The First Volume of The Dream of the Red Chamber Chapter 54

  The winding corridors seemed to stretch on forever, and Minglan felt suffocated. She strode out of the corridor, her feet crunching on the scattered snow-covered stone path, but she couldn't shake off the gloom in her heart.

  It's almost noon, the sun is high, and the snow is getting better. Either near or far, many trees have been planted. The flowers are light as floating smoke, and the fragrance accompanies the cold ice and snow, slowly seeping into Minglan's nostrils. Minglan took a deep breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated, her heart feeling more at ease. She slowed down her pace.

  Minglan walked with her head down and suddenly heard a series of footsteps. Then, a very low male voice sounded above her head: "Sheng... Sixth Miss"

  Minglan was startled and suddenly raised her head, only to see a man emerging from behind an old osmanthus tree. He wore a dark red robe with cloud-patterned bat-shaped embroidery on the hem, and a wide golden satin trim along the edges of his sleeves. On his head, he wore a dark brown sable fur cloak. As he walked forward, his tall and majestic figure cast a huge shadow that enveloped Minglan entirely.

  Ming Lan took a few steps back and finally saw his face clearly. He was about twenty years old, with a straight nose and a small patch of dark shadow on his pale cheek. His eyes narrowed into a line, the lines were exceptionally slender but revealed a hint of gloominess.

  Ming Lan's heart skipped a beat as she finally remembered. She tentatively asked, "Second... Uncle?" The Sheng sisters had addressed him in that way when they paid their respects to the Ping Princess earlier.

  The man nodded and said in a low voice, "You are familiar with the eldest young lady of the Yu Ge old house." His expression was tinged with a few parts of joy and anger, his eyes were like nails, and although the sentence ended with a rise, it was a question.

  Minglan's heart was racing wildly, but she suppressed it and calmly said: "Old Lady Yu often worships Buddha with my grandmother, and my elder sister also often comes to my house." She didn't say anything else.

  The man let out a cold, short laugh: "Yu Ge Lao is so arrogant. Since he already has a marriage agreement with Dali's Segment family, why did he send someone to ask about it? It wasn't until others came to his door that he 'remembered' this matter." His tone was filled with suppressed anger and indignation, all the way to Jinjiang Xuecheng.

  Minglan lowered her head and thought quickly. She knew that the one who had proposed to Yanran was Gu Tingye, the second son of the Marquis of Ningyuan. Although he had a bad reputation outside, when he sought to marry Yanran, he was surprisingly proper and sincere for a while. He even made a genuine declaration of his intentions, but in the end, after much effort, he still failed to win the eldest daughter's hand in marriage and only got the second daughter who was born to a concubine.

  He was originally a good-tempered person, but he has been holding his breath until now. I guess he finally understood that things had loosened up a bit and took a nap. When he woke up, the other party had changed their mind and married someone else in Yunnan with lightning speed.

  "It seems that Yu Ge Lao is indeed a man of his word! But why must he also know about Gu Mou Ren being not her?" Gu Ting Yan's words were laced with sarcasm as he punched the thick branch of the flower tree, causing a shower of petals to fall.

  She took a few steps back, feeling his strong self-restraint and impending anger, her heart racing with fear. She looked at him, his veins bulging, his fists clenched, and suddenly remembered the scene from her middle school textbook "Lu Tui's Fist Fights Zheng Guanxi". Her heart skipped a beat as she thought to herself that using those deceitful words on this man would not work.

  She remained silent for a while before raising her head and saying briefly: "In early September this year, a woman named Man Niang took two young children to visit the old man who was spitting blood and fell ill. Later, it was spread that he had promised to marry Dali's Segment family."

  Actually, it's not that serious. After Old Yu spat out the blood clots, he became more lively. The Yu family kept this matter tightly under wraps, but later Master Yu insisted on marrying off his second daughter to him. Before that, Old Yu had gone to pay respects, but Master Yu ignored him and didn't even bother to send someone to see him off, losing face for no reason.

  Gu Tingyan's face suddenly changed and his voice rose several degrees: "Really!"

  Minglan nodded and retreated a few steps, thinking that this guy's aura was indeed somewhat intimidating. She thought to herself that he would definitely go back and ask again, and if Man Niang's eloquence was good enough, she might even be able to salvage the situation. So she added two more sentences: "I heard that Young Master Duan has a leg condition, if... Yu Ge Lao is also like this."

  Amy Tofu is too old, Lord Hurry is like a law enforcement officer, hoping no one knows she once wielded her power in front of Man Niang.

  Gu Tingyan lowered his head, his face gloomy as if deep in thought. Minglan took a look at him and hastily bowed, saying: "Second Uncle, I'll go now. You... take your time."

