DASFAM_61
"……"
When the cat's away, the mice will play.
Everyone present understood the mockery in those words, and their gazes immediately turned toward the restaurant entrance.
A moment later, a strikingly beautiful short-haired woman walked in. She wore no makeup, but the gold hoop earrings on her earlobes drew everyone's attention.
What surprised people the most was that her left hand was tightly wrapped in medical gauze, secured with a specific bandage in a half-sling, making it look as though it was broken.
Shang Yun frowned and spoke up, "Little Sister, what happened to your hand?"
The person who had arrived was none other than Shang Keshu.
Shang Keshu seemed unbothered by the pain of her broken left hand, utterly calm and composed, "Oh, I had a moment of recklessness and went skydiving. Didn't stick the landing properly and broke it."
"……"
She injured herself doing extreme sports? That was truly in line with her usual style.
Every member of the Shang family present fell into silence without exception.
Only Bai Xu, meeting her for the first time, found it amusing and quietly curved the corners of his mouth.
Shang Keshu's sharp eyes caught the slight upward arc of his lips. Before she could say anything, Shang Keyi, still seated, began settling scores, "Keshu, what did you mean by what you said just before you walked in?"
"Which words?"
Shang Keshu played dumb while knowing full well what was meant.
Shang Keyi was displeased, "You may think nothing of it, but I'm still your older sister. Can't you think before you speak or act?"
Shang Keshu let out an indifferent scoff, "Big Sister, Father has barely just collapsed, and you've already made yourself the one in charge of this family? Since when is it your place to lecture me on how to speak and act?"
Shang Keyi stood up, "Shang Keshu!"
The two sisters were seventeen or eighteen years apart in age, and had never been on the same wavelength.
"I'm right here, what are you yelling for? Don't think I'm scared of you just because your husband and son are here."
Shang Keshu stepped around the second branch of the family and walked straight toward Shang Keyi, "Big Sister, is your precious son the only child that counts? The others are nothing?"
"You actually said out loud that you were openly mocking someone for being a beggar? Do you think everyone is like you, drowning in money, with nothing on their mind but fighting over the inheritance?"
"……"
Bai Xu was startled. He hadn't expected Shang Keshu to speak up for him.
Shang Keyi caught on and shot Bai Xu a cold sideways glance, "If I remember correctly, this should be your first time meeting each other. And yet you're taking his side?"
"I wouldn't call it taking his side," Shang Keshu shrugged, "I just think big sister might be hitting menopause. Getting more and more sharp-tongued and cutting. It's a little hard to listen to, that's all."
"You!"
Shang Keyi instinctively raised her hand.
Shang Keshu moved fast and caught her by the wrist, then flung her arm away with a flick.
"……"
Shang Keyi, in her high heels, lost her balance and stumbled backward.
Fortunately, Wu Wei reacted in time, rising to catch her, "Hey, careful!"
Shang Keshu stepped forward half a pace, and while Shang Keyi had yet to react, she swung her right hand up.
A sharp gust of wind from the swing cut through the air, then stopped dead like a sudden brake, draining the color from both Shang Keyi and Wu Wei's faces.
Shang Keshu fixed her gaze on the couple's expressions and spelled it out word by word, "Big Sister, everyone in this family knows I have a terrible temper, that I'm not someone to be messed with, that when I go off I don't spare anyone, and that even Father can't do anything about me. So it would be best not to provoke me."
"My left hand may be broken and out of commission, but my right hand is still plenty nimble and strong."
As she spoke, her open palm snapped into a finger click and landed heavily right beside Shang Keyi's ear.
"I never let myself be wronged. If you dare hit me today, I'll hit you, your husband, and your son all at once!"
"……"
Those words once again left everyone present speechless.
Bai Xu couldn't help but give a silent thumbs-up in his heart.
He felt that the 'Shang Keshu' described in the original book was nowhere near as vivid as seeing her in person.
Fang Yuhua watched Shang Keyi suffer a rare defeat and couldn't hold back her schadenfreude, "Serves her right!"
All these years, Shang Keyi had lorded it over the second branch of the family, relying on her status as the eldest daughter, her husband's doting, and her son's accomplishments. She had never given them so much as a pleasant look. What a piece of work she was!
But every mountain has a higher one. It took someone like Shang Keshu, who thrived on stirring things up, to finally put her in her place!
Shang Le'er heard her own mother's remark and hurriedly shot her a look, "Mom, stop talking!"
