The 59th time

  Inside, there was a beautiful woman. The three orchids hesitated and did not move forward. Mo Lan looked at Ruolan, and Ruolan raised her head, then stepped inside. Mo Lan and Minglan followed, and the three sisters sat down on a reclining chair by the window. Then, the maidservants came in one after another, took out the tea, fruit, and snacks they had brought with them, and arranged them on the tables. They went outside to fetch hot water, made tea, and served it up.

  That girl saw the crowd of maidservants waiting on her, but she just played with the lid of her bowl, ignoring them. Minglan looked at her carefully and saw that she was wearing a long gown made of pink satin with a silk waistband and slanting collar, trimmed with gray fur around the neckline and cuffs, and embroidered with gold thread flowers all over. Underneath, she wore a moon-white skirt with a silver border, and on her chest hung a large golden locket in the shape of a bat, shining brightly. On her head, she wore a pair of hairpins made of jade and gold, set with pearls. The girl glanced down and also took stock of the three sisters, seeing that they were all dressed in fine clothes, each wearing a golden necklace with three pendants made of top-quality jade, and their manners were all elegant and refined.

  Mo Lan took a few sips of tea, then went forward and started chatting with the girl. After two sentences, they had exchanged their family backgrounds. The girl said modestly: "My surname is Rong, my nickname is Fei Yan, my father is Fu Chang Bo."

  Mo Lan paused for a moment and smiled: "So sister is the niece of Rong Fei Niang Niang."

  Like Orchid and Bright Orchid, the family's expression is different, listening to it is very spirited, but actually very tragic. A golden phoenix flies out of a tile-roofed house, a beauty is chosen by the king one morning, and the whole family is enfeoffed. It is well-known that unless they can give birth to a son or establish an heir or be enfeoffed as a king, otherwise most of those who are enfeoffed for this reason are not hereditary successors, some good ones inherit three to five generations, and the worse ones stop at one generation or demote their position until they become common people. Therefore, such families generally seize the time to form alliances everywhere or cultivate talents in order to prolong the family's wealth and nobility.

  Xiao Rong Fei is favored by the emperor, but unfortunately, the old emperor has the heart but not the strength. So far or forever, he may not have a son, which puts a question mark on the road to marriage for this family.

  Rong Feiyan smiled and said, "My brother and sister-in-law brought me here. There were too many people in that house, it was noisy and gave me a headache, so I looked for this room to calm down. It seems I've disturbed several sisters instead."

  Although the words were polite, there was a clear air of superiority. Since Lan hated people who were stronger than her, she ignored them and ate tea and rested on her own, not bothering to talk to them. Minglan remembered that the Rong Huan who had hit someone with his horse in the morning was actually her brother, and she felt disgusted and didn't want to speak much either. Only Mu Lan was left to enthusiastically respond, and she carefully tried to please everyone, gradually sparking Rong Feiyan's interest in talking, and eventually turning the conversation to the Sheng family's life in Dengzhou.

  "... Are you related to the Qi family?" Rong Feiyan's eyes lit up, and she suddenly realized she had overstepped, so she composed herself and cautiously asked, "Have you seen their second young master?"

  Mo Lan smiled and said, "How could you not know? When we were in Dengzhou, he studied with my older brother; last year at the birthday banquet of Xiangyang Hou, my sisters also went, ...and even met the Sixth Princess Wang and the Countess of Jiacheng."

  Rong Feiyan hummed, seemingly displeased: "The imperial princes' families are not well taken care of in their fiefs, why do they always run to the capital? If one or two of them do this, won't it ruin the ancestral rules?"

  Sister, don't say that. The Sixth King is now in a prosperous situation, and who knows what great fortune he will have in the future?

  Rong Feiyan's face was not looking good, her hand clenched into a fist on the table, the ruby ring with diamonds let out an ear-piercing sound against the tabletop, and she coldly laughed: "A great creation? Or has it become a big joke instead."

  Mo Lan smiled very nicely, only Ming Lan, who had been with her for several years, could see that she actually disliked Rong Fei Yan. Then Mo Lan picked some new topics of conversation among the young ladies in the capital and continued to chat with Rong Fei Yan.

  The Liu and Rong families are a typical example of two sides of the same coin, one is currently unpopular but may be popular in the future, while the other has power now but is easily outdated. Minglan lowered her head to fiddle with the crispy walnut cream puff on her plate, inadvertently glancing at Mo Lan.

