HBWMA -Chapter 29 Eavesdropping at the Wall

“Get lost! All of you, get out!”

As soon as Shen Jiao entered Winter Garden, she heard the little tyrant’s roar from the main hall.

She sighed softly and walked inside. “All of you, go out.”

The moment Fu Sui’er saw Shen Jiao, she immediately rushed over in grievance. “Mom, Grandpa is being biased! He’s sending me to Xiaying. I don’t want to go to that godforsaken place. Take me back, okay? I want to go back to the Fu family.”

Shen Jiao had already heard about what happened in the side hall before coming. She gently touched Fu Sui’er’s forehead. “Listen to your grandfather. I’ll have Aunt Feng stay with you.”

Fu Sui’er’s face froze in shock. She shoved Shen Jiao away like an enraged little beast. “I don’t want to! My surname is Fu, not Shen! I’m going back to the Fu family!”

Shen Jiao was caught off guard and nearly stumbled backward. Fortunately, Shen Zhi and Shen Che arrived just in time to steady her.

Shen Che, the eldest son of the third branch, had always been authoritative among the younger generation. Seeing Fu Sui’er actually lay hands on her mother, he immediately grew angry and stepped forward. “Sui’er! You’re getting more and more outrageous! How can you treat your mother like this? Apologize!”

By this point, Fu Sui’er had completely broken down. She started crying loudly while smashing things.

“Apologize, apologize! Why do you always want me to apologize?! Why does nobody ever ask what I think?! I won’t apologize! Never! Even if I die, I won’t!”

With a loud crash, a vase shattered at Shen Che’s feet.

Shen Che’s expression changed. He stepped forward, ready to teach her a lesson, but Shen Jiao stopped him. Shen Che said unhappily, “You’ve all spoiled this child. If you don’t discipline her now, what will she become later?”

Shen Jiao looked at the emotionally collapsing Fu Sui’er, her eyes full of heartache and exhaustion. “Let her calm down first.”

Shen Rang also agreed, patting Shen Che’s shoulder. “Girls are different from boys. Do you think this is like your two troublemaking sons—just a slap and it’s over?”

Then Shen Rang walked forward with a smile. “Sui’er, be good. When you come back, your uncle will take you to the West District to have fun. Didn’t you always want to learn shooting? I’ll teach you when you return.”

Fu Sui’er grabbed an apple from the fruit plate and threw it straight at Shen Rang’s face. “I don’t care!”

“Hey!” Shen Rang tilted his head and caught the apple with one hand. “You little brat, try throwing another one!”

Fu Sui’er immediately threw another.

“….”

Shen Rang rolled up his sleeves and was about to hit her, but Shen Che’s eyelid twitched and he quickly stopped him. “Enough, enough. Who was it just saying not to argue with a child? Listen to Shen Jiao—let her calm down first.”

Shen Jiao looked at Fu Sui’er in such a state, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end said nothing and followed Shen Rang and Shen Che out of the main hall.

“That little Sui’er’s temperament is really something. How is she ever going to find a husband like this?” Shen Rang said with a sigh once they left. “How exactly are you raising her?”

Shen Jiao also felt awful inside, her expression heavy.

“Enough,” Shen Che cut in. “Why bring this up now? Instead of complaining, why don’t you think about what the old master meant by today’s actions?”

At that, all three of them became serious.

In the Qin Garden pavilion, a cool breeze drifted through. The tea had gone cold. Shen Zhuang sat alone in a huanghuali armchair, lost in thought. Beside him sat a wooden wolf doll that looked completely out of place.

Shen Zhi entered the pavilion and first glanced at the wolf doll. “Old master, Miss Jiang didn’t return to Chrysanthemum Garden. She refused my escort. From the direction she went, it looks like she headed toward Winter Garden.”

Shen Zhuang’s eyes flickered.

He suddenly thought of Jiang Huashan’s gaze when she came to say goodbye—burning, trusting, as if she had truly understood his intention.

“Old master, could something go wrong? Should I send someone to check?”

Shen Zhuang shook his head. “Let the children handle their own matters. If you watch over them every step of the way, you’ll raise flowers that are only delicate, not resilient.”

Then, as if remembering something, his expression darkened slightly.

“Have you figured out what happened in Chrysanthemum Garden?”

