Rebirth: Contract Husband Falls in Love with Me-Chapter 504 - 258: A Mother’s Command

Shi Fengju’s eyes suddenly grew heavy, and he said indifferently, "Leave it be for now. I will speak to my mother about it!"

Mrs. Li, upon hearing this, naturally felt delighted on the inside. She promptly agreed and called for the maids to fetch water for Shi Fengju to wash his face and hands and change his clothes. She also sent someone to the small kitchen to check on how the meal preparations were going.

With Sang Wan gone, Ningyuan became much quieter. Mrs. Li and Xingzhi were not the talkative type, and only Liu Ya was chirpy and loved to laugh. Having finished discussing serious matters with Mrs. Li, Shi Fengju had nothing more to say. He had even less desire to interact with the maids. When Sang Wan was around, they used to chat and laugh together, but now both she and Liu Ya were gone, the others only moved softly and silently, undertaking their tasks without daring to make a sound, filling the room with an inexplicable tension.

Shi Fengju also felt extremely awkward. At mealtime, he sent away the maids, leaving a large table of dishes for himself alone with only a bowl and a pair of chopsticks—no delicacies could evoke any taste. After eating carelessly, he simply went to the study, and didn’t bother returning in the evening. He sent someone to inform Mrs. Li and stayed the night in Ningyuan.

After Sang Wan left, Mrs. Wang paid close attention to Ningyuan and was somewhat displeased upon learning that Shi Fengju had spent the night in the study. His wife didn’t return and neither did he?

The next day, when Shi Fengju came to pay his respects, Mrs. Wang, without any preamble, directly said to him, "Fengju, you wouldn’t be holding a grudge against your mother, would you? Miss Wan herself said she wanted to go to the manor for a short stay to recuperate, it wasn’t your mother who sent her away. Mrs. Jiang was there too, if you don’t believe it, you can ask Mrs. Jiang!"

Seeing the matriarch glancing at her to bear witness, Mrs. Jiang felt somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The matriarch was truly becoming more childlike as she aged! She was the young master’s mother, would he really doubt her words? Besides, she was the matriarch’s trusted aide; if the young master doubted her, how could he trust what she said? And since when does a master need a servant to testify for them!

"Yes, young master, indeed it was Madam herself who wanted to go, and it had nothing to do with the matriarch!" Being named, Mrs. Jiang had no choice but to say so.

Shi Fengju felt just as hesitant to laugh or cry as Mrs. Jiang did, not without grievances towards his mother’s actions. Yet, hearing her say this, he wasn’t sure whether to keep or let go of those feelings.

Shi Fengju felt rather unlucky. He had resisted this marriage in the past because it was his mother who insisted on it for the sake of his late grandfather and father. Now that he’d seen through Gu Fangzi’s true colors and had come to like his wife, hoping to live a good life with her, his mother somehow always found a way to complicate things for no apparent reason.

If his mother was unreasonably difficult and deliberately challenging toward his wife, he would have stood by his wife and coped with his mother. However, the problem was, his mother didn’t actually dislike his wife, yet always due to one reason or another caused things to become awkward, and in this, Gu Fangzi had played an undeniable role. How could Shi Fengju bear to blame his own mother?

"Mother," Shi Fengju said with a resigned smile, "where would I be so muddled to blame you? Miss Wan’s stay at Dongliu Village was discussed with me—it was her own decision, of course!"

Only when she heard her son speak like this did Mrs. Wang’s heart relax a little, and she nodded with a pleased smile, "I’m relieved that you think that way! The study is cold and deserted, with no one to attend to you with care. Don’t go there tonight! If you don’t want to return to Ningyuan, go to the peony garden instead!"

"Mother!" Shi Fengju’s face slightly darkened.

"What is wrong with that!" Mrs. Wang said adamantly; "Fang’er is your concubine, it’s only right for her to serve you when your wife is not around! Besides, she will soon be elevated to legitimate wife. I’ve made this decision, do not tell me you are unwilling!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Mrs. Wang finished speaking and stared at her son intently, unblinkingly observing every subtle expression, as if trying to see through his thoughts.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but rather that it was impossible! Shi Fengju would never keep by his side a woman filled with cunning and schemes, who even repeatedly took advantage of his own mother. He had sent Lan Xiang away as a warning, yet she did not care, leading his mother to make such a statement.

"If you’re not opposed, then it’s settled!" Seeing that her son was silent, Mrs. Wang fixed the matter resolutely.

"It might not work in the near future," Shi Fengju said with a smile, "I’ll be going to Hangzhou in a few days to attend this year’s Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce. It’s better to wait and discuss this later!"