SFS Chapter 177: Biased to the Outside
Chapter 177: Biased to the Outside
Shi Yao's eyes widened in shock: "Big sister, is our family still respectable? I stood there for a long time, and the women from other families were laughing in groups of three or four, calling each other relatives and friends, but no one paid any attention to the women in our family."
Shi Mingzhu was almost choked to death.
Fifth sister-in-law Qi Wan covered her lips with a handkerchief and coughed: "Second sister, as your sister-in-law, I have to give you a few more words of advice. This is a critical time in our house, and we should pay more attention to etiquette.
You were running around just now, and so many people were gossiping about you behind your back. I'm afraid you didn't hear it? Besides, you are also old enough to get married, and those ladies on the lawn have sharp eyes. "
Shi Yao disagreed and said, "I heard it, but what I heard most was them talking about my brothers. Divorcing three wives in one night, breaking off two engagements in one day, the three men who killed their sisters, and the whole family reflecting on their mistakes behind closed doors.
My face turned red with embarrassment when I heard this, but there was nothing I could do. My elder sister insisted on going out today, so should I hide in the carriage and disappear?
I might as well throw it all away. Can my running away make our Shi family's bad reputation worse?"
Qi Wan had no way to refute it.
Ever since the Shi brothers began to reflect on their mistakes, they have never received any invitations from noble families again.
She and her third sister-in-law Tao Ziyi assisted Shi Mingzhu in housekeeping and had the clearest understanding of these courtesy exchanges.
If you don’t know, you might really think that the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion has declined.
Seeing this, Tao Ziyi was too lazy to say anything. She felt that Shi Yao was indeed too lively today and her behavior was inappropriate, but she was inexplicably unwilling to support Shi Mingzhu.
Shi Mingzhu's face darkened slightly, and she said calmly, "Why do I see that my second sister is gloating over the current situation of the Duke's Mansion?"
Shi Yao's eyes widened again, and she retorted innocently: "Big sister, please don't accuse me with empty words! Big sister has found a good marriage, but my future is still uncertain, how can I gloat over her misfortune? What I want most is for my family to be harmonious and for my brothers to be successful and proud."
Tao Ziyi and Qi Wan had heard some rumors but were not surprised. They came out today on the orders of Lady Zheng, the Duke's wife, to facilitate this marriage.
Shi Mingzhu's face suddenly changed, she was furious, and she shouted sternly: "Second sister, don't lie! If I had decided on a marriage, why would I hide it? Grandpa and grandma have already told everyone!"
Shi Yao was surprised and said, "No? That day, I heard my elder sister calling Zhou in my dream..."
"Shut up!" Shi Mingzhu's face flushed, two flames ignited in her eyes, staring straight and sternly at Shi Yao, "It's just a dream talk, second sister heard it wrongly."
"Oh." Shi Yao leaned back against the car wall and covered her mouth, feeling aggrieved and innocent.
Although she didn't finish her words, who among the aunts and sisters-in-law in the carriage didn't know what happened on the day when Nanny Xin was beaten to death?
The trigger for Nanny Xin being beaten to death was Shi Yao's scream. Shi Mingzhu called a man's name in her dream, the name of the Fourth Prince Zhou Shao.
Shi Mingzhu recalled what happened that day and became angry and glared at Shi Yao, sulking to herself.
Tao Ziyi and Qi Wan were frightened and dared not say a word, not knowing what was going on.
Shi Yao moved to the window, leaned against it to look at the scenery, and laughed secretly - so why did you have to provoke her? Now that everyone is unhappy, she is happy!
The carriage drove into the villa, and the women of the Shi family and the Ge family got off at the same time. They entered through the two gates one after the other to pay their respects to the owner of the villa, Princess Ziyang.
Also present to receive the gift was the Princess of Changning County.
Princess Changning smiled and said to Princess Ziyang, "On the way here, I saw a phoenix kite flying in the sky. It was very gorgeous. I heard it was made by 'Kite Song'.
