SBCEJM -Chapter 339 The Ex-Husband Becomes a Father-in-Law—A Family Tree Tangled Into Chaos

Inside the wooden hut, everyone was struck speechless by the system’s earth-shattering revelation.

General Cheng Ying stood like a stone statue weathered by a thousand years of wind and rain, motionless in place.

Zhao Wu and Qin Huan, the husband-and-wife pair, looked even darker than the stormy sky outside. They looked as if they wished they could dissolve into mud on the spot and seep into the ground.

Feng Zeyuan chewed on roasted meat while pondering this absurd situation.

“Come to think of it, Qin Huan is also a victim.”

She glanced at the woman hiding behind her husband.

“An arranged marriage without even seeing the groom—she never had a choice.”

This thought, carried like a warm current, made Qin Huan—who had been ice-cold all over—tremble slightly.

“If anyone’s to blame, it’s Zhao Wu, that home-wrecker with ill intentions, and Qin Huan’s selfish elder sister and biased father!”

“Of course, tracing it all back… it’s still that reckless emperor who randomly issued marriage decrees! Without his chaotic matchmaking, none of this mess would exist!”

Several miles away, inside the imperial main tent.

Xiao Juechen, who was lowering his head to review urgent memorials, suddenly let out a thunderous sneeze without any warning.

“Achoo—!”

He rubbed his nose, his eagle-like eyes flashing with confusion.

Who is thinking about me behind my back?

Inside the wooden hut, Feng Zeyuan’s thoughts suddenly took a wild, winding turn—and then a realization popped into her mind that made even herself struggle not to burst out laughing.

“Wait a second! I think I’ve spotted the key point!”

“General Cheng married Qin Huan’s biological mother… doesn’t that make him Qin Huan’s… stepfather?”

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

She was laughing so hard in her mind she nearly collapsed.

“Ex-husband becomes father-in-law! This family hierarchy is so messy even the Jade Emperor couldn’t fit it into his genealogy!”

This thought was like a bolt of electricity that struck everyone in the hut at once.

Everyone froze for a moment, then quickly began mentally calculating this absurd relationship.

Lin Zhengyan’s hand stroking his beard trembled violently—he even plucked out a few strands himself.

Chu Heng had just taken a sip of ginger tea. Before he could swallow, he choked and coughed violently until his face turned red.

The other officials’ expressions twisted from shock into something grotesquely contorted, their facial muscles spasming as they desperately tried not to laugh out loud.

Qin Huan stood rigid, staring at Cheng Ying with trembling lips.

Father…?

That single word exploded in her mind, making her dizzy.

No… this is too ridiculous!

Cheng Ying felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

This blow was even more devastating than finding out he had been cheated on.

Blood rushed to his head and his vision darkened.

I became a father before I even had a son?!

I don’t even have a child of my own, and I already gained a “stepdaughter” I once married?!

Liu Si’s eyes lit up as he frantically wrote in his notebook, already naming his next story.

“It’ll be called ‘Don’t Even Think About Escaping! The Substitute Bride I Married Turned Out to Be My Stepdaughter!’”

“Host, forget the family hierarchy for now.”

The system took the initiative, trying to straighten the situation that had veered off into the stratosphere.

“Actually, you should know—General Cheng’s looks are severely ‘sealed.’”

“Oh?” Feng Zeyuan immediately became interested. “Sealed by what?”

The system answered decisively with two words.

“A beard.”

“Shave it off, and he’s a proper sword-browed, star-eyed handsome man.”

As soon as it finished speaking, a clear image appeared before Feng Zeyuan’s eyes.

At the same time, everyone in the hut saw the same “edited” image above her head.

It was a man’s face.

Cheng Ying’s face.

Only in the image, his thick beard was gone, revealing a clean jawline and sharp, well-defined features.

His facial structure was striking, his nose high, his eyes deep and sharp—overflowing with heroic spirit, carrying the unruly arrogance of a young general.

The entire room fell into silence once again.

Everyone—including Qin Huan and Zhao Wu—stared blankly at the handsome face in the image, then back at the bearded, world-weary Cheng Ying in front of them.

It felt as if their worldview had been shattered and rebuilt repeatedly within minutes.

Qin Huan felt as though something had struck her chest hard. Her expression grew complicated, and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of regret quietly crept in.

So… this is what he actually looked like?

If back then…

On the other side, Zhao Wu quietly broke into a cold sweat, another layer forming on his back.

Damn it! Good thing I acted early!

Otherwise, if he ever shaved his beard and came to his senses, would I even have a place in this story?

Cheng Ying himself, however, looking at that “handsome version” of himself in his mind, felt a strong sense of rejection.

He straightened his neck and roared inwardly.

Who is this? So soft and feminine!

I look better with a beard! That’s what a real iron-blooded man looks like!

“System, besides beards, what else can ‘seal’ a person’s looks?”

Feng Zeyuan asked, building on the idea.

The system immediately switched into “Great Xia Aesthetics Classroom” mode and began calling out examples.

“For example, Prime Minister Lin’s dangerously receding hairline, Minister Chu’s deep nasolabial folds, and that official over there’s ‘slouching neck’ caused by years of desk work…”

The named officials were all hit.

Lin Zhengyan instinctively touched his shiny forehead.

Chu Heng smoothed out his facial wrinkles.

Another minister suddenly straightened his hunched back.

In an instant, the officials inside the hut were as if enlightened. They quickly took out notebooks—or simply memorized it in their minds.

“Shave beards.”

“Change hairstyles.”

“Correct posture.”

Liu Si was even more inspired, furiously writing an entire page titled “On the Importance of Appearance Management for Great Xia Officials.”

Just as everyone was immersed in this “beauty transformation movement,” Feng Zeyuan’s thoughts shifted again.

“System, if the truth comes out, General Cheng is going to be socially dead, right? His dignity will be shattered to pieces. Even shaving his beard into a handsome face won’t help.”

“So what can he do to restore his shattered reputation and dignity?”