Netizen uploaded episode 43

  Pinlan led the way, stepping forward with a stride, and Minglan followed closely behind. As soon as they entered the inner room, they saw a crowded house full of women, including madams, ladies-in-waiting, young wives, and elder sisters, either sitting or standing. The room was filled with colorful decorations and sparkling jewels. Sitting on the side, Third Madam saw Minglan enter and clapped her thigh, laughing: "Ah, it's really 'speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives'! The main guest has arrived!"

  Minglan seemed to have not heard, only followed Pinlan to the front and one by one gave a courtesy to the elders, then respectfully went to sit beside Sheng Lao Tai Tai. Xuelan's sister-in-law was sitting next to her, wearing a crimson embroidered jacket with five or six pearl hairpins on her head, plus a velvet rose flower, her neck and wrists were all adorned with sparkling trinkets, her whole body was covered in gold and silver, dazzling and shining brightly.

  "Ah, the day before yesterday I heard San Niang talk about this child and thought she was good. Today I see her and indeed she has the demeanor of a young lady from a big family. What a lovely appearance! And my nephew is of similar age and stature to this child. On this joyful occasion, why don't we arrange for them to be married? What do you think, relatives?"

  After finishing speaking, she stared straight at her opponent, waiting for a response. The women in the house mostly stopped talking and looked over this way.

  Minglan sneered in her heart. Normally, when discussing marriage proposals, people would not be so blunt for fear of being rejected. This Sun Xiuren's mother was really shameless, actually bringing up the proposal in front of half the county's respectable ladies, making it difficult for them to refuse.

  Okay, actually it was Minglan who disliked being sized up by her mother-in-law, as if she were picking eggs at the market.

  The old lady used a tea bowl to stir the tea leaves back and forth, without saying a word. The elderly lady frowned slightly, just about to say a few words to ease the situation, when Sheng Yu suddenly spoke up: "Wow, Auntie is really good at speaking, you should go to Baidu Tieba to post articles quickly! Your nephew is almost twenty years old, and my little niece is only how old? Is this considered a suitable match in terms of age? Ah, no, no." The grandmother's face was somewhat displeased: "What's the fear of being a few years older? First, let's put some people in the house, and when the daughter-in-law comes over, she can serve us well too."

  Inside the house, the women's faces were different, some smiled, some were surprised, and some shook their heads. More of them looked down on her with disdain, directly lowering their heads to whisper to the person next to them. Minglan also admired this scholar's mother, who hadn't even spoken yet. The people in the house had already taken a stand. This Old Lady Sun was either intentionally picking a fight or really thought it didn't matter, after all, ignorance is bliss.

  It's not possible to say outright that no one is allowed in the house, or else they would be labeled as "jealous". Sheng Yu's eyes rolled around and she smiled: "The auntie chooses a daughter-in-law, I also want to choose a son-in-law. The Sheng family has some face after all, my elder cousin is an official of not low rank, let alone my younger cousin who was appointed as a Hanlin scholar! I'm saying, auntie, what qualifications does your nephew have to marry a wife? Is he famous or does he own land and property? This marrying business, wearing clothes and eating food, you should say something about it."

  Sheng Wei spoke quickly and crisply, and her straightforward personality was also well-known in the county. This time, she said something half-true and half-false, and everyone in the house burst out laughing. They all knew that Sun Mu's nephew had lost his parents at a young age and was dependent on his aunt's family, spending his days idly, with only his mouth to coax his aunt into liking him.

  Mrs. Sun felt that since her son had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, she was from a family of scholars and was superior to ordinary people. She wanted to find a good match for her nephew, but every respectable family in the county had been bothered by her and didn't want to marry into their family. Mrs. Sun had been rebuffed several times and was feeling discouraged. A few days ago, she heard Third Aunt mention Minglan and got excited again, thinking that although Minglan came from an official's family, she was only a concubine-born daughter. She went to propose the marriage, but unexpectedly, both old ladies didn't speak up for her, and instead, Sheng Hong coldly rejected her, his words piercing her heart. Mrs. Sun's face fell: "My nephew may not have wealth or fame, but he is the son of a legitimate wife!"

