"The day is getting late and we still have a long journey ahead, we should leave now! Uncle, aunt, elder brother, sister-in-law, take care of yourselves!" After the meal and a short rest, Sang Wan said with a smile.
"What's the hurry? Your nephew has yet to say his piece!" Sang Pingliang was contemplating how to ingratiate himself with Shi Fengju. Hearing Sang Wan's words annoyed him greatly, he put on the airs of an elder, glared at Sang Wan, and began to lecture her, "My dear niece, as your uncle, I must remind you, now that you are married, you must always consider your husband first! Don't you dare disgrace our Sang family!"
Sang Wan and Mrs. Fang exchanged a silent look, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.
"We should indeed leave," Shi Fengju chimed in with a not-so-convincing laugh. "Qingzhou is quite far from here, we wouldn't want to be late!" He quickly glanced at Sang Hong before continuing, "Uncle, you need not worry too much. Miss Wan is very well-behaved and understands propriety. My mother also likes her very much!"
Upon hearing his words, Sang Hong's face visibly relaxed and he nodded in approval.
Sang Pingliang chuckled, "That's good then! Not to boast, but our Sang family's daughters are truly impeccable!"
Shi Fengju gave a small laugh, "Indeed."
"What a pity it was so rushed! We didn't even have a proper chat!" Sang Pingliang couldn't help but sigh regretfully, "Next time! Next time when you visit, please stay for a couple of nights so we can have a good catch-up, shall we?"
Shi Fengju gave a non-committal hum while Chang Huan and the others prepared their horses and carriages for departure.
The group departed, with Shi Fengju and Sang Wan boarding the carriage and bidding them farewell. The sound of the carriage rolling away soon faded and quickly disappeared round a bend, leaving the village behind.
Sang Pingliang heaved a sigh of relief, "My dear nephew," he turned to Sang Hong in attempt to start a conversation.
"I need to tidy up the house," Mrs. Fang interrupted Sang Pingliang sternly. "Uncle, aunt, if you have nothing else to do, you should head home! Father, you should go to the field and check if the fences are intact, if not, we should fix them!"
Sang Pingliang glanced at Mrs. Fang sharply and reprimanded, "What's that attitude? Since when do you interrupt when your elders are speaking? My nephew is a scholar, how could you ask him to do such menial work on the field? That's disgraceful, don't you understand!"
A scholar, you say?" Mrs. Fang scoffed, "Didn't you use to say that scholars are of no use and that farming is more valuable? When did they become such esteemed figures!"
Sang Pingliang, embarrassed and angry, reddened in the face. He turned to Sang Hong and said, "Look at your wife, what kind of talk is this!"
"She's simply repeating the words uncle used to say all the time!" Mrs. Fang laughed. "Uncle must be getting old, he's forgetting a lot these days! He even forgot his own words!"
Mrs. Li blurted, "Can the past and present be the same!"
"Oh, I see now!" Mrs. Fang exclaimed sarcastically, slapping her hands together in a fake epiphany, "that explains why Uncle and Aunt never visited our house in the past, even when we invited them! And now, they just can't seem to leave!"
Mrs. Fang didn't actually say the latter part of her retort, but her glance toward Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li was clear enough, leaving the couple choking with anger and unable to argue back.
"Alright, Axian, let's invite Uncle and Aunt in the house to talk," Sang Hong quickly interrupted, seeing his uncle and aunt with flushed faces and visibly seething.
Mrs. Fang huffed loudly and pretended not to hear, but didn't further argument. After all, they were her elders, and with Sang Wan newly wed into the Shi family, she didn't want to create a fuss and attract negative comments about ingratiating the Shi family and disrespecting elders. For her own sake, she didn't want any fallout for her younger brother who was still in school and her own young children.
Sang Pingliang ignored her gaze and entered the main hall of Sang Hong's house with his wife, sitting down with a distinct air of authority.
Mrs. Xu had already cleaned up the main hall. Seeing the couple entering, she quickly excused herself, notifying Mrs. Fang on her way to the kitchen to do the dishes.
"Uncle, aunt, is there something you would like to discuss?" Sang Hong asked politely with a smile.
Sang Pingliang looked over at Mrs. Fang, who was leaning against the door with her arms crossed loosely over her chest. He coughed twice to clear his throat.
"Uncle?" Sang Hong, always the innocent one, looked at Sang Pingliang with confusion.
What a silly boy! Mrs. Li secretly rolled her eyes, giving a superficial laugh, "I don't suppose, dear niece, your uncle and aunt aren't even worthy of a cup of tea in your home?"
With sudden realization, Sang Hong glanced at his wife, "Axian."