Netizen uploaded episode 60

  After returning, Minglan immediately confessed the mud incident to Old Madam. Old Madam lay sideways on the couch, not uttering a word. Minglan felt somewhat anxious and asked: "Grandmother, do you think your granddaughter did something wrong?"

  The old lady shook her head, stroking Minglan's soft hair, and said slowly: "You didn't do anything wrong, and Si Yatou won't go around telling tales... however..." Minglan took a deep breath, waiting for the old lady to continue, "It's just that open swords are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against."

  Minglan thought for a moment, then understood and said: "The day after tomorrow is Father's birthday. I'll send the newly made low-heeled shoes over then. Let's just pretend Grandfather doesn't know about this matter."

  The old lady nodded.

  On this day, Sheng Hong rested and finished his training in the morning. After reading books in Changfeng Longdang, he wore casual clothes and wrote a few words and recited a few poems in the inner house study, indicating that after so many years of being an official, he still hadn't forgotten his literary roots.

  At this time, Minglan came with a face full of lovely smiles. Sheng Hong frowned and his expression was somewhat cold. However, Minglan seemed to be completely unaware, took out the new shoes she had made and handed them over to her father, asking the maid to help Sheng Hong put them on, then stood aside smiling and waiting for praise.

  As soon as Sheng Hongyi put on the thick woolen shoes, he felt that the soles of his feet were soft and comfortable, stretched out neatly, and couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart. He thought of Minglan making this and that for him since childhood, and how filial she was, and said: "My daughter is very clever."

  Xiao Minglan ran over excitedly, pulling on Sheng Hua's sleeve and chattering away about this and that. She gossiped a bit about some little girl's affairs, and since Xiao Minglan was already quite eloquent, when she got to the interesting parts, even Sheng Hua couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Ugh, this embroidery needle is not as obedient as a pen! Hold it tightly, daughter, and it will behave. But if you put a stubborn needle on top of it, it'll become honest! Hmph, I see that it's also a bully who picks on the weak but fears the strong!"

  Then she stretched out a pair of white and chubby little hands for Sheng Hong to see, and saw that there were many needle eyes on several fingers.

  Sheng Hong was both amused and annoyed, feeling a little moved. He pointed at Minglan and laughed for a few sentences. Minglan pouted and acted cute, which was very likable. Looking at his daughter's obedient and lovely appearance, Sheng Hong's lips moved several times before he finally couldn't help but ask: "The other day when you went to Guangji Temple, why did you throw mud at your fourth sister?"

  Minglan's heart sank, it's here!

  Then she opened a pair of confused eyes and stared at Sheng Hong in a daze, saying: "This... is what Fourth Sister said?"

  Sheng Hong was speechless for a moment, and that night he went to Lin Niang's place to rest. Mo Lan came crying to report the situation, and Lin Niang also cried sadly. Sheng Hong was very angry and wanted to scold Ming Lan, but was persuaded by Lin Niang: "...Master, Sixth Miss is Old Madame's favorite daughter. If you punish her today because of Mo Er, she will be even more unwelcome in Old Madame's eyes! How can we mother-daughter live our lives? Master, as long as you understand our grievances, I am satisfied, and this matter should not be mentioned."

  He repeatedly kowtowed and begged Sheng Hui not to mention this matter again, explaining that Minglan relied on the old lady's favor and looked down on Molan and others, which was enough to provoke her. At that time, Sheng Hui was angry and agreed, but in his heart, he was very dissatisfied with Minglan, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became; however, today, seeing Minglan's innocent and filial appearance, he liked her again and couldn't help but speak out.

  "Never mind who said it! Just say whether you have or not?" Sheng Hong advised, "It's just a quarrel between sisters, if you're wrong, just apologize to your fourth sister."

  But Minglan didn't say a word, only tears the size of beans fell one by one, biting her lip but making no sound, with a pair of big eyes wet, she choked and said: "Does Father really think that his daughter is such an unreasonable person?"

  Sheng Hong thought of Minglan's behavior over the years and hesitated: "Could there be another reason?"

  Minglan was afraid that Mo Lan would falsely accuse her and she wouldn't even know how to die, but now that everything is out in the open, she actually feels relieved.

  She raised her head and looked at Sheng Hong with a pitiful expression, saying: "Father, please go and call Fourth Sister over; no matter what, it's better for Daughter to speak in front of her."

  Sheng Hong thought for a moment, then waved his hand to call Yinger to invite Mo Lan. Before long, Mo Lan arrived; she was writing in the Shanyue House and heard Sheng Hong calling her, so she picked up a few of her favorite writings and brought them with her, intending to show them to her father. Who would have thought that as soon as she entered the study, she saw Minglan with red eyes and Sheng Hong trying to comfort her? Sheng Hong looked at Minglan crying pitifully and his anger had already dissipated, treating her like a child who didn't understand things, and even consoled: "Silly child, why are you crying? It's just a lump of mud. Even if it was wrong, your sister will forgive you..."

