Chapter 16 V2 : Calculations (1/2)

“Second Aunt Li…” Sang Wan’s face was stiff, but like Shi Fengju’s situation not long before, it would’ve been rude to vigorously shake off the hands that were holding on to hers. As such, she was dragged first into the house.

From the corner of her eyes, she glanced in the direction of Shi Fengju, as if praying, and gave him a bitter smile. Having experienced it already, Shi Fengju immediately avoided the affectionate eyes of Sang Pingliang and looked at Sang Wan. He pursed his lips as if wanting to laugh, but held back and gave Sang Wan a few nods.

“Come, come, come! Sit, sit!” Sang Pingliang urged Shi Fengju and Sang Wan in as he warmly greeted them. At the same time, he pushed Sang Hong abruptly to the side. Fortunately, Sang Hong was used to the way the old couple behaved and did not pursue the matter. Quietly, he followed behind.

“Cousin-in-law, Sister Ah Wan, have some tea!” Once seated, Sang Yan shyly served the tea. There were, however, only two cups of tea on the platter.

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Seeing so, Liu Ya hastily received the cups and handed one to Shi Fengju and the other to Sang Wan.

Sang Wan’s eyes gently swept over the room and found her oldest brother sitting in a corner of the room beside a small bench. Sang Wan’s anger boiled; their actions may not be overly significant, but what did they take her for?

“Take this to my big brother; I’m not thirsty. Have him also come and have a seat here!” Sang Wan said gently, as she cast a glance at Liu Ya.

“Yes, Young Mistress!” Liu Ya answered crisply before turning and heading towards Sang Hong.

Sang Pingliang and Li Shi exchanged glances with one another. As if gaining enlightenment, they suddenly remembered that Sang Hong had also come together with Shi Fengju and Sang Wan!

“You careless lass. How could you forget about your cousin, Sang Hong? Quickly pour a cup of tea for him!” Sang Pingliang glared at his daughter before turning to smile at Sang Hong. “Come, come, come my oldest nephew, have a seat! You, ah, we’re a family so why do you still need your uncle to invite you to have a seat here? Quickly come!”

“No, no need!” Sang Hong hurriedly stood up and frantically waved the invitation away. Hearing how Sang Pingliang had crafted those words, Sang Hong felt a little guilty, as if he’d rejected the kindness of his uncle and hurt his uncle’s feelings.

“Uh, anyway, I’ll be returning first. Enjoy your chat, keke! Second Uncle Sang, Second Aunt Li, please come over to our house later for lunch. It’s a rare occasion for Ah Wan to return, so let us gather together to enjoy!” Sang Hong smiled as he bid farewell.

“That’s true, that’s true! We’re a family! Well, you go your way first. We’ll head over there later.” Sang Pingliang smiled affectionately and nodded.

Sang Hong glanced at Shi Fengju and nodded before leaving. It was almost as if he was abandoning the scene and fleeing home.

“Come, Ah Wan, let us go into my room and have our heart to heart conversation! Your second aunt has many words she’d like to speak to you with! It has been a long time since your younger sister, Ah Yan, has seen you too so she might also have some words for you!” Li Shi smiled as she dragged Sang Wan up.

Sang Wan could somehow foresee what the vile woman wanted to say. It would be nothing more than inquiring about the wealth of the Shi family, her treatment in the Shi family, imploring her to never forget her second aunt, to remember them, so on and so forth. Those words, Sang Wan wanted to hear nothing of them! Hearing so would only make her feel disgusted.

“It seems that the time isn’t early anymore. Sister-in-law Fang might have already prepared the lunch already. It would be best if we have our lunch first. It isn’t too late for those words to wait until after the meal. After all, we shouldn’t make Big Brother and Sister-in-law Fang wait!” Sang Wan said softly.

“That is so. Let us be on our way then.” Shi Fengju quickly agreed.

Sang Pingliang and Li Shi might have been able to display their authoritative power over Sang Wan, but they were powerless in front of Shi Fengju. Any words said by Shi Fengju were like an imperial verdict. Upon hearing his decision, the two immediately agreed and smiled. “You two go ahead first. We’ll arrive soon after!”

Not forgetting about Sang Yan, Li Shi said, “Ah Yan, go and accompany your cousin, and talk with her as she heads back. You and your cousin should forge a good relationship!”

Hiding in the shadows, Sang Rou peeked out anxiously. She gazed at Sang Wan helplessly, in hopes that seeing Sang Yan would remind her of her other cousin. So long as Sang Wan raised that question, her stepmother could do nothing to refuse her presence at the gathering.

Sang Wan’s eyebrow rose a little and her lips pursed slightly. Indeed, she was reminded of Sang Rou and was about to ask about her whereabouts. However, she held herself back. In the past, she had not been close with Sang Rou and well, she was not that good of a person to get along with anyway. Still, since this was not her problem, why be nosy?

Seeing Sang Wan leave with a group of others, Sang Rou was disappointed and couldn’t help but give a few points of hate to Sang Wan. She softly cursed to herself and returned quietly back to her room. Reminiscing about her late mother, she could not help but lay on her bed and weep.

The moment Sang Wan and the group left, Sang Pingliang and Li Shi began to indulge themselves in the gifts given to them.

Seeing so many colorful gifts, soft and silky fabric, and gold jewelry, Li Shi grinned from ear to ear. She could not believe what was in front of her, pinching herself to affirm that she was not dreaming. Her hands slowly glided across a layer of the silk fabric.

“Just look at this gold hairpin, it’s embedded with a gem! Zézé, the design and the weight of this… this may even be unique in this village! It’s probably better than the one Village Head Chen’s wife has!” Li Shi grinned as she wore the gold hairpin.

Going through all the gifts with her hands, she saw the list of gifts and handed it over to Sang Pingliang. “Read it out to me! There’re so many that my eyes might actually turn blind from reading them!”