Fighting Father-in-Law Is Endless Fun, Caught Off Guard

The Earl opened the family instructions, his eyes full of feeling. "Though I know these instructions by heart, I still read through them often, lest I forget and lose my way. Young Master Shen, you are half my son, and now a member of the Jin Family as well. You have both the right and the duty to study these family instructions."

"Yes!" Young Master Shen respectfully accepted the book.

The Earl said, "Every descendant of the Jin Family must know these family instructions by heart. Once you have memorized this book, the House Arrest Order will be lifted. You may go wherever you please."

"Ah..." Young Master Shen froze. "Then... how many words are in these family instructions?"

"Not many. Only fifty thousand words. It took me a month. MuLan is clever and needed only twenty-three days." The Earl said, "You must recite every word without missing a single one before you may leave this study. Do you understand?"

Dear heavens!

Fifty thousand words, and he had to memorize every last one? All you geniuses from 985 and 211 universities—how long would it take you to memorize fifty thousand words? Young Master Shen's memory was already exceptional, but back in high school, memorizing an essay of over a thousand words had still taken him at least most of a day.

And the more words there were, the harder it became to memorize them. The difficulty rose by geometric multiples.

For the descendants of the Jin Family, memorizing the family instructions was a painful memory shared by every generation.

Seeing Young Master Shen's miserable expression, the Earl felt thoroughly satisfied.

When the devil rises one foot, the Way rises ten.

Any young man could be brought to heel by him, and Young Master Shen would be no exception.

Young Master Shen said, "Father-in-Law, do you mean what you say? Once I have memorized the Jin Family Instructions, you will set me free?"

"Of course I mean it." The Earl said, "Memorize it properly. Until you finish, you are not allowed to take even one step out of this study. Meals and clean clothes will be brought to you every day."

Then the Earl thought, By the time you finish, it will be at least a month from now. Don't even think about going out to make trouble tomorrow.

"Jin Zhong, did you hear that? Before the Live-in Son-in-Law finishes memorizing it, he is not to leave the study by even one step." The Earl issued the order once more.

"Yes!" Jin Zhong answered loudly.

Then the Earl left directly.

Meanwhile, Young Master Shen rapidly flipped through the fifty-thousand-word Jin Family Instructions.

A short while later, MuLan entered and laid out the meal she had brought.

She was the daughter of the Earl's Manor, while Young Master Shen was a Live-in Son-in-Law, yet from beginning to end, she had never put on airs before him.

Other than refusing to share a bed with him, she fulfilled her duties as a wife with meticulous care.

"Husband, your elder brother is out of danger now. Doctor An says he should wake in two or three days," MuLan said.

Young Master Shen said, "Wife, let me correct you again. He is Big Fool, not my elder brother."

MuLan said, "He is Big Fool, and you are Second Fool. Doesn't that make you brothers?"

Young Master Shen was speechless.

You're beautiful, you have a great figure—everything you say is right! Watching Young Master Shen eat, MuLan asked, "Husband, how did Big Fool get hurt? And why was treatment delayed until now? Doctor An said that if it had been another hour or two later, he might not have been saved."

Young Master Shen told MuLan about what had happened to Big Fool.

"This is outrageous! What kind of father behaves like that? He is worse than a beast!" MuLan was furious. "Husband, rest assured. We will do everything we can to heal Big Fool. Afterward, let him follow you. We will never let him go hungry again."

Young Master Shen set down his chopsticks and looked at her gently. "Thank you, Wife."

MuLan grew a little uncomfortable under his gaze and could not help asking, "Husband, what were you doing just now?"

Young Master Shen said, "Father-in-Law has put me under house arrest. I have to memorize the Jin Family Instructions before I can be free."

MuLan said, "Memorizing this book is every Jin Family descendant's nightmare. It took me a full twenty-three days to finish it."

That was nearly the best result the Jin Family had seen in decades, and MuLan spoke with pride.

Then MuLan's expression turned serious. "Husband, are you in a hurry to get out?"

