After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 622 Night Talk
Ma saw with her own eyes that her eldest sister, Zhou Ma, married into the third branch of the Zhou family, a good family, and met Madam Ma, a stepmother-in-law who was well-known for her "kindness and gentleness". From then on, she was oppressed by her and had no good days. No matter what she did, she was regarded as a vicious stepmother. She didn't know how many years she had been schemed against by her stepmother-in-law, and it was only this year that she finally got rid of it.

Although Tu Rong's eldest son was married for the first time rather than as a second wife, since he had an extraordinary stepmother, who could guarantee that the wife he would marry in the future would not suffer the same fate as Zhou Ma?
Even the Zhou family, a family with a good reputation, would have such a vicious stepmother-in-law. How much better could the Tu family in the capital be?

When Ma thought of the possible risks of this marriage, no matter how good the conditions of Tu Rong's eldest son were, she could not be tempted. Even though Ma Shangyi repeatedly said that she knew Mrs. Tu Rong and knew that she was not a vicious person like Madam Ma, Ma did not dare to believe it. There are naturally kind-hearted stepmothers in the world, but the relationship between a stepmother and the son of the first wife can never be as close as that between mother and son.

The relationship between a stepmother and her stepchild is so complicated that if the two sides are not harmonious, there must be something wrong with one of them.

Her biological mother was kindhearted, but ever since she married into the Ma family, she had been ostracized by her brothers and sisters, who were naturally petty. When her mother died, her brothers and sisters also regretted it.

The stepmother and son of the third branch of the Zhou family were originally very harmonious, but suddenly a rift arose. Naturally, it was because Old Madam Ma was too calculating and was willing to trap Zhou Shigong to death for her own selfish reasons, disregarding the reputation and interests of the entire Zhou family.

The same is true for the stepmother and son of the Tu family. If Tu Rong's eldest son is a good child, then his bad reputation is intentional by his stepmother, and Mrs. Tu is not an easy person to deal with; if Mrs. Tu is really a virtuous woman and has no bad intentions towards her stepson, and his bad reputation is what he deserves, then such a young man is not worthy of the granddaughter of the Hai family.

Ma sorted out her thoughts clearly and told Haitang: "I rejected Sister Ma today. She seems to feel very sorry and probably still doesn't want to give up. If she talks to you about these things later, you must not blindly agree to anything and blame me in your heart for ruining your good marriage."

Haitang was both angry and amused when she heard this: "Why should I resent grandma for something like this? I don't know the son of the Tu family, let alone who he is, or whether he is good or bad. Ma Shangyi may have her own ideas, but you are my dear grandma! You are always thinking about me, how can I be angry with you for outsiders? Besides, I don't like it myself. This kind of person...even if he himself has no problems, his family situation is too complicated. I don't want to get married at all now. I just want to live a good life with grandpa, grandma, brother, second uncle, second aunt and Xiao Shitou, and reunite as a family forever. I have a good life, why should I go to other people's homes and fight with others?"

Ma was very happy to hear this, she hugged her granddaughter and said, "Good Tangtang, I know you are a filial child, you are only close to our family members in your heart!" She hugged her granddaughter and kissed her for a long time before letting her go, smiling, "But don't say you don't want to get married in the future. What girl doesn't want to get married? Don't worry, grandma and grandpa will definitely choose a suitable family for you, and will never let you suffer any grievances!"

At night, when she and Hai Xiya were the only ones left in the room, Ma told her husband about this matter and whispered, "I have to admit that when I first heard about how affordable this marriage was, I was quite tempted. If the child of the Tu family is really not liked by his biological father and stepmother, he might be able to settle down next to our family in the future. In that way, even if Tangtang gets married, she can always go back to her parents' home to visit her parents. But then I thought, no matter how affordable this marriage is, the Tu family is not comparable to ours. If Tangtang is bullied in his family and the stepmother-in-law deliberately makes things difficult for her, we can't do anything about them. What if General Tu promotes our Baoshun because of the marriage, then won't our family have even less confidence to support Tangtang? No wonder people say that Qi Da is not a good match. No matter how good this marriage is, our family can't get it."

This was the first time Hai Xiya heard about this matter, and now he couldn't help but secretly shudder: "Ma Shangyi is fine, why did she ask to be the matchmaker for our family? What's wrong with that Tu family's child? The eldest son of a second-rank official would never marry the granddaughter of a seventh-rank official. General Tu sees me in the government office every day, but he has never mentioned such a thing."

"I don't know either..." Ma hesitated, "But I think that Sister Ma doesn't have bad intentions. She has been very close to me recently, always calling me sister, hoping to help our family. She asked for this marriage because she thought it was very affordable... To be honest, if the child from the Tu family is really a good person, then it is indeed a very affordable marriage. It's just that our family... is not suitable for marrying up." Hai Xiya seemed to be thinking about it: "If Ma Shangyi really means well, then you can continue to make friends with her, but don't agree to anything easily. . She has been serving the Empress Dowager for many years and is used to seeing the royal family, the nobles and dignitaries. She may really think that this marriage is nothing, and she is confident that it can be successful with her face. But our family really dare not marry someone of higher status. Whether it is me or Baoshun, our future prospects must be earned by ourselves. If I were the kind of person who only cares about climbing up the social ladder and doesn’t care about the well-being of my family, I would not have come to the northwest to suffer for more than 30 years. I believe Baoshun thinks the same way. He would never be happy to see his sister marry the wrong person for her own future. "

Ma agreed immediately and added, "I thought so too. I was worried that Tangtang would misunderstand after hearing about this from somewhere else, so I made it clear to her today. Tangtang herself was not happy about it either. She said she was impatient to compete with others! She would rather be with her family for the rest of her life."

Hai Xiya smiled and said, "How old is Tangtang now? She is still two years away from her marriage. She has not yet figured it out. How can she know the pros and cons of this marriage? Naturally, she won't take it to heart. There is no need for you to tell her all this nonsense, lest she let her have wild thoughts. When we really find a marriage for her one day, it won't be too late for you to tell her."

Ma responded, and the couple then started talking about Haijiao's marriage.

Ma Shangyi's suggestion on the marriage with the Tu family was rejected by Ma Shangyi, but she was still very optimistic about the former's suggestion on the marriage in Haijiao: "I have heard of the girl from the Zhou family's branch. She is well-mannered, well-educated, and very kind to others. As the eldest daughter, she has helped her mother take care of her younger siblings since she was a child. She is very dignified and sensible. I think she is good, but I am afraid that Baoshun's future is still uncertain, and she may not look down on our child..."

Hai Xiya thought for a moment and said, "There is no need to rush this matter for now. Even if the Zhou family's side branches are more likely to get an official position in the capital, not everyone can do it. What if you arrange a marriage for Baoshun, but that family can't enter the capital, wouldn't it cause the future granddaughter-in-law to be separated from her family? It's better to wait until Baoshun officially joins the army. If he has an official position, it will be more respectable to talk about marriage."

Ma whispered, "If we talk about marriage after returning to Zhili, we won't be able to find a lady like the Zhou family for Baoshun... I just feel sorry for my grandson."

Hai Xiya waved his hand and said, "Bao Shun doesn't have to marry a girl from the Zhou family. You shouldn't always think about those ladies from wealthy families. Qi Da is not a good match. You are worried that your granddaughter will marry into a wealthy family, and our family won't have the confidence to support her, and she will be wronged in her husband's family. Have you ever thought that if your grandson marries a daughter-in-law from a wealthy family, he may also be bullied by her in the future?"

Ma muttered a few vague words and didn't insist any further.

(End of this chapter)