Do you know? Do you know? It should be Green Fat Red Thin Episode 34

  After the battle, Wang brought Minglan to Shou'antang that afternoon to report on the work situation.

  "What happened to the ginkgo you brought back?" Old Lady Sheng asked lightly, leaning against the window bench after changing into a dark blue silk jacket with eight embroidered flowers.

  Madam Wang frowned and said, "I originally thought she was quite diligent, so I sent her to serve at Sixth Maiden's place. Who would have thought that she was a shameless thing? I've already demoted her to the farm." Demoting an indoor maid from the second rank to work on the farm was no light punishment; Madam Wang paused for a moment, smoothed out her brow, and then turned to gently pat Minglan's hand: "You're too honest, if the maid was being mischievous you should have come to report it to me early, why did you endure it?"

  Ming Lan said, "It's because Madam is being too kind to me that I'm being so strict. Actually, Yin Xiang is quite capable and efficient in her work, and it's understandable that she doesn't know better at a young age. And as for Jiu Er, she's very good. These past few days, the girls have been out of control, but she and a few others have remained honest and diligent in their work. I haven't even thanked Madam yet."

  Wang felt a bit better, turned to Liu Kun's family with a smile, Liu Kun's heart was secretly delighted, knowing that his daughter wasn't that good, but it's always pleasant to hear someone praising her; seeing Minglan being so clever, the old lady Wang glanced at Minglan with an unintentional look, Minglan received her grandmother's signal and smiled wryly.

  The old lady lowered her eyes and said, "You're doing great, teaching Ming Yu and intimidating those who don't know what's going on. With you around, I can rest assured." The old lady rarely praised people in the past 800 years, so Wang Shi felt proud and smiled, saying, "Old lady, you're overpraising me, I don't dare to accept it."

  The old lady smiled and said: "Minglan has been following me since she was a child, but she hasn't learned any of the skills of being a wife. She only knows how to avoid trouble and be weak and incompetent. What can she do?!" As she spoke, she glared at Minglan fiercely. Minglan stood up awkwardly and said softly: "Granddaughter will not do it again in the future, I will make sure to discipline the servants well and not let grandmother and mother worry."

  Madam Wang smiled and said, "This is right. Ming'ge is young and doesn't understand how to manage the household yet, but she'll learn as she goes along. You don't have to worry about it anymore, Old Madam." Old Madam Sheng's face showed a few degrees of pleasure, and she praised Madam Wang a few more times before turning her stern face to scold Minglan: "You're still young and you want to manage such a big household? You're exhausting yourself! If you can't even take care of the people in your own courtyard properly again, I'll have to deal with you!"

  Minglan hastily responded with a series of "yeses", while Wangshi smiled and spoke up for Minglan, trying to smooth things over. Only then did Old Lady Sheng's expression soften.

  Liu Kun's family stood quietly beside, thinking: The old lady is so fierce, and the sixth girl is not simple either; She slightly raised her head to look at the complacent Wang Shi, clenched the handkerchief in her hand, and decided not to say anything.

  That day, after Wang's outburst, the young maids in the house were as quiet as if they had suddenly lost their tongues. The next day, Housekeeper Fang sent over a ruler, and the girls became even more diligent and efficient. Several of them, who usually played with Minglan and often came in with a sullen face, didn't receive any comfort from her. Instead, she distributed the "Meng'an Study Room Work Behavior Standards" and implemented a hierarchical system where senior maids relayed messages to junior ones. Every day, some time was set aside for the junior maids to discuss the document's spirit in small groups. After half a month, Cuiwei presided over a summary meeting of the trial period, with mutual encouragement and supervision, building a harmonious Meng'an Study Room together.

