Chapter 155 – Objection
Mrs Wu dearly wished to share this information with someone. So after hearing Madam Chen asking about this and viewing Madam Chen to be a keeper of secrets, she had no further qualms about sharing information. She dismissed the servants around her and began speaking about the Shen family, “…… Supposedly, Mr. Shen came to Lin’an only because he didn’t want to live with Mrs. Shen under the same roof. You say, how can a woman make a family become like this; isn’t it fruitless? On the contrary, I see Mrs Shen looking unremorseful and even haughty, like a woman who did nothing wrong. She doesn’t even have a single good thing to say about Mr Shen, and you can forget about her caring about Mr Shen’s living conditions.”
Madam Chen was appalled and asked, “Then what is Mrs Shen doing in Lin’an at this time? It’s almost the first day of the tenth month!”
Of course, Mrs Wu didn’t know the reason either, but that didn’t stop her from being curious.
A few days later, Mrs Wu came to the Yu family and she pulled Madam Chen aside and whispered, “I asked around, and that Mrs and Mr Shen, their relationship is really bad.”
Although Madam Chen wasn’t a person who actively inquired about other people’s private matters, she still liked to hear gossip that was of interest to her.
“You can even inquire about something like this?” She looked at Mrs Wu with admiration and personally peeled a tangerine for her.
“This was just coincidental.” Mrs Wu couldn’t be bothered to eat the tangerine, she only held it in her hand as she whispered to Madam Chen, “That day, after you returned home, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that you were right. You said that it’s about time for the ancestral ceremonies, so every family’s madam would be extremely busy, but Mrs Shen still had the time to travel around? I spoke to my husband, pretending not to know anything, and sent my maid to bring some home-made snacks to the local school , saying that I heard Mrs Shen was here and thus sent them to her specially. But it was such a coincidence, that my maidservant happened to see Mr and Mrs Shen quarrelling when they sent the snacks over.”
“Ah!” Madam Chen was shocked.
Mrs Wu sighed, ”My maidservant didn’t expect to see this either, and didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, all the teachers in the school had gone to teach classes, and for some reason, none of the servants were there, so there was no one else present. My maid servant was caught in a dilemma, but she heard everything that was said. Allegedly, Mrs Shen was entrusted by someone to specifically accompany a young lady from another family before coming to Lin’an.”
Madam Chen was aware of this.
She heard it from Yu Tang.
She also knew that Mrs Shen stayed in the Pei family because of this.
“Mrs Shen is going a little overboard.” Madam Chen was not in favour of Mrs. Shen’s decision and commented, “But the two are not so petty as to quarrel over this incident to the point of making their subordinates laugh at them, would they? “
Mrs Wu smiled meaningfully towards Madam Chen.
Madam Chen then asked, “Could there be something else that I’m unaware of?”
Mrs Wu smiled secretively, “You’ll know after you listen to what I have to say.”
Madam Chen was all ears.
Mrs Wu continued in a low voice, ”This was originally nothing much; who didn’t have friends and family that they had to take care of? But here’s where things got weird. As soon as Mr Shen heard about it, he exploded in anger. He pointed at Mrs Shen’s nose and accused her of hypocrisy. He even said that Mrs Shen always treated him as if he was beneath her, but now she was kowtowing to the rich and powerful, acting as if she was some kind of matchmaker. He said something like if Mrs Shen still wanted to preserve some of her dignity, she should hurry up and move out of the Pei family.”
As a woman, being heavily criticised by your husband in such way should be devastating.
Madam Chen gasped and frowned in disapproval of Mr Shen’s behaviour.
Mrs Wu sighed, “When I heard of this, I was also worried, and thought, if Mrs Shen did anything in a fit of anger, I just hope that my maidservant would be alert and strong enough to restrain Mrs Shen.”
“But who knew that Mrs Shen wasn’t someone to be taken lightly either.”
“Hearing Mr Shen’s words, instead of walking away sadly or retorting, she coldly began to evaluate and criticize Mr Shen. She said that Mr Shen was incompetent, unable to advance in officiadom, and still believed that everyone else should be like him, to stay away from the rich and powerful. But in the eyes of others, he looked like a hateful person, jealous of those who were more capable than him, but also self-righteous, feeling that he is pure and lofty, above mundane secular affairs… In short, every sentence she spoke stung, and my maidservant couldn’t remember it verbatim.”
