“There’s such a thing? Is what you said… true?” Wang Shi was both shocked and furious.
Sang Pingliang lowered his head, unable to utter a word.
“This…this…” For a moment, Wang Shi didn’t know what to say and her mind went blank. She had not expected Sang Pingliang to be such a person. He was the one who came to seek employment, yet instead of helping his relatives, he undermined their business and still had the nerve to come to her to plead for leniency!
If this were made known to the public, the Shi Family would be disgraced, let alone Sang Wan.
“Old Mistress Shi, I…”
“That’s enough!” Wang Shi raised her hands to stop him and said, “I don’t know about business, so there is no use telling me! Nanny Jiang, ask someone to call Fengju here. Tell Sang Wan to come as well!”
Wang Shi’s expression suddenly sank.
“Old Mistress Shi, will you promise not to investigate this matter anymore?” Sang Pingliang quickly asked.
So this was what he was concerned about. If Wang Shi did not agree and this matter ended up in the hands of Shi Fengju and Sang Wan, he would be done for.
This was the first time that Wang Shi had met someone who lacked basic morals. Although Gu Jin was a scoundrel, he would always think clearly. He was unlike Sang Pingliang, who could not differentiate right from wrong.
Why did he not understand what she meant? Wang Shi couldn’t help but be furious and her words became slightly harsher, “We’ll wait until Fengju and Sang Wan arrive here first!”
“Old Mistress Shi, you…”
“Second Old Master Sang!” Gu Fangzi said with a smile, “Don’t worry. You’re an elder! When Big Cousin and Sister Sang Wan arrive, this matter will be discussed again. There will definitely be a solution!”
While she said that, she got up to Wang Shi’s side before pulling at Wang Shi’s arm. She said softly and remorsefully with her eyes looking down, “Aunt Wang, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have…”
“No it isn’t! You only had good intentions!” Wang Shi said to Gu Fangzi pleasantly, even though she felt increasingly furious.
“But, if Sister Sang Wan…”
“Hmph!” Wang Shi’s expression sank. “Her? She couldn’t possibly blame it upon you! I still have a clear mind!”
Upon seeing Wang Shi get furious, Nanng Jiang couldn’t care about anything else.
It was not very nice of her mistress to say that in front of Sang Pingliang, so she said with a smile, “Old Mistress, why don’t you let Second Old Master Sang take a rest first! He must be exhausted!”
Nanny Jiang had good intentions as she did not want Sang Pingliang to be put in a difficult situation. However, Sang Pingliang became anxious when he heard that. He quickly shook his hands and said, “I’m fine, I’m fine! I’m not tired at all! Old Mistress Shi, I’ll wait here!”
Wang Shi, who understood Nanny Jiang’s good intentions, ignored his words. She said with a nod, “Take him to rest elsewhere and have someone prepare tea and serve him. Otherwise, others might think that we neglect our relatives!”
“Old Mistress Shi, I’m really…”
“Second Old Master Sang! Don’t worry, Old Mistress is here! Follow Nanny Jiang and rest first!” Gu Fangzi quickly said.
“…Fine then!” Upon seeing Gu Fangzi raising her eyebrows to signal him, he was slightly at ease and followed Nanny Jiang.
“Just what is this! This is making me furious! How is there such an elder from Sang Wan’s family!” As soon as Sang Pingliang went out, Wang Shi became angrier the more she thought about it. As a result, she slammed heavily on the table.
“Aunt Wang, you’ve to calm down,” Gu Fangzi said with a smile. “I’m sure that every family has an improper elder like him. However, Sister Sang Wan should have told you about him earlier so that we would be aware. I shouldn’t have easily agreed when he asked…”
Wang Shi said with a sigh, “You are right! It was no wonder that Sang Wan’s elder brother and sister-in-law came. I was puzzled at first. Didn’t she have an uncle and aunt? Why didn’t they show their faces? So it turns out that this was the reason!”
Gu Fangzi quickly said, “I shouldn’t be saying this, but you have met Second Old Master Sang. He’s such a disgrace. It’s not unusual for Sister Sang Wan not to bring them to meet you.”
Upon hearing that, Wang Shi loathed Sang Wan even more and said with a frown, “Sang Wan has always been gentle and virtuous so I gave her the benefit of doubt! Despite her good reputation, did she think that she could hide such a thing forever? A truly honest person would have told me long ago and such a thing would not have happened! Great! Her uncle guarded the warehouse and stole from it! If such a person was insignificant, the supervisors would have already sent them to the authorities. How dare he still come here to plead for leniency! How brazen of him!”
When she recalled him pleading like a servant, Wang Shi became even more disgusted.
“Aunt Wang! You shouldn’t say that! After all, he’s Sister Sang Wan’s relative.” Gu Fangzi persuaded her at the side. After some hesitation, she said in a low voice, “Sang Wan serves you with all her heart and attentively takes care of Big Cousin. Even without merits, she has clearly put in hard work. You still have to give her some face!”
Wang Shi let out a long sigh and the anger deep within her pretty much dissipated. She held onto Gu Fangzi’s hand and said with a sigh, “Fangzi, you always think of others first! Despite how Sang Wan treats you, you still treat her sincerely. You’re hard to come by! If only Sang Wan had the same thoughts as you, then the matter regarding you and Shi Fengju wouldn’t have reached what it is to this day…” Wang Shi regretted the slip of her tongue. She should not have brought it up at this time, so she coughed and no longer uttered a word.
