The 82nd time

  The national mourning had just ended, and the noble families in the capital immediately removed the plain white lanterns from their own doorsteps. As the previous emperor was strict and severe, and the latter had won a victory in suppressing the rebellion, the emperor's authority grew day by day. Although the young masters of the wealthy families were itching to do something, they did not dare to act rashly.

  Another month or two passed, and the emperor gave a few originally honest imperial clansmen marriage gifts. The powerful eunuchs' families finally breathed a sigh of relief. Those who wanted to take concubines took concubines, those who wanted to discuss marrying off their daughters discussed it, and those who wanted to go to brothels to inspect the people's sentiments... uh, changed into casual clothes and wore large bamboo hats before going again.

  The old lady did as she said, and after Juhua's miscarriage, she rested for over ten days. Then she set up a table of wine to celebrate her becoming a "yiniang" (a title given to a woman who has borne children). Wangshi also gave her a red envelope as a token of respect. Following the example of Xiang Yiniang and Ping Yiniang, she arranged for Fang Yiniang to move into her own courtyard. When Fang Yiniang saw Xiaozhang carrying his schoolbag going in and out of the study, she thought of her own unborn child and grew even more resentful towards Lin Yiniang.

  Because of having a small moon, Fang's mother-in-law couldn't serve in bed, but it didn't prevent her from touching the little hand and kissing the little mouth, saying two clever flattering words to coax Sheng Hu, who was shaking his whiskers with joy, and wiping away tears for that child, which also made Sheng Hu extremely disgusted with Lin Shi.

  In just a few days, the Yongchang Marquis's household sent a matchmaker to the Sheng household to finalize the engagement. Now, Lady Wang looked at Mo Lan as if she were a plague god, and couldn't wait to marry her off the next day. The betrothal gifts had already been prepared long ago. On the other hand, Miss Chunxiao was probably also getting impatient, and it wouldn't be good to wait until after giving birth to pay respects with tea. So they agreed to send the betrothal gifts on June 28th and hold the wedding on July 8th.

  As soon as the wedding was settled, Mo Lan heard the news and immediately became active. First, she made a fuss about going to pay respects to Sheng Zong and thank him for raising her. Hai Shi was unwilling at first, but Mo Lan used the excuse of "filial piety" and Hai Shi had no choice but to agree. However, when Mo Lan arrived in front of Sheng Zong, she began to cry, sometimes crying about how unfilial she was, sometimes regretting that her father had been troubled, and then sniffling and sobbing as she begged for mercy on behalf of Lin's wife.

  "Daddy, I'm getting married, and for the sake of the Hou family's reputation, please bring my mother back. I am her flesh and blood, how can she bear to see me leave like this?" Mo Lan knelt in front of Sheng Zong, crying with tears streaming down her face, a deeply moving display of maternal love.

  As expected, Sheng Hong coldly said: "It was the madam who arranged your marriage and the old lady who proposed it and prepared the dowry. If you really care, go thank them! ... Lin's offense against family rules should be dealt with according to the law, don't rely on your connection to the Hou Mansion to be so presumptuous! If you truly miss your aunt, I'll report that she is 'weak and ill' and exempt her from marriage, go to the villa to accompany her instead.

  Mo Lan was stunned on the ground, staring at Sheng Hu in disbelief. She didn't know that when Old Lady interrogated her that day, Sheng Hu was behind the curtain all along. Nor did she know how many bad things about Lin Niang had been poured into Sheng Hu's ears by Ju Fang over these days.

  Sheng Hong then lectured Mo Lan a few more stern words about 'moral character and conduct', before calling for Hai Shi to come and take Mo Lan away, ordering him to be strictly guarded.

  Mo Lan didn't believe it and rushed out of the yard again. Even if her daughter who had married quickly was not good, she should be tolerated at home; this time Wang Shi was ruthless, without saying a word, he first tied up Yun Cai by Mo Lan's side and beat him severely, then sold him out, Mo Lan cried and made a fuss, pulling Hai Shi's sleeve to beg for mercy.

  The Hai family was at a loss, so the Wang family had someone come to deliver a message: "Miss is not well, it's all because of the poor service of the lower-ranking servants. If Miss makes another fuss, we'll sell off Lu Zhong and then dismiss Bi Tao, Fu Rong, Qiu Jiang... one by one. When Miss leaves the house, we'll find some good ones to bring along." Mo Lan looked at the maids kneeling all around her, gritted her teeth, but didn't dare make another fuss.

  In fact, the relationship between married women and their natal families is one of mutual restraint. If a woman's natal family sees her being bullied outside but does not offer any help, they will naturally be ridiculed for being incompetent. On the other hand, if a married woman disrespects her parents-in-law, she will also be labeled as "unfilial and disobedient". In Mo Lan's list of relatives, there is no Lin Niang, but there is Wang Shi.

