“But she said this afternoon that it’s only been a day since the wedding, and if we bring her back now, the Lin family will definitely want the betrothal gifts returned. Our family just got robbed clean—we don’t have the money to pay them back,” one of the Shen family members fretted.
Another concern was that even if they tried to find another husband for the second girl in the future, no one would be able to afford that much in betrothal gifts—they were unwilling to let it go.
Shen Baiwei’s eyes flickered as she explained,
“We don’t necessarily need to force them to divorce. We just need to tell the Lin family what she’s done. We’re only bringing her back to teach her how to behave as a proper daughter-in-law. The Lin family won’t disagree.”
After all, no family marrying in a daughter-in-law would want one who’s difficult to manage, and the Lin family even had Lin Ranran, who hoped the couple wouldn’t have a harmonious marriage.
“Well, Baiwei makes a good point. Let’s wait two days. I’ll recover my injuries a bit more and then go to the Lin family with the second son and his wife,” the old patriarch decided.
With Shen Baiwei’s parents silent, no one else dared to object.
Shen Fourth Uncle flashed a sinister smile. Once Shen Baiwei was left without a protector back at the Shen residence, he intended to make her pay.
The patriarch was about to dismiss the meeting when his gaze fell on the second son and his wife, his voice carrying a warning.
“Second son, second daughter-in-law, regarding our trip to the Lin family, you are not allowed to tell the second girl. Understand?”
The couple nodded meekly, showing no concern at all for their own daughter.
The Shen family’s eventful and nerve-wracking day finally ended. After receiving the red flower oil distributed by Shen Eldest, everyone retreated to their rooms to apply the medicine.
When Shen Baizhi woke in the cave, it was already broad daylight. After two days of living together, she and Jiang Yanli had grown familiar with each other.
Having prepared his breakfast as usual, Shen Baizhi left the cave again, pretending to go home for something. When she returned, she carried a basket filled with a small jar of meat sauce, a dozen large steamed buns, a bundle of dried noodles, and some basic seasonings like oil and salt.
The meat sauce was made from fat she had rendered into oil in her space, and it went perfectly with the buns and noodles.
Seeing her prepare all this, Jiang Yanli had already guessed what she was about to say.
“You won’t have time to come over later?”
Shen Baizhi nodded and explained,
“Yes, I’m going to the county for two days. This food should be enough for you for that time. I’ll come back as soon as I can to bring you more.”
“And your injuries… do you want me to get some medicine from the hospital to treat them?”
After tending his wounds last night, Shen Baizhi had found a clean cloth, cut it into strips, and temporarily wrapped the wounds. But whether because it was rough treatment or because some proper medicine and gauze would be better, she wanted to prepare properly.
She also had more urgent matters to handle back in the county.
After experiencing the benefits of the “Power Pill,” she was eager to continue earning merit points to exchange for more items in the system’s store.
After a night of deep contemplation, she finally recalled something that could earn her merit.
Jiang Yanli pondered for a moment, then spoke gravely:
“Then please help me buy some bandages and anti-inflammatory medicine… but when you do, it’s best not to tell the doctor the real situation.”
Shen Baizhi looked at him, thinking for a moment, then understood why he said that. Perhaps he had enemies and feared she would be noticed?
“Alright, don’t worry—I won’t say a word!”
“Coincidentally, my Fourth Uncle was too happy at his wedding yesterday and broke his hand. I can use his name to get the medicine from the doctor.”
“Do you need anything else?”
Jiang Yanli shook his head. Since he was temporarily immobile, he planned to rest here for a while and didn’t want to alert anyone, lest it raise suspicion. Shen Baizhi left him plenty of food and added two buckets of water to the cave to ensure his needs for the next two days.
To prevent his injuries from worsening, she even added two bowls of spirit spring water to the buckets. Over the past two days, she had realized that her broken porcelain bowl could produce three bowls of spirit spring water in a full day and night.
After drinking half a bowl that morning, she felt warmth spread through her body and clarity in her mind.
Leaving the cave, Shen Baizhi planned to visit the Shen residence again to see if they had caused any trouble for Susu.
Today, the Shen family had all taken leave to recover. Recalling the awkwardness from her morning visit, Shen Eldest felt his face burned with shame.
Yesterday, because of Fourth Uncle’s wedding, only the second and third sons’ families went to work. Today, the whole family wanted leave again, but the team leader naturally refused.
So he had to honestly report the situation. But the stubborn little girl’s past reputation for honesty made the team leader disbelieve that the whole family had been beaten. Instead, he warned the family not to tarnish her name in public.
Finally, Shen Eldest had to show the waistband of his trousers for proof before the team leader believed he was genuinely injured—but he still refused to believe it was the second girl who had done it. The notion that she had beaten the entire Shen family seemed impossible.
And indeed, there was no way to refute it!
Only after personally inspecting the injuries on the Shen men did the team leader approve their leave to recover at home.
Stepping out of the Shen gate, the team leader rubbed his head in puzzlement. The Shen family really had been beaten, and in such peculiar places… could it be that Shen Eldest was telling the truth?
Lost in thought, a gentle voice greeted him.
“Good morning, Team Leader!”
Shen Baizhi stood by the roadside and politely called out.
“Oh… oh! Good!”
Seeing her polite demeanor, the team leader wondered if he had been imagining things earlier. This seemed impossible! But why was she still in the village so early? Didn’t she go back last night?
“Didn’t you return to your in-laws last night?”
Shen Baizhi thought quickly and explained,
“Fourth Uncle accidentally broke his hand, and the family fussed until late. I lost track of time, and by the time I realized, it was dark, and the commune had no transport to the county.”
“My Fourth Uncle said that a married girl cannot spend the night at her parents’ house, so I spent the night at the old hunter’s house at the foot of the back mountain.”
The team leader nodded,
“Then you should return to your in-laws early today.”
Though a married girl couldn’t stay at her parents’ house overnight, the Shen family was excessively harsh. If necessary, Second Uncle could have taken her back to the county. Forcing her out—well, they were capable of that.
After bidding farewell to the team leader, Shen Baizhi entered the Shen family gate. Her conversation with the team leader had not been whispered, and it was clearly overheard by the family.
Yet, despite the obvious slander, no one dared to speak up.
Shen Baizhi glanced at the main house, snorted, and called from the middle of the courtyard:
“Susu, come here!”
“Sister, I’m coming!”
Shen Baisu ran over, squinting happily. Hearing her sister’s voice, she couldn’t resist clinging to the door.
Once outside on the open ground, Shen Baizhi lowered her voice and asked:
“The Shen family didn’t give you any trouble, did they?”