Do you know? Do you know? It should be Green Fat Red Thin Episode 20

  Those four little maids were all under the age of ten, two younger than Minglan and two older. Their names were: Er Ya, Zhao Di, Xiao Hua, and Nian Zi. Old Lady Sheng smiled and asked Minglan to give them new names. This was not Minglan's first time doing this; she had also named Little Peach. So these four would be called Li Zi, Lai Zhi, Pi Pa, and Gui Yuan from now on - a set of fruit names that sounded neat and tidy.

  Just as she was about to speak, Tan Ju beside her coughed lightly and smiled: "The two sisters by the side of Fourth Young Miss, named Lu Zhong and Yun Sai, are said to be from books, no wonder they sound good and elegant."

  Standing next to Danju, Xiaotao expressed her depression about her own name with a glance. Sheng Lao and Fang Mama also smiled and teased Minglan with expressions, making her feel embarrassed for a moment. Isn't it just Tang poetry? Who doesn't know that?

  After being greatly embarrassed, Minglan immediately flipped out a collection of poems, and after searching for a while, she found one. Isn't it great? Is Li Bai awesome or what? People call him the Poetry Immortal! Minglan stood in the middle with an imposing aura, pointing at the small girl: "You're called Yanzhu." Pointing at the slender one: "You're called Bisi." Pointing at the gentle and shy one: "You're called Qinsang." The last one, who was bold and daring, was called Lüzhī.

  Tangerine was very considerate, immediately came forward to join in the fun: "Miss has a good name, sounds good and looks good, and the four of them are green, while I and Little Peach are red, thank you Miss for promoting us two silly ones."

  Saying that, she also pulled Xiao Tao along to give Minglan a blessing. Minglan somewhat regained some of her self-respect, and Xiao Tao was very happy, following along to join in the fun: "Yes, I can eat with Sister Danju, why can't they?"

  Ming Lan...

  Old Lady Sheng suddenly burst out laughing and fell onto the couch, watching the children's antics with great amusement. The four newly arrived girls covered their mouths and giggled softly, while Housekeeper Fang sat on a small stool, smiling to herself as she thought: Now that these six young ladies have come, this Shou'an Hall is truly delightful.

  Mrs. Sheng became more cheerful day by day, perhaps because she felt relieved in her heart and her body was much better. Sheng Hong was very happy and said that it was right to have a child to take care of her at first. Mrs. Sheng had the energy to manage household chores now. When the personnel changes in the Sheng Mansion were almost complete, Zhang Bai sent his relatives back home. Because Sheng Wei and Zhang Wu still had to stay in Beijing to handle affairs, Zhang Bai returned home alone. Another thin and gaunt old man who came on the same boat was Zhuang Ru.

  Mr. Zhuang was invited to the mansion several years ago to teach and take on disciples, with gifts sent in multiple carts, and Chen's letters written in excess of a dozen. However, Mr. Zhuang's teaching quality was renowned, his students were highly successful, and business was booming, leaving no room for leisure. A few months ago, Mr. Zhuang celebrated his 70th birthday, but unfortunately caught a cold after drinking too much at the banquet, and spent over a month in bed. The doctor suggested he go to a place with a humid climate to recuperate, but Jiangnan was too far, so Dengzhou was chosen instead.

  Mr. Zhuang patted his old bones, which didn't have much weight left, and thought that his life was more important, so he accepted Sheng Hong's invitation and returned with Chang Bai to the capital city. Another person who came together was a robust wife of a teacher, whose daughter had married far away in Shanxi Province many years ago, and their son was either a county official or a chief clerk in the south, but it wasn't clear which one. Sheng Hong specially set aside a small garden on the west side of his mansion, which he renovated for days to let Mr. Zhuang and his wife live in.

  The old couple had only three or four servants following them, but there were twenty to thirty trunks and boxes, each one heavy. Minglan sighed after hearing the gossip from Xiaotao: It seems that ancient family education is also lucrative.

  Mr. Zhuang, Sheng Hong originally intended to support the education of his two eldest sons, but after being deeply educated by Kong Yiniang, he felt that good teacher resources should not be wasted. After consulting with Mr. Zhuang respectfully, he added another sum of money and included the three daughters and the youngest brother Rong as auditing students.

  The day before school started, Sheng Hong and Wang called their children to the front and exhorted them. First were Zhang Bai and Zhang Feng. Sheng Hong, as usual, began with "governing the world and relieving the people" and ended with "glorifying the ancestors". In between, he added a few words about loyalty to the emperor and love for the country. The two big boys nodded their heads in agreement.

