"Huo Mei Shu, you are really becoming more and more ill-mannered! Rong Dai is your elder sister-in-law, how can you speak to her like that?"
Before Rong Dai could even respond, she heard the reprimanding voice of Huo Shao Jie, and saw the anger on his handsome face.
Huo Mei Shu's expression stiffened slightly, she had not expected her second brother to overhear what she had just said.
"An actress, so she's just someone I can insult together with my second brother." Huo Mei Shu was displeased, and turned to leave.
"Apologize to elder sister-in-law!" Huo Shao Jie grabbed her arm to stop her, his voice cold and authoritative.
Rong Dai watched in shock, unsure of what was happening.
Although Huo Mei Shu's words were excessive, she did not want to argue with a girl in her twenties over this. After all, counting her past and present lives, she was older than the girl's grandmother.
However, she had not expected Huo Shao Jie to get angry and force Huo Mei Shu to apologize to her.
"Why should I apologize to her? Isn't what I said the truth?" Huo Mei Shu was not one to back down either, not the least afraid of Huo Shao Jie, she struggled and glared at him defiantly.
Rong Dai was afraid this would disturb the peace in the family, especially if it caused a rift between the siblings, she would be the one suffering.
After all, they were blood siblings, bound tightly together, while she was just an outsider.
Moreover, she would not be staying with the Huo family for long, just about a year. She did not need to make trouble for herself.
"It's fine, she's just worried." She quickly went over and pulled Huo Shao Jie's hand off, seeing that Huo Mei Shu's arm had been grabbed red.
"Don't pretend to be kind here! The Huo family has never wronged you, stop embarrassing the Huo family!"
Huo Mei Shu scoffed coldly, her beautiful eyes looking at Rong Dai with ill intent.
Huo Shao Jie was extremely frustrated, giving Rong Dai a helpless look, "Elder sister-in-law, you're spoiling her like this, she will just become more unruly."
But Rong Dai just smiled, no matter how unruly she became, it was only because she was an outsider.
Moreover, she would not be staying at the Huo household for long anyway, just about a year. She did not need to make trouble for herself.
All these thoughts flashed through her mind, she steadied herself and gave Huo Shao Jie a helpless sigh, "It's fine, she's just worried."
Huo Shao Jie felt helpless, he had not expected the footage of Rong Dai's audition today to be leaked online.
With the internet so advanced, even if he tried to do PR control now, it would probably be too late.
The main issue was that he and Lu Ye had put in a lot of effort into this drama over the past two years, and there had already been insider gossip spreading within the industry. Many people were anticipating it, so some were bound to want to dig out first-hand news.
He had been careless about this.
"Was there an issue with my audition today? I just saw Mom calling Shao Ting."
Rong Dai asked him, seeing how serious Huo Shao Jie looked, he must have come to see her specifically, otherwise it was too much of a coincidence to run into Huo Mei Shu warning her at the door.
"Yes, I have to apologize to elder sister-in-law about this matter. There had already been gossip spreading within the industry about this drama, I should have taken more precautions today. It's probably too late now to do PR control. Elder sister-in-law may see a lot of false news over the next few days, don't take it to heart."
Hearing the gravity in his tone, although Rong Dai did not know how much impact this would have, she understood that if it brought negative publicity to the Huo family, she probably would not be able to take on this role.
Even if grandmother and Shao Ting had agreed, mother-in-law's side, and even other branches of the Huo family would probably not agree.
"Eldest brother, I did not handle this matter well."
Before she could respond, she saw Huo Shao Jie look past her.
Rong Dai also turned to look, seeing the man had changed into a slate gray silk robe, looking especially cold and aloof.
"Hmm, I don't want to hear any unpleasant rumors."
He only uttered a light acknowledgment, his gaze falling upon Rong Dai.
Rong Dai felt a chill down her spine, her whole body tense, as though facing a formidable enemy.
Oblivious to her unease, Huo Shao Jie took his eldest brother's words to heart. He understood his eldest brother very well.
If this matter brought any negative impact to elder sister-in-law, the drama he had planned would probably end up stillborn.
"Eldest brother, elder sister-in-law, please rest early. I'll head back first." Huo Shao Jie said and hurried back to his room. Before he could check Weibo, Lu Ye called.
"Are you going to sleep in the corridor?"
Huo Shao Ting turned to enter the bedroom, noticing Rong Dai standing there motionless. He couldn't help but frown at her, his tone cold, "Are you going to sleep in the hallway?"
Snapping out of her thoughts, Rong Dai hurriedly walked over.
After shutting the bedroom door, she looked hesitantly at Huo Shao Ting's back, wanting to ask if mother-in-law knew about this matter. She was almost certain the answer was yes.
"Shao Ting, should I give Mom a call and ask for her opinion?" She still asked tentatively, just rephrasing it.
Huo Shao Ting's expression was cold, he poured a small glass of red wine from the liquor cabinet and took a sip before looking at her, "Is her opinion very important?"
Rong Dai faltered, how could it not be important? She was the mother-in-law!
Not understanding his meaning, she still nodded.
"Then call her." The man paid her no heed, taking the wine glass out to the balcony, leaving her a cold, aloof back.
Rong Dai sighed inwardly, grandmother asking them to live together really was a dreadful idea.
This would likely bring him a lot of trouble, at least it would be hard to explain to Wen Shi Lan.
Back when she had become Empress, although she had to tolerate the Emperor getting more and more concubines in the harem, she would be sleepless every time he took in a new concubine, until she eventually fell ill.
She knew that feeling of heart-wrenching agony.
Wen Shi Lan already harbored great hostility towards her. If Huo Shao Ting could not provide a satisfactory explanation, it would strain their relationship.
If Huo Shao Ting took it out on her instead, she would be the one suffering.
It seemed the meeting with Wen Shi Lan could not be delayed any further. Otherwise, before resolving this issue of taking on the role, she might end up offending Huo Shao Ting, making things even more difficult.
As these thoughts flashed through her mind, she steadied herself and called mother-in-law Lu Zheng's number.
But the call was busy. She could only wait about 20 minutes before calling again, this time hearing Lu Zheng's somewhat gloomy voice.
"Mom, when will you be back?"
Hearing the call connect, Rong Dai immediately put on a smile, her voice soft and gentle.
On the other end, Lu Zheng was feeling rather annoyed, but her son's words still rang in her ears. She could only suppress her displeasure.
"You still know to call me? After just one day without me at home, you've created such a disgraceful incident!"
As expected, she knew.
Upon hearing mother-in-law's tone, Rong Dai sighed inwardly. She had not expected that as an Empress in her past life, she would sink to this point in this life.
