Chapter 217: Shen Zhu and Shen Zhang Shi’s Scheming

On the day of the Rain Worship Festival, Shen Zhu failed to become the Rain Goddess. Anyone who knew she had been chosen as the Rain Goddess was curious about what had happened. Although the                          wasn’t open to everyone, there were still many people inside, and the events of that day were indeed strange. Eventually, the truth about Shen Zhu’s sudden outbreak of red rash spread.

From that day on, the tongues in Riverside Village kept wagging about the Shen family.

Initially, people frequently asked any member of the Shen family about Shen Zhu’s condition, and some even visited to inquire about her health. This constant attention made the Shen family uneasy, their faces darkening like the bottom of a pot. Eventually, nobody dared to ask openly, but gossip still circulated in private. Most people believed that Shen Zhu had been harmed by someone, citing the incident of Zhao Xiaohua, who had become the Rain Goddess, falling from the carriage as divine retribution. However, there were also more malicious rumors suggesting that the Rain Goddess had looked down on Shen Zhu, leading to her replacement at the last minute. Only when Zhao Xiaohua proved to be unsuitable did she fall from the carriage.

Zhao Xiaohua and Shen Zhu’s reputations suffered because of the gossip, but their families’ favorable circumstances helped mitigate the impact. Zhao Xiaohua’s brother had become wealthy, while Shen Zhu’s brother, Shen Zi’an, was even more prosperous. Not only had Shen Zi’an become affluent, but Shen Ziju’s future prospects also seemed promising. This prevented the village from gossiping too maliciously, though they still enjoyed spreading rumors in private.

Despite this, Shen Youfu remained confined to the house, unwilling to venture outside.

Shen Zhu’s illness gradually improved, and her complexion returned to its previous fair state. However, her mood remained sour, and she stayed holed up at home. She hoped that with time, people would forget about her, and when her brother succeeded in the provincial examination, she could emerge without fear of ridicule.

Shen Zhu’s resentment simmered as she heard about the renovation of Shen Zijiu’s garden. Even her elder brothers were pitching in, which reminded her of Su Zhi’s refusal to help her when she was ill. Despite Su Zhi’s explanation that she has no cure for her, Shen Zhu remained skeptical. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Su Zhi was capable of helping but simply chose not to, fueling her sense of neglect.

These thoughts spurred Shen Zhu to venture outside.

Meanwhile, Shen Youfu remained holed up at home, nursing his grudge against Shen Zhu. The growing prosperity of Shen Zi’an only exacerbated his discomfort. Despite his wealth, Shen Youfu felt increasingly alienated from his son, resenting his success as a reminder of his own lack of control. Thus, he continued to feign illness, refusing to participate in the family’s activities.

Shen Zhang shi had been reluctant to go out lately. Even Shen Youfu, a grown man, felt embarrassed, so it was no surprise she felt the same. Shen Youfu couldn’t bear to see Shen Zi’an’s family prospering. Watching the money flow elsewhere was painful, but for her, it was even worse. After all, Shen Zi’an wasn’t her own son. If her own son struck it rich, she’d be pleased. Still, she maintained her composure. When Shen Zi’an visited, she inquired about his finances, expressing concern and offering to send all three brothers and their wives to help. Even the children were dispatched.

Now, when Shen Zhu mentioned wanting to see how Shen Zi’an’s garden was coming along, Shen Zhang shi scrutinized her.

At first, Shen Zhu pretended to be a caring sister, interested in her elder brother’s affairs. But under Shen Zhang shi’s gaze, she began to falter, lowering her head slightly.

“Mother, if we don’t spend more time with Fourth Brother, we’ll drift even further apart. After all, he’s not my real brother. To build a close relationship, we need to interact more and show him we care,” Shen Zhu said. She didn’t hold any resentment toward Shen Zi’an at the moment. Throughout her life, whenever she asked Shen Zi’an for something, he always provided. Moreover, Shen Zi’an was handsome. Among the five brothers, he and Shen Ziju were equally good-looking, but in different ways. Shen Ziju was charmingly intellectual, while Shen Zi’an had a rugged handsomeness. Shen Ziju was talented, while Shen Zi’an excelled in hunting and manual labor. Although Shen Zhu didn’t hold Shen Zi’an in as high regard as Shen Ziju, partly because he wasn’t from the same mother and sometimes treated her coldly, deep down, she believed Shen Zi’an was worthy of being her brother. She appreciated how well he treated her. However, his indulgence toward her changed after he married Su Zhi.

