The Shen Family’s problems were extremely complicated. Qin Shu was the daughter of a capitalist from the old society, while Su Zhiyun was a university teacher who had returned from studying abroad,
and Shen Jianghai had once infiltrated the enemy forces for several years, only returning to the Military Unit before liberation. The position he had held among the enemy forces to conceal his identity had now completely become a handle for others to use against him,
and in this large family, three people had all become sources of trouble.
Shen Jianghai was removed from his position as division commander and demoted all the way down.
The brothers Shen Zhongheng and Shen Zhongyue had both originally served in the Military Unit. One was a deputy regiment commander, and the other was a battalion commander. Both were removed from office and investigated because of their problematic background,
while Su Zhiyun, a university teacher, was also suspended from teaching.
At the time, it seemed that the Shen Family had been separated and sent away through forced relocation. Shen Zhongheng’s family went to the bitterly cold north, while Shen Zhongyue followed his parents to the southern countryside,
and after the Old Madam married into the Hu family, she stopped paying attention to this family. The next time she heard news of them was probably in 1977,
when “Shu Yao” took her thirteen-year-old stepson to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy walnut pastry. As she came out, a little boy wrapped his arms around her waist and called her Mom,
but the little fatty Hu Yiming shoved him away viciously and said spitefully,
“You little bastard, she’s my mother.”
What had “Shu Yao” done at the time?
She had been moved to tears, feeling that after warming her stepson’s heart for eight years, she had finally warmed it completely.
Damn it, what a lunatic!
Shu Yao only regretted that she had hit him one time too few in the dream. She should have slapped the Old Madam as well.
It was only after “Shu Yao” later returned to her maternal family that she learned the Shen Family had come back,
but of the original family of eight, only the sickly Shen Zhongheng, the lame Shen Zhongyue, and Shen Zhongyue’s son, Shen Huaiyu, remained.
At this thought, Shu Yao shuddered and became even more determined to divorce.
Even in a dream, she could not endure such suffering!
Shen Zhongyue was still trying to persuade her, offering both inducements and desperate pleas. This time, he did not dare speak harshly. From the way Shu Yao had just raised the scissors without hesitation and stabbed them toward her chest, he could tell that she had truly intended to die.
Shu Yao raised her head and glanced at him. In truth, this man was quite handsome. With a completely natural face, free of beautifying effects and filters, he was far more attractive than countless pretty boys of later generations,
but “Shu Yao” did not like him.
The Shen Family and the Shu Family could not afford to lose face over a one-night stand before marriage, so they quickly arranged a marriage for the two of them,
and recalling their wedding night, Shen Zhongyue had been quite happy. Tipsy, he had called out “Wife” as he entered the room, while “Shu Yao,” her face full of disgust, had coldly told him to get out and not touch her,
which sobered Shen Zhongyue somewhat. He had stared at her in astonishment, and when he saw that the disgust and hatred on her face were genuine, his expression had also turned cold,
The two of them had sat stiffly in the bridal chamber all night. The next day, Shen Zhongyue had used an emergency summons from the Military Unit as an excuse to leave.
After he left, only Shen Jianghai, Qin Shu, and “Shu Yao” remained in the Shen Family. Shen Zhongheng was in the Jinling Military Region, while Su Zhiyun had accompanied the Army with her two children and taught art at Jinling University,
The Shen parents, feeling guilty, treated this youngest daughter-in-law very well. After discovering her pregnancy, they indulged her in every way.
Why had they felt guilty? Shu Yao’s head began to ache.
That one-night stand caused by the accident had also been a muddled affair.
“Shu Yao” was actually the granddaughter of the Shu Family. The Shu Family’s relationships were complicated. Before joining the army, her Maternal grandfather had had a child bride in Little Mountain Village, Cui Xilian, chosen for him by their parents,
Shu Zhenzhong’s parents had feared that their son would never return, so they had married him to Cui Xilian, hoping to leave an heir for the Shu Family. Thus, Shu Yao’s mother, Shu Mingnian, was born.
Later, because of bandit unrest and poor communication, a message had been delivered incorrectly. Shu Zhenzhong mistakenly believed that his parents and wife had all died horribly. Afterward, through an introduction, he found his current wife, Wen Xia, in the Military Unit, and they had four sons and two daughters.