  Pinlan's small face was flushed, her eyes almost spitting fire, and under her sleeve she was unconsciously clenching Minglan's hand so hard it was almost bleeding. Minglan lowered her head and used her other hand to gently pat Pinlan - Li Shi was also a concubine-born child.

  At the time of Sheng Wei's marriage, Old Master Sheng had almost squandered all his family property. Fortunately, Li Lao Tai Gong was a kind-hearted person and still remembered the good times he shared with Old Master Sheng when they made their fortune together, so he took charge and married off his granddaughter to him. However, his son and daughter-in-law were not pleased and intervened halfway through, replacing her with a concubine-born daughter. Who would have thought that thirty years later, among all the daughters-in-law in the Li family, it was Li Shi who had married the best? Her husband could earn money and was devoted to her. The original eldest miss who was replaced ended up not marrying well, and no one knows what became of her afterwards.

  Don't expose others' shortcomings, and the Sheng family has gradually risen to prominence over the years. No one mentions Li's humble origins anymore. But Sun Mu's words were excessive. The room fell silent, with everyone looking at the Sheng family and Zhu Shi, who was quietly sipping tea with her head down. Only then did Eldest Madam Li speak up, staring coldly at Sun Mu: "There is an order to things, and Minglan still has several older sisters. In terms of age, Third Uncle's daughter Hui would be a more suitable match for our nephew."

  Third Aunt was just gloating, but suddenly she got zapped and quickly waved her hands: "No way, no way, this won't do!!! My family doesn't need a lazy good-for-nothing poor...". She abruptly stopped talking. Third Aunt saw that Mother Sun was glaring at her with furrowed brows, if it weren't for the crowd of onlookers, she estimated that Mother Sun would have used her old farmwork demeanor to hit someone.

  However, the women in the house already understood what San Tai Tai meant. They all covered their mouths and laughed quietly. The chapter was first published on Baidu Tieba with the same name. One by one, they shot sarcastic glances at Sun Mu and San Tai Tai, making them both blush with shame.

  Pinlan was overjoyed and finally let go of Minglan's hand. Minglan also felt relieved, so she pulled Pinlan to quietly retreat a few steps, move away from the crowd, and stand behind the flower grid to catch her breath.

  At this time, a beautiful young woman sitting next to the third madam covered her mouth and smiled lightly, saying: "Mother shouldn't be in such a hurry to push either. Son-in-law Sun is quite famous after all. Who knows if the wife of his family might not even look down on my sister!"

  The mother-in-law's face slightly softened, and she coldly snorted: "You're overthinking it, Third Madam~~~~!" She deliberately dragged out the last syllable. Third Madam was furious, her whole body trembling with rage. Hui Lan, standing behind her, felt extremely embarrassed, lowering her head to bite her lip, tightly clutching a handkerchief and glaring fiercely at the beautiful young woman. The young woman didn't even notice, not even looking at her, while the people in the room snickered quietly.

  There were too many people just now, Minglan didn't remember one by one. Pinlan hurriedly explained: "The one sitting next to Third Aunt wearing a water-red dress is Sister Yuelan, and the one with a good temper sitting next to her is Sister Xiulan."

  Minglan hummed in agreement. The legitimate mother, legitimate sister and concubine-born daughter were indeed... the saying "an enemy of an enemy is a friend" probably wouldn't work on Yu Lan's body.

  Huīlán looked around at the women's giggles and pointing, seemingly at herself, blushed and stomped her feet, finally unable to bear it, turned her head and ran out. Xiùlán saw her sister's impolite behavior, so she accompanied her in guilt and also left. Yuèlán was impatient with sitting with Third Wife, stood up and walked to Pǐnlán and Mínglán's side, very familiarly touched Mínglán's clothes and hair, smiling: "What a lovely younger sister, I like her as soon as I see her."