“Perhaps Mr Shen was angered by Mrs Shen, he grabbed the tea cup next to him and threw it at Mrs Shen. He shouted that if Mrs Shen didn’t move to the local school within the next two days or return to Hangzhou city, he would personally go to the Pei family to bring her back. Mrs Shen was infuriated and mocked Mr Shen, saying he only allowed himself to be the instigator and never allowed others to take the lead. He too, had gotten friendly with the Gu Family, and this time, she’d only helped the Gu Family to handle a small task, so what’s up with his temper? It was only to cover up his incompetence, to hide his inability to curry favour with Gu family. Hmph, she wasn’t like him. She needed to carve a future for her son. If Mr Shen goes to the Pei Family, fine, so be it. Then, she would go directly to Gu Chaoyang and tell him it was Mr Shen who spoiled the arrangement. Let’s see how he would answer the Gu family, and how he would still maintain his calm in front of Gu Chaoyang!”
“Gu Chaoyang?” Madam Chen mused, “Could it be Lady Gu’s brother?”
Mrs Wu immediately squealed upon hearing her reply, disgruntledly chiding Madam Chen, “So you knew everything! How dare you pretend not to know anything in front of me! It’s in vain that I treated you as a close sister and told you everything in the first place……”
“No, no.” Madam Chen panicked.
In the past, she was bedridden and was only close to Madam Wang. All along, she never had a friend like Mrs Wu. Thus, she cherished her friendship with Mrs Wu dearly.
“I only heard it from Ah-Tang once, but I didn’t take it seriously.” She hurriedly explained, “Listening to your words, it’s only my personal speculations.”
After thinking for a moment, Mrs Wu felt that there was no need for Madam Chen to hide this from her, and that it was she herself to blamed for not asking Madam Chen properly beforehand.
She immediately forgave Madam Chen, tossing away the little bit of unhappiness in her heart, and added, “So you know too!”
“Know what?” Madam Chen asked, puzzled.
“Goodness, you don’t need to maintain courtesy, keeping to the rules or what not in front of me.” Mrs Wu said with some dissatisfaction, “I’m not that kind of talkative person, I wouldn’t share what you say with someone else. I certainly wouldn’t mention a word of it to others, I’ll keep my lips zipped. “
Madam Chen didn’t understand.
Mrs Wu unhappily continued, “Mrs Shen must have received favours from the Gu family and came here specifically to play matchmaker for Lady Gu, isn’t it?”
Madam Chen was blindsided by her words.
Mrs Wu smugly said, “I guessed it correctly, didn’t I? I told you, I’m not a gossiper either, if it wasn’t for you, I definitely wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.”
Madam Chen hurriedly interjected, “No, just where did you hear that Mrs Shen came all the way here to play matchmaker for Lady Gu? Lady Gu is also staying in the Pei Mansion. We are all mothers, even if we want to make a match for our own daughter, it’s impossible to allow her to stay in someone else’s house just like that!”
Mrs Wu carefully examined Madam Chen, and seeing that Madam Chen really wasn’t lying, she hesitantly asked, “You really don’t see it?”
Madam Chen’s head shook in confusion like a rattling drum.
Mrs Wu sighed, and said half self-deprecatingly and half amusedly, “Seeing you like this, I think I’m still quite a good judge of people. I thought you were a trustworthy person before, but it turns out that you’re simply clueless.”
Madam Chen didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.
Mrs Wu also stopped beating around the bush and explained, “Think carefully about what kind of person Mr Shen is, and then think again about what he said. Although we women are not supposed to take a man’s side, but in this case, it is Mrs Shen who acted unseemingly. Even if you want to make a future for your son, you can’t stoop so low, and humiliate Mr Shen! I don’t know if Mr Shen’s son knows about this. If he knew about it but didn’t stop his mother, I think, Mr Shen also doesn’t need to recognise this son either…….”
While Madam Chen was listening to Mrs Wu’s chatter, internally she was scrambling to figure things out. Leaving Lady Gu out of this, it seemed to be exactly what Mrs. Wu had said.
She couldn’t help but ask, ”Even if that’s the case, isn’t there anyone else to teach Lady Gu properiety? And Mrs Shen, since she was entrusted with this, did she not raise this issue with the Gu family either?”
Mrs Wu looked at Madam Chen and shook her head, saying, “I was just saying how honest-hearted you are, you’re really pure.”
