My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

◎ “I’m late, please forgive me, sister-in-law.” ◎

Mo Shuqing lowered her long lashes, calmly sipping the tea in her hand.

Neither the miserable screams of Gu Shufeng getting his beating outside nor the probing looks from the various people in the main hall could affect her in the slightest.

A maid holding the tray for the respectful tea ceremony came in from outside. After receiving a nod from Marquis Gu, she stood in front of Mo Shuqing.

If Gu Shufeng’s absence was acceptable for a major event like the wedding ceremony yesterday, there was no need to wait for him for the tea ceremony today.

Mo Shuqing set down her teacup, stood up, straightened her sleeves, and slowly walked forward to serve tea one by one. “Father-in-law, mother-in-law, please have some tea.”

She first served Marquis Gu, then Madam Yu.

Madam Yu was displeased with Mo Shuqing, resenting her for having incited the Marquis to beat Gu Shufeng. But because of the crowd, she didn’t dare to openly show her displeasure. She reluctantly took the teacup. “I hope from now on, you’ll be magnanimous and forgiving, live in harmony with your husband, and follow his lead.”

“Follow his lead?” The Marquis’s sister, Gu-shi, scoffed, picking up where Madam Yu left off and drawing out her words. “Madam Yu, those are not good words. You know better than anyone what kind of temperament you’ve spoiled Shufeng into. If it weren’t for your excessive doting, how would he be suffering from a beating in the courtyard right now?”

According to custom, tea must be served to one’s elders. The tea tray today had three cups of tea in total: one for the Marquis and Madam Yu, and a third for Gu-shi, who had returned to live in the Marquis manor with her children after her divorce.

Seeing the conflict between her aunt and her mother-in-law, Mo Shuqing remained an outsider. Her demeanor was consistent. After curtsying to Madam Yu, she brought the tea to Gu-shi. “Aunt, please have some tea.”

Gu-shi sized up Mo Shuqing and smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes becoming more pronounced. She didn’t immediately reach for the teacup. Instead, she let her lips turn down as she spoke. “Shufeng is truly blessed to have married such a spirited young lady. With just a few words, you protected the honor of both your Mo family and our Gu family. Excellent, excellent.”

After complimenting her, Gu-shi slowly took the teacup. “With Shufeng having a wife like this, Madam Yu, you should be smiling in your dreams. From now on, with the new bride in charge of disciplining Shufeng and managing the household, you can just enjoy a life of ease.”

When she mentioned managing the household, the main hall fell silent for a moment.

No one spoke up. Gu-shi looked around as if she had just noticed someone was missing. She feigned surprise. “Oh? Where is our little mistress Yao? She didn’t even come to such a big event as the tea ceremony.”

Gu-shi set down her teacup and handed a red envelope to Mo Shuqing. “Your mother-in-law doesn’t handle household matters. Before you arrived, your little sister-in-law was in charge of the inner court. But her health isn’t good, and it’s not a good thing for her to be so exhausted all the time.”

She looked at Marquis Gu. “Zecheng, if you ask me, since everyone is here today, the authority to manage the household should be given to the new bride. It also shows outsiders that we value the new bride and the Mo family.”

Mo Shuqing finally looked up at Gu-shi. Her tone was flat, showing neither joy nor sorrow, as she simply asked, “Aunt, what you mean is for me to manage the household?”

Mo Shuqing quietly calculated the time of her last encounter with Gu Wenyao. Even if Gu Wenyao were a snail, she should have reached the door by now.

Indeed, a gentle voice came from outside. The person was laughing lightly, as if they had just heard a funny joke. “So, Aunt, you are in charge of the Gu manor again?”

That single word, “again,” was enough to make Gu-shi’s lips droop.

On the steps outside the door, beneath a sky-blue umbrella, a light-green skirt rippled out like a lotus leaf in the rain.

The umbrella was raised, revealing the willow-like young lady standing beneath it.

Gu Wenyao held a silver handkerchief embroidered with plums to her lips. She raised her palm-sized, unadorned face, her eyes like hooks as she looked at people. Her voice was laced with laughter. “I’m late, please forgive me, sister-in-law.”

With Gu Wenyao’s arrival, Mo Shuqing handed all the red envelopes to her maid, Qinglu, and returned to her seat.

“Father, Mother,” Gu Wenyao bowed formally. She finally looked at Gu-shi. “Great Aunt.”

Gu-shi’s face fell. She was in her early fifties and already thin. When she scowled, her lips turned down, giving her a look of utter bitterness. It was as if she wanted to write her dislike on her forehead for Gu Wenyao to see.

Gu Wenyao returned to her own seat. She picked up a teacup, scanned the room, and then slowly asked, “How is it that in the time it takes to serve tea, Great Aunt, you were trying to replace the person in charge of the household while I was gone?”

“Everyone knows that this was Great Aunt’s idea,” Gu Wenyao said from a distance, looking up at Mo Shuqing sitting opposite her. Her tone was playful and coquettish, like a young woman’s teasing. “But a stranger might think that sister-in-law was trying to take my power as soon as she arrived to give me a hard time.”

Mo Shuqing looked at Gu Wenyao.

Gu Wenyao raised her teacup to Mo Shuqing from afar, a smile spreading on her lips as her voice softened slightly. “Is that right, sister-in-law?”

Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes, simply took a sip of her tea, and didn’t respond.

“So, the idea of replacing me was only Great Aunt’s?” Gu Wenyao set down her teacup, her gaze returning to Gu-shi.

In the quiet hall, Gu Wenyao, whether intentionally or not, made a slight sound as the bottom of her cup clinked against the mahogany table.

