“Ah!”
Accompanied by Zheng Xiuyu’s sharp scream, Shen Tang slowly opened his eyes, looking at his panicked wife with surprise.
With that scream, everyone in the house began to wake up.
“My money?!”
“My jade pendant?!”
Hearing the word “money,” Shen Tang finally snapped out of his drowsiness.
“What money?”
Zheng Xiuyu hesitated—should she reveal her secret stash? Over the years, following Shen Tang, she had secretly saved some money for herself!
Seeing the empty room, Shen Tang didn’t even bother changing his clothes; he dashed downstairs.
When he rushed to the basement and saw the door wide open, his heart sank to the bottom.
He nearly fell to his knees. Zheng Xiuyu, disheveled, followed behind and helped him up.
Shen Tang reached out in disbelief, saying to Zheng Xiuyu, “Y-you… go in and see for yourself!”
Zheng Xiuyu looked at this cowardly man and inwardly despised him.
She forced herself inside, circled the room, and ran back in a panic.
“G-gone! Old Shen! Everything… all gone! Completely empty!”
Zheng Xiuyu cried, her messy hair flailing like a ghost.
Hearing this, Shen Tang’s vision blackened, and he fainted.
Outside, chaos erupted like the beating of drums.
Shen Qingran woke, stretched, and felt refreshed.
Suddenly, she remembered the system alert from last night. She had been too busy to read it carefully.
Opening the panel now, she froze as she read the information.
No… it couldn’t be her!
She actually was…?
Even with a second life, Shen Qingran had never imagined this.
Yet, a plan quickly formed in her mind.
[Name: Jade Fish Pendant]
[Information: Carved by a Tang dynasty master; first owner was Yang Yuhuan]
[This jade pendant passed through many hands; the last known owner was Nan Zaoyunzi!]
No!
Shen Qingran’s eyes glinted coldly at the last words. Zheng Xiuyu was a secret agent for the Japanese!
Zheng Xiuyu appeared only slightly younger than Shen Qingran’s father, living an ordinary life, resembling a typical stepmother. Without the spatial pocket, Shen Qingran would never have suspected.
But thinking carefully…
Her mother’s family was a medicinal dynasty; many formulas were inaccessible to outsiders.
Moreover, her father had dealings with this woman and even a child before meeting her mother!
Could it be…?
Shen Qingran didn’t dare dwell on it. Many family formulas had been lost, and many items gone—once thought to be due to chaos.
Now it was clear: it was deliberate! Zheng Xiuyu had hidden herself very well.
Clearly, the Zheng family had big problems.
Shen Qingran narrowed her eyes. This time, there would be no escape.
Outside, chaos reigned.
Everyone knew there had been a theft last night. Shen Tang was still unconscious, and Zheng Xiuyu wailed on the floor.
Shen Yulian shouted about losing all her belongings. Shen Wei and Shen Ci frowned deeply.
But compared to the theft, nobody seemed concerned about Shen Wei’s face—it had swollen overnight. Last night it was just a red handprint; this morning, both sides were puffed up.
Shen Qingran descended the stairs slowly, rubbing her slightly sore arms from last night.
Sitting on a bed and hitting people really was tiring!
Next time, she thought, she shouldn’t handle all the punishment alone. Perhaps she could find other ways.
At this moment, no one noticed Shen Qingran had come downstairs.
Zheng Xiuyu frantically shouted for Zhang Ma to press Shen Tang’s acupoint on his philtrum and insisted on reporting to the police.
Shen Qingran looked at Zheng Xiuyu and thought: if it weren’t for the system, who would have suspected this ordinary-looking stepmother was a long-hidden Japanese spy?
Zheng Xiuyu cried loudly, while the servants in the room looked bewildered.
Chef Xu and another servant, Wang Ma, tried to help Zheng Xiuyu.
But she ignored them, her hair loose, crying as if Shen Tang were dead instead of fainted.
Zhang Ma appeared behind Shen Qingran, finally relieved. She didn’t know what had happened last night, but it was surely related to Miss Shen. She would not say a word, even at the cost of her life, if it benefited Shen Qingran.
Shen Qingran approached Shen Tang and pushed Zheng Xiuyu aside.
Shen Yulian panicked, her face red, shouting, “What are you doing?!”
Shen Ci and the swollen-faced Shen Wei stood side by side, ready for a brawl.
Shen Qingran: “If you block me, Dad really won’t wake up! Move!”
Everyone froze in confusion.
Unnoticed, Shen Qingran now held a needle in her hand, taken from her spatial pocket.
Zheng Xiuyu was stunned. This spoiled girl… could practice medicine? She had never heard of it before!
Since she was a stepmother, her children hadn’t had a chance to learn the Shen family’s medical skills. Could it be Shen Qingran learned secretly?
Zheng Xiuyu’s doubts were silenced as Shen Qingran rolled up her sleeves and began acupuncture on Shen Tang.
She applied needles to major points and the hands.
Shen Wei: “Don’t kill Dad!”
Shen Ci: “Yeah, don’t mess up!”
Shen Yulian: “I never knew you could do medicine! Are you just blindly poking?”
“Zhang Ma, if anyone interferes and delays Dad’s treatment, smack them!”
“Yes, Miss!”
Zhang Ma stiffened, eyes firm as if ready to be recorded in the archives.
Everyone went silent; even a needle dropping could be heard.
Shen Qingran looked at Shen Tang. Hmph! You fainted—perfect timing to treat this arrogant man!
She almost knew that her mother had been framed by Shen Tang and Zheng Xiuyu. Fueled by this anger, her strikes were more forceful.
In the end, after applying 81 needles…
“Ah!”
Shen Tang groaned and moved slightly.