Chapter 213 - News Of Shi Fengming
Chapter 213: News Of Shi Fengming
Old Mistress Zhou carefully observed Sang Wan. Hearing how her daughter softly called Sang Wan ‘sister-in-law’ and held her hand, she said, “Are you the Shi family’s Young Mistress? Sigh, our Jingyi is a naive girl with a clumsy mouth. If she has half your brain and wit, then she wouldn’t be in this situation! Wait a minute? A man may be fine playing around outside, but a woman’s youth passes quickly. How can she afford to wait a few more years!”
Old Mistress Zhou’s words were hinting at how Sang Wan was able to “snatch” Shi Fengju away from Gu Fangzi’s hands. Many who were present immediately understood what she meant, and there were weird expressions on their faces. Sang Wan turned a little embarrassed, but responded obliviously with a smile, “No matter how many years pass, Sister Jingyi will always be the formal wife of the second family’s young master; nobody can step above her! For the past two years, the Shi Household has never stopped finding him. Old Mistress Zhou, please have a little more patience, there will definitely be an end to this!”
“Yes, Zhou in-law, it isn’t as if the couple do not harbor any feelings for one another. If you just break them apart like this, won’t it be a pity? My nephew is only being foolish now, but after receiving a lesson, I’m sure he won’t make the same mistake again! When that time comes, won’t it be great for the couple to be able to continue living harmoniously? If you ask for your daughter back now, her reputation might be ruined as some might comment that your daughter did not abide by the virtues of being a good wife, how will you find another favorable marriage for her? My words may not sound pleasant, but if you think about it, isn’t this how society works?” Wang Shi smiled and said.
Old Mistress Zhou widened her eyes in anger upon hearing what Wang Shi said, but after a thorough thinking, she could not help but admit that what Wang Shi said was right. A man fooling around outside would be deemed a skilled womanizer, but a woman who stepped out of line in any way would be deemed a shameless sl*t! Even though Shi Fengming was in the wrong, it was only a small case of fooling around in the eyes of the public. As for her daughter who was only married for two years, if she had agreed with the separation and went home, what Wang Shi said could very well happen. People would come up with comments such as “the Young Lady could not resist the loneliness”, “and “thirsting for men”. If a virtuous lady was stuck with insidious rumors like these, then her whole life was ruined.
Glancing at the tears rolling from her daughter’s eyes and the pleading look on her face, Old Mistress Zhou could only sigh softly to herself.
“But she cannot simply wait indefinitely like this! Does my daughter have to remain a widow forever?” Old Mistress Zhou sneered.
Second Old Mistress Shi finally lost her cool and stomped her foot as she questioned, “What do you mean? You are cursing my son!”
“Sister-in-law, Zhou in-law, please settle down and we can discuss this slowly. Calm down now, calm down, even if you are angry, nothing good would come out of it!” Wang Shi quickly interrupted.
Sang Wan signaled with her eyes and Zhide, as well as Xiu Chun, went up to help the two old mistresses to their seats. Sang Wan helped Wang Shi back to her seat and stood behind her while Lu Shi and Zhou Jingyi positioned themselves behind Old Mistress Zhou.
“I will allow my daughter to wait for another year. If your family’s second young master doesn’t return after a year, Old Mistress, then please do us justice and send my daughter back to us!” Old Mistress Zhou’s eyes were red and she wiped her tears off, “I’m not an unreasonable person. After all, we are all parents; which parent doesn’t want the best for their children? What wrong did my daughter commit? I cannot simply watch my daughter be humiliated when she is a virtuous and innocent girl!”
“You…” As soon as Second Old Mistress Shi opened her mouth to speak, Wang Shi immediately glared at her.
Wang Shi thought about it and said, “One year is a little too short, how about three years? In three years, if my nephew still hasn’t returned, then we will send Jingyi back to you!”
