Chapter 92: Unlucky Gift
Bai secretly hated her. This old lady was too ungrateful. Bai glared at the Shen Zhen sisters viciously and reluctantly took Zhu Minglan and Zhu Mingjuan out.
"Mother, don't be anxious. Think about the purpose of our visit today," Zhu Mingjuan said timidly to her stepmother.
Bai stabbed him with a dagger in her eyes. "You'd better do it for me. If something goes wrong, I won't forgive you, and your sick aunt won't live either."
Zhu Mingjuan lowered her head, a trace of hatred flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it and replied: "Yes, Mingjuan will listen to mother in everything."
The banquet was about to begin, and Mrs. Song stood up and led everyone to the front hall. Mrs. Song and Song Che were already in the front hall to greet the guests.
Many people came forward to present gifts. Some gave ginseng, and some gave corals and jade pendants, all of which were very valuable.
Song Rou gave her father a sword that she had made herself. Song Xun loved the sword very much. Aside from the fact that it was the first gift his daughter had given him, the sword was indeed a good one.
The Zhu family had prepared simpler things, just two rolls of silk. When Bai came up with the two rolls of silk, Old Lady Song's face turned black.
This silk was a fashionable style two years ago, with bright colors, which are girls' favorite colors. Now it's to celebrate General Song's return home, so what's the matter with you giving a piece of cloth for women? These old ladies can turn a blind eye to it.
What's even more hateful is that the two pieces of cloth were brought back from Jiangnan by the second son Song Che, and there were only two pieces in total, one for Song Rou and one for Song Yu. But the Zhu family saw it, and Bai used all kinds of moral blackmail on the spot, saying that her father-in-law, the elder brother of Old Lady Song, had sacrificed a lot for Old Lady Song, and now that Old Lady Song was rich, she couldn't forget her family, etc. In the end, Bai insisted on getting the two pieces of cloth and took them back to the Zhu family.
But she didn't expect to be seen by Master Zhu and his concubine Liu when she returned to Zhu's mansion. Liu was very favored at that time and acted like a spoiled child and asked Master Zhu to give her the two pieces of cloth. Master Zhu was dazzled by Liu and forcibly snatched the cloth from Bai and gave it to Liu.
Before Liu had the cloth for the night, she was poisoned to death by Zhu Mingyang, who was only 11 years old at the time, who bribed his servants. The two pieces of cloth returned to Bai's hands, but they were kept in the warehouse because they were considered unlucky.
When Bai came to the banquet today, she just went to the storehouse and took two pieces of cloth at random. She didn't remember the origin of the cloth at all. But Old Lady Song remembered it very clearly. She later asked Zhu Mingyang why she had never seen them wearing clothes made of the two pieces of cloth, and Zhu Mingyang let it slip.
Old Mrs. Song asked Mrs. Zhao to call Bai to the side hall next door.
As soon as she saw Bai, Old Lady Song slapped her hard, but she still couldn't calm down her anger.
Bai was stunned and said aggrievedly, "Aunt, what are you doing? Are you dissatisfied with the Zhu family's gift? You can't blame me. Ever since my eldest sister-in-law sold the Zhu family's property, the Zhu family has been unable to make ends meet. This is the best material picked out from the warehouse."
"Shut up, Bai. I have turned a blind eye to your father-in-law's kindness over the years. He has given you so many good things. But look at what you ungrateful people have done. Not to mention that Mingyang pushed Mingyue into trouble not long ago and blamed Rouer for it. Just for what happened today, I want to beat you to death. You snatched the cloth from Rouer two years ago, but it fell into Liu's hands. After Liu was poisoned to death by Mingyang, you took the cloth back. Today is a good day. My son and I have been reunited after more than ten years of separation, but you are bringing bad luck by taking something belonging to a dead person. Leave now and don't come to the Song Mansion again." Old Lady Song said with gritted teeth.
Bai was confused. She didn't even remember that these were the two pieces of cloth that Liu had snatched away. She quickly admitted her mistake and said, "Aunt, I'm wrong. I didn't mean to do that. It was Xue who sold them..."
Old Song raised his hand to interrupt her, "Don't keep saying that Xue sold off the Zhu family's property. What she sold was her own dowry, which has nothing to do with your Zhu family. Her dowry was squandered by you ungrateful people for so many years, and in the end you almost killed her own daughter. It was Xue's kindness that she didn't ask you to spit it out. You should take this unlucky thing back quickly."
Bai was unwilling to give in and said, "Aunt, if we go back halfway, what will outsiders say about our Zhu family? We will leave after the banquet is over."
Old Mrs. Song didn't say anything, just snorted and walked away.
Mrs. Bai looked at Old Lady Song's back grimly and snorted, "You are so arrogant. If something happens to your eldest son later, you won't be able to be arrogant anymore."
It was the turn of the Shen Zhen sisters to present gifts. Shen Zhi picked up a box with both hands and handed it to General Song. When General Song saw the picture on the box, his eyes lit up. Wasn't this the military telescope that General Zhan had shown off in front of them? Oh, he actually had one too. General Song quickly gave it to the housekeeper Ah Fu, asking him to take it to the study and telling him not to break it.
Everyone was very curious. What kind of gift was this? It didn't look expensive. Why was General Song so happy?
The banquet began, and as usual, the area was divided into men's and women's areas.
The servants brought various dishes and drinks to the table in an orderly manner. Old Mrs. Song arranged for Shen Zhen and her sister to sit at the same table with the Song family, and instructed Mother Zhao to serve the two sisters. She was enthusiastic and made the two of them feel very comfortable.
Zhu Minglan and Zhu Mingjuan were both at the outermost table, staring at the Shen sisters with unfriendly faces. "Humph, mother, where are those two country girls from? Why do the Song family treat them so highly?" Zhu Minglan asked Bai angrily.
Bai sneered: "Who cares who she is? After today's matter is done, we will be the guests of honor in the future." After that, she stared at Zhu Mingjuan and warned her with her eyes.
A maid came over to pour tea for the guests one by one. Zhu Mingjuan deliberately turned around and bumped into the maid's arm, causing most of the hot tea to spill on herself.
"Oh, you dead girl, how are you working? Do you want to scald the third young lady of our Zhu family with such hot water?" Bai scolded the little maid loudly.
The little maid was so aggrieved that she cried. It was obviously Miss Zhu San who bumped into her on purpose. She also saw the fleeting smile of success on Miss Zhu San's face. However, as a servant, she could only kneel down and apologize and beg for mercy. The Bai family refused to give in and slapped the little maid a few times.
Mrs. Song's good mood was instantly ruined by Mrs. Bai. Mrs. Song hurried over to persuade her, "Don't be angry, cousin. Let Miss Three go to the guest room to change clothes."
Only then did Bai stop and told the maid next to her to take Zhu Mingjuan to the guest room next door to change clothes.