The Xu family's old house is even more lively today than during the Spring Festival.

Under the guidance of Old Mrs. Xu, the sisters-in-law prepared various local dishes, while the men helped with washing and butchering. The children had it the easiest, staying in the kitchen to fry potatoes, stew sweet potatoes, and stew rice cakes. They stewed anything that could be stewed, not for the food itself, but for the process of stewing.

Grandma Chen and Wang Ying also came to help. They brought soybeans, hoping to make some tofu while there were many people around.

There was a stone mill in Old Xu's yard. The women said they wanted to make tofu, and the men had no reason to disagree. So the old oxen started soaking and grinding the soybeans, and the tofu was finally made when dinner was almost ready.

The freshly made tofu pudding is the most delicious. Before the meal was even served, every child had already had a bowl. Of course, this included Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng.

Mu Jingheng really loved this atmosphere; in his memory, his family had never been so lively before.

Meanwhile, the usually quiet Mu family patriarch was now furious.

Grandpa Mu: "You think my grandson is such an eyesore? If he was an eyesore, you should have said so earlier. I can live alone with Jingheng. Why did you have to go to such lengths to send him to the countryside?"

Shen Yuqin: "Dad, you misunderstood. Jingheng is not young anymore. It's not good for him to just keep dawdling like this. The country is calling for rural development, right? We were thinking of letting him get some experience. How can a boy become successful if he doesn't get some training? Besides, shouldn't our family set an example? The eldest son is in the army, Jingshu is still too young, only Jingheng is the most suitable."

Old Master Mu glared angrily; how could he not know what this woman was up to?

Grandpa Mu never expected that his beloved grandson would be schemed against because of his trip. Although Mu Jingheng was nineteen years old and still loitering at home, Grandpa Mu actually had plans for him. He knew that what his grandson usually showed was not the real him. This child was wise and sensitive, and his old friend had wanted to recruit him into his department more than once, but Grandpa Mu was reluctant to do so, so he had been delaying it. He was planning to discuss it with the child when he came back this time, but now, the child has been sent to the countryside.

Grandpa Mu had never liked Shen Yuqin. He thought this woman was too fake, with unclear eyes, and her words and actions were always a mix of truth and falsehood, making it hard to tell. He wondered what his good-for-nothing son was thinking back then. This woman couldn't even compare to a single hair of the previous one.

Fortunately, his youngest daughter is quite good, and her personality and appearance are similar to those of the Mu family. If it weren't for his granddaughter, Old Master Mu would have turned against her long ago. Does she really think he doesn't know what she's done to his grandson these past few years? He only turns a blind eye because his grandson hasn't suffered any losses.

Grandpa Mu glared at Shen Yuqin and said sternly, "From now on, you don't need to worry about the children's affairs. Just do your own job well. Don't overstep your bounds, or you'll get hurt. Get out! Zhenting, stay."

Shen Yuqin was furious. She had been married into the Mu family for so many years, and she had been careful and diligent in managing the household every day, but the old man still couldn't accept her. What was wrong with her compared to the previous one?

In fact, Shen Yuqin used some tricks to marry Mu Zhenting.

In her youth, Shen Yuqin was an ordinary nurse at a military hospital. At that time, she had a childhood sweetheart fiancé, but Shen Yuqin was ambitious and unwilling to live an ordinary life. However, her fiancé was just an ordinary worker who could not give her what she wanted.

When Mu Zhenting was injured and hospitalized, Shen Yuqin was the one who took care of him.

At that time, Mu Zhenting had been widowed for several years, but Mu Zhenting was handsome and held a high position, and the aura he exuded was very captivating. Shen Yuqin took a liking to him, but no matter how Shen Yuqin behaved in front of Mu Zhenting, he never gave her a second glance.

When Shen Yuqin learned that Mu Zhenting was about to be discharged from the hospital, she became anxious. That night, she added sleeping pills to his water. The next day, when the door to the ward was opened, the person who came in saw Shen Yuqin and Mu Zhenting sleeping together. Mu Zhenting was awakened by Shen Yuqin's scream.

Mu Zhenting wasn't stupid to have reached this position. He knew he had been tricked by this little nurse, but with so many people watching, he couldn't produce any evidence and had no choice but to marry her against his will.

Although Shen Yuqin married into the Mu family as she wished, their married life was nothing like she had imagined. They were like strangers living under the same roof. If she hadn't used her tricks to have a daughter, they might have continued living like this forever.

Mu Zhenting's attitude towards her changed after their daughter was born. Although their relationship wasn't great, they at least started living a normal married life.

When Shen Yuqin walked out of the study, she saw the old man's orderly standing in the living room watching her. She went over to pour him a glass of water, and then turned to go upstairs.

The orderly noticed that Shen Yuqin looked unwell when she left the study. He opened his mouth to look at her retreating figure, but still asked, "Are you... alright?"

Hearing the orderly ask such a question, Shen Yuqin seemed to feel that her dignity had been violated. She turned around, stood on the steps, and looked down at the orderly, coldly saying, "I am the commander's wife. What could I possibly want?"

After saying that, Shen Yuqin went upstairs without looking back.

The orderly just stared blankly at the figure disappearing around the corner of the stairs.

The old man's orderly was named Wang Yanping. Ironically, he turned out to be Shen Yuqin's former fiancé.

He couldn't stand it when he found out that Shen Yuqin was going to marry Mu Zhenting, but he was just an ordinary worker and there was nothing he could do. The two of them grew up together and he knew Shen Yuqin too well. He knew that she must have used some underhanded means to marry Mu Zhenting, otherwise how could two people who would never have crossed paths have come together?

Who in Kyoto doesn't know the Mu family?

Old Master Mu, Mu Peisheng, was a founding father of the nation. Mu Zhenting himself was already in a high position at a young age. Moreover, the father of Mu Zhenting's first wife was also a founding father. Although the two did not grow up together, they had a very good relationship. It is said that she was incredibly beautiful, but unfortunately, she died young.

With a family like that and a wife like that, even a fool would never imagine that Mu Zhenting would like Shen Yuqin.

Although Wang Yanping thought Shen Yuqin was wonderful in every way, he couldn't distort the facts.

After Shen Yuqin got married, Wang Yanping sold his job to join the army. After several years of hard work, he unexpectedly became Grandpa Mu's orderly.

It was an unparalleled honor to become Mu Peisheng's orderly, and he was overjoyed for a long time.

He always thought that after so many years, his feelings for Shen Yuqin had long faded away, but he never expected that when he saw her looking at him with a look of horror, the wall he had painstakingly built in his heart would collapse. He still couldn't bear to see her unhappy.