Madam Chen had no idea what she was talking about.
Mrs Wu said softly, “Think about it, what kind of person is Lady Gu? She was once engaged to the Li family! Indeed Mrs Shen was following orders, but to suddenly mention a matter like this, do you think that Grand Madam Pei would agree?”
Madam Chen shook her head.
If she were Grand Madam Pei, she would definitely not accept such a daughter-in-law into her family.
Not that there was something wrong with Lady Gu, but judging from the withdrawal of marriage of the Gu and Li families, it was clear that the Gu family was stronger. The Pei and Li family were fellow neighbours, and it wasn’t that Third Master Pei couldn’t find a wife either. So why make the Li family unhappy with them just for this small matter, and create a rift between them?
Mrs Wu explained ”That’s why Mrs Shen brought Lady Gu to stay in the Pei family’s mansion! It’s merely a ploy to create a fondness for each other over time!”
Madam Chen’s eyes widened.
Although Mrs Wu’s words didn’t explain everything thoroughly, Madam Chen understood. She replied, “Then, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the Pei family’s Third Master to be engaged to the Gu family’s Eldest Lady instead?”
“I’ve heard that Lady Gu was not only virtuous, but also very beautiful.” Mrs Wu said quietly, “That Mrs Shen isn’t a fool, since she dared to intervene, she must have come to Lin’an because she felt confident.” When she finished speaking, she added, “Although my family doesn’t have a daughter at the appropriate age, and even if we did, it wouldn’t be our family’s place to marry into the Pei family either. But the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. How can that Lady Gu be good enough for Third master Pei? It is indeed a little unbecoming of Mrs Shen to do this.”
Madam Chen was uncertain. “You can’t say it like that, we all know what the Li family is like. Lady Gu is also a victim!”
Mrs Wu retorted, “Didn’t the Gu and Li family do a thorough check before arranging the marriage? It’s not like the marriage was pre-arranged when they were still infants. Still, the Gu family backed out of the marriage when the Li family ran into trouble. Clearly, the Gu family is very particular about gains and losses. With such a family like the Gu, how can they be worthy of Third Master Pei!”
Chapter 155 – Objection
Mrs Wu dearly wished to share this information with someone. So after hearing Madam Chen asking about this and viewing Madam Chen to be a keeper of secrets, she had no further qualms about sharing information. She dismissed the servants around her and began speaking about the Shen family, “…… Supposedly, Mr. Shen came to Lin’an only because he didn’t want to live with Mrs. Shen under the same roof. You say, how can a woman make a family become like this; isn’t it fruitless? On the contrary, I see Mrs Shen looking unremorseful and even haughty, like a woman who did nothing wrong. She doesn’t even have a single good thing to say about Mr Shen, and you can forget about her caring about Mr Shen’s living conditions.”
Madam Chen was appalled and asked, “Then what is Mrs Shen doing in Lin’an at this time? It’s almost the first day of the tenth month!”
Of course, Mrs Wu didn’t know the reason either, but that didn’t stop her from being curious.
A few days later, Mrs Wu came to the Yu family and she pulled Madam Chen aside and whispered, “I asked around, and that Mrs and Mr Shen, their relationship is really bad.”
Although Madam Chen wasn’t a person who actively inquired about other people’s private matters, she still liked to hear gossip that was of interest to her.
“You can even inquire about something like this?” She looked at Mrs Wu with admiration and personally peeled a tangerine for her.
“This was just coincidental.” Mrs Wu couldn’t be bothered to eat the tangerine, she only held it in her hand as she whispered to Madam Chen, “That day, after you returned home, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that you were right. You said that it’s about time for the ancestral ceremonies, so every family’s madam would be extremely busy, but Mrs Shen still had the time to travel around? I spoke to my husband, pretending not to know anything, and sent my maid to bring some home-made snacks to the local school , saying that I heard Mrs Shen was here and thus sent them to her specially. But it was such a coincidence, that my maidservant happened to see Mr and Mrs Shen quarrelling when they sent the snacks over.”
“Ah!” Madam Chen was shocked.
Mrs Wu sighed, ”My maidservant didn’t expect to see this either, and didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, all the teachers in the school had gone to teach classes, and for some reason, none of the servants were there, so there was no one else present. My maid servant was caught in a dilemma, but she heard everything that was said. Allegedly, Mrs Shen was entrusted by someone to specifically accompany a young lady from another family before coming to Lin’an.”
