The departure of the Shen family was of no concern to Li Yue Shu. She was merely curious about what had transpired to lead to Shen Wang's current predicament.
As if fate had heard her curiosity, that afternoon upon returning home, Aunt Liu recounted the village's recent events to her.
"You mean to say, Li Xiang… my sister had a flushed face and seemed feverish when she was carried out?" Li Yue Shu asked, raising an eyebrow.
Aunt Liu, not quite understanding her meaning, nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes. It was as if she was gravely ill."
Li Yue Shu's lips pursed.
She had a pretty good idea why Shen Wang had been incapacitated.
According to the original plot, Li Xiang Ru, backed by the Second Prince, naturally had protection. This Shen Wang was truly audacious.
Li Yue Shu let out a sneer, not taking the matter to heart. It had nothing to do with her anyway.
However, she hadn't anticipated that when Shen Yi Min and the others returned from their break, they would deliver a bombshell: Shen Cheng Cai had been expelled from school.
Just yesterday, Shen Cheng Cai had stolen a set of stationery from the academy. He was caught red-handed but refused to confess. In a fit of anger, the teacher expelled him.
This incident somehow spread through the town, and this morning, the county yamen suddenly sent someone, announcing that Shen Cheng Cai's imperial examination qualification was permanently revoked.
The news shocked everyone.
To have one's scholarly path destroyed for stealing was unprecedented in Chen Nan Kingdom.
For a time, the wise began to subtly guess that Shen Cheng Cai had offended a powerful figure.
When the news reached the village, Mother Shen felt as if the sky had caved in.
Her daughter-in-law divorced, her son crippled, and her only hope, her grandson, had his future ruined. Her life was over!
Shen Wang felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. His already pale face lost its last trace of color.
Upon learning that he would never be a man again, Shen Wang felt his entire world turn dark.
He had never imagined that woman, Li Xiang Ru, could be so ruthless as to have someone…
His only hope was his son. Once Cheng Cai entered officialdom and went to Chong Zhou, he would personally make that woman pay.
But now, everything was gone!
Shen Wang was filled with despair, completely unable to understand how things had come to this. He had been the richest man in the village not long ago…
It was Li Yue Shu! That poisonous woman was to blame!
If it weren't for her, their family wouldn't have been robbed by those beggars, and he wouldn't have offended that ruthless woman, Li Xiang Ru.
They were sisters. Li Xiang Ru must have been influenced by that poisonous woman to be so cruel to him!
Shen Wang's expression grew increasingly sinister. His terrifying appearance made even Mother Shen tremble.
"Mother, everything is the fault of that poisonous woman, Li Yue Shu! I will never let her off!"
After experiencing so much, Mother Shen had developed an instinctive fear of Li Yue Shu. "What can we possibly do against her now?"
Shen Wang fell silent, clearly aware that they had nothing left.
But after a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Mother, hasn't Second Sister been away from home for many years?"
Hearing this, Mother Shen paused, then belatedly remembered she had another daughter.
Mother Shen frowned. "Chan'er signed a contract of indenture. After that incident, she never contacted us again. I suspect she's long gone."
"How will we know if we don't try?" Shen Wang's eyes glinted with a sinister light. "Old Master Li bought Second Sister back then to take her as a concubine. She must have made a name for herself by now."
He struggled to prop himself up, but the pain from his wound made him afraid to move much.
His hatred deepened. "Mother, Second Sister has always been capable. Perhaps she has already given birth to sons for Old Master Li and is living a life of luxury in the Li family! Hurry and find a way to contact her. Back then, even the county magistrate treated Old Master Li with great respect. This is our only way out now."
Mother Shen was typically one to throw tantrums and cause scenes. For any matter, it was Yang Shi who offered solutions.
Seeing Shen Wang's persistence, she naturally chose to obey him.
…
Li Yue Shu didn't take the Shen family's affairs to heart, treating it as mere gossip. After hearing it, she cast it aside.
Upon seeing Shen Yi Min return, she immediately took him and Wei Ling to see Wei Niang.
Shen Wei followed behind, occasionally casting a sympathetic glance at Shen Yi Min, who looked utterly bewildered.
Upon reaching the dungeon, everything seemed the same as before, but Shen Yi Min clearly felt that Wei Niang's gaze towards him was a little strange.
No matter how intelligent he was, at the end of the day, he was still a seven-year-old child. There were some things he naturally couldn't understand.
After they had chatted for a while, Wei Niang suddenly said, "Madam Shen, there's something I'd like to discuss with you privately."
Li Yue Shu nodded and turned to Shen Wei beside her. "Take the two children out to wait for me. Be sure not to run around, understand?"
She clearly felt that Shen Wei's maturity had significantly increased compared to before. A few days ago, he had stopped her from tending to Shen Wang's injuries, thinking about the distinction between men and women.
At this rate, he should recover soon.
Shen Wei nodded obediently and led the two children out.
In truth, he hadn't intended to reveal signs of his recovery so soon. But that day, seeing Ye An directly go to pull at a man's pants, he couldn't help himself…
Fortunately, Li Yue Shu only asked a few simple questions and didn't suspect anything.
Emerging from the dungeon, Shen Yi Min finally couldn't help but ask, "Father, do you know why she brought me here?"
With no one else around, Shen Wei no longer needed to play dumb.
Hearing this, his gaze became somewhat sympathetic, giving Shen Yi Min goosebumps.
Shen Wei thought for a moment and felt that this was something he had the right to know. He said, "She has arranged a marriage for you."
Shen Yi Min froze, his expression as if he were questioning his hearing. "Wh… what do you mean?"
Shen Wei remained silent, merely casting his gaze towards Wei Ling, who was looking longingly at the dungeon as if reluctant to leave.
Shen Yi Min instantly understood something. He stiffly turned his head and looked with an indescribable expression at Wei Ling, who was shorter than him by a head.
"That woman is truly… is she insane?"
Shen Wei knew he would react this way. He raised an eyebrow slightly, not mentioning the additional conditions in the marriage contract.
…
Li Yue Shu was unaware of the events at the dungeon entrance. She was pouring a bowl of water for the person before her.
After Wei Ling left, Wei Niang's forced composure wavered slightly. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and cough a few times.
After drinking the water, she slowly recovered her strength.
She looked at Li Yue Shu and slowly said, "I know my time is short. There's something I'd like to trouble Madam Shen to retrieve for me."
Li Yue Shu put down the bowl. "What is it?"
Wei Niang took a few deep breaths, alleviating the tightness in her chest. "I own a restaurant, located opposite Qing Feng Pavilion in the neighboring town."
"My husband… he has always wanted that restaurant. But I had long suspected he was up to no good and hid the deed under the tree in the restaurant's backyard."