“Yes.” Shen Zhi nodded, then suddenly thought of something and his expression changed slightly. “Old Master, there is one more thing… it’s about Ju Garden…”

Shen Zhuang lifted his gaze, the emotion in his eyes turning colder.

On the other side, Winter Garden.

Shen Jiao was worried that Fu Sui’er might do something impulsive, so she didn’t dare to go too far. She had the servants prepare some tea and snacks and was chatting with Shen Che and Shen Rang in the front courtyard.

Shen Che’s earlier words had served as a reminder—the old master was the stabilizing force of the Shen family. He would never make any decision lightly.

With the Shen family’s power, there were countless ways to erase Shen Guiling’s existence, but the old master had instead chosen the most mutually destructive approach. There must be some deeper meaning behind it.

The three of them discussed it back and forth, but still couldn’t reach any conclusion, so they temporarily set it aside.

Shen Rang lowered his voice and asked, “With Sui’er’s temper, do you think she can accept you and Fu Jiaming getting a divorce?”

The moment this was mentioned, Shen Jiao’s already recovered mood darkened again.

Shen Che frowned in confusion. “Jiao, what exactly is going on between you and Jiaming? Why did things suddenly come to this? Did the old master agree to it?”

Shen Jiao shook her head. “The old master told me not to be reckless. I even made him angry over this matter. Didn’t you see it just now in the flower hall? The old man didn’t even look at me properly.”

“Hah.” Shen Rang waved a hand dismissively. “You’re overthinking it. In the flower hall just now, aside from those kids, who did the old man actually look at properly? It’s not really the old master’s fault either. Everything unlucky just happened at the same time. That eldest brother’s mess goes without saying, but did you know? I heard something about the Xiao family’s Wenheng Real Estate also having internal problems.”

Although the Xiao family’s business wasn’t as dominant as the Shen family, it still held a significant position in A Country’s economic system. The executive director of Wenheng Real Estate was Xiao Qi—Shen E’s husband.

Shen Rang glanced around and lowered his voice further. “It seems he embezzled 20 billion of government investment funds for private projects. But the land he acquired was later designated by S Country as military-use land. Now the government is demanding inspection of the project’s progress. If they can’t cover the losses or the progress doesn’t meet requirements, we might not see that ‘brother-in-law’ again unless it’s at a state disciplinary office.”

Shen Jiao frowned. “Where are you even hearing these messy rumors?”

Most of Shen Rang’s connections came from underworld channels—people from all walks of life who loved spreading gossip about those in power as if they had witnessed it themselves. Shen Jiao had never respected such information.

“I didn’t believe it at first either,” Shen Rang said, “but this morning Shen E was actively trying to talk to Third Brother. When has she ever been the type to force a smile like that?”

The speaker meant no harm, but the listeners took it seriously. Shen Che pondered for a moment, then tapped the tea table with a serious expression.

“If this is true, don’t you think the timing is a bit too coincidental?”

Shen Jiao and Shen Rang were not fools. Their expressions subtly changed.

Shen Rang turned to Shen Jiao. “Jiao, during this time after you returned to the Shen family, did the Fu family ever come looking for you?”

Shen Jiao replied, “I left on my own. Even if they really came to ask me back, I wouldn’t return…” Halfway through, she suddenly realized something, and her face turned even worse.

Shen Che stood up. “No wonder the old master is so angry! One incident could be coincidence, but three incidents definitely aren’t.”

“Third brother, where are you going?” Shen Rang also stood up.

Shen Che said, “Of course I’m going to see the old master.” If his guess was correct, then it was no surprise the old master was so furious.

Shen Jiao also sensed something was wrong and stood up. “Going to see him now… wouldn’t that—”

Before she could finish, she suddenly saw a figure standing in the corner of the front courtyard. She froze slightly, her gaze turning cold.

“What are you doing here?”

Shen Che and Shen Rang followed her gaze and their expressions changed.

Only then did they notice a girl standing in the corner of the courtyard, wearing a doll-like white dress.

The girl smiled sweetly as she walked forward.

“Uncle Third, Uncle Fourth, Aunt Jiao… I came to see Sui’er. I saw you all seemed to be discussing something just now, so I didn’t dare interrupt. That’s why I stood aside and listened.”

The three of them: “……”