"……"
Shang Keyi had first nearly stumbled and made a fool of herself, then been openly warned by her own younger sister in front of everyone. A woman as proud as she was— how could she possibly swallow that?
She was so furious her face had turned green on the spot!
Shang Qishun quickly spoke up, "Mom, Auntie is just joking around with you."
Wu Wei also hurried to smooth things over, "That's right, the two of them haven't seen each other in so long. Let's not let things turn sour."
"Why are the two of you holding me back?"
Shang Keyi was so angry her eyes had gone red. Once again she turned her gaze on the silent instigator of it all, "Bai Xu, you've got a lot of nerve! Tell me, is your third branch really..."
The Old Madam Shang walked in, her expression weary, "It's only been a short while. What is all this noise about again?"
Behind her were also the two brothers, Shang Yanxiao and Shang Queyan.
The two of them had just stepped through the front door of the main house and happened to run into the Old Madam Shang as she came downstairs.
Shang Yanxiao immediately locked eyes with Bai Xu and walked straight to his side, "What's going on? In a bad mood?"
Bai Xu gave a small smile and explained the situation quietly, "Shang Keyi was berating me, saying I cling to the Shang family like a beggar who won't leave."
"……"
Shang Yanxiao's expression shifted slightly, then he heard Bai Xu continue, "Your little aunt happened to overhear, so she said a few words back, and things got a bit heated."
He had barely finished explaining when Shang Queyan spoke up from the other side, "Little Aunt, what happened to your hand? Are you alright?"
Shang Keshu didn't have time to stop him from asking, and let out an exasperated click of her tongue, "You little brat, always poking at a sore spot!"
The Old Madam's attention shifted over, and she asked with concern, "Xiao Shu, what happened?"
Shang Keshu walked back to the Old Madam's side, leaned against her with one arm and acted coy, "Mother, I tripped and hurt myself by accident. It'll be fine in a bit. I missed you so much~"
The Old Madam Shang patted her on the head, "Always saying the nicest things. If your father hadn't had this accident, I doubt you would have bothered coming back."
Shang Keshu shook her head, "No, I actually came back this time planning to stay in the country for a good while."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Shang Keshu swept her gaze across everyone in the dining room, letting it linger a little longer on Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu, and smiled with amusement, "Things have been quite lively at home lately. I have to stick around and watch how it all unfolds."
The Old Madam gave her a light swat, "There you go talking nonsense again! By the way, what were you all making such a fuss about just now?"
Shang Keshu, getting ahead of Shang Keyi before she could turn the tables, tossed the question over to Bai Xu, "Mother, ask him! He's the one who started it."
"……"
Shang Yanxiao couldn't quite read Shang Keshu's intentions, and afraid that Bai Xu might feel put on the spot, instinctively shifted his body to shield him.
Shang Keshu caught the protective gesture and let out a couple of amused laughs, "Shang Yanxiao, did the sun just rise in the west? What are you blocking him for?"
It was rare for her to see her own nephew be so protective of someone!
The Old Madam turned to Bai Xu, "Xiao Xu, what happened?"
Bai Xu gave Shang Yanxiao a subtle poke in the small of his back, and by the time he stepped out from behind him, his eyes were already brimming with aggrieved helplessness.
"Old Madam."
A single word of address, with a faint tremor in his voice, seized the room's attention completely.
"……"
Shang Songming, who had been watching the whole spectacle, raised his eyebrows sky-high and immediately whispered to his sister, "Did you see that? Did you see that? That guy Bai Xu is an absolute master of switching faces!"
He was sharper-tongued and more unrelenting than anyone when he had right on his side, yet when he played the pitiful card, he pulled it off without a hitch!
Shang Yanxiao and Shang Queyan exchanged a glance and let Bai Xu do his thing.
The Old Madam asked, "What's the matter, dear?"
Bai Xu smiled with visible effort, "I'm the only one here who doesn't carry the Shang name. I'd rather not disturb your meal, so as not to end up being talked about as someone grabbing at the third branch's share of the inheritance."
It was a strategic retreat, though the second half of what he said carried a pointed edge.
Shang Keshu hadn't expected Bai Xu to look so well-behaved on the outside, yet be quite entertaining when he played his cards.
She quickly added, "Mother, I never said any such thing, but my big sister is another matter."
"……"
How could the Old Madam not understand by now?
Even though she could see Bai Xu was putting on an act to win favor, she could also guess that her eldest daughter must have said something similarly unpleasant. Otherwise, would things have escalated this far?
