Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 16: With an average of 800 cunning individuals, survival depends entirely on acting skills.

Shen Che is not a Buddhist, but he patiently accompanied his wife to the end of the Dharma assembly. Then Qin Zhen suggested that they go to pray for blessings together.

Shen Che took a step back. "I don't know where my third sister has run off to. I'll go look for her, just in case anything else happens."

Without waiting for Qin Zhen's reaction, he quickly turned around and strode out of the main hall.

Qin Zhen shook her head and chuckled, thinking that her usually steady husband could be quite childish at times. Oh well, she could go by herself.

"Green stamen, white angelica, let's go."

After saying this, he went to the inner palace to ask for a peace charm, with two personal maids following closely behind.

Qin Zhen kowtowed devoutly before the Buddha statue, praying for her husband's bright future and her young son's good health...

I asked for a peace charm for the whole family, and even asked for a marriage charm for my sister-in-law.

Upon seeing this, Lü Rui said, "Young lady, you are so kind. Who else would treat their stepdaughter so well?"

Qin Zhen frowned slightly upon hearing this. Lü Rui thought she had struck a chord with her and became even more enthusiastic, "The mistress has no son, and the third young lady will have to rely on our son-in-law for support after she gets married, yet she doesn't seem to care about the young lady at all."

"Oh~ How much attention does Third Sister need to pay to me?" Qin Zhen said coldly.

Bai Zhi quickly gave Lü Rui a meaningful look, but Lü Rui was completely oblivious. "Every time the son-in-law brings back some new and interesting things, she always gets to choose first. She doesn't know how to be modest, and she has never thought of offering you the things that are offered to her by the servants."

"How could I not be modest? When have I not given gifts? It's just that Third Sister is young and sometimes makes mistakes, so you pick on them and criticize her? It's just that you think Third Sister isn't obsequious enough, so Wen Ying and Fang Yu aren't as eager to please you as the other servants."

Green Bud's expression changed slightly after her thoughts were exposed, and she quickly retorted, "This servant's heart is only for the lady's sake!"

Qin Zhen snorted coldly, "If your provocative words were to get out, people would think that I am unfilial to my mother-in-law and unkind to my sister-in-law."

"This servant...this servant..." Green Bud was too flustered to speak.

"If I hear such words again, Qingfangxuan will no longer tolerate gossips like you," Qin Zhen said before turning and leaving.

Never having seen her mistress so angry before, Green Plum stood frozen in fear, wondering if following her would be an eyesore.

They all came with her as part of the dowry. Bai Zhi felt sorry for them and reminded them, "The mistress has no children and is very close to the son-in-law. Li's influence is naturally an asset to the son-in-law. The third young lady's uncle is also the son-in-law's superior!"

Seeing that Lü Rui was still confused, Bai Zhi said with exasperation, "Our son-in-law got the better deal. If what you just said gets out, people will only think that the young lady is ungrateful and heartless!"

After saying that, she quickly caught up with Qin Zhen. Bai Zhi had said all she wanted to say. If Lu Rui still thought that everything the son-in-law had obtained was a matter of course, and that the mistress and the third daughter were weak and easily bullied, and that such a clueless person would be a disaster to keep by the young lady's side, then she really could not be kept any longer.

Shen Che, who had made an excuse to slip away, was just walking around aimlessly when he unintentionally walked to the side hall. Seeing the large banyan tree in the courtyard, he couldn't help but think of his childhood.

The father didn't know that on that day, they were under the tree, while he was in the tree.

That year, he was only 8 years old. He accompanied his father to visit Master Huiyan, but he was naughty and would sneak up trees to steal bird eggs when the adults weren't paying attention.

Seeing that the young lady Li had arranged to meet her father, she dared not utter a sound for fear of being scolded.

The young woman, surnamed Li, talked a lot with her father. He was still young at the time and could probably only understand that this young woman wanted to be his mother.

He didn't understand much of the rest, but he had a good memory and a gut feeling that it was important. After they left, he quietly slipped down and went back to tell his grandmother.