  Minglan was also familiar with the customs of Dengzhou, but she had never seen anyone as forward as this, using physical contact to get attention. She shifted her body slightly to the side, while Pinlan watched coldly without saying a word. Yuelan saw that neither of her sisters were paying attention to her, so she just talked to herself, not feeling uncomfortable at all. Pinlan was annoyed with her and pouted, turning her head to grab some tea and snacks to eat.

  Yu Lan spoke while staring intently at Ming Lan's hairpiece adorned with pearls and golden threads, the intricate flowers made of gold threads were beautiful, and the pearls were perfectly round and lustrous, obviously a valuable item. She couldn't help but feel envious, reached out to touch it, and said: "Sister, I've never seen such large pearls before! Since Second Uncle is an official, you must be accustomed to wealth and luxury. Why not lend this to me for two days, so I can show off at my in-laws' place?"

  Minglan's eyes widened in astonishment, was he... asking her for something?

  She suddenly missed Mo Lan, no matter how she teased, at least the level of teasing was higher. Mo Lan couldn't do such a thing as begging her younger sister for something after just meeting. Before Minglan could speak, Yuelan had already taken action herself, quickly pulling out the hairpin from Minglan's head and examining it carefully in her hand, feeling very satisfied. She turned back to Minglan with a smile: "Thanks, little sister, I'll return it to you later." And then she put the hairpin on her own head, leaving Minglan staring in shock.

  At this time, Pinlan brought back the tea fruit and just heard the last sentence. She was furious in her heart, and she quietly approached Yuelan from behind, suddenly exerting force to snatch away that treasure, stuffing it back into Minglan's hand. With a cold smile, she said: "Sister Yuelan, is this borrowing or snatching? Minglan hasn't even agreed yet and you've already taken action! It's all said that sister-in-law is wealthy, but Sister Yuelan still covets her younger sister's things?! What kind of older sister does that?"

  Yu Lan saw the thing being taken away, and immediately her eyebrows turned upside down, scolding: "I'm talking to Ming's sister, what are you interrupting for? Bah, sharp-tongued and petty thing, be careful you won't get married out!" Turning her head again to smile at Ming Lan: "Sister doesn't know, our kind of rural rich people can't buy good things even with money, this is just borrowed for two days to wear, sister wouldn't be so stingy, would she?"

  Pinlan was about to speak when Minglan pulled her back, and with a reassuring glance at Pinlan, she turned to Yuelan with a smile. Then, in all seriousness, she said: "Sorry, I'm stingy, I won't lend it."

  As soon as she finished speaking, Pinlan immediately pulled Minglan forward and walked away. Yuelan stood in place, speechless, and saw Pinlan helping Minglan put the hairpin back on her head while chatting with Old Madam. Yuelan didn't dare to chase after them again, but only stomped her feet in place. She was used to getting what she wanted by being greedy, and had thought that once she got the hairpin, she would quickly return to the main hall. Just now, seeing Minglan's expressionless face, she thought that Minglan was a timid and shy girl who wouldn't dare speak up, and that this matter would be settled quietly after they returned home...

  Yuèlán returned to the side of Third Mistress, only then did she realize that the outdoor theater was about to start, and most of the women in the house had followed Eldest Mistress Li out. Yuèlán hastily followed Third Mistress as they walked, while Shengyu and the two elderly mistresses were also supposed to go but were held back by Grandmother Sun. Auntie Zhū was also standing on the side listening, while Pīnlán and Mínglán had found a pair of stools to sit on and were chatting with each other.

  "…the county magistrate insisted on inviting our Zhi Ge to drink wine, saying he wanted him to write a character to be used as a plaque, oh my, Zhi Ge couldn't refuse and agreed, if I do say so myself, it's the county magistrate's good fortune to get Zhi Ge's calligraphy..."

