The 93rd

  Sheng Hong returned home, and Wang Shi immediately pulled him into the house to chat for half a day. As an official, Sheng Hong had always been perceptive and attentive, especially in court politics. He probably had a more intuitive understanding of Gu Tingyan's value than the women in the inner courtyard. After some thought about the pros and cons, he went out the next day to inquire about Gu Tingyan's character, investigating everything according to the standards he used when inquiring about Yuan Wenshao in the past.

  After several days, Sheng Hong told Wang's family that he agreed to the marriage.

  After several days of anxiety, Ruolan was finally sentenced. She smashed half the things in the house, her shrill cries could wake up the fish in the river that were hibernating for winter, and she threw a tantrum with her hair disheveled, scaring all the maids to death. Wang came to reprimand her, but Ruolan retorted with a pair of reddened eyes: "You can marry yourself off then!"

  Wang's anger made her whole body tremble, and she only asked why she didn't want to marry into the Gu family. But Rulan couldn't say anything, and if she had said the truth, it would have been a disaster for Jing Ge. Rulan searched her mind and shouted loudly: "Mother is confused! I am of a different generation from that Gu Tingyan! I used to call him 'Second Uncle'!"

  The little swallow quietly picked up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, secretly smiling bitterly. These days, her master had been forcing Sixth Young Lady to think of a way, and Sixth Young Lady didn't dare to go against Old Master's and Old Mistress' wishes, so in the end, she was forced to come up with this rotten idea.

  Wang's face turned red with rage, pointing at Rulan and scolding loudly: "What kind of status?! You're just a follower who blindly followed others' cries, in the capital city, there are many aristocratic families with complex relationships, if you continue to talk nonsense, I'll tell your father about it, let him come and deal with you!" She hated Pingning Junzhu to death, it was really a case of not getting what she wanted and causing trouble for herself, almost making her son-in-law become a humble subject.

  Wang may have threatened his daughter many times, but this time he did what he said, and that night when Sheng Huan returned to the house, he called Rulan over and scolded her severely.

  Among the daughters, Sheng Hong originally disliked Rulan the most for being arrogant and unruly. From childhood to adulthood, she had not been punished less often. Rulan was also unwilling to flatter with sweet words, so she had always been the most afraid of her father. Sheng Hong scolded a few sentences with a cold face, and Rulan cried.

  "All these years of reading books have gone to waste, don't you know what filial piety and chastity are?! Marriage is always decided by one's parents, when did it become a matter for a young girl like you to discuss openly?! Do you even know the meaning of shame?! I'm so ashamed on your behalf!" These words were indeed harsh, and Lan covered her face and cried as she left, while Wang endured the heartache.

  The news of the marriage was quickly passed on to Gu Tingyan through Wang Shi, Hua Lan and Yuan Wenshao. Gu Tingyan was very efficient and soon visited with Yuan Wenshao in tow. The old lady claimed illness and refused to meet them, so Wang Shi met him alone. Minglan did not know the details of this meeting between her future mother-in-law and husband-to-be, but judging from their reactions afterwards, Wang Shi must have been very satisfied. She stood in front of Rulan, praising Gu Tingyan's demeanor, character, appearance and virtues to the sky, until he was praised like a flower, making Minglan feel goosebumps all over her body.

  Like an orchid, she lowered her head and didn't say a word, continuing to look dull and expressionless, as if she hadn't heard anything; Minglan, who was standing beside her, listened with great astonishment, Wang's endless chatter made Minglan feel like it wasn't praise for a living person, but rather a passionate eulogy at a hero's memorial service; She quietly took a few steps back and whispered to Hualan: "Madam has good eyesight, she can see so many advantages after just one meeting?"

  Hua Lan struggled to suppress the twitching of her mouth and the faint sense of shame: "Can your sister's matchmaker be wrong? General Gu is indeed a good match." In fact, although Gu Tingyan tried his best to show humility, the fierce and powerful aura unique to military men was unmistakable. Under Wang's gaze, she didn't dare say much, and Yuan Wenshao said that her mother-in-law already had quite some courage.

  Hua Lan looked at Ru Lan's stubborn face and was somewhat puzzled, so she asked Ming Lan in a soft voice: "I don't know what's wrong with this girl? She suddenly made a fuss about the marriage, as if she had a huge grudge against Guo Er Lang."

