Giving advice, it’s truly a skill! In order to open up Brother Liu’s heart about Qing’er, Shuzhen has been exhausting herself with tales of old miseries. Spending half the night away from home, leaving Little Lian’en with Lianshan, she has no idea how that rough old man handled the little one’s hungry crying in the morning. The more Shuzhen thought, the less assured she felt, so she hurried home, determined to rescue her husband from the baby’s cries. Upon arriving home, she found that there was no crying at all. Her husband was holding the baby in one arm and feeding with a small spoon in the other. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a gentle glow on his face. The scene was so incredibly warm that Shuzhen stood frozen at the door for quite a while, hesitant to disturb the peace. Once Lianshan was finally done with the task of feeding their son, he breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up, he saw his wife leaning against the doorframe, gazing at him as if enchanted. Her admiration made his handsome face turn red, a warm satisfaction filled him like a sip of hot sweet tea: "Wife, you’re back! How is Brother Liu? Feeling better?" "Yes, the fever has subsided and he’s awake. I and Second Brother talked to him endlessly, and his spirit has improved. Now he’s fully focused on negotiating with the higher-ups, wishing for Wu Xia to be punished severely. He’s even considering expelling the entire Wu family from Liu village as a sort of venting and future prevention." Shuzhen spread out her hands, "But this way, Brother Liu’s attention is diverted, leaving him with no time for those chaotic thoughts that were driving him into a corner. This guilt and self-blame had pushed him into sickness. Oh, you should have seen how scared we were last night... But fortunately, Brother Liu is an adult, with Second Brother’s help. It’s you taking care of this little one all alone that’s truly impressive." "Nonsense! As a father taking care of his son, isn’t that what I should be doing? Besides, our son is very well-behaved. After you left, he hardly fussed. It was only when daylight broke and he got really hungry that he cried for a bit. I fed him some warm porridge I had prepared beforehand. The little guy just ate quietly, without causing any trouble!" Lianshan gently tousled Shuzhen’s hair, fondly recounting their son’s good behavior. For Shuzhen, her husband’s boasting about their son all the time, trying to sweeten her relationship with their child, left her speechless. This child who had once embodied her highest hopes and boundless love, but gave back a devastating blow, growing more and more like his lousy father, resembling him more as he grew up... Every time she thought about how he had abandoned her for fame and fortune without a backward glance, joining those vile people, Shuzhen couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed with disdain. She didn’t send him directly to those vile people simply because she didn’t want to make it that easy for them. Putting aside her disdain, as a nurturing and gentle mother? Shuzhen thought otherwise: too much motherly love spoils the child, she would rather be a strict mother. Until she corrected this inherently cold and selfish bloodline, ensuring he would not be ungrateful and snobbish, she would not consider loving him. Seeing his wife’s lack of interest, Lianshan didn’t say more. After all, winning favor must be a gradual process, otherwise, it might backfire. However, his brother-in-law’s request for severe punishment of the culprit with homicidal intent, and the plan to drive the annoying family out of the village seemed very reasonable to Lianshan. Yup, finding a chance to discuss with Uncle Wu would be worthwhile. After realizing the benefits of collective effort, Lianshan gradually made it a habit to visit Half Mountain, often seeking ideas. Especially after hearing about Lin Yuanzhi and Wu Xia’s misdeeds, Uncle Wu was enraged, breaking a stool with a kick. He vowed to help Brother Liu vent his anger, and overnight, Jiang Wenge, a county-level official, became an ordinary staffer in the town. Despite the result, Uncle Wu sheepishly admitted he had held back due to the Jiangg family’s influence, otherwise, he’d have stripped Jiang Wenge of his position completely! As Lianshan watched Uncle Wu, a fierce tiger even in Pingyang, how could he miss the chance to grab this extended hand for support? He must hold tightly and never let go. And perhaps, while climbing up, he too would grow to be a towering tree. Though the process may be challenging and difficult, but compared to a vine relying only on a big tree for light, being a tree providing its own shade to protect what he cherishes is a better prospect. Given how capable his wife is, shouldn’t he be striving to ensure that if her abilities were ever exposed, he could shelter her securely in the storm? The brother-in-law, brother-in-law, both eagerly sought Wu Xia’s demise, Liu Shouren out of revenge for her repeated malicious acts. Whereas Lianshan mainly hoped she would shut up quickly and not expose his wife’s secrets. However, before the brothers began their plans, news of Wu Xia’s death already arrived. Knowing she faced heavy charges, and seeing that her interrogators were those she had heavily burdened, Wu Xia, knowing Shuzhen had also revealed herself, saw no hope and wasn’t interested in living miserably anymore. That night, with the same rope she used for her pants, she hanged herself decisively. When Jiang Wenge went to interrogate her the next day, he found her corpse stiffening already. Unable to vent his anger instead being frightened by her grim death, Jiang Wenge actually had nightmares for several nights. The Wu family loathed her deceitful nature, her bad reputation spreading wide, even dragging the whole family down. If not required by authorities, they wouldn’t have bothered collecting her remains. Even begrudgingly retrieved, she never entered the house, but was wrapped in a sack and buried shallowly in a common graveyard. Subsequently, the family packed up and relocated to a farm in X City, thousands of miles away, hoping that even through hardship, a change of scenery would bring relief. Away from constant wagging tongues, children’s marriages might proceed more smoothly. As the newly appointed team leader, Shuzhen promptly issued introduction and testimonial letters. With such a cold-hearted family, not meeting again in this life was the best outcome. Their willingness to leave, this Wu family was smart. Here’s hoping that with Wu Xia’s death and the Wu family moving away, Brother Liu might soon recover from that failed marriage. Recover his spirits and find her a good sister-in-law to share life with. Have a few clever and adorable nieces and nephews, and live happily ever after. If not as loving as she and Lianshan are, even as harmonious as Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law would be nice!