Chapter 160: The Beginning

Xie Xuchuan stared at the wound on Shen Yuanzhu's lips for a long time, utterly shocked.

He thought that his ten-year relationship with Yuanzhu would also leave an insurmountable obstacle in her heart, something she would always cherish and be unable to move on from.

But now...

Seeing that the brightness in her eyes had not faded, and even added to her charm, Xie Xuchuan knew that she was not forced by Xie Qi.

He opened his mouth wide and breathed heavily, as if he were suffocating.

What came to Xie Xuchuan's mind was Jiang Wansu's soft words: "Yuanzhu is no longer the Yuanzhu of the past... Even if she was innocent and kind in the past, now that Xie Qi is by her side, she may not be without other thoughts."

What are your other thoughts?

Will you help Xie Qi fight for everything in the Xie family?

Xie Xuchuan clutched his chest, feeling as if he had been poisoned by a heart-devouring curse from a traditional opera, his internal organs being slowly gnawed away.

He raised his hand, pointing at Shen Yuanzhu with eyes wide with rage.

Shen Yuanzhu saw it and knew why. She subconsciously touched the wound on her lip and thought to herself that Xie Qi must have been born in the Year of the Dog in his past life!

Thinking of Xie Qi's expression when he looked at Xie Xuchuan, she found it amusing again.

Men, no matter how many female confidantes they have or how many fleeting romances they've had, they always hope that any woman who has even the slightest connection with them will remain chaste for life...

A hint of amusement flickered in Shen Yuanzhu's eyes, which, combined with Xie Xuchuan's shocked expression, made the scene even more comical.

Jiang Wansu also saw this scene, walked to Xie Xuchuan's side and held his hand, as if the couple were deeply in love.

Seeing this scene, Shen Yuanzhu's smile deepened.

Xie Xuchuan's mind was entirely focused on Shen Yuanzhu, so he wouldn't notice Jiang Wansu at this moment.

He forgot all the reasons he had just used to defend Shen Yuanzhu, and pointed at her, saying, "Yuanzhu, did you... deliberately replace the dyeing chart with a fake one for Xie Qi's sake?"

The argument inside was going well, but suddenly the blame was turned on me.

Shen Yuanzhu opened her eyes, pointed at herself, and looked on with a face full of questions.

Zheng Shu jumped up and said, "So it was you, you cunning and bewitched creature, who deliberately used a fake dyeing manual to trick us, and then made us take the blame for you, making my husband and me suffer such a terrible injustice..."

"Second Aunt".

Shen Yuanzhu frowned and said in surprise, "In broad daylight, are you perhaps bewitched by something? You were singing and dancing earlier, and now you're talking nonsense."

"To say that I tricked you with a fake dyeing chart is as if I were sitting perfectly fine in my room and somehow managed to tempt you into doing something wicked or evil?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Luo stepped forward and shielded her young mistress behind her.

"You old hag, what nonsense are you spouting? Just because my young lady is young doesn't mean you can bully her, do you?"

"You think we tricked you? There are tens of thousands of taels of silver in the government treasury. Did the government really want you to be a dead man?"

"If her dyeing chart wasn't fake, how could we..."

"Pah!"

Luo stepped forward, hands on her hips, her voice full of vigor: "You stole my young lady's dyeing manual and now you want to frame her for a fake?"

"Do you think you can turn black into white and white into black by throwing a tantrum?"

"According to you, my young lady has nothing better to do than sit in her room with a bunch of fake dyeing kits and play with crickets? Let me tell you something rotten and heartless..."

“Wet nurse…”

Shen Yuanzhu tugged at Luo's sleeve, looking aggrieved: "I can't bear the crime of stealing by clinging to my elders, but the whole family is surnamed Xie, how can we tell the difference?"

"Nanny, I want my sister-in-law..."

As she spoke, she covered her lips and began to sob.

Why waste your breath talking to the Xie family? Why not use that energy for something else?

This scene was prepared for Ye Yunyi long ago, why should she bother?

Luo hadn't finished speaking yet, but she always listened to Shen Yuanzhu. Upon hearing this, she slapped her thigh and said, "The Xie family is going too far. Do they think the Shen family has no one to rely on?"

"My Shen family still has members. Today, let my Shen family matriarch have a word with you!"

"Luo..."

Just as Hua Nanzhi opened her mouth to stop her, Luo Shi darted away.

This trivial matter has escalated so much that it has now even reached the Shen family.

Hua Nanzhi gritted her teeth, and in that instant, she suddenly realized how hard her mother-in-law had worked all these years.

She manages the entire household, handling every detail, while also overseeing a large business outside.

My father-in-law has become like a half-monk, rarely seen. His children are a mixed bag: some are dull-witted, others are scheming bastards who want nothing more than to destroy the family, and then there's another one…

Hua Nanzhi breathed a sigh of relief and went to see Xie Sanniang.

Xie San Niang was lying on the couch, her face looking extremely pale. Hua Nanzhi thought for a moment and then stepped forward to put a ginseng slice into the old lady's mouth.

Only then did Xie San Niang's complexion improve somewhat.

Xie Boyu muttered about the misfortune of his family, Xie Chengzhi glared fiercely at Shen Yuanzhu, Zheng Shu was still throwing a tantrum, and Xie Jingyuan and Xie Lurong, uncle and nephew, were like quails, unable to say a word or get a word in edgewise.

With his own brother on one side and his nephew's wife on the other, what could Xie Jingyuan possibly say?

Even if you wanted to smooth things over, you couldn't find a crack to stick a stick in...

Xie Xuchuan was still wallowing in self-pity, while Jiang Wansu was busy showing off their marital affection to everyone. It was at this moment that Xie Qi walked in.

He missed the main event, but upon seeing Shen Yuanzhu, he couldn't help but move closer to her.

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a porcelain bottle, pouring some powder onto his fingertips: "You have an injury."

He pinched Shen Yuanzhu's chin, making her raise her head, and then carefully applied the hemostatic and bruise-reducing powder onto her.

"Don't move around. This is medicine. Don't lick it into your mouth."

No one knows when Xie Qi developed a new ailment: once he saw the Shen Yuan Pearl, he could see no other person or thing.

Similarly, Xie Xuchuan interpreted all of his actions after he entered as a provocation.

Seeing this, he pointed at Xie Qi and asked, "Was it you? Was it you who instigated Yuanzhu to change the dyeing pattern?"

What's wrong with him?

Xie Qi was completely confused.

Shen Yuanzhu muttered softly, "You didn't know this before, but it turns out my dyeing manual was stolen by my second uncle. Then Grandmother gave it to my eldest brother, who took it to the weaving and dyeing workshop to test the dyeing methods, and the result was..."

"What was the result?"

"As a result, the dye vat was all mixed up in just one afternoon. Now they're saying my dyeing recipe is fake, deliberately framing my second uncle so he would steal it..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Qi said nothing, only let out a cold laugh, filled with contempt and sarcasm.

But this laugh made the Xie family lose face more than any words could.

For a moment, Xie San Niang's Su Xue Zhai was completely silent. Apart from Zheng Shu's curses, no one else spoke until Luo Shi ran back and whispered, "Ye Yunyi has arrived... Shen Yanhuai has also arrived."