  Mo Lan's heart suddenly turned cold upon hearing this.

  No matter how much Sheng Hong persuaded her, Minglan did not speak a word, only sobbing quietly. As soon as she saw Mo Lan coming in, she immediately stood up, with tears in her eyes, and asked: "Father said that the other day I threw mud on my sister's body, is it true what sister said?"

  Mo Lan immediately looked up at Sheng Hong, as if to say "Father, why did you break your promise?", Sheng Hong's old face turned red with embarrassment, and he put on a patriarchal air, saying: "Today, both of you sisters are here, so let's get everything out in the open!"

  Minglan grasped the sleeve of Mo Lan, shaking it gently with a weak and feeble motion, sobbing as she spoke: "You say something, you say something, what can't be passed? You're my elder sister, come and scold me if you must, why did you go to father to tattle, and now you won't speak?"

  Mo Lan was forced by Sheng Hong's gaze and gritted her teeth: "That's right, it was you who threw it, wasn't it?"

  Minglan gently wiped away her tears and asked, "Alright! Sister, tell me, what did I say to provoke you, that I became so rude and threw mud at you?"

  Mo Lan's face turned red and she said vaguely: "It was just some trivial matters." When asked what the trivial matters were, she couldn't say anything.

  Minglan turned her head to look at Sheng Hui, and said with a wronged tone: "I and Fourth Sister have never quarreled over the years. Even if there was something, it would be fine by the next day. Father, think about it, is there anything important that I must embarrass my sister outside?"

  Sheng Hong saw Mo Lan's evasive behavior and had already begun to suspect something, thinking of the frequent quarrels between Mo Lan and her sister. He glared at Mo Lan and shouted: "Are you slandering your own sister?"

  Mo Lan was scolded by her father, and she felt even more guilty in her heart. She hastily wiped away her tears, but didn't say anything, planning to use her tears to buy time. However, Ming Lan retorted: "No, Father, I really did throw mud at my sister, but I have a clear conscience."

  Sheng Hong was confused, Minglan's face was calm and composed, and in a few words, she explained the situation that day. Her speech was clear, her voice was crisp, Mo Lan's face turned redder as she listened, but Sheng Hong became more and more angry, couldn't help but slap the table and scold: "You shameless thing! How many men were gathered in that plum forest, you also dared to rush in! Such a lack of chastity, what kind of reason is this?!"

  Mo Lan's knees softened and she immediately knelt down, wailing: "...How dare I? It was just that the Nine Dragon Wall looked so elegant, I wanted to see it all at once. My sisters spoke harshly, I got angry, and stubbornly insisted on going forward!"

  Minglan looked at Mo Lan crying with tears streaming down her face, and quickly knelt down beside her, pulling on Mo Lan's sleeve, her face filled with distress and grievance. "Sister is really muddled, no matter how good the Nine Dragon Wall looks, can it be more important than Father's reputation? Father is so cautious in his official duties and personal conduct, we as daughters cannot bring trouble to our father, would we still want to tarnish our family's name?! In that Plum Forest, most of them are young masters from prominent families in the capital, if Sister were to be seen by them, then...then..."

  Minglan couldn't speak anymore, her voice choked with sobs, she turned her head to cover her face and cried. Sheng Hong was furious, he slapped a tea bowl off the table, shattering it into pieces on the floor. His face was deathly pale, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he scolded Minglan: "What are you crying about? You're so useless! If only your sister were more sensible! Who knows where you learned such twisted thoughts from? Do you think everyone else is an idiot? You shameless thing, how dare you report your sister's wrongdoings!"

  Mo Lan was scolded by Sheng Hong for the first time and cried even harder.

  Minglan didn't rest either, she kneeled a few steps to Sheng Hui's front, tugging at her father's hem, with tears in her eyes, and said sorrowfully: "I thought sister was just momentarily confused, afraid of spreading it out, grandmother would blame sister, so I kept this matter tightly locked in my heart, not even telling grandmother, thinking that we are after all close relatives, even if we had a disagreement, the next day it would be fine, who knew...who knew...sister actually told on me behind my back?!"

  Ming Lan's face was filled with despair, her tears falling like rain, and she turned to look at Mo Lan, asking sorrowfully: "Fourth sister, fourth sister, why must you treat me this way?!" Her expression showed the pain of being betrayed by a close relative.

  Mo Lan was somewhat stunned, to be honest, in the two projects of crying and being pitiful, she and her mother had not yet met their match, but at the moment when they were about to defeat Sheng Fu, they suddenly encountered an unprecedented challenge.

