Chapter 104 Secret Affection
Song Yunjin paused, and her crying stopped. Minglan wanted to guide her slowly, but someone downstairs interrupted, "Now that the truth has been revealed, no matter what the cheater's reasons are, cheating is cheating, so Song Yunjin should be expelled from the Bailian Poetry Society to restore the society to a clean and clear state!"
The person who spoke was Han Yanran again. Others looked at Song Yunjin, some spitted on her, and some were angry at her for not fighting, but they all thought that the matter had finally been settled. Some people began to shout that the fourth lady Sheng was the well-deserved champion, and Liang Han shouted the loudest.
Rulan hugged Molan and cried with joy, wanting to pull Minglan to celebrate together. Minglan still stared at Song Yunjin, with a thoughtful look on her face.
"You also think it's not her?" Qi Heng walked up to Minglan and said something.
"Also? Brother Yuanruo also thinks it's not Miss Song?" Minglan grasped the key words.
"Buwei should be back soon!" Qi Heng said meaningfully. Minglan looked at him for a while and decided to wait for Buwei to come back with him.
Over there, several judges were already announcing the results. When they were talking about the punishment for Song Yunjin, Buwei rushed in and shouted, "Miss Song has her own reasons!"
After hearing what Buwei said, Madam Yu still wanted to give Miss Song a chance because she valued her talent, so she had to listen to Buwei's words. Unexpectedly, she was interrupted and Han Yanran shouted, "No matter whether you have your own reasons or not, if you did something wrong, you did something wrong and you should be punished. Who are you and how dare you come here to make trouble? Someone, beat him out for me!"
Han Yanran was about to drive Buwei out, but Princess Pingning stood up and said, "Miss Han is so arrogant that you want to touch someone from my Duke's Mansion?"
When the people who were pulling Buwei heard the princess's voice, they immediately let Buwei go. Han Yanran did not expect that Buwei was from the Duke of Qi's Mansion. She quickly apologized to Princess Pingning, her face flushed.
Buwei was even bolder because someone was backing him up. "I was ordered by my young master to go to the Song Mansion to investigate. I learned that Miss Song's father, Doctor Taizhong, Lord Song, was an honest official who loved the people like his own children and often helped the poor. Although Lord Song's salary was acceptable, it was not easy to live in the capital. Lord Song and Miss Song had to buy books and pens and ink on a daily basis, so the family was not well off. Even when Madam Song was seriously ill some time ago, the Song family couldn't afford the money for her treatment. Miss Song had to sell her calligraphy and paintings to pay for her mother's treatment, but even so, they didn't have enough money. Until two days ago, the Song family suddenly had money to treat Madam Song."
Buwei stopped talking abruptly, but the meaning was very obvious. Someone asked Miss Song to frame Fourth Miss Sheng for fraud in exchange for treating Madam Song! That is to say, both talented women are good at writing poetry and there is no need for cheating.
"Since she can use money to make people work for her and do so many tricks in Moxiangju, the person who set up the scheme must be obvious!" Rulan, who had been accompanying Molan, suddenly became clear-headed and hit the nail on the head.
Everyone's eyes turned to Han Yanran, and a flash of surprise flashed across her face for a moment, but soon, this surprise was replaced by a deliberately created calmness. She straightened her back, looked around with a determined look, and a forced smile appeared on her lips. "Although I am the organizer of this poetry meeting, I have never had any grudges or hatred with Fourth Miss Sheng. I have no reason to harm her!"
"You really don't?" Minglan's voice rang out as Han Yanran finished speaking.
Han Yanran glanced at Minglan fiercely, "You are just the daughter of a fifth-rank official, and a concubine's daughter. What qualifications do you have to question me?" This is what a desperate person does.
"People are born with the energy of heaven and earth. The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is determined by fate and cannot be forced by human power. To judge whether a person is wise, foolish, loyal or treacherous, one should use both virtue and talent as the yardstick, not just the nobleness of his birth. Miss Han is obsessed!" Qi Heng couldn't stand hearing anyone say a bad word about Minglan. When Ruolan and Minglan were still preparing to refute him, he took the lead in fighting back.
"The young master always protects the daughter of the Sheng family. Is there someone he likes? The young master said that he doesn't care about family background or illegitimate children. Then will the young master marry the daughter of the Sheng family as his principal wife? Will the princess agree?" Han Yanran knew that Princess Pingning was looking for a wife for Qi Heng. She knew that many people had their eyes on this outstanding young master.
"If I meet the beauty of my dreams, I swear to tie my love to one person for the rest of my life, to one wife for the rest of my life, and to never change my original intention, even if the seas run dry and the rocks crumble. I only wish to give my all to protect her, give her all the good things in the world, and never let her suffer the slightest grievance. But I am still a commoner, and I have not yet achieved fame. If I don't have the support of my family, how can I promise her a stable life? I dare not make a promise in my life lightly. I must strive for fame and wait until I pass the imperial examination before I dare to ask for your hand in marriage. So, Miss Han, don't speculate!" Qi Heng's speech was so passionate that Rulan couldn't help but applaud him, and many women in the hall had stars in their eyes.
When Minglan heard Qi Heng's sincere speech, her world seemed to be lit up in an instant. Qi Heng's voice, with firmness and tenderness, penetrated the surrounding noise and struck the depths of her heart, causing ripples in Minglan's heart. She couldn't help but look up at Qi Heng, and saw firmness and determination flashing in his eyes. At this moment, Minglan seemed to see Qi Heng surrounded by a layer of soft and dazzling light. Minglan's heartbeat accelerated involuntarily, as if driven by an invisible drumbeat, and every beat was accompanied by a strong surge of emotions. She clenched her hands tightly, trying to calm the waves in her heart, but the throbbing surged like a tide, making her unable to resist.
Everyone seemed to be shocked by Qi Heng's words, but someone downstairs was still obsessed with the previous question, "Why did you frame her?"
Han Yanran turned to the person who asked her the question, looked at the face that made her infatuated, her eyes were bloodshot, and her nerves could no longer be restrained, "Because of you! Because she is the only one in your eyes!"
Han Yanran looked at the documents and the undisguised disgust for herself, and she collapsed even more. She accused, "I am your future My dear wife! I put all my heart and soul into you, but you are tired of even looking at me. In order to be able to add fragrance to your sleeves, I studied poems and songs that I don't like, and I spent all my energy and effort to enter the White Lotus Poetry Society. I thought you would look at me more, but why can you only see Sheng Molan? She is just a concubine's daughter of a fifth-rank official. Even if she has some talent, how can she be compared with "However, today I realized that I don't need to spend so much time to deal with Sheng Molan. You only value her reputation as a talented
woman. It's just an object. She is just a talented woman. , you just play the role of talented scholar and beautiful woman with her. If she is crushed into mud, you will be afraid of dirtying the eyes of Master Wen if you even look at her. Hahaha!"
She laughed sarcastically, and turned to the high building, "Sheng Molan, even if you are extremely talented, you are just a plaything in their eyes because of your humble family background! They praise you when they are happy, and pull you down from the altar when they are unhappy!" Han Yanran pointed at the people downstairs and spoke happily.
Then, she pointed at Wen Shuyu, "Wen Shuyu, our marriage is settled. So what if you are not satisfied? I said I want to marry you, and you have to marry me! What? Do you dare to cancel the engagement? Can you cancel the engagement? Hmm?" Han Yanran looked at Wen Shuyu proudly.
Wen Shuyu was probably a person who was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. When provoked by Han Yanran in public, he just pointed at her and said "you...you..." He could do nothing to her. He just threw his sleeves and squeezed out of the crowd, escaping.