"Then what if you died?" Sang Pingliang retorted.
"You!" Mrs. Li was furious.
"What if both you and I died? To whom would our wealth, houses, and fields go?" Sang Pingliang spoke coldly: "We only have two daughters, no sons!"
Mrs. Li was stunned, and then her face changed, "Yes, yes, a hundred years from now—"
Without a son, after a hundred years, the estate naturally goes to the nephews. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be incidents like widows being kicked out and their family wealth being taken and divided by their husband’s brothers and clansn. Sang Hong and Sang Pingliang are indeed our direct nephews; it would be completely justifiable for them to inherit.
Upon thinking of this, Mrs. Li suddenly beca even more anxious than Sang Pingliang, "No, no, this won’t do! How can the family wealth we’ve worked so hard for simply benefit outsiders like this!"
To bla is her own belly, unable to bear a son, only a daughter. Mrs. Li felt a wave of sorrow and couldn’t help but silently shed tears.
"Master, I think we might as well let Yan’er stay at ho and bring in a son-in-law," Mrs. Li’s mind worked quickly, and she clapped her hands in delight: "I think this is the best way to do it! The children will also carry the Sang surna, this way we’ll have heirs to carry on the family line!"
"Humph, wishful thinking!" Sang Pingliang scorned, "Bring in a son-in-law? Can we rely on that? When we are alive we may be able to control that lad from harboring other intentions, but can we still control him after kicking the bucket? With Yan’er’s temperant, is she soone who can hold soone down? In the end, people will just do as they wish; our family wealth will still belong to others, not to our Sang family!"
"Then, what should we do? Do we really have to let those two brothers take advantage?" Mrs. Li was montarily at a loss for ideas. Sang Pingliang’s words made sense; who could manage a son-in-law after they are dead? Would a man willingly spend his whole life coming into a family as an adopted son?
"I already have a plan," Sang Pingliang glanced dismissively at Mrs. Li and spoke unhurriedly: "Therefore, I’ve decided to take a concubine."
"Take a concubine, what!" Mrs. Li’s eyes widened as she stood up suddenly, "You, you say that again!"
"What are you shouting about!" Sang Pingliang frowned and scolded: "You almost gave a fright! Taking a concubine to have a son, wouldn’t that solve everything?"
"You, you, you heartless man! After all these years with you, you want to take a concubine, you heartless creature! I won’t live, I won’t live anymore!" Mrs. Li crashed down onto the chair, slapping her thighs and crying out loud.
"Quiet down!" Sang Pingliang didn’t care about her cries at all, glancing at her with a cold gaze and said: "Making a fuss over taking a concubine? Wouldn’t the concubine still have to respect you once she enters the door? When she gives birth to a son, won’t she still have to call you mother? Hmph, you still have the nerve to make a scene! If you can, bear a son and show !"
Sang Pingliang hadn’t thought about this before, but the more he thought about it now, the more regret he felt, and his anger unconsciously grew. He continued with a stern face: "If you were virtuous, you should have actively suggested that I take a concubine to continue the family line! Now that I’ve brought it up myself, you still dare to make a scene! Just on the grounds of ’no sons’ alone, I could divorce you!"
"You, you!" Mrs. Li trembled with fury, but her bluster completely died down, not daring to make a further scene. She knew Sang Pingliang’s temper, and besides, she indeed had no sons. If she continued to block him from taking a concubine, if he decided to divorce her, even her natal family wouldn’t be able to do much – at most, they could make a fuss! Not having a successor is the gravest of unfilial acts!
"Since the Master has said so, what else can I say!" Mrs. Li sniffled, "I will imdiately look into finding a well-bred girl to bring back for the Master!"
"You needn’t trouble yourself with this," Sang Pingliang, feeling relieved that he had quelled her with a few words, said, "I have decided to make a trip into town tomorrow. You stay ho and clean out the west wing room, and change everything like the bed curtains and linens to new ones!"
Mrs. Li’s face went pale, her heart turning cold and dreary. He was planning to go to the town to buy soone from a middleman! The thought of a coquettish young girl joining their ho tomorrow made Mrs. Li feel incredibly uncomfortable, consud with a jealousy that felt like acid reflux.
"Master," Mrs. Li forced a smile, "I think we should be cautious about this matter, it’d be better to find soone reliable and well-known slowly. Those coming from the middleman might not be clean, who knows if they have any diseases or not!"
Sang Pingliang huffed at her, "You needn’t worry about this! Do you take , Second Master Sang, for a fool? Hmph, the middlen cannot escape; if they dare to deceive , I won’t let them off easily! Moreover, if I’m not satisfied, I can simply sell and buy another one, it’s no big deal! Just don’t forget to clean the room! You should do it yourself, don’t just order Aruo around, that girl knows nothing! Let tell you, if you dare to ss around and try to deceive , by tomorrow evening, you’ll have to vacate the bedroom!"
Mrs. Li was so angry she could barely speak, wincing in agony, biting her lip she said, "Rest assured, Master, I will personally take care of it and ensure both Master and the new concubine will be satisfied!"
Just you wait, Mrs. Li thought, once she’s in the door, let’s see how I’ll deal with her! There are advantages to buying soone after all; at least they have no backing from their natal family, easy to manipulate and control! Hmph, once she gives birth to a son, I’ll just sell her off, and the son will still be mine!
Consoled by such thoughts, Mrs. Li felt a weight lifted off her chest, her discomfort from earlier subsided. She even took the initiative to please Sang Pingliang, "Are you thirsty, Master? I’ll brew a pot of tea for you!" She stood up and headed towards the kitchen, shouting at the top of her voice: "Aruo, Aruo! Where did that wretched girl disappear to again! Quickly co and start the fire to boil water!"
The next morning, Sang Wan and Shi Fengju woke up in the inn, freshened up and ordered breakfast to be served in their room.
"Chang Huan has already inquired; the good news will reach town today, but it will probably not reach the Sang family until tomorrow. Let’s stay here another night, and we’ll hurry over early tomorrow morning!" Shi Fengju said with a smile.
Sang Wan would naturally not disagree, nodding her head with a smile and murmuring her assent.
The breakfast that was served, though not as exquisite as in the Shi Mansion, was nonetheless complete and included: shrimps and chicken congee, black rice porridge, fragrant rice porridge, dumplings, stead buns, shumai, almond tea, osmanthus-scented lotus leaf tea, cream-filled pine nut pastry rolls, and pumpkin egg yolk pastry. Accompanying the porridge were several small dishes, brought from the Shi Mansion.
"First Mistress, try this! I specially went to Liji to buy it; I’m not sure if it’s still the sa flavor as before!" Liu Ya grinned as she presented a bowl of delicate tofu pudding to Sang Wan.
"How thoughtful of you!" Sang Wan chuckled, and turning to Shi Fengju she said, "I used to like this dish; this girl has gone out of her way to buy it!" As she spoke, she stirred it with a spoon; the steaming, faintly aromatic scent wafted up imdiately. After taking a spoonful and tasting it, she nodded at Liu Ya with a smile, "It’s still the sa as before, not bad!"
"Then, First Mistress, please enjoy more!" Liu Ya bead with joy, her eyes curving into crescents.
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