Chapter 21 House Rules
Except for Miss Zhao, no one knew what Chen Tang had said to the eldest lady of the Yongning Earl's Mansion. Seeing Miss Li fleeing in panic, Chen Tang continued to choose jewelry as if nothing had happened. Everyone was curious like a cat scratching itself.
Shen Luo couldn't help but ask, "What did the second sister say to Miss Li?"
Chen Tang smiled faintly, "I just scared her a few words. I have only stabbed myself and have not tried what it feels like to stab others. Ask her if she wants to try it."
Shen Luo, "..."
It’s no wonder that Miss Li ran away. The second sister is just too scary.
Shen Luo shuddered.
Chen Tang took the jade hairpin and looked at it, then glanced at her and said, "Aren't you going to choose jewelry?"
Of course they had to choose, because they went out of the house just to buy jewelry.
But each piece of jewelry in Wancui Pavilion was more exquisite than the other, and she was overwhelmed by the choices. Unfortunately, she could only choose one, so it was really difficult to make a decision.
The clerk took out all the new jewelry from Wancui Pavilion for Chen Tang to choose from. Chen Tang liked a set of gold-inlaid magnolia jewelry and said, "Let's go with this one."
Turning around, he saw Chen Luo still hesitating between the peony gold hairpin and the jasper hairpin, and Chen Tang said, "You haven't chosen yet?"
Shen Luo glanced at it and pointed at the jade hairpin and said, "Wrap it up."
The waiter quickly picked up the pair of jade hairpins. Chen Tang pointed at the gold hairpin and said, "Pack this one too."
He casually picked up a gold bracelet and handed it to the boy, "And this."
Shen Luo didn't know that Shen Tang had already chosen the jewelry, and thought that these two pieces were what Shen Tang wanted for her, so she didn't think much about it and just said, "Let's go to Jinbao Pavilion?"
Chen Tang looked at her, "Are you still going to Jinbao Pavilion to buy jewelry?"
Shen Luo shook her head.
The third wife was born out of wedlock and could not compare with the first and second wives. She could only choose one piece of jewelry, and she had already chosen it and could not buy any more.
Chen Tang said, "Since you're not going to buy it, what are you going to do? Go walk around the streets and then go back home."
Chen Tang turned and left. Chen Luo's mouth twitched, wondering if her second sister had a bad memory. They went to Jinbao Pavilion not to buy jewelry, but to visit their eldest sister and her family. Their grandmother told them not to quarrel outside, as it would make people laugh at the sisters' discord. Now they didn't quarrel, but they went shopping separately. If their grandmother knew, she would be even angrier.
Shen Luo was worried that she would be scolded if the old lady knew about it, but Shen Tang didn't take it seriously, so she didn't dare to say anything.
I followed Shen Tang out of Wancui Pavilion, walked along half a street, bought some small things, but since there was nothing interesting to see, I went home.
The carriage stopped in front of the gate of the Marquis' Mansion. Chen Tang lifted the curtain and saw the servant leading the carriage away. It was the carriage that Chen Xian and Shen Ran were riding in. They returned to the mansion first.
After getting off the carriage, Shen Tang stepped into the mansion and headed towards the old lady's Songhe Hall.
As she walked around the screen and entered the house, she received several unhappy looks and the second wife's scolding, "Before leaving the house, the old lady repeatedly warned you not to lose your temper, but you two sisters from the same house split into two groups when going shopping. Is this how you ignore the old lady's words?!"
Who on earth turned a deaf ear to the old lady's words?
Chen Tang would not accept being scolded for something she hadn't done. She said, "Second Aunt, my eldest sister is behind you, why are you scolding me and my fourth sister?"
Chen Tang's expression, which said "we didn't do anything wrong", made the Second Madam even more angry, "Do you think you are not wrong?"
Chen Tang straightened his back and said, "When we left the house, the eldest sister wanted to take the carriage with the third sister, so I went with the fourth sister. We walked in front and went directly to Wancui Pavilion as planned. However, the carriages of the eldest sister and the third sister did not stop and left directly."
"That's how we broke up. I really don't know where I did wrong. Please tell me straight away, Second Aunt."
Just now, the old lady saw that only Shen Xian and Shen Ran came back, so she asked a question. Shen Xian said, "My third sister and I went to Jinbao Pavilion. My second sister and fourth sister didn't come with us..."