This made even Marquis Gu start to drink his tea. Madam Yu didn’t dare to make a sound. Most of the people in the room lowered their heads, pretending to be busy.

Mo Shuqing watched the scene with interest. After observing everyone’s reactions, she finally fixed her gaze on Gu Wenyao, who had made the sound.

Gu Wenyao noticed her gaze. Her eyes flickered for a moment, and her smile stiffened slightly. The fingers gripping her handkerchief tightened unconsciously.

Just when Mo Shuqing thought Gu Wenyao would avoid her gaze, Gu Wenyao slowly curved her lips into a smile. Meeting Mo Shuqing’s eyes, she relaxed her clenched fingers and simply stared back, not flinching.

The tearful little girl Ayao from childhood and the formidable Gu Wenyao, who now controlled the household, were completely different. They seemed like two entirely different people.

Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes and added calmly, “That matter was indeed brought up by Aunt.”

Gu-shi glared at Mo Shuqing, her voice hard and her face sullen as she spoke. “What do you mean ‘replacing’? When a new bride comes into the family, the authority to manage the household should naturally be handed over to her. How can you, a young lady who has not yet married, continue to manage the inner court? If this gets out, outsiders will say your mother is incompetent, and it will also imply that your sister-in-law is useless.”

“If you ask me, it’s a good time to hand over the household duties to your sister-in-law today. You can then rest and recuperate,” Gu-shi said. “If you can’t get used to being suddenly idle, you can also serve as your sister-in-law’s assistant. Oh, that’s right, your younger sister is fifteen this year and should also learn how to manage the household. When the time comes, let her work with you.”

The so-called younger sister was a cousin, Gu-shi’s own daughter, who was also living in the Marquis manor with her.

Gu Wenyao put the handkerchief to her lips and laughed, leaning back in her chair. “Is Aunt joking with me? My younger sister has long been learning how to manage the household from you. Aunt, have you forgotten that she used my name to withdraw money from the accounts to buy herself jewelry?”

Gu Wenyao shook her head with a sigh. “Aunt, you truly are getting old and more confused.”

“You, little Yao!” At the mention of this, Gu-shi’s face changed instantly. She subconsciously glanced at the new bride, her expression incredibly ugly. “She’s your sister! Don’t ruin her reputation in front of everyone.”

“I would rather have brought this up in private,” Gu Wenyao said, a look of confusion on her face. “But wasn’t it you, Aunt, who brought up this topic first?”

“Aunt, it’s not that I’m clinging to the household authority. It’s just that some people are not good at managing it,” Gu Wenyao said, leaning against her chair and toying with her fingers. She lowered her long lashes and began to list things slowly. “At least in the years that I’ve been in charge, I haven’t used the position to enrich myself while leaving others with nothing.”

Gu Wenyao spoke these harsh words directly to Gu-shi’s face. She then looked at her, a smile on her lips. “Isn’t that right, Aunt?”

“You—” Gu-shi was now utterly furious. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, pointing her finger at Gu Wenyao. “Look at you, you don’t act like a junior at all!”

“Zecheng, I thought that since your elder daughter-in-law wasn’t up to the task, I would play the villain and step forward to suggest giving the household authority to the new bride. But now, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and my old face is being pointed at and cursed,” Gu-shi said, flinging her sleeves at the Marquis. “Yao is determined to cling to her power. Since the new bride is not my daughter-in-law anyway, I won’t get involved in this matter, alright?”

She then turned to leave, but her plans had failed, and she was still resentful. Before she left, Gu-shi gave Gu Wenyao a vicious glare and said fiercely, “I want to see how long your body can hold on to this power.”

Gu Wenyao smiled faintly. “Then Aunt, you must be sure to watch closely.”

“Wenyao,” Marquis Gu said in a low voice. He looked at Gu Wenyao. But before he could say another word, Gu Wenyao began to cough.

Gu Wenyao coughed until her shoulders trembled. She coughed until she couldn’t straighten her back and her eyes were red. She coughed until Marquis Gu couldn’t find a chance to speak.

Marquis Gu, “…”

He had just beaten his son, so it wasn’t appropriate to scold his daughter again.

Especially since the Marquis didn’t want to deal with inner court affairs, he found her troublesome and decided to leave with a convenient excuse. “I still have government business. You can discuss these matters with your mother.”

He then stood up and left.

Once he left, the others also began to disperse.

As the family members left, only the first branch remained in the main hall.

After everyone had left, Gu Wenyao hunched over the armrest of her chair, her handkerchief covering her mouth. Her coughing slowly subsided.

Mo Shuqing watched her, and a faint smile seemed to touch her lips. “Sister, you have so many tricks up your sleeve. Even if you weren’t a young lady, you could make a living as a private advisor in a wealthy family.”

On the way here, she deliberately waited for her, hinting that today’s tea ceremony would be complicated. She used Mo Shuqing as a figurehead to expose her aunt’s greed for power.

Then she humiliated her aunt, both to end her hopes for good and to remind Mo Shuqing who truly held power in the inner court of the Gu manor.

Mo Shuqing’s smile was cold and detached. The more she looked at Gu Wenyao, the more foreign she seemed.

Gu Wenyao was startled. She looked up at Mo Shuqing, only to see her turn her head away.

It felt as if her heart had been crushed by a heavy hammer.

Gu Wenyao wanted to force her lips to form a reply, but her face felt stiff. She couldn’t smile at all. She simply reined in all her emotions and said in a soft voice, “Sister-in-law, you give me too much credit. I have many schemes, but the one thing I can’t understand is a cold heart.”