On the way back, Minglan didn't say a word. She felt as if her whole body was stuck in a quagmire, neither left nor right, and she was caught in the dilemma of not being able to advance or retreat. Her chest was burning with heat, but her hands and feet were cold as ice. Her mind was blank, as if she was exhausted and tired. As she thought about it, Minglan burst into tears. Old Lady Sheng sat beside her and looked at her quietly, with a kind and compassionate look in her eyes. She reached out and gently stroked the girl's hair.
Minglan felt an indescribable grievance, and her sobs gradually turned into soft sobs. She nestled her small shoulders in her grandmother's arms, shaking gently, burying her cries in the old lady's sleeves filled with sandalwood incense.
"Ming'er, Grandmother knows your feelings." The old lady hugged Minglan and said slowly, "But marriage is about mutual consent. A forced marriage is not sweet. Life is not something that can be understood by just reasoning."
I wish I could find a devoted partner, someone to stay with until old age. How many women dream of such a life, painted eyebrows and rouge, and happy marriages? But how many women can achieve this? Most of them are respectful to each other, but few are truly in love. My granddaughter is usually smart, but she has become obsessed with this matter, confused by He Hongwen's promise, and she is stuck in a dead end. I just hope she can figure it out on her own.
Old Madam Sheng couldn't help but sigh.
It was another night of strong winds and heavy rain. Minglan lay on her side on the bed, staring at the green water outside the window with her eyes open, imagining the water slowly flowing along the window sill into the soil. Gradually, the rain stopped, and a fat moon quietly emerged from the dark sky like splashed ink, with a big round face. Through the misty water vapor, it slowly reflected a strange luster, like crystal fragments. Minglan kept her eyes open and stayed awake all night.
The next day, Minglan got up early, with red circles under her eyes, and knelt in front of the old lady.
"I've done so many foolish things these days, causing you to worry and losing face. This is all due to my unfilial behavior. Please punish me, Grandmother." Minglan bowed respectfully, her face, usually as beautiful as a delicate flower, now pale. "Marriage is a matter of the elders' deliberation and decision. From now on, I'll let you make all the decisions, Grandmother. I won't have any say in that!"
The old lady sat on the Luohan bed, her silver-grey brocade headband embroidered with cloud patterns and inlaid with emerald gems gleaming with a dark color. She stared at Minglan intently, her eyes filled with a myriad of thoughts. After a long while, the old lady sighed deeply, "Forget it, get up."
Minglan supported her knees and slowly climbed to her feet. She then asked the old lady to pull her to her side. She patted the back of her hand gently and listened to her grandmother's nagging: "Girls all have to be confused like this once. After the confusion, the twists and turns, the fuss, and the tears, they will finally come to their senses. You are a sensible child. It is a blessing to have an honest person who treats you sincerely. Don't be obsessed, or you will hurt yourself."
Minglan nodded with tears in her eyes. As she was speaking, Cuiping suddenly ran in and announced softly, "The young master of the He family is here."
The grandfather and grandson looked at each other in surprise. What were they doing here so early?
During this meeting, Old Lady Sheng treated He Hongwen as just an ordinary old friend and nephew. She changed into formal clothes and asked the maid to serve tea and fruit. Minglan went into the inner room and did not even show her face.
But as soon as the grandfather and grandson saw He Hongwen, both people inside and outside the house were shocked. They saw that He Hongwen's eyes were black, and there was a deep scratch on his left cheek as if it was scratched by a fingernail, extending from under the eye to the ear. There was a bruise on his right cheek, his lips were broken, and one of his wrists was wrapped in thick white gauze.
"Brother, what happened?" Old Lady Sheng exclaimed.
He Hongwen lowered his head and glanced around. Noticing Minglan wasn't there, his expression darkened. He clasped his fists and replied respectfully, "It's all because of Hongwen's ignorance that he's dragged down the old lady and Minglan..."
Old Madam Sheng coughed heavily. He Hongwen felt sad and quickly changed his words: "It's all because of Hongwen's lack of virtue that he has dragged you down. Last night, Hongwen went to my uncle's house and explained everything clearly. I'm willing to ask my mother to adopt my cousin as her adopted daughter. I'd like to invite the elders of the clan to come and pay their respects. From now on, we'll be like real siblings. Hongwen will never break the rules of etiquette!"
Old Lady Sheng understood that He Hongwen must have gone to the Cao family to confront his uncle and aunt that night, but ended up being severely punished by his uncle, aunt, and possibly cousins. Thinking of this, Old Lady Sheng was delighted. Stepsister? That's a good idea!
Old Madam Sheng finally felt relieved when she saw He Hongwen's bruised face, but she still had many questions: "Will your mother agree?"
