"This Shi family is indeed the richest in Qingzhou, just look at this grandeur! It really lives up to its reputation! Look at this gatehouse, it’s even bigger and nicer than our house!" Mrs. Fang couldn’t help but tug at her clothes and whispered.
Even with her usual bold and brash nature, upon seeing the rich and formidable atmosphere, she couldn’t help feeling ashamed of her inferiority and became somewhat timid.
"Who would say otherwise!" Sang Hong sighed softly. He couldn’t help but think, just seeing the entrance , how is Awan living here, does she get bullied on ordinary days? Everyone says the Sang family has climbed high, not without envy, but who has thought about the difficulties of their own sister?
Sang Hong straightened his clothes, exchanged a look with Mrs. Fang, and instructed Sang Xiaoquan and his sister to hold hands and follow, both carrying gifts and stepping forward.
"Excuse me, young man--" Sang Hong politely greeted with a bow and a smile.
He hadn’t finished his sentence when the servant interrupted: "Are you here to visit relatives?"
"Got it, got it! Please follow me!" The servant gestured invitingly towards the inside with a wave of his hand.
"Ah, this--" Mrs. Fang wondered: "You--"
"Please come in! Whatever you have to say, say it inside!" The servant impatiently interrupted Mrs. Fang.
"Alright, alright, let’s discuss inside then!" Sang Hong quickly signaled his wife to stop talking.
Mrs. Fang gave the servant a glare and followed inside.
The servant led Sang Hong and his family through twists and turns for a long while, to a secluded hall, "Okay, you wait here! I’ll go inform them. Our house rules are strict; just wait here for me, don’t wander around or it’ll be troublesome if you bump into someone you shouldn’t! Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, there are so many relatives and friends coming and going!"
Having said that, the servant disappeared in a flash.
Mrs. Fang still shouted after him: "Hey, you know who we are before you report! Where are you going to report, hey!"
"Let’s just wait!" Sang Hong said helplessly.
"What is this! What does the Shi family mean by this? Huh? What’s the meaning! Is this how they treat guests? Looking down on our Sang family and not welcoming our daughter into the home!" Mrs. Fang fumed. Seeing her son and daughter frolic around the chairs out of curiosity, she sternly scolded, making them sit down properly.
"Fengju is not like that, don’t make wild guesses! It’d be bad if others heard it and think less of Miss Wan!" Sang Hong quickly whispered to his wife.
Mrs. Fang became even angrier upon hearing this, saying resentfully: "Our lady doesn’t even know how to act! She clearly knew we were coming today; why didn’t she arrange for someone reliable to wait for us? Could it be that she despises our family too!"
"There you go again! How could Miss Wan do that? Besides, there are elders in the Shi family, it’s not Miss Wan’s place to be in charge. You’re just making it hard for her!"
"Hmph!" Mrs. Fang scoffed coldly: "It’s them making it difficult for us now! Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed, father! Look at that servant, that face, those eyes! Hmph!"
Sang Hong sighed inwardly and said with a smile, "Alright, don’t be angry! One family raises all kinds of people, which big household doesn’t have a few difficult servants? We are here to see Miss Wan, why bother with them! Let’s wait a bit more; if Miss Wan doesn’t see us after a long wait, she will naturally ask."
Mrs. Fang smirked coldly, "Good, then I’ll wait! I want to see how long they’ll leave us hanging!"
Mrs. Fang spoke in annoyance. If not for knowing Sang Wan’s character, if not for having a not-so-bad impression of Shi Fengju from their encounter, Mrs. Fang would have erupted by now.
Who knew that the family of four would end up waiting for nearly an hour, occasionally a few people passed by the hall, but aside from curious glances and whispered gossip, no one came to speak to them.
Mrs. Fang’s face grew uglier, brewing with anger ready to burst.
Sang Xiaoquan and Sang Xiaonuan, the brother and sister pair, were already so hungry their stomachs were growling. Not daring to provoke their stern-looking mother, they clung to Sang Hong and cooed, continuously crying out that they were hungry. Sang Hong could only soothe them with soft words.
Meanwhile, suspecting the time was about right, Sang Wan, along with Mrs. Li and Liu Ya, was waiting by the second gate. When no one appeared after a while, she sent someone to inquire, to no avail.
A moment later, Shi Fengju came back and said, "I’ve had someone watch at the alley entrance; rest assured, they’ll definitely know when they arrive. Don’t worry and go back to sit and wait."
Sang Wan became somewhat impatient and shook her head, "I’ll wait here! They should be here any minute now!"
After another quarter of an hour with no sign of anyone, Xingzhi had someone lay out cushions in the nearby Qionghua Hall and invited Sang Wan to sit and wait patiently.
"Could my elder brother and sister-in-law have run into some trouble on the way?" Sang Wan sent for Shi Fengju, voicing her concern.
Shi Fengju then ordered Chang Huan to ride out of the city to search and reassured her, "Don’t worry! The road from Yangliu Town is the official road, busy with many people. Even if there were an accident, we could find out!" He decided not to leave and waited with her in the Qionghua Hall.
They waited anxiously there, unaware that Mrs. Fang was nearly exploding like she had swallowed dynamite!
"Oh dear, you must be anxious, huh? Come, come, have some snacks first! How pitiful! Are you relatives of some manager or nanny here, this is so unreliable, how can they leave you here for so long without care!" A woman in coarse jujube-red clothes, carrying a tray, came in sympathetically.
The tray contained two plates of pastries, emitting an enticing food aroma.
Upon seeing this, the eyes of Sang Xiaoquan and Sang Xiaonuan brightened, they couldn’t help but sniff and their faces filled with longing expressions, shouting with delight as they ran towards the woman, "It smells so good! So good!"