Do you know? Do you know? It should be the 91st episode of Green Fat and Red Thin.

  It's amazing if you don't know about it, ancient times were really wonderful

  It was November, and the cold wind cut like a knife. When she breathed out, her breath was visible as white mist. Minglan began to feel lazy again, clinging to the warm kang and unwilling to move. But then Cui Ping came to call her to Shou'An Hall. Minglan let out two pitiful whimpers, and Danju coaxed her down from the kang and into a thick, woolen coat. Only then did she stop shivering. When they arrived at Shou'An Hall, they saw Old Madame sitting on the kang, with a thick, golden fox fur blanket draped over her knees, holding a piece of paper in her hand, looking somewhat distracted.

  Minglan immediately gathered her lazy mood, walked up to the front, took a warm ginseng tea from Cui Mei's hand on one side, slowly placed it on the kang table, and said softly: "Grandma, what's wrong?"

  The old lady finally came to her senses, with a puzzled look in her eyes. She handed over the paper in her hand: "Early this morning, the He family sent this over. Take a look for yourself."

  Minglan squeezed herself as close as possible to the warm kang, unfolded the letter paper and read it carefully.

  The letter was written by Old Lady He, seemingly in a hurry. Firstly, it said that the Cao family could no longer stay in the capital and would soon leave for their hometown. Then, it mentioned that Cao Jinxiu had attempted to take her own life but was rescued and later revealed the truth - that when she was a concubine in Liangzhou, the wife of the household had given her a red flower soup, rendering her infertile. Afraid of hurting her family, she hadn't told anyone.

  Now Mrs. He is going over there to investigate and will come back this afternoon to explain.

  Minglan slowly lowered the letter paper, her mind racing with thoughts. Old Lady Sheng slowly leaned back against the headrest on the kang, holding a blue ceramic longevity peach brazier: "Ming'er, look... how do I put this?"

  Minglan sat beside the old lady, choosing her words carefully: "Nothing else matters, just two things inside. One is that the Cao family wants to leave Beijing, and the other is that the Cao family's cousin may not be able to give birth."

  The old lady nodded slowly with her eyes closed: "That's right, in this way, things will change again."

  Cao Jinxian was infertile, which meant that it would be difficult for her to find a suitable family to marry into. There were not many widowers with children who could remarry, and even if there were, daughters from wealthy families who had no sons and returned home to observe widowhood also had the option of remarriage. However, given the current situation of the Cao family, where could they find a widower with good character for her to marry? In this way, only the He family was able to take care of her.

  But if it's a concubine who can't bear children, what threat could she pose to the legitimate wife? Moreover, since the Cao family has to return to their hometown, such a concubine is basically just for show.

  The old man and his grandson both felt a sudden movement in their hearts when they thought of this.

  The old lady put down the warmer, gently picked up the ginseng tea, and slowly lifted the bowl cover to stir the ginseng slices: "This time... we can't easily let go, no matter what the He family says, we'll just wait and see." Minglan nodded slowly.

  After lunch, the grandmother and grandson took a short rest. At about two o'clock, Old Lady He rushed over, seemingly in a hurry, holding a thermos of hot tea and drinking non-stop. Old Lady Sheng was anxious in her heart but showed no emotion on her face. Minglan retreated to the inner room as usual, listening carefully from behind the curtain.

  After a few pleasantries, Old Lady Sheng said: "Take your time and catch your breath before speaking, who's chasing you from behind?!"

  Old Mrs. He glared and said, "Which one? It's that little scoundrel from my family! This time he has offended his mother, aunt, relatives, and everyone else for the sake of your precious little maid! He has really gone too far!"

  "Don't say one sentence and hide another, hurry up." Just said no rush, now rushing.

  Mrs. He put down her teacup, smoothed out her breath, and slowly said to Mrs. Sheng: "I've always pitied my daughter-in-law for being a young widow, and she's also weak in health. Over the years, I've rarely been strict with her. Even this time when the Cao family made such a scene, I didn't pressure her much, just thinking that slowly she would give up on the idea. Who knew that it was my filial grandson who took action! After he returned from your house that time, he secretly went to his grandfather's study and told him everything. My old husband only likes to indulge in literature and has never been interested in family matters. This time, however, Hong'ge (the grandson) explained the whole situation to him and even asked him to submit a memorial to the imperial court to expel the Cao family from the capital!"

