Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 855 - 436: Who Deceived Whom

Second update, seeking support.

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"Tuh!" Lady Zhou, upon hearing Lady Gu speak like that, propped herself up with her hands on the bedstead and lurched forward, spitting a glob of thick phlegm right onto Lady Gu’s face.

The accuracy and force of her spit were something the average person could never achieve. Lian Manman, standing by, saw this and quickly pulled Lady Zhang back a few steps.

Lady Gu, while wiping her face with a handkerchief, retched twice, clearly disgusted beyond measure. Yet she remained kneeling there, head lowered so that no one could see the cold, gloomy light in her eyes.

"Nonsense! You have the gall to talk about being wronged!" Even though her son has become the County Magistrate and she herself has been addressed as the old matriarch by everyone, Lady Zhou’s harsh, direct, and crude manner of cursing didn’t change as she began to rant. "This whole affair with Xiuxiu, wasn’t it orchestrated entirely by you? You heartless, vile woman, you’ve married my Xiuxiu off to some dirt-covered, old coffin filler! You malicious, wretched star of calamity, you’ll die without a soul to bury you!"

Lady Zhou’s tirade aimed at Lady Gu caused both Lian Manman and Lady Zhang standing nearby to turn pale.

Lady Zhou’s words were too vicious, too venomous.

Fortunately, the courtyard was filled with members of the Lian Family at the time. Had there been outsiders, Lady Zhou’s outburst could have instantly made her notorious throughout Taicang County. And Lady Gu, the County Magistrate’s wife, had her reputation ruthlessly shredded by Lady Zhou. Moreover, Lady Zhou didn’t stop there; she even dragged Third Old Master Zheng into it.

"Dirt-covered neck, old coffin filler"—had the people of the Zheng Family overheard this, the two families could have turned from in-laws to enemies in an instant. Even if Third Old Master Zheng, out of face for his newly wedded young wife, decided to let this incident slide, would the Zheng Family, given their local influence, and Third Old Master Zheng’s sons be content with their father being insulted like this? Not to mention the other clan members, who surely wouldn’t just laugh it off.

Thus, Lian Shouren and Lady Gu indeed had foresight, as was clear from how strategically distant they arranged the banquet for the Zheng Family. This also further confirmed something else.

All this, Lian Shouren and Lady Gu had known all along, not as Lady Gu had previously claimed, with feigned disbelief and shock. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Old matriarch, I wouldn’t dare speak carelessly. With Great Grandfather here, our aunt by marriage here, the wife of the second son and the wife of Old Fourth also present, as soon as we arrived in Taicang County, you’ve been in charge of this estate. I’m merely your runner, doing whatever you tell me to do." Lady Gu cleaned her face and then began to defend herself.

"This arranged marriage for Xiuxiu was settled with your direct consent. Back then, I even suggested we should think it over, as the match felt hasty. We’d just arrived in Taicang, there’s still a long road ahead, what if we could find a better match for Xiuxiu? But you," Lady Gu glanced at Old Master Lian, "and Great Grandfather too said, ’Xiuxiu’s getting older, why be picky? This match is quite satisfactory.’"

"I did everything regarding Xiuxiu’s wedding as you commanded. You spoke, I ran. These past days, I haven’t even had a good night’s sleep, exhausted and aching all over. But I never complained to anyone. For Xiuxiu, for you, I was willing." Lady Gu spoke and began to sob pitifully.

"Don’t you try to bewitch me with your sweet talk, I know you well enough!" Lady Zhou’s face remained stern, showing no sign of being swayed by Lady Gu. "Which marriage did I agree to that wasn’t arranged nicely by you all? If you didn’t agree then, I couldn’t have. I’m asking you, it was clearly supposed to be Young Master Zheng, how did it end up being Old Man Zheng? What happened there? It’s your doing."

With that statement, Lady Zhou laid the blame squarely on Lady Gu.

"Old matriarch, how could I possibly know about this?" Lady Gu protested vehemently, "Day in, day out, I’ve been just like you, not stepping outside the main door, not crossing the Second Gate, always by your side. Clumsy and simple-minded as I am, I couldn’t even match one of your fingers. If you didn’t know about it, I’d be all the less likely to."

"What exactly happened, then?" Lady Gu feigned confusion, "That day when we sent Xiuxiu to the Zheng’s, we stayed with her for half the day. You, the aunt by marriage, and I were all there, and things seemed well. Moreover, didn’t you and the aunt by marriage also say it was all good? What exactly happened then?"

In this manner, Lady Gu seemed to absolve herself from blame.

In this household, Lady Zhou was in charge. Just like Lady Zhou, Lady Gu had always been in this courtyard, even on the day Lian Xiuxiu got married, under the watchful eyes of Lady Zhou. Therefore, if Lady Zhou missed something, it was natural for Lady Gu to miss it as well. If Lady Zhou wanted to blame Lady Gu, then she should perhaps first blame herself.