  Minglan's heart skipped a beat, and she hastily intervened, "Fifth sister is just hot-tempered, and earlier Father scolded her severely. She probably hasn't calmed down yet. Why don't older sister and Madame try to persuade her some more?"

  Who would have thought that Hua Lan shook her head, turned around and whispered to Ming Lan: "It won't be long before we can't persuade him anymore. General Gu told your sister's husband that his older brother is watching over him with a critical eye, and as the younger brother, it wouldn't be good for him to get married before his older brother's bones are cold; you should also help persuade her, try to make Fifth Sister understand sooner."

  Listening to Hualan's enthusiastic tone, Minglan took a glance at Wangshi's mouth cornering saliva as she was persuading Yulan with all her might. She deeply felt sorry for her brother, however... Speaking of which, perhaps first love is meant to be shattered and remembered. In just a few days, the news that Gu Tingye would marry into the Sheng family gradually spread out, it's unknown who leaked it from either the Gu or Sheng family. Fortunately, Old Madam had reminded Sheng Hong and Wangshi to absolutely not reveal anything before the engagement ceremony, Wangshi was initially skeptical but soon realized that Old Madam indeed had a farsighted vision.

  The first to react to the rumors of a marriage between Gu and Sheng was Mrs. Gu, who immediately began making arrangements for Gu Tingyan's marriage, regardless of whether he was born to Qin Taihou or not. From a ceremonial standpoint, as the wife of the eldest son, she had some authority over his marriage matters, especially since Gu Lao Houye had passed away. If she did not approve of the Sheng family's marriage proposal, it would be considered 'unauthorized by one's parents', which was against etiquette.

  Wang's family was in a flurry, and Hualan comforted her: "Don't worry, Mother, Gu Er Lang has already prepared the second invitation." Recently, Hualan had been addressing Gu Ting Ye with an increasingly familiar tone, as if he were already her brother-in-law.

  On November 12, Empress Dowager Sheng was slightly ill and had just recovered. The emperor was overjoyed and set up a simple family banquet to celebrate. At the dinner table, the empress dowager pointed at Shen Congxing, who had just gotten engaged, and laughed: "Your sister has taken great care of you and found you a good match." Empress Shen smiled along and said: "My brother is easy to deal with, but I don't know how the marriage negotiations for Lord Gu are going." Gu Tingyan, seated below, smiled but didn't speak. Shen Congxing stood up, bowed his hands to the guests, and laughed: "You all probably don't know, my brother has never seriously studied for a few days in his life and doesn't even recognize a few characters, yet now he wants to marry a scholar's daughter!"

  The atmosphere was lively during the banquet, and the emperor seemed to have come up with a curious question. Gu Tingyan replied that he was the son of Left Censor-in-Chief Sheng Hong, and the emperor smiled and said: "This marriage is well sought after, Sheng Hong has always had a good reputation, being frugal, diligent and hardworking, making him a suitable match for you." The newly appointed brother-in-law of Empress Shen, General Zheng, the young and reckless Left Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard, had a few cups of wine in his belly and jokingly said: "Your Majesty, they are a family of scholars, don't know if they want this military leader!" The crowd at the banquet burst into laughter.

  The news spread outside the palace, and there was no movement in the Ningyuan Marquis's residence. Madame Wang let out a sigh of relief, and after Old Lady Shen knew about it, she remained silent for half a moment before saying: "Hurry up and call Rulan to change her mind."

  Minglan understood what she meant. If this matter was the result of Gu Tingye's careful planning, then this person's mind was meticulous and surprising. If this matter was intentionally done by the emperor and a few others, then this person must have been favored by heaven. The emperor had such intentions, and he would definitely be reused. In either case, it further solidified Sheng Hong's determination to form an alliance through marriage.

  Sheng Hong is not the kind of paper tiger father often seen in Korean dramas, who bellows with bulging veins and a hoarse voice but ultimately forgives his unfilial daughter. He is a typical ancient feudal scholar-official, talking about moral integrity and thinking about official career and economy. Although he is more lenient towards his children than a serious old pedant, he still adheres to the family rules of loyalty and filial piety, holding absolute authority at home.

