It is proper for a grown daughter to keep her distance from her father, even if she is his biological daughter, thus Xiao Changhai had never set foot in Chun Shu’s courtyard.

Upon seeing the ground littered with black hair and torn pieces of cloth, and witnessing the sorrowful expression on his daughter’s face, Xiao Changhai’s heart trembled.

"What happened?"

He knew Mrs. Huang had lost her senses again, yet he did not immediately blame her.

After all, marrying into the Xiao family hadn’t been easy for her either.

Back then, they were a loving couple.

"Third uncle, this is what happened..."

Mrs. Xu recounted the instance of giving Chunyan and Chun Shu fabric for them to embroider their wedding dresses first.

"Third sister-in-law thought Shu’er had arranged her own marriage without telling anyone, got angry, and cut the fabric for Shu’er’s wedding dress into pieces."

Mrs. Xu pulled Chun Shu into her embrace, feeling distressed for her hardship, and silently comforted her by patting her back.

While explaining the events to Xiao Changhai.

"What happened to Shu’er’s hair? Who cut it?"

If it was Mrs. Huang who cut it, Xiao Changhai felt it would have crossed a line.

"Shu’er cut it herself," Mrs. Xu explained, "Shu’er is introverted, not good with words, and doesn’t speak up when something is wrong, so she ends up torturing herself."

Just as a child cannot blame a parent, Chun Shu would not say a single criticisms about Mrs. Huang, even after cutting her hair in grief.

Nevertheless, the shame and sorrow in her heart spread boundlessly, like the hair scattered everywhere.

"Someone, come here." Xiao Changhai took a deep breath.

Hearing him call for someone, Mrs. Xu’s heart skipped a beat: What was the third brother planning to do?

"Escort the third lady back to her courtyard to rest, and call a doctor to come examine her."

"Madam, let’s go."

The two maidservants were already scared out of their wits.

These two were bought by Chunyu for the Xiao family before they returned to the capital, and had long heard that Xiao’s servants had good lives, that if they knew the rules, they wouldn’t be beaten or scolded.

But today opened their eyes, seeing how the third lady treated her own daughter, they dared not imagine how she might treat the servants, not daring to imagine at all!

Thankfully, when they went forward to support Mrs. Huang, she cooperated and left.

Watching Mrs. Huang exit the courtyard.

Only then did Xiao Changhai turn his gaze to his daughter.

"Shu’er, father knows you have been wronged."

Regarding Mrs. Huang’s condition, Chun Nuan had written to inform the family in Northern Desert, so Xiao Changhai was aware: "Your mother is unwell, try to be more understanding of her."

Chun Shu remained silent.

Yes, she is ill, and every time she gets sick, she pushes herself into the fire pit!

She is also a person, she also is human for the first time, why couldn’t she understand herself?

In this family, she could talk and joke with everyone, but with her biological mother, every meeting held a bit of fear, because her eyes always carried a somber gaze, making Chun Shu feel like she would sell her again!

So when her aunt asked her to embroider the wedding dress, she thought her aunt would handle her marriage, and she was overjoyed.

Who knew, the biological mother appeared, madly cutting all the fabrics to shreds.

Watching the ground covered in torn fabric, her heart too shattered to pieces.

To her, happiness was such a distant thing!

She should never have hoped for it.

So, she directly took the scissors and cut off her long hair.

This life, marrying and having children, so be it, let the rest of her life be accompanied by candlelight and ancient scriptures!

"You two, clean up the courtyard." Xiao Changhai instructed the two nanny of Chun Shu: "Watch over the young lady." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Yes, third master."

The maids had nothing to say, honestly quite frightened: the third lady truly was like a madwoman.

Truthfully, they were really scared that the third lady might take the scissors and stab the young lady.

Both were prepared to sacrifice and rescue their mistress.

Miss Shu’er was the best mistress they had ever seen, her words gentle and temper kind, she even taught them to read and keep accounts...

Previously, they were rough maids in a big household, not much skill, clumsy with words, always being scolded or beaten.

That family got into trouble and was confiscated, they were sold off again.

After drifting through several households, eventually being bought and trained by Xiao Chunyu, becoming head maids at Ms. Shu’er’s side, they cherished this opportunity greatly.

Finding a good master was as rare as a woman marrying a good man, so their affection for Chun Shu was genuine.

"Sister-in-law."

Xiao Changhai came to Mrs. Xu, saluting her with folded hands.

"Third uncle, we’re all family, no need for such formalities," Mrs. Xu dodged, then asked directly: "So what do you think about this matter?"

"Sister-in-law, Mrs. Huang isn’t in good health, unable to manage the upbringing of the younger ones, and doesn’t have capacity to arrange Shu’er’s marriage, please work a little harder and find a good match for Shu’er."

Mrs. Xu had actually long wished to take charge of Chun Shu’s affairs.

But Mrs. Huang was her biological mother, with her still around, how could the aunt take over in arranging a match?

Moreover, marriages depended greatly on luck.

Marry well, then everyone’s happy, marry poorly, blame will come.

In short, it was a thankless task.

It was because it was Shu’er, otherwise she definitely wouldn’t bother.

She felt empathetic to Chun Shu’s hardship.

"Since you’ve said so, I will naturally find a match for Chun Shu." Mrs. Xu awaited this assurance from Xiao Changhai: "What sort of match do you think is appropriate for Chun Shu?"

"Family background is secondary, the key is family values and conduct, and the future son-in-law’s sense of responsibility," Xiao Changhai replied: "I trust sister-in-law’s judgment, anyone you choose will not be unsuitable."

"Third uncle, you flatter—I shall then start to look, and inform you if a suitable match is found."

"Good." Xiao Changhai agreed: "No need to tell Mrs. Huang, let her focus on recovering her health."

Mrs. Xu also agreed that Mrs. Huang truly needed to repose; she figured Mrs. Huang was once again beset by illness!

Sigh, people sometimes just can’t think straight.

With a good life, why seek trouble?

Gefitx a fuss in Changzhou once almost harming Chun Shu, but this time it truly drove Chun Shu mad, leading to what she’d done.

"Thank you, aunt; thank you, father." Chun Shu raised her head, took a deep breath, "No matter who I marry, my mother will never be satisfied. So, Chun Shu will not marry, in order not to affect the marriages of my siblings, Chun Shu will voluntarily live in a temple accompanied by candlelight and ancient scriptures—let it be said that Chun Shu of the Xiao family passed away due to illness."

"Shu’er, don’t speak nonsense."

Xiao Changhai immediately reprimanded her.

"You shouldn’t curse yourself like this." This left Mrs. Xu with heartache, as she pulled her niece into her embrace: "Shu’er, trust your aunt, I will find you a good match, and whether your mother is satisfied comes second, what she needs most is to care for her own health."

Mrs. Xu’s words were clear: Mrs. Huang’s words no longer carried weight in the residence.

The Xiao family convened a family meeting once more, eventually deciding, at Xiao Changhai’s suggestion and with Xiao Changqing’s consent, that Mrs. Huang should focus solely on recuperating, with no involvement in any household affairs or decisions.