Chapter 28: Wronged and Unjust, Hong Yun's Pregnancy

  Shen Huan was thinking of something in her heart, and naturally no one present knew about it. However, the subtle expression on her face fell into Zhao Xiuzhuo's eyes without exception. He was smiling, but it was because of her that he felt happy. Zhao Xiuzhuo had never been a weak person, and he knew that liking his sister-in-law was not allowed. Nevertheless, he didn't plan to force himself to extract this feeling from his heart. Caring for her as a younger uncle was also a way of being good to her.

  But Hu Youxuan naturally didn't notice the cat and mouse game between his uncle and aunt, he was only dissatisfied with Zhao Xiuzhu's address of 'Young Master Hu', at first he had already hinted to her that calling him by name would be enough, but she still put on this distant air, it was very clear that she didn't want to have anything to do with him, since she wasn't willing from the start then she shouldn't have agreed in the first place, although he himself wasn't interested in reading books with her either, he also couldn't stand Zhao Xiuzhu's cold and aloof attitude of keeping people at arm's length.

  Although there were some opinions in his heart, he still didn't show any other emotions on the surface. Hu Youxuan just maintained that faint smile on his face that couldn't be read, and responded very politely: "This family is a bit anxious, I think I'll try it out this year, but personally, I feel that even if I have confidence next year, it will be the same."

  "Right, is it your first time taking an exam?"

  "Yes, I didn't plan to develop in this direction at all. My parents always wanted our family to produce a scholar, so they made me study in a private school from a young age. It wasn't until my sister found out about your illustrious reputation, Zhao Ge, that she bothered Second Sister for help."

  This guy always has two sides, even if Hu Youxian didn't think about taking the imperial examination in the past or now, but when he came to someone else's house for the first time and they weren't very welcoming to him, he still had to say something that would please them. As for what happened in between, Hu Youxian naturally knew about his sister's heroic deeds at the Shen family, and when it came to the last sentence, he still showed a grateful expression to Shen Huan.

  Shen Han's thoughts were slowly freeing themselves from the confusion brought about by the sunny expression on Zhao Xiuzhuo's icy face. What was running through her mind, however, was the "xiangshi" they had mentioned - the imperial examination system in this strange world. If she passed it a second time, she would directly receive a title. Compared to what she vaguely knew about some other imperial examinations, this one seemed much simpler, but its simple promotion mechanism actually laid down a more rigorous foundation. Otherwise, her younger uncle wouldn't be working so hard every day, constantly reading books in his hand or looking at the ones on his knees.

  At this moment, Hu Youxuan suddenly turned the conversation to herself, and she couldn't help but wonder in her heart: How can sitting here without speaking still get hit?

  "No need to be polite, we're family after all. Actually, it's my younger brother-in-law who's being a bother, I'm just speaking up."

  Hu Youxuan's topic suddenly shifted, and his gaze also turned to Shen Han's body. Zhao Xiuzhuo's eyes immediately flashed a sharp light, but before he could continue to give vent to his emotions, he was dispersed by Shen Han's words because the woman he admired was looking at him with some embarrassment, her eyes still shining with enough light to soften him, and that appearance in his eyes was directly promoted to shyness.

  "It's just studying together, after all, whether or not you can get into high school still depends on your own efforts, Yuxuan."

  I really don't want to be so familiar with him, but... for the sake of my sister-in-law's face, I won't make things difficult for her. I'll reluctantly give you a warm welcome. If I find out you're not up to par, I'll definitely have you leave!

  Someone who is secretly dissatisfied, quietly justifying himself in his heart, unaware that what he calls persistence and protection has gradually become beyond his control. People are like this sometimes, when the current situation is better than before, when the feelings deep down slowly become uncontrollable, when emotions are all tied up by someone's every word and action, you will no longer be satisfied with the status quo...

  "That evening, little brother, don't mind me being a rough person and speaking bluntly. Actually, when your younger sister first married into our family, I was really heartbroken, and even had a falling out with my father because of this matter. But now seeing that you're living a peaceful life, it's not bad at all. Little sister, you should also be understanding and take good care of your auntie, got it?"

  Shen Yifeng saw Shen Han return home, everything was fine, whether she went out with that Shadow Girl temporarily or returned home later. Although Li's expression didn't show much affection, he couldn't see his sister being mistreated here either, and immediately felt a lot more at ease. Moreover, in his heart, the one who was actually wronged by this marriage was his own sister, who had been pampered since childhood.

  Shen Huan, who was taken aback by Shen Yi's words, could only silently look at him. She knew that this brother was a straightforward person and that it wasn't proper to say such things in front of her husband's family members. However, as an imposter, she couldn't help but feel a warmth in her heart after hearing his words, and even her eyes felt sore.

