Volume 3: The Lotus Does Not Spare Its Rouge Colour, Nor Does It Wait for a Golden House to Recommend Its Splendid Hall Chapter 97

  It's settled

  After seeing off her mother and sister, Hualan changed into a half-old pink silk padded jacket and sat on the kang by the window, leaning against the headrest to do some needlework. Before long, the sound of the curtain was heard, and Yuan Wenshao stepped in, walking quickly to the front of the kang, seeing his wife smile: "How did you get up again? Lie down and rest."

  "You've been lying down for most of the day, what's wrong with you now?" Hua Lan reproachfully gave him a sideways glance, then put down her needlework basket and got off the kang to help her husband loosen his clothes and remove his outer garments, handing them over to the maid standing by. Yuan Wenshao changed into casual clothes before supporting Hua Lan as she sat back onto the kang.

  Yuan Wenshao picked up a cup of new tea from the kang table, slowly sipped a mouthful, he had just passed his thirtieth birthday, with a short mustache, his originally square face looked even more steady and majestic, exactly like a forty-year-old uncle. Hualan glanced at her husband twice, in her heart she rather missed the white-faced young man from their newlywed days.

  "Have your mother-in-law and sister all left?"

  "Has Gu Er Lang left?"

  After the maid left, the couple suddenly spoke up at the same time. After a moment of silence, Yuan Wenshao and Hualan exchanged a glance, and burst out laughing together. They laughed for a while before Hualan deliberately let out a gentle sigh and said with a smile: "They say 'thieves husband and wife', I only know what it means today!"

  Yuan Wenshao also smiled and said: "Who says it's not? Having a wife as a partner, the taste is really good!"

  "Who's your partner!" Hua Lan's cheeks flushed red as she playfully punched her husband, Yuan Wen Shao chuckled and received the blows with a smile, the couple laughed and joked around before sitting up properly to talk.

  "What do you think of today's events?" Yuan Wenshao asked softly as he hugged his wife.

  Hua Lan recalled the maid's report, gazing afar. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, judging from their appearance, she could guess roughly. At first, the two people spoke politely, but later, it was unclear what Gu Ting Ye said that made Ming Lan cry and run away. Hua Lan pondered for a moment before saying, "This marriage can't be escaped."

  "Oh? Are you sure?" Yuan Wenshao asked again.

  Hua Lan nodded resolutely and said bluntly: "Things have come to this, this marriage will not be successful, neither of us will lose face."

  Yuan Wenshao had always known that Hualan was capable, so he let out a long sigh. Hualan saw this and her expression turned solemn, with a hint of guilt, saying: "It's all because of my mother's family being no good; a perfectly good marriage arrangement ended up like this; it's all because of me that you're getting dragged into trouble."

  Yuan Wenshao laughed and waved his hand, comforting his wife: "This has nothing to do with you, it's just that a few elders misspoke for the time being."

  Hua Lan placed a pair of slender white hands in front of her husband Xiong, intentionally widening her eyes to show a helpless and pitiful expression. She said softly: "My father is a scholar, and he's very stubborn when it comes to moral principles. Ever since my fourth sister married into the Liang family, Father has felt guilty towards Mr. Wen and has been thinking of marrying off my fifth sister as a way to make amends. However, Mother thinks that you, Big Brother-in-law, should be the one to propose the marriage. But things are complicated because my sixth sister was raised by her grandmother since childhood, so her marriage is ultimately decided by Grandmother. Now everyone has their own opinions, and this is how things got messed up!"

  The truth was not like this, but Hualan could only cover it up lightly like this.

  Yuan Wenshao held Hualan's hand, his expression warm and gentle, and smiled: "Father-in-law is a scholar, keeping promises is natural; Mother-in-law is a mother, having deep feelings for her child is also common sense; The old lady is even more kind-hearted, if she can't turn her mind around for the time being, it's also understandable. Everyone has their reasons, what do you have to be unhappy about?"

  Hua Lan still frowned and worried: "I'm afraid of offending General Gu, and in the end, we won't be able to form an alliance, but instead make enemies."

  "It's unlikely." Yuan Wenshao put down Hualan, picked up the teacup and took another sip, his eyebrows relaxed and smiled: "I was worried at first, but... hehe, it seems that there is no problem today; when Gu Er Lang left, I saw that he was in a very good mood, repeatedly asking me to hurry up and get things done, best to have the Wen Ding ceremony within the year, and get married at the beginning of the year."

  Hua Lan was slightly surprised: "Really?!"

  Yuan Wenshao nodded slowly with tea water in his mouth.

  Hua Lan let out a sigh of relief, playfully patted her husband on the back and said with a smile: "What was I saying? My sixth sister is extremely beautiful, she's a top-notch talent, if Gu Er Lang sees her, he'll definitely be satisfied with this marriage! What were you worried about at that time?"

  Yuan Wenshao smiled and said: "Yes, yes, yes... it's all thanks to your clever plan, wife."

  Hua Lan also laughed a few times, but she still had no bottom in her heart and didn't know if Old Lady Sheng would agree or not.

  ……

  That night, Old Lady Sheng heard an unbelievable story.

  He sat stupidly on the kang, Minglan knelt under him, sobbing softly. The old lady's temples throbbed with anger. "You said... we came to Beijing, and you knew him?" Thinking of this, she couldn't help but scold: "Why didn't you say it earlier!"

  Minglan's small face was red from crying, "I, I'm afraid grandmother will scold again... also afraid that grandmother will worry about Minglan..."

