Zhulan thought, Shi Qing used Wang Ru, but Wang Ru was too stupid. Shi Qing didn’t dare to take her with him for fear that his teammates would trick him. As for Wang Ru, Wang Ru had her own plans in mind, and she was still thinking about the male protagonist!

Zhou Wang Shi stayed until it was time for dinner and then had to return home.

Zhulan’s curiosity also rose, and she wanted to know Wang Ru’s subsequent operations.

Before going to bed at night, Zhulan knew how Wang Ru operated. Just as she was starting to doze off in a drowsy state, a piercing scream shattered the quiet of the night. The cries for help sounded like a plea for someone’s life, getting louder with each scream. Zhulan, who was initially half-asleep, was jolted awake, and her back was drenched in cold sweat. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her hair was soaked with sweat.

Zhou Shuren was also startled, but he quickly regained his composure. He felt Zhulan’s sweat-soaked hand and felt very annoyed with Wang Ru. He gently comforted her, saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t be afraid. Stroke your fur, it won’t scare you. Stroke your ears for a while, and you’ll calm down.”

Zhulan was recovering from fright, but she laughed after hearing this, “You know how to call a soul¹?”

This was what her grandma often said when she was scared as a child.

Seeing that Zhulan was much better, Zhou Shuren called out two more times before replying, “The orphanage takes care of itself. I screamed when I was scared. Despite the public opinion, it’s actually quite easy.”

Zhulan’s sweating subsided, and she felt much more comfortable. With a smile, she extended her hand to gently stroke Zhou Shuren’s head. She reassured him, saying, “Stroke your fur, it won’t scare you. Stroke your ears for a while, Shuren is back, he’s back, no need to be afraid.”²

It seemed that he could see Zhulan’s bright eyes. This was the first time someone called him. He lowered his head in the direction of breathing and kissed the lips that were suppressing laughter.

It was a pity that the good atmosphere didn’t continue. There were shouts of murder outside, dogs barking, and neighbors getting up. It was a mess. Even Boss Zhou and Second Zhou got up and came to their door and shouted, “Dad, should we take a look?”

Zhou Shuren’s face was so dark that it could be used as ink, and his tone was very harsh, “What a fart, go back to your sleep.”

Second Zhou, “…….”

He again thanked the heavens that he was not the boss!

Boss Zhou, “……”

Little brother, don’t think the moonlight is too dim for me to see your face clearly. It’s quite obvious. You’ll lose your big brother!

Zhou Shuren’s voice was so loud that the oil lamps in Changlian and Changzhi’s houses were instantly extinguished!³

Boss Zhou covered his heart, could he not be the boss?

Zhulan waited until the footsteps of her two sons were far away before speaking out. It was the first time she heard Zhou Shuren curse. Well, it was very powerful!

Anyway, neither of them thought to check out the situation, knowing clearly that Wang Ru was causing trouble for the adoption!

Zhulan thought about it carefully and guessed it, “Wang Ru has become smarter and is ready to be adopted.”

Zhou Shuren snorted coldly. He was still weak now, and Wang Ru was the life-saving talisman that Shi Qing was staring at. He didn’t have the strength yet. Otherwise, they would have tried to get Wang Ru away long ago, she was too troublesome to look after!

Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to stop sweating and hugged her over, “Go to sleep!”

Zhulan was startled. When the movement outside became quiet again, she soon felt sleepy and fell asleep.

Zhou Shuren didn’t sleep, but he was thinking about the possibility of moving early. No matter how he changed his plan, he couldn’t leave Zhoujia Village at present, because the xiàn chéng⁴ became the new xiàn lìng⁵. He had already taken office after being appointed. The xiàn lìng was busy a while ago, and now that the dust had settled, it was time for him to go and congratulate him in person. His roots were in Zhoujia Village, and the xiàn lìng was very important. Moreover, the xiàn lìng was a good person, and he was very happy to have a close friendship with him.

In addition, the xiàn lìng was a juren⁶, which was of great help to him. He did not have famous teachers like Wu Ming, so he could only find them on his own.

Zhou Shuren sighed that he couldn’t leave. However, if Wang Ru behaved like a monster again and couldn’t get herself away, he would give her a big gift to make Wang Ru stay here!

