Chapter 119

After finishing speaking, he got up to take his leave, saying that he had to go out and bid farewell to a friend.

Shen Cui didn’t respond, just looked at him.

Mu Yunchuan thought she had something to say, so he stopped in his tracks.

The two of them looked at each other for a while, silent. Mu Yunchuan eventually chuckled, slightly bowed, and bid her farewell, “Then I’ll take my leave.”

Shen Cui nodded then let him go.

After he left, Shen Cui rolled her eyes inwardly, unable to resist asking the system, “Did I just show weakness?”

The system said no, “The host’s response was very calm, speaking steadily and methodically, showing no signs of weakness.”

“Why do I feel like I lost in terms of momentum?”

Momentum is not something that can be measured by data, so the system couldn’t answer.

It was confusing. It was he who had initially asked her a question.

She was just maintaining a conversational attitude, following along with his mention of Buddhist sayings. If she didn’t take his comparisons of the “evil person” and the original body seriously, there would have been no conversation at all.

So after he made a final conclusion, did he once again seize the initiative?

“In our modern saying, when two people compete, they have eight hundred tricks up their sleeves. This Mu Yunchuan, he alone must have eight hundred tricks,” Shen Cui remarked, recalling various tricks she had played on Mu Yunchuan when he was young, such as giving him leftovers and not giving him charcoal to keep warm in winter.

This system was very discerning. Instead of suggesting that she should use Mu Cheng’s identity to teach him a lesson, it changed the subject, suggesting, “Would the host like to buy a ‘Transformation Pill’ and change appearance to beat him up?”

This was clearly a joke. Shen Cui couldn’t help but laugh, “He’s the biological son of the plane’s rules. Wouldn’t there be consequences if I hit him?”

The system didn’t answer, just said, “I’ll show you something good.”

“Another hypnotic melody?” Shen Cui remembered the last time when Mu Yunchuan affected her mood, the system played music for her.

The system said no, then played a video on the light screen—a scene where “Zhang Sheng” dragged Mu Yunchuan into an alley and beat him up in a variety of ways for five minutes, ending with a close-up of Mu Yunchuan’s “pig head.”

With advanced technology, this scene looked so real, as if she were watching it in person. Shen Cui almost laughed herself silly.

After the video ended, the system’s voice came with a smile, “In reality, there might be consequences from the rules, but simulating it should be fine.”

After laughing, Shen Cui thought carefully for a moment.

Although Mu Yunchuan became a bit arrogant after taking off his disguise,

But it has to be said that things developed in the direction Shen Cui had expected.

Mu Yunchuan, the original male lead of the book, can’t be considered a noble and upright person, but he’s definitely not a malicious gossip.

Today, for someone with his temperament, it’s already very difficult for him to talk to her using Buddhist language.

The final result can also be said to be a temporary reconciliation.

Of course, what Mu Yunchuan said was not to let go of the past, but to give her a chance and continue to observe.

As for this observation, it means he won’t disturb her life. She can live however she wants.

Because Zhou Shi won’t be around in the future, she and Mu Yunchuan can even skip the basic step of exchanging family letters, and only need to communicate with Zhou Shi.

Thinking that he and Zhou Shi will leave tomorrow and not knowing when she will see Zhou Shi again, Shen Cui didn’t go to bed to rest, but went to find Zhou Shi and asked if she needed anything.

Zhou Shi was packing her bags and said, “Really no need. In the past, I saved all the silver I earned by myself. And my husband said he doesn’t lack money by his side, and he won’t let me spend silver on hiring carriages or buying provisions.”

“Do you want to buy a few clothes then?”

Zhou Shi’s financial situation had improved recently. She was doing small needlework business, but she hadn’t been willing to make herself some nice clothes.

And Shen Cui also heard that the climate in the capital was different from here, and it’s easy to get sick if you’re not used to the water and soil there.

“Oh, I forgot!” Zhou Shi slapped her forehead, opened a box, and took out a big bundle. Inside were two thick winter coats, two light summer outfits, and two moderate autumn outfits.

They were all in the sizes of Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang, covering clothes for all seasons.

“When I was busy with work at home, I didn’t have time to make clothes. I’ve been free lately, so I made a few clothes for Mom and Mu Er Pang.” Zhou Shi showed Shen Cui the clothes she made for Mu Er Pang. “I deliberately left some extra fabric at the cuffs. When Mu Er Pang grows taller, Mom can undo these parts and let them down.”

Shen Cui had mentally prepared herself to part ways with Zhou Shi, but when Zhou Shi did all this, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

“After I leave, who will Mom find to cook? And with the house being so big now, even though the servants in the front and rear courtyard take care of things, just cleaning the back rooms alone takes a lot of effort. Mom, listen to me, don’t try to do everything yourself, you need to hire someone.”

Shen Cui said she could manage it all herself, “I’ll definitely hire someone.”

Before, Shen Cui had asked Zhou Shi not to mind her nagging, but when it came time to part, Zhou Shi had more to say than she did.

She kept reminding her about this and that, even after Mu Yunchuan came back from outside, they hadn’t finished their private conversation.