Of course Young Master Shen was in a hurry. If Tian Heng did not break Tian Shisan's legs tomorrow, Young Master Shen would lose all face.

"I'll go plead with Father right away and have him lift your House Arrest Order," MuLan said.

Young Master Shen smiled and shook his head. "No need. That would damage Father-in-Law's authority."

This Father-in-Law of his was a good man. Young Master Shen had to consider things for him.

MuLan looked at Young Master Shen for a while, then said, "Then Husband, study properly in the study. I will bring your meals and clean clothes every day. As for Tian Heng, please set your mind at ease. Once I find an opportunity, I will definitely seek justice for you."

Young Master Shen said, "Thank you, Wife."

But the grudges against the Xu Family, the Lin Family, and Tian Heng had to be avenged by his own hand.

He was already satisfied to borrow the Earl's Manor's influence. If he still needed the Earl's Manor to act for him in taking revenge, then Young Master Shen would truly be too useless.

After MuLan left, Young Master Shen began the grueling task of memorizing the book.

Oh, no!

More accurately, he was flipping through it. He spent no more than half a minute on each page.

It did not look like he was memorizing a book at all. It looked more like he was taking photographs.

That was right. Young Master Shen really was taking photographs.

That alien laptop had transformed into a Smart Brain inside his body. His eyes were like cameras—after taking a careful look, they could completely record the information in the Smart Brain.

The Jin Family Instructions contained fifty thousand words, around two hundred pages.

Young Master Shen spent just over an hour memorizing it all.

More accurately, he had recorded it all completely.

Not a single word was wrong. If there had been punctuation marks, he would not have missed even one.

Earl had taken a full thirty-three days, while MuLan had taken a full twenty-three.

That Young Lord of the Earl's still had not finished memorizing it even now. For every thousand words he learned, he forgot three hundred. At this rate, he probably would never finish in his lifetime.

Young Master Shen's record was absolutely unprecedented, with none before him and none to come after.

There was a bed in the study, and Young Master Shen lay down on it in comfort.

Then he hesitated. Should he go show off to his Father-in-law now, or wait until tomorrow morning?

Forget it. Tomorrow morning it was.

A man had to have a conscience. His Father-in-law was a decent fellow; going to slap him in the face now would be too harsh.

Fighting his Father-in-law was endlessly delightful! "Alas, once again I lie sleepless on a lonely pillow. When will my forty-odd years of bachelorhood finally come to an end?"

"Lonely pillow, sleepless night, lonely pillow, sleepless night—how am I supposed to sleep like this?"

Five minutes later, Young Master Shen was snoring soundly.

Hearing the snoring from inside, Jin Zhong, who stood guard outside the door, felt a surge of contempt.

What time was it even?

It had only just reached the Hour of the Pig—just past nine at night—and this Young Master Shen had already gone to bed. Instead of studying properly, he was sleeping. Even the Young Lord knew to read until late into the night.

At this rate, when in the year of the monkey or month of the horse would he ever finish memorizing the Jin Family Instructions? He could just wait to be confined in the study for a year and a half.

Useless was useless!

Inside Earl's room.

"I think Young Master Shen is a good child," Earl's Wife said. "He is not as ignorant and incompetent as the rumors claim. He looks like a bad child, but he is actually a good one. I have the sharpest eye for people."

"His temperament is not bad, but he is too impulsive and frivolous. He needs proper discipline," Earl said. "I confined him so that he will not run outside and cause trouble."

"Confined?" Earl's Wife said softly. "He has only just married into our household, and you are already punishing him. Won't that make him resentful?"

"No," Earl said. "I told him to memorize the Jin Family Instructions. He can regain his freedom whenever he finishes. Only family members are qualified to memorize those instructions. This shows that I do not consider him an outsider."

"Husband, you are truly devious," Earl's Wife said.

"While the devil rises one foot, the Way rises ten," Earl said with a smile. "I refuse to believe I cannot tame this monkey. Just wait—without fifty days, he can forget about memorizing those fifty thousand words, and forget about leaving that study."

