Wealthy beyond measure, yet you call me a sister-supporting-brother demon?

“Yes, Father-in-law. As the saying goes, all other professions are inferior, only studying is superior. As your son-in-law, how can I be idle and ignorant all day long?” Yuan Sheng said sincerely.

“Chenxi always praises my father-in-law to me, saying how talented he is, how reasonable he is, and how popular he is with his students. I admire him and have been wanting to meet him for a long time.”

Seeing that Yuan Sheng's praise was sincere, Zhu Dehai suddenly felt that this son-in-law was not bad either.

Needless to say, he was handsome and talented. His manner of speaking was also quite remarkable.

He took out several books from the book box. “These three books, ‘Elementary Learning’, ‘Hundred Family Surnames’, and ‘Thousand Character Classic’, are all primers. You can take them home and study them first. Chenxi’s calligraphy is quite good, and she has read a lot of books with her mother. You should study with Chenxi first, and then go to a private school later when you have a foundation. That way, you can save some money.”

In those days, paper was precious. Since movable type printing had not yet been invented, printed books were even more expensive. The few printed books that Zhu Dehai took out alone cost six or seven taels of silver.

Handwritten copies are cheaper, and the price depends on the calligrapher's skill.

Yuan Sheng felt that his father-in-law was quite good, even better than he had expected, and he felt no guilt at all for taking advantage of Zhu Dehai.

Yuan Sheng and Zhu Dehai had a very pleasant conversation, and the horses were plucked at just the right moment, making Zhu Dehai very engrossed in the conversation.

Seeing that Qian Jinfeng hadn't cooked for a long time, Zhu Dehai said in an unfriendly tone, "Hurry up and cook, and bring out that jar of fine wine that I treasure. Don't you have any sense of propriety?"

Qian Jinfeng went to buy meat and vegetables with a dark face, and prepared a table full of food and drinks.

Yuan Sheng, Zhu Chenxi, and Zhu Qingxing enjoyed a hearty breakfast while watching Qian Jinfeng and Zhu Meiru's dark faces.

In short, Yuan Sheng and Zhu Chenxi had a very fruitful day: thirty taels of silver, a fine Duan inkstone, several books, and of course, the two taels and three mace of silver that Zhu Chenxi had previously hidden in the pigsty.

As luck would have it, Qian Jinfeng said she would have the pigsty renovated tomorrow. Yuan Sheng thought to himself that the money from his past life was probably found by Qian Jinfeng and never ended up in Zhu Chenxi's hands.

Qian Jinfeng finally managed to send these large Buddha statues away, no longer needing to worry about Zhu Dehai's reputation.

She grabbed Zhu Dehai's ear and dragged him into the bedroom. "Why are you treating me like this for a bastard like Qin Wansheng! I'll take Wendong back to my parents' home first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll make sure your Zhu family line ends!" Qian Jinfeng was furious today; she had never been treated like this in her life! Zhu Chenxi, a dog who worked for her, dared to anger her like this, and what was most despicable was that her husband, Zhu Dehai, was helping them.

Bringing Zhu Wendong back to her parents' home was her secret weapon; Zhu Dehai only had this one son! Qian Jinfeng knew that Zhu Dehai valued this precious son!

Zhu Dehai shook off Qian Jinfeng's hand and slapped her hard across the face, knocking her over. "So that's what you really think of Wan Niang, Qian Jinfeng! You've finally spoken your mind today! All those compliments you gave Wan Niang before were just an act!"

"Zhu Dehai, you dare hit me? Qin Wan is a woman who's been ridden by a thousand men, otherwise how could she have given birth to such a bastard!" She'd been married to Zhu Dehai for three years, and he'd never laid a finger on her. She'd known for a long time that Zhu Dehai didn't like his bastard daughter, Zhu Chenxi. And today, she'd only said one thing to Qin Wan, and he slapped her like that?

So Qin Wan is Zhu Dehai's Achilles' heel? Thinking of this, the jealous Qian Jinfeng became even angrier.

