Chapter 677: 677: A Servant?
It’s Wendy Clarke and Christy Xenos who have thicker skins and don’t feel embarrassed.
Christy Xenos is getting impatient.
She came to get money, not to provide Cindy Clarke with a dowry.
Cindy Clarke doesn’t deserve it!
“This… this… this dowry thing can be discussed later. We’ll go back and discuss it with our family,” Christy Xenos stammered, not willing to settle the dowry issue on the spot.
The family members Christy Xenos referred to probably didn’t include Cindy Clarke.
However, they’d better not consult with Cindy Clarke; otherwise, she’d make them spit blood.
Cindy Clarke grinned and said, “Alright, we’ll discuss the bridewealth according to the dowry you agree upon later.”
Wendy Clarke didn’t want to have an open conflict, especially in front of the Zhekova family, so she couldn’t say too much.
Today, they couldn’t achieve their goal.
Wendy Clarke had never expected that the Zhekova family would stoop so low as to be calculating over such small sums of money.
She had thought that, even to avoid trouble, the Zhekova family would generously offer the money to get rid of them.
However, she didn’t expect the Zhekova family’s thinking to be completely different. But now, as it was lunchtime and Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke were back,
It was indeed mealtime, and they were not leaving. The family mansion had no choice but to invite them for a meal.
Of course, Wendy Clarke wouldn’t take advantage of the family mansion just for a meal.
But as long as they stayed, both parties would be equal once they sat down for a meal, effectively acknowledging their in-law status.
Wendy Clarke’s calculation was well-planned, but the Old Madam didn’t play by the conventional rules. And she never spared any face to those who were shameless.
Before Wendy Clarke could even speak, the Old Madam smiled and said, “Have you finished talking about what brought you here today?”
Both Joshua Clarke and Christy Xenos had a slower reaction and nodded subconsciously.
Old Madam laughed and said, “Since we’ve finished talking, we won’t see you off. Please take your time leaving.”
“How come?” The thick-skinned Christy Xenos interjected, “It’s mealtime, aren’t we going to have a meal together?”
Christy Xenos thought to herself how impolite and disrespectful the Zhekova family was.
It was mealtime, and they still wanted to drive their guests out.
At this point, Aunt Evans came out with an apron on, smiling, “I apologize; we didn’t expect any guests today. Your visit was sudden, and we haven’t prepared anything. We only have enough food for our family.”
Without thinking, Christy Xenos retorted, “What about Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke? Don’t they have any food to eat either?”
Christy Xenos said, “They also returned without any notice.”
Aunt Evans kept repeating there was not enough food in the mansion for everyone. So were Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke also lacking food?
Who would have thought that such a large family as the Zhekova’s would not even have enough food for a few extra people? How embarrassing!
So Aunt Evans smiled and said, “How could that be? The Young Master and the Young Madam are our own family. There’s always food for them whenever they come home. When they come home, we don’t consider it a visit, but a return. Who needs to announce beforehand when they return to their own home? Naturally, there’s always enough food for them. It’s only when outsiders visit that there’s not enough.”
Aunt Evans’s words were quite impolite, essentially saying that Clarke family was not welcomed anytime, and even food was not offered to them, even if there was enough.
Christy Xenos never expected a mere servant to be so impolite!
The Old Madam was the oldest member of the Zhekova family, and even if she said something displeasing, Christy Xenos didn’t dare say anything.
But what was Aunt Evans – a servant – to say anything?
She had no right to speak here!
Not keeping her mouth shut and even daring to mock the guests, who gave her the courage!
Christy Xenos shot Aunt Evans a cold look, then put on a fake smile and said to the Old Madam, “Old Madam, I didn’t want to mention it, but your servant here doesn’t know better. Is that how she should speak to guests?”
Christy Xenos went on, “I understand that the Zhekova family looks down on our humble origins. But no matter how you look at it, we are your guests, and you are our elder. We won’t argue with whatever you say to us. But shouldn’t you discipline your servants?”
“When even the servants look down on people, it’s your family’s face that’s lost. I may not have come across many prestigious families like the Zhekova’s, but I imagine well-established and prestigious families should value etiquette all the more. So, how can you tolerate such rude behavior from your servants?”
“Once word gets out, it’ll be said that the Zhekova family cannot manage their servants and can’t control their subordinates!” Christy Xenos added.
Aunt Evans frowned. Although she didn’t like the greedy scheming of the Clarke trio, she knew she had misspoken.
Aunt Evans, though a longtime servant of the Zhekova family, always knew her place and never adopted an arrogant attitude.
Nor did she ever think she had earned special status through her years of service or acted entitled due to her age.
Conversely, the Old Master and Old Madam treated her as a family member, but she and Butler Howard had always acted cautiously, never overstepping their boundaries.
Aunt Evans believed that maintaining a clear sense of propriety was the only way to not disappoint her masters.
Ironically, the Old Master and Old Madam had always felt that Aunt Evans and Butler Howard were overly cautious.
It was just that earlier, Aunt Evans couldn’t help herself, as the trio from the Clarke family were utterly infuriating.
Before meeting them, she already found their actions despicable based on what she had learned from Cindy Clarke.
However, upon meeting them today, their shamelessness shattered Aunt Evans’s worldview.
Particularly, she had previously harbored some hope for Joshua Clarke and thought him a decent person.
But when she heard him talking about inviting relatives to the wedding without planning to bear the cost himself, Aunt Evans was truly enraged.
The Zhekova family may not be short of money, but they didn’t owe the Clarkes either.
The Clarkes expected the Zhekova family to foot the bill to invite their own relatives.
Having money is one thing, but it’s not how things should work.
Joshua Clarke’s remark only served to expose his greed and vanity.
Aunt Evans didn’t expect that even the seemingly kind-hearted Joshua Clarke was such a person.
It was a testament to the hardships Cindy Clarke faced living with the Clarke family.
Thus, Aunt Evans couldn’t help but ridicule the Clarkes a bit earlier.
Although she couldn’t hold back, she inadvertently put the family mansion in an unfavorable light as being impolite with Christy Xenos.
Feeling remorseful, Aunt Evans’s expression changed accordingly.
Old Madam, upon seeing this, smiled and said, “A servant?”