If mending relationships could be achieved with money, Shen Cui would be willing to give most of her silver to this young couple. However, considering Mu Yunchuan’s suspicious nature, she couldn’t go too far. She didn’t want them to think she had ulterior motives and was after something big.

Even with just two taels of silver, both Mu Yunchuan and Madam Zhou were surprised.

They knew too well how thrifty their stepmother was; she was tight-fisted even with her own son, let alone them!

However, they didn’t dare ask Shen Cui why she suddenly had a change of heart about giving them money.

Madam Zhou hesitated to accept the money, but Shen Cui simply placed the money pouch next to Mu Yunchuan and continued, “Keep on studying, no need to bother about me. I… I’ll leave after a while.”

Since she was already here, Shen Cui figured that no one had ever died from embarrassment. She sat on the stool, toes fidgeting inside her soft-soled cloth shoes.

Mu Yunchuan and Madam Zhou exchanged a glance, a brief moment of silent communication passing between them. Eventually, they tacitly chose not to say anything more.

One returned to the desk to resume studying, while the other went to the kitchen to fetch a chipped, coarse porcelain bowl and made Shen Cui a cup of tea with crushed tea leaves.

Sitting on the stool, Shen Cui felt like she was sitting on pins and needles for a while. However, to her disappointment, despite Mu Yunchuan looking extremely focused at the desk, the countdown on the semi-transparent screen in front of her eyes continued.

This kind of inexplicable phenomenon, not adhering to scientific logic, was probably infallible. Thus, the error must be… Shen Cui helplessly looked at Mu Yunchuan, seemingly immersed in his books. Was it a requirement to “read” it to count, or was the male lead of the original book, with more schemes than a lotus root hole, not actually reading at all?!

【System Warning: Newbie Task time limit is now less than half an hour!】

A massive dialogue box appeared in front of her, and Shen Cui was so startled that she nearly fell off the stool.

Both Mu Yunchuan and Madam Zhou turned their attention to the commotion. Shen Cui’s peculiar behavior this early morning had already aroused suspicion in the two.

Stabilizing herself, Shen Cui lowered her voice, “How about you read it aloud for me?”

Mu Yunchuan put down his book, sighed softly, and said, “Mother, whatever you want, just say it directly. If your son can do it, I will definitely do it for you. There’s no need to humiliate me like this.”

Upon hearing this, even Madam Zhou couldn’t help but turn her face away.

In her heart, Shen Cui thought that she really didn’t intend to humiliate the original male lead. He feared she would provoke him for a pretext, and she feared he would settle scores after!

But what the original owner had done over the years was indeed outrageous. The young couple avoiding her like snakes and scorpions was understandable.

Both Mu Yunchuan and Madam Zhou turned their attention to her. Shen Cui’s strange behavior this early morning had already raised suspicions in the two.

So, her thoughts took a turn, and she said, “It’s like this, today I came to borrow a book from Yunchuan to teach Er Lang.”

For Mu Yunchuan, it was clear that he couldn’t complete the system task. Shen Cui had to shift her focus to her lazy son lying on the kang at home. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reveal the system’s existence to anyone, and she didn’t dare to do anything suspicious to upset the male lead. Instead of being caught in the middle, she decided to take a different approach!

“I see.” Although Madam Zhou was capable, being around sixteen or seventeen, and lacking the protagonist’s halo, she was relatively simple-minded. Upon hearing Shen Cui’s explanation, she immediately relaxed.

However, when Mu Yunchuan didn’t respond immediately, Madam Zhou quickly retracted her smile and silently watched him, evidently waiting for his decision.

After a while, Mu Yunchuan spoke, “Mother, what book would you like to borrow?”

Seeing him relenting, Shen Cui secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Just ‘Bai Jia Xing’ or ‘San Zi Jing’ will do.”

Since her lazy son couldn’t recognize a single character, Shen Cui chose the simplest books she knew.

Mu Yunchuan didn’t ask further questions and quickly handed the book to Shen Cui.

Without wasting any time, Shen Cui stood up to bid farewell, briskly heading back home.

Once she left, Madam Zhou truly sighed with relief, whispering, “I thought my mother-in-law wanted… fortunately, nothing happened today.”

As younger generations, they couldn’t say much. Madam Zhou suppressed her words.

Compared to the past actions of his stepmother, today’s Shen Cui just came for a visit, borrowed a book, which was already considered not normal behavior.

A faint cold smile appeared at the corner of Mu Yunchuan’s lips.

Nothing happened? He didn’t think so.

At this stage of childhood education, the basics start with “Three Character Classic,” “Hundred Family Surnames,” and “Thousand Character Classic.”

Although this is common knowledge for literate people, Shen Cui’s was illiterate and didn’t know about it. How could she know about these basics? When their father was alive, he had mentioned the importance of educating Mu Erlang, just like they did for Mu Yunchuan.

What did his stepmother say at that time?

She argued that there were plenty of people who read books, but how many could achieve good results? Erlang had his biological father and older brother to take care of him. Being a wealthy and idle person would be better, so why bother with the hardship of studying?

Therefore, when Erlang was four or five years old, she firmly refused the idea of starting his education. Now that Erlang was ten, why did she suddenly change her mind?

Mu Yunchuan suspected there was someone manipulating behind the scenes, plotting something.

His stepmother might not have any significant abilities, but she was always meddling and annoying. Like this morning, her sudden visit disrupted his concentration, and he couldn’t focus on his studies for the better part of the day.

The county exam was scheduled for February of the following year, and Mu Yunchuan had decided to participate to make a name for himself. He couldn’t afford to be careless, especially since he was still a beginner in the scholarly world. It was time to deal with Shen Cui and give her something.

With these thoughts, Mu Yunchuan’s smile turned even colder. He put down the book and stood up. “I’m going to the city. I’ll be back later.”