“Don’t tease me! Stop!” Sang Wang could not handle him messing around and clumsily tried to block him while complaining, “My body is still aching from just now and doesn’t have the strength, yet here you are teasing me!”
Shi Fengju pinched her on the waist lightly before pulling her into a tight embrace, “Who asked you to get distracted when you’re by my side?”
“Since when was I!” Sang Wan flinched.
Shi Fengju lowered his gaze to her and smiled, “Silly Sang Wan, as someone who shares the same bed as me, do you think it’ll be possible for you to hide anything from me? Tell me, is there something on your mind? Mm?”
Since he had asked, Sang Wan’s eyes darkened and she let out a soft sigh before replying, “There is, but please don’t get mad after hearing me out.”
From her expression, Shi Fengju could tell that she was being serious, and he immediately stopped messing around. Thinking that Sang Wan must be feeling wronged by others, he gently tried to coax her. Sang Wan could not help but have mixed feelings.
But after hearing what happened today from Sang Wan, Shi Fengju’s expression immediately darkened.
“That rascal from the Hong family is really shameless! How dare he ask Third Sister to be his concubine!”
“Keep your volume down!” Sang Wan tugged at him lightly before she sighed, “Who knows what they have in mind! Regardless, they have already sent people here to deliver the proposal, and Mother seems to be considering it, what do you…”
“Definitely not!” Shi Fengju replied coldly, “Although Hong Xi and his father had settled here for only about half a year, he’s famous for being a good-for-nothing who spends his time gambling and visiting brothels. I will never allow Third Sister to marry a person like him, it will only ruin her entire life! Truly, Mother must not have thought it through!”
“Mother does not know much about what is happening outside. That is why the Hong family is able to boast erroneously in front of her. You have to persuade her otherwise tomorrow!” Seeing that Shi Fengju was completely against the marriage proposal, Sang Wan felt as if a huge weight had been lifted.
“That is a must of course. Our family has not fallen to a point where we need to use a missy to exchange for benefits, and Third Sister is my younger sister, there’s no way I could bear to watch her jump into the pits of hell! What’s more, Third Sister had already rejected Hong Xi in the plum blossom forest, should she marry into his family, she would definitely not be able to lead a peaceful life! I will definitely not allow it to happen.”
Sang Wan answered delightfully, “With your words, I can finally be at ease! I went to visit Third Sister today. Seeing her cry so sorrowfully, my heart felt miserable too!”
Shi Fengju took another glance at her and smiled, “Third Sister is closer to you than anyone else, but I didn’t know you two were close to this extent! You must be very concerned about her well-being, aren’t you?”
Sang Wan glanced at him and replied, “how would you men understand the difficulty that us women face? Indeed, we are close with each other, but I am also showing concern out of empathy. Women have no control over their own marriage. Marrying an understanding husband will be a wife’s blessing, but if she were married to a bad one, there is nothing she can do but to bear with it. I can’t bear to watch a fine woman like her fall into the hands of such a man and endure endless suffering in the future! ”
Shi Fengju went silent, before he spoke mock himself, “Are you still upset about the past and blaming me for not treating you well?”
Regretting her words, Sang Wan shook her head and smiled, “I am not blaming you, I was just speaking my mind! And you didn’t treat me badly then…”
“Sang Wan!” Before she could finish her words, Shi Fengju gave her a tight hug, and caressed her face as he apologized, “I’m sorry!”
Dumbfounded, Sang Wan simply looked at him dazedly.
Shi Fengju smiled, “You are innocent, I shouldn’t have blamed you for something you didn’t do. Don’t be angry anymore, alright?”
Tears filled Sang Wan’s eyes. She avoided his gaze and buried her head in his chest, “Please, don’t say that, Lord. We are getting along well now, aren’t we? I am not angry at all, I promise.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
Shi Fengju smiled as he tilted her chin towards him and said, “I will believe you if you give me a kiss!”
Geez…This person was so cheeky!
With his blazing gaze staring right at her, she had no choice but to lean forward and give him a peck on his cheek.
Shi Fengju laughed as his eyes glistened brightly, “That isn’t counted, you have to kiss me here for it to count!” He pointed to his lips.
“Who said so? You didn’t mention it beforehand!” Sang Wan chuckled and turned her head away, refusing to give in.
Shi Fengju turned her head back and kissed her deeply while embracing her warm body tightly. Only until they were out of breath did Shi Fengju let go of her, “Remember this, Sang Wan, only this can count as a kiss!”
That kiss left Sang Wan breathless. As she panted lightly from her red-colored lips, she gazed at Shi Fengju with her moist eyes, unable to respond.
Shi Feng watched the woman by him. Her skin was flushed pink, her eyes captivating, her red lips inviting, and her silky hair scattered on the pillow and a few strands resting on her neck and shoulders. How could he hold himself back against such finery? He called out her name with his deep voice as his lips slowly returned to where it last was. He then spread her legs apart and pushed himself in once more. Together, they moaned as they embraced and let their lust kick in.
