Chapter 116

Mrs. Zhou came over, and Shen Cui was chatting idly with the system.

【Host, it seems like your mood wasn’t affected by seeing Mu Yunchuan this time?】

【Erbang has grown up. What do I have to fear?】Shen Cui couldn’t help but smile when she thought of her little steward, 【And besides, his time is almost up, and he’ll have achievements in the future.】

【Is it just because of the first training target?】

Shen Cui had nothing to hide from the system. She continued, 【Of course, there are other reasons too.】

Previously, she had been wary of Mu Yunchuan because their powers were unequal, and also because she felt guilty. Although she hadn’t committed the evil deeds herself, inheriting the identity of the previous host meant she had to take responsibility for their actions.

In the short time before, it was unrealistic to expect Mu Yunchuan, who was naturally suspicious, to believe that she had changed for the better.

But now it had been three years. She hadn’t done anything suspicious during this time, focusing on raising her son, establishing a school, and even helping him find a respectable wife.

Mu Yunchuan was observant enough to notice her efforts over these long years.

Of course, these were Shen Cui’s own thoughts, and she didn’t know how Mu Yunchuan would react.

If three years ago she could see the sharpness hidden beneath his gentle exterior, now Mu Yunchuan seemed like a perfectly polished jade, without a trace of sharpness.

If this still couldn’t change his opinion of her, then Shen Cui would give up—she had done her best.

That was it.

If Mu Yunchuan still wanted to cause trouble in the future, she wasn’t alone. She had her son and all those students.

As the saying goes, “Three heads are better than one.” With so many clever people in the academy, they could always come up with a solution together.

It was completely different from the passive situation she was in before.

Shen Cui laughed, 【And if it really comes down to it, you can still use Mu Cheng’s identity, right? I’m just his stepmother. With the method from the original book, he can remove this non-blood-related relationship. But if ‘Mu Cheng’ really appears, the blood relationship between father and son is undeniable.】

The system liked hearing this.

Especially after hearing this, the system didn’t feel aggrieved for being kept hidden by Shen Cui all this time.

His voice sounded even more cheerful than usual, 【So, Host, you’re going to use me as your trump card!】

After Shen Cui finished painting a rosy picture for the system, Mrs. Zhou came over and said that Mu Yunchuan had agreed to let her accompany him to the capital for the exam!

Moreover, Mrs. Zhou didn’t want to disrupt his original plan, which meant they would be leaving soon.

As she spoke, Mrs. Zhou’s eyes welled up with tears, showing that she was both happy and reluctant to leave Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang behind.

Mrs.Zhou found it strange. When she was in her teens, her situation was so difficult that no matter how much suffering she endured, she always kept it to herself.

She knew tears were the most useless thing.

But being around Shen Cui for so long, and now being in her twenties, her eyes were shallower, and she easily shed tears when she got emotional.

“It’s a good thing!” Shen Cui called her to sit beside her and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “But let me nag you a bit.”

“It’s not nagging, I know you’re doing it for my own good.” Zhou nodded, tightly holding her hand.

Shen Cui didn’t want to say anything else, just reminding her to find something to do even after arriving in the capital.

Whether it’s reading, practicing calligraphy, painting, or sewing, even if she doesn’t lack money, she shouldn’t give up her hobbies and interests.

With something of her own to focus on, she wouldn’t be entirely fixated on Mu Yunchuan like in the original book, becoming dependent on him.

Zhou agreed, “You taught me calligraphy, and Master taught me painting. After all the effort you’ve put into me, I definitely won’t neglect them. I’ll write letters regularly and keep you updated on my ‘assignments’.”

Shen Cui actually felt a bit reluctant to part with her, but there’s no feast that doesn’t end, and husband and wife are supposed to be together.

So, she didn’t dwell on the thought of separation for now and asked, “Ask Yunchuan about his plans before leaving. Is he planning to host a banquet outside or have a lively gathering at home?”

Zhou quickly asked, and Mu Yunchuan’s idea was to meet up with his former classmates from the academy and have a small gathering outside.