  After finishing, Minglan waited for the person to speak up and then quickly walked away. She could only lightly lift her skirt and try to move her short legs at a high frequency. Just now, what was it that her sister said? The stage was set up on the west side of Hou's house. Minglan looked at the sun and although she was directionally challenged, she hurriedly headed in the western direction.

  About to exhaust the potential of humanity, Minglan suddenly didn't get lost in the winding corridors of Linmu and just headed west. Then she saw a crowd gathering and grabbed a servant girl to ask for directions, and was safely taken to the theater stage.

  Only the sound of the huqin, um, ya, dan, jing, and yi singing could be heard, it was clear that the play had already started. Minglan immediately walked towards the theater.

  It's actually a big hall with open doors and windows, crowded with people, full of splendor. The female guests have taken their seats, with Princess Ping and the Sixth Imperial Concubine in the center. On either side, rows of long benches and high chairs are arranged, with over a dozen tables made of haitang wood, adorned with intricate carvings, placed among them. Seven or eight maidservants wearing blue silk jackets and skirts weave in and out, serving tea or offering melons, fruits, and pastries to the female guests.

  Minglan's gaze swept through the crowd, and she saw Wangshi sitting at the fourth table on the right, chatting with a woman wearing a pink-purple embroidered wide-sleeved jacket. Mo Lan was sitting with a group of girls; looking around, she saw Lian'er and Rulan sitting in the left corner of the first row, closest to the stage but farthest from the center of the main seat. Two girls were holding tea cups and melon seeds, watching the stage with relish while chatting.

  Minglan quietly got up and sat down beside them, pretending to be nonchalant, saying: "Oh dear, I'm late again. You've already started a while ago."

  "Never mind, never mind. I just sang a little intro and the main part hasn't come out yet."

  "Rulan turned back and frowned: 'How long does it take to wash your hands? Where did you go to wash them?'"

  Minglan forced a smile and said, "If I wash myself, it will take Hou Ruju and the little maids a long time to bring water, soap, towels, and whatnot, won't it?"

  "Shut up and behave yourself from now on. Don't go around causing trouble or you'll end up losing face..."

  Endless goodness is in Jinjiang University Town

  The words had not been spoken yet, when a loud and long laugh echoed across the entire hall. The iron rod drama enthusiast, Lian Jie, was interrupted and turned her head to say: "Who laughed so loudly? I didn't even hear Old Boss's last sentence!"

  Everyone turned their heads and saw that the Pingjun County Master was leaning against the Jiacheng County Master, chatting warmly as if they were a mother-daughter pair. The Jiacheng County Master held her chin high, looking around with an arrogant expression like a colorful phoenix, speaking and laughing without restraint.

  Lian's sister frowned and turned her head to continue watching the play. Rulan pouted and leaned in close to Minglan's ear, saying: "I think this county mistress is too unorthodox. If it were Kong Yiniang, she would definitely be scolded. This is the imperial family, after all! I heard that the Sixth Princess consort was from a family of butchers..."

  Minglan smiled in her heart. According to the imperial decree, the sons of relatives by marriage could take up real positions if they entered the imperial court, and could surpass the fourth rank. However, the husbands of princesses could only be awarded honorary titles and not actual positions. Therefore, most princesses married into families with meritorious deeds or hereditary military leaders. Anyway, the sons of these families also had to take the imperial examination. On the other hand, the truly upright officials and high-ranking ministers were just the opposite. They avoided marrying princesses as if they were afraid that once they married a princess, it would be equivalent to announcing the end of their political careers.

  Old Lady Sheng said that fifty years ago, there were two princesses. One of them had a crush on the top scorer in the imperial examination, and the other one had a crush on the son of the current prime minister. Those two young men were both elegant and from noble families, even the empress dowager was moved. However, as soon as their families heard about it, they quickly took action. One family immediately came up with an excuse that the couple's horoscopes didn't match, and the other family spread a rumor that their son's eight characters were inauspicious for his wife. This marriage had to be called off, but who could have seen this coming?

  The princess is a high-end consumer product, just like Swarovski crystal decorations that look beautiful but are actually useless. The royal family's affection is thin, and there are only a few emperors who will take care of their own sisters. If they have the same mother, it's good to get along, but if not, they may not even see each other's faces often. Those noble families that marry princesses are just adding flowers to their brocade, and the husbands are careful not to offend them, even when sleeping with concubines, they must be cautious and courteous, exhausting themselves to maintain a good relationship with their in-laws.