After breakfast in the morning, Li Shi couldn’t suppress her curiosity. If her father-in-law hadn’t been angry yesterday, she would have gone out to watch the fun. Seeing that her mother-in-law didn’t stop her, Li Shi felt confident. Her mother-in-law was also curious, and it seemed that she was okay. As if she had won the sword of Shangfang⁷, she was not afraid that her father-in-law would get angry and so went out to inquire about the news.

Zhou Shuren took his eldest son to the county to deliver a visit and buy gifts for the guests. The Zhou family’s foundation was still weak and they had too little to offer, so they could only buy things for the sake of dignity.

Half an hour later, Li Shi came back with the wind at her feet. As soon as she entered the yard, she shouted, “Mom, Mom, Wang Ru has been adopted and is now moving things to Qian’s house!”

Zhulan put her grandson down and said, “Last night, what happened?”

Li Shi was shocked after asking about it. In ancient times, ghosts and gods were taboo. She looked around and then whispered: “Last night, Wang Ru was possessed by the married daughter of the Qian family because Fourth Wang did not agree to the adoption. Wang Ru took a kitchen knife to chop Fourth Wang’s precious son in the middle of the night. Sun Shi ran out of the yard with the child in her arms, and Wang Ru followed her until she made a big fuss.”

Zhulan, “……”

Wang Ru was really capable and learned how to calculate.

Zhao Shi was smart but also afraid of ghosts and gods, “No wonder she was adopted.”

Zhulan looked at her two daughters-in-law and thought they lacked experience. If it was Zhou Wang Shi, she definitely wouldn’t say such things. She felt that she should give them a lesson to prevent them from being deceived by others in the future and causing trouble for the Zhou family. “Wang Ru is pretending.”

Li Shi exclaimed, “Faking it?”

Zhulan frowned, “What the hell are you doing again.”

Li Shi quickly closed her mouth and whispered. She asked, “Mom, is Wang Ru really faking it?”

That was too scary. If she was not really possessed, then she was killing people!

Zhulan ignored Li Shi’s simplistic thinking and, feeling troubled, turned to Zhao Shi and asked, “What do you think?”

Zhao Shi pondered for a moment and then replied, “Wang Ru has colluded with the Qian family, and their goal is to have Wang Ru adopted into another family. She mentioned before that she wanted to establish a female household, but after a while, she likely realized that it was not easy to do so. That’s why she thought of the adoption method. The Qian family’s daughter was married into the Wang family, which now has no male members. If Wang Ru goes over, she can establish a female household there.”

Zhulan nodded in approval and looked at Li Shi, who had just realized the situation. In this household struggle, Li Shi’s role was reduced to that of a mere pawn. Zhulan resolved to have Zhao Shi guide her more in the future.

Li Shi patted her chest and said, “How can Wang Ru be so cunning? People with such deep scheming often have a malicious nature!”

Zhulan said, “…”

Li Shi, seeing her mother’s displeased expression, felt like crying. She realized her mother had seen through Wang Ru and thought that her mother was even more cunning. In an attempt to clarify, she said, “Mother, that’s not what I meant. I meant to say that cunning can be both good and bad, and you, Mother, are on the good side.”

Zhulan looked at Li Shi with a cool gaze. She remembered that Li Shi had been quite idle recently. She withdrew her gaze and asked, “Fourth Wang wouldn’t agree so easily. What conditions did he mention?”

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. In Chinese culture, there is the concept of seven souls and there are two types of soul, Hun and po. The soul referred here is hun, which is classified as “yan” soul and leaves the body after death. Everyone has three “hun” and they can leave the body if the person is scared suddenly. Generally, this kind of thing is said to happen to children and this is what elders do to “call back that soul”. This scene is so cute!!!
2. Awww so sweet, sweetness overload!!!
3. This is too funny, almost cartoonish!!
4. Assistant of county magistrate
5. County Magistrate
6. People who passed the xiangshi or provincial exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China.
7. The State Sword given by the Emperor to someone to show his military might. If someone is given this sword, they can cut first and then question. Basically, license to kill. And the image in this chapter is what AI showed when I asked for ancient Chinese State sword.