  Mrs. Rao was shocked and surprised, and it took her a while to calm down: "How...Hongyang is such a filial child! How could he hide this from his mother..."

  The old lady took a big sip of tea, and then said: "It's not just that! A few days ago, the government office issued a notice after investigating, ordering the Cao family to return to their hometown next month, otherwise they would be punished more severely! The Cao family's concubine came crying and begging, but the official documents had already been sent out, what could my family do? My daughter-in-law thought about it for a few days in the tea house, and still went to beg the old man. The old man endured it until now because of me and Hongwen, but seeing that his daughter-in-law was regretful, he scolded her severely, pointing at her nose and saying 'You are a member of my He family, not a Cao! The Cao family is corrupt and deserves punishment, we helped them out of kindness, but they still dared to be presumptuous, causing trouble for the He family every day. This kind of ungrateful person should have been kicked out long ago! If you really miss the Cao family, I'll give you a divorce letter, go live with them!' My daughter-in-law fainted on the spot, and after waking up, she didn't dare say another word!"

  Minglan lowered her head to look at her own hands in the inner room, okay, she should be worried about He Mu's body, but she still felt very pleased, every time she saw He Mu with a crying and hesitant holy mother face, she was annoyed.

  The old lady was actually very comfortable in her heart, but she couldn't shout loudly, so she softly advised a few words and expressed concern about He Mu's health problems.

  Mrs. He put down her tea bowl and sighed, "Fortunately, my daughter-in-law doesn't know about it. If she knew that it was Hong's idea to drive the Cao family out, I'm afraid something bad would have happened. For several days, the Cao family was in a mess, packing up their belongings and crying poverty all over the place. I thought I could get rid of the plague by giving them some silver to buy some land, but who knew that another problem arose yesterday!"

  Old Mrs. He thought of this and was annoyed to the point of numbness, but she really pitied her own grandson, so she simply said everything: "The Cao family is leaving, and every day they beg to bring in their niece, but Hong Ge'er refuses. I saw that my daughter-in-law was ill and half dead, so I came up with a plan to let the mother and daughter go to the villa outside the city to rest for a few days before coming back! The Cao family couldn't find anyone and had no choice... Yesterday, the Cao family suddenly came knocking on the door, saying that their niece had attempted suicide and after being rescued from the beam, she told the truth, saying that she was already infertile. If Hong Ge'er couldn't show her mercy, she would have only one way out - death! I was frightened, and while reporting the news to Hong Ge'er, I went to the Cao family myself to take their niece's pulse..."

  "What's going on?" Old Lady Sheng listened intently, her throat and eyes tightening up.

  Mrs. He shook her head, with a hint of sympathy in her expression, but her tone was very certain: "I've checked carefully, and it's true that she can't have children anymore. It's said that the year she became a concubine, the mistress of the house kept giving her red flower soup every few days. The medicine was fierce and toxic, not to mention that she had a miscarriage during that time. As a result, her body was ruined!"

  Minglan still trusted He Lao's medical skills and character, but as she relaxed her mood, a subtle feeling of bitterness arose, which was hard to express. She felt a little sad and sighed, only now did Minglan understand the deep despair in Cao Jingxian's eyes.

  The old lady was also silent for a long time, without speaking. Old Lady He sighed and continued: "It wasn't until then that the Cao family's madam knew the truth about her own daughter, and she cried herself into a faint; afterwards, Hong Ge arrived, learned of this matter, stood stupidly by my side, thought for a long, long time, and finally agreed to let the Cao family's young lady enter our household."

  The old lady didn't get angry this time, like a firework that had been drenched in water, her tone was soft and helpless: "......This is also childless, it's hard for Brother Hong." But Old Lady He interrupted with one sentence: "It's not over yet!"

  The old lady was puzzled.