Gu Fangzi forced a smile. “Aunt Wang, it’s okay. I can wait! Really! Some day, Big Cousin and Sister Sang Wan will surely understand my intentions!”
“It’s been hard on you!” Wang Shi sighed slightly and looked at Gu Fangzi more pitifully. Wang Shi also had no way out of this matter. One of them was her son and the other was her niece who had always been with her since young. Both parties insisted on their grounds and the person in the most difficult position was herself in the end.
“Aunt Wang, Big Cousin and Sister Sang Wan might arrive soon. I… I think I should leave! I’m afraid she might misunderstand…” Gu Fangzi suddenly said.
Wang Shi objected and felt that it was unnecessary. However, Gu Fangzi’s current status was very awkward. If Sang Wan had any suspicions about her, it would inevitably invite more trouble. There were advantages to avoiding Sang Wan, so she nodded her head.
“Aunt Wang, you have to talk to her properly about this. Don’t be anxious, and don’t get angry! I shouldn’t be saying this, but it’s not worth causing a strain in your relationship over her uncle!” Gu Fangzi smiled and headed to the direction of Wang Shi’s warm room, but she suddenly turned back and said this.
“I know!” Wang Shi said with a smile.
Speaking about the two-day stocktake in the business, Shi Fengju was not present. The rules of the Shi Family was that every store had to have a stocktake done by the individual managers every month. Then in every two months, it would be conducted together with a higher-up supervisor. All the stocktakes would then be collected and reported to him. Other than the monthly, bimonthly, and random stocktakes, only the important goods would be personally accounted for by him.
On this day, the weather was good. After breakfast, Shi Fengju accompanied Sang Wan to take a stroll in the garden. The two of them went to the pond and saw many blooming lotus flowers and green-jaded lotus leaves. They couldn’t help but be in a pleasant mood. They called for a boat lady to row the boat over before they got onto it to enjoy the flowers more closely.
That was a pleasant moment for them, but Zhan Huan suddenly came to look for them. He mentioned that there was something urgent in the business that required Shi Fengju to go over. Upon hearing that, Shi Fengju could not refuse. The two of them returned to Ning Garden1Ning GardenSang Wan & Shi Fengju's place of residence and Sang Wan helped him to get changed before seeing him off.
Not long after Shi Fengju had left, Wang Shi asked someone to invite her over. Sang Wan had not expected the reason Shi Fengju left and why Wang Shi was calling for her to be about the same matter. She tidied herself slightly and hurried over to Wang Shi’s place.
After entering the main hall, Sang Wan realized that the atmosphere was somewhat strange. Only Nanny Jiang was serving Wang Shi at the side; Xiu Chun and the rest of the servants were outside. Although Wang Shi looked calm, Sang Wan could clearly sense that she was restraining herself. As for Nanny Jiang, she was looking down with her hands loosely in front of her and did not glance at her when she arrived.
Sang Wan hurriedly went forward to pay her respects and asked with a smile, “Mother, may I know why you called me over?”
Wang Shi took a deep breath and replied faintly with a smile, “Can’t I ask for you even if there’s nothing? Have a seat!”
“I don’t mean anything. It’s my blessing to be able to relieve your listlessness!” Sang Wan smiled and sat down.
Wang Shi was not someone who liked to beat around the bush. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Do you have an uncle and aunt?“
When Sang Wan heard her bring that up, her heart tightened. However, she nodded and answered with a smile, “I do.”
“Then they’re your elders!” Wang Shi said with a smile, “If I’m right, they haven’t shown their faces here, right? When are you going to invite them over to let me have a look?”
“Mother, why… are you suddenly asking about this?” Sang Wan asked with a smile.
Wang Shi saw that Sang Wan did not answer her directly and was returning a question instead. She was clearly being disrespectful and having a guilty conscience. Wang Shi’s expression changed all of a sudden and she said while feeling displeased, “I’m asking you, yet you’re answering me with a question instead? I just thought of it today. We’re all relatives, but I’ve never met them. How can that be alright? People might think that we are looking down on others!”
Of course, Sang Wan was not convinced that Wang Shi had suddenly thought of it. Although she didn’t know what had happened, she could roughly guess that this was Gu Fangzi’s doing.
Sang Wan’s face turned stiff and she looked down without uttering a word.
When Wang Shi saw that she was still being conceited and ill-behaved for being unwilling to tell the truth, she could not help but get angry. Just as she was about to flare up, Sang Wan looked up and said, “Since you’ve mentioned it, I’ll send someone to fetch my Second Uncle and Second Aunt over later. However, if they are disrespectful, I hope that Mother won’t take them to heart.”
Sang Wan silently sighed. Since Wang Shi had already mentioned them, she presumed that she could no longer hide them from her. As such, she might as well tell her upfront.
Upon hearing that, Wang Shi was slightly delighted and said with a smile, “Now this is funny! How could you say that about your uncle and aunt since they are your elders? Sang Wan, this is not something you should be saying! They are guests if they are here. We are fortunate if we are not the ones being disrespectful so that others don’t mock us. How is it the other way instead?”