  The capital is just this big, gathering a group of seemingly dignified but actually very gossipy high-ranking ladies. The matter of the Rong family wanting to form an alliance with the Qi family was no longer new, but the Rong family had repeatedly shown their intention to form an alliance, only to be rebuffed by the Qi family each time. Now, a county mistress from Jia Cheng has appeared, and it's like a piece of meat that both families are fighting over, what a lively scene!

  After saying a few more words, a maid from the Rong family came in to ask Rong Feiyan to go back, and one of the mothers beside Wang Shi also came to call the three Lanes to go back for vegetarian fasting. This morning, the three Lanes were hungry early, and even Mo Lan, who was refined and elegant, ate a full bowl of rice. Minglan alone finished half a basin of white scallion lan, while Lan clung to a dish of spring bamboo shoots and refused to let anyone have any; after dinner, everyone slowly drank the clear tea that had been stir-fried at Guangji Temple, and Minglan felt warm and comfortable in her abdomen.

  It was time to leave, but Hai's family was meticulous and found that Sheng Lao Tai Tai looked tired, so he said softly: "It's not good to go on the carriage just after eating, why don't we rest for a while before leaving? What do you think, Old Lady and Madam?"

  Wang's family was also tired and thought it was good, Old Lady Sheng nodded too. Minglan saw that the adults had agreed, so she immediately went to find You mother to get a quilt and pillow, thinking of taking a short rest.

  Who would have thought that Mo Lan walked up to the old lady and Wang Shi, smiling: "Grandmother, madam, sister-in-law, granddaughter has long heard that the dripping pavilion in the backyard of Guangji Temple is an ancient relic of the previous dynasty. The pillars still have the poems written by the high-ranking scholar of that year, and the nine-dragon screen wall is one of the best in the world, very elegant. Today, since we've come, granddaughter wants to take a look, also good to see the world."

  As Orchid was not willing to stay honest, she heard that there was interest in it and ran to Wang's side, shaking her arm and coquettishly saying: "Mother, you said that the rules in Beijing are big, usually we are restrained every day, now it is rare to come out once, let us stroll around."

  Wang was moved by Rulan's request, and turned her head to look at Old Lady Sheng, who was leaning against the back of a couch with half-closed eyes. "Call a few nannies to go together," she said, "it will be more secure." Wang knew that she had agreed, so she turned her head back to Rulan with a serious face and said: "You can only go for an hour, come back immediately after you finish!"

  Yu Rong was overjoyed, and made a series of quick bows to Wang Shi and Old Lady Yu. Then she turned around and came to pull Minglan along. Minglan was still dawdling, leaning on her mother's shoulder and saying: "I'm not going, let me take a nap, sisters can go by themselves."

  "Didn't you just eat and now you're not going for a walk? Later when we take the car, you'll vomit again!" Then she bent down her neck, leaned into Minglan's ear, and whispered: "I won't go strolling with her, but you have to go!" Her fingers used force, fiercely pinching Minglan's arm.

  Minglan had no choice but to follow them.

  Behind the third main hall of Guangji Temple, there is a spacious stone brick ground that can be used for Buddhist activities. In the middle, there is a clear and spiritual water pool. Behind the water pool, there is a very long wall in an arch shape, one side extending to the Drip Pavilion, and the other side leading to the plum forest at the back of the mountain. The courtyard is very quiet, with several young monks lightly sweeping fallen leaves.

  It was early spring, and the sun shone on people without being too hot, but rather warm and comfortable. The three sisters walked slowly with a few maidservants, following the winding path, and the first thing they saw was the central part of the Nine Dragons Wall. A magnificent dragon coiled in the middle, as if it were about to jump out of the wall halfway. The glazed tiles on the dragon's body had been weathered by wind and rain, but still looked very bright.

  The orchid seemed to have suddenly developed a great interest in folk wood carvings, admiring and praising them as she looked at each dragon scale, from the scales on the dragons' bodies to the glaze that had fallen off. As if unwilling to be constrained, she kept all the maids and servants waiting in the courtyard, and now she was skipping along lightly, laughing and chatting with a group of people. Minglan followed lazily behind her, trying her best to hold back her yawns. As they walked, she suddenly caught a whiff of plum blossoms at the tip of her nose, looked up, and saw that there were more and more plum trees around them. Minglan's expression immediately turned serious, and she stopped in her tracks, saying: "Fourth sister, let's stop here, we should head in another direction now, we haven't seen the Weeping Willow Pavilion yet."

