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In the evening, Sheng Hong and Wang shi came to console Minglan. Wang shistroked Minglan’s face and looked at her with loving eyes. Minglan felt a bit uncomfortable because of Wang shi pretending to be a tender legal mother. Sheng Hong was really concerned about Minglan. He gently said many caring words to his youngest daughter. In return, Minglan defended for Molan with watery eyes. First, she showed her concern to Sheng Hong and hoped he would calm himself down. Second, she defended Molan’s actions and regarded her lunacy as an impulse behavior caused by misunderstandings. Sheng Hong was very touched by Minglan’s mercy. He felt himself successful in cultivating Minglan’s moral values. So he stroked his beard and praised Minglan for her kindness.

Minglan confessed to the Buddha in mind. She knew that she shouldn’t tell a lie but to survive, she had to because the ancients favored tender and virtuous girls.

Hai shi persuaded Wang shi to drop out of the follow-up. The next day Wang shigave Hai shi a free hand with household matters on the pretext of getting ill. Hai shifirst arrested the servants who had taken part in the clash between Wang shi and Concubine Lin that day and had guards whip each of them twenty times. Then according to Hai shi’s commands, Liu Kun’s wife led a group of people to search their bedrooms and found many golds, silvers and jewels. Hai shi claimed that she would send them to the local government and accused them of stealing their masters’ property. The servants panicked and immediately shifted responsibilities to one another. At last, the stewards and servants who were loyal to Concubine Lin were all dragged down. Hai shi punished these servants on the basis of their different crimes. Some were married to lowly manservants, some were sold, and the rest were all driven away to the village estates for labor.

Within one day, the servants of the Forested Pavilion were replaced by new ones. Concubine Lin meant to make a scene; unexpectedly Hai shi gave a meaningful smile and directly threatened, “Some improper things were also found in the room of Xia Xian’s wife. But considering that she is your favorite servant, I haven’t reported it to Madam.” Xueniang, who was Xia Xian’s wife, turned pale at once. She knelt down straightly and looked at Concubine Lin with pleading eyes. Concubine Lin trembled with anger, but dared not make a scene.

Ruomei heard all these things from other servants and told Minglan in detail, “Now Concubine Lin only has Xia Xian’s wife and Ma Gui’s wife by her side. Her other trusted servants were all driven out of Sheng Mansion. As for third young master and fourth young lady’s houses, only a few gossipy maids were driven away. The others all begged me to keep their belongings for the time being in case Young Madam would make a second thorough search. I only agreed to help two honest and trustable maids and brought back some common belongings. Lady, if you think it’s improper, I will send them back at once.”

Minglan sat on the warm brick bed with her arms on a small table. “That’s all right. I think Young Madam won’t make a search again.” Hai shi’s purpose was to assume the reins of power in Sheng Mansion. Molan was about to wed, so it was not worthwhile for Hai shi to offend Molan. Changfeng had his own father and mother, as his sister-in-law, Hai shi shouldn’t interfere in his affairs.

They chatted for a while before Rulan’s maid, Xique, came here. Minglan was about to leave for Youyang the next day, so Rulan asked Xique to invite Minglan to her house for a chat. Before Minglan spoke, Ruomei couldn’t help complaining, “How supercilious Lady Rulan is! She wants to give my lady a send-off, but she isn’t coming to our house; instead, she asks Lady Minglan to visit her. Where she gets that strange notion I just can’t think.”

Xique explained embarrassedly, “Our lady… She has a cold.” Just as the words fell from her lips, Ruomei, Dangju and Yancao all burst out laughing. Xiaotao said frankly with a puzzled expression on her face, “Since Lady Rulan has a cold, why does she call our lady to her house? What if our lady gets a cold from her? You know, even a slight illness will cause a bad journey.”

Xique felt awkward. But she was clever enough to deal with such an embarrassing situation. She came up to Minglan and whispered in her ears, “So many things happened these two days in our mansion. Our lady is very curious as to what happened, but she can’t go outside. Lady Minglan, please do grant me a favor and go to see our lady.”

Minglan took a sip of tea and smiled understandingly. She cast warning glances at her maids. Then she stood up and asked Yancao to tidy up her clothes. Xique breathed a sigh of relief. Dangju took out a small white china bottle from the inner room, stuffed it into Xique’s sleeve, and smiled at her, “No offence to you but our lady is so kind that these girls grow audacious enough to talk nonsense. This is clam oil and it can protect your hands and face from cracking in cold weather. If you don’t mind, just take it and forgive these audacious girls.”