  Minglan burst into tears and fell to the ground beside Sheng Huan, wailing pitifully. Sheng Huan's heart ached with pity, and he quickly helped Minglan up and sat her down in a chair at the side. Turning around, he pointed at Mo Lan and scolded harshly: "You wicked child! Your father has always been so loving and indulgent towards you, yet you're so despicable! Your sister tried to persuade you for the sake of the family's reputation, but you harbored resentment in your heart and waited for an opportunity to retaliate. At such a young age, you have such a vicious heart towards your own sister! What use do I have for you? Someone, go and summon Madam!"

  Wang was teaching Rulan to do fish-scale accounts, but Rulan had no patience and wanted to throw the abacus after making two mistakes. Wang was about to scold her daughter when suddenly good news came from outside. She rushed to the study and saw her husband's face ashen with rage, fiercely scolding Molan, while Lin Niangniang knelt beside him, sobbing.

  Three words and two languages made Wang's joy uncontrollable, then she saw Minglan who was already crying to the point of being out of breath, immediately put on a loving mother-in-law's demeanor, and ordered someone to help Minglan back to rest.

  Later, Minglan didn't have the chance to witness what happened because she was really "too heartbroken". In the evening, Rulan excitedly rushed over to spill the beans, saying that Mo Lan's hands were each beaten with thirty strokes of the ruler, her palms swollen to half the height, and she was also punished with house arrest for half a year. After that, she was not allowed to read those poems and lyrics again, and had to copy "Nu Jie" and "Nu Ze" one hundred times each.

  Originally, Wang wanted to implicate others, but Mo Lan was quite stubborn and insisted that Lin Niang also had been deceived and did not know anything. As a result, Lin Niang only received 50 lashes and was confined for three months.

  ……

  "Did you know about this earlier?" Easily enraged, Sheng Hong was so angry that he could hardly breathe, and simply lay on the bed humming.

  Wang sat in front of the rhombus mirror, carefully applying the fragrance, and said lightly: "I know, as Lan told me that day."

  "Why don't you speak so I can hear?!" Sheng Hong angrily pounded the bedboard.

  Wang's mood was excellent, and she deliberately changed into a brand new silk dress. The water-red Suzhou brocade had embroidered on it light yellow lotus leaves and frogs, which were extremely delicate. She turned her head and smiled: "How dare I mention what happened in that house? Master should blame me for being narrow-minded and not getting along with Fourth Sister; how could I dare to look for trouble again? Not only will I not speak of it, but I won't even let Ruyi mention it, lest Master blames us again."

  The tone is long and drawn out, as if teasing.

  Sheng Hong was choked with anger, and Wang Shi slowly got up, sat down on the edge of the bed, and smiled: "This time you should know that the fourth girl is not simple, right? I'm not saying it, but if we talk about cleverness, ten people like Rourou can't even match half of the fourth girl. What a pity, her cleverness isn't used for good!"

  Sheng Hong was also very annoyed in his heart, and he suddenly said: "Does the old lady know?"

  Wang snorted, saying: "The old lady is someone who can't tolerate any sand in her eyes. If she had known, could things have turned out okay till now?... Tsk, tsk, Liu Yaotou was a good one, but fearing that Si Yaotou would lose face, even the old lady was deceived; what a pity, good intentions were mistaken for a donkey's liver and lungs, and instead got bitten!"

  Mr. Wang spoke with a cool tone, feeling extremely pleased in his heart.

  Sheng Hong sighed and shook his head, saying: "This is the old lady's good upbringing. The child is filial, sensible, kind-hearted and simple-minded, and also knows how to get along with his siblings." As he said this, he suddenly sat up straight and said in a hateful tone, "Don't let Si Yatou meet Lin Shi again, or she'll learn all sorts of cunning tricks."

  He wasn't unaware of Lin's little tricks, but because of their romantic relationship, he could tolerate what he could and scold her severely when he couldn't. As long as she didn't overstep the line, it was fine. A concubine making a scene in the inner courtyard was no big deal to Sheng Yan, but seeing his own daughter behave like that made him unhappy. He decided then and there to separate the mother-daughter pair.

  ……

  "Don't cry! I know you're feeling bad inside. It's all because of Fourth Sister being mean. Let's ignore her from now on!"

  Like an orchid with a delicate fragrance, she had not expected to see such a wonderful play. She watched as Mo Lan was beaten and cried out in pain, and then was scolded by Sheng Zhen in a tone of disgust. Feeling happy and relieved, she patiently tried to comfort the minister, advising him for half a day. But when she saw Ming Lan still crying, she couldn't help but complain, "Why are you still crying?"

  Minglan bowed her head, constantly using a wet handkerchief to wipe away tears: "Ah, the osmanthus oil sent by Pinlan is too effective! It's really not about watching ads but seeing the effect."