Song Wan had just gotten up, her head still groggy, and she had no desire to quarrel with anyone.
Yet Huo Manting, as if forgetting what had happened last night, came looking for trouble first thing in the morning.
Madam Luo Shuyi watched coldly from the sidelines, her brow furrowing briefly before relaxing again.
Scenes like this had played out countless times in the month since Song Wan had married into the family.
At first, she would reprimand Huo Manting, scolding her for speaking to her sister-in-law that way.
Unfortunately, although Luo Shuyi disliked Song Wan as a daughter-in-law and had reservations about her background, she had only one son. Now that he was married, there wasn’t much she could say.
But Song Wan always kept her head down with an apologetic smile, so weak and spineless that even the servants dared to gossip in front of her.
Luo Shuyi had stepped in a few times, but seeing that Song Wan couldn’t stand up for herself, she stopped bothering.
Who would have thought that this time, Song Wan didn’t lower her head—she raised her eyes and stared straight at Huo Manting.
Her tone was neither servile nor arrogant: “Sister, that’s not an appropriate thing to say. The Huo Family’s rules call for respecting elders and minding one’s duties—not berating one’s juniors.”
“It wasn’t even seven o’clock when I came to pay my respects. How could that possibly count as being late?”
What a joke—arriving right on time was her specialty.
It was a sense of timing honed in her past life as a corporate drone: she had to clock in at exactly the right minute. Arriving even one minute early would be a disrespect to her salary.
Huo Manting froze. She hadn’t expected Song Wan, who had always been meek and submissive, to talk back to her in public.
This actress really had grown bold now that she was pregnant.
In the past, whenever she mocked her, Song Wan never dared to retort—she would just nod and bow with a fawning smile.
Luo Shuyi couldn’t help glancing at Song Wan as well.
This eldest daughter-in-law had always been timid and cowardly, never daring to look people in the eye, with her petty, small-time mannerisms. And now she actually dared to talk back.
Could it be that her earlier meekness had all been an act?
Huo Manting said through gritted teeth, “Sophistry! You were almost late and you still think you’re in the right? You really are from the slums—no upbringing at all!”
Song Wan didn’t get angry. Instead, she showed the indulgent smile one gives to a child.
“I may come from a humble background, but I know my manners. You, on the other hand, publicly hurl insults—that’s what truly disgraces the Huo Family’s eldest daughter, wouldn’t you say?”
Did she really think all those family-intrigue novels she’d read were for nothing?
No matter what her background had been, she was now the eldest young madam Huo Jingheng had married into the family.
She was the eldest sister-in-law, a senior member of the household. As long as she had reason on her side, no one could find fault with her.
Luo Shuyi’s face showed surprise, her eyes shifting slightly. Her daughter-in-law seemed to have changed.
Huo Manting flew into a rage of humiliation, her face flushing red, and for a moment she couldn’t find a single word to retort with.
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“You—an actress! Don’t forget how you got into the Huo Family in the first place. My brother was just infatuated with something new. Once that novelty wears off, let’s see how you keep up your arrogance!”
At these words, Luo Shuyi, who had remained silent all along, finally raised her eyes. “Manting, watch your tongue. Is that any way for a young lady to speak?”
She had indeed opposed this marriage, but she could accept even less having her son attacked over it.
If Song Wan was insulted as an actress, then what did that make Huo Jingheng? A lecher bewitched by an actress?
Huo Manting felt wronged. She hadn’t said anything wrong, so why was Madam scolding her?
Song Wan was nearly dying of laughter inside. This sister-in-law was still too young—constantly calling her an actress, attacking her background and nothing more.
Little did she know that, to Song Wan’s ears, it had no bite whatsoever.
But on the surface, Song Wan’s eyes immediately reddened—though she didn’t shed a single tear.
“Madam, please don’t blame Elder Sister. It’s all my fault. As the eldest sister-in-law, I shouldn’t have clashed with her.”
Luo Shuyi’s expression softened—at least one of the two had some sense.
Huo Manting was nearly driven mad with rage. It was clearly this woman who had put on airs and lectured her, yet now it had become her fault?
Song Wan’s face showed grievance, but every word she spoke was crystal clear.