He Hongwen raised his pig-like face and smiled at the old lady with difficulty. The wound at the corner of his mouth pulled, and he couldn't help but let out a cold breath. He replied irrelevantly: "Last night, my mother saw me and was quite... angry."
This sentence was very mysterious. Minglan in the inner room understood it. This guy had used a cruel trick on his mother. Old Madam Sheng's eyes flashed, and she asked meaningfully, "I'm afraid the matter...isn't it over yet?"
First cry, second make a fuss, third hang yourself; the third and most crucial trick has not been used yet.
He Hongwen lowered his head, then raised it resolutely and said sincerely, "When Hongwen was young, my mother asked me to study and take the imperial examination, but I didn't want to, and I followed my own nature and studied medicine. Old lady, please trust Hongwen for once. Hongwen is not the kind of person who has no opinion and will be manipulated by others. Hongwen knows right from wrong and will never dare to disappoint Grandmother and Old Lady!"
Old Lady Sheng's heart moved at these words. She looked at He Hongwen's earnest and solemn eyes, as well as his face full of shocking scars. The old lady pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's hard to say whether it's sincere or not, but it's just that you think more about it. I've watched you for so many years, and I trust your character. If your wish can come true, that would be the best. Even if the moon doesn't always come full, it's also God's will. It's not good to bear it day by day. Marriage is destined by heaven, so there's no need to force it."
These words were spoken in a very kind, friendly and touching way, but in fact, nothing was promised. Minglan secretly praised the old lady for her art of speaking. What she meant was: Master He, your starting point is good, and your plan is wonderful, but the future is uncertain, so just work hard, and you can talk about it when you can turn your cousin into your sister. However, a girl's youth is short, and we still have to plan for ourselves during this period, so you have to hurry up.
He Hongwen understood this, and he knew that the Cao family's affairs were truly infuriating, and that they couldn't be covered up in a few words. Without a definitive explanation, the Sheng family had given up on the marriage, and now even his grandmother was angry and refused to intervene. He Hongwen's expression was gloomy, and he offered many flattering words, but Old Lady Sheng refuted them all with a simple, amiable expression, talking in circles, but she refused to give in, and showed no intention of even asking Minglan to come out to meet him.
After saying a few more words, He Hongwen said goodbye sadly.
After they left, Minglan slowly emerged from inside, her expression calm. The old lady put away her smile, leaned back wearily against the pillow of the Luohan bed, and said slowly, "Hong'er was thoughtful."
Minglan walked slowly to the old lady's side, picked up the beauty hammer beside her, and gently massaged her grandmother's legs. She said, "Everyone has a heart."
"Why?" The old lady looked at Minglan's calm face and was quite interested: "You don't want to fight anymore this time?"
Minglan paused, shook her head helplessly, and replied, "I've fought for every granddaughter I should have. Grandmother is right. Marriage should be consensual; forced marriage is never good. I'll let you decide on your granddaughter's marriage. Whatever happens, it's up to you! The Sheng family raised me. Even if I can't bring honor to our family, I shouldn't bring disgrace to them."
Old Lady Sheng looked at Minglan's pale yet resolute face, feeling a little distressed. She said softly, "My dear, it's good that you understand. You're still young, so just wait and see. We've done our best for the He family. We've persuaded and talked it out. If Hong-er can really succeed, then he's a worthy man, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to agree to the marriage. If not..." The old lady hesitated, then said firmly, "The Spring Examination is about to begin. There are many young talents in the capital, and our family is not the kind of family that seeks to curry favor with the rich and powerful. Then, it might be possible for Grandma to find you a good boy with a good character."
Minglan knew that the old lady now favored Li Yu, but this time the old lady dared not reveal a word. Now she really regretted letting her granddaughter and He Hongwen get to know each other too early.
There were no more tears in Minglan's eyes. The corners of her mouth curved up into a pale red on her snow-white skin, revealing two playful and charming dimples in her smile. The sweetness seemed to seep into her heart. "Yes! Grandma is right. As long as one is honest and lives a stable and comfortable life, it is also very good."
Growing up is a painful process, and maturity is a necessary choice. If possible, which girl would not want to be a proud and bright princess all her life? People are not plants, and the woman does not expect a happy marriage, so there is no need to pretend to be calm and indifferent.
But the affairs of the world are like knives, which crush the girl's innocence one by one, smooth out her edges, destroy her ambition, and turn her into a faceless woman, surrounded by pearls and jade, dressed in brocade and satin, arranging the daily life of concubines, taking care of the marriages of illegitimate sons and daughters, and busying herself with the whole family inside and outside. In the end, she is enshrined high in the family's dignity and becomes a stereotyped symbol.
She didn't want to become such a symbol of virtue. Every girl had a dream of being together for life. Perhaps, this was her obsession with He Hongwen. She should be more open-minded. The fields, mountain springs, fishing, delicious food, and books were not the eternal love that a man could provide. She could live a good life by saving more private money and raising her children well.
