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The servant from the government office, upon hearing Madam Fang Chen’s words, stood there somewhat awkwardly, thinking to himself that he wasn’t there to pick her up, yet fearing he might offend someone, he looked towards Su Wenyue for guidance with difficulty.

Seeing the government office servant act this way, Madam Fang Chen and Zhou Wang felt some discontent. Why did the servant look towards Mrs. Su when they asked a question? Especially Madam Fang Chen, who felt rather annoyed, thinking that this servant from the government office had no sense of the rules, unable to even answer a question properly. However, since he was indeed a servant from the government office, even though Madam Fang Chen was irritated inside, it wasn’t appropriate to show it outwardly, so her facial expression became somewhat nuanced.

“Pfft!” Xiao Xi, watching from the side, found it quite amusing and couldn’t help but burst into laughter, at which everyone turned to look at her.

Madam Fang Chen couldn’t vent her anger on the government office servant, but seeing Xiao Xi like this, she caught a handle: “You unruly thing, what is there to laugh about? It’s only because your ill-mannered mistress indulges you that you behave this way. If it were me, had I a servant girl like that, I’d beat her to death and sell her off. Servants should stick to their place!”

As soon as Madam Fang Chen said this, Xiao Xi, knowing Madam Fang Chen’s character well, didn’t feel much about it. However, the servants from both the government office and the Su Family felt a tinge of discomfort, thinking Madam Fang Chen was a bit too arrogant. After all, if Madam Fang Chen wanted to teach a servant a lesson, she should mind the place. What kind of authority was she trying to assert here!

Being servants, they felt hurt by her words. Moreover, Madam Fang Chen’s remarks seemed to imply indirect criticism. Most importantly, considering the situation, these two women apparently didn’t have a good relationship with Miss Su. Did they misunderstand?

Xiao Xi certainly wasn’t intimidated by Madam Fang Chen, and snorted coldly, “Whether I stick to my place is for my mistress to discipline me, and Madam Fang needn’t bother herself with concern. However, some people really lack perception, seeing themselves as far too important. From where does Madam Fang presume that this young man came to escort her, do you really believe your status warrants that?”

“What do you mean by that?” Madam Fang Chen at this point forgot about lecturing Xiao Xi and turned to the two servants from the government office.

Servants differed from one another, and those who managed to work by the side of the County magistrate’s wife, having been sent by her, were the shrewdest of their kind. Seeing the situation as it unfolded before them, what could they possibly not understand? However, though Madam Fang Chen and Zhou Wang could be considered guests, it wasn’t the place of servants to mistreat them. Yet, there was no need to welcome them inside either, so the servants from the government office stopped paying attention to Madam Fang Chen and instead bowed respectfully before Su Wenyue.

The servants of the Su Mansion were different. These two women were clearly targeting their Miss, something they couldn’t stand by and watch, but they were well-behaved and, understanding that this was the County government, they didn’t show their displeasure outwardly, though they planned to report everything back to their master later.

“I have seen Madam Han and know that you were coming. Our family’s Madam and Madam Su are both waiting inside the mansion, and have sent us to escort you over,” the servant said.

It turned out that the servant had come to pick up Mrs. Su, leaving Madam Fang Chen red-faced with embarrassment. Reflecting on the earlier situation, she felt a burning shame. These servants! Clearly, they had come to pick up Mrs. Su, so why did they stop in front of her? She thought they had done it on purpose, that Mrs. Su had colluded with them to embarrass her. She would remember this!

Zhou Wang, seeing the government office servants acting this way, was firstly surprised, then quickly understood. She was not as haughty as Madam Fang Chen, somewhat aware of Mrs. Su’s background, but she didn’t anticipate the County magistrate’s wife holding Mrs. Su in such regard. It must be that the Su Mansion had ingratiated themselves with the County magistrate’s wife.

“Mother has already arrived?!” Su Wenyue, hearing what the servant from the County government said, revealed a smile on her face, no longer bothering with Madam Fang Chen, and promptly asked the servant to lead the way.

Madame Liu Zhao and her party had come along with Su Wenyue; although they didn’t have an invitation, with Su Wenyue leading them, the concierge’s servants naturally didn’t obstruct them. It seemed that the leading servant boy had even spoken to the concierge before going in, and the concierge glanced over at Madam Fang Chen and Zhou Wang.

Watching Mrs. Su and her party enter, Zhou Wang felt a surge of envy. She had cozied up to the wrong person. Knowing this, she would have come with Mrs. Su and her group. She saw the government office servants treating Madam Liu Zhao and her group quite politely. However, she could only keep such thoughts inside, not daring to show them outwardly as she still relied on Madam Fang Chen to bring her inside.

“Madam Fang, let’s go in as well, it’s getting late,” Zhou Wang said, seeing Madam Fang Chen still standing there brooding. She felt somewhat disdainful; this woman was just pretentious. Her mother’s family had fallen into decay a long time ago, yet she still couldn’t see it, foolishly priding herself on her status as though she was something special. Look now, even the concierge’s servant didn’t give her any regard.

“Let’s go, what are we doing standing around here,” Madam Fang Chen retorted coldly, and then proceeded towards the main entrance.

Not being led by anyone, Madam Fang Chen didn’t receive any special treatment from the concierge’s servant, who also had instructions from the lad beside the lady. Consequently, Madam Fang Chen was blocked at the gate, submitting her post only to have the concierge’s servant lazily and thoroughly check it over and over again. Only after Madam Fang Chen became quite impatient did they finally let her in, while Zhou Wang, who followed Madam Fang Chen, was naturally stopped outside.

“Madam, without a post, you cannot enter. If you wish to deliver a birthday gift to our Madam, please queue up at the side door,” said the concierge with an undisguised tone of discourtesy.

Zhou Wang, seeing this and turning to Madam Fang Chen, indeed felt extremely embarrassed. No matter how you put it, although her husband held the lowest official position, it was still a genuine eighth rank, which in terms of status was indeed higher than Mrs. Su and her group. In the town, all her associations were with those of similar or even inferior status to her, and no one had ever slighted her to this extent before, making her feel even more humiliated than before.

“Just let her in, she came with me,” said Madam Fang Chen, who, despite her pride, had to look after Zhou Wang, who had come along with her and stood by her side, effectively siding with her.

Zhou Wang felt relieved when Madam Fang Chen spoke up for her, grateful that the woman hadn’t lost her wits at the crucial moment. It wasn’t in vain that she had ingratiated herself with Madam Fang Chen, which seemed to have some use after all. Relieved, she began to enter, only to find herself still being blocked by the concierge.

Zhou Wang became irritated, raising her voice, “What is the meaning of this? Didn’t you hear I came with Madam Fang? Why are you blocking me?!”

Seeing Zhou Wang’s annoyance, the concierge’s servant didn’t even lift his eyelids, showing an attitude that seemed even prouder than Madam Fang Chen had been moments before, completely unlike the submissive manner he had shown towards Su Wenyue and her group: “Madam, without a post, we servants dare not let you in, for if we invite blame from above, we simply cannot shoulder the consequences!”

“That’s clearly just an excuse. Didn’t Mrs. Su also just take Madam Liu Zhao and others inside with her, and several people at that? Why didn’t you stop them?!” Madam Fang Chen wasn’t annoyed that Zhou Wang was stopped, but rather that the concierge’s servants showed so little regard for her, especially after she had stated that Zhou Wang was with her.