Su Lan suddenly spoke up with a smile, her tone gentle.
“Auntie, you probably don’t know Sister A-He very well yet. The two of us grew up serving our young mistress together.”
“She was specifically in charge of the inner courtyard affairs, mostly organizing the young mistress’s clothes and trunks, as well as managing her meals.”
“I, on the other hand, was in charge of external affairs, like accompanying the young mistress to banquets and social events, or receiving guests.”
Hearing this, what was there left for the crowd not to understand?
Clearly, this Xiao family bride hadn’t been as highly valued or trusted by their master as the Shen family bride.
Some people couldn’t help but quietly size Su Lan up.
It had to be said that this girl was indeed beautiful, with striking features and a slender, elegant figure. It was no exaggeration to say that among all the brides in the military village, she was the most outstanding.
When Wang Guixiang heard this, she instantly grew displeased.
“What’s wrong with organizing clothes? What’s wrong with managing meals?” She snorted, stating her case with total confidence. “That just proves she knows how to manage a home and run a household! My daughter-in-law even knows how to identify medicinal herbs—did I brag about that?”
The crowd was caught off guard by her words.
“Identify medicinal herbs?”
“Is that real or fake?”
“Now that is a real skill!”
Everyone immediately crowded around Wang Guixiang, peppering her with curious questions.
The smile on Su Lan’s face froze slightly, and she subtly tightened her grip on the handkerchief in her hand.
“Auntie, you must be mistaken, right? Su He spent all her days inside the manor; how could she know anything about herbs?”
“Guixiang, we’re all neighbors here. There’s no need to make things up just to save face.” Liu Cuihua felt highly annoyed. This Wang Guixiang really was her nemesis, always showing up to ruin her good moment.
Wang Guixiang instantly flared up. “How am I making things up? Is it a crime for my daughter-in-law to know how to identify herbs?!”
On the other side, Su He walked slowly down the mountain with the bamboo backpack on her shoulders.
From a distance, she spotted the lively crowd gathered under the scholar tree.
She had originally intended to bypass the crowd and head straight home, but she suddenly caught a familiar voice.
Wasn’t that her soon-to-be mother-in-law?
And by the sound of her voice, she seemed to be in an argument?
Curious, Su He walked over with her bamboo backpack.
“Hey!”
“Is that the Xiao family’s bride?”
Someone spotted her first and shouted, drawing everyone’s eyes toward her.
Whoa!
This was also a standard, beautiful girl with delicate features!
Though she wasn’t as strikingly gorgeous as Su Lan, she had a fresh, elegant beauty about her, looking very neat and proper. One look, and she came across as pleasant and easy to like.
“…”
Seeing everyone staring at her with burning curiosity, Su He was a little bewildered. She could only call out to greet Wang Guixiang.
“Auntie.”
The moment she spoke, someone noticed the bamboo backpack on her shoulders.
“Oh?”
“Xiao family bride, what are you carrying on your back?”
As the crowd drew closer to look, they saw the backpack was completely filled with mountain greenery. But the plants looked a bit different from usual; either way, they couldn’t name them.
Su He explained with a smile, “Just some medicinal herbs I dug up.”
A collective wave of surprise rippled through the crowd.
“They really are herbs?”
Suddenly, someone let out a sharp gasp.
“Oh my gosh!”
“There’s a rabbit too!”
Only then did everyone notice a gray rabbit hanging from the side of the backpack, instantly causing a massive stir.
“Where did this rabbit come from?”
“Good heavens—this rabbit must weigh at least five or six pounds, right?”
“Oh wow, that’s a fat rabbit. It’ll last for several meals.”
Seeing this, Wang Guixiang quickly squeezed through the crowd, using her arms to shield her daughter-in-law’s backpack.
“Hey, hey, hey—look all you want, but keep your hands to yourselves! Don’t go untying the rabbit now!”
Su He smiled. “I just got lucky and caught it in the mountains.”
This statement drew another round of admiration from the villagers.
“Your luck is just too good.”
“No one in our village has caught any game in a very long time.”
“Guixiang, this daughter-in-law of yours is truly impressive!”
“That’s a solid main course added to the wedding banquet.”
