After Tai Sheng escorted the old lady off, Minglan was still immersed in the sadness of separation. Rulan rushed to Mucangzhai and saw Minglan lying listlessly on the couch, hugging a large pillow in a daze. She went up to Minglan and patted her face: "Hey, wake up, you're still sad! Come on, come on, you're the only filial granddaughter, we're all heartless!"
Minglan didn't have the energy to argue with her, and only said half-heartedly, "No, no, the sisters are sad in their hearts, and I am not well-mannered enough, so I am sad on my face."
Rulan punched the cotton. She had nothing much to say, so she got straight to the point. "Uh, well... Pinlan sent another letter. Tell me quickly, how is Mr. Sun doing now?"
Minglan rolled her eyes at the rooftop.
Pinlan's series of letters basically have only two themes, one is "the record of a heartless and unscrupulous villain who cruelly abandoned his wife and the decline of his family", and the other is "the record of the full recovery of the kind-hearted Ms. Sheng Shulan who was mistreated". Ever since Minglan mentioned it inadvertently once, Rulan has become a loyal listener of this serial story.
It is said that after Sun Zhigao exchanged a divorce letter for half of the dowry, he immediately moved the pure dancer into the main house, while Shulan was sent by her family to the village where Gui Jie'er married. The village was rich and the people were simple. In addition, Gui Jie'er's father-in-law was the local head of the village, so there was not much gossip.
Without Shulan's restraint and the watchdog that came with her as a dowry, Sun Zhigao spent his days in debauchery, often holding banquets in restaurants and inviting a bunch of pretentious guests to recite poems and enjoy prostitutes. He was really happy. When the provincial education commissioner found out about his behavior, he was furious. During a seminar on imperial examination essays held by local scholars, he coldly denounced Sun Zhigao in front of everyone, calling him "immoral" and a "scum of the culture." Sun Zhigao returned home in humiliation, and he spent even more recklessly.
Sun's mother was easily influenced and didn't know how to spend the large sum of money. She decided to learn how to invest from others, sometimes in a rouge shop, sometimes in a rice store, and sometimes even at high interest rates. The industries varied greatly, but the results were the same: losing money. Minglan seriously suspected that Uncle Sheng Wei had secretly added fuel to the fire.
In this way, after the extraordinary woman in the brothel gave birth to a son, the Sun family was no longer as prosperous as before. However, Sun Zhigao was very proud and still pretended to be wealthy. In order to continue living a comfortable life with servants at his command, he had to sell off his property one after another. Sun's mother also advised her son to be more restrained, but Sun Zhigao kept talking about what he would do after he got high school.
However, the extraordinary woman in the brothel was obviously unable to wait. One day, Sun's mother and son went out for a banquet and returned late. After returning, they drank a bowl of hangover soup and fell asleep. When they woke up, they found that all the property and the cash box in the house were gone. There was only a "deeply touching" long letter left by the extraordinary woman in the brothel and Sun's mother's nephew: it said that the two had known each other for a long time, and the son she gave birth to was also the nephew's. They had loved each other for a long time, and their true love could move heaven and earth. Unfortunately, God was not on their side, and the lovers could not be together. After struggling for all these days, they finally could not deceive their feelings, so they decided to live together. They asked the "kind and magnanimous" Sun's mother and the "noble and great" Sun Zhigao to understand their feelings; oh, please understand their behavior of taking away the property.
After word got out, the Sun mother and son immediately became the laughingstock of Yuyang. The truly loving couple left in a hurry, not selling their house, but selling off their farmland and other valuables. Sun Zhigao's son immediately found life difficult. The town's restaurants and taverns no longer offered him credit, and the bookstores and paper shops came to collect their debts. Seeing the thin porridge and pickles on the table, the Sun mother and son finally remembered Shulan's kindness and made inquiries to Cang Township. Sun Zhigao initially tried to show off, claiming he was condescending to marry Shulan. However, when they arrived, Shulan was not only married but also pregnant.
Shulan's husband's family is a wealthy family in the neighboring village. They have houses and fields. The new brother-in-law is a kind and honest man. This time, Sheng Wei and Li carefully examined his character, put on enough airs, and happily married their daughter off.