  Pinlan couldn't bear it anymore, and leaned in close to Minglan's ear, saying: "It was clearly Brother-in-law who got drunk and insisted on delivering the letter to County Master, and that time when we were drinking, it was Father who had something to discuss with Master, but Brother-in-law came over and drank recklessly, speaking nonsense for half a day, causing Father to apologize profusely to County Master!"

  Ming Lan is so miserable. This chapter was first published on the Baidu Tieba of the same name. This mother-in-law is something else, she can even apply for a job.

  "Sun's mother indulged in self-admiration for half a day, and finally thought of Old Lady Sheng: 'I heard that the son of the old lady next door is also a scholar, I wonder how many years it took him to become a Xiucai?' This was Sun's mother's favorite topic, she could talk about it all day without getting tired. Even if the other person had passed the imperial examination and become a Zhuangyuan, if they were older than her own son when they became a Xiucai, she would still boast for half a day."

  Mrs. Shen smiled slightly: "Fifteen years old." Sun Mu was very pleased: "Wow, that's not as good as our Zhi'er getting in early, but it's also considered young and promising." Mrs. Shen humbly said: "It can't be called talented, but that year in Dengzhou, there were several eleven or twelve-year-old child prodigies."

  "Anyway, it's nothing much. Maybe that year was particularly easy to pass the exam, even if they were all top scholars, not necessarily all of them are talented."

  This remark irritated Aunt Zhu, who couldn't help but sneer: "To think about it, your brother has been taking the imperial examination since he was twelve years old and became a Xiucai. How many times has he taken the Huishi exam? Why hasn't he passed yet?"

  "Others have been taking exams for decades and still haven't passed, what's a few years?"

  Zhu smiled lightly and covered her mouth: "You're right, several decades are also there."

  The grandmother was furious, and seeing that the women of the Sheng family didn't come to help her, she had a belly full of anger with nowhere to vent it. She scolded her daughter-in-law, Shulan, who was standing beside her: "You're just like your mother-in-law, pouring tea for others, you have no strength or ability, what's the use of having you?" Shulan was publicly scolded, her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head to instruct the young maidservant. Pinlan saw her sister being wronged and felt a pang in her heart, but didn't dare speak out, so she just clenched her fists. Minglan quickly whispered in her ear: "Don't act rashly, calm down, calm down, your grandmother has her reasons."

  The old lady remained expressionless, continuing to watch the tea leaves float, while the elderly lady gradually showed some anger, but her face didn't reveal even a hint of it, and she just listened quietly.

  Sun's mother looked at Shulan with dissatisfaction as she walked away, pouting her mouth. She turned back and said: "Mother-in-law, it's not that I'm boasting, but if my Zhi'er has such a good appearance and character, it would be hard to find someone like him even with a lantern in hand! Your daughter is lucky to have entered our family, it's the blessing of eight lifetimes! She's been married into our family for several years now, and still hasn't produced anything. If she were married into another family, they would have already sent her away with a divorce letter."

  Sheng Wei was the most protective, closing her mouth tightly, but finally couldn't bear it: "Others take ten years to have a child after getting married, and in these four or five years, my niece has already given birth to several children for her husband!"

  Zhu said with a smile: "It's all right, the descendants will naturally have the blessing of their ancestors and heaven. They've already got a house full of young wives, what more do they want?"

  "Her mother sneered: 'If she were really virtuous, she should have let people enter the house, instead of being left outside to be laughed at.'"

  The old lady said in a low voice: "A woman with an unclean origin, how can she enter the door?! Your son-in-law is also a scholar, and you dare to say such things, aren't you afraid of disgracing your ancestors?!"

  The mother-in-law called out unwillingly: "Your family's daughter has no ability, and she still wants to stop her husband from taking a concubine. Does she want our family to become extinct?"

