Chapter 219 - Schemed Against
Chapter 219: Schemed Against
At the end of the letter, poetry was written. Clearly, it was not to be seen by anyone else. In the last segment of the letter were two lines of his words of affection that were even more private and mustn’t be seen by anyone other than her.
Sang Wan’s face turned red for a while, even her neck turned red from embarrassment. She unconsciously lifted her hands and covered her face. With her slightly cold hands touching her face, she felt slightly better. Her gaze landed on the letter which she had thrown onto the ground and she thought of the indecent poetry. She recalled the moment before they parted when they were interrupted and he clenched his teeth and said that she had to repay him with interest when he was back. Sang Wan immediately turned red again.
A commotion could be heard outside the doors and Zhide seemed to be calling the person ‘Miss Gu’. Sang Wan was stunned and she wondered why she came. Before she could return to her senses, Gu Fangzi had already pushed open the door and greeted her with a smile. Her gaze immediately landed on the letter that was on the ground and she bent down to pick it up. ‘Huh?’
“Stop!” Sang Wan yelled, frightened stiff with a chill running down her spine. She anxiously hurried forth and snatched the letter back rudely.
Gu Fangzi, Lan Xiang, and Zhide were all stunned and opened their eyes in disbelief at Sang Wan as though they did not know her at all. Sang Wan had always been gentle, quiet, graceful, and calm. If they did not see what had happened for themselves, nobody would have expected this side of Sang Wan even when she had lost all self-control even in their dreams!
At this moment, Sang Wan could not be bothered about their thoughts of her and heaved a deep sigh of relief to herself. Unfortunately, Gu Fangzi did not let it rest after being embarrassed.
“Why is Sister Fangzi here? Quickly, have a seat! Zhide, serve the tea!” Sang Wan said with a smile after she had returned to her senses and calmly took a seat.
Zhide acknowledged.
However, Gu Fangzi stepped forward and stared at the letter in Sang Wan’s hands. She said with a smile, “Sister Sang Wan, is this letter written by Big Cousin? Let me have a look too!”
Sang Wan’s heart leaped and she subconsciously wanted to deny. But if the letter was not from him, then who would it be from? She had clearly lost her self-control just now. If this letter was not written by Shi Fengju, then it would mean it was written by someone else. For her to lose her self-control for ‘someone else’, some might claim that she was having an affair.
Sang Wan put away the letter into her pocket and said with a smile, “Lord wrote this to me, telling me to serve Mother well and manage the household properly! The envelope’s still here!” Sang Wan pouted at the table that was by the side.
Gu Fangzi glanced at the table where the light brown envelope was. There were exceptionally glaring words written on it: ‘To be opened only by my wife’. Gu Fangzi got jealous and did not let the matter rest. She said with a smile, “My good sister. Why won’t you let me have a look? Let me have a look at Big Cousin’s instructions as well!”
Sang Wan frowned and she looked at her coldly before faintly replying, “This is not something you can have a look at.”
Gu Fangzi got angry immediately. Her cousin had warned her to remember her own position, but who was Sang Wan to talk to her like this!
“Sister Sang Wan!” Gu Fangzi sneered slightly and said without understanding, “I’m actually curious. Since this letter was written by Big Cousin, why did you throw it onto the ground just now? When Aunt Wang received Big Cousin’s letter, she always kept it safe as though it was a treasure. Does Sister Sang Wan not like Big Cousin? Or, did he instruct you with something you’re unhappy with?” She then sneered. “Don’t tell me I was the cause of you being unhappy?”
The more Gu Fangzi thought about it, the more she felt it was so. Her big cousin must have made this woman take good care of her, which made her feel jealous! That must be the case!
“What nonsense are you saying!” Sang Wan exclaimed. “Did you see me throw the letter with your own eyes? I wasn’t aware when it fell onto the ground, and I was about to pick it up when you barged in so suddenly! Zhide,” As she spoke, she turned her head to glare at Zhide. She then scolded with a frown, “What were all of you doing? Why was I not informed when my cousin-in-law arrived?”
“This servant is aware of being in the wrong. I will certainly pay more attention next time!” Zhide stepped forward with her hands in front of her waist. Gu Fangzi had gotten increasingly uncontrollable in the Ning Garden1 and would often barge in without an explanation. They were only servants, so how could they stop her?
Sang Wan said coldly, “You should. If everyone were as lazy as you, the rules in the household will not be enforced! Inform Nanny Li later on to have half of your salary deducted, got it?”
“Yes, Young Mistress!” Zhide acknowledged respectfully.
“What’s the meaning of this!” Gu Fangzi was enraged. Even though Sang Wan was punishing Zhide, she was clearly given a slap to her face.
Sang Wan said with a smile, “The servants do not know the rules and even became lazy to inform me when someone arrives, what do you think would happen if I left it alone? I wanted to discipline them before, but now… I should be the one asking Sister Fangzi what you mean by that!”
Gu Fangzi stared at Sang Wan in disbelief. She was flabbergasted. Never did she expect Sang Wan, who was polite and gentle, to have a tough side to her. Now that Shi Fengju was not around, she could finally do as she pleased without any care for everyone else. As for Sang Wan, Gu Fangzi looked down on her even more! From the way she looked at her, she was weak and gentle, what could she do to her?