Sun's mother and son stared at Shulan's bulging belly in amazement. Sun Zhigao said some harsh words in anger, but Shulan was no longer the Wu Xia A'mon of the past. She sneered and ridiculed them severely. Gui Jie'er was even more ruthless and directly pointed out the key problem of Sun Zhigao - "Maybe you can't give birth. Go see a doctor and don't waste other people's good daughter's labor."
Sun Zhigao was so ashamed and angry that he almost died. At this time, the strong and honest country men arrived. They didn't waste any words and just swung their carrying poles to beat Sun Zhigao up and drove him out.
The latest news is that Shulan gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and Sun Zhigao became a regular customer of the pawnshop.
Rulan left a table full of melon seed shells, very unhappy with the ending, and also dissatisfied with Minglan's passionless explanation. Minglan was also very upset, so she picked up the account book left to her by the old lady and read it carefully.
Question 1: An acre of medium-quality dry land costs about five taels of silver, while a paddy field costs twice as much. A high-quality paddy field can be sold for twenty taels. If she has one thousand taels of silver, what should she do with it?
Answer: It depends on the situation and policy.
Question 2: The family originally had ten servants. After three generations of the master, the servants multiplied greatly. They relied on their seniority to take over and became unusable. Meanwhile, the family expenses were increasing. How could they be reduced?
Answer: The best option is family planning and good discipline; the middle option is to let the child go; the worst option is to sell him.
Question 3: There are many people in the family, and the men do not work. The monthly expenses are not enough to cover the expenses. What should I do?
Answer: Divide the family and each raise his own.
Question 4: The parents-in-law are stupid and favor another wife and refuse to divide the family property. The sisters-in-law are greedy for money and the uncles are lustful. There is a huge deficit in the family property. The man favors his concubine and abandons his wife. The wife's family is indifferent and doesn't care about her life or death. There is no way to go to heaven and no door to enter the earth.
Answer: ...Reincarnate again.
The accounts reflected not only the income and expenditure issues, but also the complex interpersonal relationships and close relationships, which were finally mixed into a mess. Minglan looked at it for a whole day and felt a splitting headache. A big family is a toss. Each room has its own plans. Some problems have no solution at all. They can only be slowly wasted. When the daughter-in-law becomes a mother-in-law, the baton will be passed to the next generation, and then it will continue.
"Miss." Danju came in through the curtains and said with a smile, "The lady from the madam's room came to tell her that there are new spring clothes and hairpins and rings, and asked the ladies to go and pick them out."
Minglan got off the couch and asked, "How's life in the courtyard these days?" while Danju fixed her clothes and hair.
Danju paused for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "It's certainly not as good as when the old lady was here; a few of the little girls have started some gossip."
Minglan smiled slightly and instructed, "You don't have to scold me deliberately, just watch me more." Danju was puzzled, and Minglan's lips curled slightly, "People in the inner courtyard are all easy to share in wealth, but difficult to share in adversity. Let's just wait and see."
In the past, in order to take care of Minglan's health, the old lady was extremely meticulous and careful with her diet. During the day, she had snacks such as cream-based, cheese-based, and steamed foods, which she took turns eating. At night, she had rock sugar bird's nest porridge, golden thread and red date soup, and all the best things she could get. Minglan ate so much that her skin became smooth and fair, and even the little maid benefited from it. But now, everything has to be arranged according to the public order.
Danju understood and said solemnly, "You have been so kind to them in the past. If they become resentful at the slightest mistake, they deserve to die! Miss, I will see to it."
Xiaotao helped Minglan to Wang's room, where she saw Wang leaning on the Xiangfei couch, talking and laughing with Liu Kun's wife. There were two square tables put together in the middle, and on them were neatly folded new silk coats and embroidered paintings, which were very eye-catching. Molan and Rulan were standing by the table, looking at these things. When they saw Minglan coming, they glared at her.