“Exactly, my household hasn’t seen a speck of meat in a month.”
“Sigh, whose family isn’t?”
If the praise for Su Lan earlier had made everyone feel a little uncomfortable, their praise for Su He now was pure envy.
These were herbs that could be traded for actual money, and meat that could actually go into their mouths. They were tangible, practical things that people could see and touch.
Listening to the crowd praise Su He, Su Lan’s face darkened slightly.
“Sister A-He.”
She suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone’s discussion.
“Since when did you know how to identify herbs? We lived under the same roof before, so how come I never knew about this?”
Hearing this, Su He curved her lips slightly. “Even though we shared a room, we weren’t stuck together every single second. Besides, do I have to report everything I know to you all the time?”
The two of them had both been first-class maids, holding the exact same rank and receiving the exact same treatment, yet this Su Lan always wanted to outdo the former Su He in every single aspect.
“…”
Su Lan’s face turned rather unsightly, and she forced a smile.
“True. I just didn’t expect Sister A-He to hide her talents so well back at the manor.”
Liu Cuihua chimed in, “Maybe she secretly picked it up from somewhere.”
Wang Guixiang shot right back, “So what if she picked it up? Capable people can learn things anywhere!”
Right at that moment, Su Lan suddenly seemed to remember something, and her tone carried a hint of reproach.
“Sister A-He, it’s not that I want to lecture you, but since you’ve already married, you should follow the rules of a daughter-in-law. How can you still call her ‘Auntie’?”
“Heh!”
Hearing this, Wang Guixiang scoffed out loud, countering her without a shred of politeness.
“That’s because our family knows proper etiquette! Unlike some people who don’t even bother with proper formal customs and just drag someone straight into the bedroom!”
At this point, her voice grew loud and resonant.
“No matter how poor our Xiao family is, we won’t wrong our new daughter-in-law! The day after tomorrow, once the young couple performs the customs and bows to heaven and earth, she will naturally change how she addresses me.”
The crowd was astonished to hear this.
“The Xiao family is hosting a banquet?”
“To be able to hold a banquet in times like these shows they truly value the bride.”
“Guixiang, your family is generous!”
Wang Guixiang let out a proud snort, then grabbed Su He’s hand.
“Let’s go! Home!”
Amidst a flurry of envious stares, she marched with her head held high, leading Su He back to the Xiao family courtyard.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Liu Cuihua’s face completely darkened. The face that had been covered in smiles just moments ago now looked incredibly sour, as if she had been slapped hard.
“Bah!”
Liu Cuihua spat fiercely on the ground, growing angrier the more she thought about it.
“What’s the big deal!”
“It’s just catching a rabbit and digging up some wild weeds!”
The more she spoke, the less willing she was to accept it.
“And hosting a banquet! Times are so hard, yet that Wang Guixiang actually dares to make such a fuss!”
A few women nearby hadn’t walked far yet, but none of them responded to her. Everyone knew Liu Cuihua was just bitter because her moment to flaunt her daughter-in-law had been completely overshadowed by the Xiao family.
Liu Cuihua grew more and more annoyed as she brooded.
“Hmph! Talk is cheap.”
“Who knows how many dishes they’ll actually manage to put out then. I just hope they don’t end up making fools of themselves!”
On the other side, Su Lan stood frozen in place, the smile on her face long gone. She clutched her handkerchief tightly, her fingertips turning white.
She had seen the look in those military wives’ eyes when they looked at Su He perfectly clearly. It was as if Su He was the one who had married more glamorously.
Su Lan’s chest heaved slightly, an uncontainable sense of resentment surging in her heart. She hadn’t expected the Xiao family to actually host a wedding banquet for Su He, whereas the Shen family hadn’t mentioned a single word about it from start to finish.
If the Xiao family hadn’t brought it up, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But now, both of them were married to Company Commanders, yet the Xiao family was throwing a banquet. Where did that leave her?
Thinking of this, Su Lan’s expression grew even uglier. She could already picture how the villagers would gossip when the Xiao family held their feast.
Su Lan took a deep breath, her gaze turning thoroughly dark.
No. She absolutely could not let Su He outshine her. Absolutely not!!