“Sister, don’t misunderstand. Now that I’ve married into the Huo Family, I am a daughter-in-law of the Huo Family, and I naturally must respect my elders and fulfill my duties.”
“It’s you, Sister, who as a fellow member of the Huo Family keeps targeting me at every turn, letting outsiders laugh at the Huo Family.”
Her words successfully shifted Luo Shuyi’s attention onto Huo Manting.
Huo Manting was so choked up she couldn’t speak. She wanted to lose her temper but feared giving people grounds for gossip, and her face flushed crimson from holding it in.
Luo Shuyi removed Huo Manting’s hand from her arm.
“Your mother, the Third Concubine, passed away early, and you grew up by my side. You’re seventeen now, not a child anymore. You should think carefully about what you should and shouldn’t say.”
These words were quite harsh.
Huo Manting’s eyes reddened along with her face, and she kept wiping away tears.
Luo Shuyi sighed. “Stay home these next few days and reflect. Don’t go out.”
This amounted to grounding Huo Manting.
For a lively young girl in the prime of her youth, it was practically torture.
But Huo Manting didn’t dare talk back. Lord Huo was often away from home, and Old Mrs. Huo was getting on in years—the Huo residence was essentially run by the Madam.
Huo Manting didn’t dare resent the Madam, so her gaze fell on Song Wan like a knife.
It was all this woman’s fault!
Song Wan pretended to wipe away tears, but in truth she was hiding the corners of her upturned mouth.
She didn’t press her advantage further. The Madam was no fool—if she said too much, she might end up punished herself.
Just then, a woman’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Sister-in-law, I could hear Tingting’s voice from far away. Who’s she quarreling with this time?”
Song Wan looked up. The newcomer was Huo Jingheng’s aunt, Huo Sijia.
She looked to be in her forties, with a long, thin face and high cheekbones. Her dark green silk qipao hung loosely on her frame.
Most eye-catching was the entire set of top-grade jadeite she wore—a necklace of twenty-four beads, each separated by a small gold setting.
Her earrings, brooch, and ring were all carved from the same piece of jadeite.
“So ostentatious,” Song Wan couldn’t help complaining inwardly.
Wearing such flashy jewelry at home—anyone who didn’t know better would think she was headed to a banquet.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the jadeite, and even the ten-year-old younger cousin standing nearby was overlooked.
Song Wan remembered that the original novel had described how the male lead’s aunt, Huo Sijia, had been lovesick in her youth and insisted on marrying down.
As a result, she was widowed within just a few years, and her in-laws had taken a dislike to her as well.
As the Old Madam Huo’s own daughter and Lord Huo’s full-blooded sister, Huo Sijia simply moved back to the Huo residence with her son and daughter, and had lived there ever since.
The relationship between a sister-in-law and a wife’s sister-in-law could often be delicate.
All the more so with a sister-in-law like Huo Sijia, who had the favor of the Old Madam and Lord Huo—she was not someone to offend.
In many matters, the Madam had to avoid her sharp edges, unwilling to cross her for fear of damaging both her marriage and her standing with her mother-in-law.
But Huo Sijia simply couldn’t think clearly. Relying on the favor she enjoyed, she actually wanted her own son to inherit a portion of the Huo Family’s estate.
This was why Huo Sijia couldn’t help but target Madam Huo and Huo Jingheng—who made him the eldest grandson of the Huo Family, the rightful heir.
Only if he proved incompetent would her own son have a chance.
Honestly, Song Wan couldn’t understand her sister-in-law’s way of thinking.
Even if Huo Jingheng proved useless, there were still the second and third brothers below him—one of them could surely be chosen as heir.
No matter how much the Old Master doted on this younger sister, he would never let an outsider inherit the Huo Family.
Even she could see this clearly—why couldn’t her sister-in-law?
Huo Sijia swept a contemptuous glance over Song Wan, then turned to Luo Shuyi, her tone sharp and cutting.
“Sister-in-law, how do you discipline your daughter-in-law? The Huo Family values propriety above all. A-heng marrying an actress into the family was already fodder for gossip.”
“And now she not only dawdles over her morning greetings, but dares to lecture Tingting as well. Truly, a crooked beam makes crooked rafters—the First Branch’s upbringing is a disgrace to the entire Huo Family!”