…
In late September, Minglan had her coming-of-age ceremony. There were not many visitors, and Madam He indeed made a fine red gold and emerald pearl hairpin and personally tied it up for Minglan. With such a relationship, if anyone mentioned their dealings with the He family in the future, they would not have to go over.
Hualan presented a pair of precious white jade hairpins adorned with golden phoenixes, Molan a painting, and even Princess Pingning, whom she hadn't seen in a while, sent a large quantity of brocade and southern pearls as a gift. Rulan was especially courteous, pulling out her best-kept treasure and having a pair of magnificent gold-threaded dragon-head necklaces crafted at Cuibaozhai. Wang was so enchanted by the sight.
Minglan took advantage of no one's attention and secretly tugged at Rulan's sleeve, whispering, "Fifth sister, there's no need to bribe me. I won't tell anyone." Rulan rolled her eyes and whispered, "Brother Jing asked me to give it to you. He said that as the elder sister, I should care about my younger brothers and sisters. I also gave a lot of fabric to Dong'er, enough to make him two new sets of clothes!"
Seeing Rulan's respectful and virtuous older sister, Minglan immediately took a new look at the man surnamed Wen. Could Zhang Sheng change?!
The days that followed were uneventful. Li Yu would go to the Sheng residence to "learn from old lady Sheng" once every five days. Every time, he would eat half a plate of snacks before leaving. His eyes had almost become so perceptive that he had almost stared two holes in the screen.
To be honest, apart from the fact that he spent a little longer each time peeking at Minglan, there was really nothing wrong with Li Yu. He stayed at his brother Changwu's house every day to study hard and never went out for social events. Even when he went out, he was very well-behaved and always brought his children with him. The important thing was that his five older cousins were all married, and his two younger cousins were still young.
Wang was busy examining those young students with wealthy family backgrounds, Hai was found to be pregnant, and she was holding a jar of sour plums every day to suffer from morning sickness, and Quan'er had already learned to walk, and he loved to play around Minglan with a smile on his face, his mouth open and drooling.
News came from the He Mansion one after another. In just twenty days, Aunt Cao attempted suicide once, Mother He fainted twice, Cousin Jinxiu became seriously ill three times, and Uncle Cao and his cousins even came to make trouble. Old Madam He was furious. Not only did she order the servants to drive everyone out, she also immediately cut off the financial support to the Cao family and forbade any member of the Cao family to come to the house again.
At the end of October, Aunt Cao went to the He family with tears and snot, apologizing profusely and begging for mercy, telling them her family's faults. Old Madam He didn't want to kill her, so she gave her some silver, but still refused to let Aunt Cao see He's mother on her sickbed.
Mrs. He finally put into practice what Minglan wanted to do but couldn't do.
Just as the cool autumn air was about to begin, Shuntian Prefecture issued a notice stating that the Northern Expeditionary Army had returned with a great victory, severely inflicting heavy losses on several main forces of the Jie Nu people, killing countless enemies, flattening the enemy camp, and killing three Jie princes and the King of Zuoguli. They also captured countless war horses and military supplies, killing the Jie people so hard that they fled in panic, and pursuing and killing tens of thousands of enemy troops along the way!
It is said that Uncle Shen Congxing was determined to give face to the emperor's brother-in-law, so he traveled overnight and rushed to the capital before the anniversary of the late emperor's death to offer the head of the Jie Nu commander and many captives as a sacrifice!
On October 27, the gates of the capital were wide open. The soldiers of the Beijing camp were dressed in new armor and armed with red tassel spears, whips and iron chains. There was a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps, opening a wide official road. The emperor personally led the Royal Guards to welcome them and arranged eighteen teams of ceremonial guards. The people of the capital lined the streets to welcome them. The capital was not far from the northern border and was threatened by nomadic peoples day and night. To them, the general who fired cannons at the Jie Nu was much more meritorious than the one who put down the rebellion.
At the auspicious time, three salutes were heard in the distance, and the army that was responsible for the Northern Expedition to Pingjie entered the city. General Gan was in the lead, and Generals Chen and Gu followed on his left and right. Firecrackers boomed in the city, and colorful flags several meters high were densely packed all along the way, fluttering in the wind. The people looked up at them, and the whole city was filled with flowers and dancing. Wherever the army went, there were cheers and applause.
That night, the emperor gave a banquet in the imperial palace and conferred official titles on a number of victorious generals.
Among them, General Gan was promoted to Minister of War, Shen Congxing was granted the title of Marquis of Weibei, a first-rank title that was hereditary, and he was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army, and Gu Tingye was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army, both of whom were second-rank. The two were also granted a mansion by the emperor and countless other rewards. All the officers and soldiers under them were rewarded, and the capital was filled with celebration for a while.
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