After Mu Yunchuan came back, he called Shen Cui “mother,” and Shen Cui casually nodded, then Mu Yunchuan went out again.

They didn’t have any other exchange, but Zhou Shi immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Did you and my husband… reconcile?”

Before, Zhou Shi would only care about Mu Yunchuan, but over three years of living together, they had both become important to her.

Privately, Zhou Shi of course hoped that the family would be well, but rationally, she knew it wasn’t possible. She couldn’t forgive anything on behalf of Mu Yunchuan.

But her mother-in-law had visibly changed, she was nothing like before.

Sometimes Zhou Shi even had a wild idea that if the current Shen Cui could be separated from the previous wicked mother-in-law, then everything would be solved.

So noticing the improvement in their relationship now, Zhou Shi was very surprised, even more so than when she found out Mu Yunchuan agreed to let her accompany him to the capital for the exam!

Shen Cui vaguely responded, “It’s a temporary truce. How did you figure it out?”

Zhou Shi couldn’t quite explain it, feeling that this thing couldn’t be described in words, but she just felt it.

Later, after dinner, Mu Er Pang came to talk to Shen Cui, and he was also very happy. He asked directly, “Big brother finally believes that we are all different from before, right?”

These younger ones usually didn’t mention this matter, but did they not worry about it in their hearts?

In Mu Er Pang’s heart, his biological mother was definitely more important than his big brother. He was the one who knew best how much his mother had changed and was the least willing to let others still view her with past judgments.

So when Shen Cui said she wanted to move the academy to Qingzhou Prefecture, Mu Er Pang enthusiastically agreed.

Because when they were in the village before, some people couldn’t stand to see them doing well and would say some nasty things behind their backs, bringing up old stories from the past.

Although Mu Er Pang used to be clueless and not very intelligent, he still had a basic impression of many things. When others mentioned something, he could remember the corresponding events, knowing that they weren’t wrong, and he had no way to argue back.

Now, being far away from those villagers and gaining his big brother’s approval, his mother could finally let go of the past and separate herself from her former mischievous self.

He never had much guile, and especially in front of Shen Cui, he couldn’t hide anything. When he was happy, he would blurt out everything on his mind.

Shen Cui truly didn’t expect those gossiping villagers to talk in front of her child, otherwise she would have left the village with him long ago.

If it weren’t for the fact that her chubby son was already grown up, Shen Cui really wanted to give him a big hug.

…

Early the next morning, Mu Yunchuan and Zhou Shi set off, and Shen Cui, as an elder, didn’t need to see them off.

Mu Er Pang escorted them to the door.

After they left, Shen Cui fetched a bucket of water and a cloth, preparing to tidy up the back rooms.

Mu Er Pang returned after a blink of an eye from escorting them, saying, “Sister-in-law didn’t mess up anything while packing, she even tidied up the bedding, and the furniture they didn’t take away is spotless. There’s not much to clean. But it seems like they left something behind.”

Mu Yunchuan and Zhou Shi were meticulous people, how could they have left something behind?

Shen Cui thought for a moment and said, “Maybe it’s something they didn’t want anymore?”

Mu Er Pang also didn’t think so, then he handed the item to Shen Cui to see—a blue-covered book titled “Mu Yunchuan’s Collection of Poetry and Prose,” and it was a manuscript!

Shen Cui had already recalled the relevant plot from the original book. After Mu Yunchuan became the top scholar in the provincial exam, he published a collection of poetry and prose, which became very popular immediately.

Initially priced at two taels of silver per copy, it was later inflated to five taels per copy due to high demand.

After he achieved even greater success by passing the imperial examination, the price of this collection soared to a terrifying level.

And the manuscript he left behind… it could easily fetch several hundred or even thousands of taels of silver in the future!

Mu Yunchuan didn’t have an omniscient perspective, but he was always very clear about his plans and positioning. Naturally, he knew that this manuscript would be invaluable once he became famous.

If Shen Cui had just pretended to reconcile and take care of Zhou Shi, it would have been her way of showing goodwill. Then, this manuscript should be considered Mu Yunchuan’s way of showing goodwill?

Moreover, this “goodwill” was quite indirect and complicated because if Shen Cui had only pretended to reconcile, she would have disposed of his belongings carelessly, and it wouldn’t have waited until they became valuable. Wouldn’t she regret it years later when she realized the significance of this?

Only if she truly changed would she keep it and wait for the day it appreciated in value.

Later, after Zhou Shi settled down in the capital with Mu Yunchuan and sent a letter to report their safety, when Shen Cui replied to Zhou Shi’s letter, she expressed her concern and casually asked if they had left anything behind.

A month later, Zhou Shi replied again, saying she didn’t leave anything behind, but she asked Mu Yunchuan, who said they seemed to have left a book, but it wasn’t anything important, so Shen Cui could handle it however she liked.

[“I knew this person is as cunning as a honeycomb!”] Shen Cui muttered to herself while complaining to the system, and then she locked away this manuscript, which would be worth a fortune in the future, in the deepest part of her trunk.

Of course, that’s a story for later. Returning to the present, just a few days after Mu Yunchuan and Zhou Shi left, Cui Fei and Wei Shu came over to have dinner together.