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Shen Zhu admired Shen Ziju’s smile, thinking how charming her little brother looked when he smiled. Even she, his younger sister, felt a bit shy and blushful when she saw him smile. In this life, she resented being born into such a poor family, but the one thing she cherished was having an intelligent mother. The most fortunate thing was having an older brother, Shen Ziju, with boundless prospects. Though his arrival had diminished some of her privileges as the youngest child, she hoped that once he attained an official position, their family’s status would rise, bringing her along. Thus, her expectations for her brother were high, and seeing him injured, she was just as concerned as he was.
“Fifth brother, does your head still hurt? Do you think the medicine from that jinx is effective?”
Shen Zhu harbored some resentment towards Su Zhi now. If her fifth brother hadn’t gone to her house, perhaps he wouldn’t have been injured by her sister, that Lianhua.
Shen Ziju said, “That’s our Fourth Sister-in-law. Let’s not call her a jinx anymore. It’s not good for us to quarrel as a family. Besides, it doesn’t sound good if it spreads. Do you want others to say that we have a jinx in our family?”
“I only said that in front of you! Even if we don’t believe she’s not a jinx, you just went to Fourth Brother’s house, and you got hurt by her sister. Third Sister-in-law ate the red sour fruit she brought, and said it would harm the child. Third Sister-in-law really lost her child. Women here eat red sour fruit during pregnancy, and nothing happens. No wonder Third Sister-in-law says it’s all because of Fourth Sister-in-law’s curse. It seems plausible to me.”
Shen Zhu spoke softly, her voice pleasant to the ears, but it slightly displeased Shen Ziju.
“Zhu’er, don’t be like Third Sister-in-law, talking behind people’s backs. It’s not good. Fourth Sister-in-law warned Third Sister-in-law in advance, but Third Sister-in-law still ate so much red sour fruit. It’s her own fault. Besides, she’s had several miscarriages before. The child was unstable from the start. It’s not fair to blame others.”
“Third Sister-in-law’s situation isn’t someone else’s fault. What about your situation?”
Shen Zhu felt uncomfortable hearing her little brother defend Su Zhi. That day, when she saw Fourth Sister-in-law who came to deliver medicine to Shen Ziju, she was surprised to see that her skin seemed to have improved a lot. Once her skin improved, her original appearance didn’t look bad either. Thinking back to the several times she had suffered losses under Fourth Sister-in-law’s hands, she disliked her even more.
Shen Ziju’s hand gently touched the cloth on his head. Feeling the cool sensation of the medicine, he seemed to catch a faint scent of Su Zhi’s fragrance again. Lowering his eyelashes slightly, he said, “Mine isn’t her fault either. It was my carelessness. Besides, she also brought me medicine, so we’re even now.”
Shen Zhu’s eyes fixed on Shen Ziju. Fifth Brother didn’t stand up for her and kept talking in favor of Su Zhi. He even said he would rely on her in the future, yet he let her suffer grievances now. She felt very upset, and her impulsive nature surfaced again. Without thinking, she blurted out:
“Are you smitten with that witch? Is that why you won’t blame her?!”
“Nonsense!”
Shen Ziju frowned, looking at Shen Zhu, her pouting lips and reddened eyes. Suppressing his anger, he sighed and said, “Zhu’er, don’t say such things in the future. It would cause big trouble if it spreads. She is our Fourth Sister-in-law, our elder brother’s wife. We should all support her. When our parents divided them, they were already disadvantaged. Now, let’s not stir up more trouble. We’re of the same root; why cause each other harm? Do you want Fourth Brother to truly break ties with us?”
Shen Zhu certainly didn’t want to sever ties with Fourth Brother. After all, his family was now affluent. It would be foolish for her to do so. She just didn’t like Fourth Sister-in-law.
Watching his sister’s graceful figure walk away, Shen Ziju chuckled. He realized that he wasn’t favoring Su Zhi; it was just rare to encounter such an extraordinary woman, so he paid extra attention. But now that his sister had pointed it out, he would indeed be more cautious in the future. Now fifteen, he needed to be mindful of interactions between men and women, even if the other party was his sister-in-law, he still needed to be respectful.
After Shen Zhu left, she saw Chunhua walking out with tears in her eyes. She knew Third Sister-in-law wanted to confront Fourth Brother and his wife but was stopped by their parents. Feeling amused, she thought that with Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law around, Fourth Sister-in-law wouldn’t have an easy time. She just needed to sit back and watch the show; there was no need to get worked up.
Indeed, Sun Shi had just vented her anger on Chunhua. Every time she got angry, she would take it out on her daughter. As for her sons, she would only give them a couple of slaps when extremely enraged, but nothing serious.
Sun Shi unwillingly watched as everyone left, glaring at them. In truth, she wasn’t too saddened by the loss of one child; she already had three sons and a daughter, which she felt was enough. She just wanted to go and demand some money from Su Zhi. She calculated how she could extort at least ten taels. That would be her compensation, earned through her own flesh and blood, which wouldn’t need to be shared with anyone else. But she was stopped, feeling resentful but helpless.