  From this perspective, ancient scholars rarely had fathers who unconditionally spoiled their children, and they often had more than one child; daughters only needed to maintain their virtue and reputation, and wait for marriage; at that time, even Hua Lan, who was favored and valued, did not dare to interfere with her marriage. Mo Lan was once the most beloved daughter of Sheng Zong, but after she disregarded her family and selfishly plotted, almost ruining the reputation of the Sheng family, Sheng Zong no longer pretended to be polite to her, and Ming Lan could clearly see disappointment and disgust in his eyes.

  In the face of reality, many things are not worth fighting for. Lan doesn't have enough courage to resist her family and social norms, just like Bao's brother who likes Lin Daiyu but is favored by Grandmother Jia, he never dares to speak his own mind in front of Jia Zheng and Wang Xifeng; let alone after Mo Lan's incident, Hai Shi's vigilance has increased exponentially, as soon as she sees that Lan is unwilling to marry, she immediately puts the entire Rongguo House under strict surveillance like Guantanamo Bay, and the romance between Lin Daiyu and Baoyu has to be put on hold.

  As the days passed, Yu Lan's tears gradually subsided, and her demeanor became more composed, although her emotions were still somewhat downcast. Wang Shi and Hua Lan enthusiastically enumerated Gu Ting Ye's many good qualities, also asking Ming Lan to join in, as a show of support for the family's decision. Ming Lan knew of one major advantage that Gu Ting Ye possessed, but she didn't dare say it out loud; after being tongue-tied for half a day, her face flushed bright red, until finally she managed to come up with: "Fifth sister, think about it - if you had only married an ordinary husband, wouldn't Fourth sister be one rank higher than you?!"

  Ruolan's eyes, which had been dull until now, suddenly lit up. Since she was born, she and Molan have been entangled in a deep feud, if she can make Molan suffer, she would be willing to bring her own dry rations to the front lines.

  Wang and Hua Lan were inspired, immediately changing their strategy. After every three sentences of praise for Gu Tingyan, they would enthusiastically describe how glorious it would be for Rulan to marry him in front of Mo Lan. The effect was very good; Rulan also gradually resigned herself to her fate. It wasn't as if they were pushing her into a fire pit, but rather just asking her to marry a second-hand high-end product. Besides, Brother Jing might not necessarily be the original version either.

  Minglan was praised by her superiors for her outstanding performance in persuading Rulan, and was allowed to take a leave of absence to accompany Old Lady Shou at Shou'antang. The old lady rewarded her by sending her to deliver gifts to He Hongwen. After the visit from Mrs. He, He Hongwen came twice more, but Minglan did not meet with him. He only hung his head in shame and apologized to Old Lady Shou, who saw that he was truly remorseful and gradually softened her attitude towards him, although she still had not forgiven him.

  Minglan walked on the small path that led directly to the second gate of Shou'antang, paved with gravel and rarely frequented by people. Beside her followed He Hongwen in tandem. At times like these, Minglan always found Old Madame's thoughts endearing. Having come from the Yongyi Marquis Manor, she had grown tired of the lustful nature of men from noble families, and thus chose a scholar-official for marriage. Little did she know that scholar-officials were not much better, as her husband soon brought home a concubine after their wedding, awkwardly explaining it was a gift from his superior and hoping his wife would kindly take care of the concubine. After her failed marriage, Old Madame lost hope in scholar-officials' integrity and turned to non-mainstream professionals, such as He Hongwen.

  "...ming mei mei...ming mei mei..."

  Minglan finally came back to her senses, only to see He Hongwen looking at her with a shy expression, softly calling out to her repeatedly. Minglan composed herself and smiled, saying: "What is it? Please speak."

  He Hongwen's eyes suddenly dimmed, and he lowered his head. After a while, he slowly said: "Ming must be angry with me, otherwise she wouldn't speak like that."

  Nonsense! I've already said what needed to be said. But Minglan just smiled and said, "Brother Hongwen, don't say that, it's not like that."

  He Hongwen suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed intently on Minglan. His throat rolled several times, as if he was extremely agitated, but couldn't speak for a long time. Finally, he said: "Ming sister! I know you're angry with me, but please listen to what I have to say!" Minglan also stopped in her tracks and waited quietly. He Hongwen took a deep breath and continued: "I don't dare say that I'm very understanding, but at least I'm clear about who I want to marry! I truly regard my cousin as a sister, without any romantic feelings whatsoever. However, things have come to this point, and I couldn't bear to watch her die, so I had no choice but to wrong you! But please, Ming sister, believe me that the He family is just a place for my cousin to settle down, where she can live comfortably, but... it's only that!"