They required a proper explanation for sending a daughter-in-law back to her family. If the husband’s family took the initiative to send her back, then the generosity belonged to the mother-in-law in not wasting her daughter-in-law’s precious youth. As a daughter-in-law, she should still express her reluctance to leave while the mother-in-law convinces her to accept her well-intended instructions. Once accepted, the daughter-in-law would repeatedly turn her head back as she walked to her home with tears in her eyes. In doing so, the public would not speak badly about the daughter-in-law. Old Mistress Zhou’s request for the Shi household to send her daughter back willingly was precisely about that.
“Three years is too long!” Old Mistress Zhou creased her eyebrows slightly, “That is really too long!” Her daughter was now eighteen and would be twenty-one after three years. After which, she naturally could not get married immediately and had to wait for another two or three years. By then, she would have become an old spinster!
“Zhou In-law, if you aren’t willing, you can take your daughter back now!” Second Old Mistress Shi sneered.
“You!”
“I still think that three years is too short! Hmph, but since my sister-in-law has said so, then I’m without a choice! But if you aren’t happy about it, then you can take her away now! Did you think that my son would not be able to remarry and have a good wife?” Second Old Mistress Shi spoke with a belly full of unhappiness.
“How dare you! It seems you aren’t looking to have a civil discussion?” Old Mistress Zhou was infuriated.
“That’s because you were being difficult!” Second Old Mistress Shi was unwilling to back down.
“Enough, enough! Let’s all remain calm and not be hot-tempered! If an argument breaks out again, this won’t end even when the sky is dark!” Wang Shi’s head began to hurt when they started bickering. Suddenly, she spotted a young maidservant peeking suspiciously. She slammed the tea table and exclaimed, “What are you doing there sneakily? Your masters are talking, how dare you be so unruly! Nanny Jiang, teach her a good lesson later! This household must be getting lax now that everyone is bending the rules!”
“Old Mistress, please forgive me!” The young maidservant was so scared that her face turned pale, and she quickly ran in to kneel in front of Wang Shi before kowtowing, “It’s just that, it’s that, Young Master had something for Young Mistress and sent this servant to invite her out sneakily. This servant…”
Sang Wan was made extremely embarrassed, and thought that this servant was being extremely untactful. Her young master had told her to do so secretly, so she should have done so accordingly. Why was she so incapable!
“Mother! I will go out and take a look. I’m not sure what Lord has for me as well,” Sang Wan smiled.
Wang Shi glared at her and nodded without speaking. She waved her hand at the servant and exclaimed, “What are you waiting for, leave now!”
The servant quickly obeyed and picked herself up before leaving speedily.
As soon as Sang Wan exited through the door, she saw Shi Fengju waiting for her with his hands behind his back. He smiled gently at her when he saw her.
Sang Wan quickly walked towards him and smiled, “Why are you home at this time? What’s so important that it cannot be said at night?” And fancy seeing you come all the way to your mother’s place!
Shi Fengju smiled, and habitually raised his hand to circle her shoulder, but he quickly put it down awkwardly and said, “This is something important and I wanted to go straight to Second Uncle and Second Aunt, but I heard that the Zhou family were here and made a ruckus so I hurried here! You can go in and tell them that there is news of second brother!”
“What!” Sang Wan’s heart jumped. She smiled and said, “Really? Your news really arrived at the most perfect time! They are mulling over this exact matter right now!”
“Quickly go in and let them know!” Shi Fengju smiled and said, “Second Brother seems to have appeared in Dezhou. I’ve only received the news just now and I’ve already sent people to hurry there, please assure them!”
Sang Wan nodded hurriedly, “I will go in and let them know now, Second Aunt and Old Mistress Zhou will surely want to speak with you personally, so wait a while before leaving!”
Old Mistress Zhou brought along her daughter-in-law and everyone in the house were women so it was not appropriate for Shi Fengju to simply barge in.
Shi Fengju smiled and nodded.
