Chapter 38 What Sorcery Did Fourth Brother Use?
Standing in front of Wang Shouzhe was a middle-aged woman dressed in an exquisite manner. She wore a pearl hairpin in her hair and a jade bracelet on her wrist. She was wearing high-heeled boots with rolled tips and a luxurious, colorful cloud-patterned silk dress. She looked like a noblewoman from the city.
In addition, she had also meticulously groomed herself before coming over. Her face was powdered, and her lips were colored with red. She did not look like someone in her forties at all, but like a mature woman in her late twenties. It could be seen that she usually took good care of herself. Moreover, Eldest Brother Wang Shouxin must have doted on her very much and indulged her a lot. However, her eyes were a little red. Clearly, she had been crying not long ago. What was extremely rare was that she was holding onto a large bamboo basket, which was covered with a red cloth. Seeing that Wang Shouzhe was so polite, Madam Xu’s originally anxious emotions and the hostility dissipated slightly. She immediately curtsied in return properly, “Greetings, Fourth Brother-in-law.”
“Eldest Sister-in-law, you are too polite.” Wang Shouzhe smiled very sincerely. “Eldest Sister-in-law, come here. Please come to the side hall to rest. It just so happens that Mother is here too.” As he spoke, he politely led Madam Xu into the side hall.
Madam Xu’s expression tensed. When she saw Gongsun Hui, she hurriedly bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Madam Hui.” She had always been proud and arrogant. As a direct daughter of the Xu Clan of Changning, she had the mentality that she was marrying below her status to Wang Shouxin. However, no matter how proud she was, she did not dare to put on airs in front of the main daughter of the Gongsun Clan of Shanyang
Moreover, Madam Gongsun was wife to the former patriarch, the legitimate mother of the current patriarch, and her elder!
“Oh, looks like someone from Shouxin’s family is here. What brings you here?” There was a hint of forcefulness in Gongsun Hui’s words, but she was all smiles as she said, “Come in, come in, sit down and talk. You’ve come at the right time to try the Little Spirit of Shanyang that Shouzhe’s grandfather planted personally.”
She put on the tone of an elder and used the words “Shouxin’s family” to directly emphasize the fact that Madam Xu was Wang Shouxin’s wife. Clearly, there was a hint of warning
“No, no, no. How could I sit in front of Madam Hui?” Madam Xu smiled awkwardly. She didn’t expect Madam Gongsun to be here as well. If she did, she would never have dared to find Wang Shouzhe at this moment.
Moreover, the tea that the mother and son drank sounded like spirit tea. With her status in Xu Clan of Changning, how could she possibly get to drink spirit tea? As for after she married Wang Shouxin, that was even more out of the question…
“Fourth Brother-in-law, you’re the mainstay of the clan.” Madam Xu gave a slightly ingratiating smile and handed over the basket in her hand. “I just saw that cultivation is usually so tiring for you, so I brought you some fresh ingredients to nourish your body. I won’t disturb the conversation between mother and son anymore…”
With that, she put down the basket and prepared to leave.
“Sister-in-law, wait a moment.” Wang Shouzhe smiled and stopped her. “It’s rare for you to come over to my place. Have some tea first. Moreover, I haven’t seen Brother Shouxin in a long time. I heard that he happened to have something on and returned to the main residence. I’ll get my manservant to invite him over so that we can have a meal to catch up.”
“This…” Madam Xu was rather overwhelmed by the favor, but she looked at Gongsun Hui with some trepidation.
“Shouzhe is Wang Clan’s Patriarch. If he wants you to sit, you may sit.” Gongsun Hui’s attitude became slightly more amiable.
Only then did Madam Xu sit down hesitantly. Although she was dressed luxuriously, before Gongsun Hui, who was dressed rather plainly, it didn’t give her a regal air at all.
Wang Shouzhe summoned Wang Gui and instructed, “Inform the main kitchen to cook a large portion of the swine that Fourth Old Master sent over. Don’t stew the meat for too long. In addition, find a chef with good culinary skills to set up a small stove in our courtyard, and cut two catties of Spirit Horn Yak meat. Oh, and bring over that pot of spirit wine as well. You can do whatever you want with the other fresh fruits and vegetables.”
“Yes, Patriarch. By the way, Sixth Master sent someone to put a fresh Crimson-scaled Eel into the clan’s ice cellar. The most precious spirit eel blood was also processed into blood tofu. He said that you captured it yourself, Patriarch. It belongs to your private stash of ingredients, and only you may eat it,” Wang Gui reminded from the side.
“Heh, ignore his words.” Wang Shouzhe smiled and said, “Cut a section from the prime mid-section of the Crimson-scaled Eel, and bring over the blood tofu as well. The rest can be stored in the public stash and distributed according to needs for everyone for a change of taste. After you’ve made the arrangements, go and invite Big Brother Shouxin over.”
“Yes, Patriarch.” Wang Gui received the order and retreated.
“Fourth Brother-in-law, this… this is too sumptuous… It’s too expensive for you.” Madam Xu’s body was trembling. She said weakly, “Make it simpler, simpler.”
