“Aunt Wang.” Gu Fangzi had wanted Wang Shi to stand up for her. However, Wang Shi stopped before she could finish her sentence. Gu Fangzi was silently disappointed at that. She got up and said with tears, “Aunt Wang! Don’t say anymore! I don’t want to put you in a difficult situation! I wasn’t aware of the severity, so it’s only right for Sister Sang Wan to punish me! I was anxious for a moment and overstepped my authority! If Sister Sang Wan isn’t unwilling to forgive me, then she can punish me however she wants!”
Gu Fangzi clenched her teeth. She moved forward and kneeled before Sang Wan before tugging at her dress while wailing, “Sister Sang Wan, please forgive me! Please don’t be angry anymore! In the future, I won’t dare to do it again!”
“Fang’er!” Wang Shi had been reprimanding Sang Wan at first, but Sang Wan talked back instead. And now, Gu Fangzi was kneeling and wailing while feeling aggrieved. Evidently, Wang Shi was the one losing face and the scene before her was clearly telling her that her daughter-in-law’s words were reasonable while she was wrong!
In Wang Shi’s opinion, Gu Fangzi had nowhere to let out her suffering, so she wouldn’t blame her. Naturally, her pent-up anger was vented on Sang Wan and she shouted strictly to Nanny Jiang and the others, “Hurry and help Miss Gu up! What are all of you standing there for!”
Nanny Jiang and the others hurriedly agreed to do as they were told. Nanny Li and Zhide also went forward to help.
Gu Fangzi had to put on a full act now. Since she was already kneeling, wouldn’t she be at the losing end if she didn’t do so? She tugged at Sang Wan’s clothing tightly and wouldn’t let go. How could Sang Wan free herself from that? Nanny Li, whose back was facing Wang Shi, pried Gu Fangzi’s fingers apart without being polite. Only then was Gu Fangzi pulled away.
“Sister Sang Wan, I really know my misconduct! Please forgive me this once!” Gu Fangzi hated Nanny Li to death in her heart while her tears streamed down.
“That’s enough!” Wang Shi stood up and said with a cold look, “Sang Wan, good, good! You may be capable, but you aren’t worthwhile enough to be lecturing a concubine in front of me! Fang’er, stop crying! She wants to use you as a stepping stone! What’s the use of crying yourself to death in front of her? You say she’s a concubine, right? Then I’ll make the decision now and raise her status to become a wife! I’ll see what sort of excuses you’re left with!”
Gu Fangzi felt great joy. Her delicate shoulders moved lightly while she sobbed, seeming more pitiful. However, Sang Wan felt as if she had been cut into two. Half of her was feeling ice-cold while the other half was furious. A wife?
“I have no comments.” Sang Wan suddenly found it somewhat funny. Had her hard work been in the wrong direction all along? She had originally thought that as long as she cautiously won over her husband, she would gain a foothold and avoid the tragedy she experienced in her previous life. In contrast, she had neglected her mother-in-law and Gu Fangzi eventually seized the opportunity.
“It’s pointless even if you have anything to say! It’s not your turn to be making decisions in this household!” Wang Shi said angrily.
“Mother! Sang Wan! You two are here!” When the situation was getting awful, Shi Fengju arrived.
“How did the news get to you? You came so quickly!” When Wang Shi saw that her son had appeared during the most inappropriate moment every single time, she was not delighted at all. Gu Fangzi, who was still sobbing, hurriedly stopped and looked down to reduce her presence. She was afraid that Shi Fengju would take his anger out on her upon hearing news and blame her for instigating disharmony.
In all honesty, she only wanted Lan Xiang back! She could not imagine her days without that servant. More importantly, Lan Xiang knew a lot of things about her. Who knew if she would have a change of heart after getting married? If her husband wanted to fawn on Sang Wan to gain a favor, and Lan Xiang helped him, that would be terrible! She wouldn’t even have the time to be warned.
Shi Fengju did not answer. Instead, he turned his head to the outside and said, “Come in!”
“Yes.” A young lady spoke in a low and timid voice. A servant in a light green sleeveless robe and white silk skirt walked in. It was Lan Xiang.
“Lan Xiang!” Gu Fangzi was relieved and immediately ran towards her before reaching out to hold onto her hands. “Lan Xiang, you’re finally back! Big Cousin, thank you!”
Gu Fangzi was elated and her heart almost leaped from happiness. She only had her suspicions, but right now, she was certain that Lan Xiang had been taken away by Sang Wan on purpose. Otherwise, how would Shi Fengju have brought her back? This was what others would call ‘the evil that one brings upon themselves is the hardest to bear’! Sang Wan had made a mistake even without her lifting a finger! Her cousin must have found Sang Wan’s arrogance unbearable and intervened!
Wang Shi, Sang Wan, Nanny Jiang, Nanny Li, and the others froze. They hadn’t expected things to take a turn like this. The one who received the most shock was Sang Wan. That was because she knew best that Shi Fengju had asked someone to take Lan Xiang away. Now that he had brought her back, what was he doing?
Before anyone could recover from the shock, something more shocking happened. They saw Lan Xiang retract her hands and take two steps back to avoid Gu Fangzi. She lowered her head and murmured, “Miss Gu…”
Her evident resistance and attitude caused Gu Fangzi’s expression to change. “Lan Xiang, what’s wrong?”