After hearing this, the grandmother remained silent, but Liu, the old woman beside her, couldn't hold back and spoke indignantly.

"The eldest daughter-in-law has only been gone a short time, and the son-in-law is already remarrying. Isn't that too heartless? That Li woman is shameless too. I'll send someone to spread her scandalous affair right away!"

Grandmother finally raised her eyelids. "What good would it do to spread this?"

“If she ruins her reputation, she won’t be able to marry a son-in-law.”

Grandmother glanced at her sideways and said, "There is no reason for a husband to remain chaste for his wife in this world. Huai'an is only thirty years old and will remarry sooner or later. If Li doesn't remarry, someone else will. Making it public will not do Xie any good. On the contrary, it will offend Li, a huge woman, for no reason."

Granny Liu suddenly realized what was happening and apologized repeatedly. Then, his grandmother held his hand and said solemnly, "Che'er, you must remember that harming others is immoral and you must never do anything that harms others without benefiting yourself."

"Yes! The master taught me that upholding righteousness and maintaining integrity is the way of a gentleman!"

Grandmother shook her head, patted his hand, and continued, "Therefore, harming others may bring personal gain, but one should not needlessly diminish one's virtue."

"..." He pondered in silence for a long time before replying, "I will follow my grandmother's teachings."

Later, Li married into the Shen family. When she gave birth to her third sister, she injured her body, and the doctor said that she might never be able to conceive again.

When his maternal grandmother found out, she took his hand and said, "From now on, you must treat Li Shi as your own mother and cherish Shen Qingxi as your own sister."

Granny Liu curled her lip, "This is too easy on Madam Li."

Her grandmother rolled her eyes at her but said nothing more. As she grew up, she figured it out herself.

Since Li couldn't give birth to a son, the Shen family's reputation depended on him, and he was also her daughter's future support, so naturally she had to treat him well.

If Li marries into the family, Shen will be better off; if Shen is better off, he will be better off; if he is better off, Xie will also benefit in the future. It's a win-win-win situation. There is no better stepmother than Li.

When he was young, he didn't understand why his father could live in harmony with someone like Li Shi. It wasn't until he married Qin Zhen that he realized that in most things in the world, as long as the appearance is acceptable, the reality is probably not too bad, and life can always be lived.

"Brother."

Shen Che came to his senses and saw that Shen Qing had come to the banyan tree at some point. A strange thought suddenly popped into his mind: I met you here fifteen years ago, except that you were in my belly at that time.

Shen Che chuckled at himself and said with a smile, "It's getting late, we should prepare to head back."

Shen Qing nodded and followed Shen Che to the mountain gate to wait for the others to join them. Soon everyone had arrived.

Wen Ying helped Shen Qing onto the sedan chair and followed beside him until they left the Anguo Temple area before she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

She was born into a family and had a secret known only to her mother: her hearing was naturally more sensitive than that of ordinary people, allowing her to hear very faint sounds and hear farther than others.

My mother said that this matter must not be told to anyone. As servants, we should only listen to what we should hear and pretend we didn't hear what we shouldn't. Only in this way can we live a long life.

At the age of twelve, she entered the manor to serve and was assigned to the Yilan Courtyard as a maid.

After the woman fell into the water and came out, she locked herself in the room and talked to herself. At that time, she knew that the woman was probably possessed by a demon, and this demon was a man who was being coerced by someone called "System".

She sent Fangyu away, afraid that the wicked demon inside, who was out of control, would be too loud and cause Fangyu to hear things she shouldn't.

She dared not tell anyone. She did not know how powerful this demon was, but if people knew that the young lady was possessed by a demon, all the servants of Yilan Courtyard would have to be silenced to protect the family's reputation!

She had been subtly and overtly giving him pointers these past few days, fearing that this devilish man would be exposed, and she was living in constant fear, as if walking on thin ice.

But now even Master Huiyan can't see through it, so it should be safe now.

Wen Ying glanced at the drowsy Shen Qing and sighed inwardly, thinking how bold this devil was.