Chapter 118 (1/2)

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The weather in the afternoon was good. The dinner tables were placed right in the front yard of the house. There were a total of four tables with enough seats for everyone, including the Sang brothers, s.h.i.+ Fengju, the village seniors, and Li Zheng.

The women served the food and wine before leaving.

In the kitchen, there was another table. It was for the people who helped out to have their lunch. The spread on this table was simpler, but the food was still of prime quality.

When the officials saw fish, chicken, duck, and a variety of meat, paired with the best wine in town, they were delighted and courteously took their seats. The Sang family are prudent people!

Li s.h.i.+ went into the kitchen and looked around, “Aiyo, have the dishes for our Ma’am Sang been prepared? I’ll bring it to her!”

The women in the kitchen smiled and answered, “Sister Fang has already sent it, why would she wait for you?”

Li s.h.i.+ turned and headed to the nearby room after hearing their reply, ignoring their mockery behind her.

Sang Wan and Fang s.h.i.+ sat facing each other while they ate, and was startled for a brief moment when Li s.h.i.+ barged in.

“Oh, Sang Wan’s already eating! Hehe, I thought n.o.body would care about you and went to order them to prepare food for you. Who’d have thought that your sister-in-law had already brought food over for you!”

Fang s.h.i.+ could not even be bothered to put down her chopsticks. She raised her head and smiled faintly, “This is my house and Sang Wan is like a younger sister to me. Should I not receive and treat her as well? You should stop worrying about anything irrelevant! I see that you’ve been busy the whole morning, why don’t you go to the kitchen and help yourself to the food?”

Sang Wan smiled quietly and lowered her gaze.

Li s.h.i.+ was expecting Sang Wan to urge her to stay, but Sang Wan acted as if she had not heard their conversation and remained silent. Li s.h.i.+ sat of her own accord and smiled, “I’m not going back to the kitchen; it’s inconvenient with so many people there. I’ll stay here and share the meal with you!”

“Up to you, but there are no empty bowls here!” Fang s.h.i.+ said without expressing any emotions.

Li s.h.i.+ was about to return to the kitchen to take a bowl, but she did not wish to be mocked by those rude women in the kitchen. Looking ahead, she saw Zhide standing at a side and smiled, “Can I trouble this missy to help me grab a bowl and a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen?”

“Second Auntie Sang, you shouldn’t order people around like that! She belongs to the s.h.i.+ family and is a guest here as well, understand?” Fang s.h.i.+ frowned and said.

“Isn’t she Sang Wan’s maidservant? I’m Sang Wan’s blood-related aunt, can I not even order her maidservant around?” Li s.h.i.+ said indifferently.

“You—”

“Sister-in-law!” Sang Wan could hear the vehemence behind Li s.h.i.+’s words, and Li s.h.i.+’s words surely angered Fang s.h.i.+ greatly. But if a ruckus were to happen, the guests outside would be able to hear and that wouldn’t be good. She gently stopped Fang s.h.i.+ before saying to Zhide, “Go! She’s an aged person and should not be ill-treated!”

Sang Wan made it clear that her gesture was out of politeness and not kins.h.i.+p.

“Yes, Ma’am!” Zhide did not really mind. She bowed and turned to leave.

“So only Sang Wan still knows etiquette!” Li s.h.i.+ looked at Fang s.h.i.+ gleefully before speaking to Sang Wan with a smile while patting on her hand. After scanning Sang Wan from head to toe with her greedy eyes, she complimented, “Aiyo, Sang Wan, your golden hairpin and the material of your dress looks expensive! They look really beautiful!”

Her eyes gleamed as she spouted neverending praises. Her questions ranged from the material of the clothes to the type of flower crafted on her hair, and her hand stubbornly refused to let Sang Wan’s hand go. “Aiyo, even this golden bracelet is embedded with so many gemstones; it’s so beautiful! Hehe, whichever family that owns this can really make it their family’s heirloom!” Her hand could not help but stroke the bracelet gently as if she wanted it for herself.

Sang Wan just gave her a mollifying smile but did not offer to give the bracelet to her. Fang s.h.i.+ could not stand to watch this any longer and she roughly pushed away Li s.h.i.+’s hands before saying, “Oh Second Auntie Sang, how do you expect Sang Wan to eat like this!”

“I’m not even talking to you, so why are you cutting in!” Li s.h.i.+ grunted unhappily and glared at Fang s.h.i.+, “I think you should get out there and check the situation since there’s still so many things waiting for you to do!”

“That’s not for you to worry about!” Fang s.h.i.+ retorted.

Right at this moment, Zhide came in with a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Sang Wan watched as Li s.h.i.+ took the bowl and chopsticks happily before getting up with a smile, “I’m feeling a little tired. I’d like to have a rest, although I’m not sure if Sister-in-law——”

Fang s.h.i.+ quickly smiled and said, “Your room has already been tidied. I’ll send you over, rest well!”

After she finished, she pulled at Sang Wan to leave.

“Sang Wan, sit down and chat with me more. It’s broad daylight, why are you going to rest? If you rest too much, it won’t be good for you body!” Li s.h.i.+ stood up and wanted to block Sang Wan from leaving.

Zhide subtly moved to obstruct her and said with a slight smile, “In the s.h.i.+ household, my ma’am is used to taking a rest everyday at this hour and does not like being disturbed when having her rest. Aunty, please have your meal!” With that, she quickly followed behind Sang Wan.