  The Wang family has always been arrogant and overbearing, even if they encounter a Buddha being slapped by the Buddha or seeing a god being beaten by the god, they have never changed their proud and domineering nature. Now, how can they be afraid of a little girl's temper? Anyway, the Yongchang Hou Mansion has already come to propose marriage, and the face of the Sheng family is saved. If Mo Lan makes another fuss, humph, she would rather ruin this marriage!

  Mo Lan realized her mistake and obediently stayed at Shan Yue Ju to prepare for marriage.

  Around June 28th is a good day, the Yongchang Marquis's family chose this day to send betrothal gifts, and several large households in the capital also chose this day for weddings, including the daughter of the Left Servant of the Ministry of Revenue getting married, the Right Assistant of the Censorate marrying his son-in-law, the son of Princess Fu'an taking a concubine... Moreover, the current Chief Assistant Shen Zizhong is also forming an alliance with the Qi Guo Gong's family.

  At night, Sheng Hong returned to the study after drinking at the top of his head, changed into casual clothes and went to the study. He pushed open the door and saw Chang Bai sitting at the desk waiting for him. At this time, he had already stood up and saluted himself. Sheng Hong was quite satisfied and nodded slightly, joking with his son: "You're back early, aren't the dishes at the Qi Guo Gong Fu banquet not good?"

  Chang Bai said calmly, "The dishes are good, but your mother's expression doesn't look good." Sheng Hou slightly furrowed his brow and walked straight to the back of the desk, lifting his robe to sit down. He said, "Because of Ru Ya's matter, your mother is angry, but she also has her faults."

  Chang Bai remained still, walked to the book table and poured a cup of warm tea from a purple sand ceramic pot with "Sui Han San You" pattern, steadily handed it to Sheng Huang, then said: "You shouldn't speak ill of your mother; this matter can't be blamed on Yuan Ruo Xian Di." At first glance, it seemed like he was criticizing Ping Ning Jun Zhu, but in fact, he also implicated Wang Shi.

  Sheng Hong took the tea bowl, his mouth was very dry after drinking, and he drank it all in one gulp. At the same time, he nodded: "Qizhen is a good person, fortunately, he secretly contacted you a few days ago, so I didn't sign my name on Shenda's memorial to the emperor. Yesterday, I went to find Old Master Lu and confirmed that there was indeed such a thing."

  Chang Bai held the teapot and refilled his father's tea cup, saying in a low voice: "Father, why not take another look? Yan is also an old hand at officialdom, perhaps there's more to it than meets the eye."

  He Shuang picked up his teacup again, took a light sip, and explained to his son: "General Gan has been in power for over a decade, taking credit for himself and even returning the military seal to the Emperor. He dares to be arrogant; during the Northern Expedition last year, the Emperor almost exhausted the three major camps' military strength, but General Gan led the army in delaying battles and letting the Xiongnu slaves wreak havoc on the border cities. Shen Guo and Gu Er Lang took advantage of their victory in suppressing the rebellion in the south to lead troops northward to eliminate the enemy, not only taking away half of General Gan's military power but also winning repeatedly, capturing countless supplies, cattle, and sheep. Lu Lao Da Ren remembered the old times when he was in the Ministry of Works and privately revealed to me yesterday that a few days ago, a battle report had arrived, and the Emperor's secret edict had not been issued yet. It said that Shen Guo Shuai overturned the Xiongnu slaves' central military camp, and Gu Er Lang killed Left Valley Wei Wang and countless generals. You say Yan Da Ren is now following Shen and Gu to lead troops to wreak havoc and disobey military orders; isn't this asking for trouble?"

  Chang Bai thought for a moment and asked, "Lord Yan is usually very cautious, so why did he easily impeach Shen Guo this time? Doesn't he know that one of them is the emperor's brother-in-law and the other is the emperor's confidant?" Although he was naturally intelligent, after all, he only stayed in the Hanlin Academy to study the classics day by day, and was not very clear about the complex relationships within the imperial court.

  Sheng Hong covered the teacup, and the porcelain made a crisp knocking sound. He said slowly: "My son doesn't know, in our dynasty, military generals have always been controlled by civil officials. Unless they are imperial relatives or children of powerful families, otherwise, how could General Gan stand firm in the army for over a decade without anyone backing him? Ha ha, I just don't know who is above Sheng Da Ren now? Shen Shou Fu is clever and slippery, nothing sticks to him, but I'm afraid these people are playing with fire. I think the current emperor is not as easy-going as the previous one."

  Chang Bai nodded silently, then suddenly asked: "Since Father knew yesterday that Yan Daren's memorial was likely to be a bad thing, why did he still go to the Yan residence to attend the wedding banquet today?"

  Sheng Hong stroked his beard and smiled: "Bai'er, remember that in the officialdom, if you can't be as strong as steel and unyielding, you'll be swept away by the tide; I don't want to curry favor with Lord Yan, but our political views are slightly different. However, as superiors and subordinates, we can't clear ourselves of responsibility too early, or it will only lead to gossip."

