In front of Mrs. Wang, Shi Yumei indeed threw herself into her mother’s arms and cried intermittently in a truly miserable way, while Mrs. Wang gently patted her back, softly consoling her in hushed tones.
Upon seeing Shi Fengju and Sang Wan enter, Mrs. Wang’s expression turned somewhat sour. "You’re here, sit down!"
Sang Wan felt that if it were not for the sake of her brother-in-law, who had a soft spot and cared deeply for his daughter, her mother-in-law would probably have lost her temper long ago.
Shi Fengju pulled Sang Wan to sit down, pretending not to see Shi Yumei.
Upon hearing their entrance, Shi Yumei’s crying immediately escalated, sobbing and wailing "Mother!" and "Make the decisions!".
"Alright, alright, stop crying! You’ll lose your voice!" Mrs. Wang glanced at her son, whose face looked rather unpleasant, and her daughter-in-law with downcast eyes, and patted her daughter’s back to console her.
"Mother! I think my husband and I should just leave the Shi family! We’re only disliked and ridiculed here! A married daughter is like spilled water, I’ve been foolish to expect to still be treated as part of the Shi family!" Shi Yumei sat up, her voice breaking as she spoke.
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Wang said indignantly: "Can’t our Shi family even support its own Mistress? It would be shameful to speak of such things! Yumei, you have never been an outsider in this house, don’t entertain such ludicrous thoughts! You’ve been wronged, and mother will stand up for you!"
"Mother!" Shi Yumei’s nose soured, and tears rolled down anew.
"Big Sister, it’s not just Mother, I will also stand up for you. What exactly happened today, you should at least tell me!" Shi Fengju sighed.
Mrs. Wang was startled, surprised, "You don’t know what happened?"
"Mother, ask Big Sister if she has told me anything about it?"
Shi Yumei retorted angrily: "What’s the point in telling? Even if I did, would you really stand up for me? Now that you have a wife, do you even remember your sister!"
"Sister, if you’re going to talk , then I have nothing more to say!" Shi Fengju spread his hands, "If Sister is uncomfortable living here, then go back to Meng County! I have already settled all your debts for you, I’ll have people set up a new house and buy good farmland for you there!"
"You!" Shi Yumei was momentarily speechless.
"Big Sister!" Shi Fengju interrupted her sternly, "I dare ask Big Sister, not to mention over the years, in these recent days you’ve stayed at the mansion, have I ever slighted you even a little bit?"
"...No, you, you’ve been very good to us." Shi Yumei softly admitted.
"Having siblings like us, do you think I qualify?"
"What are you talking about!" Shi Yumei became agitated, "I never said you were not good!"
"Then why, if Big Sister was wronged, didn’t you tell me, why would you assume that I wouldn’t stand up for you?"
Mrs. Wang, moved by Shi Fengju’s words, also recalled his many good deeds, and nodded, "Yes, Yumei, Fengju is right, you are close siblings, just tell whatever it is! How can you hurt your brother’s feelings !"
"Big Sister, tell me now! I want to hear it now!" Shi Fengju looked at her earnestly.
Shi Yumei had no choice but to hold back the accusations against Sang Wan and said, "Alright, I’m counting on you to make decisions! My husband and your younger brother get along very well, but that Xie Yuan’s uncle-in-law meddles, preventing your brother from associating with my husband, saying my husband is incompetent and pedantic, a disgrace to scholars! What right does an outsider have to do this? Unless, buoyed by his success in Xie Yuan, he’s spurred by others! Someone dislikes both me and my husband, scheming to drive us away!"
Shi Yumei glared hatefully at Sang Wan.
"Big Sister, did you hear these words yourself?"
"Humph! If I had heard them myself, I would have gone up and slapped him immediately, would I wait till now? What, you think I’m lying!" Shi Yumei glared with wide eyes.
"Big Sister, since you did not hear it yourself, I want to know who told you this? Big Sister, tell me, and I’ll have someone confront them face to face right now."
Shi Yumei certainly wouldn’t say it was her own husband, and Shi Fengju’s comment made her even more reluctant to randomly blame someone, so she vaguely responded, "Anyway, I just know it’s true, I’ve told you now, are you going to stand up for me or not!"
Shi Fengju remained silent, looking towards Mrs. Wang.
Mrs. Wang sighed softly, frowning, "Yumei, you are being too unreasonable! What exactly do you mean by this!" Mrs. Wang could understand, her daughter was clearly making baseless accusations.