Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Shen Hua… Can She Really Brainwash?

“Of course, that is still not enough.”

Shen Hua: “Chong Bingwen should pay the price for his transgressions. If he hadn’t harbored those intentions, none of this would have happened today. Cousin Xuan must give him a harsh lesson.”

“The Xuan Family is a decent household; unlike the Chong Family, they cannot shamelessly act like bandits, ruthlessly bullying others at every turn. If we can’t bury him completely, we must at least make Chong Bingwen realize the wonders of life, a life so unbearable it might as well be death.”

This was an embarrassment to the family.

Ordinary families would try to cover it up.

But why should we?

After all, Chong Bingwen is an official and cannot be disposed of casually. But solutions are made by men; there’s always a way to make him wish he were dead.

Her words were indeed heretical and unorthodox.

Yet Xuan Chen couldn’t help but think. If only elder sister would say:

–If you do as I say, I will leave him. If you dare to act, I dare to leave.

He would immediately turn around and look for a solution.

Uncle Yong Chang stood there, dumbfounded.

He couldn’t imagine how Cui Yun, with such a steady temperament, could be so infatuated with such a girl.

The girl was indeed pretty, but how could everything she says be so fierce?

Uncle Yong Chang had never seen such a formidable girl before.

Yet he couldn’t help but notice the restrained way Shen Hua modestly gathered the hem of her skirt to reveal her embroidered shoes. The girl was seemingly speaking to no one in particular.

She feigned demureness: “I am not usually like this.”

“I am quite gentle, usually.”

Uncle Yong Chang: …

“But when I see others trying to climb over my head, if I don’t pull them down and step on them fiercely, how can I calm the anger in my heart?”

Shen Hua turned her head: “Right?”

Cui Yun chuckled: “You are absolutely correct.”

Uncle Yong Chang: …

Cui Yun: “My cousin has never suffered such indignities at her parents’ home, why should the Chong Family be allowed to?”

Shen Hua: “Maybe because they have thick faces.”

She even theatrically drew a large circle in the air.

The bride sitting next to Xuan Chen, who had just been feeling sorry for Xuan Ai, couldn’t help but burst into laughter the next moment.

Soon, she was filled with regret, fearing she may provoke the ire of her mother-in-law and father-in-law.

As expected, Xuan E slapped the table hard.

The bride shuddered with fright.

As she shakily stood up, bracing for a scolding from her mother-in-law, she heard Xuan E grinding her teeth.

“Xuan Ai, did you hear that?”

“You should learn from this!”

“As parents, we don’t fear our children causing trouble; we fear them causing no trouble at all.”

“How about it? Mother thinks what Miss Shen said makes perfect sense. You just nod slightly, and I’ll have your brother come up with a plan.”

Xuan E saw Wen Yiran standing up.

“Bride of Brother Chen, do you also think what mother-in-law said is sensible?”

Bride: …

With a dumbfounded expression, Wen Yiran stood there: “…Yes! It’s sensible.”

Soon after, she was pulled back to her seat by Xuan Chen at her side.

Seeing her truly nervous, Xuan Chen leaned in and asked quietly, “Usually you have such nerve around me, why are you so afraid of mother?”

In the meantime,

Xuan Ai looked towards Shen Hua.

There sat the girl, whose words and deeds, bold yet intriguing.

Such a statement, if heard from someone else, would be shocking.

But coming from Shen Hua’s mouth, it seemed natural, as if these were the words she was meant to speak.

Although she was young and her features still childish,

Perhaps sensing the gaze upon her, Shen Hua looked up and locked eyes with Xuan Ai.

There was perplexity, followed by a slight curve of her lips. The starlight in the girl’s eyes twinkled, yet struck Xuan Ai’s heart like a sharp sword.

Xuan Ai heard herself asking again.

“But there has been no movement in my belly for many years. Miss Shen, do you still think I’m not at fault?”

Shen Hua fell silent: “Is this his excuse for keeping a concubine?”