  At that time, he had just been severely punished by the old lady for taking sides with Yanran. After much persuasion, the matter was settled, but Gu Tingyan jumped out again to stir up trouble. She didn't dare tell the old lady, fearing another scolding. How could she have known that later on, she would be entangled with Gu Tingyan time and time again?

  It's like a child who did something wrong, the adult finally forgave him, but then he made another mistake with new consequences, so he naturally didn't dare to mention it and hid it, making it bigger and bigger like a snowball.

  The old lady couldn't help but sigh and say: "How can you be so muddle-headed!"

  Actually, Minglan was not confused either, she disguised it very well, and no one had ever discovered her relationship with Gu Tingye.

  The old lady was deep in thought, and her heart ached for Minglan. She couldn't help but pull the girl up from the ground, hold her close, and gently pat her back, sighing: "It's not your fault either, who knew that man surnamed Gu had such a profound scheme!"

  Minglan cried with a red nose and nodded repeatedly. It's not that our army is too incompetent, but Jun is too cunning! They actually launched a sneak attack?!

  The old lady slowly leaned back, slightly closing her eyes. In the room, only Minglan's intermittent sobbing could be heard. On the floor, the purple copper stove with the pattern of Fu Shou Lu emitted a faint crackling sound as the charcoal burned.

  Minglan slowly wiped away the tears on her face, seeing the old lady not speaking for a long time, she went up and gently pulled her sleeve: "Grandma... what do we do now?"

  The old lady opened her eyes, swept Minglan's face, and asked softly: "Ming'er, when Gu Tingye told you everything, what did you think?"

  Minglan's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and she decided to tell the truth this time, so she said with a slightly red face: "...At first, I was secretly pleased that someone would go to such great lengths to plot against me. Later, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became, and I couldn't help but want to slap him...And then later, I started to worry, this person is so... formidable, what should I do?"

  To be honest, finding a powerful husband is often a double-edged sword. When he points his gun outward, all is peaceful, but when he points it inward, blood may flow like rivers.

  The old lady nodded repeatedly at these words, and her thoughts were very real. After nodding, she seemed to want to close her eyes and rest again. Minglan hurriedly went to shake her arm and asked repeatedly: "Grandmother, why don't you speak? What do you think in your heart?"

  The old lady suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze like lightning, and said in a cold voice: "Go call your father, tell me he's agreed to the marriage!"

  Minglan was taken aback, her expression uncertain: "Just... like that?" What a decisive surrender.

  "What else can we do?" The old lady's expression was stern, but her mouth was slightly self-mocking, and she coldly laughed a few times: "Others have already calculated how many days they have left, with deep schemes and careful planning, forcing us to the door. What else can we do now?! If it gets out, people will say that the Sheng family has taken advantage of us! Forget it, let's just grant them their wish."

  Minglan felt a pang of guilt, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes as she dared not speak. The old lady paused for a moment before smiling wryly: "Well! It's better to have someone plotting against you with all their might than to be taken advantage of and still pretend to be clever!"

  Minglan raised her head in surprise, understanding who the old lady was referring to. She asked nervously and tentatively: "Shall...the granddaughter go and talk to He..."?

  "What's there to say?!" The old lady glared over, scolding, "I'll go talk about this, you don't need to show your face! As for the people of the He family, except for my sister, it's best if you never see them again!... Hmph! Now they can freely help their relatives, no one is stopping them from being kind! Could it be that you still want to be part of the He family? Now everyone will know that the daughter of the Sheng family has many suitors!"

  Minglan swallowed her saliva, looking at the old lady's proud and overbearing demeanor, slightly surprised and then suddenly understanding: The old lady was actually a very proud person inside, perhaps... she had long been impatient with the continuous situation of the He family, but also forced herself to endure.

  The old lady took a deep breath, calmed down, leaned against the cushion and said calmly: "First settle the matter of Rulan and Wen's family, then let Mr. Gu come to make a decision; call the madam to hurry up with the wedding preparations; this time, grandma wants a thick dowry for you, no one dares to object!... Hmph! It's just about living a life, put your mind at ease, don't wrong anyone or yourself, let yourself be comfortable is what really matters!"

  Minglan quietly instructed Cui Ping to invite Sheng Huan, then walked back to the Musou study alone. She sat in front of her desk for a while, before suddenly standing up and calling Dan Ju to grind ink. Minglan unfolded a sheet of snow-white rice paper, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, held her breath, and with a few swift strokes, wrote four large cursive characters: "Hard to be muddled!"

  "Good!" Little Peach clapped her hands vigorously beside her: "The girl wrote it so well! ...... Uh, what does it mean?"

  Minglan put down her brush and said calmly: "In other words, you secretly ate the almond sugar hidden by Danju, and I'll pretend I didn't see it."

  Then Minglan walked into the house with a swing of her sleeves, leaving Xiaotao and Dangui behind. One was stunned and wanted to run away, while the other was sharpening his knife with a whoosh.

  [End of Volume 3]

  The author has something to say:

  Thank you for everyone's strong support. These two days have been busy again, and the author hasn't replied yet. After I've finished, I'll give back to everyone with interest, so please don't worry.

  I've been able to keep writing until now, thanks to everyone's encouragement and enthusiasm. Originally I just wanted to write a casual farming story, but as I wrote, I became more serious about it, mainly because the atmosphere was too good.

  There's still one more volume left, and the epilogue is separate, so everyone can rest assured and read slowly. There are no twists or abuse, only melodrama and absurdity, so please don't rush me, as the author's body can't take it anymore.

  Concerned about readers, with something to say.

  These days, I have met many lovely readers who are meticulous, gentle and sincere. They gave me great encouragement and support, spoke for me, justified my mistakes, excused my bad temper, thank you all very much.