  Mrs. He picked up the cooled tea and was about to drink it when she immediately called for Old Lady Sheng to take it away, asking a maid to replace it with warm tea. Mrs. He lifted her teacup and moistened her lips, saying: "Hongyang said that he is willing to take care of his cousin, and will make sure she has enough food and drink for the rest of her life, but on one condition... from now on, helping in times of crisis does not count as being a real relative." Aunt Cao was furious and slapped Hongyang at the time.

  The old lady's eyes lit up and she immediately straightened her waist, relaxed her eyebrows: "Brother Hong really dares to say that!"

  He Hongwen's intention was roughly just not wanting his wife to have a difficult mother-in-law on her head, and it would be bad for handling things between wives or controlling the family finances; however, when heard by Old Lady He, it had another meaning.

  Mrs. He said in a low voice, "This is an unfeeling thing to say, but I think it's good. A concubine who can't give birth must have her heart set on her natal family. When the time comes and the Cao family comes to arrange a marriage, they'll be asking for money every day. How can the He family have peace? Regardless of whom Brother Hong marries in the future, this matter must be made clear. We can't let a root of disaster into our home out of temporary pity. I'll immediately get Brother Hong to write everything down on paper, and when the Cao family signs and seals it, Miss Bao will enter the He estate!"

  After a long speech, the old and young inside and outside the house all fell into deep thought. With this letter standing upright, they basically had no more worries about what was to come. The trouble with the Cao family was actually not difficult to resolve.

  Mrs. He saw that Old Lady Sheng's attitude had obviously relaxed, and she didn't rush to demand an answer, so they chatted for a while longer before getting up to take their leave. Minglan lifted the curtain and slowly emerged from the inner room, making her way to her grandmother's kang, where the two sat facing each other in silence for some time. After a long while, Old Lady Sheng finally sighed, "Hóng gē'r..." but couldn't continue, then turned to Minglan and asked, "Míng yā'r, what do you think?"

  "...but granddaughter doesn't know, what does grandma say?" Minglan hugged the old lady's arm.

  The old lady looked at Minglan's bright face and thought that no young man from any family was worthy of her own daughter. After thinking for a while, she cautiously said: "This is already the best situation."

  Minglan's mind flashed through many scenes, Hualan's hidden worries and sorrows in the corners of her eyes, Molan's forced smiles and disguises, Hai's relief after drinking medicine every time she served him at night, Wang's struggles over the years, and the open and secret struggles between them... Then, she slowly nodded.

  The advantages of He's family do not lie in how prominent and wealthy they are, but rather that the conditions are quite balanced and harmonious. Even if a family is very prominent and wealthy, if there is a demanding mother-in-law above, difficult sisters-in-law on either side, and a husband who may not necessarily be supportive, then even the heavenly palace of the Jade Emperor would not be able to pass good days, whereas He's family...

  After all these years, He Mu has a gentle and pleasant temperament, and due to her illness, she is basically unable to take action. The new daughter-in-law can immediately take charge of the household as soon as she enters the house. The conditions in the main house and secondary house are even better, so they won't come to cause trouble. He Hongwen has a substantial family property and can earn a lot of money by himself, he is not wasteful, responsible, caring, and clearly favors Minglan. Once Old Master He retires and leaves Beijing, it's almost like they will be living separately. At that time, once the courtyard gate is closed, the new daughter-in-law can live her own life and make her own decisions.

  No need to look at the mother-in-law's face, no need to deal with complicated relatives from all sides, economically independent, living independently, where can you find such a good thing! Moreover, having accepted this infertile Cao Jinxiu, Mother He will probably be too embarrassed to say anything in front of Minglan from now on; to put it bluntly, Mother He's days are numbered.

  Under such "advantages", Cao Jinyu's existence seems to be nothing; perhaps... later when He Hongwen goes out to make money, she can take that frowning Cao Jinyu with her to play a game of cards? Maybe winning two games can help her forget her past misfortune, amen!

  ……

  There have been several times when Minglan suspected that she and Rulan had opposite fortunes. Every time she was happy, Rulan would be unlucky.