Zhu Dehai's eyes turned red. "I'll teach you to be so foul-mouthed!" He slapped Qian Jinfeng's face several more times.

"Qin Wan was a pure and innocent young woman when she was with me, and you can't slander her like this! Qian Jinfeng, who do you think you are! You're not even worth a single hair on Qin Wan's head!"

Qian Jinfeng's entire face was swollen, looking like a pig's head. She slurred, "Now you're pretending to be deeply in love with Qin Wan, but how do you treat that ugly bastard Qin Wan gave birth to? I heard that Qin Wan cherishes her like the apple of his eye."

Upon hearing Qian Jinfeng's words, Zhu Dehai was momentarily stunned.

Is he good to Chenxi? He must have feelings for his daughter whom he raised from childhood. But his feelings for Chenxi are complicated.

It was because of Zhu Chenxi that he and his stepmother didn't have their own child. His stepmother was afraid that if she gave birth to their own child, Zhu Chenxi would suffer, so she directly cut off her own fertility.

Therefore, it can be said that he lost his own biological child because of his daughter Zhu Chenxi.

The stepmother always put her adopted daughter first. If her adopted daughter was in any danger, she would immediately stand up for her. He had no doubt that the stepmother would die for her adopted daughter! As for Zhu Dehai, he was always last.

The stepmother once said that the reason she has lived until now is all for Zhu Chenxi.

Then what does Zhu Dehai, her husband, mean to her?

Just as Qian Jinfeng said, he ignored the mistreatment of Chenxi and did not intervene. If Wan Niang knew in the afterlife, she would never forgive him.

It seems that since his son Zhu Wendong was born, he has become increasingly indifferent to Chenxi.

Zhu Dehai pounded his chest; he felt so sorry for his stepmother!

Seeing Zhu Dehai reminiscing about his deceased friend, Qian Jinfeng seized the opportunity to scratch Zhu Dehai's face, leaving a deep four-finger bloody mark.

"Zhu Dehai, you beat me like this for a slut! I'll make you regret this for the rest of your life! I'm going back to my parents' home tomorrow, and you'll never see your son again! I'll make sure you never see your son again!"

Zhu Dehai roared, "My son's surname is Zhu. I've been accommodating to you before, but do you think I'm afraid of you?! If you want to leave, go back to your parents' home and leave my son here! No! You dare to sell Chenxi, you dare to insult your stepmother, I'm going to divorce you!"

Zhu Meiru rushed out and grabbed Qian Jinfeng's hand as she was about to hit someone. "Mother, if you are divorced and sent home, how am I supposed to marry the young master of Meishan Pavilion?! You should apologize to Father right now!"

Qian Jinfeng was furious. When Zhu Dehai was beating her earlier, her daughter didn't come out to stop him. Now that she heard Zhu Dehai was going to divorce her, she didn't come out to make him apologize.

What kind of thing did she give birth to?!

Qian Jinfeng's heart was ice-cold. Her husband was like this, and her daughter was like this.

But the harsh reality brought her to her senses. She only had the opportunity to marry Zhu Dehai, who was so well-off, because her ex-husband had died. If she were divorced and sent home, she feared she would never be able to remarry.

How could her brother and sister-in-law possibly let her and Meiru stay at home and eat for free? They would probably suffer all sorts of scorn in the future.

Her daughter only thought of herself, but she couldn't ignore her daughter's feelings. If she were truly divorced and sent home, her daughter's marriage would definitely be ruined. Marrying the young master of Meishan Pavilion was already a step up for her daughter, but at least she had a scholar father to uphold the family's reputation...

She had previously thought she had Zhu Dehai under her thumb because he always obeyed her and didn't care when he bullied Zhu Chenxi. Little did she know, it was all just wishful thinking on her part.

But if she apologizes and admits her mistake now, how will she ever be able to hold her head high in front of Zhu Dehai again?

Qian Jinfeng stopped cursing, her eyes filled with tears, and she covered her face as she staggered towards the bedroom.