He only produces one work a month. Our prince went to order a kite last July, but couldn't get one. I don't know which noble lady flew it. I'm so envious. "
Shi Mingzhu bit her lip lightly, not knowing whether to answer or not to answer, feeling very uneasy - if it were in the past, the Princess of Changning would never have asked such a merciless question.
She somewhat regretted participating in the spring outing.
While she was hesitating, one of Ge Qiuheng's sisters-in-law smiled and said, "The owner of the Phoenix Kite is also here."
Princess Ziyang asked with interest: "Oh? Which one?"
The Ge family's sister-in-law pointed at Shi Mingzhu and said, "Apart from the jewel in the crown of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, who else can have this honor?"
Princess Ziyang's smile faded a little, and she said, "I am sorry for asking too much. I guess there is no one else except Miss Shi."
Then he asked Shi Yao, who was standing beside Shi Mingzhu, "You are the second Miss Shi, right? You are as beautiful as your sister. What kite did you fly today?"
Shi Mingzhu's hand on her waist trembled slightly at the fingertips.
Shi Yao smiled like a spring breeze, bowed, and answered crisply: "In reply to the Princess, I flew a black scorpion kite today."
The Shi family wanted to cover their faces.
The Princess of Changning County and the Ge family covered their mouths and laughed softly.
Princess Ziyang waved to Shi Yao and said, "You are a very eloquent little girl. Come here, come to me."
Shi Yao stepped forward.
Princess Ziyang liked her more and more when she saw that she was so calm and confident. She took her hand and asked, "How old are you? Why haven't I seen you before? Which branch of the Zhenguo Mansion are you from?" She then asked, "How come you, a little girl, like the Black Scorpion?"
Shi Yao answered truthfully: "…It's not that I like black scorpions, it's just that there was no choice. My brother likes large kites, so all the kites he bought were big. My third sister-in-law got a Fuwa, my fifth sister-in-law got a butterfly, and I got a black scorpion."
The Princess of Changning County raised her eyebrows. She saw that Shi Yao was very happy playing with the black scorpion kite today. Besides her beauty, this girl had another advantage: she had a broad mind.
That's right. If I wasn't so broad-minded, I would have been irritated to death by the favoritism of my elders and brothers in the Shi family.
Princess Ziyang was moved and turned her head to ask, "Ziyi, did you three buy the kites today?"
Tao Ziyi didn't dare to lie and answered, "Yes. It's hard to make reservations from Craftsman Song, so how can we buy one for everyone? I can only buy a few temporarily for fun."
Princess Ziyang felt extremely uncomfortable after hearing this.
Before her brother sat on the throne, she, her mother and her brother were not favored in the palace, and her father favored someone else.
She knows best how it feels to be ignored.
She smiled, took off the jade bracelet on her wrist, and slid it to Shi Yao's wrist: "Little girl, this is your first visit to pay your respects to me. This is my gift to you."
Shi Yao bowed quickly with a bright smile: "Thank you, Princess, for your generous gift!"
Princess Ziyang is old and she likes young and energetic girls the most. Unfortunately, few girls nowadays even ride horses, let alone the grand occasion of her playing polo with her girlfriends in the past.
She let go of Shi Yao's hand and urged the young girls to go play in the garden outside the pavilion. After all the female members of the Shi family had left, she turned her head and said to the Princess of Changning County:
"The Shi family is becoming more and more outrageous."
I originally didn't believe the rumor that the Shi brothers killed their sister, but today after meeting the sisters Shi Mingzhu and Shi Yao, I finally believed it.
The Princess of Changning nodded, and completely gave up the idea of marrying into the Shi family.
A group of people including the Shi family's sister-in-law and the Ge family's sister-in-law entered the garden and met the noble ladies who were having fun.
A plump, gorgeously dressed girl waved at them, "Zhuzhu, Qiuheng, come and play Qushui Liushang with us!"