CHAPTER 323: CHAPTER 162: ANSWER UNKNOWN (PART 2)

He had already made one regrettable mistake by keeping his cousin here; now, he couldn’t make another — letting her go!

Shi Fengju thought over and over but couldn’t come up with a comprehensive solution, suddenly feeling the room oppressively hot and stuffy, which inexplicably irritated him, so he rose and left without a word.

Sang Wan went to Mrs. Wang’s first as though nothing had happened, reported the results of the punishment, and after Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement, she proceeded to Third Madam Shi. She repeatedly apologized to Third Madam Shi and explained the punishment for the servant girls. Third Madam Shi was never lenient with servants; upon hearing it, she felt the punishment Sang Wan meted out was rather light. In her view, servants who disregarded their masters were the most despicable, and deserved nothing less than death!

Upon reconsideration, perhaps considering the close proximity of the new year, it was inconvenient to be too harsh, which might ruin the festive fortune, so she did not express any dissatisfaction and conversed politely with Sang Wan with words of "hard work" and "concern."

Sang Wan, seeing the matter as settled, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smiled, "Rest assured, aunt, in the future, I will manage the household properly and ensure that such things won’t happen again! By tomorrow evening at the latest, uncle and aunt should be able to move in, and I will send someone to guide you over then! Given the tight schedule, if there’s anything missing or unsatisfactory, you can tell us later!"

Third Madam Shi was overjoyed, and quickly responded with a smile: "Miss Wan is indeed capable! It’s fine as long as we can move in tomorrow, we are not fussy!"

Sang Wan smiled and then excused herself to inspect the progress at Jicui Pavilion and Hanshuang Pavilion.

In the peony garden, Lan Xiang brought back news early in the morning about Sang Wan being scolded by Mrs. Wang, which pleased Gu Fangzi greatly. She sneered coldly, "Who wouldn’t feel bad being welcomed with such a harsh lesson the moment they return home after so many years? Third Aunt has always been tough, I want to see how Sang Wan will handle this!"

"Exactly, she has made too many enemies in this household, her days ahead will not be easy!" Lan Xiang added gleefully, carefully paying attention to gather information about the situation.

Unexpectedly, the matter was settled by severely punishing three maidens and one old woman, Third Madam Shi didn’t say anything more, and even Mrs. Wang didn’t punish Sang Wan separately.

"When did aunt become so generous? She always cares about face, how could she let this go so easily?" Gu Fangzi definitely didn’t believe it, staring at Lan Xiang she demanded sternly, "Did you find out everything clearly?"

Lan Xiang hesitated to speak, eventually plucked up the courage and said, "It seems, it seems that the young master somehow spoke on behalf of Mrs. Sang in front of the lady of the house, so—"

"She is your what Mrs. Sang! That bitch!" Gu Fangzi spat hatefully, her face suddenly turning fierce, "I knew it, aunt’s temper definitely wouldn’t allow such! Cousin, cousin, it’s always him protecting her!"

The one he should be protecting is her! Yet, when did he start ignoring her completely!

Gu Fangzi thought bitterly: Sang Wan, don’t be too smug, men love whoever they see, even if he’s protecting you now, there will come a day when you will end up like me now... discarded like worn-out shoes!

"Miss, do you think... will Mrs. Zhang betray, betray the slave..." Lan Xiang asked timidly. The reaction of those three maidens was unexpected, but the incident with the carpet clearly involved Lan Xiang, if that old woman just mentioned her a little, others might not dare to say, but Sang Wan would certainly suspect something.

Seeing her seizing the opportunity to only think of herself, Gu Fangzi felt a wave of disgust and glared at her unhappily: "Just keep your mind at ease! In this household, there are not many who are as foolish as those sweeping maidens, Mrs. Zhang certainly knows the principle that more words mean more mistakes! Hmph, if she mentioned you, do you think you’d still be here talking peacefully? You would likely have been taken by the people of Ningyuan for questioning by now!"

Would Ningyuan let go of a chance to deal with her easily?

"Be more astute in handling matters in the future!" Gu Fangzi instructed.

"Yes, Miss!" Lan Xiang finally felt relieved.

As those words left her mouth, Sang Wan felt somewhat uneasy, unsure how to face Shi Fengju, so she reluctantly used supervising the work as an excuse not to leave Jicui Pavilion. Mrs. Li, feeling pity for her, had asked her several times to leave and rest, but she refused and insisted on staying. Mrs. Li had no choice but to let her.

When it was time for dinner, Mrs. Li smilingly persuaded again: "Mrs. Sang, it’s getting late, you should rush back and have dinner with the young master! The servants here will also go have dinner later, and after eating, they’ll come back to work for a while, you shouldn’t bother coming again! Rest assured, I will keep a close eye on things!"

Sang Wan, feeling guilty, quickly responded with a smile, "If that’s the case, let’s all stop here, Nanny, let’s go back together, we’ll talk after dinner!"

Having a few more people around, Sang Wan felt it could alleviate some of the awkwardness.

However, Mrs. Li shook her head and smiled, "The servants won’t be returning with you; we will eat something simple like hot soup and rice with everyone at the kitchen and hurry to finish our tasks! You shouldn’t bother with these trivial matters, hurry back! The young master is still waiting for you! I’m here to ensure everything is fine, rest assured!"

Sang Wan, having no further excuse to delay, could only agree with a forced smile, and walked back with heavy steps.

Unexpectedly, Shi Fengju sent word that he wouldn’t be returning for dinner tonight, as he was dining with his uncles at the second house.

Sang Wan felt relieved as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her heart, and she quickly ordered the meal to be served, rested briefly after eating, then washed up and went to bed.

The moment she lay down, her mind was filled not only with temporary relief but also with tension and an indescribable sense of anxiety and loss.