Chapter 230 Perish that thought
After Lin shi finished saying that, Shu Huan lowered her eyes, old madam didn’t make a sound and Fang shi just looked confused at them. One could only hear Gu Yuan and Gu Nian babbling some incomprehensible baby language in the whole room.Shi: clan
After a long time, one could hear that old madam seemed to be feeling uncomfortable. She hummed twice and said something unexpected, "I'm old, my mind is muddled. Don’t ask me about these things. Xiran is experienced and knowledgeable and little Huan is managing the household affairs. They must have great ideas, you can discuss it with them."
Lin shi suddenly widened her eyes and looked somewhat in disbelief at old madam.
These years, old madam had become increasingly reliant on Shu Huan and treated her in an amiable manner. Sometimes, she would throw a tantrum in front of Shu Huan, waiting for her (SH) to coax and appease her (OM). She was like a stubborn child; troublesome but also affectionate.
Lin shi took all of this in her eyes and was jealous in the heart, because old madam had never treated her like that. She (OM) had always put her (OM) mother-in-law's attitude in front of her (L). This made her do and speak cautiously like a mouse that saw a cat!
Now that she had finally found a chance or better said she thought that old madam had always adored Gu Xihe the most, so when she (OM) heard that he wanted to marry a maid, she (OM) would surely be even more furious than her (L). It was even possible that she (OM) would lose her temper and scold Shu Huan on the spot. She (L) was waiting to see this scene but who had thought that old madam just said such a light sentence and concluded this matter, and even asked her (L) to discuss her son's marriage with Gu Xiran and Shu Huan?!
How could this be?!
As Lin shi was astonished, she blurted her thoughts out, "How can this be?!"
Old madam looked at her annoyingly and asked, "Why not?"
Lin shi was at a loss for words and glared for a long time before she said, "Master is not here anymore but Xihe still has you, his grandmother and I, his birth mother. How is it up to his big brother and sister-in-law to decide his marriage."
Old madam frowned and said, "Don’t you understand what I had just said? I said to go discuss it with them. Do you understand what the word 'discuss' mean? If you are not satisfied with their choice of prospective spouse, you can discuss it again. There's no one forcing you to agree!"
That was a way to say it but if old madam didn’t want to get involved in this, wouldn't it be fine if she just leave this matter to her (L)? Why should Gu Xiran and Shu Huan get involved?
Lin shi was angry and wanted to say something but saw that old madam was tired of this and turned her (OM) face to the inside, showing only the back of her head and didn’t want to interact with her (L) at all.
Years of experience told her that it was best not to continue to tangle on this matter endlessly at this moment. Otherwise, old madam would be annoyed and would directly yell at her without leaving a bit of face. So she had just shut her mouth tightly and looked angrily at Shu Huan to see what she (SH) had to say.
Shu Huan wasn't in a rush to go away this time and sat down at the bedside of old madam's bed. While she extended her forefinger to let Gu Yuan play with, she lowered her eyes and said absent-mindedly, "I think Shang Xin is not bad."
The impact of these words was the same as poking a bee's nest with a branch.
Lin shi was so angry that her face was flushed with redness. She totally disregarded the presence of old madam and scolded Shu Huan in the face, "What do you mean by that?! Your maid is misbehaving. You don’t punish her and sell her off but still protect her and praise her? You are purely trying to get Xihe to marry a maid and let other people make fun of him, aren't you?"
Shu Huan's expression didn't change. She ignored her (L) and only said, "Liangchen, take the children away. The weather is hot, so it's easy to get angry. When you go out, ask the maids outside to pour a cup of herbal tea for madam."
Liangchen immediately responded and took the two children out together with the wet nurse. Instantly, a maid brought in a cup of herbal tea and put it on the small table next to Lin shi.
Lin shi was so oppressed by Shu Huan that her face became green from anger. It only missed fire coming out of the nostrils. However, when she (L) saw old madam resting with her eyes closed, showed no interest and gave a look of 'don’t want to be disturbed', she didn’t dare to raise her voice again, so she just held her breath, took the herbal tea and drank it in one gulp.
Shu Huan's revealed a smile and softly said, "Madam, didn’t you say that you were feeling uncomfortable a few days ago? You should take good care of yourself and don’t get angry about trivial matters."
Lin shi opened her mouth and wanted to refute but Shu Huan just pretended she didn’t see it and said, "Shang Xin is my maid. I know the best what kind of person she is. Madam might not like to hear this but this maid is really nice. All these years, I have only seen Xihe come to me to look for her, make her talk and make her happy but I haven't seen her take the initiative to go look for Xihe. Therefore, to say that she seduced Xihe, that's total nonsense. Madam, don’t listen to other people's groundless rumors and wrong her."
"I wronged her?!" Lin shi unconsciously raised her voice again but when she saw old madam's body moved, she was so in panic that she suppressed her voice again, strongly holding her anger back, she said, "Which well-behaved girl would hang out with a man all day long? Even if Xihe went to her first, she should just ignore him!"
Shu Huan raised her eyebrow slightly and looked surprised at Lin shi. She said, "She is a maid and not a daughter of an important family. If she ignores Xihe, I'm afraid others will say that the maid I brought with me is impolite and even looks down on fourth young master."
Lin shi was stumped for words that she couldn’t speak for a while and only stared. In the end, she turned her head away and said, "Perish that thought! I won't let him marry your maid, she's not worthy!"
She (L) was still holding back. There were still words that she didn’t say out. Actually, she had always thought that Shu Huan had been struck by luck. Otherwise, not to mention the lowly status of the maid Shang Xin, even Shu Huan, such a daughter of a poor family, wasn’t worthy of marrying into the family.
Shu Huan naturally knew what she (L) meant but didn’t point it out bluntly. She just raised the corners of her lips to a faint smile and said, "Madam seems to have misinterpreted my meaning. Why should I hope for Shang Xin to marry Xihe? To me, whoever marries Xihe is the same, she is my little sister-in-law. As long as they love each other and have a happy life, I will be happy for them."
Certainly not! Lin shi silently cursed in her heart. She (L) thought that Shu Huan wanted Shang Xin to marry Xihe was because she (SH) didn’t want her sister-in-law to have a higher social status than her (SH). Otherwise, it couldn’t be said for sure who would be in charge and manage the household in the future! But she only dared to say these words in her heart, she didn’t dare speak it out. Because it was a small matter to be scolded by old madam, but she (L) and Gu Xihe still had to rely on Gu Xiran for a living now. If she offended them too much, what should she do if their support were cut off?
Shu Huan couldn’t guess these vile and despicable thoughts of her (L) and just continued to say, "When I said that Shang Xin is good, I was just stating a fact. But I never said that because she is good, she should marry Xihe. The reason is simple. Not to mention that madam doesn’t want to, maybe she (SX) doesn’t want it too!"
Lin shi was blasted by her (SH) last words. She immediately stood up and exclaimed, "What do you mean by that? She is a maid. She should thank God and the deities if she can be officially married into Gu household and climb to a higher social status! Why wouldn’t she be willing? Or do you look down on Xihe and is belittling him, thinking that even a maid wouldn't fancy him and is unwilling to marry him?"