Chapter 25 – A Deal with Mother Qin

“Yes, yes—this garden has been with me for so long. I absolutely cannot let that lunatic Qin Ying tear it down,” Minfang immediately agreed, her face full of reluctance.

Yao Shanshan sipped her warm water, frowning because it hadn’t been sweetened with honey. She set the cup down, pursing her lips:
“Wan Qing insists you have a solution. Sister-in-law, you’re Mother’s daughter-in-law. If you’ve got a way, don’t hide it.”

Three pairs of expectant eyes bore into Shuhui like torches.

Even Liu Ma, standing behind, felt the pressure—if the young madam didn’t produce some clever plan, it would feel like a waste of this grand visit.

Shanshan thought the same. She didn’t believe Shuhui was particularly smart or capable of handling Aunt Qin. She only came because Wan Qing had dragged her here—better to watch Shuhui get put on the spot.

Unfortunately for her, Shuhui didn’t even bother with all that maneuvering.

“I don’t have a way.”

“……”

Minfang deflated instantly. Shanshan burst into laughter, ready to mock her—only for Wan Qing to jump in first:

“That can’t be, Sister-in-law! How could you not have a way? Back in college, you even solved that basketball court problem! You were a forum celebrity. I still remember someone praising you… oh right—‘The Bloom of Jing University’s Civil Engineering Department!’”

“……”

Shuhui gave her a look that was hard to describe. Since when were we university-town ‘alumni’?

Her university days felt like another lifetime altogether.

The basketball court?

The one where two groups of hot-blooded boys always fought over the community court instead of using the proper university ones?

Yes, she remembered. Every time she went to the internet café, she’d pass that place—and it was never peaceful. Either fights or shouting matches.

One time too many, a stray basketball hit her.

Enough was enough. She wrote a signed proposal to the community office.

Two weeks later, the court was converted into a seniors’ activity center. From then on, cheerful square-dance music replaced the brawls.

But because of this, she’d been roasted on the campus forum for ages. The nickname “One Bloom of Civil Engineering” was actually the start of a sarcastic ditty:

JingU’s Civil Bloom, graduates to a bitter gloom.

She’d been teased mercilessly—ambushed with confessions and love letters everywhere she went. Annoying as hell.

Still, she never regretted it. At least her walk to the internet café was safe from flying “unidentified objects.”

“Did you think of something, Sister-in-law?” Wan Qing leaned forward, eyes gleaming.

Shuhui leaned back, shaking her head.

Not at all—just reminiscing about her cringy college years.

“……”

Minfang clenched her teeth, rising like a warrior heading to battle. “Forget it! I’ll just guard my garden with my life and fight that lunatic Qin Ying to the bitter end!”

But guarding was useless. Aunt Qin was fully capable of sneaking in overnight to destroy it.

Shuhui only shrugged and got up to see them out. But before they reached the door, Minfang kept muttering angrily:

“Just last time, I entertained Wenran in that pavilion… who doesn’t love it?

No matter what it costs, even if I have to break with Qin Ying forever, I’ll never let her tear down my garden!”

Lin Wenran…

Shuhui’s eyes flickered. She lowered her gaze, thinking. Then she spoke softly:

“Madam, do you truly want to keep the garden?”

Minfang immediately turned back, hopeful. “Yes! Very much! Have you thought of a way?”

She and her two closer daughters-in-law weren’t clever. Three of them together still couldn’t beat Qin Ying in a fight—they only ever ended up screaming to no result.

Driven to desperation, Minfang pinned her hopes on Shuhui. At least this eldest daughter-in-law looked intelligent, and she was from a top university.

“I do have an idea—but I’ll only tell Madam alone.”

“What? Sister-in-law, what’s with that? We’re one family—why can’t we hear it?”

Shanshan bristled, then gasped dramatically as if enlightened.

“Ah! You just want to send us away and sow division! We’re one family—you can’t pull tricks like that!”

Her belly twitched violently, and Shuhui worried she might go into labor right then. She didn’t want to argue. “I have my reasons. If you don’t like it, then forget it. You can all go.”

“You—!”

Shanshan tried to retort, but Minfang cut her off.

“Enough! You’re pregnant, don’t get so worked up. What qualification does Shuhui have to divide us? She never even plays with us. She just thinks we’re stupid. So stop acting paranoid, pig-brain.”

Shuhui: “……”
Wan Qing: “……”
Shanshan: “……”

How to offend three people in one breath—exhibit A.

But Minfang didn’t notice. She waved dismissively. “Go on, you two. Let me hear her out.”

So Wan Qing half-dragged, half-carried Shanshan away. Even Liu Ma retreated, leaving only Shuhui and Minfang in the tea room.

Shuhui calmly re-brewed the tea, movements precise and graceful. Minfang was mesmerized until the cup was placed in her hands. She took a sip.

Junshan Silver Needle—fine tea, crisp and refreshing.

“Go on then. What’s your idea? And if you asked for privacy, you must have another condition.”

Sometimes, Minfang’s intelligence did resurface.

Shuhui smiled faintly. Truth be told, she hadn’t planned to interfere. It was better to let events unfold as they had in her previous life, without stirring unnecessary “butterfly effects.”

But Minfang had just mentioned Lin Wenran. That changed everything.

If Wenran was also a reborn like her… and with her strange, unpredictable behavior… Shuhui couldn’t sit idle anymore. She needed to seize initiative.

“I do have two lines I’d like Madam to pass on.”

“You want me to run errands for you?”

Minfang frowned. Trading one solution for two favors felt like a loss.

“No, not errands. Just two sentences. For Madam, it’s nothing.”

Shuhui sipped her tea, her voice calm and steady. “A garden you’ve tended for nearly twenty years—isn’t it worth two sentences?”

Minfang was easily baited. She clenched her jaw. “Fine! If it can save the pavilion, I’ll do anything.”

“Rest assured, Madam. Truly simple. Just pass along two sentences in your own name—one to your husband, one to the Lin family’s second young miss.”

Qin Chao? Lin Wenran?

What could Shuhui possibly want to say to them? Minfang was puzzled.

“Will you agree? If so, you must swear before the Buddha that only you and I will know of this. If not, I’ll say no more.”

Minfang was deeply devout—she’d made pilgrimages to temples in Thailand and the mainland many times. If she swore, Shuhui could be sure not even torture would pry the secret from her.

Seeing her hesitate, Shuhui coaxed further: “It really is only two simple lines. Swear first, listen after. If you don’t approve, then just keep silent. That’s all.”

That made sense. She could always hear it first and reject it later.

So Minfang raised her hand and swore, solemn and professional.

Shuhui almost laughed—reborn as she was, even she wasn’t this devout.

When the oath was done, Shuhui leaned closer and whispered the two sentences in her ear…