  Chang Bai listened seriously, and the study room fell silent for a while.

  Sheng Hong turned to his son and said, "I think Qi Xian is very good, and I'm thinking of your school friendship with him. You can interact with him more, and your wife is very virtuous, she knows that this time we need to send double gifts, don't be afraid of your mother getting angry, I will go talk to her; also, that Wen... Qi Xian, ah... is also a good young man, it's just that Mo Ya Tou doesn't have the blessing, considering you are his senior, please comfort him more." Sheng Hong sighed and showed disappointment on his face, "Forget it, let's see Mo Ya Tou's own luck, we've used up all our efforts; what's regrettable is that we ended up making the old lady ill, fortunately Ming Ya Tou is filial and always keeps an eye on her..."

  Mrs. Sheng was getting old, and the journey had been tiring, with a lot of jolting along the way; as soon as she arrived home, she had a big fight, and after dealing with Mo Lan's affair, she caught a cold and lay in bed, nursing herself slowly, until the end of June when the weather got hotter, she began to recover.

  Minglan felt that her body should be very healthy now, having stayed by the patient's side for nearly a month without even sneezing once; this was a landmark signifying that this frail and unlucky body could finally shed its title of sickly weakling since she was six years old!

  Is it easy?! This is a place with a 10% miscarriage rate, a female hell with a maternal mortality rate of up to 20%, where Minglan must insist on walking every day, resolutely abandon picky eating, take in various different nutritional components, pay attention to the balance of coarse and fine grains, and have scientific hygiene habits, for nine whole years!

  Minglan was delighted, so she directly used a net to catch two fat fish from the pond and decided to make a pot of fresh raw fish soup for Old Madam. After instructing Da Niang to pay attention to the fire and ginger seasoning, she rolled up her sleeves and went to Old Madam's room, where she saw Old Madam squinting at a letter.

  "I told you not to go near the pool again, why don't you ever listen?!" The old lady would feel itchy bones if she didn't scold Minglan for a day. Minglan pretended not to hear and turned her head away, saying "Today's weather is really nice."

  The old lady was both angry and amused, and with a loud slap, Minglan covered her head and scurried into the old lady's room like a little squirrel. In a deliberately sweet and gentle tone, she said: "Oh dear... by the pool, it's only two or three feet deep at most, Little Peach can just reach in and grab Sun Girl, and on such good weather, even if she fell in, she wouldn't catch a cold!"

  While speaking, he was rubbing against the old lady, only regretting that he didn't have a tail to wag and show his affection. The old lady, as usual, couldn't hold on for long and softened after pretending for half a day. Minglan quickly changed the subject: "Grandmother, whose letter is this?"

  The old lady put the letter on the side table, stroking Minglan's head and said slowly: "It's a letter from the He family. She is not feeling well and specially wrote to thank us." Minglan murmured an acknowledgement and continued to snuggle in the old lady's arms, saying: "Is the house that Big Sister recommended satisfactory?" The old lady nodded and smiled: "Your big sister is also kind-hearted, otherwise who would have thought that a young mistress like her would come to act as a matchmaker."

  Minglan picked up the letter and glanced at it roughly, then looked up and smiled: "Old Lady He said that the jasmine flowers in their backyard have bloomed, and they invited us to go admire the flowers and drink tea two days later. Grandmother, shall we go?"

  The old lady patted Minglan's shoulder and smiled: "I've been lying down for a month, and I haven't spoken to my sister in days. It's good to go see her, but unfortunately, Brother Hongwen hasn't returned from buying medicine yet..."

  "In He Ge's brother's eyes, flowers and grasses are all medicine, what's the point of admiring them? He'll just pick them to make medicine."

  Minglan shook her head, remembering the time when Old Lady He brought back a pot of fresh and beautiful white peonies from afar. Before she could invite people to admire them, due to a momentary lapse in attention, He Hongwen unknowingly pulled them out and made a box of "Benefit Spleen and Clear Lung Pills", which he eagerly sent to the Sheng residence as a gift for Old Lady Sheng's poor spleen and stomach health, leaving Old Lady He crying with laughter.

  The author has something to say:

  What kind of logic is this?

  What is plagiarism? Plagiarism means stealing.

  I understand that some readers are unwilling to buy VIP due to economic reasons, or some readers find it inconvenient to handle online banking or Alipay due to age issues. Although this makes me unhappy, I can understand.

  If you must read pirated articles, then do so quietly and discreetly on your own. Don't let me know about it. And yet there are still people who come to my article and loudly declare that they want to read pirated articles, or have already been reading them, or plan to read them in the future. They don't even show a hint of shame, instead acting as if they're doing something perfectly justified.

  What kind of author is this? Too lacking in teeth!