Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 104

“Does Miss Wu enjoy inviting people she’s meeting for the first time over as a guest?” A faint smile still lingered on her lips as she continued, “Even if Miss Wu does have such a habit, I’m sorry, I don’t have the hobby of visiting someone’s home upon a first meeting.”

Ying Su’s words were blunt and showed no courtesy at all. Liu Chuncao couldn’t help but tug at her sleeve in secret, afraid that speaking in such a manner would offend the young lady before them. 

After all, the other party’s background wasn’t small, and befriending someone like her would generally be a good thing.

Wu Shumei had never faced such humiliation in her life. She lightly bit her lower lip, her face turning slightly red as she softly said, “Sister, please don’t be angry. It was my thoughtlessness. I only wished to befriend you since I saw you getting along so well with Young Master Bai. Please don’t take offense.”

Her gracious and well-mannered demeanor in contrast made Ying Su appear the ungrateful one.

Li Yunyao, unable to bear watching any longer and eager to please Wu Shumei, pointed at Ying Su and shouted, “Shen Cuihua, why are you so ungrateful? If you won’t accept Miss Wu’s kindness, fine, but who are you trying to impress with that arrogant attitude? Miss Wu is the eldest daughter of the Wu family. And you, Shen Cuihua, what are you? A wid—!”

Before the last word could escape her lips, Ying Su flicked the brush in her hand at her mouth. Ink splattered across Li Yunyao’s face, staining it with dark blotches. Stunned, Li Yunyao froze, unable to speak. Even Wu Shumei, Zhang Yun, and Zhu Qiluo were shocked.

Ying Su walked out from behind the counter. Just as Li Yunyao raised her hand to curse her out, Ying Su suddenly seized her wrist. With just a little force, Li Yunyao cried out in pain, her face going pale. She was about to scream when Ying Su spoke first.

Leaning in close to her ear, Ying Su’s voice was cold, “Go ahead, keep using that mouth to spout nonsense. If you want this arm crippled for life.”

The pain in her wrist was unbearable, as if it were about to snap. Facing Shen Cuihua’s chilling aura, Li Yunyao instinctively believed her threat to be real. Terrified, she dared not utter a word and only wished to free her wrist from her grip.

Ying Su’s voice dropped even lower, as though she had slipped back into the cold-blooded self from her past life, her tone habitually turning icy, “Don’t test my patience again. I have very little of it. Don’t use that pitiful excuse of intelligence to make a clown of yourself.”

With that, she released Li Yunyao’s wrist. A layer of cold sweat covered Li Yunyao’s forehead, her small face drained of color. For a moment, she felt as though the woman before her might actually kill her.

Truly, Li Yunyao thought, if she provoked her again, this woman would kill her. Because when she looked into Shen Cuihua’s eyes, she saw no reflection of herself, this woman didn’t even regard her as a person.

The commotion had already drawn the attention of other guests in the shop. Ying Shu turned to Wu Shumei and the other three.

“If you ladies have no other business, perhaps you should look elsewhere. Our shop is small, and it really can’t hold so many people.”

So discourteous, this time even Zhu Qiluo couldn’t stand it. She tugged at Zhang Yun’s hand and said to Wu Shumei, “Mei-er, let’s go somewhere else.”

Wu Shumei nodded. The woman before her was utterly unyielding. Staying any longer was pointless. She left together with the other three.

Li Yunyao, still shaken by Ying Su, remained silent even after leaving the shop, forgetting even to wipe the ink off her face. Zhang Yun, however, caught on to the situation, pulling Zhu Qiluo aside and whispering, “Qiluo, just look at Li Yunyao, so shaken and lost. It’s truly satisfying.”

Zhu Qiluo cast her a cool glance but said nothing.

“Li Yunyao, the way you look like you’ve seen a ghost is hilarious. Don’t tell me that woman in the shop said something to scare you like this?” Zhang Yun loved to poke at her and deliberately mocked her.

Snapping back to her senses, Li Yunyao hastily wiped her face with her sleeve, forcing a proud look. “Who’s afraid? I was just deep in thought.”

Zhang Yun curled her lips. “Sure. So who is that woman to you, anyway?”

At this, Wu Shumei turned her face as well, her gaze fixed on Li Yunyao.

Li Yunyao wanted to retort, What’s it to you? But seeing Wu Shumei’s eyes on her, she answered honestly, “She’s my cousin-in-law. My cousin was sickly, and my aunt bought her to marry him in hopes of driving away misfortune. But on their wedding day, she brought him bad luck, and he died. Later, she was said to have gone mad after becoming pregnant. Only recently did she regain her senses.”

Wu Shumei and the others were shocked. A woman bought just to ward off misfortune?

After a moment of silence, Wu Shumei softly asked, “Then how did she come to know Young Master Bai?”

“What Young Master Bai?” Li Yunyao hadn’t caught on.

Zhang Yun and Zhu Qiluo couldn’t help but sneer. For someone supposedly clever, she could be incredibly dense. Yet somehow, she had still managed to charm Cao Keqing.

“The young master we saw in the shop just now,” Wu Shumei explained. Normally, she wouldn’t have asked directly, but with the matter involving the Second Young Master, her heart itched with curiosity.

A flash of realization crossed Li Yunyao’s mind, but she still stammered, “Bai… Bai… Young Master Bai? That Young Master Bai?”

After she spoke, Zhu Qiluo and Zhang Yun both turned their eyes to Wu Shumei. Not wanting others to know about Bai Chuyu, Wu Shumei hesitated, then finally gave a slight nod.

Li Yunyao’s eyes widened in shock. She swallowed hard. That handsome young master, and he’s also wealthier than anyone? How could he possibly know Cuihua?

She recalled how Young Master Bai had personally delivered congratulatory gifts to Cuihua, not even paying much heed to Miss Wu. And she, she had actually boasted in front of Cuihua about Wu family’s grand background and ties to the Bai family! 

Now, she realized, she must have been a laughingstock. Cuihua must have been laughing at her inside while Bai Chuyu himself showed up in person!

From the scene in the shop, it was obvious that Bai Chuyu had a closer relationship with Shen Cuihua than with Wu Shumei. Thinking this, Li Yunyao wanted to slap herself. She really had been nothing but a clown.

Seeing her lost in thought, Wu Shumei pressed again. Snapping back, Li Yunyao answered, “I don’t know either. But when my grandfather had his birthday, I saw that Young Master Bai once. He was there to pick up his daughter. He even gave my cousin-in-law five hundred taels of silver, but she refused it.”

Wu Shumei’s eyes flickered. She knew the Second Young Master had a daughter. To entrust his daughter to that woman… could it be that he truly…?