"Simple, just part ways! We merchants don’t bother with these ridiculous rules!" Zhuang Weixian blurted out, realizing only after he spoke that something was amiss; sizing him up curiously, he couldn’t help but ask, "What’s with you today? You’re not talking about yourself, are you? You and Miss Gu—"
Shi Fengju remained silent, tacitly affirming Zhuang Weixian’s words.
Zhuang Weixian chuckled, "If that’s the case, why did you bring her into the home? After all, she is your cousin; how could you bear to see her get treated poorly?"
Shi Fengju shook his head, "She insisted on it; there’s not much I could say!" He thought of how Gu Fangzi wept and threw tantrums aggressively, and a wave of revulsion washed over Shi Fengju.
Although Zhuang Weixian was quite curious, he knew better than to pry further and said with a smile, "Well, if she insisted on it, what’s there to dwell on? Just let her stay; it’s not like the Shi family can’t afford to host one hundred more like her!"
"Nonsense!" Shi Fengju glared at him but couldn’t help smiling. Indeed, just let her stay. But Miss Wan—
Thinking of Sang Wan determined to leave, Shi Fengju’s mind became even more cluttered. However, he couldn’t discuss the matter with anyone else, not even Zhuang Weixian. A sip of fiery pear liquor went down his throat, and Shi Fengju secretly made up his mind: he wouldn’t let her leave easily.
Shi Fengju returned home late at night, thoroughly drunk again. Fortunately, Zhuang Weixian managed to stop him, unlike the previous night when he drank outrageously, yet still retained a bit of lucidity in his mind.
Shi Fengju chose not to disturb Sang Wan and asked Chang Huan to help him back to the study directly. Chang Huan could neither disobey nor neglect him upon seeing the Master in such a state; so, he promptly sent for help from Ningyuan Pavilion. Sang Wan was already asleep, so Mrs. Li hurriedly went to the study to check on him. After seeing his condition, she couldn’t help but feel a mix of heartache and censure. She quickly prepared some hangover soup and ordered Liu Ya and another maid to stay in the study to attend to him.
The matter should have ended there.
However, Mrs. Wang learned about this the next day, and she became visibly upset. Her son was always careful, rarely ever returning home blackout drunk, let alone two consecutive nights – and on the second night, he even went straight to the study to sleep!
Thinking about Gu Fangzi’s arrival, Mrs. Wang naturally thought of Sang Wan, believing it was her unhappiness that led to a quarrel, frustrating him enough to seek solace in drinking.
The more Mrs. Wang thought about it, the angrier and more heartbroken she grew, her anger towards Sang Wan mounting. It was just taking in a concubine after all, and Sang Wan had readily agreed to it. To think she’d be so troublesome behind his back, presenting one attitude directly and another indirectly – utterly preposterous!
So, early in the morning, Mrs. Wang summoned Sang Wan for a stern reprimand.
"What did Fengju do last night?" Mrs. Wang asked.
Mrs. Wang’s emotions were typically easy to read, and despite trying to appear calm, Sang Wan could still perceive the tension on her face and the stiff tone in her voice, which mystified her even more. She replied with a forced smile, "He said he was dining out with friends."
"And when did he come back?" Mrs. Wang held back her anger.
Sensing something wasn’t right, Sang Wan looked down and shook her head, "I—I had already gone to bed, I don’t know... The young master spent the night in the study..."
"You don’t know!" Mrs. Wang slammed on the table and scolded: "He is your husband, not a stranger. As a wife, how could you disregard your own husband’s well-being ! You went to sleep before even knowing whether he was dead or alive out there? Shame on you for being able to sleep! And letting him stay in the study? The study is cold and empty, without tea or water, that’s no place to rest! Xiaosi are clumsy; how could they take care of him properly! Pitiful me, it’s as if my son got a wife who’s no wife at all, lacking a single person who can show him warmth and care! If it weren’t for Mrs. Li yesterday, think about it, how much he would have suffered through the night! What if he caught a cold or became ill, how could you live with yourself!"
The more Mrs. Wang spoke, the more upset and unwell she appeared.
"Mother, I know my mistake! I was wrong, please punish me!" Sang Wan fell to her knees before Mrs. Wang as if struck by thunder. She finally understood that she really had no right to be temperamental or petty! Could it be that he had been too tolerant towards her that she became so foolishly obtuse? Sang Wan sneered at herself internally. He, tolerant towards her?
Mrs. Wang was still fuming: "He’s been back two days, and both nights he’s been out drinking himself into a stupor—how would I know when my son ever started loving liquor so much! Miss Wan, I know you’re upset, you might not say it out loud, but surely you must feel it! But you can’t keep causing such a fuss endlessly! Fengju has been working so hard outside for months, and instead of taking good care of him when he returns home, you throw tantrums and upset him—this is not how a daughter-in-law should behave! You have no compassion for your own husband at all!"
Sang Wan felt both shamed and angry—her mother-in-law was being harsh, and she couldn’t bear it. Sang Wan knew if she tried to argue, Mrs. Wang would only get angrier, but if she didn’t, it would mean admitting to her mother-in-law’s accusations, which would be even more detrimental to her.
"Mother, Miss Wan dares not, Miss Wan wasn’t throwing a tantrum! Miss Wan really wasn’t!"
"Is that so?" Mrs. Wang was clearly even more irritated: "I know my son best, if he wasn’t upset, he definitely wouldn’t go out and drink to such an extent three times in a row!"
"I dare not interfere in my husband’s affairs; if he tells me, I will listen; if he doesn’t, I dare not ask! Whether he feels upset inside, I really don’t know, ah! He said he was dining out, and I really don’t know the circumstances, nor did I know he would get that drunk! Mother, such instruction I will remember from now on; from now on, I’ll ask more questions!"
"You!" Mrs. Wang briefly lost her voice, and although annoyed by Sang Wan’s back-talk, she cooled down slightly, taking in some of her words.
Seeing a possible turn for the better, Sang Wan quickly pressed on: "Mother, about the matter of my cousin entering the household, I truly have no objections! As the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family, how could I lack such magnanimity? Besides, it was bound to happen sooner or later; what difference does it make a little earlier or later? If I were upset over this, I would have shown it long ago, how could I wait until now!"
Mrs. Wang fell silent, her expression gradually softening, and after a moment, she spoke, "Do you truly believe that?"