Madam Chen was aware of this.
She heard it from Yu Tang.
She also knew that Mrs Shen stayed in the Pei family because of this.
“Mrs Shen is going a little overboard.” Madam Chen was not in favour of Mrs. Shen’s decision and commented, “But the two are not so petty as to quarrel over this incident to the point of making their subordinates laugh at them, would they? “
Mrs Wu smiled meaningfully towards Madam Chen.
Madam Chen then asked, “Could there be something else that I’m unaware of?”
Mrs Wu smiled secretively, “You’ll know after you listen to what I have to say.”
Madam Chen was all ears.
Mrs Wu continued in a low voice, ”This was originally nothing much; who didn’t have friends and family that they had to take care of? But here’s where things got weird. As soon as Mr Shen heard about it, he exploded in anger. He pointed at Mrs Shen’s nose and accused her of hypocrisy. He even said that Mrs Shen always treated him as if he was beneath her, but now she was kowtowing to the rich and powerful, acting as if she was some kind of matchmaker. He said something like if Mrs Shen still wanted to preserve some of her dignity, she should hurry up and move out of the Pei family.”
As a woman, being heavily criticised by your husband in such way should be devastating.
Madam Chen gasped and frowned in disapproval of Mr Shen’s behaviour.
Mrs Wu sighed, “When I heard of this, I was also worried, and thought, if Mrs Shen did anything in a fit of anger, I just hope that my maidservant would be alert and strong enough to restrain Mrs Shen.”
“But who knew that Mrs Shen wasn’t someone to be taken lightly either.”
“Hearing Mr Shen’s words, instead of walking away sadly or retorting, she coldly began to evaluate and criticize Mr Shen. She said that Mr Shen was incompetent, unable to advance in officiadom, and still believed that everyone else should be like him, to stay away from the rich and powerful. But in the eyes of others, he looked like a hateful person, jealous of those who were more capable than him, but also self-righteous, feeling that he is pure and lofty, above mundane secular affairs… In short, every sentence she spoke stung, and my maidservant couldn’t remember it verbatim.”
“Perhaps Mr Shen was angered by Mrs Shen, he grabbed the tea cup next to him and threw it at Mrs Shen. He shouted that if Mrs Shen didn’t move to the local school within the next two days or return to Hangzhou city, he would personally go to the Pei family to bring her back. Mrs Shen was infuriated and mocked Mr Shen, saying he only allowed himself to be the instigator and never allowed others to take the lead. He too, had gotten friendly with the Gu Family, and this time, she’d only helped the Gu Family to handle a small task, so what’s up with his temper? It was only to cover up his incompetence, to hide his inability to curry favour with Gu family. Hmph, she wasn’t like him. She needed to carve a future for her son. If Mr Shen goes to the Pei Family, fine, so be it. Then, she would go directly to Gu Chaoyang and tell him it was Mr Shen who spoiled the arrangement. Let’s see how he would answer the Gu family, and how he would still maintain his calm in front of Gu Chaoyang!”
“Gu Chaoyang?” Madam Chen mused, “Could it be Lady Gu’s brother?”
Mrs Wu immediately squealed upon hearing her reply, disgruntledly chiding Madam Chen, “So you knew everything! How dare you pretend not to know anything in front of me! It’s in vain that I treated you as a close sister and told you everything in the first place……”
“No, no.” Madam Chen panicked.
In the past, she was bedridden and was only close to Madam Wang. All along, she never had a friend like Mrs Wu. Thus, she cherished her friendship with Mrs Wu dearly.
“I only heard it from Ah-Tang once, but I didn’t take it seriously.” She hurriedly explained, “Listening to your words, it’s only my personal speculations.”
After thinking for a moment, Mrs Wu felt that there was no need for Madam Chen to hide this from her, and that it was she herself to blamed for not asking Madam Chen properly beforehand.
She immediately forgave Madam Chen, tossing away the little bit of unhappiness in her heart, and added, “So you know too!”
“Know what?” Madam Chen asked, puzzled.
“Goodness, you don’t need to maintain courtesy, keeping to the rules or what not in front of me.” Mrs Wu said with some dissatisfaction, “I’m not that kind of talkative person, I wouldn’t share what you say with someone else. I certainly wouldn’t mention a word of it to others, I’ll keep my lips zipped. “
Madam Chen didn’t understand.
