Chapter 105 - 53 Abacus
Mrs. Wang was naturally pleased, her smile brimming with pride as she stole a brief look at Mrs. Zhuang. Mrs. Zhuang, feeling greatly disrespected but unable to do anything about it, was about to speak when Mrs. Li chimed in with laughter, "However, let’s stick to the matter at hand, although I seem to have deviated. In my view, why not send the best and most disappointing poems from both parties to the master at the mansion for critique? What do the ladies think?"
In every grand family household, there are always two or three masters well-versed in poetry and classics. By making such a suggestion, Mrs. Li cleverly kicked the ball back into play without offending anyone.
Mrs. Wang was already quite satisfied; at least by marrying into the Shi family, she wouldn’t be the subject of gossip and snide remarks anymore. She might as well be more generous, so she smiled and said, "Why bother with such trouble! It wasn’t easy for Miss Tang to travel from afar. I think the perfume should go to Miss Tang!"
A bottle of Western perfume, which in other households would be considered a rare treasure worth as much as gold, was not a difficult thing for the Shi family to obtain! Mrs. Wang didn’t care about it at all.
Although Mrs. Wang intended her grand gesture out of kindness, she didn’t realize that her words made Mrs. Zhuang and Miss Tang feel deeply insulted, as if they were squabbling over a mere bottle of perfume over such shallow concerns!
Miss Tang, having traveled far as a guest, felt extremely embarrassed and annoyed, but it was inappropriate for her to say anything. Holding back her anger, her eyes became teary, while Mrs. Zhuang snorted coldly, "Ah, that won’t do! How can we change what has been agreed upon? It’s not just about the perfume, it’s about rightful recognition!" Saying so, she promptly ordered the selected four poems to be sent out.
"Really, no good deed goes unpunished!" Mrs. Wang was also irritated and said so with displeasure.
Seeing the tension flare up between the two women, the others hurriedly tried to smooth things over with awkward laughter and pleasantries.