The next day, Wang Shi brought up the marriage proposal to Shi Fengju without him asking when he arrived to greet her in the morning. Shi Fengju was obviously against the proposal and he quickly convinced his mother with a few words. Knowing that even her son was against the idea, Wang Shi began to give up on the intention.
Shi Fengju then took his leave as he left to attend to his business.
While Shi Fengju and Wang Shi were having their conversation, Shi Yumei happened to overhear them at the door when on her way to greet her mother, and she hurriedly asked her mother about the details of the conversation the moment her brother left.
Why would Wang Shi hide anything from her own daughter? Wang Shi then spilled everything to her.
Shi Yumei became excited after hearing her mother’s words, and she hurriedly asked, “Mother, why didn’t you agree to such a good marriage immediately!”
Of course Shi Yumei knew that the marriage was nowhere near the expectation of a ‘good marriage’, but she was never fond of Shi Lian and her mother ever since she was young. She always felt that the both of them had snatched her father away, and before her father passed away, he was always complimenting Shi Lian for being a sensible child. On the other hand, he had never showered her with compliments, instead reprimanding her for being arrogant, overbearing, violent, unreasonable, and unladylike. She would of course be more than happy to see Shi Lian struck with misfortune!
In addition to her own disappointing marriage, she was even more keen to make sure Shi Lian did not marry into a good family, better still if into a family worse than hers.
With Shi Lian’s quiet and timid personality, she would definitely be tormented to death if she were married off as a concubine!
“What’s good about it!” Wang Shi waved the thought off. “Our family’s missy has no need to become a concubine of another family! People will assume that I am ill-treating a concubine’s daughter. I cannot afford to ruin my reputation because of this!”
“How is this ill-treating!” Shi Yumei rebutted, “The man is the legitimate son of our city’s official, a reputable family! Let’s not speak about those commoners, it is no insult for even legitimate daughters from well-to-do families to be married into such a family as a concubine! From what I know, this marriage is good for her! Furthermore, they are our city’s official while our Shi family are merchants here. The advantages we will receive out of this marriage are boundless! Furthermore, this will help Fengju in his business and he wouldn’t have to be so tired anymore!”
Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Wang Shi began to waver again. Her daughter’s words made sense. With a marriage to connect the two families, the city’s official would have to look after the Shi family as well. Then the chances of the Zhuang family overtaking them in business would be slimmer!
“But, both Fengju and Sang Wan are against this marriage. I think…”
“Mother, between Fengju and Sang Wan, who was the first to be against this marriage?” Shi Yumei interrupted.
Wang Shi replied, “Sang Wan got wind of the news first. Fengju only mentioned it when he came here today to greet me in the morning!”
“Then that’s it!” Shi Yumei clapped her hands. “Mother, you should know how precious Sang Wan is to Fengju now, she must be the one who persuaded him to be against the marriage! He would obey Sang Wan’s words more than an imperial edict. Whatever Sang Wan said, he would definitely obey!”
“Nonsense!” Wan Shi frowned, feeling a little jealous, “Since when is Fengju easily swayed? Moreover, what good would Sang Wan gain from swaying him against the marriage? She is the daughter-in-law of our family, and the future old mistress of our household. Should there be any good for the family if we were to become in-laws with the Hong’s family, why would she be opposed?”
“It’s still decades too early for her, that is why she is planning ahead now!” Shi Yumei was confident of her own words.
Wang Shi was confused by her words, “What do you mean?”
Shi Yumei sneered coldly, “Mother, you mustn’t forget that Sang Wan’s second brother is heading to Beijing for his next examination. If he passes, he will become an official regardless of his rank! Think about it, if her brother becomes an official, her position in our house will become more secure! But if we become in-laws with the city’s official, should anything happen in the future, we will have the in-laws to depend on instead of the Sang family! If that happens, her standing in our family will not be as important. As such, being as clever as she is, she will not want that to happen! That is why she is trying to ruin the marriage so that we can only depend on her Sang family should anything happen! That is her scheme!”
Wang Shi was stunned by her words and did not know how to reply.
If Sang Wan was here, she would be in awe at her speech.
She was able to make such a far-fetched reason believable, that in itself deserved ‘admiration’.
“Does, does she really have such a profound scheme?” Perturbed by her words, Wang Shi’s heart was a mess. Her daughter’s words were a shock to her. Wang Shi had never really schemed in her life, and hearing those words sent chills down her spine, almost as if it was just made known to her that she had been keeping a ferocious monster as a pet.
“Doesn’t Mother always compliment her on her cleverness?” Shi Yumei laughed coldly. “Unlike us, she had read books before so it is clear that her way of thinking would be different from us! In my opinion, I think that this marriage is very appropriate for both Third Sister and our family! You should seize the chance since it is now or never. Mother, you should hurry and decide!”
