"Brother Mo, you're back!" The woman in the dress quickly opened the door and greeted Mo Yun.
Shi Lan raised an eyebrow at Yu Xiu, who was once again ignoring her, and took half a step forward.
After what happened that morning, Yuxiu was still somewhat afraid of Shilan. She glanced at Moyun, who tacitly approved of Shilan's actions, and dared not approach her any further. However, she was unwilling to be so easily suppressed by Shilan. Her resentment and pride made her stubbornly withstand Shilan's glare and give Moyun a shy smile.
Unfortunately, the words she had heard earlier, along with Shi Lan's timely embellishment, had left Mo Yun with no goodwill towards Yu Xiu anymore. Even if she put on a charming and pitiful act now, it would have no effect whatsoever.
With a light laugh, Shi Lan glanced at the tall figure who walked into the courtyard without looking to the side, then lifted her skirt and walked past gracefully.
A gentle breeze stirred. Yu Xiu bit her lip, trying hard to suppress the grievances and resentment in her heart. She stomped her foot hard and turned to follow him inside.
When Aunt Wang saw Mo Yun and the other person return, she quickly set the food on the table.
After finishing his meal, Mo Yun took out the gifts he had bought in town and went to the village head's house.
Shi Lan called to Aunt Wang, and the two of them tidied up the pile of things that had been left in the house the night before. They also unwrapped several pieces of cloth that had been tightly wrapped, revealing the patterns inside.
Aunt Wang glanced cautiously outside and whispered, "These are all things Miss Zhou wants to buy; each bolt costs two taels of silver."
Shi Lan raised an eyebrow.
One horse weighs two taels. There are five horses here, which is ten taels. We'll use that to buy these things that are neither edible nor durable.
It seems Mo Yun still has some money on him.
However, two ounces was really too expensive. She had originally planned to give the cloth to the relatives and friends who had helped the original owner in the past.
A door opened in the next room. Aunt Wang quickly walked to the window, glanced out, and said, "Miss Zhou is here."
Shi Lan nodded and remained seated.
The bamboo curtain at the door flapped against the door, and Zhou Yuxiu walked in, her eyes still sleepy.
Upon entering and seeing the fabrics laid out on the table, she rushed forward, her eyes fixed intently on them: "Sister-in-law, why are these here?"
Shi Lan raised an eyebrow. "If not here, where should it be?"
Yu Xiu stared at Shi Lan's dark, seemingly bottomless eyes, her heart pounding. Ever since Mo Yun ignored her when she said she was going to hit her that morning, Yu Xiu felt a little weak whenever she saw Shi Lan.
"These were bought for me by Brother Mo, how can you take them for yourself?"
Shi Lan lightly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile dismissive. "Bought it for you? He explicitly said it was for you? Did he give you a written agreement?"
Yuxiu looked up at Aunt Wang and said, "You were right there at the time, you saw it."
Aunt Wang pursed her lips and said, "I saw it, but the master didn't say it was bought for you. If you ask me, it's probably because the master is grateful to the mistress for taking care of the old lady, so he specially bought it for her."
Yu Xiu's eyes widened, and after a long while, she said in a shrill voice, "You're talking nonsense! I picked out all these fabrics, and Brother Mo paid for them. If they weren't for me, why would he only buy the ones I picked out?"
Hearing this, Shi Lan felt a little uncomfortable. She hadn't expected that the taciturn man to be so chivalrous.
But that's all for later. The first thing to do now is to withhold these things. Settling accounts can wait. We must first shut down this little brat's arrogance and let her know who's in charge of this house.
"Alright, whether it's for you or not, we'll know when my husband comes back. There's no need for you to yell like that. People will think I'm bullying you."
Shi Lan folded the cloth and put it aside. She then turned to Aunt Wang to discuss the gifts they would give to the other uncles and cousins later. Yu Xiu, fiddling with her handkerchief, watched the two of them acting as if she didn't exist. She stomped her foot in anger and left.
The curtain rattled loudly as Yuxiu flung it. Aunt Wang watched as Yuxiu walked back to the east wing with a livid face before whispering, "Madam, are you really not going to give this cloth to Miss Zhou?"
Shi Lan rubbed the edge of the fabric a couple of times and smiled. "Give it to her? Why should she? Because she's arrogant!"
Aunt Wang wanted to laugh when she heard what she said, but seeing that Shi Lan didn't look like she was laughing, she quickly suppressed it.
Shi Lan swept the things aside, casually picking through other items, and said, "Aunt Wang, do you know about Yu Xiu's brother and husband?"
Aunt Wang said, "I did hear my old man mention it once. I heard that he was in the same team as Zhou Dalang back then, and they had a pretty good relationship. But I don't really know the specifics."
Shi Lan nodded. It was normal for Aunt Wang not to know these things. Based on her observations yesterday and today, although Mo Yun and Hao Ze had some differences in personality, they were quite similar in essence.
In particular, the bad habit of keeping everything to oneself and never revealing a single word is exactly what was said here.
Haoze had done so many things in the past, and she had spent so much time with him, yet he hadn't said a word. She, on the other hand, always acted recklessly because someone else was cleaning up her messes. Thinking of Haoze's oblivious and clueless appearance in the space, Shi Lan's heart ached terribly.
The faint sound of Uncle Wang's voice could be heard from the doorway. Aunt Wang got up, glanced at the door, and said, "Master is back."
Shi Lan stepped off the kang (a heated brick bed), and before she could even put on her shoes, she heard a loud bang, and Yu Xiu rushed out, fluttering towards Mo Yun like a swallow returning to its nest.
Mo Yun turned aside, frowning, and asked, "Miss Zhou, what are you doing?"
Yu Xiu missed her target and stumbled a couple of times before regaining her balance. Turning to look at Mo Yun's forced composure, she couldn't help but feel a surge of sorrow.
"Brother Mo, are you bullying me too?"
Her voice was mournful, her expression was sorrowful, and she looked as if she had no will to live.
Mo Yun was completely baffled by her questioning.
Shi Lan came out of the house, lifted the curtain and said, "If you have something to say, come in and talk. You always run out into the yard and make a racket. Do you want me to build a stage for you?"
Yu Xiu suddenly burst into tears, covering her face with her handkerchief, and said, "Brother Mo, look, she's still here, and she's already bullying me like this. Just now, when you weren't here, she was even worse."
Shi Lan glanced at her sideways, "What's wrong with me? There's a saying that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. Was I wrong to let you in? I really don't know what's wrong with you, girl. I was just trying to be kind to you, and you not only don't appreciate it, but you even tried to sow discord between my husband and me."
Aunt Wang came out from inside and greeted Mo Yun, saying, "Miss Zhou, you are still an unmarried girl. It wouldn't be good if others saw you behaving like this. Madam is worried that it might affect your future marriage, so she asked you to come in and talk."
Yu Xiu wiped away her tears, knowing she was right, but she had already been taken advantage of by Shi Lan several times, yet she couldn't find fault with her. Her dissatisfaction made her pout, "Would she really be that kind?"
Aunt Wang lowered her eyelids and did not answer.
Mo Yun frowned, took a deep breath, and suppressed his frustration. At this moment, he truly regretted it. How could he have been so blinded by greed and not settled her on the spot?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
