Chapter 189 - Disfigured (1/2)
Chapter 189: Disfigured
“Everything will be fine once your body recovers!” Sang Wan smiled and said, “And isn’t there still Cousin Sang Yan? She will take good care of you!”
“Ah Yan,” Li Shi quickly called Sang Yan over after hearing Sang Wan, and forcefully squeezed Sang Yan and Sang Wan’s hands tightly together, “Sang Wan, I only have one daughter, if she doesn’t have somewhere to settle down, I won’t be able to die peacefully! Sang Wan, I can’t expect anything from her father, so please help me take good care of Ah Yan in the future. You have to promise me, okay? Second Aunt is begging you!”
“Mother!” Sang Yan’s eyes reddened and she teared up.
“Foolish girl, why are you crying! Sang Wan, I beg of you!” Li Shi looked pitifully at Sang Wan.
Liu Ya stood at the side and watched helplessly. Deep down, she thought to herself: Now you know how to beg our young mistress? Why don’t you look at all the things you did in the past! Our young mistress’ reputation was almost tarnished by your words! Anyway, how could you want our young mistress to take responsibility when you and Old Mister Sang are still around? That’s absolutely brazen!
“Second Aunt, you should take good care of your body. Let’s not speak about this anymore! You and Second Uncle are still here, no one will dare to bully Ah Yan!” Sang Wan finally could not hold herself back and mustered the strength to free her hands. She got up with a smile and said, “Second Aunt, you shouldn’t think too much and rest well! In the future when Ah Yan finds a good partner, I will definitely help add to her dowry and give my well wishes!”
“Sang Wan, are you still angry with Second Aunt! Second Aunt will compensate you, okay?” Li Shi panicked when she saw Sang Wan leaving.
“I’m not. Second Aunt, have a good rest. I have to head back first! If not, my big sister-in-law will be worried!” Sang Wan smiled and headed downstairs with Liu Ya.
“Sang Wan!” Sang Pingliang had a huge smile on his face as he spoke, “Why don’t you accompany your second aunt a little while more? Why are you coming down so soon?”
That the new concubine was not around, and Sang Pingliang smiling with an unusual friendliness; Sang Wan found it strange. All of a sudden, she had an ominous premonition and quickly gave a perfunctory smile before leaving without any regard to his persistence in making her stay. Together with Liu Ya, they left Sang Pingliang’s house as if making a quick escape.
“Ai, this Sang Wan’s wings are stiff, and her heart is cold! She looks down on us now!” Upstairs, Li Shi could be seen sighing heavily at her daughter while holding onto her hands, “Mother is really worried about you! If you don’t marry well, how can I be at ease!”
“Mother!” Sang Yan had a dominant mother since young and had never experienced any real hardships outside. Getting married would mean leaving her mother’s side; after hearing her mother worry about her marriage, she instantly panicked, “Mother, I don’t want to get married yet! I still want to accompany you! Mother, please don’t think too much. Didn’t the doctor say that you’ll recover after a few days? Why do you sound so serious —— you’re scaring me!”
Li Shi saw how delicate and fragile her daughter looked, and her heart softened. No words could come out of her mouth and she could only let out a soft sigh.
“Mother,” Sang Yan called out hesitantly before speaking again after another short pause, “At the corner of the stairs just now, I heard father and his concubine talk about ——”
Before she could finish, Li Shi spat and scolded, “What concubine! That vixen is no concubine of ours!” Then she asked again, “And what did they talk about?”
Sang Yan looked at her mother timidly and told her about how Sang Pingliang and the new concubine were planning to present Sang Rou to Shi Fengju to be his concubine.
“Outrageous!” Li Shi was fuming with anger when she heard about it. The pain in her waist was immediately forgotten and she jerked herself up, only to groan loudly in pain soon after. She punched the mattress and said resentfully, “So that small vixen and silly old man devised a scheme! As if such a brat could match up to the Shi family! She should just take a look at herself in the mirror first!”
Most importantly, how could she feel happy about seeing Sang Rou rise to a higher branch after marrying into the Shi family? How could she bear to see her enjoy all the delicacies and put on beautiful clothes?
