Sang Pingliang was unable to contain his anger, and upon returning home, unleashed his full fury on Mrs. Li, berating her severely. Mrs. Li felt deeply wronged; seeing him in a rage, she dared not argue back and could only silently endure the storm, waiting for his temper to subside. Only then did she raise her head and say, "Master! We might as well not compete for status! After all, the blood relationship between our two families cannot be severed. If something really happens to us, would they really ignore us? I don’t believe it. If we can’t get food or have no money for medical treatment, they would care. If they truly ignore us, I’ll just sit at their doorstep and see what they do! Moreover, we still have Miss Wan, we haven’t broken off relations with her!"
Sang Pingliang was taken aback, his anger slightly subsided.
It seems there is some reason in the old woman’s words. If they really had no food, he couldn’t believe that they would just watch their own aunt and uncle starve to death! Sang Pingliang thought this, wishing that there were no food at home for the next meal, but he knew that was impossible!
He felt there was reason in it but refused to admit it, stating sternly, "What status or not? How can you speak like that!"
He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain, "That youngster is going to receive so many gifts, and we won’t get anything!"
"Oh dear, we are at a huge loss!" Mrs. Li also felt the pinch.
"Humph!" Sang Pingliang stared at her coldly: "It’s all because of you! If you hadn’t been so stingy and mean before, would we be in this situation now!"
"I—" Mrs. Li thought to herself that he was no different, even stingier! And he had not been sparing with harsh words either! Yet she did not dare to argue back to Sang Pingliang.
"How does Miss Wan treat you?" Sang Pingliang suddenly asked.
"Very well! Hehe!" Mrs. Li showed a complacent smile on her face, praising, "Miss Wan is different from those heartless ones in the Sang family! She doesn’t treat me like an outsider."
Sang Pingliang nodded, "Butter her up nicely, maintain good relations with her, you should slaughter a chicken tonight, prepare a few good dishes, heat up some fine wine, and invite the two of them over for dinner tonight!"
Sang Yufei couldn’t hold back, and certainly wouldn’t be able to restrain Sang Wan either, which would suffocate him!
"Ah? Oh... okay then!" Mrs. Li felt heartache at the mention of slaughtering a chicken; Sang Pingliang glared at her, and she dared not say more, only reluctantly agreeing. She thought to herself that people like them must have eaten chicken before, they wouldn’t find it special, maybe they would prefer rustic wild vegetables for a change! Maybe just cook half of the chicken, the rest we can eat tomorrow...
Sang Wan entered the room not really to rest but to avoid Mrs. Li, so she only took off her outer robe, reclined on the bed, and covered her chest with half a quilt, chatting and laughing with Xingzhi to relieve boredom.
Before long, she heard someone knocking at the door. Upon confirming it was Shi Fengju, Sang Wan quickly dressed and rose from the bed to greet him, smiling, "You came too? Where are my elder and second brothers?"
"They have some matters to attend to," Shi Fengju smiled vaguely, "I’m feeling a bit dizzy, so I thought I’d lie down for a bit!"
"Oh, then you should lie down quickly!" Sang Wan looked at him suspiciously; he didn’t smell strongly of alcohol, nor was he such a lightweight. Presumably, he was avoiding something? Thinking of her own reason for coming in, Sang Wan couldn’t help but laugh, suddenly understanding.
"Hey, what are you laughing at!" Shi Fengju lay down, looked up to see her laugh somewhat mysteriously, and curiously asked.
"Nothing!" Sang Wan quickly replied, "Just lie down and rest for a while, I can’t go make hangover soup for you now! How about I brew a strong cup of tea for you to sip on?"
Shi Fengju smiled and nodded, glancing at Xingzhi, "Ask Xingzhi to do it!"
Xingzhi quickly knelt to respond and went out, and Sang Wan sat on a stool in front of the bed, chatting sporadically with him. After more than half an hour, the two finally went out.
No one spoke again of the matter between Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li, only discussing the arrangements for the banquet the day after tomorrow and the future plans after Sang Yufei passed the exam.
"I suggest letting Chang Huan and Sister Li continue to take the carriage back to town, taking advantage of these two days to buy all the necessary food ingredients and seasonings, and bringing the chefs from Chunhe Tower directly back the day after tomorrow, which would also be economical!" Shi Fengju said.
Sang Hong, having already heard from his wife about his sister and brother-in-law’s intentions, did not refuse after hearing this and sincerely thanked him, "Thank you for your trouble, brother-in-law!"
"Elder brother, no need to be too courteous!" Shi Fengju laughed, "I’m just moving my lips. If you really feel obliged, just tip the servants who handle things later!"
With many people and much gossip, the servants from the Shi Mansion helped the Sang family because they were ordered by their master and didn’t dare to resist, but without a tip, they might feel discontent, and speaking ill of the Sang family and Sang Wan upon returning would be problematic, which is why Shi Fengju mentioned this.
"Yes, yes!" Sang Hong quickly nodded and smiled, "Absolutely! We will definitely reward generously, not missing anyone!" saying, he instructed Mrs. Fang a few words. Mrs. Fang quickly agreed with a smile, thinking to 浏览翻译结果_privately discuss with Sang Wan later on how much each person should be tipped to avoid people gossiping behind their backs.
"By the way, these two days feared that the local gentries and notable families from Four Villages and Eight Townships might come to visit," Shi Fengju thought for a moment, then looked up at Sang Hong and Sang Yufei, smiled and said, "Elder and second brothers probably also know, these people will not come empty-handed. I’m not sure how elder and second brothers plan to deal with this?"
"Second brother, since you achieved Xie Yuan and these people come because of you, this matter shall be left to you to deal with! Elder brother won’t intervene here; you may handle it however you see fit without considering elder brother; whatever you decide, elder brother will support!" Sang Hong, being well-read, naturally understood the intentions of the locals and notable families visits. But forming connections was not without future obligations, and who knew what they might ask you to reciprocate with later.