CHAPTER 475: CHAPTER 243: THIRD-DAY HOME VISIT (PART 2)

"Elder Sister," Shi Lian, hearing her sister’s words becoming more and more unreasonable, smiled gently and replied softly: "Since ancient times, women when married follow their husbands. I’m not as insightful or resourceful as you, Elder Sister. All I know is to serve my husband and show respect to my brother and his wife. I dare not heed such words from you."

"That’s why I say you are just too honest!" Shi Yumei snorted, "Just go ahead and act like a proper lady; what can they do to you? Didn’t our family’s lady marrying into their family already benefit them? Don’t you feel aggrieved or like it’s a step down for you?"

Shi Lian said, "As the saying goes, ’marry a chicken follow the chicken, marry a dog follow the dog’. My marriage is arranged by my mother, and no matter what, I am willing."

What Shi Lian meant was that she had no unwarranted thoughts about this marriage arrangement and wanted her to stop talking further! She had fully accepted reality, and anything she said was useless.

To her surprise, Shi Yumei sighed softly, with a tone of pity she said, "Little sister, even such sayings as ’marry a chicken follow the chicken, marry a dog follow the dog’ come out of your mouth, you are indeed greatly aggrieved! You’re truly too sincere! If you were reluctant about this marriage, why didn’t you speak up earlier? Even if you were shy to talk to our mother, you could’ve written to me, and I would have surely taken charge for you!"

Before Shi Yumei finished speaking, Sang Wan, accompanied by Liu Ya, walked in from outside, causing Shi Lian’s complexion to instantly turn pale.

Shi Yumei was secretly pleased, pretending not to see Sang Wan, continued in her pitying tone towards Shi Lian: "Alas, the raw rice has already cooked into porridge, even if you regret it now it’s too late! How troublesome this is! From now on, just let it be. If you don’t want to go to the capital and suffer, I might speak to our mother, say she can’t bear to part with you and keep you at home a little longer!"

"Elder Sister!" Shi Lian, almost in tears, interrupted Shi Yumei anxiously before she could finish, "How could I mean that or ever say such things! Elder Sister, please don’t misunderstand! I never meant that!"

"Hey, we sisters aren’t strangers. What need is there for you to hide or cover anything in front of me!" Shi Yumei scolded the flustered Shi Lian like a confidante, then pretending to casually glance towards the doorway, she abruptly stopped herself from speaking further and smiled, "Oh, my sister-in-law is here! Hehe, did you just arrive?"

"Elder Sister, Little Sister!" Sang Wan smiled as she entered, saying, "I came to see Little Sister, not realizing Elder Sister was here as well."

Shi Yumei then stood up smiling, "Then you two chat, I’m going to see our mother!"

"Elder Sister, take care," Sang Wan nodded with a smile.

"Sister-in-law, I—" Shi Lian stood up anxiously.

"Little Sister!" Sang Wan grasped her hand, squeezing it lightly: "Between us, why the need for many words of explanation? How could I not know what kind of person you are!"

"Sister-in-law, you, you really believe me!" Shi Lian was both surprised and delighted, her eyes filled with tears as she stared intently at Sang Wan.

Sang Wan sighed internally, some people just cannot bear to see others live better than them! Others living better seem inappropriate to them, and it relieves them somewhat to stir trouble and create discord.

"Of course!" Sang Wan nodded and smiled, "If I didn’t understand even this, it would show that I recognized you in vain! If you really looked down on our family, you wouldn’t have asked me about those matters before you left your maiden home!"

"Sister-in-law! Thank you!" Shi Lian blinked and turned away, quickly smiling to invite Sang Wan to sit and ordered tea to be served, while dabbing her eyes with a cloth.

Elder Sister is too cunning and malicious, seizing on a careless slip in her words to forcefully assert dominance with twisted logic, and regrettably, she makes it sound convincing. If Sister-in-law harbors any thoughts from this, and slightly mentions them to the natal family, her future days are bound to be bitter. Though her husband holds affection for her, she is well aware how much he respects his elder brother and sister-in-law, and how much he cherishes his family.

Sang Wan lightly skipped over the topic and asked with a smile: "How have these past few days been? My elder brother and sister-in-law are very easy to get along with, didn’t I tell you the truth?"

"Yes," Shi Lian smiled and nodded, speaking of her husband’s family her eyes softened, and her lips couldn’t help but curve into a smile, she then began chatting with Sang Wan. Of course, there were some discordant notes, namely the three maids who came with her dowry besides Cai Yun. After all, a slave remains a slave; having entered the Sang family’s door, they still behaved as superior maids from the Shi family, and they wouldn’t end well. These troublesome matters, Shi Lian did not bring up with Sang Wan.

Sang Wan, hearing that she got along very well with her brother and sister-in-law, was completely relieved. The sister-in-law is a good person, but not everyone could bear her temper. Shi Lian, with her gentle nature and lacking the airs of a sophisticated young lady, was indeed suitable. If her second brother had married a genuine noble young lady or a governmental official’s daughter, the situation surely would have been different.

"By the way, did your second uncle and aunt not cause you any trouble?" Sang Wan said, recalling Sang Pingliang and his wife, and hurriedly asked again.

Shi Lian, as the new bride, the complicated issues between the main family and the second house were not quite appropriate for Mrs. Fang to directly discuss with Shi Lian, but should the second aunt stir up trouble with baseless chatter, it would definitely displease Mrs. Fang if Shi Lian blindly followed along. Therefore, Sang Wan felt it necessary to give her an overview of the history between the two houses.

"Not at all," Shi Lian shook her head, hesitating for a moment before adding, "Second uncle and aunt? My husband has also mentioned a bit about them, telling me to always listen to my sister-in-law and seek her guidance." Laughing, she added, "Anyway, we won’t be staying long as we are soon to head to the capital, we might not even have the chance to meet them!"