Rebirth: Contract Husband Falls in Love with Me-Chapter 187 - 94 He Actually Helped Her_2

Gu Fangzi felt a fiery jealousy burning in her heart, the pain like needles pricking at her.

With a roll of her eyes, she explained to Shi Yumei while also giving herself a plausible reason to accept, and laughed, "Big cousin, you should be happy! This shows that big cousin respects and values you as a sister, needing to do everything personally and give orders himself to feel at ease!"

"That’s what I thought too!" Shi Yumei shared a knowing smile with her. Otherwise, she would have found another reason to pick a fight with Sang Wan long ago.

"Big cousin only brought Cui Zhu with her, I wonder how many servants have been assigned to the banana garden? Are you comfortable with the help?" Gu Fangzi casually asked with a smile.

Shi Yumei nodded and answered with a smile, "Mother gave me two maids, Xiaoshuang and Xiaohe, and two older maids for rough chores. Fengju has also assigned a young man to serve your cousin husband in the front study, and there are people from outside to clean the courtyard regularly, so it’s quite enough!"

Gu Fangzi then sighed with an air of sentimentality, "It seems auntie still loves you the most, she has thought of everything for you! I had originally thought your sister would arrange for someone to serve you!"

Shi Yumei snorted dismissively, saying bluntly, "Those she arranges can be trusted? I’m not stupid, why would I eagerly keep someone else’s prying eyes in the courtyard!"

"Big cousin, you got it wrong! The people under sister’s command are all very good! Besides, you are the rightful eldest daughter of the Shi family, which slave would dare to act as someone else’s eyes unless they are truly foolhardy!"

Gu Fangzi’s words hugely flattered Shi Yumei, who made much of Sang Wan’s magnanimity and her gentle, virtuous nature as she saw her praise pouring in.

Little did Shi Yumei care for the maids from Ningyuan, Ren Zhixian had some thoughts of his own.

When Shi Fengju assigned a servant as his study boy, Ren Zhixian’s dreams of "a whiff of perfume over the old books" were shattered.

After suffering a few setbacks, he did not dare to provoke Shi Fengju, but he found ways to pick fights with Shi Yumei and sulk constantly, complaining bitterly every day.

Shi Yumei too became annoyed, saying, "Please spare me, this is my natal family, not our own! Honestly, since the day we arrived, when has my natal family ever mistreated us? What more do you want!"

Ren Zhixian scoffed, "We haven’t been mistreated! But the food we eat here is just leftovers slipping through their fingers, charity!" As he said this, he looked disdainfully at Shi Yumei, adding, "I suppose you won’t understand, so let me give you an analogy. Imagine going to a poor family, who only has half a piece of bacon left and offers it all to us. Then we go to a rich family, with abundant wealth and full granaries, yet they are only willing to slaughter a chicken to entertain us. Tell me, who shows greater kindness?"

Still confused, Shi Yumei replied, "What poor family, rich family, bacon or slaughtering a chicken? All I know is my mother and brother have been good enough to us! Otherwise, should we turn to your friends now? Who would take you in?"

"The narrow view of a woman!" Ren Zhixian shook his head with a sneer, deigning not to argue with her, but added, "Don’t make your mother and brother out to be so noble! Humph, I am a scholar; if it weren’t for their hopes that I would make something of myself one day, would they have taken us in? Wake up! If your brother truly cared about us and was good to us, would we end up with nothing?"

Hearing these words, Shi Yumei felt both angry and anxious, yet she couldn’t find the words to retort, and couldn’t help but say resentfully, "Here we go again! As a married woman, shouldn’t I rely on my own husband rather than my brother from my natal family for food? Do you not know how our family’s fortune was squandered? Should I spell it out? Wasn’t it because of your frivolous spending and gambling away fortunes? Even my dowry has been frittered away, leaving only this one maid. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Bringing up the painful subject, Shi Yumei couldn’t hold back her tears.

Ren Zhixian’s face turned pale, but he rebuked her resentfully, "What would a woman understand! How was I light-hearted and frivolous? Those were social courtesies among friends, mutual appreciation of literature, do you understand that? Without that, how can one improve one’s learning! But you wouldn’t understand!"

"Yes, I don’t understand, how could I be as impressive as you!" Shi Yumei replied sarcastically, "I’m just waiting to see when you’ll earn a distinguished imperial appointment for me to look up to! I fear I might not have that good fortune in this lifetime!"

Ren Zhixian turned white with anger and pointed at her saying, "You, don’t belittle others! No wonder the sage said ’Women and petty men are the hardest to nurture!’ The sage truly does not deceive me!" He sneered again, "You just think about me earning an imperial appointment for you? Without even a servant to attend to me, I have to worry about everything myself, and you expect me to study? Maybe you’re right, perhaps I need not study at all!"

Taken aback, Shi Yumei asked, "Isn’t Shi Ming serving you in the study? Surely he wouldn’t dare to be so presumptuous!"

Ren Zhixian snorted disdainfully, "If I can’t control a single servant, I’d be ashamed to speak of it! He’s honest enough, but too clumsy and useless!"

Ultimately, Shi Yumei knew him well, and realized why he had been picking fights with her these past couple of days, so she looked at him and sighed, "Useless? If he’s useless, you should have said so clearly! How would we know if you don’t tell us!"

Ren Zhixian scoffed internally: Speak? Would it make any difference if I did? Speak to "you"? Which household are you even part of!

Ultimately, Shi Yumei cared about her husband’s future, as her own reputation and final judgment in life depended on him. She couldn’t really live in her natal home for the rest of her life!

Hearing his complaints, Yumei could not stay angry or sullen any longer; she said hurriedly, "I’ll go find my second brother today and have him find you a smart servant to attend to you!"

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