The youngest daughter, Shu Minghui, was about the same age as “Shu Yao.”
“Shu Yao” had come to the Shu Family in 1955, when she was six. By then, the war had ended. Shu Zhenzhong had returned to his hometown intending to erect gravestones for his parents and wife, only to learn that they had fled back then—and that he had an elder daughter.
“Shu Yao” did indeed have the surname Shu. To prevent the Shu Family’s line from ending, her maternal grandmother had brought a husband into the family for her daughter. In exchange for a sack of soybeans, they had obtained a sickly man, who died before the child was born.
“Shu Yao’s” mother, Shu Mingnian, had been physically weakened after childbirth. She had to care for both her Old Mother and her daughter, and held on until the child was five before passing away. Shu Zhenzhong had returned at exactly the right time. Her maternal grandmother could not withstand the blow of her daughter’s death and was already clinging to life, holding on solely because she could not bear to leave her young Granddaughter behind.
After handing “Shu Yao” over to Shu Zhenzhong, she finally released that last breath she had been forcing herself to hold.
“Shu Yao” was deeply doted on by Shu Zhenzhong. He poured all his guilt toward his parents, his first wife, and his eldest daughter into “Shu Yao.” Even all her younger uncles and paternal aunts combined could not compare with the weight she carried in Shu Zhenzhong’s heart.
But Shu Zhenzhong was, after all, a man, and his work kept him busy. He had limited time at home, so “Shu Yao” was raised by her stepmother-in-law,
Wen Xia was sweet on the surface but bitter at heart. She would not allow an outsider to steal from their mother-and-children unit the attention that belonged to them. Moreover, “Shu Yao” was the same age as her youngest daughter, while Shu Zhenzhong’s contrasting attitudes were far too obvious. Shu Minghui did not know how many times she had cried because of it,
so she hated this wild girl from a small place until her teeth ached.
“Shu Yao” had grown up in the mountain area. Upon arriving in an unfamiliar place, she had already been anxious and deeply inferior,
and Wen Xia exploited a child’s mentality, constantly filling her head with negative ideas and raising her to be timid and petty.
Although Shu Zhenzhong clearly cherished her, because of Wen Xia’s words, she had never dared approach this Grandfather.
The drugging had been planned by Wen Xia.
As “Shu Yao” gradually grew older, Shu Zhenzhong had been searching for a suitable Granddaughter’s husband for his beloved granddaughter. He had taken a liking to the son of Commander Wei, whom Wen Xia had long been watching for her youngest daughter,
but Wen Xia was not kind enough to marry “Shu Yao” to Shen Zhongyue. Although the Shen Family was inferior to the Wei family, it was not a bad match, and Shen Zhongyue himself was particularly outstanding.
What she wanted to scheme was a marriage with the youngest son of Minister Li’s family. Minister Li was merely a civilian official in the Military Unit, responsible for logistics,
while Shu Zhenzhong was now deputy commander of the Military Region.
Naturally, Wen Xia looked down on the Li Family. Besides, their youngest son was good for nothing, spending his days chasing cats and teasing dogs instead of doing anything worthwhile, which suited Wen Xia perfectly. More importantly, she had seen that her youngest daughter liked him.
Sacrificing “Shu Yao” would accomplish two goals at once.
But who could have known that, through a twist of fate, Shen Zhongyue would drink the doctored water?
Through Wen Xia’s deliberate and inadvertent spreading of rumors, “Shu Yao” had always had an ordinary reputation in the compound. At the time, a rumor had also somehow begun circulating that the Shu Family wanted to marry her to Shu Zhenzhong’s orderly,
and on top of that, “Shu Yao” really had personally carried that doctored water to Shen Zhongyue.
Perhaps Shen Zhongyue had also believed in his heart that “Shu Yao” had schemed against him.
But… Shen Zhongyue did not seem to dislike “Shu Yao.” Instead, he had taken all the blame upon himself and had been overjoyed when marrying her,
Why? Shu Yao was somewhat puzzled. Shen Zhongyue was six years older than “Shu Yao,” and the two of them had had no previous interaction. Could it be love at first sleep?