Chapter Forty-Four: Visiting the Yuan Family Again

  Zhao Xiuxiu's heart was as clear as the water at the bottom of a well, and Li Shi's thoughts were as transparent to him as if he had them in the palm of his hand. Not to mention that she really needed to go collect the long-overdue rent, which she hadn't received for a long time. As for the Yuan family's gate, she probably wouldn't want to step foot in it again in this lifetime. And this silver... It was such a headache when they first gave it to her, and now that they're afraid of rumors and returning it, she has every reason to be moved. However, recently, some rumor or other had been circulating about him and Shen Han, which, although he didn't entirely dislike, did exaggerate things and even damaged her reputation, so naturally, he wasn't pleased.

  Actually, when Li mentioned letting him send Shen Huan to the Yuan family earlier, Zhao Xiuzhuo was not without a reaction, at least his hand holding chopsticks had a moment of hesitation, but he knew he couldn't be so selfish, so at that time he didn't respond or react, and finally let Hu Youxuan become this guardian.

  As Shen Huan's back disappeared from the gate, Zhao Xiuzhuo's heart began to stir slightly. Li Shi was busy cleaning up the table and said, "Xiao Zhuo, when I go out later, you'll be alone at home, so be careful, it seems like things have been a bit uneasy lately."

  Saying that, Li couldn't help but shake her head: We're just a widow and an orphan, now we've added a daughter-in-law, why are there so many things?

  "Don't worry, Mother, I'll go straight to Lao Fu Zi's place in a while."

  "Alright!"

  Li had already gone to the kitchen, and Zhao's inner turmoil became more apparent. He knew his thoughts had followed Shen Huanfeng outside, and he also knew this wouldn't do. So he went back to his room, picked up a book, sat down, and flipped through it without reading a single word. Letting out a low, inaudible sigh, he immediately stood up and said towards the kitchen: "Mother, I'm going out first."

  Li hastily came out of the kitchen, but didn't see Zhao Xiuzhu's person. A hint of pride immediately rose in her eyes, and she smiled to herself, saying: "This child is so absorbed in reading that he forgets everything else."

  He walked quickly on the way to Yuan's house, Zhao Xiuxiao wanted to see her figure appear in front of him, but was also a little afraid to see it. The unknown entanglement and conflict in his heart made him feel somewhat annoyed, but in the end, his mind couldn't overcome the direct reaction of his body. Soon he caught up with Shen Han and Hu Youxuan, only walking behind them, keeping a certain distance from them.

  "What plans does Second Sister have for this trip to the Yuan family?"

  Behind her, Zhao Xiqiao was entangled in his own thoughts, while Shen Han and Hu Youxuan also traveled in silence. The two didn't interact much, even after they started living under the same roof, there wasn't much exchange between them. As for this man by her side, her understanding of him remained a complete blank, yet... she never had any good feelings about it either.

  "Actually, I didn't plan anything."

  "Huh?"

  Perhaps, for Shen Huan's answer, Hu Youxuan would never have thought of it! In his ears, it became another answer, that is, Shen Huan didn't want to tell him. In fact, he didn't know that Shen Huan really had no plans.

  "At that time, I volunteered to help, purely because I couldn't bear to see Lian'er being treated like that. Last time when this little girl came to our house to ask her mother-in-law to deliver the baby, I saw with my own eyes how she was bullied by the Yuan family. In front of outsiders, it was already like that. If today she goes back and can't explain herself, who knows what kind of trouble she'll get into?"

  Even if she didn't have a good impression of the man in front of her, it wasn't like she wouldn't say a word to him. She just never took the initiative to talk to him before. Shen Huan explained what she saw and felt, and why things were this way, in just a few words. In her heart, she thought that if they could arrive at the Yuans' place quickly, she would be able to avoid the awkwardness of being alone with him. But unexpectedly, Hu Youxuan was like a cockroach that couldn't be killed, and he continued to ask: "No wonder earlier she..."

