Ren Zhixian saw her storming in furiously, searching all over and imperiously demanding an explanation from him, becoming angry and humiliated, "How should I know! It must have been some blind fool who took it while tidying up the house!"
Shi Yumei sneered, "Isn’t it Cui Bao who cleans up this house? So, she took it?"
Cui Bao, already panicking and nervous, dropped to her knees in fright upon hearing this, "Madam, please forgive me, it wasn’t the slave, it wasn’t the slave!"
"Don’t spout nonsense without evidence!" Ren Zhixian gestured for Cui Bao to get up and then cleared his throat, turning to Shi Yumei, "Maybe your younger brother is annoyed with me for ordering the retrieval of our belongings! Enough, I have wanted to say this to you for a long time, it might as well be auspicious to say it today. Since your family despises me so much, I don’t want to continue living in your house either. We’ll pack up and in a few days, we shall return to Meng County!"
"What did you say!" Shi Yumei abandoned the thought of searching for the lost items, saying in disbelief, "Go back? Humph, if we go back, we won’t even have a place to stand. Have you thought about where to live? How have my mother and Fengju mistreated us for you to wrong them so!"
Ren Zhixian sneered, "They treat you well, of course; it’s me they disdain! I, Ren Zhixian, have some pride too. I don’t have to wait to be driven out; I will leave on my own! You are my wife; naturally, you will have to follow me wherever I go! Humph, I have many friends in Meng County. We could stay with any of them briefly and then gradually look for a suitable house to rent! Humph, even if we have to freeze or starve, I refuse to continue to endure this indignity!"
"I think you’ve gone mad!" Shi Yumei was trembling with anger. Back at her natal family, she lived a life of luxury, how could she possibly want to suffer in Meng County? But she is indeed the wife of this man before her—if he goes, of course, she has to follow!
"You’re the one who’s mad! Wake up! This is the Shi family, not the Ren family, and we have to return sooner or later! Anyway, my mind is made up; leaving is a must! Tomorrow go and tell your mother; we’ll leave in these two days!" Ren Zhixian said with utter finality.
Shi Yumei became anxious; she truly did not want to leave! How wonderful it was to be here in the mansion, where she didn’t need to worry about anything, and everything was resolved by her mother and brother. This leisurely and privileged life that she had enjoyed for barely half a year, was she to go back to the chaos as before?
Lowering her stance, Shi Yumei pleaded earnestly with Ren Zhixian, also arguing that staying here would benefit him in many ways, but Ren Zhixian refused to listen. He would never forget the humiliation he felt on New Year’s Eve, completely doused in cold water, and even the contempt from the slaves in the courtyard—which only worsened after they saw him suffer—left him feeling extremely angry yet helpless. As Cui Bao stirred him up as well, he naturally desired to go to Meng County for a carefree and joyous life!
"If you want me to stay, that’s fine," Ren Zhixian sneered as he listened to Shi Yumei’s endless quibbles, "Just have your younger brother kowtow and serve me tea to apologize, and I shall forgive him! Let bygones be bygones! And I will stay, so you can continue to be filial in front of your mother, how about that?"
Shi Yumei was dumbfounded with rage.
Putting aside that she would never bring herself to speak such words to Shi Fengju, how could she allow her own brother to suffer such a humiliation? Even if she did speak up, there was no chance Shi Fengju would agree given his character!
"Nothing to say, huh!" Ren Zhixian snorted, "If you have nothing to say, then do as I told you! Don’t forget to tell your mother tomorrow!"
Shi Yumei felt a chill go through her body, gritting her teeth, "As you wish! It was my own overstepping; originally, I shouldn’t have come back to trouble my mother and Fengju!"
She didn’t wait until the next day; that very day, Shi Yumei spoke to Mrs. Wang about wanting to return to Meng County. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel{f}ire.net
Mrs. Wang was quite surprised and asked why.
Naturally, Shi Yumei wouldn’t say that this was instigated by her own husband; she merely gave excuses such as Meng County being her husband’s home, and that it was about time to return after being away for so long.
Even though Mrs. Wang was usually uninvolved and preoccupied, she wasn’t a fool easily deceived. Her daughter’s words sounded far-fetched, and noticing her odd complexion, Mrs. Wang pressed for answers. At first, she thought Shi Yumei might have been upset by some gossip heard within the mansion, and called for Sang Wan to summon her and order her to find out which slave dared gossip behind others’ backs.
With that, the truth naturally couldn’t be concealed. With no choice, Shi Yumei divulged Ren Zhixian’s wish to return. Though she didn’t tell her mother his outrageous remarks, merely thinking about it made her eyes well up with tears.