All the members are good people, only the host is a pervert

In this world, although the nobles require men to be thin and docile, and never go out of the main house or the secondary house, this trend has not really affected the lower class people. The lower class people will subconsciously choose strong men as their husbands. After all, only men with such physique can do the work.

Compared to Lin's father, Chi Wen Ning was much thinner, and with the bruises on his body that had not yet faded, and his eyes filled with resentment and timidity, he looked even more charming.

Seeing his father like this, Lin Ruan handed the bun to his father again and said to him seriously, "Dad, this time is different. I didn't lose the house deed. It's right here. I also won nearly three hundred taels of silver. I think my luck has changed. I will never gamble again. I will study hard and pass the exam next year."

When Father Lin heard this, his tears flowed even more fiercely. "Daughter, are you serious? You really didn't lose the house deed?"

Lin Ruan nodded seriously, took out the house deed from his arms and handed it to his father, "Dad, look, the house deed is fine, I really won money."

Father Lin took the title deed with shaking hands, his lips trembling, and he was so excited that he couldn't speak.

Lin Ruan sat down on the edge of the bed and gently patted the back of Lin's father's hand. "Dad, I studied for so many years before I passed the examination for the student, but in the end I failed to pass the examination for the scholar. You have seen how much I studied over the years. I don't think it's because I'm not knowledgeable enough, but I just lacked some luck. Now that luck has come, I will never gamble again. In the future, I will study hard and let our family live a good life. By the way, I also used the remaining silver to buy a donkey cart, some food, some books, and I also bought you a new dowry. It's in the yard, I'll bring it in for you."

Seeing that Lin's father's bed was covered with straw as a mattress and a torn coarse cloth as a quilt, Lin Ruan got into the carriage to get something and brought out three more quilts and pillows from the space.

"Daddy, Wen Ning, you two should clear the straw off the bed and sweep the edges. I bought new bedding and will put it on later."

Lin's father and Chi Wenning made the bed together and spread out the new bedding. Lin Ruan put the food into the kitchen and moved three wooden boxes into her room and Lin's father's room respectively. Before Lin's father could open his box, Lin Ruan pulled Chi Wenning back to their room.

Unlike Lin Ruan's father's blind faith in him, Chi Wenning didn't believe Lin Ruan's lies about luck. Lin Ruan had punched her countless times to get money from him, her frenzied behavior making her look like a serious gambler. His father, who had once raised him, was sold into slavery by his gambling-addicted mother and later taken in by the county magistrate. However, due to his slavery, he remained a concubine, destined for the rest of his life.

Xiaodie once told him how terrible those women who lost their minds and had red eyes because of gambling looked, just like Lin Ruan in the past two months.

Lin Ruan had never thought Chi Wen Ning would believe what he had just said. After all, for someone who has lost their mind, any reason could become an excuse for them to continue gambling. However, Lin Ruan had already prepared another set of arguments in his mind. Seeing Chi Wen Ning's expression of disbelief but not daring to show it, Lin Ruan sat on the bed and said calmly, "What I said just now were all lies to deceive my father. A gentleman does not speak of strange things. As a scholar, how could I do such a thing for illusory luck?"

Before Chi Wen Ning could react, Lin Ruan sighed and continued, "Your mother was transferred and left Songyang County the day before yesterday. After the new county magistrate took office yesterday, I started winning money. Wen Ning, do you understand what I mean?"

Chi Wenning shook his head and whispered, "Wife, I don't understand what you mean."

I don't understand why she lied to Dad, I don't understand why she said these words to him.

After all, Fengwu State treated men extremely harshly. After being divorced, a man could not even return to his family and was directly imprisoned in a breeding ground. Even if Lin Ruan beat him, so what? Not to mention the fact that he would have to be beaten with seventy sticks before suing his wife, even if Lin Ruan beat him to death, the Chi family would only fine him ten thousand taels of silver according to the law.