Mrs Wu unhappily continued, “Mrs Shen must have received favours from the Gu family and came here specifically to play matchmaker for Lady Gu, isn’t it?”
Madam Chen was blindsided by her words.
Mrs Wu smugly said, “I guessed it correctly, didn’t I? I told you, I’m not a gossiper either, if it wasn’t for you, I definitely wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.”
Madam Chen hurriedly interjected, “No, just where did you hear that Mrs Shen came all the way here to play matchmaker for Lady Gu? Lady Gu is also staying in the Pei Mansion. We are all mothers, even if we want to make a match for our own daughter, it’s impossible to allow her to stay in someone else’s house just like that!”
Mrs Wu carefully examined Madam Chen, and seeing that Madam Chen really wasn’t lying, she hesitantly asked, “You really don’t see it?”
Madam Chen’s head shook in confusion like a rattling drum.
Mrs Wu sighed, and said half self-deprecatingly and half amusedly, “Seeing you like this, I think I’m still quite a good judge of people. I thought you were a trustworthy person before, but it turns out that you’re simply clueless.”
Madam Chen didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.
Mrs Wu also stopped beating around the bush and explained, “Think carefully about what kind of person Mr Shen is, and then think again about what he said. Although we women are not supposed to take a man’s side, but in this case, it is Mrs Shen who acted unseemingly. Even if you want to make a future for your son, you can’t stoop so low, and humiliate Mr Shen! I don’t know if Mr Shen’s son knows about this. If he knew about it but didn’t stop his mother, I think, Mr Shen also doesn’t need to recognise this son either…….”
While Madam Chen was listening to Mrs Wu’s chatter, internally she was scrambling to figure things out. Leaving Lady Gu out of this, it seemed to be exactly what Mrs. Wu had said.
She couldn’t help but ask, ”Even if that’s the case, isn’t there anyone else to teach Lady Gu properiety? And Mrs Shen, since she was entrusted with this, did she not raise this issue with the Gu family either?”
Mrs Wu looked at Madam Chen and shook her head, saying, “I was just saying how honest-hearted you are, you’re really pure.”
Madam Chen had no idea what she was talking about.
Mrs Wu said softly, “Think about it, what kind of person is Lady Gu? She was once engaged to the Li family! Indeed Mrs Shen was following orders, but to suddenly mention a matter like this, do you think that Grand Madam Pei would agree?”
Madam Chen shook her head.
If she were Grand Madam Pei, she would definitely not accept such a daughter-in-law into her family.
Not that there was something wrong with Lady Gu, but judging from the withdrawal of marriage of the Gu and Li families, it was clear that the Gu family was stronger. The Pei and Li family were fellow neighbours, and it wasn’t that Third Master Pei couldn’t find a wife either. So why make the Li family unhappy with them just for this small matter, and create a rift between them?
Mrs Wu explained ”That’s why Mrs Shen brought Lady Gu to stay in the Pei family’s mansion! It’s merely a ploy to create a fondness for each other over time!”
Madam Chen’s eyes widened.
Although Mrs Wu’s words didn’t explain everything thoroughly, Madam Chen understood. She replied, “Then, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the Pei family’s Third Master to be engaged to the Gu family’s Eldest Lady instead?”
“I’ve heard that Lady Gu was not only virtuous, but also very beautiful.” Mrs Wu said quietly, “That Mrs Shen isn’t a fool, since she dared to intervene, she must have come to Lin’an because she felt confident.” When she finished speaking, she added, “Although my family doesn’t have a daughter at the appropriate age, and even if we did, it wouldn’t be our family’s place to marry into the Pei family either. But the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. How can that Lady Gu be good enough for Third master Pei? It is indeed a little unbecoming of Mrs Shen to do this.”
Madam Chen was uncertain. “You can’t say it like that, we all know what the Li family is like. Lady Gu is also a victim!”
Mrs Wu retorted, “Didn’t the Gu and Li family do a thorough check before arranging the marriage? It’s not like the marriage was pre-arranged when they were still infants. Still, the Gu family backed out of the marriage when the Li family ran into trouble. Clearly, the Gu family is very particular about gains and losses. With such a family like the Gu, how can they be worthy of Third Master Pei!”
