CHAPTER 231: CHAPTER 116: THE UNINVITED SECOND UNCLE (PART 2)

The main hall wasn’t spacious enough, so only the leading government officials and the Li Zheng were seated, while the rest of the people scattered, resting in the courtyard and under the corridor, attended to by others offering them tea, candy, and sunflower seeds.

Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li had been intentionally blocked and jostled to the back by the crowd earlier, unable to find an opportunity to show off. Now unobstructed, they had already slipped into the room, smiling and inviting the officials to sit down with an endless stream of empty pleasantries, and loudly commanding, "Hurry up with the tea, get the tea leaves ready!" In doing so, they sought to assert their presence.

"This person is—?" The lead official was somewhat puzzled and thought to himself that this man had been eagerly greeting everyone from the start, yet seemed to be intentionally ignored by the crowd. Surely he wasn’t from the Sang Jieyuan family? But his current demeanor seemed like that of an elder from the Sang Jieyuan’s family.

Sang Pingliang heard the question but was in no hurry to answer, his smile intimate as he looked towards Sang Yufei. He was forcing Sang Yufei to call him "Second Uncle" in front of everyone.

But Sang Pingliang could keep his composure, whereas Mrs. Li didn’t have so many subtleties in her belly. Seeing that no one was speaking, she immediately blurted out impatiently: "Our Master is Yu Fei’s own uncle! Yu Fei is our own nephew!"

Yu Fei? The lead official took a moment to catch up with such an intimate term, and along with several elders including the Li Zheng, scolded, "What a disgrace! Do you think you can just casually call Xie Yuanlang by his name? Ignorant woman, there’s no seat for you here, get lost now!"

Only then did the officials come back to their senses: So that’s how it is!

But seeing how the woman was scolded, they couldn’t help but inwardly grimace, thinking to themselves: There’s a story here!

They were all shrewd officials, naturally not showing anything on their faces, and now politely nodded to Sang Pingliang, continuing to sip their tea with a smile.

"Master!" Mrs. Li looked towards Sang Pingliang with a pitiful expression.

Sang Pingliang was too preoccupied to care for her, saying irritably: "Don’t you see there are a bunch of Masters here? Why are you still causing a fuss! Go to the kitchen and check on the meal preparations, so we can serve dinner to the gentlemen soon!"

At this, Mrs. Li regained her spirit, chuckling with an "Okay," puffing up her chest, and went away.

But the kitchen was under Mrs. Fang’s supervision, and no one took Mrs. Li seriously. Ignoring her as she came in and looked around, they dismissed any questions with "Busy right now, no time!" leaving Mrs. Li frustrated and suffocated.

"The gentlemen have worked hard today, haha, make sure you all eat and drink well later!" Sang Pingliang said, full of emotion, "Our old Sang family has finally come through! This nephew of mine has not had it easy!"

"Haha, being so young, Xie Yuanlang will surely have a boundless future!" the officials laughed and responded.

"That’s right! I’m looking forward to basking in the joys of success, hahaha!" Sang Pingliang continued, sighing and talking about how his parents died early, how difficult it has been over the years, how worried and supportive he was, and now seeing each of them succeeding, how genuinely relieved he felt!

The officials, unaware of the circumstances, couldn’t help but feel respect and chimed in from all around.

Yet they gradually sensed something was off, as except for Sang Pingliang, no one including Sang Yufei and his brothers or the Li Zheng, had a word to follow up.

The crowd couldn’t help but secretly wonder.

One shrewd person tactfully changed the subject, coughing and smilingly said, "This tea is really good, fragrant to smell, fragrant to drink, and even lovely to look at!"

An elder chuckled and pointed at Shi Fengju, saying, "Indeed! This is the tea brought back by the Sang family’s big son-in-law, the lady. Could anyone else bring such good stuff?"

The crowd laughed and agreed.

A light bulb went off in someone’s head, exclaiming, "The Sang family’s big son-in-law, could it be, could it be Qingzhou’s richest Shi family’s young master?!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone’s eyes lit up, and the way they looked at Shi Fengju became even more enthusiastic than when they looked at Sang Yufei.

"Haha! It’s just a vanity title given to me by everyone to save face; it’s not worth mentioning," Shi Fengju smiled faintly.

"Ah! So it really is Young Master Shi! I’ve heard so much about you!" The government officials got excited, smiling and bowing in greeting, and Shi Fengju also smiled and returned the gesture. Everyone chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed for a while.

Sang Pingliang also followed the crowd, laughing along, and seizing the opportunity to interject, "There’s no need to say, our Sang family’s son-in-law is truly a good man! Completely unpretentious and especially respectful towards elders! Every time he visits, he makes sure to see this old man! Haha, my niece having such a husband, my older brother would rest easy!"

Shi Fengju felt extremely uncomfortable with this statement. He was not one to belittle himself, and unlike Sang Hong and his brothers who had many considerations, he simply replied with a faint smile, "You’re too kind! Together with Miss Wan, I’ve only been back twice in total, I don’t deserve your praise! Besides, you have your own daughter to be filial to, it’s not my place!"

Sang Pingliang’s face turned red, and he quickly laughed to the others, "He’s just being modest, truly modest!"

"Not at all, it’s you who are being truly modest!" Shi Fengju smiled faintly, "I am just speaking the plain truth!"

The Li Zheng and the elders all secretly complained, thinking that Sang Pingliang was out of line. Everyone watched nervously, not expecting the Shi family’s son-in-law to be such a tough one to deal with. Fortunately, his frank and straightforward manner suggested he wasn’t ill-natured.

Thus, they quickly switched to other subjects with a laugh, while Sang Pingliang was full of stifled rage.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Mrs. Li came over excitedly, saying, "The meal is ready, gentlemen, please come and eat!"

The crowd stood up exchanging pleasantries.