  "Mr. Zhuang is very learned, although he's a bit older now, but he's famous for his quick wit and has been teaching for over a decade. He's extremely clear about the imperial examination system. You should all learn from him properly and not slack off! Don't think that just because you have some fame and reputation, you can be arrogant and dismissive. If I find out, I'll break your bones!"

  This was Sheng Hong's closing remark, a stern lecture with a severe tone. According to Confucian theory, as a father, he couldn't show his sons a good face, and it would be best if he scolded them three times a day. However, when he turned to his three daughters, who would eventually become someone else's family members, his expression softened:

  "Although girls don't need to learn a lot of things, it's essential to understand the principles of human relationships and being a good person. It's also good to know more about the ways of the world, so you won't be laughed at for being narrow-minded when you go out in the future. I've already spoken with Mr. Zhuang, and from now on, you three will attend school in the mornings, but don't need to go in the afternoons when they teach eight-legged essays and examination techniques."

  Sheng Hong said this when Wang's face turned a little green, she herself was illiterate, let alone what wet or dry meant, it was all Greek to her. At the beginning of their marriage, everything was fine, but as time went on, Sheng Hong couldn't help feeling a bit depressed. He thought of himself as a romantic and elegant scholar, so when he sighed in front of the moon "the moon has its phases", even if he didn't expect his wife to immediately respond with "people have their joys and sorrows, partings and reunions", he hoped she could understand that her husband was lamenting the impermanence of human life, rather than responding with something like "today isn't the 15th, so the moon can't be full"!

  After a long time, Wang naturally knew her own shortcomings in this regard. Later on, she actively advocated for her daughter to read books. Hualan was fine, but Rulan was just like her mother's temperament - clever in other ways, but unfortunately hated books and had only learned a few characters under duress. She couldn't compare with Molan, who spent all day reciting poetry and composing essays. Thinking of this, Wang's expression turned solemn, and she said:

  "Your father is right, it's not about learning poetry and songs, but about learning some principles that are really important. In the future, when you're in charge of the family and managing things, you'll have a certain air about you!" Mo Lan lowered her head even further, and Lan Song relaxed her tone.

  Sheng Hongyu thought that what Wang said was not unreasonable, so he didn't say anything. Suddenly, he remembered something and said: "In the future when you go to school, don't wear those big gold locks." Then he turned to Wang and said: "These scholars have always considered gold and silver to be vulgar things. The three gold locks that your brother gave are especially dazzling, it's okay to wear them when visiting guests, but seeing a teacher is bound to show off."

  Wang nodded and said, "Then I won't wear it." After thinking for a moment, he said to the girls, "You three sisters should not dress separately when meeting people. The other day, didn't the old lady make three pairs of jade lockets? You can hang your own jade locks on them. It's said that jade is the gentleman among stones, and Mr. Zhuang will surely like it."

  Sheng Hong was very satisfied: "Madam is right, it's good this way; ... but will there be jade tomorrow?" As he spoke, he looked at Minglan with a somewhat apologetic gaze.

  Wang smiled and said, "Ming Yatou's days with me are short, I was also negligent. It was Old Lady who was thoughtful, she specially took out a piece of good jade material from her own room and sent it to Cuibaozhai to ask the master craftsman to carve it personally. I think it's very good, the color is warm and thick, the texture is smooth and shiny, and the workmanship is fine and beautiful. It looks better than those of Si Yatou and Wu Yatou. After all, it's Old Lady, what she brings out is always exceptionally good!"

  Minglan lowered her head and sighed secretly: Ah, women, if you don't hide some profound meaning in your words, you will be killed.

  This secret is not hidden deeply, everyone understood, the boys are fine, but Lan immediately shot over two probing lines, Mo Lan, who was lowering her head, also looked up at her. Sheng Xun knew what Wang Shi meant and said calmly: "You are the legitimate mother, you should be more concerned about the girls' affairs. Now that even Old Lady has to make up for your negligence, it's really not right." Seeing Wang Shi biting her lip with an unwilling gaze, Sheng Xun added another sentence: "Anyway, Ming Yatou is raised by Old Lady, so she can only trouble you more."

  The couple exchanged a glance, then returned to calmness.

  Minglan quietly replenished them ——

  Sheng Hong's underlying words are: As the legitimate wife, all the children should be taken care of by you, how can you be so partial and still have a reason for it?

  The Wang family's inner words are: You bastard, it's not my fault that you were born, and you weren't raised by me since childhood. Why should I spend money, effort, and energy on you? If I don't give them a hard time, I'm considered a saint; but your mom can also learn to be like this.

