Drip, drip~~~
Water droplets rolled down Pei Yunzhou’s face.
His feverish brain momentarily short-circuited.
When he spotted Shen Nanchu sitting beside Pei Yunxi, Pei Yunzhou’s confusion deepened.
Shen Nanchu eyed the drenched Pei Yunzhou without a trace of sympathy.
It was the middle of summer—consider it a refreshing cold shower. No big deal.
"Should I ask your sister to fetch another bucket for you?"
Pei Yunzhou shuddered and hastily shook his head.
"No, no, sis-in-law."
If he still didn’t realize Shen Nanchu and Pei Yunxi had teamed up to prank him, he’d be an idiot.
But… why?
Pei Yunzhou was baffled.
Until Shen Nanchu spelled it out for him.
"Two weeks ago, you wrote to your classmates in the capital, bragging that life in Wang Family Village was paradise."
"The day before yesterday, you told Aunt Li at the village entrance that our family raised two plump rabbits and would soon enjoy rabbit meat."
"Yesterday, you boasted to Second Brother Wang at the village’s end that you’d caught several two-pound fish."
With each revelation, Pei Yunzhou’s face flushed deeper.
Then came the final blow.
"Last night, Zheng Tongwei buttered you up, and you nearly spilled the color of your underpants to him."
"Sis-in-law, I have boundaries! I didn’t say that!"
Pei Yunzhou scrambled to defend himself.
Smack!
Pei Yunxi slapped her own forehead in exasperation.
"Oh? Boundaries?"
Shen Nanchu’s palm-leaf fan fluttered faster.
"Then tell us, what did you say to him?"
Pei Yunzhou blurted out yesterday’s conversation in one breath.
"I told him Wang Family Village is amazing—the headman’s great, the villagers are kind, everyone’s wonderful."
"I also said our Pei family’s doing well—good food, good sleep, living the good life."
"Oh, and I made sure to emphasize how especially incredible you are, sis-in-law."
Pei Yunzhou gazed at Shen Nanchu with starry-eyed admiration.
(★ω★)
Pei Yunxi jabbed her brother’s shoulder in frustration.
"We shared the same womb on the same day—how are you this dense?"
"What’s dense about that?" Pei Yunzhou retorted.
"If you hype up sis-in-law like that, what if Zheng Tongwei takes a fancy to her? With Second Brother away, he might try to steal her!" Pei Yunxi looked ready to disown him.
"Oh! I didn’t think of that!" Pei Yunzhou’s face dawned with belated clarity.
Shen Nanchu’s eye twitched.
That’s his takeaway?
The praise wasn’t the issue.
Fine—a little admiration wasn’t terrible.
But blabbing every household detail? Unacceptable.
"Pei Yunxi, if I run to Zheng Tongwei now and say our sis-in-law’s a shrewish tiger, would that fix things?"
Pei Yunxi responded with an epic eye-roll.
"Go ahead," Shen Nanchu cut in.
"Let’s see if your legs outrun my bamboo cane."
Pei Yunzhou instantly clammed up.
Silence blanketed the courtyard.
"Yunzhou, is it true you wet the bed last night?"
Shen Nanchu’s brow arched, amusement glinting in her eyes.
"Nonsense! That’s just Pei Yunxi and the kids spreading lies!"
Pei Yunzhou shot his sister an indignant glare.
Pei Yunxi shrugged, all innocence.
"I did make it up—but why did the aunties believe it? Gossip spreads like wildfire."
Pei Yunzhou opened his mouth to argue—then met Shen Nanchu’s gaze and thought better of it.
Her slender fingers tapped the armrest.
"Yunzhou, do you understand why we taught you this lesson today?"
Her voice was sweet as ever, yet Pei Yunzhou instinctively straightened his posture.
After a pause, he hung his head.
"Sis-in-law, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shared family or village matters outside."
"I don’t tolerate liabilities."
That Shen Nanchu personally intervened meant she still saw potential in the Pei family.
"Yunxi, tell this blockhead how Yang Xiu died in the Three Kingdoms era—and how Sima Yi seized power."
Pei Yunxi blinked.
A pop quiz while disciplining her brother?
Luckily, she knew the answers.
Ahem.
"Yang Xiu was brilliant, but he deciphered Cao Cao’s ‘chicken rib’ order as a retreat signal—and paid with his life."
"Sima Yi pretended madness for nine years, even smearing porridge on himself to lower Cao Shuang’s guard. Then he struck during the Gaoping Tombs Incident and seized control."
Pei Yunzhou wasn’t stupid. The subtext hit him hard.
Loose lips sink ships.
His face paled.
Had his chatter already drawn trouble to their doorstep?
Shen Nanchu studied him.
"Why was the Pei family exiled?"
"Never forget."
"Unless you’d prefer a harsher life elsewhere?"
Pei Yunzhou wilted like frostbitten eggplant.
"Your sis-in-law’s right."
Grandma Pei entered, her voice stern.
"Comfort made you forget the suffering of exile."
"Grandma!"
Pei Yunzhou wished the ground would swallow him.
She glared at her grandson.
"If you can’t control your tongue, I’ll lock you indoors."
The gravity finally sank in.
"Grandma, sis-in-law—I won’t repeat this mistake."
"Nanchu, is the Zheng family trouble?"
Grandma Pei knew her well.
Shen Nanchu wouldn’t act without cause.
"Hopefully I’m overthinking."
She turned to Pei Yunzhou.
"He pumped you for information—what did you learn?"
"I…"
Pei Yunzhou drew a blank.
"Nothing, right?"
Shen Nanchu’s smile sharpened.
Zheng Tongwei’s skill was impressive.
No ordinary foe.
Why did that name ring a bell?
Her eyes narrowed in thought.
Wait—
Zheng Tongwei?!
Wasn’t that the antagonist from the novel’s later arcs?
Why was he here now?
A name flashed in her mind: Jiang Shuyi.
So this explained her recent quietness.
Shen Nanchu smirked.
Planning to watch tigers fight and reap the spoils?
As if she’d allow it.
Her smile vanished.
Besides, Jiang Shuyi was no strategist—just a fool waiting for manna to fall.