Xique grinned from ear to ear and said, “I hear that Lady Minglan is the kindest lady. I’m thick-skinned, so I accept it. Thank you.”

Minglan followed Xique to bypass the House of Mountain Moon and moved on for a while before they arrived at the House of Carefree. When she entered the room, she saw Rula leaning on the head of a bed with a rosy face, her forehead wrapped in a strip of cloth. Rulan cried out at the sight of Minglan, “Why are you so late? I even asked Xique to invite you. I heard that Molan only slapped you. Did she break your legs?”

Minglan glared at Rulan and said, “You seem to be very ill. I’d better leave now, or I will be infected. By then I can’t go to Youyang.”

Afraid that Minglan would leave straight, Rulan became anxious but didn’t know how to detain her. Xique slightly pushed Minglan toward the bed and said with a smile, “Lady Minglan, since you have come here, don’t play game with our lady.” Then she turned to Rulan and said, “My lady, just now when I went to the House of Clear Dusk, all people there were busy getting ready for their journey to Youyang. Furthermore, Lady Minglan got injured. So, it’s very kind of her to come.” Rulan fell silent with her cheeks bulging.

Minglan reluctantly sat on the edge of Rulan’s bed and said with a straight face, “Alas! Though I’m busy, I have to come here because the slightly wounded should humor the severely ill patient.”

Her words amused Rulan. She turned Minglan’s face to her and looked carefully at it. Then she said, “No wonder I feel you look strange; you have powdered your face. But I can still see the red fingerprints on your face.”

Minglan sighed, “It’s unsuitable to walk outside with a clear handprint on the face. So I have to powder my face to cover it.”

Rulan said indignantly, “Eldest sister-in-law is a woman of sagacity, but she is softhearted. Since those people dared to oppose Madam, why didn’t she punish them brutally? Now they are still treated well. In my view, there’s no need to respect them anymore.”

Minglan meditated for a while before she said, “Eldest sister-in-law is kind. This is a good thing. And… She has some scruples.”

In inner mansion, no one dared to completely offend her opponent unless she could directly put her opponent to death, because she would suffer violent retaliations in the future if her opponent survived. Now Concubine Lin wasn’t driven out of Sheng Mansion, and her courtyard wasn’t blockaded. She was still Sheng Hong’s concubine. The trend of this event might change if Sheng Hong went to sleep with her for a night. So Hai shi left herself some leeway so that Concubine Lin had no reason to accuse her of maltreats. And in this way, Sheng Hong would think that she was a kind-hearted daughter-in-law, not a mean woman.

Rulan let out a long sigh and frowned, “I really hate that. I think we should follow our inclinations to handle matters, and I detest all affectations.”

Minglan touched the cloth on Rulan’s forehead and sighed softly. Soon Rulan cheered herself up. She held Minglan’s hand and said, “Can you bring me some sweet-scented osmanthus oil when you return from Youyang? I want the colorless one. Don’t you think that my hair becomes thicker and glossier after more than a year of applying the oil?”

Minglan was completely stunned by the willful request. She pointed at Rulan and said, “This time I’m going for… Aunts must be painfully sad. How can you only think about your hair? I’m too ashamed to ask for the osmanthus oil.”

Rulan was always peremptory and everyone around her yielded to her. So she got annoyed by Minglan’s refusal. She narrowed her eyes and was about to lose her temper. But when she saw Minglan’s face, she held the anger back and rolled her eyes slyly, “I just want a few bottles of osmanthus oil. If you get some for me, I will tell you a pleasing piece of news. You must be glad to hear that.”

In fact, Minglan still had some bottles of osmanthus oil, but she was reluctant to give them to Rulan because she disliked Rulan’s selfish character. Minglan asked curiously, “What’s the pleasing news?”

Rulan leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Do you know what kind of family that Sister Molan is going to marry into?” Minglan shook her head. In ancient China without the internet, she had hardly any channels of getting the information.

Rulan replied in a low voice, “I hear that Juren Wen’s family is very poor. His father passed away when he was a child. His mother is mean and his brothers are good-for-nothings. He’s indecisive, and maybe honesty is his only good merit. Molan will be bullied by her mother-in-law and brothers-in-law after she marries into the Wen family.”

“Really? Father is a pretty good judge of men. Juren Wen must have some good qualities.” Minglan showed no excitement or surprise.