Shen Zhu recalled how Shen Zi’an made Su Zhi bathe every day for her illness, and she also wanted a bathtub, but Shen Zi’an didn’t provide one. She believed it was entirely Su Zhi’s fault.

On the day of the Rain Worship Festival, when Su Zhi didn’t attend to her illness, Shen Zhu’s dislike for Su Zhi grew even stronger.

Shen Zhu believed that it was all because Su Zhi married into the family that Shen Zi’an drifted further away. If it weren’t for Su Zhi, Shen Zi’an wouldn’t have split from the family, nor would he have caused the second brother’s family to split apart. It was all Su Zhi’s fault. Shen Zhu was determined to win back her fourth brother and make sure he no longer cared about Su Zhi.

Making Su Zhi’s life difficult became Shen Zhu’s top priority.

Currently, Shen Zi’an’s family was renovating their garden. This was a significant event for a rural household. Besides tending to crops, building houses was a major affair for rural families. Shen Zi’an’s family’s garden renovation was even more significant than building a regular house. Their garden was huge. Once renovated, it could become the envy of the entire village.

At this moment, everyone from the Shen family should pitch in to help. Only then could they demonstrate their unity as a family.

Shen Zhu’s plan was to leverage the harmony among her family members to reclaim some of Shen Zi’an’s attention away from Su Zhi. She believed that if there were conflicts between family members and Su Zhi in the future, Shen Zi’an wouldn’t wholeheartedly side with Su Zhi. At that time, she would have ways to make Su Zhi uncomfortable. Finding a way to replace Su Zhi as the fourth sister-in-law would be the best outcome.

Shen Zhu harbored sinister thoughts. The scandal surrounding Zhao Daliang’s family was the talk of the Riverside Village. Although Shen Zhu despised Zhao Daliang for abandoning his first wife, she admitted that Zhang Qingniang was much better than Liu Siniang. Zhang Qingniang was beautiful, wealthy, and eloquent—everything Liu Siniang was not. Shen Zhu believed that men were always attracted to novelty. She planned to first mend Shen Zi’an’s relationship with the family, then find a way to find him a new wife, making Su Zhi cry in the end.

Shen Zhu didn’t share these thoughts with Shen Zhang shi, but she believed that her mother would think along the same lines as her. After all, her mother was even more astute than her.

Sure enough, when Shen Zhang shi heard Shen Zhu’s words, she responded, “You’re right. I’ve tried to persuade your father several times, but he refuses to go out. He’s upset because of your situation. Go and talk to him. He still cares about you. Unfortunately, your fifth brother isn’t home right now, or we could have asked him to persuade your father.”

Shen Ziju was away for his exams at the moment.

Shen Zhu went to see Shen Youfu, and after some persuasion, he finally agreed to come out. The three of them then headed towards the east side of the river.

As soon as they entered the garden gate, they saw everyone inside the garden working enthusiastically.

The garden now looked quite different from before. Although it wasn’t completely renovated yet, you could already tell it was going to be something special.

Shen Youfu looked at the newly planted trees, the freshly laid paths, the newly arranged rockeries, and the houses being built nearby. He couldn’t help but think that his fourth son had been lying to him about the family’s finances running low. If they were really running out of money, how could they afford all this? It seemed like his son was distancing himself from him.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, you’re here!”

Xiaori was playing with Xinger and Yueyue, accompanied by Da Hui, Little Black, and Little White. As for White Wolf and Black Dog, they had gone to the mountains. White Wolf insisted on going to the mountains every day. Although it had gotten used to living here, its wild nature could only be satisfied in the wilderness. It always brought back food for the family, and there was always some left over. Just the fur of those animals could bring in some income for Shen Zi’an’s family.

Shen Youfu looked at the three children, nodded, and made a sound of acknowledgment. Seeing their fair and tender faces, dressed in fine cotton clothes, he couldn’t help but think that Shen Zi’an had too much money to spare. Why hadn’t he spent some on his own nieces and nephews? He seemed to care more about the children they had found than about his own family.

