As for Shen Xiaoyan and her younger brother, they were not his biological children. Out of respect for Zhen Shi, he would raise them.
After marrying Xu Shi, he saw the abuse of Shen Xiaoyan and her brother with his own eyes. He watched Shen Xiaoyan's face grow thinner and darker day by day, until not a trace of Zhen Shi could be found.
Seeing Shen Xiaoming, sallow and emaciated from hunger, with no resemblance to Zhen Shi whatsoever, he grew increasingly annoyed and simply ignored the two of them.
Because of his indulgence, Xu Shi became even more lawless in her abuse of them, to the point of selling Shen Xiaoyan to Zheng Wei.
When Xu Shi told him about this, he experienced a moment of daze, as if recalling the scene when he had just seen Zhen Shi.
However, perhaps it had been too long, and he could no longer remember what Zhen Shi looked like. He only remembered that she was very beautiful, but had forgotten her features.
Shen Xiaoyan's suicide by drowning was something he hadn't expected. He thought this might be the only thing Shen Xiaoyan had in common with Zhen Shi, that she, too, would not yield.
However, Shen Xiaoyan, who had woken up again, seemed to have changed.
After Shen Xiaoyan left with Zheng Wei, she was no longer the timid person she used to be. She had become like the other Zhen Shi who had appeared for just a moment that year.
Therefore, he was not at all surprised by Shen Xiaoyan's newfound intelligence, her immense strength, or her loss of decisiveness. He felt nothing was wrong.
Because Zhen Shi was like that, and Shen Xiaoyan, who had become like this, finally seemed like Zhen Shi's daughter.
He repeatedly sought trouble with Shen Xiaoyan, merely to see her face, which was becoming more and more like Zhen Shi's.
Looking at Shen Xiaoyan, the image of Zhen Shi in his memory seemed to become clearer.
"I say, what are you thinking about? I've been calling you for half the day, why are you standing there spacing out?"
Xu Shi's sharp and harsh voice suddenly sounded in Shen Cheng's ear, pulling him out of his reverie.
Shen Cheng looked at Xu Shi's face, his gaze lingering for a long time until Xu Shi became furious and roared. Only then did he slowly shift his gaze.
"What are you looking at? I'm asking you, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about your damned vixen wife?" Xu Shi asked, holding a child in one arm and reaching out to Shen Cheng with the other.
"No," Shen Cheng said faintly, and then sat down on the kang.
"No? I think you are. That shameless vixen, she doesn't even let people rest after she's dead, giving birth to two bastards..."
"Enough." Shen Cheng slammed his hand on the kang table, finally interrupting Xu Shi's harsh words.
"You'd better think about how you're going to conduct yourself after your good daughter spreads this news," Shen Cheng glanced at Xu Shi, who was about to explode, and said lightly.
Indeed, this struck Xu Shi's weakness. She also frowned, "Besides you, who else knows about this?"
Shen Cheng thought for a moment and shook his head, "Besides me, only Zhen Shi knows, but she's already dead."
After speaking, Shen Cheng also pondered. He hadn't told anyone about this matter. Even Shen Xiaoyan didn't know her own parentage, so how could anyone else know about it and bring it up more than ten years later?
Could it be that he knew more than ten years ago that Xu Xiao'e would one day use this matter to threaten Shen Xiaoyan, and therefore specifically waited for this day to tell Xu Xiao'e?
"No."
"No what?" Xu Shi asked strangely.
Shen Cheng shook his head and did not answer. He thought to himself that there couldn't be such a person, and that he wouldn't gain anything by doing this.
Besides, who would know about this?
Could it be that Zhen Shi's spirit had manifested and specifically come to support her daughter?
While Xu Shi and Shen Cheng were racking their brains here, on the other side, Xu Xiao'e got into a carriage as soon as she left the Shen family's gate.
Without Xu Xiao'e's command, the coachman, after Xu Xiao'e was seated, steered the carriage and slowly drove away.