  It was also that day, after being scolded by Old Lady Shen, Housekeeper Fang came to pass on the message that Minglan should take care of herself and eat her meals in the quiet chamber, except for paying respects in the morning, she should spend the rest of the time "tidying up" the room. Minglan immediately became miserable and resentful, barely holding on for more than half a month. Taking advantage of a sunny afternoon, she snuck into the quiet chamber with a small package, fawned over Old Lady Shen with a straight face, and busied herself around her grandmother, massaging her shoulders and legs, serving tea and water, being extremely flattering and busy. Old Lady Shen gradually couldn't bear it, even holding onto her spoiled little granddaughter without pushing her away, only keeping a cold face.

  Minglan saw the situation improving, and hastily took out her gift. With a flattering smile on her lovely face, she presented it: "Hehe, Grandma, look at this! Your granddaughter made you a warm hat, lined with fine cotton and made of burnt wool in the style of Zhaojun. Try it on..."

  The old lady took one glance and saw that the warm hat was small, light, and bright yellow with a one-inch wide dark border. On top of it were embroidered longevity patterns in a subtle and elegant style. The old lady liked it at first sight. Before she could say anything, Housekeeper Wang started to flatter her, saying: "After all, Sixth Miss knows that once the snow melts, you won't want to wear those big warm hats outside. She sent this small one over. Look at the fine stitching and the embroidered flowers! Even if it were made by the imperial tailor, it wouldn't be as good as this. Come, come, try it on, Old Lady..."

  She took the warm hat and tried it on Old Lady Sheng's head, seeing that both sides fit perfectly along her skull, slowly moving to the back of her head. The pearl clasp at the back of the hat closed with a click, fitting just right. Old Lady Sheng touched it with her hand, feeling the softness, warmth and thickness, finding it very comfortable and cozy. Looking at Minglan, who still had an anxious expression on her face, she couldn't help but feel a pang of tenderness in her heart. Just then, Housekeeper Fang was still praising: "…it's clear that Old Lady didn't spoil Sixth Miss for nothing, just look at how well it fits, Miss is indeed getting better with age, and the more she works on something, the more outstanding it becomes."

  Minglan hastily humbled herself, her face flushing with embarrassment: "No, no, it's mainly because Grandmother has a good head on her shoulders."

  Old Mrs. Sheng couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, embracing Minglan tightly and patting her twice on the back, scolding: "You're so useless!" Minglan immediately stuck to her like caramel, hugging her grandmother's neck and acting coquettishly.

  Fang's mother let out a sigh of relief. For half a month, Old Lady Shen's face had been gloomy and it was suffocating to deal with her. Seeing Old Lady Shen asking Minglan in detail about her eating and sleeping on the kang, Fang's mother quietly retreated and hastily instructed the kitchen to add some dishes that Minglan loved to eat, thinking that for these few days, Old Lady Shen had been eating alone and hadn't eaten much either.

  The sound of the waves at Hejuandang has returned to normal, and life has returned to its original state.

  Minglan went to find her elder brother Changbai again. He was now busy preparing for the imperial examination, and only had some free time before dinner. Minglan calculated the timing and arrived early to wait for him. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she was led into Changbai's room by his senior maid, Yanghao. Then, she looked at the tea and refreshments on the table. Several maids came in and out without making a sound. Minglan thought that along the way to the courtyard, she hadn't seen even one pretty maid. Not to mention compared to Ruomei and Ke'er's beauty, even those like Bisi and Lüshi were rarely seen. Minglan once again sighed in admiration at her elder brother being such an extraordinary person.

  Minglan still remembered the time a few years ago when they were selecting candidates, and her older brother Changbai was the first to choose. He didn't pick any of the beautiful or talented ones, only choosing a few honest and simple girls. Wangshi was very dissatisfied, feeling that now that his son had grown up, it was time to bring some new people into the household, and he wanted to select some more elegant and refined candidates. Changbai insisted that women who were outstanding in both talent and beauty were usually proud and arrogant, prone to causing trouble, and would disturb his studies, making it impossible for him to focus; he firmly refused to choose any of them. Wangshi had a lot to say but couldn't get the words out - "Son, these girls are meant to 'stir up' some excitement in your life! Why do you need to be so calm and quiet at such a young age?" He also subtly hinted at the meaning of "sharing a room".