  On this day, Minglan thought that in a few days the weather would get even colder and the water surface would freeze thickly. After paying respects to Old Lady and Wang Shi, she took her fishing rod and basket, accompanied by Kong Wu's robust Xiao Tao, went to the small pond to go fishing. It was probably because of the cold weather, the fish in the water were all dull, Minglan easily caught seven or eight fat fish. Before leaving the poolside, she smiled and said to the water surface: "Have a good winter break, I'll come back to play with you when spring arrives."

  Hand over the fish to the kitchen, specify three particularly large ones to be made into braised fish in soy sauce, two particularly spirited ones to be made into eggplant fish slices, and the rest are all sliced open and roasted into scallion pepper salted fish, the fish head is simmered into ginger fish soup; Xiaotao smiled and stuffed thirty big coins into Auntie An's hands, repeatedly saying "thank you for your hard work", Auntie An pushed back with a smile on her face for half a day, then patted her chest to guarantee the quality of cooking.

  At this moment, the little swallow in the orchid house suddenly ran in, on such a cold day, she was sweating profusely, and as soon as she saw Minglan, she hastily asked Minglan to go to Taoran House.

  At this time, An Dangniang was about to kill the fish. Minglan thought of taking a look at whether there were any fish oil and fish seeds in the belly of the fish this time. Upon hearing this, she frowned and said: "How did you come here? Fifth sister wants to embroider again? Go back and tell her that I'm stewing fish soup with her now. Fish can brighten one's eyesight, eating fish before embroidering is even better!"

  Xiao Xiagu was almost in tears, repeatedly saying it wasn't her, but couldn't explain herself. Minglan saw that something was off and followed her out. Even so, Minglan first returned to her own room, washed the fishy smell off with scented soap, and changed into clean clothes before heading to Taoran Pavilion.

  She pushed open the thick silk curtain, and saw that there was no maid in the house, only Rulan crying alone at a table. She had already cried out all her tears, but was still sobbing with a handkerchief. As soon as she saw Minglan come in, she rushed over and grabbed onto her, bursting into loud sobs. Minglan was startled, and first pressed Rulan down beside the kang table, then asked anxiously: "Fifth sister, what's wrong? What's so unbearable that you're crying like this? Tell your younger sister slowly... Little Xique, quickly go heat some water for your mistress to wash her face!"

  Xiao Xikui slightly relaxed and went out in response; Rulan wiped her tear-stained nose, and only then did she sob and say that just now Hua Lan had suddenly come to the Sheng manor, looking for Old Lady and Wang Shi to talk, and also called her over. As soon as she opened her mouth, it was about wanting to arrange a marriage between her and Gu Tingyan!

  That sworn uncle who vowed to marry the eldest daughter might actually become her own brother-in-law?! Minglan's mouth was agape, she didn't know if she should be surprised or not, but the ancient times were indeed wonderful, and no matter how rich her imagination was, it couldn't keep up with the changes in this world.

  The author has something to say:

  Dear passionate readers, thank you for writing many long comments. I haven't dared to come out casually these past few days, as I might get snapped, and I'm busy planning my wedding, so I won't be responding or sending likes for now. I'll catch up later.

  Finally, today is Sunday, and the male lead will be revealed, don't worry everyone.

  The author has something to say:

  The following words were written three hours after this chapter was posted.

  While typing, I was reading everyone's comments and got extremely angry and very indignant.

  First of all, as I said at the beginning, there is no perfect male protagonist in this article, nor is there a perfect female protagonist. I just hope that everything develops reasonably and rationally. I couldn't write about an ancient man who is infatuated with a woman from the start and remains faithful to death. That kind of romantic character is not something I can write about, but it won't appear in this article either.

  Secondly, I am very disgusted by some readers' comments.

  Don't casually say that Xiao Hong or Gu Er are worthless. Gu Er didn't even mention it, but Xiao Hong, as an ordinary ancient boy, received normal ancient education. Taking concubines was a common thing in ancient times, don't tell me again about the many famous people in ancient times who didn't take concubines, compared to the millions and millions of ancient men, that's just an exception!

  In any case, Xiaohong did everything she could after a series of events.