Inside the carriage, a person completely wrapped in a black cloak sat opposite Xu Xiao'e. A chilling aura emanated from them, startling Xu Xiao'e into holding her breath and not daring to speak more than necessary.
"What, what was Shen Cheng's reaction?" The masked person stared at Xu Xiao'e for a long time until Xu Xiao'e felt extremely uncomfortable, and finally asked.
Hearing the masked person's ambiguous voice, Xu Xiao'e felt her ears tingle.
"Um... he, he admitted it," Xu Xiao'e paused, then said, "It's just that he didn't say whose child it was."
The masked person nodded imperceptibly, then said to Xu Xiao'e, "I know everything I want to know. You do as we discussed, and I guarantee you'll get what you want."
"Yes," Xu Xiao'e quickly bowed her head in agreement.
When the carriage reached the entrance of the town, the masked person jumped out of the carriage and boarded a very ordinary large cart, entering Tongling Town.
Xu Xiao'e told the coachman to hurry up and follow, but in a short while, the large cart had completely disappeared.
Xu Xiao'e lowered the reins, clenched her hands tightly, and felt extremely hesitant.
This masked person had approached her a few months ago, saying he wanted to make a deal with her.
He would help her defeat Shen Xiaoyan, and all she had to do was follow his arrangements.
She hesitated for a long time, but in the end, her jealousy and hatred for Shen Xiaoyan prevailed, and she agreed to cooperate with the masked person.
She hadn't expected that the previous method wouldn't work at all. She was disappointed and almost gave up.
But who knew that this masked person would find her again.
The news the masked person brought this time shocked her immensely. She had originally planned to spread the word immediately to tarnish Shen Xiaoyan's reputation.
However, the masked person told her to first go to Shen Cheng to verify it. She had no choice but to make this trip today.
Fortunately, she wasn't disappointed. Shen Xiaoyan and her brother were indeed not Shen Cheng's biological children.
Although she still didn't know who this masked person was, it didn't matter.
What was important was that she was about to defeat Shen Xiaoyan, and in the future, she would no longer have to look at Shen Xiaoyan's happiness and be tormented.
After returning, Xu Xiao'e ordered the servants at home to go out and spread the news. Within three days, the entire Tongling Town and the surrounding villages knew about it.
Baiyun Manor, not too far from Tongling Town, naturally also learned of this matter.
Some gossips in the village even ran to Shen Cheng's house to ask him if this was true.
Shen Cheng was so annoyed by the disturbance that he had no choice but to close his door and refuse to see anyone.
Not only Shen Cheng, but Shen Shi's entire family was also affected, with people gossiping about them all day long.
Because Shen Xiaoyan lived far from the village and there were no houses nearby, and she had servants at home, the villagers dared not come to her door to inquire. Therefore, Shen Xiaoyan was temporarily spared from the gossip.
However, the servants in the house always had to go out. Especially Qu Shi and Zhou Shi, who went to town to buy groceries every day. Naturally, they heard about this matter first.
Compared to the shock and anger of the servants, Shen Xiaoyan appeared very calm. She had already guessed the truth of the matter, but she hadn't expected that someone would spread it and make it known to everyone.
Shen Xiaoming happened to not have class today and was sitting next to Shen Xiaoyan. After Qu Shi withdrew, Shen Xiaoming immediately looked at Shen Xiaoyan.
"Eldest sister, who do you think spread this news?"
Shen Xiaoyan sneered. She knew without thinking that it must be Xu Xiao'e.
Although Shen Cheng was the first person to suspect, no man would want to wear a cuckold's hat himself.
Shen Cheng hadn't said anything for so many years, so it was impossible for him to suddenly speak up now and make such a fuss.
"Besides Xu Xiao'e, who else could it be? Only she can't stand to see us doing well," Shen Xiaoyan said coldly.
Xu Xiao'e kept seeking death. If she didn't fulfill her, wouldn't it be a disservice to her diligence?
However, she still didn't know who was behind Xu Xiao'e causing trouble, so she couldn't act rashly.