  The most wonderful thing about this Jia Cheng County Master is that as the only daughter of the Sixth King, if everything goes smoothly, after her younger brother Xiao Zong inherits the title, she will have to bear all kinds of taboos as a princess, but she can also enjoy all the real benefits of being a princess; her husband can still be an official and hold power, and even officials like the Censor and the Imperial Inspector cannot attack him openly in accordance with etiquette and law.

  No wonder Ping Jun was so enthusiastic about it.

  "Ah!" Rulan suddenly whispered, pulling Minglan and pointing towards the county lord's residence, "Yu... Qi family's brother has arrived."

  Minglan glanced at Lian'er, seeing that she wasn't paying attention, and quietly watched the play. She then made a silencing gesture to Rulan before turning back to see Qi Heng giving a courtesy visit to the Sixth Princess. The Sixth Princess was extremely affectionate, pulling Qi Heng left and right, sizing him up from head to toe with a smile all over her face. Ping Junzhu said a few words.

  Ming Lan can give them voiceovers now, it's no wonder that Qi Heng is so handsome and outstanding.

  Endless goodness is in Jinjiang University Town

  Ping Jun Zhu was born with a strong personality, and since she didn't have any close brothers to rely on, she would always try to outdo her cousins and uncles. From a young age, Qi Heng's strict teachings had made her sit diligently in the study, whether it was in the capital or in Dengzhou, reading books every day, changing with the seasons.

  Zi Heng was clever and clean since childhood, with a honest and filial nature. When visiting relatives' homes, he would often be asked by the ladies of the house, and Ping Jun's mother feared that her son would be infatuated with them. She even let him interact more with female cousins, especially instructing him to beware of those flirtatious girls in the boudoir. The maidservants were strictly guarded like thieves, and anyone who showed a hint of impropriety would be beaten or scolded, while more serious offenders would be driven out, and some had even lost their lives.

  "In Dengzhou, Qi Heng half-jokingly said: 'Sixth sister is probably the girl who talks the most among all the girls I've met'"

  Ru Lan looked over and sneered, "Look at Jia Cheng County Master, isn't she enthusiastic? Our family's one is ordinary; hey, Qi family's older brother, how... his body"

  Ming Lan raised her eyes to see what the county master had said, only to see the county master blushing and leaning against her, smiling cleverly with a pair of big eyes that didn't dodge or evade, revealing a thoughtful and yearning expression as she looked at Qi Heng.

  Ke Zi Heng's face was pale, his expression worried, and he didn't answer a word. The sunlight filtering through the flower-patterned canopy above cast a dappled shadow on his delicate, jade-like face, which was as beautiful as a young girl's hairpin.

  Minglan's eyes glazed over slightly

  When he was young, he liked to pinch her a little bit and then liked to pull her ears; Minglan hid in Shou'antang, he would go to pay respects to Old Lady Sheng every evening, taking advantage of no one's notice to bully her a bit. After Minglan moved into Musouzhai, he would drag along the long cypress tree, searching for excuses to find her. She was afraid of death and trouble, so she teased him, deceived him, and ridiculed him, but he still came back.

  She likes whatever, as long as it's in front of Zhang Bo, and after a few days, he'll send it over under the name of Zhang Bo. She returned everything one by one, but he continued to send them, and later even Zhang Bo helped him...

  Minglan glanced over and saw that he was slightly raising his eyes, his gaze empty as if looking at something. Across the noisy crowd, he suddenly met her eyes. Minglan immediately dodged her gaze, her expression changing as she turned her head to stare at the stage.

  Zhi Heng could only see Ming Lan's profile, her small chin and delicate features. He dared not linger on her face, immediately turning his head away, but felt a rush of hot blood to the top of his head. What was Jia Cheng County Master saying? He didn't hear a single sentence. His pale face suddenly turned crimson as he stood up and gave his mother, Queen Dowager Liu, a deep bow before turning around and leaving.

  Jia Cheng County Master seemed a bit embarrassed, and the Sixth Princess also looked a bit awkward. The Sixth Imperial Concubine, on the other hand, remained calm. While smiling, she quickly instructed someone to follow him: "These past few days have been busy with birthday celebrations, this foolish child must be tired, hurry up and tell him to rest well!" Her voice was particularly loud, as if intentionally explaining it to all the female guests who were secretly peeking at them.

  Zi Heng hadn't walked a few steps before a large crowd of people surrounded him, asking about his well-being. The Sixth Princess even specially sent over one of her medical attendants to take a look and see if he was alright.

  Minglan lowered her head and sat down, a chill spreading across her palms.

  He shines in the center of the crowd, surrounded by stars and moons; while she blooms alone in a secluded corner.

  Each goes his own way on the broad road under heaven