How ironic! In this society, even if a woman plots rebellion, she will only be sent to a breeding ground. And as for men, if they are divorced, they will be sent to that place. A worthless life is only worth ten thousand taels of silver.

Lin Ruan seemed to have remembered something and sneered, "If I hadn't heard today that two or three gambling thugs who used to keep an eye on me got drunk and fell into a puddle and drowned, I wouldn't have dared to do this today."

"Your sister is such a filial daughter. When I was going to take the exam for the scholar degree, she stopped me on the way and warned me that I would not pass and would not be kind to you in the slightest. She even had someone force me into a gambling den. To protect myself, I had no choice but to pretend to be obsessed with gambling to reassure her."

"Who knew your sister wouldn't let me go? She bribed the gambling house to prevent me from winning. Even if I managed to win a few taels, people would still surround me. If I hadn't known that the gambling house and the brothel were owned by the same person, I could have used the excuse of visiting the brothel to get away. I'm afraid everything we have at home would have been ripped off by the gambling house overnight."

The system was confused and asked, "Host, are you in the same world as me?"

Lin Ruan quickly replied in her mind: "Don't ask if it's true or not, just look at whether it's washed clean."

System: “6!”

It wasn't like it hadn't taken on whitewashing missions before. Previous hosts had always taken the path of a prodigal son turning over a new leaf and repenting. Unexpectedly, Lin Ruan was forcibly shifting the blame. Tsk tsk, I wonder if the original owner's unfortunate sister-in-law sneezed, or if she hunched over from the weight of the blame she carried.

"So that's how it is..." Chi Wenning muttered to himself, a hint of realization on his face. But deep in his eyes, a hint of doubt flickered. He tried hard to digest the information in Lin Ruan's words, trying to understand the logic behind them, but he still felt a little confused.

Despite his skepticism about Lin Ruan's words, Chi Wenning decided to play along. He slowly knelt, head bowed, and spoke in a low, apologetic voice, "My dear wife, this is all my fault. I've dragged you down. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have to bear all this pressure." His tone revealed a deep sense of remorse, as if he truly believed he had caused trouble for Lin Ruan.

Yet, Chi Wenning's doubts remained. Reflecting on his family's situation, he couldn't help but feel strange. His first four brothers hadn't married well, but once they were married, his stepfather and sister stopped caring about them, even treating them as strangers. Why, then, did his sister not only threaten Lin Ruan but also send people to monitor her? Could his stepfather and sister really be so heartless?

This question kept lingering in Chi Wen Ning's mind, making it difficult for him to let it go.

Lin Ruan helped Chi Wen Ning up and sneered, "You're a burden to me, but I, Lin Ruan, am not someone else's meat on the chopping block." She whispered in Chi Wen Ning's ear, "Your sister wouldn't monitor me every moment of the day. Sometimes I go to the gambling house, but after a short stroll, I sneak out through the back door to pick some herbs in the mountains behind our village to sell later. Tomorrow I'll take you to the mountains and you'll see. I didn't sell any of those herbs; I secretly hid them in a cave."

Lin Ruan, who was a habitual liar, certainly knew that if a lie wanted to convince others, it did not depend on how perfect the logic of the lie was, but on whether the evidence in reality could prove its authenticity.

And the things in the cave are the evidence left by Lin Ruan.

As expected, after hearing Lin Ruan's words, Chi Wenning already believed 80% to 90%. The remaining 10% or 20% was just waiting for the actual visit tomorrow to finally put his mind at ease. His guilt was now 100% full. He had never expected that he was the one who had really dragged Lin Ruan down. Thinking of Lin Ruan's tenderness towards him during their wedding, and the various things that had happened after she failed the imperial examination, Chi Wenning, who had developed a timid nature in the Chi Mansion, finally couldn't help but lower his head and shed tears.

He didn't know what he was crying about. Was he crying for the ruthlessness of his mother and sister? For his humble origins? For his father's sister's murderous actions? Or for being a man and having no control over his fate? He didn't know, yet it seemed like all of it.