  Mo Lan was walking briskly forward, but upon hearing this, he turned his head and said: "I haven't finished looking around this side yet, let's walk a bit further."

  Minglan saw her smiling lightly, seemingly without pretence, and also smiled: "This Nine Dragon Wall is symmetrical on both sides, if we look at one side, it's as if we've looked at the other side, won't that save us some time and effort?"

  No matter how Minglan said, Mo Lan just wouldn't allow it, insisting on finishing the rest. At first, Lan didn't understand, but seeing Mo Lan's gentle and charming expression, she also recalled how she had deliberately tidied up her clothes and hair when they came out earlier, and she caught on to some clues. She then said loudly: "Let's walk further ahead, it should be Plum Forest soon, there must be a group of people having a poetry gathering there; it wouldn't be good if someone saw us."

  Mo Lan smiled softly: "We mind our own business looking at the stone wall, what does it have to do with others; even if we see it, it doesn't matter." She spoke with utmost sincerity and clarity, and after finishing, she raised her head high to show her clear conscience.

  "Your words are always the most pleasant to hear, but I'm not blind to what you're thinking in your heart. Let me tell you, give up on that idea! Look at your flirtatious and frivolous appearance, don't bring shame to our family's reputation!"

  Mo Lan's face suddenly turned red, and she immediately retorted: "I don't understand what you're saying, sister. Why do you have to say such unpleasant things? If I must go forward, then let's see what happens! If you have the ability, then loudly call for someone to come and take me back!" With that, she turned around and walked away.

  Yu Lan was so angry that she almost fell over. As they were approaching the plum forest, she didn't dare to shout loudly for help and could only stomp her feet in frustration.

  Minglan took a few light steps, blocking Mo Lan's path. Her face was as calm as water, but Mo Lan's voice was full of hatred: "You also want to oppose me?! For no reason at all, you tarnish my good name. Just for this, I must go forward!"

  Ming Lan raised her arm and pulled Mu Lan back, saying calmly: "You really won't go back?"

  Mo Lan's face turned red with anger and she shouted: "I'm not going back!"

  "Good!"

  As she spoke, Minglan's hand rose and something flew straight at Mo Lan. Mo Lan let out a shrill cry, and her sky-blue embroidered skirt was suddenly stained with a large patch of mud!

  "What is this?" Mo Lan's face turned red as she growled.

  Only to see Minglan gently unfolding a handkerchief, inside was a lump of mud. It turned out that Minglan had just taken advantage of Rulan's words and wrapped a lump of mud in her hand with the handkerchief.

  "Y-y-you......" Mo Lan's whole body trembled with rage, pointing directly at Ming Lan. Yu Lan beside her was also stunned.

  Minglan said calmly: "If you have the ability, go see those princes and young masters. If you still go, I will slap your face."

  "How dare you treat me like this?!" Mo Lan finally caught her breath.

  Minglan coldly smiled and said: "I originally wanted to slap you awake! However, considering our sisterhood, I'll let it go! I'll only give you one sentence, you have no shame, but we do! Father has been cautious his whole life, the old madam and the madam are careful with household matters, how can they let you ruin everything!" To be honest, she had wanted to hit her for a long time.

  Mo Lan raised her arm, wanting to hit Ming Lan, but was dodged by Ming Lan's quick reflexes. Then, Ru Lan caught Mo Lan from behind and Mo Lan's eyes turned red as she cried out: "I'm going to tell Father that you two are ganging up on me!"

  "This is like Lan's music, laughing and saying: 'You go tell! I don't believe it, Father will hear that you want to show off, he will not only praise you but also applaud, if he doesn't beat you up then that's already good!' After thinking for a moment, she added half a sentence, 'Sixth sister has always been honest and gentle, even if Father doesn't believe me, he will definitely believe her!'"

  Mo Lan bit her lip in discontent, her furious gaze staring at Ming Lan and Ru Lan. Ming Lan was not afraid at all, turning to Ru Lan: "Just now when we were looking at the Nine Dragon Wall, Fourth Sister accidentally fell and got her skirt dirty. Let's help her back, it seems like Old Madam should be returning to the manor soon."