  He Hongwen was emotionally agitated and spoke incoherently about his helplessness in accepting Cao Jinxiu, also making implicit promises to be faithful to his wife in the future. Minglan listened quietly throughout, neither showing any signs of being moved nor ridiculing him with a snort. He Hongwen looked at Minglan's expression and gradually felt somewhat disheartened: "Ming sister, you still won't believe me."

  Minglan smiled slightly and shook her head, saying: "Whether or not I believe you has nothing to do with what you say, but rather how you act."

  "I naturally said it would be done!" He Hongwen's face turned red, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.

  "For example..." Minglan ignored him, turned around and continued walking slowly, saying to herself: "You were playing chess with your wife when Tabao suddenly got a headache, foot pain and stomachache, and asked you to go take a look."

  He Hongwen smiled and let out a sigh of relief, following behind: "I'm just a young scholar with limited knowledge, I should invite another doctor instead. Taking medicine for illness is the right thing to do."

  "If it's just Miss Wang getting sick every other day, it wouldn't be good to invite the doctor every day, you can just go take a look and that would be fine."

  "It's a chronic illness, so there must be medicine at home all the time. Just decoct a bowl and send it over."

  "If the young lady plays the flute, plucks the zither and recites melancholic poems, every sound enters my ears, every note produces a tone, crying is really pitiful, not necessarily for you to comfort."

  "Playing the zither is a refined thing, but it must be done with restraint, and not disturb others' peace. Otherwise, it's just making trouble on purpose. As for the pitiful talk, my cousin has been pitiful since her father was exiled, those few years I wasn't by her side, didn't she survive?" Minglan suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring fixedly at He Hongwen, and said coldly: "Don't pretend to be stupid, you know what I'm talking about."

  He Hongwen also stood still, standing in front of Minglan with a pale face full of anxiety: "Ming sister, do you know what I'm blaming you for? That day I went to see my cousin, she was thin and only had one breath left, just waiting for me, unable to speak, only using her eyes to beg me. I'm a weak and useless person, I didn't have the heart to refuse, so I agreed. But at that time, I also clearly told her that I would give her a way out, but only a way out. After entering the house, there would be no romantic feelings, no affection, she shouldn't think about it anymore. If she still wanted to die, I would have no regrets!" Minglan listened, silent and speechless. He Hongwen took a deep breath, his broad chest heaving violently: "Ming sister, if she died like this, she would become a thorn in my heart, making me remember her forever!...I don't want to always remember her, my heart should only have my wife!"

  Minglan slowly raised her head, with the sun behind her, He Hongwen's young and handsome face was filled with sincerity and tension. A small part of her heart softened: "After all, living under the same roof, you can't pretend to ignore me."

  He Hongwen said seriously in a low voice, "Ming sister, I know what you're worried about. But I have eyes and won't be fooled by people. Zhang's fourth uncle is now wandering outside, he used to work for the Lord Guo's mansion for over a decade, from the old master's concubines to the descendants' messy affairs, what hasn't he seen? The cunning tricks of the women in the inner house, as a doctor, how could he not be clear about it?"

  Minglan raised an eyebrow: "So you knew all along? I thought you were just sympathizing with Cao's weakness."

  He Hongwen smiled awkwardly and said helplessly, "Not all men are blind and stupid, unless they're biased in their thinking. Besides, I trust your character, you'll take good care of Jin'er's cousin."

  Minglan looked at him for a long time, slowly unfolding a smile: "You're right... maybe." Anyway, between them was still the existence of Cao Jingyi, she ultimately existed.

  Is He Hongwen's words credible? She didn't know. Can he keep his promise today? She also didn't know.

  She only knew that He Hongwen had done his best to get to this point, after all, he was just an ordinary ancient man, and marriage was just a beginning. The road ahead was what mattered most.

  The warm winter sun felt like soft cotton on the skin, and the bare branches swayed gently in the breeze. Minglan and He Hongwen walked slowly along the stone path, taking in the serene beauty of the landscape. The sky was clear, the sun shone brightly, and the mountains stood quietly majestic. Everything seemed to be unfolding calmly and naturally. The Cao family had already left the capital, Rulan had submitted, and Old Madame had made up her mind; it seemed that everything would proceed smoothly along its predetermined course.

  But a long time later, Minglan suddenly realized that this was her last meeting with He Hongwen.