Chapter 145: Banquet for Colleagues

Translator: 549690339

“Madam, you have been toiling for so long. I have already had a little monk arrange a room for you. Why don’t you go and take a short rest? After lunch, we can return home,” Grandma Chen dutifully suggested, arranging everything very neatly. Su Wenyue naturally would not disagree and nodded, following Grandma Chen’s recommendation.

“Miss, I’ve heard that the meals at Lingyin Temple are quite delicious, even better than the ones at Grand Restaurant In The City. It’s a rare opportunity for us to be here, so we must have a good meal!” Xiao Xi said cheerfully. She was currently very interested in cooking, so she was particularly curious about food.

“Tsk, such a bumpkin who has never seen the world, running eagerly to a temple for a meal. What’s the Grand Restaurant In The City? The truly good chefs are all in the mansions of Wealthy Families. It’s truly embarrassing!”

As soon as Xiao Xi’s words fell to the ground, a Servant Girl in green clothes, attending a beautiful woman, walked over with disdain. Although the attendant called her a woman, she was, in fact, dressed as one, and appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. It was the Servant Girl in green clothes who spoke with a disdainful look at Su Wenyue and her servants, as the woman exuded pride, clearly too arrogant to give anyone the time of day.

This kind of person was likely of good family background, hence her high self-regard and disdain for others. Su Wenyue did not want to offend them, nor did she intend to argue. After exchanging a glance with the haughty pair, she led Grandma Chen and Xiao Xi into the room arranged by the little monk. Xiao Xi, feeling indignant, wanted to explain herself to the Servant Girl in green clothes but was stopped by a warning look from Su Wenyue and held back.

Seeing Su Wenyue’s reaction, the haughty pair found it unamusing. The Servant Girl in green clothes snorted: “Truly, bumpkins from the countryside, lacking any manners!”

The little monk pressed his hands together, seemingly unnoticed in the non-argument, his expression unchanged, yet it seemed as if he saw everything.

“Miss, why didn’t you let me talk back to that servant girl? Who does she think she is, laughing at us as bumpkins from the countryside? And her master, so arrogant, as if her nose was in the sky!” Xiao Xi initially swallowed her pride in front of Su Wenyue, but once inside the room, she couldn’t contain herself.

Su Wenyue did not rush to explain, but instead turned her gaze to Grandma Chen: “Xiao Xi’s impetuosity is too severe. Grandma Chen, what do you think?”

“Yes, servant thinks Madam’s actions were correct. Although that pair of master and servant are arrogant, we have no quibble with them, and there is no need to bicker and create enmities over a trivial matter. What’s wrong with bearing a moment’s indignation? At present, the master’s official rank is still low, and it is a time when we need to exercise restraint and bide our time. Moreover, from both the pair’s clothing and their arrogant air, it is clear they come from an non-ordinary background, likely being from Aristocratic Families or noted ones, which is why they are so boastful and don’t regard others at all. Although such behavior is hard to accept, it’s better for us not to offend such people for now, otherwise one careless move could bring trouble for the master and the Su Family,” Grandma Chen counseled.

Su Wenyue nodded, then looked towards Xiao Xi: “Now do you understand why I stopped you? Your temperament is too impulsive; you really need to learn some patience.”

It seemed as if the matter was over, yet fate is indeed a curious thing, and in this case, it seemed to resemble more of a “bad karma.”

After finishing their lunch and resting for a while at the temple, Su Wenyue and her servants were ready to leave, only to run into the same pair of master and servant outside the temple. As two horse carriages passed by each other, Su Wenyue, who always favored understated luxury, had an unremarkable-looking carriage that was very comfortable on the inside, especially since she was pregnant, Han Yu had it specially modified for her. But tastes vary, and it was foreseeable that the haughty pair would once again look down on Su Wenyue as a country bumpkin. Xiao Xi, no longer impulsive, simply rolled her eyes at the pair and drove the carriage away.

That Servant Girl in green clothes once again sneered, “Uncultured bumpkin, wild servant girl!”

That Servant Girl in green clothes not only didn’t lower her voice when she spoke ill of others but deliberately raised her tone, letting her words reach Su Wenyue and her servants once again. However, this time they were not angry but somewhat amused. This Servant Girl in green clothes seemed very fond of using the term “bumpkin,” and it was always the same phrase.

When they returned to Town, Su Wenyue and her servants encountered that same pair again. They all chuckled, truly a bad karma. It appeared that the haughty pair might also reside in the same area.

Conversely, the haughty pair was surprised to see Su Wenyue and her servants, especially the Servant Girl in green clothes who couldn’t believe her eyes seeing the same “bumpkins” again. Most of the residents in that part of the area were Official’s Families, and the pair wondered why such people were in this neighborhood.

“Move aside. What is your carriage doing in the middle of the road? Don’t you see we need to pass!” Both carriages needed to use the same narrow path, and it was impossible for the haughty pair to give way. Just as Su Wenyue was about to signal Xiao Xi to pull the carriage aside, she heard the shrill voice of the Servant Girl in green clothes and frowned.

Perhaps because Su Wenyue had gone to Lingyin Temple, Han Yu, worried, found the time to come back in the evening. Seeing his wife safe and the gloom that had been between her brows lifted, he felt relieved. Thinking that the trip to Lingyin Temple was not in vain and there were indeed some gains.

Su Wenyue also told Han Yu about the run-ins with the same pair of master and servant several times. Han Yu frowned but, from Su Wenyue’s description, he guessed who they might be.

“I wonder if that might be from Lord Fang’s family? If it’s her, such behavior is not surprising. That woman is extremely arrogant, and there’s something off with her head. Relying on a couple of remarkable ancestors, she prides herself on her birth. Not only with you, but she does the same to others, not realizing those were matters of generations ago and nobody cares for her anymore. Due to her, Lord Fang has suffered the exclusion of his colleagues. He has been stuck at the Seventh Rank for seven or eight years without any promotion. Who would have thought he’d have a wife who could offend people so? My dear, you weren’t mistreated, were you?”

Han Yu’s tone was full of sympathy for Lord Fang, implying that marrying well was not something everyone could be lucky enough to enjoy.

Su Wenyue shook her head. It was only a few unpleasant words from a servant girl, and she didn’t take it to heart. Hearing Han Yu talk like that, she also felt some sympathy for Lord Fang. On second thought, she remembered that the documents her Second Brother had compiled for her had mentioned Lord Fang and his wife, with a brief description of Madam Fang described as quite “arrogant.” Now, she had witnessed it firsthand.

On this holiday, Han Yu had invited a few colleagues to his home, including Lord Fang. Aside from his poorly behaving wife, Lord Fang himself was somewhat pedantic, a bookworm who only knew armchair strategies and naturally couldn’t make it in the Camp. The reason Han Yu had been getting close to Lord Fang lately was not without a motive.