But on the other hand, the Cui family had shown him a lot of care, so if Shen Cui was okay with it, he wanted to entertain Cui Fei at home.

Shen Cui naturally had no problem with that, and in the following days, Mu Yunchuan was busy visiting his former teachers and classmates from the academy.

He even took a trip back to Yongning County, presumably to visit Ling Qingming.

When he returned and they had dinner together, Wei Shu, Wei Xi, and Mei Ruochu had also returned from the academy.

Just as Mu Er Pang could think of himself as a mediator to ease the awkward relationship between Shen Cui and Mu Yunchuan, others could also think of it.

So during dinner, Wei Shu, Mu Yunchuan’s old friend, also had a chance to catch up with him.

During moments of silence, Mei Ruochu would also seek advice from Mu Yunchuan.

Both of them were renowned talents, although they had somewhat different temperaments and couldn’t immediately become close friends upon meeting each other.

But being equally knowledgeable, if one of them initiated a conversation, they would naturally find plenty to talk about.

Moreover, since they were both attending the academy, even Wei Xi occasionally had something to chat about with him.

With Mu Yunchuan showing no signs of discomfort, Shen Cui’s days were smooth. Later on, she sent an invitation to Cui Wuniang and Cui Fei, inviting them to a family gathering.

Finally, the day of the small feast arrived in early October, by which time Mu Yunchuan’s busy schedule had eased up a bit.

Early in the morning on the day of the feast, Cui Wuniang and Cui Fei arrived at the door.

Shen Cui, accompanied by Mu Yunchuan and Mu Er Pang, went to greet them at the gate.

Seeing Cui Fei, Shen Cui couldn’t help but think that it’s no wonder Mei Ruochu reacted strangely when his classmates mentioned Cui Fei.

Because Cui Fei was really… too fat!

He was as wide as four or five of his sister Cui Wuniang put together. Despite the servants’ efforts to lift him down from the carriage skillfully, Cui Fei was already panting like an ox by the time he reached the gate.

Mu Er Pang used to be quite chubby, and even now Shen Cui, looking at him with the eyes of a mother, had to admit that he was indeed a solid little chubby boy back then.

But Mu Er Pang had a good foundation and was still young at the time, so although he was chubby, he didn’t look bad.

Even Zheng Shi said he had a blessed appearance.

Cui Fei’s obesity had already reached a point where people couldn’t see any foundation at all, they just remembered his huge, almost grotesque figure. It was indeed a bit unsightly.

So when they learned that Cui Fei used to be unwilling to attend the academy and often played truant, it might not have been because he disliked studying or lacked ambition, but rather because of his physical condition.

Shen Cui thought so, but she didn’t show any signs of it on her face.

Seeing Cui Fei panting and still managing to bow and greet her, she smiled and told him not to be too formal.

“We’re all family here, no need for so much ceremony. Come inside, let’s sit down and chat.”

Actually, while Shen Cui was thinking, Cui Wuniang was also observing her expression.

After all, she knew very well that although others might not say anything outright when they saw her little brother, they couldn’t help but show a hint of disdain and scorn.

Even the family members of the Cui family, and even the servants, were like this.

But Shen Cui didn’t show any sign of disdain or disgust after her initial surprise upon seeing Cui Fei.

Not even Mu Er Pang, who was by her side, reacted that way.

Cui Wuniang realized that her initial assessment of Shen Cui was correct; she was indeed a friend worth making.

Feeling more affectionate, Cui Wuniang hooked her arm with Shen Cui’s and said with a smile, “This stubborn little brat usually refuses to leave the house. It’s only because your family is hosting a feast today that he’s willing to move a bit.”

Seeing the change in Cui Wuniang’s attitude, Shen Cui also smiled and said, “Do you know the nickname of my youngest son? Let me tell you quietly, we call him ‘Er Pang,’ and he used to be lazy and unwilling to move from the kang since he was little.”

Although Mu Er Pang still had a bit of baby fat on his face, he was completely different in terms of body shape.

