After Little Douzi learned that Mo Xuanchen was a prince, he was so nervous he did not know what to do with his hands.
Fortunately, Shen Yuxi spoke up in time to break the silence.
"Little Douzi, go on home. You've been out for a while. Your grandmother must be looking for you."
Little Douzi could not wait to leave.
After saying goodbye to Shen Yuxi, he dashed off like a wisp of smoke.
Watching his retreating figure, Shen Yuxi raised an eyebrow. [This child is surprisingly sturdy.]
[The epidemic is so severe. So many adults have died from it or been confined to their sickbeds, yet he's still bouncing around.]
[The first time he approached you, Host, I tested him. His body contains a special antibody that keeps the epidemic at bay. It's an extremely rare constitution.]
The system said, [Actually, if we could extract the antibody factor from his body and make it into medicine, we might be able to overcome the epidemic too.]
[Now that we have a prescription specifically targeting the epidemic, there's naturally no need for a child to make that sacrifice.]
The system's eyes rolled, looking rather mischievous.
[Host, I've found so much gossip. Want to hear it?]
[You've been busy with the epidemic these past few days and haven't been eating melons. I've been so bored.]
Its voice instantly wilted.
The system's sole purpose in existing was to eat melons. Without eating melons, it could not sustain the circulation of its energy at all.
When that happened, it would become a completely useless system.
[Let's hear it!]
Cui Mingjian immediately pricked up both ears, concentrating intently.
His soul of gossip was blazing fiercely.
By his reckoning, this was his second time listening to Lord Little Shen eat melons, but his first time properly joining in with the intention of enjoying the show.
His colleagues had secretly told him in private that Lord Little Shen's system knew absolutely everything.
It even knew exactly what color underwear you wore.
Noble Consort Wei's illicit affair and the fact that she had conceived the third princess through it had been uncovered while Lord Little Shen and the system were eating melons.
[Host, look to your left. That woman in the blue cloth blouse is named Wanxue.]
Shen Yuxi's gaze fell on the gentle woman carefully feeding medicine to an elderly woman, while Cui Mingjian also strained his eyes to peek.
Only Mo Xuanchen kept his gaze on one person from beginning to end.
The woman looked to be only in her twenties.
She had gentle brows and eyes, a straight, delicate nose, and softly defined lips. Her whole face was soft and mild.
Hers was the sort of gentle appearance that told you at a glance that she had a mild disposition and a kind heart.
Looking at the elderly woman she was caring for, however, they saw a face full of sourness and spite.
Shen Yuxi frowned in distaste and instinctively asked, [Don't tell me that's her mother-in-law?]
[Yes.]
Generally speaking, an elderly woman a woman cared for was either her own mother or her mother-in-law.
And judging by the elderly woman's features, how could such a harsh mother have given birth to such a gentle daughter?
Not far away, Wanxue paused for a moment in the act of setting down the medicine bowl when she heard her name.
But she thought nothing of it, assuming the neighbors were talking about her.
The system began its account. [Three years ago, Wanxue met her husband, Chen Shisong. They fell in love, and she married into the Chen family.]
[The Chen family isn't well-off. There has been only one male heir in each generation for nine generations, and Chen Shisong is the sole sprout of this generation. His family treasures him beyond measure.]
[At first, the Chen family disliked Wanxue intensely. They thought their son was outstanding, a licentiate scholar no less, and that Wanxue wasn't good enough for him.]
Shen Yuxi curled her lip. [They look down on her, yet still have her look after them.]
[Where's Chen Shisong?]
What, were they relying on his wife alone to care for them?
[He went to the capital for the examinations.]
[The triennial imperial examinations are about to begin. Chen Shisong passed the provincial examination the year before last, qualifying him to sit the metropolitan examination.]
[The Chen family gave Chen Shisong all their savings, hoping he would successfully become the top scholar, rise to high office, and bring them to the capital to enjoy a comfortable life, so they would never have to endure poverty and privation again.]
[Chen Shisong does possess some learning and ability.]
Shen Yuxi's tone was steady as she said quietly, [But growing up in a family like that, was Chen Shisong really unaffected by his surroundings? From the way Wanxue's mother-in-law treats her, it doesn't look like a sudden change.]
[I'm afraid that even before Chen Shisong left for the capital, Wanxue's mother-in-law ordered her around just the same, right in front of her son.]
The system sighed softly. [Wanxue didn't marry Chen Shisong for his parents, but for the meticulous care and concern he showed her.]
[There are five children in Wanxue's family, so she was destined to be overlooked. Chen Shisong's appearance was like a beam of light illuminating her lonely world.]
[Chen Shisong cared about her, looked after her, and gave her warmth she had never experienced before.]
[As long as she could be with Chen Shisong, it didn't matter whether her parents-in-law treated her well.]
Shen Yuxi sympathized with Wanxue's circumstances, but as an outsider, she could only sigh.
Everyone made their own choices. As long as they did not regret them, that was enough.
[Silly girl.]
Having heard everything from beginning to end, Wanxue's first reaction was shock-shock that the unfamiliar voice had recounted everything that had happened to her without a single error.
After the shock came self-mockery.
She really was foolish!
She knew that, to outsiders, she was asking for suffering.
If a woman did not marry into a good family, the rest of her life would be ruined.
Yet even knowing that life in the Chen family would be difficult, she had persisted in her choice.
Her days with Chen Shisong had been the happiest, most joyful days of her twenty years.
She had experienced what it felt like to be truly loved, to truly have someone to lean on. Her world was no longer hers alone.
She craved that warmth far too much.
Wanxue looked around, trying to find the source of the voices.
When she caught sight of Shen Yuxi and her companions, she suddenly froze.
[System, is she staring at us?] Shen Yuxi asked uncertainly.
[Judging by her viewing angle, she probably is.]
Realizing she had been noticed, Wanxue hurriedly pretended to be busy, haphazardly clearing away the bowl containing the medicine her mother-in-law had left.
At the same time, the shock in her heart reached an indescribable height.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, she had already guessed that one of the unfamiliar voices she had heard earlier belonged to that young woman.
She had heard others speak of that young woman: Lord Little Shen, the Mo Kingdom's only female official.
She had come to Qingzhou on imperial orders to treat the epidemic.
A few days earlier, she had even uncovered evidence of County Magistrate Zhao's corruption and abuse of the law and had him thrown into prison, ridding the people of Qingzhou of a great scourge.
Wanxue was filled with questions. Why did Lord Little Shen know her affairs so clearly?
It was as though she had witnessed them herself.
The system could not stop shaking its head as it said regretfully, [Wanxue loves Chen Shisong wholeheartedly, little knowing that he had already latched onto the youngest daughter of the Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation's household on his fifth day in the capital.]
Boom!
Wanxue felt as though lightning had struck her. The world spun, her vision went black, and the blood in her body turned half cold.
She stood frozen in place, all color draining from her face as shock and grief seized her at once.
A trace of sympathy and pity entered Cui Mingjian's eyes.
Judging by her expression, she must have heard Lord Little Shen's conversation with the system.
Alas.
While she was doing her utmost to serve her parents-in-law back home, her husband was out enjoying romantic pleasures.
Poor girl.
Shen Yuxi was so angry that her fists clenched, her cheeks puffing out.
She cursed furiously, "That heartless bastard! Isn't he just a modern-day Chen Shimei?!"