CHAPTER 366: CHAPTER 186: THE FARCE AT SECOND UNCLE’S HOUSE

Mrs. Fang said with a smile, "That must have been troublesome for you! Once the snow melts, accompanied by the remaining snow, the roads become the hardest to traverse! Why don’t you stay for a night today? It doesn’t make much difference to wait half a day!" Sang Hong nodded in agreement.

Sang Wan and Shi Fengju exchanged glances, and Shi Fengju smiled and said, "Miss Wan was also planning to stay for the night, so let’s stay for a night then!"

Mrs. Fang was overjoyed and said with a laugh, "See, I was foresighted. I have already tidied up Miss Wan’s bedroom, and the bedding is all new!"

"Thank you, sister-in-law!"

"We are family, no need to be so formal!"

Everyone entered the house laughing and took their seats according to their roles as host and guests. Sang Wan looked around the room, which was still furnished as simply and plainly as usual, without a trace of lavish decoration. Understanding her thoughts, Mrs. Fang chuckled, "I still prefer it this way. Living comfortably matters the most. Those antique vases and the like, if placed outside, I would be worried about accidentally breaking them!"

Everyone burst into laughter at that remark.

After some idle chat, Mrs. Fang and Mrs. Xu went to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Sang Hong kept Shi Fengju and Sang Wan company in the main hall, talking about Sang Yufei who was far away in the capital. The siblings Sang Wan couldn’t help feeling a bit melancholic, wondering how he was getting by all alone in a foreign land this year.

Shi Fengju hurriedly consoled them, adding that the Shi family also had several stores in the capital, which Shi Ming was aware of. If anything were to happen, they would have support and messages would be swiftly sent back. Sang Hong then felt somewhat relieved and thanked Shi Fengju again.

Soon, neighbors from the village began to arrive one after another. Sang Hong and others stood up to courteously welcome their guests. As per the village customs, whenever a family has guests, they would invite a few acquainted people to sit and chat with the visitors. If no one came, it reflected poorly on the host family’s popularity. These were the people Sang Hong had gone door-to-door to invite the day before.

The main hall soon turned lively. Seeing that all the visitors were men, Sang Wan greeted them and then excused herself to the wing room.

For lunch, while Sang Hong and the others ate outside, Mrs. Fang brought food into the wing room for Sang Wan to eat together.

Sang Wan, who had been anxiously fearing that her uncle and aunt might come to cause trouble, felt relieved as everything had been calm since her return. She could not help but smile at Mrs. Fang, "Big sister, are Uncle and Auntie not at home? It’s unlike them to be this quiet! They vocally cut ties with Sang Hong, but that didn’t include me."

With a glance at her and a chuckle, Mrs. Fang responded, "You’re not naive after all, my expectations weren’t too high! They’re not absent, their home is just too bustling to leave unattended now!"

Sang Wan was taken aback.

With a disdainful smile, Mrs. Fang revealed, "Your uncle, a few months back, brought home a woman from the town to be a concubine, oh, such a sin, she is even a year younger than Sang Rou!"

"That’s news!" Sang Wan exclaimed in surprise, thinking to herself, no wonder her aunt must be quite busy now.

Mrs. Fang sneered coldly, "That young concubine, despite her young age, is not someone easy to deal with! Coupled with her youth and beauty, her conflicts with your aunt are pretty intense. Now, haha, over there, it’s downright a scene of utter chaos! The day before yesterday during New Year’s, I don’t know how it happened that the concubine and your aunt started shoving each other and ended up fighting. As a result, your aunt not paying attention, fell down the stairs and hurt her back, she’s still bedridden and can’t get up! Tell me, how could she come to our home?" As for your uncle, how would he have the decency to trouble his niece? He wouldn’t dare to come to Sang Hong’s house!

So, isn’t it peaceful here!

Upon hearing this, Sang Wan sighed deeply, saying, "Aunt has always been sharp and strong-willed, yet to think she would fall into this trap in her old age! This is truly—" Sang Wan shook her head without speaking ill of her elder, yet felt that those who are pitied have their hateful sides.

"It’s the old saying, every ’soft tofu’ finds its ’brine’," scoffed Mrs. Fang, without a shred of sympathy for Mrs. Li, "You might feel pity for her now, but how terrible was she when she did evil? Did she ever leave a way out for others? Humph, Miss Wan, you must not be soft-hearted! Especially now, as you are living in that large mansion, you must not be soft-hearted lightly! Think about it—if the Shi family had called off the marriage, if your third brother hadn’t passed the imperial examinations, what would your uncle and aunt have made of our family? It would have been a dead-end drive! Nobody else said a word, yet those two closest relatives were the first to initiate gossip and rumors! Such people don’t deserve a bit of sympathy!"

As Mrs. Fang spoke, she sneered again, "And there’s something even more infuriating and ludicrous! After your uncle took a concubine, guess what your aunt specifically came to tell me? Humph, she actually advised me to get a concubine for your elder brother! Saying how times have changed, and it would be embarrassing for your elder brother if he didn’t have a concubine, our Four Villages and Eight Neighbors would laugh at him, also called me not virtuous enough! Hmph, and there’s more, she even said we should buy a couple of beautiful maids to be trained so when your third brother comes home, he’d have someone to warm his bed! Outrageous!" Mrs. Fang said hatefully, "Can you believe these words came from an elder! At that time, I didn’t give her any pleasant looks or words! Taking a concubine? Forget it, not in this lifetime for your elder brother! Before your third brother gets married, as his eldest sister-in-law, I wouldn’t allow him to spoil things by keeping someone around in the house. Once he’s married, his wife can manage however she thinks fit, that’s their business and not mine to meddle in!"