Chapter 192 - The Standards Must Be Enforced
Chapter 192: The Standards Must Be Enforced
“Old Mistress, please calm down” Nanny Jiang quickly smiled and said, “This old servant thinks that it isn’t as serious as what you think! Young Mistress has always been nice and caring towards Young Master! Just think about what kind of a person Young Master is, Old Mistress! He’s not someone who will be easily controlled by a woman, is he? Young Master has already explained himself regarding tonight’s incident, hasn’t he? He was just worried about Young Mistress stumbling because she drank more than she should. And Young Mistress isn’t someone who would behave inappropriately, she would definitely not have done so if not for that reason! What’s more, it’s also a good thing that they are getting along well! If they were like Eldest Missy and her husband, think about how worried you’d have to be!”
Wang Shi turned speechless from her words and she let out a soft sigh, “Your reasoning isn’t something I don’t understand! Of course I’m happy that they have a good relationship, or am I suppose to expect my son and daughter-in-law to argue non-stop and turn the entire household upside down? It’s just that I never expected Sang Wan to not know the importance of keeping her conduct! Weren’t there still servants following her? Even if she was a little drunk, was it not enough to have them hold her? Why make my Fengju carry her… It really is maddening!”
Nanny Jiang opened her mouth but quickly closed it tactfully for what she had said just then had all turned to nothing! The old mistress’s way of thinking was still the same as before.
“Then, what do you plan to do, Old Mistress…”
“Hmph!” Wang Shi sneered and said, “I was too negligent in the past, but I have to start teaching her well from tomorrow onwards. She needs to learn that she mustn’t forget her conduct when in public!”
Nanny Jiang secretly sighed as she thought to herself: Why must Old Mistress poke her nose into the young couple’s personal matters? Why did she have to make a mountain out of a molehill!
However, Nanny Jiang was clear about Wang Shi’s character. She would never compromise once her decision had been made and would see it all the way to the end! Now, all Nanny Jiang could wish was for Young Mistress to be rational enough not to have any ill feelings towards Old Mistress because of this.
On the next day, Sang Wan got up earlier than usual. She hurriedly washed herself up before bringing Liu Ya with her to greet Wang Shi. Nanny Li and Zhide were puzzled as they did not know about the incident that happened the previous night. As such, they smiled and asked, “Young Mistress, why not go after having your breakfast? Is there something urgent that you have to discuss with Old Mistress today?”
Without mentioning about what happened last night, Sang Wan nodded vaguely and smiled, “There is indeed something urgent. I’ll be going first so all of you will have to serve Young Master for his breakfast!”
When Sang Wan arrived, Wang Shi had not gotten up yet. She did not dare to take a seat as well, so she stood outside in the living room and waited quietly.
Soon after Wang Shi got up, she heard from Nanny Jiang that the young mistress has arrived early in the morning to greet her and was standing in the living room waiting for her.
Wang Shi snorted and said, “That’s quite sensible of her!” As she said, she slowly enjoined the servants to help her change and wash up. It took her quite a while before she got out of her room.
“Mother!” When Sang Wan saw Wang Shi, her face immediately blushed and she lowered her gaze awkwardly. She had already been made awkward before when she first arrived and was faced with Xiu Chun, Xiu Li and the rest. Luckily, they were all servants and she had always been treating them nicely. Adding to the fact that everyone could see that she was the one in Young Master’s heart, no one would laugh at her just to feel contented temporarily. On the contrary, they were afraid of her feeling uncomfortable, so all of them remained calm as usual and did not show any signs of being surprised about her coming over so early in the morning to greet Wang Shi.
That more or less relieved Sang Wan’s tightened heart. However, it was a totally different feeling the moment she saw Wang Shi! She couldn’t forget about her mother-in-law’s fierce words last night.
Seeing that her face was red with embarrassment and she was feeling nervous, Wang Shi actually felt better and she thought to herself that at least she had a sense of shame and knew that she was in the wrong last night. She wasn’t beyond redemption after all!
“En!” Wang Shi nodded lightly and sat on the high seat.
Sang Wan quickly went forward and greeted her before Wang Shi waved her hand, “You may get up!”
“Yes, Mother,” Sang Wan replied submissively. She did not stand at a side as she usually would but stood near Wang Shi on her own accord. When Xiu Chun brought in tea, Sang Wan quickly received the cup and presented it to Wang Shi personally.
Wang Shi took the cup and had a few sips but remained determined to not respond to her. Instead, she turned and had a quick chat with Nanny Jiang before ordering them to prepare breakfast.
Sang Wan quickly helped Wang Shi up and headed to a distant dining room with her.
“Have you eaten?” Wang Shi asked when she sat in front of the dining table.
Sang Wan quickly forced a smile and said, “Your daughter-in-law will help Mother with your meal first. It won’t be too late for me to have it later.”
Wang Shi had wanted to ask her to sit down together with her, but she quickly held her tongue and asked, “You were here early, have you ordered the servants prepare breakfast for Fengju?”
Sang Wan quickly nodded and said, “The kitchen is already preparing breakfast following his preference. Zhide will serve him when he gets up, Mother you don’t have to worry!”
Wang Shi then asked again, “Does Fengju have anything else that’ll have him leave the household today?”
Sang Wan shook her head honestly and answered, “Your daughter-in-law doesn’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Wang Shi frowned slightly and snorted, “He is your husband, do you not care about him?”
Sang Wan hurriedly replied, “My husband did not tell me, and as his wife, I did not feel that it was right to ask him. Your daughter-in-law didn’t dare to ask too much about his private matters, but since Mother has said so, I will make sure to ask about it next time!”