  "Fourth sister, aren't you going back yet?" Orchid asked with a smile and a clap of her hands.

  Mo Lan stomped her foot in anger and turned to leave, but Orchid hurried after her, shouting: "Fourth sister, let me help you!" At this moment, she wished more people could see Mo Lan's filthy appearance.

  Minglan secretly smiled to herself, feeling extremely pleased and refreshed, as if the fatigue of the entire morning had vanished. Over the years, whenever Mo Lan was being infuriating, Minglan would originally want to go and scold her, but was persuaded by Old Lady Shen. She said: women are restricted in many ways, unless you grasp the other person's weakness and strike directly, otherwise it is not advisable to lightly start trouble, lest you leave an impression of being overbearing and fierce in front of others, which would make it difficult to get things done in the future.

  Mo Lan and Lin Daiyu had a similar temperament, often picking on each other in their daily lives, but as soon as they were in front of Sheng Zhen, they would put on a pitiful face, as if the entire household was bullying them. Even when Mo Lan made a fool of herself in front of Princess Pingning, Sheng Zhen had scolded her, but Lin Daiyu's tears had soon confused him into thinking that Wang Shi had intentionally humiliated Mo Lan in public.

  So biased, the reason is none other than that Wang and Rulan had already left a bad impression on Sheng Hong, a pair of mother and daughter as fierce as lions VS a pair of mother and daughter as weak as sheep, at this time men usually have a short circuit in their brains, male hormones automatically make silly judgments.

  So she never argued with Mo Lan in her daily life, especially when Sheng Hong was present, and they were a harmonious sisterhood.

  Minglan shook out the handkerchief, then twisted it into a ball and tucked it into her sleeve. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard a faint laugh behind her head. Minglan's whole body tensed up, and she immediately turned around. Because she had been lowering her head, she first saw a pair of powder-blue cloud-patterned boots with black satin facings, and the hem of a dark blue robe with silver embroidery in one corner. Then she raised her head, and a tall, looming shadow fell directly over her head.

  Minglan immediately retreated two steps, narrowing her eyes to look. At this moment, the sun was shining just right, casting a reflection on the man's half-body blue robe, with a pure and bright color. His other half-body was shrouded in dark blue by the shadow of the stone wall, and the patterns on his robe were like intricate porcelain carvings.

  "Second Uncle." Minglan bowed respectfully and made a gesture of greeting.

  Gu Tingyan crooked his mouth and sneered: "Treating your own sister like this, isn't that bad?"

  Minglan lowered her head, still speaking in a respectful tone: "It's hard for a clean official to intervene in family matters. If my niece did something wrong, Father will punish her himself." The implication was: mind your own business!

  Gu Tingyan's eyebrows slanted upwards, and his expression paused for a moment: "Since you called me 'older uncle', I should teach you a thing or two."

  Minglan raised her head, smiled mischievously and suddenly said: "Haven't congratulated Second Uncle on his new marriage yet." Then she held up a pair of white chubby paws, lightly and auspiciously waved them around, "Wishing Second Uncle and Auntie a harmonious union, may they grow old together!"

  Gu Tingyan's face immediately fell, his eyes gloomy, Minglan felt a little regretful and couldn't help but take a step back.

  Last month, Gu Tingyan married Yanran's sister. This second madam was spoiled since childhood and had a very bad temper. As soon as they got married, she began to reform the famous playboy of Beijing. On the fifth day after entering the house, she sold off two of Gu Er's concubines. On the tenth day, she forced Gu Er to study and practice martial arts, not allowing him to go out and fool around. On the fifteenth day, she chased away friends who came to visit Gu Er to watch plays. On the twentieth day, with some unknown information, she brought a large group of servants and found Gu Er's outer house, and started beating and smashing things. Fortunately, Gu Er arrived in time, otherwise, Man Niang and her mother and son would have been tied up and sold off.

  Gu Erben was not in a good mood, and he yelled that he wanted to divorce his wife. The Marquis of Ningyuan naturally refused, and then the father and son had a big argument, almost causing another disturbance at the Imperial Clan Court. This series of exciting events added much material for gossip among the people of Beijing after dinner.