“Sister-in-law, what are you saying? Wang Shouxin is my big brother, and you are my eldest sister-in-law. It’s rare for us to gather as a family for meals. How can we just eat simply?” Wang Shouzhe personally took a teacup and poured Madam Xu a cup of spiritual tea. “Sister-in-law, try this Little Spirit of Shanyang first. Drink it while it’s hot for the best effects.”
Madam Xu took a sip of tea while trembling. The bitterness and unique flavor of the spirit tea struck her heart. For a moment, she felt like crying
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In the 19 years she had been a daughter of the Xu Clan of Changning, and the 21 years she had married into the Wang Clan of Ping’an, she had never had the fortune to drink a cup of spirit tea. This was the first cup of spirit tea in her life, and Wang Shouzhe was actually the one who offered it to her.
Originally, when she came here, she was already prepared to beg him. If it really didn’t work out, she was prepared to make a scene and shout abuses in public to blow up the matter, and alert all the clansmen.
For the sake of her son, she could not care about anything else, and was willing to risk all her dignity.
However, she had never expected that Wang Shouzhe, as a distinguished main descendant of the clan and Patriarch, would actually treat her, his eldest sister-in-law, with such respect. “Fourth Brother-in-law, about that…” In an instant, Madam Xu felt that she couldn’t quite mention the matter. Wang Shouzhe had been so friendly to her and her husband. Perhaps things had a chance of turning around for the matter.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, you are talking about that child Zongwei, right?” Wang Shouzhe did not intend to avoid this question at all. Instead, he smiled and said, “I already have plans for this matter. Let’s talk about it when Big Brother comes later. Eldest Sister-in-law, have some snacks to fill yourself first.”
“Yes.” Madam Xu hurriedly swallowed her words. Judging from Wang Shouzhe’s attitude, it didn’t seem like he intended to keep dealing with the matter severely. However, she still felt a little uneasy.
Not long after, the clan’s cook arrived. After paying her respects to Wang Shouzhe, she was about to start a fire in the small kitchen in the courtyard when she was stopped by Wang Shouzhe. “There’s no need to go to all that trouble. Just slice the fresh ingredients. Slice the Spirit Yak beef and the Crimson-scaled Eel into thin slices and place them on the plate, the thinner the better. In addition, use top-grade charcoal to make a brazier. Also, prepare a clean copper basin, clear water, and some salt.”
Although the cook was confused, she did not dare to disobey the patriarch’s order. She naturally followed his instructions.
“Zhe’er, what are you doing?” Gongsun Hui asked curiously. “Why are you making a brazier on such a hot day?”
“Mother, you’ll find out in a while,” said Wang Shouzhe with a smile. “This is a method of cooking that I’ve seen in ancient books. It’s creative and very delicious.” “You’re getting more and more confusing. Just don’t waste precious spirit food.” Gongsun Hui suppressed her curiosity and held Madam Xu’s hand, asking about her well-being. She was very surprised by Wang Shouzhe’s methods of dealing with the matter of Wang Zongwei. At least he wasn’t suppressing it with brute force using his authority as Patriarch.
However, based on her understanding of Madam Xu, she wouldn’t give up so easily. Hence, Gongsun Hui was even more curious about how her son would deal with the subsequent matters.
After a while, Wang Shouxin hurriedly rushed over under Wang Gui’s lead. Once he entered the house, his expression turned cold and angry. He berated Madam Xu, “You ignorant housewife, how dare you… how dare you come and find Shouzhe…”
Wang Shouxin was already 43 years old this year. He had a square face and a beard, looking rather imposing even without anger.
Unexpectedly, his tactic did not work on Madam Xu at all. Her temper, which had been suppressed by Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui, erupted all of a sudden. “Wang Shouxin! What kind of bullsh*t are you talking about? Zongwei is already in such a state. How can I not beg your brother to let him off? Zongwei is my son. How can I just watch while he’s beaten to death by you? Or watch while his future is robbed by that good-for… that Wang Luotong?”
Normally, she would already have blurted out the ‘good-for-nothing’. However, in front of Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui, she absolutely did not dare to say it. She swallowed it back at the last moment.
“Y-y-you… Shouzhe is Patriarch. Moreover, that little bastard deserves to be beaten and punished,” Wang Shouxin said angrily with a flushed face. “If you hadn’t protected him, I would have…”
However, this tactic of his clearly could not suppress Madam Xu.
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“Eldest Sister-in-law, Big brother.” To prevent their argument from escalating, Wang Shouzhe immediately waved his hand and stopped them. “We’re all family. What’s the point of arguing? Sit down and eat first. We can talk about it while we eat.”
“Yes, Brother-in-law.” Madam Xu immediately put away her shrewish air docilely. After sitting down obediently, she said gently, “I’ll listen to Brother-in-law. We’re family. No arguments. Let’s be reasonable.”
“Hss!”
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On the side, Wang Shouxin gasped, his heart filled with shock and bewilderment. Did his fourth brother use some kind of spell? This was the first time he had seen Madam Xu so docile and obedient in his entire life. She had instantly suppressed her violent temper and was even being reasonable now?