CHAPTER 239: CHAPTER 120: AWKWARDNESS (PART 2)

When Sang Wan woke up, the sky was already brightly lit. She gently opened her eyes only to find that at some point Shi Fengju’s head had come close to her own, resting almost on her shoulder and he was sound asleep, breathing cool and warm air against the side of her neck.

Sang Wan got so frightened that her body went limp, and upon glancing and seeing that his eyes were still closed in deep slumber, she calmed her racing heart, carefully shifting a little bit towards the inside, let out a long sigh of relief, gently sat up, and reached out to push on his quilt, "young master, young master, wake up!"

Shi Fengju had actually already awakened when she started moving, but out of fear of embarrassing her, he didn’t dare to open his eyes. On his honor, he didn’t truly mean to take advantage of her, it was just that he somehow ended up leaning close to her. Miss Wan won’t blame him for being frivolous, will she? After all, he was asleep and unaware, wasn’t he?

Shi Fengju silently cursed himself, why on earth did he play the role of a fake couple when they got married? Now he has put himself into a trap he cannot escape from! She was his wife taken in with righteous ceremony, yet he couldn’t even touch her!

"Hmm?" Shi Fengju pretended to wake up hazy and groggy, blinking his eyes and said with a smile, "Oh, it’s so bright already!" Then he smiled, and sat up, smilingly asking, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mmm!" Sang Wan nodded vaguely, softly saying, "Move aside a bit, I’ll go get your clothes!"

"Alright!" Hearing this, Shi Fengju obliged and moved aside, Sang Wan then got out of bed, took clothes from her luggage, and served him as he dressed.

Early in the morning, Liu Ya rolled up her sleeves to help Mrs. Fang with chores around the stove, while Xingzhi waited at the room’s doorway to serve the couple. Hearing movements inside the room, Xingzhi gently knocked on the door and called, "young master, mistress!"

After Sang Wan opened the door, Xingzhi saw that the two of them were already dressed, so she said with an ingratiating smile, "This slave has been waiting at the doorstep since early morning, mistress, why didn’t you call for me instead of doing it yourself? I’ll go fetch the washing water now!"

Once both were neat and clean after washing and dressing, Sang Hong and Sang Yufei were also up, and after sitting and talking for a while, they had breakfast. Not long after the meal, sure enough, guests started arriving in succession.

The neighboring Lu Yuanwai from Lujia Village, the Wanjia from Yangliu Bay, and Zhou Caizhu from Xiaoluan Village, by the afternoon, quite a few people from the town and neighboring villages also came. Some were personally visited by the head of the household, some sent their sons or housekeepers, each bringing lavish gifts, including silver banknotes, land, houses, maids, and Xiaosi, as well as antiques, calligraphy and paintings, ginseng, bird’s nest, silk fabrics, and so on.

Liu Ya and Xingzhi were responsible for greeting the guests with tea, while Shi Ming took on the responsibility of ushering in and out guests, receiving name cards and gifts, managing everything in an orderly fashion. The guests also knew that not only were they visiting their own family but others as well, and once they saw Sang Jieyuan accept the gifts, they happily stayed for a short cup of tea before tactfully bidding farewell, saying they would gather again in the future.

Sang Yufei graciously accepted all other gifts, but he tactfully refused the maids, Xiaosi, and houses. Initially, visitors tried to persuade him, saying that those offered were all very capable and honest, and if he didn’t like them, he could just sell them. But when they saw Shi Fengju smiling at the side, they understood—the Shi family was not lacking in any kind of servant, so why would they need the ones offered by them? Look at the two young ladies serving tea and water, their manners even more proper than the young ladies from well-off families. Also, the Xiaosi leading the way, surely not someone from an ordinary wealthy family!

As for the houses, Sang Yufei stated that he lived well in Sihe Village and would not leave, so the house would be of no use to him, thus he declined. The visitors didn’t insist any further, only thinking of compensating with another generous gift later.

While the Sang family was busy greeting guests and receiving gifts, Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li were restlessly full of jealousy on the other side. Sang Pingliang had finally been intimidated by Uncle Liu and others and didn’t dare to make a fuss, but he was still not content to end up with nothing, so by evening, he sent Mrs. Li again in an attempt to get a share.

Sang Hong was really at a loss upon seeing this and sighed to Sang Yufei, "Let’s just give them something, otherwise, when will this end! It’d be embarrassing if others saw."

"But that would just be letting them benefit for nothing!" Mrs. Fang disagreed strongly.

Sang Yufei also wore a bitter smile and sighed, "Brother is right, we can sever ties with words, but we can’t be too extreme in our actions. After all, we are family bound by blood!"

Mrs. Fang had nothing to say in return. Although Sang Pingliang and his wife were excessive, and they had indeed become separate households, the bond of blood was determined by heaven; something they could not choose or break. If they acted too harshly, it was hard to predict how the villagers’ attitudes might change, perhaps seeing them as too cold-blooded. To a certain extent, they had to show some gesture of goodwill.

Humans need to have the flavor of human emotions in order to be considered human.

"Enough! Don’t you two take charge of this; I will!" declared Mrs. Fang, slapping her chest. They would give something indeed; her brothers-in-law might find it difficult to say so, but she would speak her mind.

After some consideration, Sang Hong and Sang Yufei agreed.

Consequently, Mrs. Fang took 100 taels of silver banknotes, two bolts of fabric, and a half jin of bird’s nest, and went over with Liu Ya in tow.

Upon seeing her coming on her own accord, Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li immediately became smug, and started to pick on everything, deeming the gifts too little. Mrs. Fang laughed coldly and said, "You think it’s too little? I wonder how much Second Uncle Sang and Second Aunt Sang will take when they give return gifts to all the lords and gentlemen in a few days? Shall we go to Li Zheng and Uncle Liu to settle this matter?"

Only then were they silenced.

"Hey Liu Ya, quick, invite Miss Wan over to our place to sit! We’ve always treated her like our own niece! She surely can’t learn to be so heartless like other people!" Mrs. Li called Liu Ya again.