  Chang Bai thought for a moment, agreed with her mother's suggestion, but turned around and asked Liu Kun's family to come forward. Facing the crowd of maidservants, she said something that made Wang Shi's face change color, reportedly becoming as green as mung bean paste.

  The two generations of female owners of the Sheng Mansion have been similar in their treatment of concubines. When Old Lady Sheng first entered the mansion, she immediately dismissed all of Old Master Sheng's concubines, and no one dared to say anything about it. Later, when Wang Shi entered the mansion, she followed suit and married off all of Sheng Xiang's concubines, with Old Lady Sheng's tacit approval. Therefore, Zhang Bai asked Liu Mama to speak up: "The customs of the Sheng family are such that whether or not to raise the status of a concubine depends on the future young mistress."

  Wang's family vomited blood again. Nonsense, not pointing to giving birth to a child and lifting an aunt, who is willing to be a matchmaker until old age! Looking at her son frowning and staring with eyes similar to his father's appearance, Wang's family couldn't refute it again, and she really gnashed her teeth in anger.

  The girls were very depressed, and later served Longbai for a long time. They knew that this young master was young in age but had a steady and serious temperament. He said one thing and did another, and he hated the most those who didn't follow rules and were coquettish and artificial. Minglan seriously suspected that this was a shadow left by Lin Niang on Longbai's childhood.

  As a result, those water-snake-waisted and peach-flower-faced little maidservants showed much less enthusiasm for climbing into the young master's bed. The atmosphere in the Longbai courtyard was very harmonious and peaceful, with both masters and servants maintaining a consistent silence, only hearing the sounds of chickens chirping and dogs barking. On several occasions, Danju went to deliver things to Minglan, and every time she entered the courtyard, it was eerily quiet, with everyone so tense that they didn't even dare breathe loudly.

  The above intelligence was provided by Xiaotao, and the psychological activities were supplemented by Minglan.

  There's even more, Zhang Bai gave the maids in the courtyard names: Yang Hao, Lang Hao, Zi Hao, Ji Hao, Zhu Hao, Jian Hao... Among them, Wang Shi brought a very pretty girl and named her Mouse Whiskers!

  After knowing this, Xiaotao sincerely said to Minglan: "Miss, thank you."

  In the midst of her daydreaming, Chang Bai-xia returned from school and saw Minglan sitting there. As soon as she opened her mouth, she said: "Sixth sister is back? Did you finish copying 'The Weifu Listening to the Waves' last time?"

  Ming Lan's smiling face froze: "Uh... it's not over yet, there's still some left."

  Chang Bai sat opposite Minglan, not even taking a sip of tea, and began to scold her: "One's skills are honed through diligence and ruined by indulgence. Now that you've moved out of Shou'an Hall, sister, you can't slack off. Although it's a woman's family, one still needs to practice writing well, or else people will laugh at you in the future...". And what about reading books to understand reason? If you don't comprehend etiquette, you're practically barbaric and ignorant. She went on and on, without end.

  Minglan was very depressed, and she didn't understand why her usually taciturn brother would suddenly launch into a long lecture when teaching himself, having previously scolded Silver Gao for half an hour without letting him get a word in edgewise. If he tried to retort, he'd be scolded even more, so he could only hang his head and listen obediently, while Little Peach snickered unkindly on the side.

  It was easy for Chang Bai to say a paragraph, drank a few sips of tea to moisten his throat, and then asked: "What did Sixth Sister come here for?"

  Minglan smiled secretly, and you finally remembered to ask about this. She pouted her mouth and called Xiaotao to hand over the things - a pair of newly made cotton shoes: "Here, it's easy to rush out, I added half an inch to the sole, even if it rains in Beijing, don't worry."