“So you’ve finally revealed your true colors!” Gu Fangzi said with a sneer, “I have misjudged and underestimated you! You really know how to act. I wonder if Big Cousin will still think you’re gentle and ladylike when he sees you now! “
Zhide and Lan Xiang had a great change in their expressions and each of them hung their heads low, not daring to say anything.
Sang Wan did not carry on with the argument and said softly, “Do you have anything else to say to me? Otherwise, please leave! I’m busy right now!”
How dare this wretch try to chase me out! Gu Fangzi stared at her hatefully and said with her teeth clenched, “We’ll wait and see! Sang Wan, you’ve snatched someone away from me and I, Gu Fangzi, will challenge you in this lifetime to my very last breath!” She then got up and left.
Lan Xiang could feel her knees turning weak and she stumbled while hurrying to catch up with Gu Fangzi.
The house turned quiet in the next second. Zhide stepped forward and said with an apologetic smile, “Young Mistress, please don’t take her crazy words to heart! The tea has ended up turning cold. I’ll quickly get you another cup of tea!”
Sang Wan nodded her head with a smile. Gu Fangzi had always been that way, so what difference did it make whether she took it to heart? That hateful Shi Fengju, why isn’t he back yet? When he’s back, he’ll surely settle everything here.
After Gu Fangzi left behind her ruthless words, she was never seen in Ning Garden again. Several days passed and she did not cause any trouble for her. In front of Wang Shi, she was all smiles and greeted Sang Wan intimately. Sang Wan could not help but feel uncomfortable. She was amazed that such a person existed.
On one certain day, Third Old Mistress Shi suddenly came to visit. Sang Wan welcomed her with a smile and both of them had a conversation in Sang Wan’s room.
Sang Wan had helped Third Old Mistress Shi purchase a fertile land and country house that was to her liking. As a result, Third Old Mistress Shi treated her differently from before. However, Sang Wan felt somewhat hesitant as apart from helping Third Old Mistress Shi, she wanted to buy one for herself as well. In the end, she had spent over 3,000 silvers to purchase high-quality fertile lands of around 13 hectares and a mountain country house of around three hectares in the northern suburb of Guangshan region. She had secretly called Liu Ya to handle it in her stead.
After chattering for a while, Third Old Mistress Shi suddenly said with a smile, “Sang Wan, I don’t treat you as an outsider so don’t take what I’m about to say to heart!”
“Please speak. In any case, I’m not a fool!” Sang Wan hurriedly said with a smile. She secretly wondered what Third Old Mistress Shi had meant by that.
“Then I’ll go straight to the point!” Third Old Mistress Shi said. “This may sound funny but I have a servant who heard dubious words and reported back to me. Those words weren’t anything good so I didn’t want to talk about it at first, but since I’m already here, I’m afraid you might have doubts if I don’t tell you clearly!”
Third Old Mistress Shi simply said what was reported to her. It turned out that the servants in the household were gossiping that the third family liked to put on airs and were not of help to the family even after being a government official for so many years. Renovations were also heard to be taking place in Qing Hui Garden soon; weren’t they clearly finding trouble for Young Mistress and Young Master? After all, who knows when they would leave again!
When Third Old Mistress Shi’s servant heard it, she wanted to see who they were but her view was blocked by the flower fence. As the two gossiped and walked away, it became more excessive. With a belly full of anger, she went to Ji Cui Tower and brought it up to Third Old Mistress Shi.
If it was before the new year, Third Old Mistress Shi would certainly be seething with anger upon hearing from her servant and would blame it on Sang Wan. However, as the days passed, she could not be more grateful to Sang Wan and Shi Fengju. So, how could she still be furious? Although it was unpleasant to hear, she soon calmed down. She carefully listened to what the servant had said again and sneered slightly.
Third Old Mistress Shi had seen the world outside and was not a fool. As a bystander, she had seen Gu Fangzi busily gaining favor from those around her, especially winning over Wang Shi. Third Old Mistress Shi was finally able to conclude that Gu Fangzi was definitely not a concubine who knew her place well. If a concubine did not know her place, then death was all she deserved.
When she thought about it slightly, she soon understood that there was certainly something amiss. It was probably linked to Gu Fangzi, who had joy stirring up trouble these days. She had wanted to make use of Third Old Mistress Shi to cause trouble for Sang Wan. How daring of her!
As for Gu Fangzi and Shi Fengju being childhood sweethearts in the past, Third Old Mistress Shi was unaware of it. However, what she knew was that Shi Fengju protected and doted on Sang Wan a lot even thought she was a wife he had married from an unremarkable household. On the account of Shi Fengju, Third Old Mistress Shi did not wish to fall out with Sang Wan. Even when her husband was out there as an official, Shi Fengju was the one who took care of their Shi family’s business. If she were to offend Shi Fengju, she could no longer eat well!
Not to mention getting along with Sang Wan. In fact, she actually liked her nephew’s wife quite a lot.
After much thought, Third Old Mistress Shi decided to tell Sang Wan about it and let her remember this favor of hers.