This was perfectly understandable. Wen Yanjing would become a Jinshi as long as he passed the highest imperial examination. If he came from a well-to-do family and had an excellent character, many dignitaries would like to marry their daughters to him. In this situation, Molan, who was just an illegal daughter of the fourth-ranked official, wouldn’t have the chance to be engaged to him. Even Li Yu could find a better family as his in-law than Sheng family if he cast off all the misgivings and picked his future wife in the whole capital. The Li family chose the Sheng family only because they wanted to find a lady whom they knew well in case Li Yu married a wayward and unruly wife who would cause family conflicts and bring vexation to their family.

Rulan was upset when she realized Minglan wasn’t on the same side with her. She straightened her face and got angry. Minglan smiled and coaxed, “Don’t be angry. I will bring you the osmanthus oil when I come back.”

Early the next morning, Changwu led seven carriages to pick up Minglan and Changdong. Sheng Hong exhorted Changwu to be careful on the journey. Kang Yun’er was six months pregnant. Wang shi took her hands and earnestly told her some dos and don’ts. After a while, Minglan and Changdong said good-bye to their parents. Hai shi accompanied them to the gate and gave Minglan a bank note secretly. Then she said sincerely to Changwu and Kang Yun’er, “I haven’t gone to hometown and visited the elders since I married into Sheng family. This time I am supposed to go with you, but there are lots of family matters waiting for me to deal with. So Minglan and Changdong will represent us. Cousin Changwu and Sister Yun’er, please don’t blame me, and bring my sincere apology to eldest uncle and eldest aunt.”

Changwu immediately gave her a promise. Minglan nodded and smiled childishly, “Eldest uncle and aunt are both very kind. Even if they get angry because of your absence, they will be mollified when they see their lovely second grandson.”

People around all burst out laughing. Hai shi shook her head and complained softly, “You mischievous girl.” Kang Yun’er blushed and lifted the handkerchief to cover her smile. Changwu’s face clouded with sadness. But when he heard Minglan’s words, he also laughed.

They set out to Youyang. The carriages rumbled along the road. Changdong wanted to ride a horse as Changwu did, but he was driven back by his cousin. So at last, he had to sit in the carriage with Minglan, stretching his neck out of the window to enjoy the scenery. Kang Yun’er got a bit carsick, but she felt better when she heard Minglan and Changdong chatting and laughing happily.

Changwu had left home and run around outside since he had been a child. So he was skilled in arranging accommodations. Everything was arranged well along the way. They always ate on time and rested in inns on time. Kang Yun’er secretly observed Minglan. Even if Minglan didn’t give her maids orders, the young maids would make the bed, light a stove to warm the bed and sort out Minglan’s ornaments and clothes on their own initiative; the old servants would ask for hot water and hot food, wash teacups, bowls and dishes with boiled water, and wait upon Minglan when she was eating. Although there was no elder by her side, everything was properly in apple-pie order. Sometimes when they got into altercations with the noble guests in inns, Minglan took the pacification policy. She asked the servants to retreat a step and use money to solve the problems.

Once Luzhi had a quarrel with an official’s household servant. When she came back, she said grumpily, “His master is just a councilor. But he said that his master was the son of a Marquis and put on lordly airs to bully me. Does he think his master is the emperor?”

Minglan sighed and said in a teasing tone, “What can you do with him? Your lady isn’t a powerful woman. And behind an able man there are always other able men. How about sending you to the Imperial Palace? If you become empress’s maid, you can also put on lordly airs.”

Luzhi blushed with shame. Just then Xiaotao returned from the outside and brought the good news: There came another group of a minister’s wife and children in the inn and they were relatives of Duke Lian, so the councilor’s servant gave up the good room at once. Hearing this news, the maids in the room all chuckled. From then on, Minglan tightened up the management of her servants and forbade them to stir up trouble; she also asked the strong manservants to follow the young maids when they went out.

After a few days of observation, Kang Yun’er finally said to her husband at night, “No wonder my aunt wants Minglan to marry into a noble family. She is such a smart and philosophical girl that she deals with affairs methodically, though she’s still young. Compared with her, I feel ashamed of my inability. Besides, Minglan is good-looking and has no full brothers. If she is Madam’s real daughter… Alas, everything is predestined.” Changwu held his wife in his arms and smiled, “Nonsense my dear. In my view, you are the best woman in the world.”

Kang Yun’er with a smile landed a slight blow on her husband’s chest.