Chapter 18 - They Aren't the Only Exceptional Ones

Sang Pingliang also snorted, "Enough, enough, you should talk less! Who asked us to be incompetent in taking care of our family affairs? We didn't help the Shi family, so it's no surprise that they don't recognize us as elders!"

"Uncle misunderstands!" Sang Hong felt his scalp tingle and hurriedly said, "Everything is still here, so why not let uncle and aunt look and see... "

"Alright, alright! Then let's settle it!" Mrs. Li happily interrupted Sang Hong's words, stood up, and smiled, "I knew that our eldest nephew has always been filial and respectful to his elders, unlike that unkind person!"

Mrs. Fang glared at her husband discontentedly and saw that Mrs. Li was already walking towards the wing room. She followed and said, "Since his father spoke, let's see what we can take!"

The four of them entered the wing room and saw the things piled on the bed. Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li's eyes shone as they started to pick through the items. Mrs. Fang went up to the pile, took out the gift list and waved it, picking out several items and putting them aside, "These are for the child's uncle; we can't make the decision for him. We need to save them for him!"

She then took a pair of golden hairpins, two pieces of fabric, and two head wraps, and called for Mrs. Xu to come in and handed them to her on the spot. "Our wife said that she's grateful for your care since she was a child. These are for you!"

Mrs. Xu hurriedly thanked her with a smile and took the items, holding them to go and tidy up.

"These several pieces of fabric, a set of Four Treasures of the Study, and two gold necklaces are for Xiaoquan and Xiaonuan!" Mrs. Fang picked out a few more items and nodded towards the remaining ones, "That's all, Uncle and Aunt should decide! Oh, and there's the 200 taels of silver; it's for the child's uncle's journey for the exam and the Dragon Boat Festival gifts!"

Sang Pingliang and Mrs. Li watched as Mrs. Fang item by item assigned the things to a separate pile. Their hearts ached for them, but they could not say anything as it was all reasonable. In the end, they picked out four more pieces of fabric, a pack of bird's nest, a pair of gold bracelets, and two jars of wine before they were satisfied. Clutching the items, Sang Pingliang asked before leaving, "Really, there are only 200 taels of silver?"

Mrs. Fang had long been standing aside, her face dark and unhappy, she sneered upon hearing this, "Uncle, if you don't believe it, come in and search!"

Sang Pingliang chuckled and tightened his grip on the two jars of good wine, with the fabric clamped under his arm, finally leaving.

"Oh right," Mrs. Li smiled and said, "You still have so many leftovers from lunch. With so few people, you can't finish them all. I'll come over in a while to take some, so it won't go bad and be wasted!"

"Ah, thank you, Aunt!" Mrs. Fang sneered.

Watching the couple finally leave, Mrs. Fang let out a long breath of relief and unbuttoned the top button of her dress's collar. She was almost suffocated!.

"Axian, they are our elders after all..." Sang Hong pulled his wife's hand and forced a smile.

"I know! I know!" Mrs. Fang replied impatiently, "Elders, huh! I never expected them to act like ones! But things are different now, you have to be cautious. I am not afraid, but if they are blinded by their greed and run to the Shi family, it will harm Awan!"

"I will be careful!" Sang Hong's face became solemn upon hearing this. Would his uncle and aunt really go so far?

Mrs. Fang no longer spoke, disassembling and packing up the items one by one, and unconsciously touched her chest, where Sang Wan had hidden three hundred silver banknotes and a gold bracelet inlaid with pearls, not listed on the gift list.

On the carriage ride home, Sang Wan kept her head down and remained silent. How embarrassing!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her elder brother and sister-in-law had not had it easy over the years. No wonder her sister-in-law had a hot temper and sometimes had sharp and biting words. With such unreliable uncles and aunts, nobody would have the patience and tolerance for them.

Luckily, the events of her past life did not occur again. Her elder brother was still her elder brother, and her sister-in-law was still her sister-in-law! And she did not embarrass herself or make a scene in front of the Shi family servants. Chang Huan and the others were Shi Fengju's trusted people. Li Yan's and Song He's servants worked in the outer courtyard and were tight-lipped. Hopefully, nothing would spread in the Shi family about her ordeal today.

After all, Gu Fangzi was constantly waiting for a chance to catch hold of her mistakes.

As she unintentionally looked up, Shi Fengju also looked over at her at the same time. Their eyes met, and Shi Fengju smiled at her.

At this moment, Sang Wan's heart was filled with frustration and unease. Seeing Shi Fengju's smile felt like a stab in the eye. Her eyes turned red as she lowered her head and sighed softly after a while, "If you want to laugh, just laugh! Today's events must have surprised you! Regardless, they are my uncles and aunts, my elders. Please don't keep their inappropriate behaviors in mind!"

Shi Fengju was stunned and instantly felt a bit guilty. He quickly said, "I didn't mean to make fun of you. You misunderstood!"