Sang Wan genuinely felt very happy for Zhou Jingyi. With this news, all the arguments would come to a stop, otherwise, no one knew when Old Mistress Zhou and Second Old Mistress Shi would stop quarreling! Just from the looks of Wang Shi’s expression, it was evident that she was growing extremely impatient.
Sang Wan only left for a while and was back very soon. Her steps were light and there was a bright smile on her face when she returned. That smile was an eyesore to both Old Mistress Zhou and Second Old Mistress Shi, and they felt uncomfortable. Even Wang Shi creased her eyebrows and wondered what the matter was with Sang Wan. Even if Shi Fengju doted on her and brought her some treasure, was there a need for her to smile so carelessly in front of everyone else? Even she couldn’t bear to look at her, let alone them!
Wang Shi was just about to reprimand Sang Wan when she suddenly went up to her and bowed before giving a hopeful look at Second Old Mistress Shi and Old Mistress Zhou. With a smile, she said, “Mother, Second Aunt, Old Mistress Zhou, Sang Wan has an enormous piece of good news. My lord has told me that he has received news of Second Young Master’s whereabouts!”
“What!”
“Really!”
The three old mistresses froze momentarily before they all became joyful.
“Great, great! This is really great! Where’s Shi Fengju? Call him in, I want to ask him about it!” Second Old Mistress Shi could not wait to hear from Shi Fengju.
After the initial shock, Old Mistress Zhou first calmed herself down before raising an eyebrow questioningly, “This isn’t a plot by your entire family to trick us, is it?”
“What do you mean! Are you looking forward to my son never returning!” Second Old Mistress Shi jumped.
Old Mistress Zhou did not back down and rebutted, “If not why would this be so coincidental? Why was the news only received right on the day that I came? If this doesn’t seem like a plot to trick us, then what is?”
“Mother!” Seeing her mother-in-law’s dark and ominous face, almost as if she was about to start another quarrel, Zhou Jingyi anxiously said, “Mother, Big Brother Fengju isn’t someone like that. Furthermore, he doesn’t even know that we would be coming today, so how can this be a plot? Anyway, what good will plotting do? Mother, why don’t we call Big Brother in and carefully ask him about it!”
“Yes, yes, Jingyi is right! Xiu Chun, quickly go and call Shi Fengju in!” Wang Shi hurriedly added.
Sang Wan smiled and said, “I suppose Young Mistress Zhou and Sister Jingyi must be tired. Mother, why don’t I accompany them to take a rest in the guest room?”
Wang Shi thought about it and agreed. Lu Shi was the Zhou Household’s daughter-in-law, it would not be appropriate for her to be here, so Wang Shi nodded and smiled, “Us adults here will be enough to settle this, the rest of you can go and take a rest!”
Sang Wan agreed and led Lu Shi and Zhou Jingyi into the room. Lu Shi gave an appreciative smile to Sang Wan but Zhou Jingyi actually wanted to stay behind to listen to the news. However, it was not right to leave her sister-in-law alone, so without a choice, she could only follow.
When Shi Fengju entered, Second Old Mistress Shi quickly asked, “Fengju, is there really news of your second brother? Where is he now? Is he doing okay?” As she spoke, she sounded like she was about to cry.
Shi Fengju hurriedly coaxed, “Second Aunt, don’t worry, I’m sure Second Brother is in good health since there’s news!”
Old Mistress Zhou gave a low sneer, “Then where is he now? When will he return?”
Those were also what Second Old Mistress Shi was most concerned about, and she looked nervously at Shi Fengju.
Shi Fengju quickly answered, “A business friend of mine saw him at Dezhou a month ago. Immediately after receiving this piece of news, I hurried back to deliver it! Second Aunt and Old Mistress Zhou, please do not worry, I will send a few people to Dezhou tomorrow to search for Second Brother and bring him back in one piece!”
“Good! Good!” Second Old Mistress Shi nodded repeatedly.