I was just playing tricks, how come I became Bai Yueguang

"Click——"

The thin branches fell with a sound. Shen Zhuang put down the scissors and looked back at the man in front of him. "Did she really say that?"

Shen Rang recalled Shen Mianzhi's eyes at that time, and his eyes were slightly moist.

Seeing this, Shen Zhuang glanced at him sideways, turned around and sat down, "Look at how little you can do."

Shen Rang wiped his eyes and said, "You don't understand."

Shen Zhuang was annoyed. "I don't understand. I've had so many children, but none of them have been this easy. If you had used a little more poison back then, I would have been hanging on the wall by now."

Eight years ago, on the night Shen Nian poisoned his wife, Shen Rang sat in front of the spirit tablet of his deceased wife, feeling uneasy. His mind flashed with images of his wife dying in a pool of blood, and then his young daughter grabbing his clothes and begging him to stay with her. The scenes played over and over like a silent film, and in the end, it was his father who lay in a pool of blood.

Shen Rang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and only then did he realize what a stupid thing he had done.

He slammed the door and went straight to Shen Garden. He happened to see Shen Zhuang drinking tea with his head down. Without time to explain, he stepped forward, snatched the teacup from Shen Zhuang's hand and threw it to the ground. Not satisfied with just throwing the teacup, he smashed all the teapots on the tea table to pieces.

There was a hint of surprise in Shen Zhuang's eyes until Shen Rang held up his favorite set of sky-blue Song Dynasty official kiln porcelain. The old man came over and raised his walking stick to stop him, "Don't drop it. There's no poison in it."

Shen Rang was suddenly struck by lightning, and looked at Shen Zhuang with a distorted expression, "You..."

Shen Zhuang stood up, took the teapot from Shen Rang calmly, and drank from the spout. "Prodigal son, if I had waited for you to rescue me, my body would have been cold."

"..."

The past was vivid in his mind, and the soreness in the corners of Shen Rang's eyes suddenly disappeared, and his expression became a little embarrassed.

They say that old ginger is still spicy, and the old man really convinced him.

It was only after being hit by Shen Zhuang that he realized that the old man had long known that he had instigated Shen Nian to poison him. While they were planning the murder, wasn't it also the old man's counter-test on them?

Shen Zhuang had long known that someone was lurking in the dark, deliberately provoking internal strife and annexing the Shen family. He pretended to be ignorant in order to find out the mastermind behind the scenes.

But humans are not plants or trees. Even though Shen Zhuang had planned everything, when he was faced with the murder of his relatives, he still fell into self-doubt.

Shen Rang still remembers Shen Zhuang patting his shoulder, his smile bleak and sad in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, "Even though there are flaws, I'm still very happy that you're here."

That was the first time Shen Rang felt the fading of his family hero's years. He suddenly realized how desperate his father had been before he barged into the hall. His eldest grandson had been instigated by his son to poison him. He had dedicated his entire life to this family, but in the end, the child he had protected wished him dead...

Shen Rang only got a passing score in Shen Zhuang's test, but Shen Zhuang still trusted him 100%.

After that day, the old man entrusted the real decision-making power of the Dark Hall to Shen Rang. From then on, the safety of Qinyuan and his life were in Shen Rang's hands.

Shen Rang also asked Shen Zhuang if he was worried that he would betray him again.

Shen Zhuang remained calm and composed. "You've already made two choices at the critical moment of life and death. If you betray me a third time, it must be because I've let you down."

From then on, Shen Rang never wavered again.

As for why he didn't tell the truth to Shen Mianzhi, it was because this was also a test from the old man.

After Shen Zhi betrayed, the power he previously held urgently needed someone who could get things done. After much deliberation, Shen Zhuang finally chose Shen Mianzhi.

Shen Rang sat down next to Shen Zhuang, recalling what had just happened in Chunyuan, his eyes full of joy.

Shen Zhuang saw through Shen Rang's thoughts at a glance. "Alright, I told you Zhizhi was a good person, but you said she was still young and not calm enough. What else do you have to say now?"

Shen Rang shook his head with a slight smile on his lips. Of course he had nothing to say. Zhizhi's performance was many times better than his at that time. She had really grown up.

Shen Zhuang said, "In that case, find an opportunity to reject the Zhou family. Zhou Yanheng has ulterior motives and is not a good match."

Shen Rang's smile paused, and he looked quite helpless. "To be honest, I didn't fancy that kid from Zhou's family either, but Zhizhi asked me to arrange this marriage."

Shen Zhuang was a little surprised. "You mean, Zhizhi has a crush on that kid from the Zhou family?"

Shen Rang frowned, shook his head, and nodded, "I can't say for sure."

At the beginning, Zhou Guochao got the account book of Shen Rang's embezzled private funds from somewhere, and promised him solemnly that if the two of them became relatives in the future, the Zhou family would provide financial support to help Shen Rang win over his own power.

So he pretended to ask for peace, hoping to use the contact process to find out the Zhou family's background.

Originally, Shen Rang had been pretending to be deaf and dumb and refused to give in, but Shen Mianzhi suddenly came to beg him.

As a father, he had tried to persuade them. The Zhou family thought they could hide the truth, but they didn't know that he had already found out everything about Zhou Yanheng. If Shen Mianzhi hadn't begged them repeatedly, he would never have agreed.

"It's hard to say." Shen Zhuang glared at Shen Rang coldly, "How can you be a father?"

Shen Rang felt a little guilty and kept his head down without saying a word.

Shen Zhuang thought for a moment and said, "Since that's Zhizhi's idea, let's wait and see. Be careful with the Zhou family and don't let them see that you're prepared."

"I understand." Shen Rang agreed, but suddenly thought of something, and his expression became a little unnatural. "Dad, my brother's..."

Speaking of Shen Che, Shen Zhuang's expression immediately turned cold again.

After all, they were from the same mother, and Shen Rang couldn't fake his feelings for Shen Che and Shen Jiao. After thinking about it, he decided to plead for mercy, "Dad, after we investigate this matter and prove that Brother Che didn't do anything to you or the Shen family, can you please show some leniency..."

"He's already attacked Xiaohuaer!" Shen Zhuang interrupted coldly, "Why? You also think Xiaohua isn't a member of the Shen family?"

Shen Rang knew that the old man favored Jiang Huashan, and fearing that Shen Zhuang would misunderstand him, he quickly explained, "Dad, that's not what I meant. Brother Che explained it to me yesterday. He said he knew he was wrong. He also said that Shen Zhi had done the Qiuyuan incident without telling him, and he had no prior knowledge of it."

There was no warmth in Shen Zhuang's eyes. "If he really knew he was wrong, he should have come and apologized to his father as Zhizhi said! He asked you to kill him to silence him, not because he knew he was wrong, but because he was scared."

"In this world, only when you know you're wrong can you correct it, but I'm afraid you can't correct it."

……