She truly is a good woman, and it’s not just about her looks.
"You look really beautiful dressed ," Shi Fengju said with a smile.
Sang Wan slightly lifted her eyes and saw his clear and bright expression, feeling an inexplicable disappointment. Subconsciously, she thought, she’s not a vase, nor a painting!
But at this moment, that’s exactly what his gaze suggested.
"Is that so?" Sang Wan responded indifferently.
"Don’t be upset, I didn’t mean anything else! I really mean it," seeing her subtly unhappy, Shi Fengju thought she must be blaming him for being abrupt, and hurriedly said: "It’s just, just a compliment, a compliment!"
Sang Wan suddenly harbored a sense of resentment and chided him: "Is it better looking than your cousin?"
Shi Fengju was startled, somewhat confused by her meaning.
Sang Wan regretted her slip of tongue, sounding as if she was jealous, and quickly interrupted with a smile, "My elder brother and sister-in-law must be arriving soon, right? It’s troublesome for the young master to accompany us today!"
"We’re all family, don’t say that!" Shi Fengju replied naturally with a smile. Family? Suddenly, even he was stunned by his own words. Thinking that in a year and a half, family would become strangers, he suddenly felt a strange emotion.
Looking up, he saw that the beads by Sang Wan’s temples were a bit askew, and he couldn’t help but reach out his hand.
"What—are you doing?" Sang Wan stiffened. She should have dodged backward, yet for some reason, she just sat there, motionless. She simply stiffly nodded her chin lightly.
"Your bead ornament is a bit crooked," Shi Fengju said as he gently adjusted it for her.
The two were very close, close enough to breathe and mingle each other’s breaths, as if they could hear each other’s heartbeats.
A faint fragrance wafted into his nose, and Shi Fengju was momentarily lost in thought. His eyes lowered, only seeing her lovely lips slightly parted, tender and enticing with a subtle allure, thinking back to that unexpected kiss which felt surprisingly good, Shi Fengju unconsciously swallowed.
Suddenly remembering Gu Fangzi, he was startled, hastily stepping back and getting up with a cough, saying, "I—I’ll go check if they have arrived!" He hurriedly walked away.
What happened to him!
Sang Wan herself hadn’t even noticed, her eyes dimmed suddenly. She unknowingly raised her hand, gently touching her delicate cheek, feeling a rush of warmth.
In haste, a little past noon, Sang Hong and Mrs. Fang, along with their family, rode their carriage into Qingzhou City.
Through the carriage curtain, they saw bustling shops lining the streets, dimly discerning crowds surging, people brushing shoulders, bustling about, with various cries of vendors rising and falling continuously in their ears.
"This Qingzhou really is a big city, it’s truly bustling!" Mrs. Fang couldn’t help but remark, letting her two children lift the curtain curiously to look out.
"Indeed! A key thoroughfare in the north and south, a place of merchants gathering, with goods flowing, how can it not be bustling!" Sang Hong also remarked.
"Mr. Sang, where are we heading?" Finding a relatively quiet corner, the coachman stopped the carriage and turned his head to ask.
"Oh, to the Shi family," Sang Hong replied hurriedly.
"The Shi family? Which Shi family?" The coachman asked a bit impatiently. He thought to himself there were many people with the surname Shi, how could this be the way to tell someone? Seeing that Mr. Sang and his wife looked like sensible people, he didn’t expect them to speak in such an unreliable manner!
It wasn’t that Sang Hong was unreliable, but that Sang Hong thought since the Shi family was the wealthiest in Qingzhou, saying the Shi family should definitely make the coachman understand, because he had inquired before hiring the coach, this coachman specifically ran business between the town and Qingzhou, claiming to be very familiar with Qingzhou City.
However, seeing as his family was dressed merely as an ordinary well-off household, the coachman never thought they were looking for the wealthy Shi family.
So, Sang Hong then said, "It’s the wealthiest Shi family in Qingzhou, should be around Qingxi Avenue..."
"You are going to the wealthiest Shi family in Qingzhou?" The coachman widened his eyes.
"Yes." Sang Hong smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
"Oh, I see now!" The coachman nodded, assuming they were relatives of some servant from the Shi family, and drove on without further questions.
The coachman drove the carriage away from the bustling market, turned into a tranquil avenue, reaching the end and turning into a wide lane laid with large blue stones and bricks. In front of a majestic house guarded by stone lions, the coachman stopped the carriage. Sang Hong and Mrs. Fang alighted with their children, carrying gifts.
Before them was a spacious forecourt with imposing stone lions, ancient pagoda trees densely shading beside, double-layered eaves painted vermilion and jade, exuding infinite wealth and grandeur. The gate was wide open, revealing a giant marble sculpted shadow wall and lush flower and shrubbery inside. Two family servants stood to the left and right, hands hanging by their sides.