The Cultivator's Reborn to 1970s-Chapter 214 - 178

The storm of marriage controversy came out of nowhere and disappeared just as mysteriously. Nobody talked about Lan Tian’s marriage anymore; her soaring combat power had become the latest hot topic of discussion.

A few days after the monthly meeting, the head of the teaching department received several anonymous letters. The letters accused the rumors to have originated from XXX. Following the leads provided in the letters, the head teacher untangled the web and quickly identified the masterminds behind the rumors. There were four culprits in total, they were punished by school-wide notification and a probationary period at school. Additionally, their privilege to take direct entrance exams to college was revoked, and they had to apologize to Lan Tian.

The revocation of their eligibility for direct college entrance was a quite severe punishment. Lan Tian merely smiled calmly upon learning about it.

The main conspirators were having nightmares every night, dreaming of being chased by fierce ghosts. They were visibly wasting away, and after less than half a month, they were nothing but skin and bones. They sought medical attention everywhere but to no avail. A month later, the nightmares suddenly stopped, but that is a story for another time.

The class teacher, representing the school authorities, paid a visit to Lan Tian’s parents to apologize. Following the address provided by the principal, he went to the Mo Mansion, where the interior was like a typical garden from Jiangnan, with a garden, covered bridges, rockeries, pavilions, and the class teacher felt himself treading lighter. With the Lan family’s substantial wealth, there was no need for Lan Tian to find a wealthy supporter—those students who spread the rumors were so short-sighted, not even understanding the actual situation before spouting nonsense.

It was the first time a teacher had visited, and Granny Lin was warm and hospitable.

Granny Lin, Grandma Sun, and Mo Yuanle had no clue about the slanders against Lan Tian. Lan Tian considered all these matters trivial and didn’t think they were worth worrying her family over. After the class teacher explained his visit, Granny Lin’s entire demeanor stiffened, and with a frozen smile, she saw the class teacher off, then immediately called Mr. Mo.

The class teacher was confused too, after wandering around he realized this was Lan Tian’s great-grandfather’s place; Lan Tian’s own family had moved to the suburbs. Following the address provided by Granny Lin, he took another ride to the suburbs.

He learned from bystanders that the yard with the big peach tree belonged to Lan Tian’s family, and they enthusiastically led him there.

Knowing the visitor was Lan Tian’s class teacher, Grandma Sun welcomed him with a smile and invited him into the house. It was the first time a teacher had made a home visit. She served him tea, asked a neighbor to find Mo Yuanle in the back orchard, and others to search the village for Zhao Li.

Once the family had gathered, the class teacher explained his visit, and Grandma Sun, Mo Yuanle, and Zhao Li listened in silence, accepted the school’s apology, and then quietly saw the class teacher off.

Stepping out, the class teacher felt dizzy, shocked that nothing dramatic had happened, and he had made it out unscathed. He had braced himself for a scolding from the parents, but looking back at the yard, he thought, "This family has a superior sense of understanding!"

As it was Sunday, Lan Tian had gone to the mountains to collect herbs and didn’t know about the class teacher’s visit.

"I’m back."

There was nobody in the yard, nor did anyone come out of the houses. Lan Tian didn’t mind; it was possible they went to play in the village. After putting away the herbs, washing up, she stepped into the hall and paused—ah, the whole family was there.

"Grandma, uncle, auntie, you’re all home!" She called out, but nobody answered her. What’s going on?

Her gaze shifted back and forth among the three people, each staring at her expressionlessly. Lan Tian’s scalp tingled, and she had a bad feeling—this situation wasn’t right. It was as if she was facing a tribunal. She hadn’t done anything outrageous lately—lifting tiles off roofs, pulling up vegetables in the field, teasing chickens and dogs—she had stopped doing those things a long time ago.

"Nothing’s the matter, I’ll go back to my room." She turned and headed towards her room.

"Don’t you have something to say?" Grandma Sun asked, looking at Lan Tian.

What now?

They knew about Mo Junhua’s affair?

That couldn’t be it; if they knew, they’d be frantically packing to go to the hospital.

Or was it Yanhua who had come by?

Zhao Li glanced at her coldly, "Your class teacher came today."

Huh?

Lan Tian held her forehead, she forgot that the homeroom teacher was very responsible, and with such an incident, he would definitely come to apologize personally.

It was a minor issue to Lan Tian, but with the homeroom teacher stepping in, a small issue turned into a big deal.

"It was just a small matter, some classmates gossiped behind others’ backs at school, and the school has already punished them."

Grandma Sun didn’t believe it, "With so many students at the school, why do they gossip about you in particular and not about others?"

The girl is married to Sanwa, a soldier who prioritizes the country, and experiences frequent separation due to duty; it’s only been a few years.

Grandma Sun knows her own child well enough to know she wouldn’t do anything inappropriate, but she also knows that the girl isn’t fond of Sanwa, and it’s hard to say—people might do something rash when they’re overtaken by a moment of madness.

"Grandma, what are you thinking?" Lan Tian said, both helpless and amused. Besides, with Shitou, Tie Jun, and Black Dog not around, what fun could there be for her alone?

"I was just at the military base for over half a month. The two soldiers who came to pick me up are under Mo Junhua’s command. They called me ’sister-in-law’ right at the school gates, and it just so happened to be when school was out, so the other students heard it. The gossip spread nonsensically, and that’s all there is to it. The school later investigated and punished a few students. With the high school exams coming up, the homeroom teacher is worried that this might affect me, but there’s no need. I have no shadow on my heart, and I bet he doesn’t believe that either," Lan Tian shrugged.

The expressions on Grandma Sun and the others were a bit sheepish; alright, they had been worrying over nothing.

"Aren’t we supposed to go back inside? Let’s move," Zhao Li said irritably, waving her hands to shoo them along.

Lan Tian pouted; it was as if she had been summoned just for this. freёnovelkiss-com

Once everyone was inside, Zhao Li turned to ask Grandma Sun, "Auntie, do you think Tiantian did it?" It would be too coincidental for just those few rumor-mongers to have nightmares and no one else.

"It’s time to cook dinner," Grandma Sun said, glancing at the sky outside before standing up and heading to the kitchen.

......

The days leading up to the high school exams arrived in a blink of an eye, and the atmosphere was tense. Parents with children taking the exams were all caught up in the nervous bustle.

Grandma Sun and Zhao Li got up in the middle of the night to simmer soups—whatever was nourishing, they made it into a soup: ginseng chicken, lingzhi pigeon, fish head soup; a big pot of soup just for Lan Tian, who drank until her belly was round, her face plump and rosy.

"Don’t study these few days. Your teachers have said to strike a balance between work and rest, not to study to the point of exhaustion. They’ve made a good point, and you should listen to them, lighten up, take a walk, and relax."

Zhao Li urged Lan Tian to relax, even though she herself was more anxious than Lan Tian, now bringing over some vegetables, now fetching the fire tongs.

"Okay."

To ease Zhao Li’s mind, Lan Tian planned to walk around the orchard and come back, when voices of Grandma Sun talking with someone drifted in from the yard.

The two exchanged glances and walked out, seeing a familiar figure in the yard. Lan Tian curled her lip; as expected, she had come.

"Why is she here? Even found her way to Shanghai," Zhao Li scoffed, as if they were being clung to relentlessly.

"Fifth Aunt," Yanhua, who was talking with Grandma Sun, called out to Zhao Li as she approached, glancing at Lan Tian, "Lan Tian, long time no see. Are you about to take the high school exams?"

Lan Tian responded indifferently with a hum, glancing at Yanhua, "Come inside and sit down."

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