Chapter 21: The Fang Clan's Interrogation

  Hehe, this little shoe is so cute! When I saw the 7 gorgeous reminders to update, my tiger body shook and I immediately felt a lot of pressure. But then I looked again at the 3,000 words... You're so cute, thank you for reminding me to update! Doudou's chapters are usually over 3,000 words, so if you want to support me, please vote for me with PK votes! This is what I need right now? Thank you again for your support, bowing...

  That's how Shen Han learned the reason for Shen Zian's illness. That day, when he returned home and entered his room, he had just taken off his outer shirt to change clothes when he heard a noise at the door. Turning around, he saw a long-haired female ghost covered in blood making some very eerie movements towards him. At that time, Shen Zian was still young, and because there were rumors of ghosts haunting the town during that period, under the impact on his heart and vision, Shen Zian directly fell to the ground, stiff as a corpse!

  As for why Shen Huan was so quick to blame Hu Xiangyan when the incident first happened, even Shen Huan himself wasn't clear about it. Shen Zian was even more unclear because the 'female ghost' didn't say anything, only making a noise that made him turn his head, so he couldn't make any judgment either. He just didn't like this sister-in-law very much in his heart, and with Er Jie's affirmation and tough attitude, his mind gradually leaned towards that answer.

  "Alright then, are you now someone who faints at the sight of blood or has a psychological barrier to anything red?"

  Shen Huan didn't have much time to think about who that person was, and whether Shen Zi'an's scare was a joke or had another intention, which couldn't be known for now. What she could do was ask clearly about Shen Zi'an's symptoms of fainting from blood.

  "How can I put it, seeing red things won't make me dizzy, but still makes me uncomfortable."

  "That's good, from today on you should eat more red fruits and look at the color red more often. Second sister will also wear red clothes as much as possible before going back to the Zhao family. She'll appear in front of you with a simple hairstyle. To put it bluntly, you have a psychological barrier. When you can look at the color red and eat red foods without feeling like avoiding them, then you can gradually come into contact with things that have blood."

  When Shen Han said this, Shen Zian agreed with her inner obstruction, but when he had to face it, he was still a little nervous and his expression became somewhat timid. Just as he was about to say whether they could not do this, he was immediately shut down by one of Shen Han's sentences.

  "If you want to be haunted by this shadow for the rest of your life, then don't listen to me."

  This sentence directly pierced Shen Zian's heart, his enthusiasm for the shop was not because he wanted to compete with Shen Yifeng for any property, but because of his fondness for medicine, and the possibility of curing this shadow, Shen Zian was naturally very happy, but he also had his concerns...

  "Dad actually told me about this method before, he said it's completely a shadow left after being frightened..."

  "Why didn't it... Is this method ineffective?"

  Shen Han was anxious when she heard that they had already researched this method before, but now it didn't have any effect. Although this idea was something that one would think of after a little thought, and she really didn't have any other better methods at the moment, plus considering the time constraint, the most direct way to dispel the customer's negative impression was indeed this method, similar to using poison to fight poison...

  "Don't be in a hurry, although I've thought about it, but I haven't done it. Firstly, as you said, I'm still afraid; secondly, I don't want big brother and sister-in-law to have any ideas, big brother is not paying attention to the shop's affairs, and sister-in-law will resent him. You also know that they haven't been short of anger over this matter in recent years, it's just that big brother doesn't want us to worry, so he endures sister-in-law's provocations and scolding. If my illness is really cured, father will definitely be even more disappointed in big brother, and he won't put his hopes on big brother to inherit the shop..."

  At this point, Shen Zian had stopped continuing, and Shen Huan also felt a little touched. It turned out that he wasn't unwilling to cure his own illness, nor was it that he couldn't find a way. He just didn't want to touch the wound that would make the family unable to get along again for the sake of the family's peace, this nail he couldn't pull out.

  "But even if you don't get rid of this habit, will our home be peaceful? You've seen Hu Xiaoyan... her arrogant attitude, she'll say in front of me that I'm a widow whose husband has passed away. What's important is that she still needs something from us, she wants me to help her persuade her mother-in-law, and with this kind of behavior, if one day she becomes the head of the household, won't you be driven out of the house?"

  Shen Han has never been a pushy person, but seeing Hu Xiaoyan's insatiable look makes her angry. Adding to that the matter with her younger brother, she is extremely disgusted with this older sister-in-law, even having thoughts of not wanting to help her younger brother follow his uncle in learning.

  Shen Zian's words, which were filled with suppressed anger, actually made Shen Zi'an himself have some thoughts. He nodded and said: "So I'll listen to my second sister on this matter, let's not tell our parents for now, in case we can't cure it later, it would be too cruel to give them hope only to disappoint them again. It will also reduce friction at home. If it's really cured, I'll personally tell Father that from now on, the shop is still managed by my older brother, and I'm only responsible for treating patients. All family matters, big or small, are still handled by my older brother."

  Shen Zian's understanding made Shen Han feel comforted, and she couldn't help but show her old womanly affection again. She walked up to him, stretched out her hand and stroked his head: "With Zian in this house, Second Sister can rest assured and go back to her mother's home. When you have time, come visit Second Sister, and Second Sister will cook delicious food for you."

  "Second sister is different from before!......"

  Just as Shen Huan was about to ask her little brother what he meant, the door creaked and she felt a sudden sense of crisis. In that instant, she forgot whether there were still eavesdroppers at the door. She was somewhat tense, but she was no longer the impulsive Shen Huan of old. Collecting herself, she asked calmly, "Who is it?"