  Pinlan couldn't bear it anymore and turned to leave, Minglan hastily chased after her. Pinlan was physically strong but emotionally unstable, holding back tears as she ran 800 meters in one breath. Minglan almost ran out of breath before catching up with Pinlan under a willow tree, grabbing onto her arm and refusing to let go, panting heavily.

  Pinlan kicked the tree trunk with one foot after another, furious and cursing: "Damn it! My sister is such a good person, how did she get into this kind of thing?! Why?! Why?!"

  Minglan patted her chest and gasped for breath, she could only wait until Pinlan was exhausted before slowly pulling her to a well-sheltered fake mountain, where they sat down on a clean rock. Minglan didn't know how to advise her either, if she were still in the modern era working as a secretary, she would have loudly shouted "Get a divorce!", but here... alas... The two sisters sat silently for half a day when suddenly a hurried footsteps and voices came from behind the fake mountain.

  "......Little sister, don't go, listen to big sister finish speaking!"

  "I'm going to watch a play now, sister, don't say anything, I don't want to listen."

  It's Xiu Lan and Hui Lan! Pin Lan and Ming Lan exchanged a quick glance.

  As an experienced eavesdropper, Minglan's first reaction was to cover Pinlan's mouth, but Pinlan was quicker and pressed her hand over her own mouth. She sat still, focusing on listening intently with a tilted ear. Seeing such a smooth and practiced action, Minglan couldn't help but wonder: Could she be a fellow enthusiast?

  On the other side, Xiu Lan spoke up - "Marriage is a big deal for our daughter's family, it's as important as giving birth. Sister, you mustn't be confused! I've heard that young master from that family has money but is wasteful and lustful, having many concubines since he was over ten years old."

  "What can I do? Aunt treats me like a thief, I haven't even seen Tai Sheng's face this year, and now that the years have passed, I can only find another way out." Huilan said with hatred.

  "Tai Sheng? Ah, don't even think about it, there are some things you don't know. Back then, Aunt wanted to marry Uncle, but our grandfather forced Eldest Uncle to engage Aunt to another family, and almost beat Uncle to death; I heard that later on, Second Grandma intervened to save him. Even if Aunt didn't harbor any resentment in her heart, she wouldn't have a good impression of our branch of the family." Xiu Lan said with a melancholic tone.

  Pinlan and Minglan exchanged a glance, and surprisingly, there was such a thing? Pinlan's eyes were filled with excitement, and Minglan also had a belly full of gossip - it turned out that Niu Gufu and Gu Gu were in a free love relationship.

  A few dull sounds, as if someone was stamping their feet, and Huilan's voice came over the fake hill again: "...Sister, look at their family's lineup today, and then look at Pinlan and Minglan, those two maidservants' clothes and headdresses. If I just pick one thing off them, it would be worth all my possessions! I don't want to live a hard life, if I'm going to marry, I have to marry someone rich!"

  "Don't be foolish, marrying well isn't just about having money. Although your brother-in-law's family is poor, they treat me with sincerity and kindness. My mother-in-law is also a reasonable person, and now I'm content with my life with him and our two children, it's better than eating delicacies every day! Don't look at how well-off Moon Lan is after marrying into wealth, her husband is extremely unreliable, not to mention his daily philandering, he even beats her from time to time. In their household, no one takes her seriously, including the servants and the children's nanny. Do you want to live a life like that? You'd better beg your aunt to intervene on your behalf."

  Huīlán seemed to sneer a few times: "That's because sister has good fortune, you all got married at the same time. How about Shūlán? She also married a poor but talented scholar, but he's not as kind-hearted as your husband! He accepted the dowry and still bosses his wife around every day, and to make matters worse, he met someone like Shūlán who is useless... Hmph, it's better to have money and be stable..."

  As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud and heavy footsteps, it seemed that Xiulan had been left behind, Xiulan hurriedly caught up, the voice gradually faded away.

  Pinlan slowly opened her mouth, a faint smile on her face, and said softly: "Mingmei, I suddenly don't feel angry anymore. After all, no matter what, my sister has never been scolded by me."