“Step aside!” Shi Fengju said to Lan Xiang.
Lan Xiang hurriedly acknowledged and did as she was told.
Without even looking at Gu Fangzi’s surprised gaze, Shi Fengju stepped forward and said to Wang Shi with a slight smile, “Mother, I was the one who gave the instructions, so shouldn’t I have come?”
Everyone was shocked. Gu Fangzi stared at Shi Fengju in disbelief and in pain.
Ever since he had arrived, he had never looked at her. She thought that things were over since he was not there for Sang Pingliang’s matter. However, she didn’t know that he had always kept that in mind and never wanted to let her off! Taking Lan Xiang away from her was his most direct reply!
Although she could still live without Lan Xiang around, she was more shocked at his attitude. He was simply disinclined to talk to her.
“What did you say?” Wang Shi raised her voice in disbelief. “You were the one who asked Servant Li to take Lan Xiang away?”
Shi Fengju replied faintly without any care, “Yes. Lan Xiang is not getting any younger, so it’s time for her to get married! As for Cousin Fangzi, she can just pick another good servant to serve her! Lan Xiang did not decline too. Because Servant Li had to leave in a hurry, Lan Xiang didn’t have the time to bid farewell to her master, but it shouldn’t be a big matter since she’ll naturally know about it afterwards.”
“You…” Wang Shi became even more frustrated. She lost the mood to refute when facing her son. What was there to say? Why should she interfere with her son dealing with a servant? If she and her son had a conflict because of this, their family would become a joke if word got out!
That made Wang Shi very furious.
“No matter what, Lan Xiang has served Fang’er for so long. How could you not let her bid farewell before taking her away?” Wang Shi scolded.
Shi Fengju answered with a smile, “Mother, Lan Xiang is also a servant in our household. Can I not even take care of this? Besides, she was also willing to do this. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her! She has been serving Cousin Fangzi for so many years, so I’m sure Cousin Fangzi will also hope to see her get married well, right?”
Gu Fangzi was not in the right state to listen, and there was only one thought in her mind: Big Cousin is really refusing to acknowledge me! He really is! He didn’t even question me. He… is being so ruthless!
Upon seeing Wang Shi’s furious gaze, Lan Xiang stepped forward and kowtowed before saying softly, “I… I…”
“That’s enough!” Wang Shi waved her hand in disgust and interrupted her. With a sunken expression, she got up and looked at Sang Wan coldly. In the end, she said to Shi Fengju, “I don’t care how you’re taking care of this! But let me tell you, I want Fang’er as my daughter-in-law! I’ve already decided, so choose an auspicious date and marry her as your wife! It isn’t too much for your mother to want an obedient and suitable daughter-in-law to serve me, right?”
Since her son was the one who had taken away Lan Xiang, whether it was true or not, she naturally would not dare to question him. Wang Shi understood that and did not wish to listen any further. As his mother, she also had the right to request the sort of daughter-in-law she wanted. Whatever daughter-in-law she wanted, her son would have to marry her!
Gu Fangzi glanced at Shi Fengju. She was no longer as confident as she used to be, but her obsession remained. His attitude towards her was not important anymore. What was important was that this was her wish ever since she was young! After so many years, she had to make that wish come true.
It didn’t matter anymore whether he liked her or not! What she needed more was becoming the Young Mistress of the Shi Family, and the wife of the Shi Family’s eldest son!
Sang Wan’s face turned pale but she remained silent.
Shi Fengju did not utter a word either. In the end, he said warmly, “I’ll send you back first!”
Upon seeing that her son did not refuse her at once to not make her lose face, she casted a glance at Sang Wan before snorting and letting him escort her away. Gu Fangzi stared blankly and also went out without looking at Lan Xiang who was kneeling on the floor.
The house became silent at once which nearly suffocated everyone. Sang Wan stood up in a daze, then she looked at Lan Xiang and said, “Take her away! All of you can also take your leave. I’m a bit tired, so I want to rest for a while!”
Nanny Li looked at Sang Wan worriedly. She instructed servants to take Lan Xiang away before helping her into the warm room. “Young Mistress, no matter what happens, you’re the first wife and the Shi Family’s daughter-in-law. Even if her status is raised, she will still have a lower status than you! Don’t take it to heart! Perhaps Old Mistress only said that out of impulse. When her anger dies down, this matter might be forgotten if nobody brings it up!”
“Nanny Li.” Sang Wan smiled gratefully and said, “Actually, Mother has always had that in mind. There’s no way you wouldn’t know about it. She didn’t bring that up in the past to give me face, but right now, she couldn’t care less anymore! Since she has already said it today, how could she change her mind? Nanny Li, don’t worry. I’m fine. I can bear with it!”
Nanny LI sighed lightly and said, “That vixen only knows how to gain other people’s favors. Unlike her who is only verbally filial, I know that deep down, you’re filial and have made many arrangements to make Old Mistress’ life easier without her needing to worry about anything. However, you shouldn’t have talked back to Old Mistress today. Based on her character, she wouldn’t have said that if she weren’t angry!”