  Seeing Gu Tingyan's ominous expression, Minglan's brain automatically triggered a warning mechanism. She immediately put on an apologetic face and said in a soft voice: "Uncle Gu, please don't be angry, it was all my fault." Gu Tingyan's anger subsided slightly as he looked at Minglan's lowered head, thinking that there was no need to be angry with this child. He then asked loudly: "What did Man Niang do wrong?"

  Minglan immediately agreed: "Second Uncle is absolutely right! Aunt... also hurried a bit." She nodded vigorously, still being very obsequious.

  Gu Tingyan's face turned red with rage as he glared at Minglan, his voice cold and mocking: "Don't pretend to be what you're not! You're all the same, looking down on others like a dog! Who knows how much bitterness Man Niang has endured!"

  Minglan sighed, finding it difficult to deceive this person. She said with a sigh: "Second Uncle, what others think doesn't matter, as long as you understand the benefits of Man Niang... For the Yu family, a lone woman with two young children, safely traveling from Beijing to Dengzhou and even daring to cause trouble at the Yu estate, anyone would think this woman is not simple."

  Gu Tingyan snorted coldly, looking down on Minglan, saying: "She has had a hard life since childhood, and has always been clever and resourceful. She is not like you pampered ladies!"

  Got it! Another Sheng Hong, another Lin Yiniang! Lin Yiniang is always right, killing people and setting fires are all someone else's fault!

  Minglan felt a surge of resentment, looked up and stared straight at him, trying to calm down the anger in her heart, and asked as calmly as possible: "Second Uncle, Minglan has a question, may I ask if you can enlighten me?"

  Gu Tingyan was taken aback and said, "Speak."

  Minglan took a deep breath and said loudly, "Eldest Sister Yu has been in the capital with Old Master Yu since she was 13 years old. She has always had a reputation for being virtuous, wise, and gentle within the boudoir. I suppose Second Uncle also heard about this and that's why he came to propose marriage several times? So, if Man Niang really only wants to enter our household as a concubine, she can just wait until Eldest Sister Yu enters the household. With her warm and gentle personality, even if Old Master and Madame Hou do not agree at first, they will eventually be persuaded. At that time, won't Man Niang get what she wants? Why must she go to such great lengths to cause trouble in Dengzhou? Won't it just end up being a big mess and ultimately bad for everyone?"

  Gu Tingyan's lips moved slightly, and he had just said that Manniang was wise and resourceful. At this moment, of course, he couldn't say something like "Manniang didn't expect it".

  Minglan sneered inwardly, having thought of some things long ago.

  Man Niang went to Dengzhou to knock on the door and cry, but it was not that she wanted Yanran to accept her, but rather the opposite. She feared that Yanran's virtues and beauty would surpass hers and win over Gu Tingyan's heart. What Man Niang truly hoped for was that Gu Tingyan would marry a shrewish wife, so that they would be incompatible and quarrel constantly, allowing her to live freely as his concubine, stable and unshakeable like Mount Tai!

  Minglan looked at Gu Tingye's changing expression and quickly softened her voice, speaking with a sincere face: "Uncle, you are an upright person, so let's just say that Minglan has a petty heart; it's all because Minglan has been close to the eldest sister of the Yu family since childhood, and I'm standing up for her injustice. Maybe that Man Niang really has something difficult to say, and it can't be said yet."

  In the end, Minglan dared to be so presumptuous, and it was only because she saw a bit of Gu Er's temperament. This person is arrogant and lawless, doing whatever he wants, if placed in modern times, he would just be an avant-garde young man. Unfortunately, in ancient times where etiquette was strict, he could only be a spoiled and dissolute son. This kind of person is a bad egg, not a hypocrite, nor a despicable scoundrel. Flattering him a bit more can't go wrong.

  Gu Tingyan was already in a state of confusion, and after hearing Minglan's words, he became even more enraged, growling in a low voice: "Get out of here quickly!"

  Minglan heard it like a heavenly music, lifted her skirt and ran away with one swift movement, disappearing in an instant.

  A certain novel updates five chapters a week and rests for two days, so the next update will be on Friday, everyone understands.

  P.S: If one day CP floats to the surface and it's discovered that I was wrong, please don't be sad. It's not that the readers are too incompetent, but rather the author is too cunning!