  "Brother Wing-hang, don't worry, we're all family and shouldn't be divided into you and me. Besides, this marriage is actually a wrong done to my sister..."

  Zhao Xiuzhuo heard this, and his heart was indeed not feeling well, but it wasn't because of anything else. It was just that he thought back to when he had replaced that good-for-nothing big brother at the wedding ceremony, and he felt like a sinner, becoming the executioner who would ruin the girl's life for generations to come.

  But now... he has developed feelings for her that he shouldn't have. The resentment he had initially felt has become somewhat contradictory. He resents himself for taking his brother's place in the marriage, making her his sister-in-law, and this chasm is what's been troubling him. But on the other hand, if he hadn't taken his brother's place at the wedding, wouldn't he not have met her?

  No matter how you think about it, heaven has played a big joke on the two families of Zhao and Shen, but in the end, the only victim is her...

  "Heh, actually from my perspective, Second Sister is quite good now. I've always liked a person's life to be free and unrestrained, although Big Brother Zhao isn't around, aren't there still Auntie Zhao and Evening Fragrance Brother?"

  Although Hu Youxuan's words expressed Shen Han's inner thoughts, she felt that something was off when he said them, and she didn't know if it was because she was being overly cautious or what. His sister was a bit of an extreme case, but that didn't necessarily mean he was a bad person.

  But she still can't shake off her intuition, at least not now, and can't bring herself to have a good impression of him. But for now, she has to force herself to continue the conversation: "Actually, I didn't suffer any injustice, it's just that I couldn't accept it at first, which made me seem immature. Now that I think about it, I feel that my arrival actually caused trouble for my mother-in-law and younger brother-in-law. Not to mention anything else, but with one more person in the house, there's an extra mouth to feed!"

  Shen Han's words were indeed true, she herself was half lucky because she had crossed over to become a widow with no husband, but it was still better than crossing over to become a married woman who didn't know her husband's circumstances. However, on the other hand, it also added a burden to the Zhao family's economy.

  "You said you liked to talk about family matters, but now you're picking up ambiguous words! Who's wronged who? We're all family, isn't this just adding fuel to the fire?"

  Hearing the sound, Shen Huan immediately turned her head to look, and it was indeed Li Shi holding a large basin, with hot air rising from it. Smelling the aroma, she knew it was Li Shi's signature dish, which she called the real "water-boiled fish".

  In ancient times, the seasonings were not as good as modern ones. The dishes cooked out looked unappetizing and tasted much worse. However, Shen Huan still didn't know why Li was able to cook delicious fish with such limited conditions, while she had been here for so long and only managed to eat a little bit of it.

  "My daughter said I should go to the kitchen and serve the dishes!"

  Heart knows that Auntie will not come out until all the dishes are ready, Shen Huan doesn't dare to take the soup basin from her hand, and walks straight into the kitchen. Zhao Xiuzhu immediately makes way for his mother, seeing the red spot on the back of her hand, he can't help but feel a pang in his heart: "Mother, you've burned your hand again?"

  "Hmm... when people get old, they're useless, it's just a small matter of being splashed with oil."

  She put down the soup bowl, and Li smiled casually. The worried look on her son's face made her feel very satisfied. Even if life was difficult, even if she had to go into debt to buy a fish to entertain guests, as long as there was a son who could make a good showing for himself at home, she felt that the future was infinitely bright and there was nothing to worry about.

  At this time, Shen Huan had already brought all the dishes prepared by Li to the table. The simple dishes were transformed into more than a dozen plates by Li, making Shen Yifeng feel very embarrassed. He scratched his head and smiled, saying: "Auntie is too polite, how can we finish so many dishes?"

  "Not many, actually a lot of them were brought back by you and Huan'er, look at this one and that one and this one..."

  Li was also a sensible person, although she had some reservations about Shen Huan's request to invite Hu Youxuan to their home to tutor, but ultimately accepted the help of her husband's family. As for Shen Yifeng, this honest man, she really couldn't put on a serious face, and there was also a common saying: "Even thunder won't strike a person who is eating!"

  At this moment on the dinner table, her expression has eased a lot, and there is also some smile in her eyebrows.

  Everyone stopped being polite to each other, picked up their chopsticks and started enjoying Mr. Li's culinary skills. Shen Huan and the others were indeed hungry after rushing back all the way. However, this good thing didn't last long. Just as they had eaten half of the meal, the shaky wooden gate of the courtyard finally reached its peak in life: glorious sacrifice!

  "Aunt Zhao, quickly help! My wife...my wife is dying!"

  Here is the translation:

  "Alright, I'll drop a group number, girls who want to join can come in."