“I will definitely not allow that! Call your father here and say that I wish to see him!” Li Shi said resentfully, “When Sang Rou is back, call her here too! Just tell her that her father is here as well, and has something to say to her!” Li Shi knew that she could not get out of bed, and Sang Yan would not be able to urge Sang Rou to come. With the help of the vixen, it was more likely that Sang Rou would not listen. As such, only by mentioning Sang Pingliang would she come.
“Oh.” Sang Yan nodded her head.
Presenting Sang Rou to Shi Fengju as a concubine was a big matter that could not be hidden from Li Shi, who was the old mistress of the Sang household. In any case, it did not occur to Sang Pingliang that Li Shi would refuse, so when he heard that Li Shi wished to see him, he was thinking about letting her know about his plan!
It was fortunate that before Li Shi could speak, Sang Pingliang had already snatched the chance to tell her about his plan. She was able to hold back her anger even though it was already boiling within her and remain calm on the surface. With a smile, she continued to feign civility with Sang Pingliang.
When Sang Rou returned and went upstairs, she indeed saw her father there. Thinking that what her parents wished to talk about was the same as what the concubine had explained to her, she was very elated and smiled gleefully, “Father, Mother, you wished to see me?”
Sang Pingliang examined her from top to bottom. Seeing her good figure, bright and beautiful eyes, and her slightly thin lips, although her appearance was not as outstanding as Sang Wan’s, she was definitely not too far off! With a change of clothes and some makeup on, she would definitely be accepted!
Sang Pingliang became more satisfied the more he looked, as if he was examining an expensive product, and the smile on his face broadened. Sang Rou noticed his expression and felt as if she could soar in the sky. She tightened her grasp around her finger helplessly while giving a shy smile and lowering her gaze as she stood at a side. That made her look even more lovely.
****! Just like that vixen ****! Li Shi was extremely furious, but she quickly inhaled a large breath before smiling, “That’s good! Come over here, I’ve a few words I’d like to say to you.”
“Yes, Mother.” Sang Rou’s heart was filled with joy, would she remain on the alert when in front of Li Shi? Furthermore, this matter was already decided by her father. No matter how Li Shi wished to prevent it, there was no way she’d succeed. Her mind was only thinking about the good days ahead of her and how her stepmother would have to fawn over her in the future, just like how she treated Sang Wan after marriage!
Unexpectedly, the moment Sang Rou approached the bed and was near it, Li Shi grabbed her hand and pulled her forcefully. While holding onto a silver hairpin on another hand, Li Shi slashed at her face while cursing hatefully, “Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror and see what you are! How dare you think about marrying into the Shi family! Is that even a family that you can marry into!”
“What are you doing!”
“Ah!” Sang Rou shrieked as she pulled herself away. Touching her face, her hand was covered in blood. She screamed and sobbed loudly as she turned and ran off.
“You, you, you!” Sang Pingliang was so angry that his finger that was pointing at Li Shi was trembling and no words could leave his mouth as he glared at her.
Li Shi was startled by Sang Rou’s forceful push to escape from her clutches when she let out a shriek before running away. Cold sweat formed on her face and it darkened as she glared hatefully at Sang Pingliang while letting out a cold laugh, “Me? What me? This old woman is still around, so that brat better not think about trying to clinch onto a prestigious family! Haha, I want to see now, after her face is ruined, what else she can use to seduce others!”
“You!” Sang Pingliang sneered coldly, “Fine then, she won’t go. I’ll make Ah Yan go. After all, someone has to go!”
“Don’t you dare think about it!” Li Shi laughed coldly, “I’ve already spoken to Sang Wan just now. Sang Wan promised to find a good marriage partner for Ah Yan! Hmph, I dare you to try sending her there!”
Sang Pingliang was stunned and was at a loss for words. So now, Sang Wan would never accept Sang Yan. Besides, Sang Pingliang did not like Sang Yan’s character to begin with and was not confident in her.
“Hmph!” He pulled up his sleeves and left.