Shen Zhu felt a little uncomfortable seeing the children. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous when she thought about how they had become young participants while she hadn’t become the Rain Goddess during the rain worship festival. However, she didn’t show it on her face and instead walked over to pat the heads of the three children.

“Xiaori, Xinger, Yueyue, you haven’t visited Auntie these days. Auntie misses you. Auntie is sick, and you didn’t even come to see her.”

Xiaori replied, “We went with Mom and Dad to bring food to Auntie, but we didn’t want to disturb Auntie while she’s resting.”

Xinger chimed in, “Auntie, your illness is all better now. Congratulations!”

Yueyue, with wide eyes, said, “I’ll go tell Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, and Auntie that you’re here.” With that, Yueyue dashed off. She knew where her mother was, so she headed straight for her.

Upon hearing that her in-laws and younger sister-in-law had arrived, Su Zhi felt relieved. They had been cooped up in the house since the Rain Worship Festival, and she had thought they wouldn’t come out until the garden was finished.

“Sister, your in-laws are here. You should go see them. You don’t need to work here anymore. Look at your hands; they’re covered in dirt. Your hands are not meant for this kind of labor. But don’t wash them. Just go like this. Let them know you’re not afraid of hard work.”

Shugen’s wife chimed in, voicing her concerns about why the elderly couple from the Shen family had come. She had a gut feeling that dealing with them would be more exhausting for Su Zhi than working in the garden. This wasn’t just idle speculation. When Shen Zi’an’s house was being built, the elderly couple had visited a few times but hadn’t helped with any work. Instead, they acted like supervisors, nitpicking every detail. Now that the garden was being renovated, it was a significant improvement over the old Shen house. She wondered if the grumpy old man from the Shen family would cause trouble again. So, she was indirectly warning Su Zhi by mentioning it.

Li Qing’s wife was more straightforward with her words.

“Sister, make sure to share your hardships later. Let your in-laws know how difficult it is for you all. Don’t let them spend too much money again.”

Su Zhi chuckled and suggested they all take a break. She then took Yueyue’s hand and headed towards the gate, dragging her hand across her face a couple of times as they walked. This left streaks of dirt, making her look tired. With her eyebrows furrowed, she appeared visibly exhausted.

Shen Youfu, Shen Zhang shi, and Shen Zhu saw Su Zhi and couldn’t help but notice that she appeared to have been working hard, as she looked quite dirty, almost as if she had just been farming.

“Fourth sister-in-law, where have you been? Look, there’s grass in your hair,” Shen Zhu said as she walked up to Su Zhi and plucked a dry weed from her hair. Seeing the dirt on Su Zhi’s face, Shen Zhu couldn’t help but think that her sister-in-law didn’t know how to enjoy life. Despite being able to afford help, she was still working. She was indeed a capable woman, but men tended to favor delicate women once they had money. It seemed that her idea of inserting another woman between her fourth brother and Su Zhi could be realized.

However, looking at Su Zhi’s fair and delicate face, Shen Zhu thought that they needed to find a woman who was not only capable but also as attractive as Su Zhi.

Su Zhi smiled and said, “There’s so much work to be done at home, even with all the help we’ve hired. I just want to get everything finished quickly. The household finances are getting tighter, so I’m eager to see this project completed as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhang shi couldn’t help but wonder if her son’s wife was hinting at financial difficulties. She recalled Su Zhi’s previous mentions of money to Shen Youfu. However, she knew it wouldn’t be right to ask Shen Youfu to ask Shen Zi’an for money. It wouldn’t be appropriate for a father to ask his son for money, especially when the son was already spending money on household projects. Instead, she praised Shen Zi’an, remarking how he managed to make money quietly after claiming that their finances were tight following the completion of the house and land purchase. She admired his ability to generate income.

With that said, Shen Youfu naturally thought of the money in Shen Zi’an’s hands, and he even speculated further, considering that Shen Zi’an had deceived him from the start, and the money at that time was never spent.

It must be said that Shen Zhang shi was indeed a very clever woman. Otherwise, she would not have such a good reputation in Riverside Village as a stepmother. She could deceive the entire village, so naturally, she could also deceive Shen Youfu. With just a few words, she made Shen Youfu follow her thoughts.