The dissatisfaction in Shen Fujuan’s words was too strong, as if she had suddenly become a different person.
Su Lina was startled at first, then pouted in grievance and sat up from the ground on her own.
“I’m jealous of my sister-in-law! Mom, you must have given her good things behind our backs again!”
Shen Fujuan looked coldly at her adopted daughter. In the past, she had dismissed such words as childish and would coax her with pocket money.
Now, she only felt that her adopted daughter was selfish and calculating, her heart long blackened and rotten.
Shen Fujuan tightened her expression. “Your sister-in-law is carrying our Su family’s child. It’s only right for me to give her good things.”
“But you, at such a young age, are always scheming against your own family. Have we ever deprived you of anything or treated you unfairly?”
Shen Fujuan had never spoken so harshly to Su Lina before. Su Lina’s eyes immediately reddened, and she wiped her tears with her sleeve in grievance.
Zhao Xiaorou’s heart raced. Her mother-in-law had always doted on her sister-in-law—what was going on today?
Hastily smoothing things over, she handed over a can of the milk powder her mother-in-law had given her. “It’s nothing. If you like it, take it and drink it.”
Su Lina sniffled. Milk powder, and imported at that—three big scoops mixed with half a cup of water would taste heavenly.
Her adoptive mother was indeed biased, giving it only to her sister-in-law and not her!
Just as she reached out to take it, a sharp slap interrupted her.
“Your sister-in-law is pregnant and needs to supplement her nutrition. She’s offering it to you, and you really have the nerve to take it?”
Shen Fujuan’s gaze was stern. Su Lina froze, and the pent-up grievances of the day finally burst forth. “Mom, you’re just biased! It’s because I’m not your biological child!”
With a loud sob, she wiped her tears and ran out, crying.
After driving the girl away, the knot of anger that had been lodged in Shen Fujuan’s chest finally loosened. Seeing her somewhat frightened daughter-in-law, she patted her hand comfortingly.
“I’ve spoiled that child. Don’t mind her. Keep these things for yourself to eat.”
After instructing her daughter-in-law, Shen Fujuan returned to the master bedroom. Just as she was about to check the ancient texts preserved at home, a strong arm wrapped around her from behind.
A deep male voice sounded by her ear. “Are you angry?”
Shen Fujuan trembled slightly. The warmth from her husband’s body made her eyes sting.
Although he appeared cold and usually paid little attention to household matters, somehow, he always knew whenever she was upset.
Her mind involuntarily drifted back to the previous life—the man lying on a straw mat in the cowshed. That once proud and fastidious man, reduced to skin and bones, stubbornly saving his own rations for them…
Tears burst forth like a broken dam, flooding down her cheeks. Shen Fujuan turned and clung tightly to Su Jiaxuan, as if the man before her might vanish the next second.
Su Jiaxuan’s eyes widened in surprise.
In their twenty years together, he had never seen his wife so distraught.
Usually, whenever she felt slighted, she would timidly swallow her grievances and keep them to herself.
“Don’t cry,” he tightened his arms slightly, one hand pressing against her back. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Fujuan could no longer hold back. She poured out everything that had happened in her previous life, attributing it all to a dream.
At this moment, he was the only one she could rely on.
After listening, Su Jiaxuan’s expression turned grave. He slowly sat back on the sofa, his dark brows tightly knit, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
He was a materialist.
But the fear in his wife’s eyes was laid bare before him.
So, after only a few seconds, he said, “No matter what, I will protect you and the children. Don’t worry.”
“As for Lina… the Su family has raised her for over a decade, fulfilling every duty and showing utmost kindness.”
Shen Fujuan pressed her lips together.
She hadn’t expected Su Jiaxuan to believe her unconditionally about such supernatural and bizarre matters.
Perhaps heaven had granted her this rebirth to give her a chance—to walk hand in hand once more with those who truly loved her and to protect the family she was meant to guard.
And as for Su Lina…
She truly couldn’t understand how they had raised such an ungrateful wretch.
They had treated Su Lina like their own child in every way, teaching her to read and imposing strict standards, yet she only saw it as abuse.
Because of her allergies, they didn’t let her eat seafood, and she felt targeted, as if living under someone else’s roof.
When they forbade her from mingling with riffraff, she accused them of discriminating against the proletariat and obstructing her freedom to marry.
Twenty years ago, Su Jiaxuan was swamped with work, and Shen Fujuan was wholly devoted to her research. With two children at home and too much to handle, they hired a nanny to help.