  "Alright, the child doesn't need you to raise him either. Each finds their own mother, that's it. Minglan's real mother is dead, she can just rely on her grandmother from now on. You don't have to say anything more."

  Finally, Sheng Hong said a few more words to Zhang Tong. This child was only four or five years old, and his birth mother, Xiang Yiniang, was originally a maid of the Wang family. Now she still relied on the main house for a living, and her son was considered to be raised in front of the mistress. This little boy had always been timid and fearful, neither a legitimate child nor a favored one. Madame Wang didn't make things difficult for the mother and son, but simply ignored them altogether.

  When she went out, Minglan saw Xiangniang waiting at the door, with a humble and respectful expression. When she saw Changbai coming out, she greeted him with a smile and gently led the little boy away. Suddenly, Minglan felt that compared to the late Weiniang, she was still lucky.

  ……

  After Hua Lan got married, Ruolan moved into the Wuyi Xuan. After Sheng Hong finished speaking, Ruolan returned to her boudoir with a gloomy face, kicked over a small stone-faced ebony stool, and then rushed onto the bed, violently tearing at the silk brocade pillowcase. When Wang Shi followed in, she saw this scene and scolded: "You stupid girl, what's wrong with you now?!"

  "Like Orchid, she stood up loudly and said: 'Fourth sister snatched my jade lock, that's fine, Lin Niang has the ability, why did Minglan, that little maid, also surpass me? I'm not as good as a small woman who was raised by her!'"

  Madam Wang grasped her daughter's arm, pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed, and scolded, pointing at her forehead: "Didn't your father give you a jade pendant later? The jade is only inferior to the ink orchid. You ungrateful thing! The ink orchid was given by Old Mistress, and you didn't want to go to Shou'andang yourself, who can be blamed?"

  "I am the legitimate daughter, no matter whether I try to please my grandmother or not, she always favors me. Now, just because Minglan has been spoiled for a few days, suddenly there is no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children? And every day talking about rules and etiquette, don't make me laugh! A little servant girl born out of wedlock, given some food to eat, and yet treated like a precious young lady! I've heard that in other families, girls born out of wedlock are all made to serve as maids, sold or beaten at will, who would have thought it would be like this?"

  The Wang family was furious, and Liu Kun's wife smiled and handed over a cup of tea, while sending away the maidservants and cleaning up the mess on the floor. "Miss is young and doesn't know that only those uncouth merchants and peasants don't treat their daughters as human beings. The more prestigious the family, the more they treat their daughters with respect! You should know that Miss is a precious guest, and when she gets married, there's no telling what will happen. In the past, when Madame was in her natal home, there were two distant cousins, one legitimate and one illegitimate, who were treated as young ladies; when they got married, the legitimate one married into a high-ranking family, while the illegitimate one married a poor scholar. But fate is unpredictable, and it turned out that the high-ranking family declined, while the poor scholar had a successful career and prospered. The illegitimate daughter was also kind-hearted and remembered the past affection, often helping her natal family and legitimate sister's family; later on, she even helped her legitimate sister's children get married."

  Like an orchid with a puffed up face, she coldly laughed and said: "Liu Mama is cursing me to be like that legitimate sister of mine?"

  Wang slapped Rulan on the back and scolded, "You heartless thing! Liu Mama is our own person, speaking words that are close to our hearts. Liu Mama said that the bigger the household, the more they can't let others gossip, and girls before marriage are all treated generally; but you, always trying to outdo others, yet having no ability yourself, unable to win over Old Master and Old Mistress's favor. You can't even learn from your elder sister, let alone Minglan!"

  Like an orchid, she was silent for a moment, then thought of something and said: "Didn't Mother say that the old lady wasn't someone to be trifled with? Why is it now gold and jade? She's being so generous."

  Wang was also depressed: "A rotten boat also has three catties of nails, I was foolish to think she still had some capital left."

  After some thought, she advised her daughter with a bitter tone: "You child are too intolerant. Your sixth sister never quarrels with you, yet you can't tolerate her either. You don't have any tact, and I'm afraid you'll suffer greatly in the future. But think about it, why do you need to compete with them? If you were like your elder sister, your status would be there, and you would inevitably marry better than them and live more comfortably. What's the point of making a fuss now? Don't provoke your father's dislike, even if you pretend, just give me a harmonious sisterly appearance!"

  Like an orchid, she seemed somewhat convinced, nodding her head with difficulty.