CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 32 MRS. LI AND COUSIN’S WAR OF WORDS

Mrs. Wang continued, "At his age, he still can’t weigh the importance of things! No need to discuss further, he must have done something inappropriate to offend Mrs. Li! It’s such a shame that Mrs. Li has been so fond of him and took care of him since he was young! This ungrateful creature, wait until he gets back and see how I don’t teach him a lesson! We’re lucky to have Miss Wan here to calm things down; otherwise, how could our Shi family live up to Mrs. Li’s expectations! Go later and find out exactly what happened for me!" The latter part of her speech was directed at Mrs. Jiang.

Gu Fangzi opened her mouth but was at a loss for words for a moment. She could never have dreamed that Mrs. Wang’s line of thought was completely different from hers! Why didn’t things develop the way she imagined!

Gu Fangzi would never have guessed that Mrs. Wang, upon hearing that Shi Fengju had squabbled with Mrs. Li to the point of Mrs. Li wanting to leave, was both annoyed and secretly pleased. It shows that Fengju really is her son, the closest to her!

He would never dare to upset her like that!

The slight displeasure that had just arisen evaporated instantly. Far from blaming Sang Wan, she silently felt fortunate. Had it not been for Sang Wan speaking for her, if Mrs. Li had left, how could the family save face? Since Sang Wan had spoken in favor of Mrs. Li, it was inevitable that Mrs. Li would feel closer to her.

Gu Fangzi had laid the groundwork for a long time, intending to kill two birds with one stone by discrediting both Mrs. Li and Sang Wan in Mrs. Wang’s eyes. However, she overdid it and wasted all her efforts, realizing it was uninteresting. Seeing Mrs. Wang continuously complaining about Shi Fengju and apparently waiting eagerly to reprimand him upon his return, Gu Fangzi no longer wanted to stay, so she made an excuse after exchanging a few words and took her leave.

In the evening, Shi Fengju returned and, as expected, was severely reprimanded by Mrs. Wang. Shi Fengju didn’t dare to object; however, he felt somewhat wronged and puzzled: The matter was already over; why was his mother still so angry, calling him specifically to chastise him?

Afterward, when Mrs. Li found out, she felt uncomfortably obliged and repeatedly told Mrs. Wang it was all an accident, a misunderstanding, and thus the matter was finally settled. When Shi Fengju learned that this had been inadvertently brought up by Gu Fangzi in front of his mother, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Feeling out of spirits, Gu Fangzi herself went to apologize to Sang Wan, "It’s all because I was too quick with my words. I didn’t expect Auntie to take it so seriously! Big cousin sister-in-law, please don’t be mad at me! I’m here to apologize to you!"

After finishing, she stood up and indeed knelt down to Sang Wan to perform a formal apology.

"Cousin sister-in-law, you are too polite!" Sang Wan hurriedly helped her up, smiling as she thought to herself: It’s not me who has been scolded; why should I be angry with you? You’ve apologized to the wrong person.

Mrs. Li couldn’t stand Gu Fangzi’s affected manners and with a sidelong glance and a chilly, sardonic smile, said, "Madam is right, the cousin sister-in-law is indeed too polite! Such a rare and exaggerated formality. The Shi family’s affairs are their own business; it has nothing to do with the cousin sister-in-law; you really shouldn’t have apologized for this."

Gu Fangzi caught a glimpse of the maids standing respectfully to the side out of the corner of her eye and instantly blushed with embarrassment, struggling to maintain a smile, "After all, it was a slip of the tongue on my part—"

"Indeed, that shouldn’t happen!" Mrs. Li said with a smile, "Not to be disrespectful due to my age, but which unwed lady spends her whole day gossiping about everywhere! Cousin sister-in-law, please take the old servant’s advice, this habit is not acceptable! It could cause trouble when it’s time for marriage talks; you should change this habit!"

Gu Fangzi was immediately enraged, thinking to herself, what does "all day" and "everywhere" mean? Is she that idle? Does anyone else talk like this? She retorted coldly and confrontationally, "It turns out that Mrs. Li acknowledges being guilty of acting on account of age; I thought you didn’t realize that! When I speak with my big cousin sister-in-law, I’m afraid it’s not yet Mrs. Li’s turn to interrupt!"

Mrs. Li was not annoyed and, with a flick of her sleeve and a complacent smile, responded, "One needs the credibility to pull rank due to age! Not to boast, but even in front of the lady of the house, the old servant has the right to speak up. Cousin sister-in-law, you’re really overthinking it! Ha, I naturally can’t compare with cousin sister-in-law; you’ve worked hard and earnestly for the Shi family, and everyone sees your contributions. When cousin sister-in-law grows old, you’ll have even more credibility to act on account of age than this old servant ever did!"

Gu Fangzi felt a rush of blood to her head, a dizzy spell, and an anger in her chest that if turned into a sword could have killed Mrs. Li several times over.

But what could she say? Mrs. Li admitted it herself; she acted on account of her age and had the right to speak up. What could Gu Fangzi do about it? Really drag Mrs. Li in front of Mrs. Wang to speak up? Or call some robust women to come in and drag her away for a beating to vent her fury? There wasn’t a soul in this residence bold enough to do that, not even Mrs. Wang herself.