  Again, why do some readers always assume that Xiaohong and her cousin have a deep affection for each other? I've never said anything like that! Look at Xiaohong's actions, she has already made up her mind to drive the entire Cao family away. Is this still considered having a deep affection for her cousin? The Cao family is an official family with a criminal record, and Cao Jinyu is a barren woman who cannot give birth. What kind of future can she have? Her future brothers-in-law may not even support her for life, let alone if she were to become a nun. In ancient times, many temples without background were actually brothels in disguise. Accepting her cousin as a concubine is just giving her a way out (in Xiaohong's opinion), and has nothing to do with childhood sweethearts' feelings!

  Everyone may have been influenced by Qiong Yao too much. A normal boy, on the one hand, is thin and ugly, while on the other hand, he is handsome and has a sense of justice. Why did Xiaohong always pity her cousin after marriage, and even mistreat Minglan for the sake of her cousin?

  Many readers directly filled in the Qiong Yao-style brain-dead scenes, one moment the cousin and brother-in-law confessed their feelings to each other, the next moment the cousin pretended to be a little white flower, and the next moment the cousin went to harm Minglan's child! For goodness' sake, is Minglan dead or is Xiaohong an idiot?

  I'm afraid this situation appears in my writing, which makes me very uncomfortable!

  Once again, I regret the different age standards for some of our readers.

  Note that the context of this article is not modern times, an ancient commoner girl, what right does she have to ask her husband to keep his chastity, what right does she have to ask her husband not to take a concubine? I think I've never given readers any hints in this regard. Whether it's Lang Bo or Yuan Bao, they both have women outside of their wives. Why is everyone suddenly holding Minglan to different standards?

  As soon as Lin Lan slightly expressed her acceptance of being a concubine, readers started shouting and scolding, hurling all sorts of insults, including some very unpleasant ones like "JIAN", and some even directly scolded me, the author!

  There are so many novels online about the virtuous wives and concubines, those gentle smiles and warm faces towards their husbands' mistresses, how can everyone tolerate them? But when it comes to this one, even I scolded, what kind of moral character is this?!

  I'm so angry I could die!

  Finally, I can honestly tell everyone that Xiaohong is not the male lead. What he has done cannot be called "rubbish". He has tried his best to do these things. It's already very hard for him. Readers can accept that people in high positions have concubines, but they blame Xiaohong for every little thing. I feel a bit sad about this.

  Minglan is a decent transmigrator, but what's so great about being a transmigrator anyway? Some readers keep demanding that Minglan "persist to the end with one heart and one mind", demand that Minglan "nobly reject Xiao Hong", and demand that Minglan make all sorts of noble gestures.

  But please! Minglan's status is that of a concubine-born daughter, and the only thing she can rely on is the old lady's favor. What she seeks is just to live a good life, find a comfortable living environment for herself, and accepting Cao as her sister-in-law would be a 'disaster'.

  Not to mention that Xiaohong may not necessarily roll in the sheets with her cousin, even if she did, which of these male leads hasn't rolled in the sheets with their concubines?! Living in ancient times, yet having to follow modern people's behavioral patterns?

  The original intention of writing this article is the process of a girl's life and growth, all her psychological changes are normal, and the men around her are also normal. In order to have a HE ending, I slightly beautified several male characters, which is true, because I still gave Minglan a very good ending.

  A portion of readers' aggressive language has made me very sad, I've found that this article seems to have lost its original meaning and turned into a place for quarreling and scolding. Whenever the plot doesn't go as they wish, they scold people, threaten to drop the story, and even openly declare that they'll go read pirated versions. Every time I see these comments, I think about refunding everyone's money and not writing anymore. After all, I'm not a professional writer; it would be better for me to just vent on Weibo instead. The only thing is that I feel sorry for those readers who have always supported me.

  I've been struggling to hold back, squeezing out time in between work to painstakingly finish writing, seeing some infuriating words, and telling myself a hundred times a day 'take a deep breath, calm down'.

  I'm very tired today, so I'm especially angry. I need to rest. Maybe everyone's expectations of me are too high. Occasionally, I can't write something that satisfies everyone. Don't worry, if I don't want to write anymore, I'll let you know as soon as possible and return the money.