"Yes," Sang Wan softly agreed and turned to Mrs. Zhuang, bending her knee in greeting, "Miss Wan pays her respects to Mrs. Zhuang! Mrs. Zhuang, I hope you are well!"
"Good, good!" Mrs. Zhuang said with a smiling voice, her bright and sparkling eyes unreservedly sizing Sang Wan up from head to toe. She waved at Sang Wan, "Come, come, sit by my side! You truly have a remarkable appearance, so gentle and refined. It’s clear you’re a young lady from a scholarly family! I must say, you are not like those young ladies from other families!"
The latter part of her remarks was, of course, directed at Mrs. Wang.
Mrs. Wang managed a smile, her face slightly stiff.
Sang Wan couldn’t have wished more to shut Mrs. Zhuang’s mouth. This woman just loved to stir up trouble, making insidious comments that incited tension between her mother-in-law and herself. Did she ever consider how her words affected those around her?
Some people, however, always managed to express themselves in ways that made others uncomfortable with their seemingly innocuous comments!
Sang Wan didn’t move and glanced at Mrs. Wang in the corner of her eye, her intention to seek Mrs. Wang’s approval clear. Now, she could only take things one step at a time, relying solely on Mrs. Wang’s own intuition and putting her first in every matter to find an opening.
Sure enough, Mrs. Wang softened her expression when she saw that Sang Wan didn’t answer Mrs. Zhuang but instead sought her permission. Mrs. Wang secretly shot an arrogant glance at Mrs. Zhuang and said with a smile, "Mrs. Zhuang has already called you over, why don’t you hurry up?"
"Yes!" Sang Wan bent her knee once more in the direction of Mrs. Wang, then slowly moved and sat down beside Mrs. Zhuang.
"You are a bit too cautious! Is your mother-in-law really that terrifying? Even calling your name requires me to look at her expression!" Mrs. Zhuang said with a playful smile as she took Sang Wan’s hand in hers, her words directed towards Mrs. Wang, "She really is an honest child!"
Mrs. Wang was immediately infuriated, her chest tightening as she was unable to speak. Mrs. Zhuang’s words made it seem as if she had mistreated her daughter-in-law! How could Mrs. Wang tolerate such accusations? Yet, she had no choice but to endure.
"Being respectful to one’s elders is a daughter-in-law’s duty. Although Miss Wan is young and inexperienced, she knows that she should prioritize her elders and not act on her own accord," Sang Wan said demurely with a smile.
Mrs. Wang heaved a sigh of relief and quickly smiled, "Mrs. Zhuang is not wrong, you really are too honest! I may be an elder, but so is Mrs. Zhuang. You really shouldn’t be so cautious. It makes some people think I am a petty mother-in-law!"
Sang Wan replied with a soft smile and a "Yes" directed towards Mrs. Wang, catching Mrs. Zhuang’s sneer out of the corner of her eye. Sang Wan sighed inwardly, no wonder Mrs. Zhuang disdained her mother-in-law; as they were clearly not on the same level!
Sang Wan sensed that the reason behind Mrs. Zhuang’s constant need to compete with her mother-in-law might be due to her mother-in-law possessing the "First Rich Wife of Qingzhou" title, even though she was seemingly lesser than Mrs. Zhuang in every aspect.
Mrs. Zhuang directly ignored Mrs. Wang’s comments and continued to smile at Sang Wan, "You can tell a girl from a scholarly family is different, just listen to those sweet words! How many books have you read that your hands have formed such calluses!"
Sang Wan gently withdrew her hand, her face flushing slightly. Having done chores every day at her natal family, her hands were not the tender, white, and untouched hands of a pampered lady. In fact, the skin on her hands was quite rough, so much so that even the hands of the Shi family’s concubine daughter, Shi Lotus, were probably more delicate!
Of course, Mrs. Zhuang must have been aware of Sang Wan’s family circumstances. In bringing it up, she was deliberately mocking her.
Sang Wan felt a sense of unease. Though she was proud by nature, she never thought that doing household chores was something shameful or laughable. Her lips moved as she was about to explain, but upon second thought, why should she bother when Mrs. Zhuang would only keep twisting her words?
What bothered Mrs. Wang the most was the difference in social status between the Sang family and the Shi family. Nowadays, given the Shi family’s wealth, even if they were to marry a young lady from an official family, they would not be unworthy. She could not allow herself to be ridiculed by Mrs. Zhuang.
Sang Wan gritted her teeth, and with a thickened face, smiled but didn’t respond, tacitly admitting to Mrs. Zhuang’s words.
As Mrs. Zhuang was the one who made the comment, she couldn’t overturn her own words. Since the other party didn’t object, she rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "So thick-skinned" before letting the matter drop.