Matchmaker Zhang, having been struck, felt even more wronged by the misunderstanding.
She couldn’t very well go and reason with Mrs. Lai, and it was even less appropriate for her to hit back at Mrs. Li.
The day Mrs. Li hit her, Hongji visited afterward, providing her with dical expenses and clarifying the situation.
With money in hand, Matchmaker Zhang could only resign herself to bad luck.
She felt that she wasn’t as smart as Matchmaker Jian, unable to make her words clear, resulting in being misunderstood and beaten.
The village once again buzzed with gossip that Hongji’s father, now flush with cash, was keen to take a concubine.
So said, "The grandson is already so big, yet he still wants a concubine! And others added, "Mrs. Lai has aged and beco less attractive, ti for a beautiful woman to take her place."
Others opined, "Hongji wouldn’t take a concubine; with Mrs. Li being such a virtuous and pretty wife at ho, even the ladies of higher standing can’t compare to Mrs. Li."
The ox cart sent to fetch the beautiful woman hadn’t yet returned when two horse-drawn carriages and many mounted guards entered Bushen Village.
Recognizing these familiar guards, the villagers understood that the Tang Family had co to visit Hongji’s house.
Tang Shunyan followed his grandmother and mother with a large caravan to the Capital City, where they enjoyed themselves for several days. The caravan returned on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and on the seventh, Tang Shunyan wished to visit here but was stopped by his family, who told him it was not custom to leave ho on that day.
Today, Tang Shunyan brought many gifts and, accompanied by the housekeeper and so many guards, went to the Ye family’s house.
Upon arrival, he discovered, to his surprise, that a house had been constructed next to the Ye family’s ho in just over a month’s ti.
The housekeeper hadn’t ntioned anything, which left him puzzled; he found out that the house also belonged to the Ye family and that joyful wedding decorations had been placed on the door.
As his party entered the Ye family house, they noticed soone dressed unusually.
Tang Shunyan realized at a glance that Grandpa Ye was taking a concubine.
Being the young master of a great family, Tang Shunyan was used to such customs; his own grandfather had several concubines, as did his father. For a man to have multiple won was no strange sight for him.
What he hadn’t expected was that Grandpa Ye would do the sa.
Hongji and his father welcod the Tang Family’s people.
Mrs. Li went so far as to have the workers serve tea.
If this had been in the past, Mrs. Lai would have certainly snatched the gifts upon seeing such distinguished guests, but today she had no such desire. She only saw her daughter-in-law receiving the presents, uninterested in watching, as long as the gifts didn’t end up next door.
Mrs. Li, seeing the arrival of Tang Shunyan, and with today’s guests at ho, could only arrange for more food to be prepared and more tables to be set.
Tang Shunyan presented gifts to the milk siblings and toys for the youngest child, sharing with them the sights and experiences from his trip to the Capital City.
"Hee, hee hee." That was the sound of the little child laughing while playing with the toy.
The siblings, seeing their brother so joyful, felt their overhanging cloud of gloom lighten a bit at the sight of the gifts in their hands.
The happy child, toy in hand, was laughing heartily when, unexpectedly, a boy of about five or six years old ca to snatch the toy from his younger cousin.
"Wah, wah wah wah!" The child from whom the toy was snatched began to cry, drawing everyone’s attention.
All eyes turned to the boy who had taken the toy from his little cousin.
"I...I just wanted to look at it. My cousin is so small, he won’t know how to play with it," said the boy who took the toy, his voice filled with guilt, yet once the toy was in his hands, how could he possibly give it back?
"Hmph, I bought this! If you want a toy, have your dad buy you one!"
Tang Shunyan snatched the toy back with one hand. He was already slightly older than the boy and had trained in martial arts, so the boy was no match for him.
"Wuu wuu wuu, don’t snatch my toy!"
The boy, tearful, ran to his mother.
The crowd...
"Little brother, here you go!" Tang Shunyan reclaid the toy with authority, unafraid of the tattling little boy.
"Hehehe," the little child’s tearful face brightened into laughter again upon getting the toy back.
Ye Shuying was comforting her sister, Ye Shuzhi, who held her daughter, and they stood by their mother’s side as a show of support, their presence today evidently ant to bolster their mother.
They had hoped that by being at their mother’s side when the temptress entered, they would intimidate her, making her cautious about her future conduct in the house.
This demonstration was also to ensure that their father would not overly favor the temptress, respecting their mother for their sakes.
As for why their mother couldn’t prevent their father from taking a concubine, and why their brother and sister-in-law didn’t stop her, the sisters understood the reason clearly now: their mother tried to outsmart but only ended up losing more on top of her scheming.
Ye Shuzhi was already treating her sister-in-law much better, disapproving of her mother’s actions. Now that their father was taking a concubine, the consequences were her mother’s own to bear.
While comforting their mother, Ye Shuying also remarked how foolish their mother was, not realizing that the temptress had been plotting against her.
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