Shang Keyi was at a loss for words, "Mother, I..."
The Old Madam waved her hand, cutting her off, "Enough. Everyone sit down and eat."
"Today is a family dinner. There are things I'd rather not say, but I hope you all know in your own hearts where the line is."
She looked at her eldest daughter and said quietly, "Qishun's engagement is at the beginning of next month. You, as his mother, should rein in that temper of yours. Don't make a spectacle of yourself in front of the new bride-to-be."
Shang Keyi swallowed her pride, "Understood."
The Old Madam then looked at Bai Xu, her tone noticeably softer, "Xiao Xu, you sit down and eat too. With me here and Yanxiao here, no one will dare say a word against you."
Bai Xu nodded obediently, "Thank you, Old Madam."
The Old Madam settled into the head seat and gave one final reminder, "As the saying goes, a harmonious family thrives in all things. If nothing else, do it for the master of this house. Are we all clear?"
"Don't worry, Mother."
"We understand, Grandmother."
...
The family dinner came to an end with everyone nursing their own feelings throughout.
Bai Xu and Shang Yanxiao had barely reached the entrance when Shang Keshu came after them, "Yanxiao, wait."
Shang Yanxiao turned around, "Little Aunt, what is it?"
Shang Keshu gestured for them to follow and found a quiet corner of the garden to talk, "Let me ask you something. Was the old master pushed? Have you found out anything?"
Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu hadn't expected Shang Keshu to ask so directly and were both caught off guard.
Shang Keshu knew what they were startled by and said plainly, "You don't need to look at me like that. It's just a guess on my part."
"Even though the old master is getting on in years, he's always been full of energy. He used to scold me quite enthusiastically over the phone. How could he so easily end up with a heart attack from stress and a brain bleed from a fall?"
"Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law are both good people, and I trust the temperament of you two brothers as well. At the time, one of you was abroad and the other was at the company, so I'm not pointing any fingers at you."
Bai Xu spoke on Shang Yanxiao's behalf, "Who is Little Aunt suspecting?"
Shang Keshu smiled at him, answering with a question of her own, "Oh, calling me Little Aunt just like that now, are you?"
"……"
Bai Xu caught the teasing note in her words and explained, "It's just... just that calling you Fourth Miss didn't feel right."
Shang Yanxiao gave a quiet laugh and steered the conversation back, "We're not certain yet. The last two people Grandfather saw before the accident were Second Uncle and Brother-in-law."
Shang Keshu mulled it over, then stated her conclusion, "Second Brother wouldn't do it."
"Why?"
"What don't I know about my own siblings?"
"My big sister has always been proud and strong-willed. My second brother looks like a cheerful people-pleaser on the surface, but he's got plenty of calculations going on inside. Still, they're both the same as your father and as I am."
Shang Keshu was confident, "None of them would ever harm their own father."
Even though the old master had grown increasingly peculiar in his later years and kept a strict hand over all four of his children, none of them would ever bring themselves to harm him.
"Even if there was some unpleasantness, a couple of arguments or a fight would be enough to settle it."
Shang Keshu made sure no one was nearby, "If I had to choose between the two, I trust my brother-in-law far less."
"But words alone aren't proof. I'll need to look into it properly. If you come across any evidence, feel free to tell me anytime."
"After all, there are certain things that aren't easy for you younger ones to step into directly, but I can."
Shang Yanxiao gave a slight nod, "Understood, Little Aunt."
"About that..," Bai Xu suddenly didn't know how to address her and stumbled before managing to say, "Back at the dinner table just now, thank you."
Shang Keshu smiled, "Alright, just call me Little Aunt. You and Yanxiao have already done what you've done, so what's there to be shy about over a title?"
"……"
D- done what they've done?
Those words hit like a thunderclap!
Bai Xu felt a rush of heat surge up and quickly grabbed Shang Yanxiao's arm.
Shang Yanxiao felt equally embarrassed, "Little Aunt, you..."
Shang Keshu suddenly found it quite entertaining to tease these two young ones and put on the expression of someone who had seen it all, "It's only October. Wearing a turtleneck is a bit too early, don't you think?"
"……"
Bai Xu kept his gaze fixed on the ground and said nothing.
Shang Keshu, with none of the airs one might expect from an elder, gave Shang Yanxiao's shoulder a matter-of-fact pat, "You two, keep it under wraps."
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