Su Lina had come with the nanny. Taking pity on the girl for losing her father at a young age, Shen Fujuan treated the mother and daughter generously. She provided room and board, paid twenty yuan a month in wages, and even bought new clothes for Su Lina.
Later, the nanny fell gravely ill. Despite the Su family’s efforts and financial support, they couldn’t save her. On her deathbed, she grasped Shen Fujuan’s hand and begged her to give Su Lina a bite to eat.
And so, Shen Fujuan raised Su Lina as her own daughter from the age of five until now.
Recalling her past life, Su Lina, being of poor peasant origin and not registered under the Su household, had escaped being sent down to the countryside.
Before their departure, she came to see them off. The Su family thought she was there to bid farewell, but instead, she laughed wildly and declared that she was the one who had reported them.
She despised the Su family’s high-and-mighty attitude. Now that they had finally fallen into the mud, she wished they would all perish in the Northeast.
She even slandered them, claiming they had exploited and oppressed her mother, working her to death.
“In any case, it’s better for us to take precautions in advance.”
Shen Fujuan didn’t want to bear the unjust stigma of mistreating an adopted daughter. In these times, reputation still mattered greatly.
It was also unrealistic to expect everyone to immediately recognize Su Lina as a rotten seed.
So, for now, she could only settle for the next best thing—working with her husband to destroy, one by one, the “evidence of crimes” that Su Lina had personally reported in their past life.
Su Jiaxuan remained silent for a long moment. “There’s another way: divorce. You and the children can publicly announce in the papers that you’ve severed ties with me.”
After speaking, his gaze fixed on the woman’s beautiful, vibrant face—intense and profound, as if trying to memorize something.
“No! Don’t even think about it!”
Shen Fujuan’s voice suddenly rose. She could never abandon her husband!
Su Jiaxuan frowned, about to sternly tell her not to be unreasonable, when in the next second, a soft, delicate hand covered his mouth.
Tears welled in Shen Fujuan’s eyes as she glared at him, both angry and tender, forbidding him to say another word.
“Let’s deal with that evidence first. Even if we can’t avoid punishment entirely, we might still be able to plead for leniency.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“No matter what, I will never divorce you.”
Su Jiaxuan’s throat tightened. “Mm.” He could only concede for now.
Shen Fujuan sighed in relief and tried to withdraw her hand, but unexpectedly, the man grasped it back. His clear voice now burned with intensity: “You know where everything in the house is, but there’s one place I haven’t told you about—it’s an emergency stash passed down from our ancestors.”
“Behind the scroll painting in the attic on the second floor.”
Shen Fujuan froze, not quite processing his words.
Su Jiaxuan had originally intended to help Shen Fujuan dispose of the “incriminating evidence,” but unfortunately, it was time for work, and he had to return to continue writing his self-criticism. If he were late, those people would once again harshly criticize his family.
Shen Fujuan withdrew her hand from the man’s large palm, her expression serious as she assured him, “Leave it to me with peace of mind. I’ll handle it properly. Go and attend to your work.”
Su Jiaxuan stood at the entranceway, watching his wife’s earnest demeanor. Suddenly, he took a step forward, his fingertips lightly brushing her cheek. “Wait for me to come back.”
Shen Fujuan’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. She nodded and softly replied, “Mm.”
She watched Su Jiaxuan push his 28-inch bicycle out of the yard, her gaze following him until he rode away. Only then did she withdraw her gaze, patting her cheeks absentmindedly, trying to suppress the ripples stirred in her heart by the man.
She still had important matters to attend to!
While that little ingrate wasn’t home, she needed to quickly dispose of the “incriminating evidence.”
Shen Fujuan first opened the safe in the corner of the living room. Su Lina had always believed it contained gold bars, but in reality…
As the door opened, the scent of ink wafted out.
In her past life, Su Jiaxuan had desperately tried to protect this stack of ancient texts passed down from their ancestors. However, they had threatened him with the child in his eldest daughter-in-law’s womb, forcing him to reveal the password.
The precious heirlooms were torn to shreds in the hands of those who couldn’t appreciate their value.
Shen Fujuan carefully placed the ancient texts into sealed bags, storing them in her Dimensional Space. She then gathered all the controversial items—antiques, foreign books, coffee beans, and the like—and finally made her way to the secret location her husband had mentioned.
The Su family currently lived in a villa passed down from their ancestors. The second-floor attic had always been used for storing miscellaneous items. In the corner of the wall hung a painting stained with oil stains. Lifting it aside revealed a hole in the wall, concealing a safe.
When she opened it, inside were a full fifty large gold bars!