“The Xuan Family is not unreasonable. If Cousin, you are infertile for life, would the Xuan Family not nod in agreement for him to take a concubine?”

“But with everyone so angry right now, it’s naturally because Cousin, you are unharmed.”

Shen Hua asked, “Cousin, do you know why you’ve been infertile all these years?”

Xuan Ai: “This–”

“Then surely the Three Pure Ones also look down on the Chong Family. If you had a child, wouldn’t you have to settle and not divorce for the sake of the child?”

She concluded, “It seems that even the immortals protect Cousin, helping you escape from suffering.”

Xuan Ai almost believed it.

Xuan E slapped the table: “Exactly!”

She felt that whatever Shen Hua said was particularly pleasing to hear!

Cui Xuan gave a slight nod: “The words…make sense.”

Qiao Si: “This is fate’s will.”

With everything that could be said having been said, Wen Yiran could only nod solemnly: “Mhm, mhm!”

Uncle Yong Chang took a deep breath.

Xuan Chen seemed pensive. Then he saw Cui Yun’s face bearing a faint smile.

He thought, he couldn’t let the bride stay with Shen Hua for too long.

The words of Shen Hua were really brainwashing. Even he felt that what Shen Hua said was not wrong.

Seeing this, Shen Hua’s sense of responsibility surged. In order not to let everyone down, she must correct Xuan Ai’s mindset.

“A girl marries for the support of a husband’s family. Cousin, did you marry into the Chong Family just to bear children?”

Xuan Ai was stunned.

“Perhaps Chong Bingwen married Cousin mainly because cousin belongs to the Xuan Family.”

The girl’s two sentences thoroughly dissected the reality.

Cui Yun didn’t speak; he quietly waited for Shen Hua to continue.

The man took the nearby teacup and sipped it with an indifferent expression. What Shen Hua said was also what he thought in his heart.

“It’s not easy for a girl to conceive, not easy to bear a child, even harder postpartum, and if the husband is not considerate, why suffer so much for him? Cousin has been troubled for a long time, not even as happy as when she was a girl in her maiden home. Why bother?”

“A married daughter is like spilled water, I’ve heard this saying many times, it’s crude but the logic is sound, yet Cousin is not like this. In front is a solid wall, in the back is a path paved by the Xuan Family, why obstinately adhere to old ways and be bound by ritual, insisting on crashing into that wall, ending up with a bloody outcome.”

If this happened to Zheng Qianyu, Shen Hua would have cursed already.

She would say.

— Are you sick in the head, Mr. Mi?

— What’s so good about this man that you cling to him, acting so humble in his presence?

But Xuan Ai was a gentle girl, and so Shen Hua’s words were also much gentler.

She said softly: “Cousin, you are well-read, you can write poetry and excel in painting, even music is not beyond you; you are the girl the Xuan Family has nurtured carefully over the years.”

Xuan Ai listened as Shen Hua spoke.

“The mountains and rivers of Hengzhou are beautiful, the local customs and people of Wuzhou are unique, there are many places in this world Cousin hasn’t been to. Why confine yourself to this rotten and foul corner of the earth?”

Just then.

An old woman hurried in; she was a trusted confidant of Xuan E.

She bowed respectfully, half-lowering her head: “Someone from the Chong Family has come.”

“It’s Mrs. Wu who serves close to Old Madam Chong.”

Old Madam Chong was Xuan Ai’s mother-in-law

Xuan Chen sneered: “We haven’t even waited for Chong Bingwen, and now an old woman arrives. The Chong Family truly belittles my sister so.”

Shen Hua looked at Xuan Ai: “Cousin, will you see her or not?”

Xuan Ai’s mind was in chaos; she rubbed her sleeves subconsciously. Gradually, she made a decision, while everyone waited for her response, she didn’t disappoint them and shook her head.

“Let’s not see her.”

Shen Hua smiled: “Wrong.”

She instructed Xuan Ai.

“You should say–”

“Tell her to roll.”