My Stepmother is Soft and Charming

Chapter 96 Mystery

“What’s the matter, Ping’er? It’s your sixth uncle.”

Xue Niang didn't know about the previous conflict between her brother and sister-in-law, so it was particularly strange.

　　Why did my nephew react like this? So he looked at the sister-in-law beside him.

 But the sister-in-law acted much calmer. She glanced at her son, touched his head and said.

 “Don’t be afraid, it’s Uncle Liu.”

Her tone was gentle and comforting. Shang Zhiping felt slightly relieved when she mentioned it, but he still looked at the door worriedly.

 I don’t want this sixth uncle to come in at all.

"come in."

Sister-in-law Liu called out to the door, and then she saw Shang Ji walking in.

 The face is a little solemn, but the steps are firm.

 “Sister-in-law.”

"Um."

 The conversation between the two was much less than before, and there was also an inexplicable coldness to it.

Xue Niang is not stupid. After noticing that something seemed not right, she glanced at Shang Zhiping and then said.

"How about I take Ping'er out for a walk? Brother Six, you can talk to my sister-in-law."

"good."

  “No need.”

 The two of them spoke at the same time, and Xue Niang was a little embarrassed, not knowing who to listen to.

 But before the sister-in-law could speak, Shang Ji spoke first.

 “We are all one family, stay, I have something to say with you.”

Hearing this, the sister-in-law finally raised her head and looked at Shang Ji, with some uncertainty in her eyes.

 But then he acquiesced, glanced at Xue Niang, and she walked over and closed the door.

 In the room, there was no longer the warmth just now. After Shang Ji appeared, there was more coldness and rejection.

　　Not to mention Shang Ji himself, even Xue Niang felt it.

There were four cups of tea on the table, but no one took a sip from them.

The silence made Xue Niang feel a little embarrassed. Just when she was thinking about whether to say a few words, she heard Shang Ji speak.

"Today in Yunjin Courtyard, there was a fight between the third and fifth bedrooms. They were fighting for the right to become a concubine in Prince Min's Mansion. Mrs. Wei invited Mrs. Du to come over. After that, the fifth uncle said something exciting and wanted to beat Wei. Madam, she hit her with a sapphire bottle instead."

 “Now life and death are unknown…”

 When he heard this, his elder sister-in-law Liu was quite shocked, let alone the two children.

She has been married into the Duke's palace for more than ten years, and has the most interactions with Mrs. Wei in Dongyuan.

I never knew she would be so cruel!

She also knows how abominable the fifth old man is, but now his life and death are unknown?

 “What about others? Are they still recovering from their injuries in the house?”

 Sister-in-law asked the key.

"No, Mrs. Wei sent Wulang to Zhuangzi outside the city about two hours ago because he had a strange disease and might be contagious."

 “Wulang? What’s the matter with him here?”

“I heard that he suddenly suffered from a serious illness in Yunjin Courtyard. His whole body was covered with herpes, and he looked very scary.”

Hearing this, both Ping'er and Xue Niang looked frightened, and they felt very scared without even thinking about it.

But the sister-in-law Liu felt that it was not simple. She raised her eyes and looked at Shang Ji. After being silent for a short while, she asked.

 “Did the younger siblings do it?”

"Yeah." She seemed to have understood a lot of things after saying this, but the Snow Lady and Heping'er next to her still looked confused.

The sister-in-law was still thinking about whether to continue, but Shang Ji said bluntly.

“You two are thirteen and fourteen. It sounds like you are about to become adults. There is no need to do everything between you. Today I will make it clear at once.”

"Last time, I had the steward beaten to death, and people from the fifth house came to make a fuss. Du Shi just scolded her a few times and gave away a hundred taels of silver. In response to this, the sister-in-law and everyone in Dongyuan They all had quite a bit of criticism.”

"But I asked her afterward, and she didn't hide it. She told me about the medicine she put on the silver. The medicine came from the Western Regions and would cause people to develop some terrible rashes. It looked like they were suffering from an epidemic. The symptoms are normal, but it takes a longer time for the attack to occur, so it was only today that she started to introduce it, and only then did she get involved in the matter of Mrs. Wei evacuating all the five houses for this reason. "

"In the past, Mrs. Wei indulged in three houses and five houses to suppress Dongyuan. I think you all know what the purpose is. It is really laborious for my sister-in-law to protect Dongyuan. But I still say the same thing, you can't protect them all your life. They should always be allowed to grow up and experience and face ups and downs on their own.”

"Based on this matter alone, I think she did a good job. Now Mrs. Wei and the fifth room have enmity, and the third room also has some criticisms of her, but Dongyuan is not involved in this matter, so it seems It turns out that what she wants to do can actually be done.”

 These words spoke to the hearts of the three of them.

They were all silent, not knowing how to answer.

Xue Niang didn’t expect that Sister-in-law Six would look so sweet and kind, but she would show no mercy at all when she moved her hands.

 As for my sister-in-law, she was thinking more about it.

Thinking about the causes and consequences of this matter, her arrangements these days, and the changes in attitudes of Butler He and Aunt Dou.

 Shang Zhiping is much simpler.

“For this matter, I spoke a little too much and hurt my sister-in-law’s heart. It’s my fault. I ask my sister-in-law to forgive me.”

After finishing speaking, he stood up and gave a respectful fist-cup salute to his sister-in-law Liu, which made her feel a little ashamed of herself.

 These days, she is actually reflecting on herself, why did she have such thoughts?

If her husband is still alive, the family is harmonious, her son is smart, and she has the power to run the family, she will feel that she will be a virtuous sister-in-law.

 But once she lost power, the roof leaked and she had to live on a string at all times.

 Everyone thinks there is something wrong or fishy.

 Over time, I started to get sick in my heart.

 In the end, I still don’t want to give up on Dongyuan’s authority.

Even though I generously gave it to Du Jingyi at the beginning, I felt somewhat unwilling to do so.

 That's why after Wufang came to cause trouble, he came to the door and wanted to take back the power without asking any questions.

Only then would he be dissatisfied with Shang Ji who came to the door and wanted to explain the matter.

 Behind this, she still felt that this was the only thing she could hold.

If it is gone, then there is really nothing.

 Sad, deplorable, and ridiculous.

 After a moment of silence, the elder sister-in-law Liu sighed.

 When he raised his eyes again, he was less entangled than before and replied quite sincerely.

“I understand what my sixth brother means. I will discuss this matter with my brothers and sisters when I find time.”

"Um."

Shang Ji also saw that his sister-in-law didn't want to talk any more, so he naturally sat for a while and then left.

 After he left, Shang Zhiping let out a long sigh of relief.

Xue Niang saw that his face lacked any enthusiasm or cheerfulness that a young man should have, and she also lamented, not knowing how to express it.

 It was quiet all night, and when the morning glow of the next day fell on the flowers, plants and trees in the Duke's Mansion, it was as if what happened yesterday had never happened.

Life goes on as usual.

 But Xitangyuan welcomed a person whom he had not seen for a long time.

 (End of this chapter)