  Yanghao hastily took it over and handed it to Changbai, who saw that the dark-colored shoe uppers were thick and soft, with a few sparse pine trees embroidered on top. Simple and generous, Changbai's expression didn't change as he accepted it: "Thanks for your trouble, Sixth Sister."

  Minglan puffed out her cheeks: "I've become a big brother's daughter, making shoes is the most tiring thing to do. Adding on that soft pair of boots last time, I'm exhausted! Look at my hands, they're all pricked with holes!" As she spoke, she stretched out a small hand in front of Zhangsun, who looked at it briefly, his face expressionless, and didn't say anything, but reached out to gently rub Minglan's soft bangs. He said: "What do you like? Write it down on paper and have someone send it over, I'll bring it back for you from the capital."

  Minglan finally smiled and said in a crisp tone: "Thank you, big brother."

  Yang Hui held the shoes and turned them over, admiringly saying: "Miss is really skilled with her hands, our grandfather loves the shoes you make, always saying they are the most comfortable to wear. I also learned from you, following the pattern of grandfather's old shoes, but somehow mine aren't as good as yours?"

  Ming Lan nodded and shook her head: "This ultimate skill can only be understood by intuition, not by verbal transmission. The shoes are over there, figure it out yourself."

  It's not surprising, everyone has their own walking habits, either leaning forward or backward, or outward or inward, the shoe upper can reveal the shape of the foot and the emphasis on force, the sole can show the force points of the heel and toe, according to this, use different soft and hard materials, grasp the tightness and looseness; Minglan took out the law books from that year, carefully compared the clauses, and finally came up with it after a long time.

  Yang Hao smiled and said: "Good, I'll think carefully about it." Then he held the shoes and turned to leave.

  Minglan thought it was time to go to Shou'antang for dinner, so she got up and wanted to leave. Zhang Bai looked at her, hesitated, and asked: "Sixth sister... A few days ago, Qi brother returned to Dengzhou to attend school. I heard that he asked someone to deliver something to you, but was stopped by you outside?"

  About ten days ago, Qi Heng followed his parents back to Dengzhou from the capital and came to Shengfu to study. On the first day of school, he asked a young servant to send gifts to Minglan's evening warehouse. After a long mental struggle, Minglan resolutely refused the sugar-coated cannonballs. Qi Heng couldn't bear to force his way in and grab Minglan's ear, so he found a good friend, Chang Bai, to talk things over.

  Minglan cleared her throat and said seriously, "The Book of Rites says that men and women at the age of seven should not sit together; we sisters are all growing up and should avoid suspicion, it's not proper to casually accept things from outside men."

  Looking at the little sister who was like a jade doll speaking big truths, Zhang Bo's mouth moved slightly and he said: "...those two big A Fu from Wuxi are also from the south and aren't worth much money."

  Minglan shook her head: "Neither of the two sisters has it, it's not fair that I'm the only one who does." Then she lectured again on the principle of distinguishing between males and females. Changbai remembered Qi Heng's complaints and requests to her, and said: "That eldest brother-in-law looks very much like his younger sister." After a pause, he added another sentence: "The corners of their mouths also have whirlpools."

  Minglan's small face was stern, and she continued to shake her head: "Brother, think about it for me too. If Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister find out later, what will I do? Brother, you study with the Qi family's brother, so explain the reason to him clearly."

  Chang Bai's eyes moved slightly, and he quietly looked at Minglan for a while. He saw that she had beautiful eyebrows and lips, white teeth and bright eyes, with a hint of regret in her gaze. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly nodded: "Yuan Ruo has no brothers or sisters since childhood, and it's also good to see the younger sister being liked by others. However, we should avoid suspicion now, I'll go talk to him."

  Minglan smiled and thanked him, then took Xiaotao to Shou'antang for dinner. Changbai gazed at her small figure, pulling out a slender and delicate silhouette, and suddenly had an idea: If Minglan were his own sister, that would be great.