Wang Shi knew that Minglan was always slow to do anything. She was slow to kowtow and greet, but she was also always late in distributing things, taking only the leftovers. This way, no one complained. She put down her teacup and picked up a small black lacquered wood box with mother-of-pearl inlay on the small table. She asked Liu Kunjia to pass it to her, saying with a smile, "This is new from Cuibaozhai. Your eldest sister ordered it before the New Year. She thought it was very bright, so she sent it here. Take your pick, sisters."
Liu Kun's wife had already opened the box and placed it next to the silk on the table. Inside the box was a sea of glittering pearls and jade, shining with gold and jade. Minglan looked up and saw three head ornaments placed side by side in the box: a glazed hairpin with mandarin duck tassels, a golden hairpin with a bat pattern and inlaid with southern pearls, and a honey-flower-colored crystal hairpin. They were indeed novel in style, transparent and bright.
The three Lans looked at each other. Ru Lan pouted and said, "Fourth sister, you can choose first. Father always says that there is order in terms of seniority."
Molan smiled faintly, walked forward, looked around, and finally picked up the most dazzling gold-beaded hairpin. Rulan suddenly chuckled and turned to Minglan and said, "Sixth sister, in the story of 'Kong Rong giving up the pear', was it the elder brother who gave way to the younger brother, or the younger brother who gave way to the elder brother?"
Minglan didn't know whether to answer or not, so she could only smile bitterly and said, "Fourth sister, don't you know how much knowledge I have? Please don't embarrass me."
Rulan rolled her eyes at her and turned to Molan, "Father often praises Fourth Sister as the most learned of us sisters. What do you think, Fourth Sister?"
Molan's pretty face flushed, and she looked embarrassed. She forced a smile and said, "If you like this one, just say so. Why bother bringing up some historical allusions? We're sisters, how could an older sister compete with a younger sister?"
Rulan said slowly, "It doesn't matter which hairpin it is, but I just want to learn some principles from you."
"Then you choose first!" Molan put down the golden bead hairpin, her eyes lowered and full of resentment.
Rulan said contemptuously, "My elder sister has already chosen her, how can I take her away from her? Daddy will scold me again."
Seeing Rulan being so persistent, Minglan frowned slightly and looked up at Wang, only to see that she was busy talking to Liu Kun's wife and didn't even glance at them, as if she didn't know anything. Minglan lowered her head and she understood.
This time the old emperor held an imperial examination, and many of Sheng Hong's colleagues and classmates had their sons take the exam, but Chang Feng didn't even pass the exam, and could only watch the rare opportunity fly away. Recently, Sheng Hong looked at Chang Feng with a frown; the day before yesterday, half of the colleagues in the Censorate were talking about each other's sons who were taking the exam. Sheng Hong felt very uncomfortable listening to it. After returning home with a gloomy face, he went straight to Chang Feng's study, intending to educate his son well, and make sure that his son passed the imperial examination in the autumn next year and the spring the year after.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the door, he heard the sounds of men and women laughing and joking. Sheng Hong kicked the door open and went in. He saw his own son with a smile on his face, holding a jade pen in his hand in a dashing manner. Next to him was a pretty and graceful girl, who lifted her sleeves, and Chang Feng wrote gorgeous verses on her snow-white and tender arms.
Sheng Hong was sharp-eyed. He saw the erotic words written on it: "Skin as pure as ice, bones as delicate as jade, with a strong fragrance. Undress and wait for you to taste it." He was furious and tied up Chang Feng tightly without saying a word. Then he used the family rules to beat him with a stick, which made the elegant young man cry for his parents. Aunt Lin came to plead for mercy, kneeling on the ground and begging bitterly.
Sheng Hong was furious. In front of everyone in the house, he pointed at the mother and son and cursed them, saying they were "useless pieces of mud that can't be helped".
Aunt Lin also felt aggrieved. She also wanted to take good care of her son, but she was an aunt after all, and her position was not legitimate. Her son was not very obedient, and she was afraid that if she was too strict, it would hurt the relationship between mother and son. She would have to rely on him for the rest of her life.
Sheng Hong decided to go all out and searched Chang Feng's study room from top to bottom. He unexpectedly found more than a dozen books of "Spring Palace" and erotic poetry collections. The papers were worn out, which was obviously the result of frequent revisiting of old books to gain new insights.