Anyone who heard this would think that Chen Tang deliberately didn't go shopping with her.
Unexpectedly, things turned out like this. The old lady's eyes became even more displeased, but her displeasure just now was directed at Shen Tang, and now it was directed at Shen Xi.
Chen Xi said aggrievedly, "I thought they would catch up..."
What Chen Tang hated the most was Chen Xian's expression of being wronged even though she knew she was doing something wrong, as if someone had really wronged her. Chen Tang said angrily, "Why did you think we would follow them? You left without saying hello, and I just thought you were tired of seeing me."
No one is a worm in Shen Xi's stomach and can guess what she is thinking.
The second wife asked, "There is an order of seniority, so why is your eldest sister sitting in the carriage at the back?"
Chen Tang looked at the Second Madam and said word by word, "The eldest sister wants to sit with the third sister. If she doesn't go to the back, does that mean I should go?"
Chen Xian is the eldest daughter, but she is only half a cup of tea older than her. Why should she revolve around Chen Xian? If Chen Xian doesn't want to ride in the same carriage with her, she should obediently change carriages? Without this logic, it won't make sense anywhere.
The second wife's throat seemed to be strangled, and she couldn't utter a word. Seeing the old lady's face was gloomy, the second wife hurriedly said, "Second aunt didn't understand clearly and misunderstood."
The wicked person filed the complaint first, and still hoped that it could be cleared up with just a misunderstanding?
She, Chen Tang, is not a soft persimmon who will allow them to poke and squeeze her.
Chen Tang looked at the old lady, "Although my eldest sister turned a deaf ear to Grandma's words and caused Second Aunt to misunderstand me, Grandma, please don't punish her too harshly. After all, she has just recovered from the cold and will go to Shouwang Mansion to attend the Spring Banquet in a few days..."
As soon as Chen Tang said this, Chen Xi and the Second Madam's faces froze.
This was not an act of pleading for Chen Xi at all. This was clearly an act of asking the old lady to punish Chen Xi under the guise of pleading for her. Even the way for others to plead for her was blocked.
Although he had just recovered from typhoid fever, he still had to be punished.
The old lady was disappointed with Chen Xi's behavior these days, and she really couldn't tolerate her anymore. The old lady said, "She will be punished to copy 100 articles of family rules. If she can't finish them before the Spring Festival Banquet at Shouwang Mansion, she will not be allowed to leave the mansion."
The second wife was busy trying to intercede, "One hundred articles is too many, the young lady's health needs to be better..."
The old lady's face darkened, and the second wife didn't dare to plead for mercy anymore.
Chen Xi didn't dare to say anything else, but she clenched her sleeves tightly.
At this time, a maid came in from behind the screen and said, "Madam, Jinbao Pavilion sent someone to deliver jewelry, a total of 670 taels. Manager Li asked if this money came from the public treasury?"
The old lady frowned, and the second wife sent the maid away, saying, "Get it from the public house."
After the maidservant left, the second wife replied to the old lady, "I asked the eldest lady to pick out a few more pieces of jewelry. The eldest lady's engagement was broken off, and I felt really bad for her looking so thin. It's rare for her to go out, and she's preparing for the Spring Banquet at the Shou Palace. I think the Prince of Jingyang might go there that day. If we can make him change his mind, that would be great. If not, we can't let others look down on our girl from the Pingyuan Marquis's Palace."
She thought that Prince Jingyang would change his mind with just a few pieces of jewelry. Her second wife thought too superficially about Prince Jingyang.
It's such a poor excuse to just scratch something for your daughter.
The old lady looked at Shen Xi's thin face, and since the jewelry from Jinbao Pavilion had been delivered, she didn't say anything.
Chen Xian glanced at Chen Tang, her eyes full of pride. Although her grandmother punished her by making her copy the family rules, she still loved her the most, no one could compare to her.
But this pride didn't last long. A little maid came in and brought the jewelry to Chen Tang. Chen Tang asked casually, "Have you paid?"
The little maid said, "The public treasury has paid one thousand three hundred and eighty taels."
Chen Xi's face changed and she blurted out, "Who allowed you to buy such expensive jewelry?!"
The smile on Chen Tang's face froze, "Second Aunt, future eldest sister, please buy more jewelry. Don't you allow me to buy some?"
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