"Hmm, I understand! Cousin, you care for just like my own sister!" Gu Fangzi nodded continuously in gratitude.
"We’ve always been just like real sisters!" Shi Yui laughed and turned back with Xiuchun. On the way, she changed her mind and went to fetch her husband Ren Zhixian, and the three of them, including the concubine Cui Zhu, went over together.
As the al was prepared and the three sat down, Shi Yui glanced around and couldn’t help but frown, "Why don’t I see Miss Wan?"
"What do you want with her for?" Mrs. Wang asked with a surprised laugh.
Shi Yui snorted and said, "What kind of daughter-in-law acts like that? It’s bad enough she doesn’t serve at her mother-in-law’s side during als, but she doesn’t even show her face! She really does act like the matriarch, putting on such airs!"
"Oh! Let’s eat!" Mrs. Wang, realizing it was about that, waved it off with a smile as if it were nothing: "I was the one who told her she needn’t co over to serve. With Mrs. Jiang, Xiuchun, and Xiuli here, it’s fine. Why insist on her presence?"
"Mother, you’re just too kind-hearted and end up indulging people who forget their place! You may not mind because you’re magnanimous, but can there be a mistake with the rules? Isn’t the Sang family esteed as a scholarly household? The girl they raised doesn’t even understand such basic principles! When my mother-in-law was around, there wasn’t a day that I wasn’t serving at alti! As a daughter-in-law, it’s fundantal to fulfill one’s duties!" Shi Yui argued discontentedly.
Ren Zhixian also nodded and said, "Exactly, Yui is right! This is about filial piety; it cannot be neglected! To think she appears so clever, how can she be so foolish?"
Indeed, like a pillow with a beautiful embroidery but nothing inside, Ren Zhixian felt even more disappointed. It seed that in this household, he couldn’t find anyone who resonated with him!
Just as Shi Yui felt her husband’s approval and was about to express her agreent, she heard his last remark and her face darkened. She glared at her husband and said with a cold laugh, "Clever on the surface? How many tis have you seen her? How are you so certain of her cleverness?"
What could he say to that? Ren Zhixian was montarily at a loss for words, and with a stern face, he scolded, "Is that the way to speak? Really now!"
Shi Yui had been holding back a bellyful of grievances from hearing about Sang Wan from Gu Fangzi, and Ren Zhixian’s words were like pouring oil on the fire. Her anger surged up, and with a cold laugh, she raised her voice sharply, demanding, "Tell , how do you know she’s so clever on the surface!"
"Unreasonable!" Ren Zhixian, never the one to mince words, was infuriated and stood up abruptly, his face stern, "Look at you! Shouting and making a scene, what kind of dignity is this? You’re nothing like a lady of noble birth; more like a common shrew!"
"What! You dare call a shrew!" Shi Yui, her face flushed with anger, rushed to grab his clothes, crying and making a scene, "You actually call a shrew! I slave away serving you every day, and yet I can’t even compare to soone’s re silhouette! I can’t live this way anymore!"
"Let go this instant! Who allowed you to be so ill-mannered! Daring to lay hands on your own husband!" Ren Zhixian, flustered with anger and embarrassnt, struggled to pry her hands off.
"What is this supposed to be!" Mrs. Wang hadn’t noticed Shi Yui’s remarks about the silhouette, her voice quivering with anger, her fingers trembling non-stop as she glared at the maids standing by, "What are you waiting for, pull them apart! Quick, do it!"
The maids, as if waking from a dream, started calling out, "Madam, my lord!" They hurriedly stepped forward and managed to pull Shi Yui away after much effort.
"Mother! I, I—" Shi Yui, ashad and embarrassed, couldn’t stop her tears.
Mrs. Wang, both angry and heartbroken, was about to speak when Ren Zhixian preempted her.
He brushed his sleeves with a solemn and cold tone, "Mother-in-law, you see? What a shrewish and unreasonable woman! Is this how the Shi family raises their daughters?"
Mrs. Wang felt a lump of anger stuck in her chest, her face pale and trembling, "You, you, are you questioning ? The Ren family, with such great propriety, yet a son-in-law dares to openly challenge his mother-in-law!"
Ren Zhixian hesitated upon hearing this, then imdiately replied, "I wouldn’t dare, I have no intention of questioning my mother-in-law! Please, discipline her well! Otherwise, it’s the Shi family’s reputation that suffers."
"Worry not! My daughter doesn’t need your interference!" Mrs. Wang spoke with a mix of anger and hatred, "My daughter has always been such a good person back at ho. I want to ask you, what exactly is going on? How could she have changed so much in just a few years!"
The more Mrs. Wang thought about it, the more heartbroken she felt, and couldn’t help but start crying bitterly, thumping her chest and stomping her feet.
Ren Zhixian stated resentfully, "Exactly, I’d like to know as well, how she could have changed so much from before! It’s like she beca a different person!" Ren Zhixian thought to himself, hmph, don’t underestimate , Ren. You think just because I’ve fallen on hard tis you can act presumptuous? Thinking I don’t see through these little sches? Just you wait, when I rise again, you’ll regret this, you shrew!
Mrs. Jiang, unable to bear the sight any longer, busily tried to comfort Mrs. Wang while pleading with Ren Zhixian, "My lord, please spare a few words! After all, the Madam is your elder!"
A re slave daring to openly lecture him? Ren Zhixian was so angered he was seething, and with a cold huff, he turned and walked away.
"He, he, he actually—" Mrs. Wang was gasping for air, nearly suffocating with shock. Alard, Shi Yui forgot about herself and hurriedly rushed to massage her mother’s chest, and only after quite a while did Mrs. Wang finally catch her breath.
Mother and daughter faced each other, tears streaming down their faces.
"It’s all my fault, why can’t I change this bad temper of mine!" Shi Yui managed a forced smile, "To have upset Mother like this, it’s all my fault! Look, the food has gone cold. Mrs. Jiang, ask soone to reheat it, please!"
Mrs. Wang sighed deeply, looking at her daughter with an expression caught between wanting to speak and holding back. She hadn’t noticed before, but now upon a closer look, she realized that her daughter had lost weight compared to before, and the brightness and sparkle had faded from her eyes, leaving them sowhat dim. Her lips were pale, and fine wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead. Upon closer inspection, her spirit seed even weaker than her own!
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