Sheng Hong was extremely angry. He personally picked up a stick and beat Chang Feng again, then put him under house arrest. He then went to the outer accounting office and strictly ordered Chang Feng not to withdraw money at will. Any amount exceeding five taels must be reported.
Aunt Lin's power came for two reasons: she herself was favored and her son was valued by Sheng Hong. Now her favor was no longer as great as before, and her son was despised. The servants in the mansion were all kind-hearted, so the limelight temporarily turned to Wang.
"So what do you want, sister?" Molan sneered. She had never been ridiculed like this before.
"I don't want to do anything." Rulan flipped through the clothes beside her nonchalantly and said deliberately, "But since my sister asked me to choose first, isn't that going against father's wishes? I have to have an explanation. We are sisters, so who is more noble than the other?"
She stretched out the end of her words and looked at Molan provocatively.
Molan bit her lip, she knew that Rulan wanted to force her to say the four words "there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children". In the early years when Aunt Lin was favored, she often made a fuss about the "legitimate and illegitimate children" and won a lot of sympathy and love from Sheng Hong.
Although things were different now, she still refused to lose face. Glancing at Minglan standing beside her with her head bowed, she suddenly changed her mind and said with a smile, "Fifth sister is right. When Kong Rong gave up his pears, he gave the big one to the small one. In that case, let Sixth sister choose first."
Minglan glanced at Molan, and the little bit of pity that had just risen in her heart immediately disappeared. Seeing Molan coming over to pull her over, Minglan turned lightly and dodged Molan's hand. She had already thought of the words, and when she was about to speak, she heard from outside: "The master is back."
Wang, who was watching the show sideways, was stunned for a moment, and looked at the clepsydra beside her. It was only the beginning of the afternoon, and it was not time to leave the court yet?
Liu Kun's wife was more alert. She immediately helped Wang up and went to greet Sheng Hong. Sheng Hong walked in, dressed in his official uniform and a winged hat. He looked uneasy, and his beard was a little disheveled. He walked straight to the main chair and sat down. Wang quickly ordered tea and walked over and said with a smile, "Master, you're back. Why are you here so early today?"
Sheng Hong carefully took off his official hat and said casually: "Today's special examination is over, even the Left Censor-in-Chief has left, and only a few of us are left, so we are back." It is not good to be too different as an official. As long as it does not involve serious issues of principle, it is better to follow the crowd.
The three Lans stood properly and saluted Sheng Hong respectfully.
Sheng Hong nodded slightly when he saw the three girls were all there. Then he saw a table full of clothes, hairpins, and frowned, "Didn't Hua'er deliver these yesterday? Why are you only giving them to them today?"
Wang's face froze as she covered it up, "In a few days, the Duke Zhongqin's mansion will be celebrating Hualan's son's full moon. I thought it wouldn't be good for the girl to be too plain, so I bought some more fabric for clothes. That's why we're dividing it today."
Sheng Hong nodded, then suddenly remembered that when he came in just now, he saw Molan and Minglan standing by the side, and only Rulan was standing by the table. There was an open jewelry box on the table. He glanced at Wang Shi, feeling unhappy, and asked, "Why is Ru'er the only one choosing? Did Mo'er and Ming'er get a share?"
Mo Lans walked up to Sheng Hong politely and said with a smile, "Fifth sister, please choose first."
Sheng Hong knew that Rulan and Wang had the same temper and were not kind. Thinking that Wang might be being mean to her concubine, he immediately glared at Rulan, who turned pale.
Minglan saw something was wrong and quickly stepped forward, tugging at Sheng Hong's sleeve. "Father, please make a decision for us," she said with a smile. "Just now, Fifth Sister said there's an order of seniority, and Fourth Sister should choose first. But Fourth Sister said we should play the game of 'Kong Rong giving up his pears,' and wanted me to choose first. I think, no matter what, it's always either Fourth Sister or me, and Fifth Sister never gets to choose first. She's really at a disadvantage. So, this time, let her choose first. Father, what do you think?"
