Rebirth: Contract Husband Falls in Love with Me-Chapter 423 - 217: The Letter
Master bestowing gifts on a slave is naturally something I couldn’t refuse; Mrs. Li accepted it but was obliged to go to the peony garden to express gratitude personally. Gu Fangzi uncharacteristically received her with a beaming smile, calling her "Mammy" in a most intimate manner, which made Mrs. Li’s skin crawl.
Gu Fangzi even insisted on having Mrs. Li stay for a meal, but Mrs. Li made excuses about being busy and hurriedly left.
After much thought, Mrs. Li felt that Gu Fangzi’s kind offer was either deceitful or thievish. It suddenly dawned on her after a moment of reflection, and she couldn’t help but grit her teeth in secret: That scoundrel, she is doing this deliberately to make the head wife suspicious of me!
Upon realizing this, Mrs. Li could no longer sit still. She immediately rushed to see Sang Wan with the gifts Gu Fangzi had rewarded her with, sent everyone away, and spoke, "Head wife, these are the gifts young Miss has rewarded to this old servant, claiming it’s for the hard work I’ve done organizing and setting up her house! This servant thinks, I’ve only fulfilled my duties, following the orders given by the head wife! This servant dare not accept this reward, it is better for the head wife to deal with it!"
Sang Wan smiled faintly, got up, and forcefully made Mrs. Li sit down, saying with a laugh, "Why must Mammy act like this? Mammy is the young master’s wet nurse, and has always cared for and advised Miss Wan thoroughly. What sort of person Mammy is, Miss Wan could not be more aware! Since this is a reward from young Miss to Mammy, please rest assured and accept it! You have organized her house for her, her showing gratitude is the most normal thing!
Mrs. Li heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied, "It’s good that the head wife understands, this servant’s heart recognizes only the head wife! All of those ghosts and fiends, those bewitching vixens and underhanded creatures, don’t even think about them! When the young master left home, he specifically instructed this servant, to serve the head wife well, not to let the head wife suffer any grievances!"
"Mammy’s kindness towards Miss Wan is something Miss Wan is well aware of," Sang Wan felt warmth in her heart and gratefully smiled, "If she succeeded in such shallow attempts to sow discord, it would have been in vain the heartfelt protection Mammy has given Miss Wan! Please don’t worry too much!" She then glanced at the fine silks and satins and smiled, "Since it’s someone’s kind intention, it’s only right and proper for Mammy to accept it!"
"Now that the head wife has said so, this servant can rest assured!" Mrs. Li became cheerful too and said with a smile, "Head wife is right, as long as we don’t do anything guilty, we’re not afraid of ghosts knocking on our door, since it was sent by her, then we shall gladly accept!"
"Indeed!" The two shared a smile.
The next morning, just as Sang Wan had finished combing her hair and washing her face, ready to have breakfast, a young maid came in and reported with a bow: "Head wife, young Miss has come to pay her respects!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
In a large household, concubines often need to pay their respects to the head wife early in the morning. If they encounter a harsh head wife, they still have to rise early to assist with dressing and washing up. Only after that, they can go to pay respects to the elders led by the head wife. If it’s a lowly concubine, they don’t even have the opportunity to greet the elders themselves and must simply accompany the head wife before waiting outside the elders’ courtyard.
Upon hearing this, Sang Wan was slightly startled and furrowed her brows subconsciously. She knew Gu Fangzi wasn’t there to respect her, but rather, she was eager to show her face and curry favor in front of her, solely to establish her status as a concubine!
Sang Wan’s heart immediately became very uncomfortable. She knew that in Shi Fengju’s absence, Gu Fangzi would definitely not behave properly.
"Head wife, since she’s here, let’s invite her in! Otherwise, it would sound bad if word got out. We can’t just leave her waiting at the door," Mrs. Li advised as she stepped forward.
Sang Wan reluctantly nodded.
In no time, Gu Fangzi arrived, leaning on Lan Xiang, dressed in a pale green embroidered bamboo leaf pattern outer coat, below which was a beige pleated skirt with plum blossom and meandering vine patterns, her hair done in a Japanese bun, and wearing a jade hairpin with pearl tassels. The silver tassels varying in length, each with a tiny gemstone the size of a pinky at its end, added a hint of dazzling beauty to her otherwise plain elegance.
"Greeting sister-in-law!" Gu Fangzi approached with a smile, bent her knees and gave a half-curtsy to Sang Wan. But the usual suppleness in her waist seemed stiff, as if she could not bend it further.
Sang Wan found the word "sister-in-law" particularly grating to hear and casually instructed, "There’s no need to come so early in the future, you can come after breakfast! Afterwards, we can go together to see Mother!"
Gu Fangzi, hearing these commanding instructions from Sang Wan, also felt an internal protest, cursing her for being pretentious, but had no choice but to comply submissively and answer with a tender smile, "If sister-in-law is so considerate, then it’s my good fortune! Since sister-in-law has said so, I will naturally follow!"
Sang Wan nodded. At this moment, if she were to eat breakfast, she would inevitably have to invite her to join, but she truly couldn’t stomach any food in Gu Fangzi’s presence. So, Sang Wan simply lost her appetite, asked her to sit down and entered the warm pavilion under the pretense of having something to do, timing it so they would leave together for Mrs. Wang’s place when appropriate.