“Third Sister-in-law, while you’re still in your postpartum recovery, have Chunhua cook you two eggs. Fifth Brother said his are for you, and I’ll give you mine too.”
Shen Zhu entered again, smiling as she spoke. Sun Shi’s face immediately lit up upon hearing this. She said, “Thank you, sister. Please thank Fifth Brother for me too. It warms my heart to know you all care. Unlike that Fourth Brother and his wife, who haven’t even bothered to visit me. The richer they get, the stingier they become! If I don’t say anything, they just pretend like nothing happened! Oh, my poor unborn child!”
Shen Zhu stood by, persuading, “Third Sister-in-law, don’t get upset. If you ruin your health, what will happen to my Third Brother and my four nephews and nieces? Taking care of your health is the priority. Oh, Third Sister-in-law, don’t blame Fourth Sister-in-law either. She’s been quite unlucky too. Just think about it, she had barely shaken off the reputation of being a jinx,’ and then my fifth brother falls and nearly ruins his face at her place, and now your child is gone. It’s not good for her reputation either. If this spreads further, with a few more words from others, her reputation as a jinx might come back. It’s really quite pitiful! We’re family, and whatever we say is more believable than what others say. So, please, don’t say anything more.”
Shen Zhu spoke gently and earnestly, her face full of concern as she advised Sun Shi not to trouble Su Zhi.
“Alright, I have some embroidery work to do. I’ll leave now. Third Sister-in-law, take good care of yourself. Oh, please don’t go causing trouble for Fourth Sister-in-law. Perhaps they’re regretting not forcefully taking away the red sour fruit back then, feeling sorry for you now. If you don’t pick a fight with them, they’ll always feel indebted to you. But if you do, it might backfire.”
Shen Zhu stood up after finishing her words and left, returning to her own room. A smile crept onto her lips as she thought about how she had followed Fifth Brother’s advice and persuade Third Sister-in-law. As for what Third Sister-in-law would do next, that wasn’t her concern.
Once Shen Zhu left, Sun Shi began to roll her eyes.
“Chunhua, where did that wretched father of yours go?”
Chunhua hurriedly ran in and said, “Mother, I went to cook eggs for you. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“Go and find your useless father.”
Shen Ziping impatiently walked in, and Sun Shi grabbed him and started whispering to him incessantly. Shen Ziping frowned as he listened, thought for a moment, and then nodded.
Su Zhi finished making the last cushion for the Spring and Autumn chair at home and saw Shen Zi’an coming in, his face not looking too good. She asked, “What’s wrong? Is it about Third Sister-in-law? I was just thinking of taking some medicine to Fifth Brother and checking on Third Sister-in-law. After all, she is our sister-in-law. This postpartum period is also crucial. We still have plenty of eggs, meat, and other things at home, so there’s no need to prepare anything else.”
Shen Zi’an looked at Su Zhi’s calm and gentle face and said, “Brother Shitou just came by. He said there’s gossip spreading in the village again. Wife, don’t worry. They’re trying to blame you again for Ziju’s injury and Third Sister-in-law’s miscarriage. But don’t worry, most people don’t believe it.”
Su Zhi knew that even though there were such rumors this time, her recent efforts had made it so that not many people would believe them. Even if some were suspicious, they wouldn’t reject her as they did last time. However, it still wasn’t good.
“Husband, let’s try to invite the Sacred Beast back,” Su Zhi said. She wanted to establish a good image for herself with her own abilities, so that those who once thought she was a jinx would no longer believe it. But that would take time, and it might not eliminate everyone’s doubts. Only by inviting the Sacred Beast back would those people immediately believe that she wasn’t a jinx. With such an effective method at hand, Su Zhi didn’t want to waste any more effort.
“Wife, can you really invite the sacred Beast back?”
Shen Zi’an asked. He trusted his wife, but when it came down to it, he still had some doubts. After all, he had only seen those two little wolf cubs, but had never seen the larger sacred Beast. They were wolves, and it would be good if they didn’t eat people. Could they really bring them back home?
Su Zhi actually wasn’t sure herself, but when she thought of the Spiritual spring and the White Lotus, she gained confidence. She nodded firmly and said, “I can definitely do it, as long as I see them!”
“Alright, then let’s go find them.”
Seeing his wife so determined, Shen Zi’an expressed his support. He also wanted to see what the Sacred Beast, which could lead them to ginseng, looked like. If they could really bring it back, he would be very excited too.
The two of them decided and set out towards the mountains.
After three days of journeying into the mountains, they hadn’t seen a single trace of a wolf. However, Shen Zi’an managed to catch quite a few prey. Su Zhi regretted not setting up some kind of secret code or signal with the Sacred Beast earlier. She imagined the big white wolf to be very clever, believing it would understand what a signal meant.
After searching for several days, Su Zhi still hadn’t found the sacred Beast. Then, one evening while Su Zhi was embroidering at home, she heard a long, drawn-out howl outside. She immediately looked up.