The atmosphere in the room became extremely awkward. No one knew what to say. Mrs. Ji's face darkened; she was clearly furious. She was not only angry at the Zhou aunt and niece, but also displeased that Tang Wan had embarrassed her.
Zhou Shaoyuan had already squeezed in front of Mrs. Ji and was now standing to her side.
Zhou Shaoyuan knew that if she spoke up to smooth things over at this moment, it would definitely let Mrs. Ji know about her shrewd and diplomatic nature. Perhaps she would even catch Mrs. Ji's eye. Zhou Shaoyuan opened her mouth, then closed it again.
It wasn't that she didn't know what to say, but that saying it would offend Zhou Xiangnan. Mrs. Ji might not let her into the Ji family, but Zhou Xiangnan had already promised her a chance to become a star.
Tang Wan's willingness to endure it is her own business, but it doesn't mean that Mrs. Ji is willing to endure it with her.
The Ji family ancestors were Hanlin scholars, and they always prided themselves on being learned men. Madam Ji gave birth to a fine son, quite accomplished in his studies; in the words of their patriarch, if it were any other year, Ji Mingkai would undoubtedly have been a top scholar. With her son's status rising, Madam Ji held absolute power in the Ji family. Furthermore, the Ji family lived by the water, engaging in the trade of goods. In these chaotic times, every merchant family in the surrounding area treated the Ji family with utmost courtesy.
"Madam, is this how you treat your guests?" Madam Ji's face was grim. She didn't storm off, not to give the Zhou family face, but to demand an explanation.
At this moment, Zhou's eldest wife, Liu Yun, was seething with hatred. Today was her birthday, and she had invited the Ji family to ensure the future livelihood of the household. She slapped away the hands of her younger siblings who kept tugging at her clothes. She then scolded Wang Shujin reproachfully.
“Sister-in-law, look at Shaoqiu. Even if the marriage with the Feng family is off, he shouldn’t be so rude to everyone. Miss Tang is still a guest.”
Her single sentence turned the tide, instantly putting Xu Keke and her niece, who had initially held the upper hand, at a disadvantage.
Mrs. Ji's expression softened. No one bothers with someone who's down on their luck, but they're always curious about why someone they dislike is unlucky. Because there's a good chance they might get a chance to kick them while they're down.
However, Mrs. Ji couldn't bring herself to openly pry into someone else's private affairs in front of so many people. She could only look at Liu Yun with a probing gaze, the meaning of which was all too clear: tell me more, I want to hear it.
“Mrs. Ji, let’s go inside and sit down to talk. I’ve specially prepared Da Hong Pao tea for you. I know you have all kinds of tea from all over the country. But you must try this tea. I can’t say it’s the best, but the taste is definitely not bad.”
Mrs. Ji felt quite pleased. Since her favorite drink was Da Hong Pao, Mrs. Zhou had clearly inquired about it. She then followed Mrs. Zhou into the smaller living room. Everyone around her was adept at handling things, pretending nothing had happened and chatting and laughing to ease the atmosphere. This left Xu Keke and her family standing there, feeling awkward.
Tang Wan hesitated, wanting to say a few more words to Zhou Xiangnan, but was caught by a sharp look from Mrs. Ji. She quickly composed herself and followed him inside.
"Aunt, I have some things I'd like to ask you. Let's go to the study to talk." Zhou Shaoyuan looked down on the First Madam's behavior; no matter what, it was inappropriate to use her own family's dignity to give others an advantage. After all, this was the Zhou residence.
Zhou Shaoyuan affectionately took Zhou Xiangnan's arm, trying to pull her away. The second wife understood her daughter's meaning and said to Wang Shujin with a smile, "I had two dresses made the other day, but this child insists that the colors don't suit me. Sister-in-law, come up and help me take a look."
Zhou Xiangnan removed Zhou Shaoyuan's hand from his arm and smiled at the mother and daughter, "We won't go up."
He then smiled at Zhou Shaoyuan and said, "I'll have someone bring you the script in a bit, take a look first. Tomorrow morning, I'll have the driver pick you up. We can talk about our thoughts tomorrow."
After speaking with the second wife and her daughter, Zhou Xiangnan beckoned over the Zhou family steward. She recognized him; he was the head steward when the old lady was alive. Now he was just a messenger in the hallway.
Zhou Xiangnan said to him, "Go tell your old master that the family was originally divided. Since the people in charge of this household don't distinguish between inside and outside, from now on, you don't need to come to our mansion to discuss anything."
The Zhou family steward dared not spread such a message, "What are you saying, young lady...?"
Zhou Xiangnan knew she would definitely make her message clear, so he glanced at Xu Keke, took Wang Shujin's arm, and walked straight away.
They called it two living rooms, one large and one small, but actually, they weren't very big together. The eldest wife of the Zhou family could hear everything clearly inside. She didn't care at all about Zhou Shaoyuan filming; after all, she didn't have a daughter. Besides, Zhou Xiangnan had always been closer to the second son's family than to their eldest son's.
But hearing her final instructions to the manager made her feel uneasy.
Over the years, Zhou Xiangnan dared to challenge the old master, smashing cups and bowls; how could this not be due to the old master's indulgence? The reason the old master repeatedly let her cause trouble was, as he often said, that all the men in the Zhou family combined couldn't match the capabilities of this fifth young lady. If anything truly happened to the Zhou family, they could only rely on Zhou Xiangnan.
Therefore, relying on the fact that the old master had spoken up for their branch of the family when they divided the property back then, he always kept them by his side and never dared to really anger them.
This time, with Zhou Xiangnan saying these words, I'm afraid the old master won't let him off easily.
Madam Ji pretended not to see the unease on Liu Yun's face. She drank her Da Hong Pao tea and listened with a smile as they flattered her.
Hearing that Zhou Xiangnan and the others had left, Tang Wan was extremely anxious. She had come today because she heard that Zhou Xiangnan was there. She had hoped to mend her relationship with him. But it seemed things had gotten even worse.
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