Cui Wuniang was surprised and asked, “How did he lose so much weight?”

Cui Wuniang was twenty-six years old, while Cui Fei had just turned eighteen. There was an eight-year age difference between them, so when Cui Fei was born, Cui Wuniang, who was already precocious, was like a little adult.

She actually treated Cui Fei as half her son.

As they talked about parenting, their conversation became more lively.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the main hall.

Here, Shen Cui was a bit embarrassed because the furniture was left by the previous owner, and the seats for guests were all armchairs with armrests, which couldn’t accommodate Cui Fei.

However, the Cui family had made preparations, so they quickly brought in a specially made chair with a backrest but no armrests, three times wider than the usual chair.

“I apologize for the poor hospitality,” Shen Cui said apologetically.

Cui Wuniang waved her hand. “It’s my fault for not telling you about my brother’s situation beforehand.”

Even if she had mentioned it, Shen Cui wouldn’t have been able to find something suitable for Cui Fei right away.

Cui Fei also said he didn’t mind, and then sat quietly on the side, listening to their conversation.

The current etiquette dictated that when elders were talking, the younger generation shouldn’t interrupt. Otherwise, it would be considered rude.

After chatting for a while, Shen Cui and Cui Wuniang suggested, “Since we don’t want to make the children feel uncomfortable in front of us, why don’t we let them go play? We still have quite some time before leaving the table.”

But as soon as they finished speaking, they turned to see Cui Fei struggling to get up, and Shen Cui suddenly felt like she had said something wrong.

Mu Er Pang had already helped Mu Yun Chuan up and said with a smile, “That’s a great idea. Since we have some free time today, why don’t I take Big Brother Cui to our classroom? There’s an archery target in the courtyard, we can play for a while.”

Cui Fei looked at Cui Wuniang, who smiled and said, “Go ahead and play, it’s good to be active.”

After the younger generation left the main hall one after another, Cui Wuniang sighed, “You really need to teach me how to keep your son thin. My Ah Fei can’t afford to get any fatter. Even the doctor said…”

Because she genuinely wanted to ask Shen Cui for advice, she didn’t hide anything and explained Cui Fei’s situation to her.

Cui Fei had been abnormally overweight since childhood. Even when Cui Wuniang wasn’t in charge of the Cui family, the elders in the family tried to help him lose weight.

However, because Cui Fei had a heart condition, he couldn’t engage in strenuous exercise.

So, they tried to control his diet, giving him only half the amount of food an average person would eat and avoiding oily and greasy foods.

After a year of this diet, Cui Fei did lose some weight, but he was still excessively overweight.

They even interrogated the servants around Cui Fei, suspecting that he might be secretly eating something when no one was looking.

But the truth was, Cui Fei hadn’t been sneaking food. He knew his family was doing it for his own good.

Even when he was starving and crying in bed at night, he never asked the servants to bring him food.

He ended up getting stomach problems from being hungry all the time, but he still didn’t lose weight successfully.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Cui gradually gained control of the household and stopped the elders from nagging him so much.

She even invited a renowned doctor to prescribe him medicinal food to improve his health.

Everyone knows that medicinal food is light and can’t be too greasy or heavy, but it’s still richer than plain congee and vegetables.

But instead, he ballooned up like an inflated balloon.

The doctor was subtle in his words, but the message was clear: this level of obesity is extremely harmful to health, especially considering his heart condition, which adds even more burden.

Earlier, Cui Fei indeed failed the provincial exam, but Mrs. Cui didn’t mention it in front of Shen Cui.

It wasn’t because she pretended not to care, but because she genuinely didn’t. After all, compared to exam results, she cared more about her brother’s health.

In fact, if it weren’t for Cui Fei insisting on participating, she wouldn’t have felt at ease with him going all the way to Linan Prefecture for the exam.

Hearing her say this, Shen Cui was somewhat stumped.

After all, everyone knows that obesity is caused by consuming more calories than burning.

And Cui Fei’s obesity seemed inexplicable by common sense.

So, is this another ‘plot twist’?