calamity.
"Dashi, go to the town's private school and bring Gu Jingzhe home. This issue with Zheng Family started with him; he has to come back to discuss it."
Gu Dashi replied painfully, "No need to call, Third Brother is on leave tomorrow."
"Go even so, and have Gu Jingzhe bring back Zheng Family's silver," Tong Huaqiong said sternly.
The two hundred taels from Zheng Family were with Gu Jingzhe.
Gu Jingzhe must return the silver!
Then she could be confident in resolving the matter with Zheng Family.
Gu Jingzhe returned home in the dark.
This was the same man who would become a high-ranking official but commit so many deeds that led to the family's downfall and seizure. He was the worst bamboo of Gu Family.
Tong Huaqiong saw Gu Jingzhe enter, subconsciously gripping the firewood stick.
"Mother, how are you? Second Brother said you were knocked out by Sister-in-law for three days, and it scared me terribly."
Gu Jingzhe carried medicine and pastries and, upon entering, cried while leaning on Tong Huaqiong's legs.
His expression, his cries, seemed genuine.
"Sister-in-law dares to bully you. I'll have Brother divorce her."
Gu Jingzhe stood up, ready to confront Chen Sufen, but Tong Huaqiong slapped him across the face.
No matter how filial this bad bamboo was, she couldn't tolerate him plotting to sell his sister and niece for his own gain.
He needed a lesson right away.
Gu Jingzhe covered his face, shocked.
He was the golden child of Gu Family, and ever since he passed the child student exam, he strutted around Gu Family.
Yet his own mother struck him?
Apparently, what Second Brother said about his mother's changed personality was true.
"Did you learn nothing from reading? Do you understand 'Elder sister-in-law is like a mother?' If you divorce your sister-in-law, it's like divorcing your mother!" Tong Huaqiong heaved with anger.
"Where's Zheng Family's silver?" Tong Huaqiong asked, stretching out her hand.
Gu Jingzhe usually obeyed his widow mother. With Second Brother's message to bring the silver home, he didn't dare disobey.
"Here it is."
Gu Jingzhe felt his face burning, and handed over the silver package begrudgingly.
"Why is there fifty taels missing?"
Tong Huaqiong counted and looked up.
"I paid the first year tuition at Wanliu Academy."
Mentioning Wanliu Academy made Gu Jingzhe's voice rise; the teacher at Wanliu Academy examined his knowledge and was pleased.
He was about to attend Wanliu Academy in ten days, but now felt a bit anxious upon learning from Second Brother that the family intended to break off the engagement with Zheng Family.
If Man Er didn't go to Zheng Family, would he still be able to attend Wanliu Academy?
"Could you ask for it back?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
Gu Jingzhe was taken aback; his mother wasn't planning to let him attend Wanliu Academy.
How could that be?
He had planned for so long; he couldn't let anything disrupt his plans.
The scholarly administrator saw his exam paper and said he had potential; he intended to become a high-ranking official through the imperial exam, and couldn't be buried in that town's private school.
The town's private school had produced only one scholar over the years; how did it compare to Wanliu Academy?
"Mother, I'm the hope of the family. I swear I'll become a high official and earn you the title of a noblewoman. How can I make a name for myself at the town's private school? I must attend Wanliu Academy," Gu Jingzhe said urgently.
"Give it a rest; you can't even be a proper person, yet you want to become a high official? You wish! With your heartless seed, scheming against your sister and niece, how would you have a good future? I won't let you attend Wanliu Academy, and there's no need for you to study anymore. From now on, stay home and farm."
With his current temperament, this bad bamboo could grow into a locust plague, possibly even causing her trouble.
Better to cut off his path to study!