  "What are you doing, Han'er? Where's Zi'an? I heard from Heizi that you had something to ask him. There's someone in the shop who wants a diagnosis."

  It was Fang's voice, Shen Han immediately let out a breath of relief, lowered his head to see that his younger brother was sneaking a smile, he couldn't help but pat his head: "Mother is back to catch people, why aren't you going?"

  She opened the door to find Fang standing at the entrance, with an expression that Shen Huan couldn't quite decipher. She thought it was because she had closed her bedroom door and Fang couldn't come in freely, so she felt a bit apologetic. She explained to her mother, "After getting married and living with my aunt-in-law, I got into the habit of locking doors out of convenience, unlike at home. Please don't mind, Mother."

  "It's all right, Zian, you go and lie down."

  Shen Zian nodded and didn't say anything else, directly going into the room. Shen Huan pulled Fang Shi's hand and entered the house, then turned around and closed the door again. This wasn't because she had really developed a habit, but because she had just said those words and thought about doing this in front of her. As for whether she was unhappy earlier because she heard the conversation between herself and Zian or because she was 'refused at the door', it didn't matter.

  "Han Er... actually I heard what you said to Zi An just now."

  Shen Huan merely smiled faintly upon hearing the words, without any other expression. Her reaction left Fang Shi somewhat perplexed. She no longer showed the affectionate demeanor she had initially displayed, but instead stood up and looked at Shen Huan with a stern face, asking: "What do you really want?"

  The other party's sudden change, Shen Han was also somewhat inexplicable, didn't she understand what he was doing? Wasn't it all for the sake of Zi An's well-being? What did her questioning mean now? That gaze and tone were as if suspecting that he had some ulterior motive.

  "What does 'daughter' mean when you say it like that?"

  "Han Er, at first we all knew the truth about that matter, only Zi An didn't know. We didn't tell him just to make him feel better, but you shouldn't be too reckless either."

  These words made Shen Huan even more bewildered, she innocently looked at Fang Shi, not understanding why Fang Shi had been so good to her in the past few days, just like a real mother and daughter, but now could say such things, was there something in between that she had overlooked?

  "I don't understand what you mean, mom!"

  Hearing such a question, Shen Huan felt somewhat uncomfortable in her heart, even if she wasn't her real daughter. Although this time back was for the sake of the Shen family's affairs, after several days of interaction, Shen Huan had indeed taken herself as a member of the Shen family and as Fang Shi's daughter. No matter what had happened with Shen Zi'an in the past, she couldn't bring herself to say such severe words, treating her own true feelings like a trivial matter.

  Mr. Fang had no idea what Shen Han was thinking, but hearing her slightly dissatisfied tone, he felt even more painful: "At first, you used the trick of pretending to be unconscious and losing your memory to deceive everyone in the family, but you also knew that I and your father didn't believe it at all, you just wanted to avoid facing the fact that Zian was hurt. Fortunately, your older brother helped you hide Xianyan and begged for mercy, otherwise, with your father's temper, it would have been as simple as making you kneel under the ancestors' tablet for three days."

  At these words, Shen Huan said that he was not shocked, that was false. No matter how bewildered and unaware of the situation, he could still hear some clues from Fang's words, and couldn't hide his surprise at all: "Mother means to say that Zi An fainted because of me?"

  "Han Er, when someone does something wrong, they must have the courage to take responsibility. At first, you were just being playful, and the relationship between you three siblings is very good, your parents know it too, and believe that you wouldn't intentionally harm your brother. However, this unintentional mistake made you lose your original innocence. You wrongly accused your sister-in-law, saying that after Zi An's scolding, you saw her hastily running back to her room, but we found the female ghost costume in your room..."

  Having heard this, Shen Huan could no longer listen. She felt more and more that something was off. If it were as Madam Fang said, with the three siblings having such a good relationship, when Shen Zi An got into trouble, even if it were an unintentional mistake on Shen Huan's part, she should have been feeling guilty and sad instead of framing her elder sister-in-law. Even if she disliked Hu Xiao Yan, she wouldn't be foolish enough to put that set of clothes in the room, waiting for her parents to find them.

  What she didn't want to think about for the time being was Fang's attitude. This big son is a son, and isn't this little son also a son? Moreover, this little son has always been thinking of the family, even if his illness gets better, it won't have any impact on the family. As for her own affairs with Hu Xiaoyan, she doesn't care how they turn out!

  Then she took a deep breath and said all her thoughts: "Mother... I didn't know what you said, nor did I know what you meant by saying that I pretended to have amnesia. All I know is... everything I'm doing now isn't for any purpose, I just want the child to be safe, and Father's shop won't go bankrupt in the future!

  In Mrs. Fang's eyes, there seemed to be a hint of surprise, perhaps because she was studying how much truth was in her own words. After all, she had just said that she had pretended to have amnesia earlier. Shen Huan didn't bother to respond and continued after pausing for a moment: "Zi'an has a talent for medicine, you and Father are both clear about this. Eldest brother is the eldest son of the family, it's true, and you and Father want him to inherit the shop, that's also true. But have you ever thought about whether Zi'an ever wanted to compete with Eldest brother? He gave up the treatment method he researched with Father just so that there wouldn't be any friction between Eldest brother and Eldest sister-in-law... Mother, flesh of the palm and flesh of the back of the hand are all the same, do you really want Zi'an to live under this shadow for his whole life?"