  It seemed that Hu Youxuan felt something was off, and he stopped talking about it abruptly. He changed the subject and continued: "Second sister has been at the Zhao's for some time now, are you used to it?"

  Upon hearing this, Shen Han couldn't help but feel a little alert. This man was her sister-in-law's brother, and although she didn't get along with her sister-in-law, it wasn't like they were strangers at home. Would he really come to care about her life in the husband's family out of kindness?

  "Not bad, fewer people, quiet and no trouble."

  "But recently..."

  "Something recently happened, but isn't it resolved now?"

  Shen Han stopped in her tracks, turned to face Hu Youxuan and said this sentence. Hu Youxuan was taken aback for a moment, he didn't think that no matter what he said, it seemed to have some stimulating effect on her. Was it because...

  Shen Han had only seen Chun Hua's mother beside Hu Youxuan, and after pausing for a moment, she smiled at her. Hu Youxuan let out a sigh of relief when he saw this, realizing that Shen Han had just spotted an acquaintance. He had thought that she would be upset because of his sister... it seemed he was being overly cautious. He couldn't help but lower his head and chuckle quietly.

  Some guy who was following behind saw this scene and felt a sour heart, Shen Huan and Hu Youxuan stood at an angle, from his perspective it seemed like they were discussing some topic and smiling at each other...

  After Shen Huan successfully sped up to the Yuan's house without leaving any traces, they quickly arrived at the entrance of the Yuan's house. The servants seemed to have received orders and welcomed Shen Huan in with a completely different attitude from before.

  "Auntie, I'm really sorry, but my mother has arranged for Uncle Wang and them to discuss something at home, and only I am free."

  Shen Huan softly greeted Liu Shi, who glanced at the man beside her and felt a little surprised in her heart, but didn't ask much. She had long heard that the Zhao family had an extra scholar-like man, and now she took a look and estimated it was him.

  "It doesn't matter, whoever comes is the same. Actually, you should be clear about what happened back then with Zhao's wife. I didn't want to either, but this servant's mouth is too much, I have to find a reason to shut him up."

  Hmph, trying to shut people up? I think you're trying to shut outsiders up now.

  Although she was sneering in her heart, Shen Huan's face didn't change much, still with that faint smile, the slightly raised corners of her lips made it impossible for people to see that she was despising this woman in front of her, not knowing what she had been calculating all her life, what could she get from all the calculations? Was it worth it?

  "But Auntie, if you return the money, my mother will also feel uncomfortable in her heart. It's a fact that she broke your 'Duizi Dufu' (Good Luck) vase at first."

  "But wasn't the child also saved?"

  Shen Han pretended to be surprised, and Liu also realized that she had misspoken, immediately changing the subject and making a gesture with her eyes towards Zuo Xing: "I'm telling you, Zhao's wife, we're not ones to speak in riddles. Take this money back, as you understand it yourself, our family doesn't lack this bit of money, but for your family, it's indeed somewhat difficult. Since you've already raised the money and brought it here to compensate, it shows that you have a conscience. Having a conscience is what matters, so take the money back."

  I'm cursing you, a famous person who doesn't speak in riddles. When you first took the money, you didn't say anything like that. Now that there's rumors going around, you want to protect your family's reputation, but does my Zhao family not deserve any reputation? You're speaking nicely with ulterior motives. If someone smarter had been in charge back then, we wouldn't have had to pay compensation!

  Thinking of this, Shen Huan couldn't help but feel some resentment. At the time, she was also scared silly and didn't think that she had actually saved someone's ***, if it were someone else, not only would they not have to compensate, but they would also get benefits. Why didn't she just stand up straight and proudly at the time?

  But now thinking about it again is useless, Shen Huan took a step forward, raised her head and fixed her gaze, the aura emanating from her body directly expressed her current dissatisfaction, but her mouth only said lightly: "Auntie, this money I definitely won't take back today, on the contrary...I think since outsiders are already spreading rumors about this matter, why don't you also come forward and let the neighbors understand what's going on?".