"Not necessarily," Earl's Wife said. "Everyone says he is ignorant and incompetent, but after the wedding ceremony that day, his literacy even surpassed Zhang Boyan's. Perhaps he will finish memorizing it in less than a month and prove even more capable than you."

"Impossible," Earl said. "It took me a full thirty-three days. Young Master Shen will need at least a month and a half. Even if he is not as foolish as the rumors say, can he possibly be smarter than I am?"

"That remains to be seen. I think he is very clever. Perhaps he really will beat you. I have a sharp eye for people." A sly gleam flashed through Earl's Wife's beautiful eyes. "Why don't we make a bet?"

Earl's Wife was nearing forty, graceful and elegant, yet still beautiful.

At that moment, the sly charm in her eyes made her seem twenty again, and Earl loved her beyond measure.

"Husband, if Young Master Shen beats you, then there are certain matters that must be decided by me," Earl's Wife said.

Earl said, "What matters?"

Earl's Wife directly handed him a list. When Earl took it, his face immediately flushed red. Outrageous! Utterly improper!

The matters listed within were simply absurd. For instance, tofu pudding for breakfast had to be seasoned with salt? And Earl's Wife was to dress as a man within the estate?

"My wife is a daughter of a distinguished family. How can you say such unrestrained things?" Earl said. "An affront to refinement, an affront to refinement!"

"Hmph!" Earl's Wife said. "You are the only one who is unbearably pedantic. When I roamed the martial world in my youth, I was always dressed as a man. What is wrong with that? Are you agreeing or not?"

Earl said, "Wouldn't that turn Heaven and Earth upside down? Nonsense, sheer nonsense!"

Earl's Wife said, "One month shall be the limit. If Young Master Shen memorizes the Jin Family Instructions within one month, then neither of us wins or loses. For every day earlier he finishes, you agree to one thing of mine. If he finishes two days early, you agree to two things, and so on."

"Nonsense, nonsense..." Earl was an old-fashioned fossil.

Earl's Wife said, "It is settled, then. The man governs the outer affairs, the woman governs the inner. If I cannot even decide such a small matter, what is the point of being this Earl's Wife?"

Earl said, "My wife, 'the man governs the outer affairs and the woman governs the inner' is not interpreted that way."

Earl's Wife said, "Husband, are you showing off how much more you have read?"

"I am not," Earl said.

Earl's Wife rose directly from the bed, put on her clothes, and left the room.

Earl could not help asking, "Where are you going?"

Earl's Wife said, "The son-in-law must certainly be studying through the night. I am going to cook him a bowl of Walnut and Lotus Seed Soup, to nourish his brain properly."

A full hour later, the Walnut and Lotus Seed Soup was ready. Earl's Wife packed it into a food box and personally delivered it to Young Master Shen.

For the sake of her future happiness, she was really going all out. The tofu pudding had to be sweet, and she wanted to dress in men's clothing and relive the days when she had roamed the martial world in her youth.

When she arrived outside the study, she saw that the lights within were still on.

The Earl's Wife thought to herself, Sure enough, what a fine son-in-law. He's still studying diligently at such a late hour.

The rumors outside claimed that Young Master Shen was an unlearned good-for-nothing, gluttonous and lazy. They truly made no sense.

"Greetings, Madam." The moment Jin Zhong saw the Earl's Wife, he immediately bowed in astonishment.

"The light is still on inside. The young master must be studying hard in there," the Earl's Wife said. "He's truly working himself to the bone. I've brought him a bowl of Walnut and Lotus Seed Soup to ease his hunger and fatigue."

What a good mother-in-law.

Jin Zhong said awkwardly, "The young master has already gone to sleep."

Uh! The Mother-in-Law was instantly even more embarrassed.

"When did he go to sleep?" the Earl's Wife asked.

Jin Zhong replied, "Before the hour of the Pig."

This... this was even lazier than her son. Her fat son still studied until late every night.

"Hmph! That heartless little thing. The rumors were indeed true—gluttonous and lazy, unlearned and incompetent." The Earl's Wife grew angry. Thinking this to herself, she turned and left.

It seemed she was going to lose her wager with her husband horribly.