Wang Shi felt slightly better after hearing her, so she said, “You were not wrong as well, it is right for us women not to have a hand in men’s businesses! We shouldn’t think of taking control over everything and climb over our husbands’ head! Our Shi family will not tolerate such a daughter-in-law, are you clear?”
“Yes, Mother!” Sang Wan quickly forced a bitter smile.
Once satisfied, Wang Shi then began to have her breakfast. After she was done with her breakfast, she stood up unhurriedly and said, “You can help yourself to breakfast, then you’ll follow me to Jiao Garden to visit your eldest sister-in-law later. I’m afraid there will be guests in the morning, so go back and change after visiting her and wait for me to call you!”
Sang Wan hurriedly acceded.
Sang Wan got herself half a bowl of brown rice porridge and had a few pastries. Shi Fengju had wanted to greet his mother together, but he was stopped by her. Feeling agitated like an ant on a hot pan as he circled Ning Garden1 all by himself, he finally put his coat on hurriedly when an hour had passed and it was about the usual time he would leave to greet his mother before rushing to Wang Shi’s place.
Not long after Wang Shi finished her breakfast, she heard servants reporting to her that her son had arrived to greet her. She frowned again and subconsciously looked up at the clock on the wall. She grunted lightly and thought sourly to herself: Great, all of them are earlier than usual! One is here to seek punishment, while this one, I’m afraid, is here because he followed her. He must be scared of me tormenting his wife!
No wonder people always said that sons were useless. Once they got married, they would forget about their mothers. It was indeed the case!
Wang Shi couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself, thinking that if that woman from the Zhuang family knew about this, how much would she be enjoying her misfortune?
“Mother! I’m here to greet you!” Shi Fengju entered with a smile. He looked around subconsciously and froze for a moment when he did not see Sang Wan anywhere.
Wang Shi was even more annoyed seeing his actions, so she grunted indifferently and waved her hand impatiently, “Alright, you don’t have to worry about this old woman and go ahead with your own business. There’s no need for you to be here already!”
Shi Fengju would not leave without seeing Sang Wan’s face. His heart pounded anxiously and he quickly responded, “I don’t have anything else today, it’s alright for me to accompany Mother as well! By the way, didn’t Sang Wan come to greet Mother early in the morning? Where is she now?”
He was indeed here for her!
Wang Shi said angrily, “What? You really can’t part with her, even just for a moment? Are you so afraid that I’ll gobble her up?”
“Mother!” Shi Fengju frowned and said, “What are you saying!”
How could Sang Wan, who was in the dining room, still bother to eat? She hurriedly rinsed her mouth with tea and came out while calling out, “Mother!”
Wang Shi glared at her and snapped at Shi Fengju, “Take her back with you and check if she has lost some hair or gotten any wounds anywhere while she’s here!”
Sang Wan secretly complained and stood at the side with her head lowered without saying a word. She thought to herself: What is wrong with him? Why did he have to come and collide with my intentions while knowing full well that Mother-in-law is still in a fit of anger! Well done, now all my effort in the morning has gone to waste! Mother-in-law will only get angrier!
However, it was her mother-in-law lecturing her son; as a daughter-in-law, she could not chip in. There were some words that were alright for her mother-in-law to say, but it would be a mortal sin if she ever said so! Even if her husband did not care, her mother-in-law would never tolerate it! So it was safer for her to quietly stand by the side.
Shi Fengju quickly explained himself, “I was just asking, why must Mother become so angry? Sang Wan is my wife, she came here early in the morning, so I was just asking as I didn’t see her here. Is that not normal? Why must you become angry?”
“Oh? So it was my fault then!” Wang Shi’s voice shook.
“Old Mistress, you’ve really wronged Young Master! What Young Master said isn’t wrong as well, he was just asking casually!” Nanny Jiang quickly mediated.
Wang Shi was so furious that she yelled, “Enough, enough! You useless thing, do whatever you like! I can’t be bothered anymore! Otherwise, it’ll only make a certain someone annoyed! Bring your wife back with you, and stop being an eyesore in front of me! Out of sight, out of mind, you can do whatever you want behind my back!”
As she yelled, she felt more saddened. There was no way she could get over him harboring a complaint about her! Just why did she do all this for? Wasn’t it all for him? Yet instead of showing any signs of appreciation, he even blamed her for making a mountain out of a molehill! Had he ever thought about how sad she must be as a mother seeing him under the control of a woman?
Shi Fengju was totally stunned by her sudden outburst!
Although Wang Shi often handled things unreliably, she had always listened to her son, which meant that he could always find a way to persuade her. But this time, he didn’t expect her to overreact! It seemed as if he suddenly became the most unfilial son in the world!
Sang Wan and Nanny Jiang were taken aback as well. They had never seen the old mistress treating her son like this.
Sang Wan groaned inwardly while thinking to herself: What are you doing! Mother-in-law is already in a fit of anger, how can she still take such words from you? Now you’ve made me into the bad person again!”
“What are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting out now? Will you only be happy seeing me mad?” Seeing that her son was still zoning out on the spot, she couldn’t help but become even more upset.
“Young Master, it will be better if you leave first! This old servant will take care of Old Mistress!” Nanny Jiang tried to mediate while signaling to Shi Fengju with a wink.
Shi Fengju’s head was aching and he secretly let out a sigh to himself. He looked at Sang Wan subconsciously, only to see her signaling to him to leave as well. She was even more afraid of him taking her to leave together, but fortunately, he understood her and did not grab her hand to leave together. “Mother, I’ll be going back first!” He said to Wang Shi and left.