Seeing his mother being beaten, Shen Yuyuan joined in and beat Niu Shi as well.
Madam Niu: "I think the money that Mother lost was stolen by you. The money from selling your daughter. You were unwilling to hand it over to Mother to manage, so you probably took it back and pocketed it yourself."
"Bullshit! If I hadn't wanted to give it up, I would have objected long ago. How could I have allowed your eldest son's family to take advantage of it? I bet Yushu took it. Who knows what dirty things he might have done by stealing money from the family?"
"If you dare to slander my Yu Shu, I'll fight you to the death."
The two fought more and more fiercely. Shen Dazhuang went to town. Chen Shi and Shen Quan were too old to stop them and could only watch helplessly.
The two fought fiercely until they were exhausted and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
Sun Zhizhi, who was inside the house, also heard the commotion between the two. She cursed inwardly, "Dogs fighting, what a mess."
When Shen Dazhuang and Shen Wan returned, Chen was wiping away tears, while Old Man Shen was sighing and lamenting. His wife was lying on the ground; what kind of behavior was this?
Shen Wan learned the whole story on the way. He cried out to Chen Shi that he was wronged: "Mother, you have wronged me to death! I have handed over all the money I have earned over the years. When have I ever had any selfish thoughts?"
"It really wasn't you?"
"Mother, it's really not."
Seeing that her third son didn't seem to be lying, Madam Chen began to have some doubts about Shen Yushu.
Could it really be a book?
Impossible, what would Shu'er need so much money for?
Madam Chen instructed her two sons: "You two go to town and ask Yu Shu. If it really was Yu Shu who took it, I won't blame him, as long as the money wasn't taken by an outsider."
The implication was that she wouldn't be at ease if her daughter-in-law or other outsiders took the money.
These words not only insulted Sun Zhizhi, but also implicated Niu and Lü.
The two had already gotten up, and looking at Chen, they felt a chill in their hearts.
Ah, a daughter-in-law is always an outsider.
Having been married into this family for so many years, it's no wonder my mother-in-law has always insisted on managing the household, demanding that every penny of the money earned by anyone be handed over.
Even though their children had grown up, neither Mrs. Niu nor Mrs. Lü had any savings of their own.
Before Shen Dazhuang and Shen Wan had even left the courtyard, a carriage stopped at Old Shen's house.
"Excuse me, is this Shen Yushu's home?"
The two quickly stepped forward and replied, "Yes, yes, I am Yushu's father, and this is Yushu's third uncle. May I ask what brings you here, young man?"
The young man didn't answer. He jumped off the carriage, dragged Shen Yushu off, and threw him on the ground before Shen Dazhuang and Shen Wan could react. He looked at Shen Yushu with a hint of disgust.
Shen Yushu had already lost consciousness.
Shen Dazhuang quickly carried Shen Yushu on his back.
Seeing that the young man wanted to leave in the carriage, Shen Wan quickly stopped him: "What do you mean by this? What's wrong with my Yushu?"
“It was my young master who instructed me to bring him back. He was a classmate of mine. My young master is kind-hearted and only instructed me to bring him back. As for what happened to him, you should ask him yourself when he wakes up.”
Before leaving, the young man delivered a bombshell: Shen Yushu had been expelled from the academy.
Chen felt a wave of dizziness wash over her: "Impossible, impossible."
Niu Shi could no longer care about the pain in her body and ran over crying, "Shu'er, Shu'er, what's wrong with you?"
Mrs. Niu had devoted half her life to this son. How could her son, who was so outstanding, be expelled from the academy?
She came forward and saw that Shen Yushu's face was pale, as if she were ill.
How did Yushu become like this after only one day?
Who exactly is harming Yu Shu?
Lady Lü was also completely bewildered. Shen Yushu had been expelled from the academy?
Then why did he even bother to become the top scholar?
So, when the old Taoist priest said that a top scholar would emerge from the family, was it her Yuan'er?
Thinking of this, Madam Lü felt a surge of joy, and the sadness that had just flashed through her mind vanished instantly.
Shen Dazhuang and Shen Wan carried Shen Yushu into the house, and after a while, Shen Yushu slowly woke up.
"Shu'er, tell Grandma what happened. Why were you expelled from the academy? Were you wronged?"
Hearing her grandmother's voice, Shen Yushu realized that she had arrived home.
A look of panic flashed in Shen Yushu's eyes: "Grandma, don't be sad. I was just framed by a villain. Studying at home is the same for me."
Seeing that her grandson spoke like this, Chen nodded in relief. He knew that his grandson could succeed just as well by studying at home.
But this ignorant country woman was expelled from the academy and, without a letter of recommendation, could not even participate in the prefectural examination.
Upon hearing this, Madam Lü rolled her eyes and snorted. She couldn't believe that someone had framed her.
Taking advantage of the others' inattention, she carefully observed Shen Yushu, trying to find some clues about him.
Finally, a patch of ulcerated skin was seen on Shen Yushu's neck.
"Yushu, what happened to your neck?"
Shen Yushu panicked and avoided eye contact, saying, "Third Aunt, it's nothing."
"Let Third Aunt see, let Third Aunt see."
As she spoke, Madam Lü began to pull down Shen Yushu's clothes.
Only then did the others notice the large patch of ulcerated skin on Shen Yushu's neck.
Shen Yushu tried to dodge, but he was too weak. Lu Shi ripped away the skin he was trying to cover, revealing large festering sores to everyone.
Everyone was startled.
But everyone quickly calmed down, realizing it was just a common skin condition that could probably be cured with some medication.
Old Man Shen said, "Dazhuang, quickly go and fetch the doctor."
Shen Wan, with his extensive experience, immediately noticed Shen Yushu's abnormality.
"Shu'er, tell your third uncle the truth, have you ever been to a brothel?"
He had seen this kind of festering sores on one person, his good friend who often went to brothels with him.
Ever since his friend contracted syphilis, he has never dared to go to a brothel again.
But when he occasionally passed through the red-light district, he still felt a pang of longing.
Shen Yushu stubbornly replied, "No."
Chen asked, "Sanwan, what exactly is this illness? Isn't it a skin disease?"
"Mother, if I'm not mistaken, this is venereal disease. This disease is basically contracted from those unclean women in brothels."
Niu retorted, "Impossible, impossible."
How could her books possibly end up in a place like that?
"Sister-in-law, a good friend of mine contracted this disease in a brothel and is now dying. I wouldn't dare lie to you."
Only then did Niu become afraid.
"Shu'er, tell your mother the truth, have you ever been to that kind of place?"
Lady Lü was secretly pleased, but she didn't show it on her face; she still looked somewhat sad.
“Yushu, you must tell the truth so that the doctor can treat you. Otherwise, if you miss the treatment, this disease can really kill you.”
Upon hearing that he might die, Shen Yushu turned pale with fright.
He cried out, "Grandma, Mother, please save me! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
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