Chapter 202 Elders' Matters

There was a hint of sarcasm in her words. It was obvious that Xue Niang knew that the painting was Shang Qilang's favorite, so she was joking with him.

Unexpectedly, Shang Qilang smiled and replied with a doting look in his eyes.

"You know how to bleed me, okay? Since you asked for it, I'll send it to you when the time comes."

Xue Niang was just joking, but he actually agreed.

He explained quickly.

"Seventh brother, I was just kidding you. How long did it take you to find that painting? A gentleman should not take away what others like."

"Hahaha, the little girl is a gentleman too?"

"Seventh Brother is laughing at me again."

The two of them were of similar age, one was sixteen or seventeen, the other fourteen or fifteen, both in the prime of their lives.

Despite the awkward quarrel among the elders, the relationship between the siblings was pretty good.

Therefore, if they hadn't spoken these few words during the entire situation, it would have been as cold as an ice cellar.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard the two of them tried to liven up the atmosphere, there were always people who were unhappy with them.

Silang's wife was the first one, and she spoke to Shang Qilang with some disdain in her eyes.

"I thought that Seventh Brother treasured that painting so much. Before, he and I were not allowed to touch it in your study room. But now Eighth Sister gave it away as soon as she asked. It seems that Seventh Brother knows how to behave. He knows that the General's Mansion is flourishing now, and he is rushing to join in the fun."

She spoke in a sarcastic tone, and Shang Qilang felt uncomfortable listening to her.

But then she thought that taking care of Shang Zhihe these days was already annoying enough, so she didn't want to argue with her and just replied lightly.

"The coming-of-age ceremony is no small matter. It only happens once in a girl's life. Please stop teasing me, Fourth Sister-in-law. When Yin'er comes to the age of 15, I, as her seventh uncle, will not be stingy."

Only after he said this did Silang's wife feel a little relieved from the awkwardness in her heart.

Du Jingyi and his elder sister-in-law Liu looked at each other, and they were obviously very dissatisfied with their sister-in-law's performance.

Especially the eldest sister-in-law, how could she let Silang's wife despise her child so much, so she immediately retorted.

"Seventh brother is very thoughtful, but I wonder if Fourth brother's wife has prepared a good gift?"

"Sister-in-law, you are joking. Everything in this house has either been burned down or emptied out. I would like to give it away, but I am very short of money. I am afraid that I will disappoint my eighth sister."

Du Jingyi heard this, smiling but with coldness in his eyes.

"After all, she is from the Wei family, so her heart is biased towards her family. I heard that when Miss Wei came of age, Fourth Sister-in-law prepared several carts of gifts in advance. They are indeed sisters. Even though Fourth Sister-in-law has fallen on hard times, Miss Wei did not feel guilty at all for accepting the gifts."

In one sentence, he insulted three people in a veiled way.

Silang's wife is partial to her parents' family. Wei Jialian ignores her sister's financial difficulties and Mrs. Wei sits back and does nothing.

Du Jingyi's ability to curse has improved.

Mrs. Wei felt unhappy when she heard this.

So he squinted his eyes and asked with a smile.

"I don't understand what Liu Lang's wife is saying. Didn't the Du family invite the old lady and her family to go to Wuling for fun a few days ago? How can it be OK for you to be close to your mother's family, but it is a sin for Si Lang's wife to be close to her mother's family?"

Mrs. Wei also used the same soft knife very skillfully.

Du Jingyi pretended not to understand, then acted surprised and spoke innocently.

"Mrs. Wei, you have misunderstood me. It is a rare trip for my grandmother and my aunts to the north, so of course we should entertain them. It just so happens that there is a hot spring on my mother's farm, which can help my grandmother relax, so I invited her over."

"Otherwise, if you are upset and nostalgic about the past every day, if something really happens, I'm afraid people outside will make up stories again, don't you think?"

Is it just a lie from outsiders? She said it lightly, it was just a "trouble" that came from the general's mansion.

One moment he was sick from being angered by the Duke and his wife, and the next moment he fainted from a heart attack when he saw Princess Fu.

Du Jingyi was almost rushing to say that the Du family was cleaning up their mess.

Therefore, Mrs. Wei was very angry for a moment, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she turned her anger around and wanted to scold her son Qilang.

It's just a coming-of-age ceremony, who doesn't have one? His own niece Wei Jialian's was even ahead of Xue Niang's, so why didn't he bother with it?

Just as he was about to teach him a lesson, he saw a servant coming hurriedly from outside, with an embarrassed and nervous look on his face.

"My Lord, Madam, something big has happened."

Madam Wei glanced at Madam Jiao beside her. Didn’t she say that she must not be disturbed no matter what happened today?

She just wanted to let Shang Ji and the others see clearly that she was the one in charge of the Duke's Mansion now.

She can have the yard be peaceful and quiet, or it can be full of chaos and bustle.

She has the final say in everything.

So, Madam Jiao straightened her face and shouted at the servant.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

"The masters are talking, is it your turn to interrupt?"

Although the words were directed at the servant, weren't all of them meant for Du Jingyi to hear?

She was not stupid either. She gently touched her belly with her hand, feeling the strength inside. When she was about to speak back, she heard the servant kneeling on the ground and crying.

"Madam Jiao, please spare me. I didn't mean to interrupt you. Someone from the farm brought a message saying... saying..."

"say what?"

Silang's wife was worried that she had no place to vent her anger, so she asked viciously.

The servant trembled, but finally spoke out.

"It is said that the fifth old master just passed away."

Upon hearing the news, everyone, whether they were watching the show or singing, fell silent.

It's a major holiday and no one is at home. This is not a good sign.

Although the Fifth Old Master had been seriously injured for more than a day or two, it was normal that he could not survive.

However, what no one expected was that he would choose to leave today.

Shang Yukuan seemed to have lost all the energy. He collapsed to the ground and asked in disbelief.

"Fifth uncle, is he really gone?"

"The man who brought the news to Zhuangzi is still waiting outside. How about I go and call him in?"

Mrs. Wei wanted to stop it, but Shang Yukuan had already spoken hurriedly.

"Go, go, go, call him in. I want to ask him some questions."

"yes."

When the people present heard that someone had lost his life during the festival, even those people they had disliked before, all looked very heavy.

Among them, the one with the ugliest expression was Mrs. Wei.

The wound on the Fifth Old Master's head was caused by her. Even though he was crazy before, she didn't do it on purpose.

But once a person is dead, he is dead, so this debt must be blamed on her.

(End of this chapter)