"What is all the noise outside!"
At this moment, Fang Jingde, who was inside the room, finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up.
As soon as Fang Qingqing entered, she couldn't wait to tattle to her father. "It is all Su Zhenzhu's fault. She was supposed to be sorting Buddha rice in the Buddhist hall, but she ran out on her own and refuses to admit it..."
"Enough, enough."
Fang Jingde interrupted her impatiently. He was already feeling unwell, and hearing Fang Qingqing's piercing voice made his head throb with pain again.
Just then, a cup of tea suddenly appeared by his hand.
The temperature of the water was just right, neither too cold nor too hot, perfect for drinking.
He turned his head in surprise and saw that it was Su Zhenzhu who had handed it to him. The tear stains on the girl's face hadn't even faded. She gave him a small smile before hurriedly lowering her head.
Both of them had been called in, yet his own daughter didn't care about her father's health at all and only focused on making a scene. Instead, it was the outsider, the one being complained about, who was considerate of him.
As the warm tea went down his throat, Fang Jingde felt the pain in his chest ease. Looking at his daughter's defiant face, he couldn't help but reprimand her:
"Zhenzhu is a guest. Yelling and shouting at a guest like that, do you have any manners at all!"
"What kind of guest is she?" Fang Qingqing rolled her eyes mercilessly and said disdainfully, "What kind of guest shamelessly freeloads at someone else's house..."
"Keep your mouth shut."
Fang Jingde cut her off, though his tone wasn't harsh. He turned to Su Zhenzhu and said:
"Qingqing has been spoiled rotten. She speaks without a filter, so please don't take her words to heart."
"You are taking it too seriously. Qingqing and I grew up together, so I know what she is like. How could I take her angry words to heart?"
Despite saying this, Su Zhenzhu sneered inwardly.
Fang Qingqing had said these kinds of angry words countless times, both openly and covertly, and had even said much worse things. Her ears had grown calluses from hearing them, but she could only endure it.
Who was born thick-skinned? It was all a result of practice.
Sometimes, when she couldn't help but cry from grievance under her covers at night, she would remember her father boasting about their family's past glory. If the Su family and the Fang family were of equal social standing, would Fang Qingqing still dare to insult her like this?
A fantasy was just a fantasy.
When she woke up the next day, her family would still be as poor as dirt.
Faced with Fang Qingqing's bullying, she couldn't fight back directly; she could only play little tricks behind her back.
Meanwhile, Fang Jingde was very satisfied with the submissiveness and tolerance Su Zhenzhu displayed.
He was quite traditional.
He absolutely despised those so-called new women who were so highly praised nowadays.
Showing their faces in public just like men, fighting and competing, making a huge fuss over the slightest grievance, and causing endless trouble between their marital and maiden families, what a disgrace.
In his opinion, a girl like Su Zhenzhu, who could honor her parents-in-law, tolerate her sister-in-law, and manage the household mildly and meekly on a daily basis, was the perfect candidate for a daughter-in-law.
Fang Jingde felt a bit regretful.
It was just a pity that her family background was too poor.
Could he really let his son call a street swindler his father-in-law and be the brother-in-law to a street thug?
However, he had watched her grow up, and they did have a marriage contract. He couldn't just do Zhenzhu wrong like that. After pondering over and over, Fang Jingde came up with a good idea.
Su Zhenzhu was not worthy of the position of the primary wife, but being a concubine was acceptable. The family of a concubine wouldn't be considered relatives, so it wouldn't bring shame to his son or the family.
Believing he had thought of a perfect solution that satisfied both sides, Fang Jingde felt his mood brighten.
For a moment, even his frustration over being undercut dissipated quite a bit.
Thus, when he heard Su Zhenzhu say she had something to do and needed to go home for a trip, he didn't make things difficult for her. It was fine for her to go back first. Once Lin'er returned to the country, they could go ahead and hold the wedding. Taking a concubine didn't need to be grand, but it still required proper etiquette.
Su Zhenzhu felt that the way Fang Jingde looked at her was very strange.
How should she put it? It was a bit like how he looked at Fang Qingqing, but not quite as gentle. In short, it gave her the creeps.
After pondering for a while and failing to figure it out, she stopped thinking about it.
The important thing now was to go home and discuss with her father and brother how to smoothly marry into the Fang family.
Oh, and while she was at it, she needed to ask about the origins of this newly emerged relative.
God bless, hopefully they weren't here to seek refuge with them.
Their family was already poor enough; they absolutely couldn't afford to feed another mouth!