Sheng Hong had always liked Minglan. Seeing her bright and lovely appearance, and after hearing her childish words, he smiled at the three Lans and said, "Good, you know how sisters love each other. It comforts your father."
Molan gritted her teeth secretly, but couldn't find a way to refute, so she forced a smile and agreed. Rulan also breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Shi saw the opportunity and immediately said, "I'll send the things over later. You can choose yourselves. Your father needs to rest."
The three Lans retreated respectfully.
Sheng Hong watched his three daughters leave, then stood up and walked into the inner room with Wang Shi. He offered Wang Shi his arms to remove his clothes and loosen his belt, saying, "How is Brother Quan? How is my daughter-in-law?"
Wang thought of her chubby grandson and smiled brightly, "All right, all right! The child is still young and shouldn't be exposed to the wind. Otherwise, I would bring him out and show him to the master. Oh, that boy, his arms and legs are so strong!"
Sheng Hong also laughed and said repeatedly: "Look at the face of that child, he is a blessed one! It's good to be energetic, it's good to be energetic!" It is said that the eldest son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of an old couple. Seeing the grandson's chubby little arms swinging, Sheng Hong's heart melted and he kept telling Wang to take good care of him.
"Not only Quan'er, but Hualan's Shi'er is also good-looking. The last time I went to see her, she could already smile. Oh, her smile is so sweet, just like Hua'er when she was a child!" Wang sighed with joy, "That's great, Hualan can stand up straight now, and she doesn't have to always look at her mother-in-law's face!"
Sheng Hong actually doted on his eldest daughter. Of all the children in the family, Hualan was the only one he had actually held to sleep and fed. As an official who shouldn't judge others, Sheng Hong couldn't help but say, "Uncle Zhongqin is a good person, but my mother-in-law... isn't she much better now?"
Wang snorted coldly, "Hmph, if I hadn't gone to her house and said so, she would have only wanted to set up two tables for the full moon banquet. They are both her own sons, but one had fifty tables of banquets, and the other did this. Isn't she afraid of being laughed at for being biased? Her son-in-law is so foolishly filial. It's just pitiful for Hua girl. I don't know how much of her dowry she was tricked into losing. Now that the master and Bo Ge'er have been promoted, she has calmed down a little. Hmph, she doesn't even think about the fact that his family was neglected back then, and it was a blessing from his ancestors that Hua Lan agreed to marry him!"
Sheng Hong pondered for a moment and said, "I briefly mentioned this to my uncle that day. He will control my mother-in-law."
At this point, Sheng Hong suddenly thought of something and asked, "Then...what about Mo's marriage?"
Wang folded her official robes, frowned, and sighed, "It's true that I haven't looked everywhere, but Master isn't happy with any of them. Bai'er, the editor in the Hanlin Academy, you thought he was poor. I asked someone to come here, but you thought he had no background. If he's from a wealthy family, then he can only be a son-in-law. To be honest, there are good ones, but we're looking for sons-in-law, just like we're looking for daughters-in-law. Mo girl, what can a bastard's future be like? How can we find one?"
Sheng Hong felt uncomfortable. In fact, he also thought that those candidates were enough, but he could not resist Aunt Lin's crying and begging. Faced with reality, Aunt Lin had to bow her head and found that He Hongwen's conditions were really good.
"Let me be frank with you. In a few months, Molan will be coming of age. If she continues to be so picky, I won't care. However, she can afford to delay, but Ruyatou and Mingyatou can't. When the time comes, don't blame your younger sister for not waiting for her to become the older sister!" Wang Shi gave Sheng Hong a heads-up.
Sheng Hong frowned and said with a headache, "The old lady mentioned to me that the last time she went to Youyang, she saw my eldest sister-in-law's nephew, named Yu Ge'er. He is a studious and hardworking man, and his family is also well-off. He sounds good. Let's see if he can pass the imperial examination next year."
He still trusted the old lady's judgment. When the old lady mentioned it, she said with a smile that the boy was quite similar to herself when she was young. Thinking of this, Sheng Hong felt much better. If he looked like himself, then he would probably be a promising young man with talent and good looks!
Very good, very good. If it can be accomplished, Molan will be blessed.
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