Chapter 194 The friendship between the two old ladies Qi Heng gradually "understands" everything

"It's natural."

Chang Wu was full of confidence and said fearlessly:

"My nephew learns martial arts to protect his country. It's just a matter of shedding blood and making sacrifices."

The news currently released by the court also clearly mentioned that military scholars must go to Lingzhou to join the army.

However, many people had no connections in the court. In addition, the court only revealed some news about the war with Western Xia, and the specific scale and battle were intentionally blocked. Most people only had a vague understanding of it and thought it was just an ordinary war. They did not understand how dangerous Lingzhou was at the moment.

"This is not a life-threatening job. It is a life-or-death situation."

Seeing that Chang Wu was still blindly confident, Sheng Hong said in a deep voice:
"You are far away in Youyang, and you don't know what the situation in Lingzhou is like now. Even I only know a little bit, and I can only get some information from your brother-in-law of the Yang family."

"You also know your brother-in-law's identity. He said Lingzhou is a dangerous place. Do you understand the danger?"

Chang Wu did not answer, but bowed and asked:
"I heard that your aunt's nephew is also going to take the military exam?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ruofu glanced at Changwu indifferently and nodded slightly.

"That's it. Since the Wang brothers are going, I think I'm not bad either. We can go to Lingzhou too." Chang Wu said with confidence.

Wang Ruofu snorted when she heard this, but she also gave Sheng Hong face and did not make any sarcastic remarks.

But I secretly thought in my heart:
"How can the men of my Wang family compare to the merchants of Youyang?"

Sheng Hong also wanted to speak in his heart.

"You are the eldest son of the Sheng family. How can you compare with him, a branch of the declining Wang family?"

Sheng Hong thought:
"Besides, you are not from the Wang family's side branch, so you have no one to help you. If you want to pursue a career, I, as your uncle, will definitely do my best. There is a way out, so why go to the battlefield and risk your life..."

However, Sheng Hong only dared to ponder these words in his head and was not willing to speak them out loud in front of others.

Sheng Hong immediately wanted to persuade him again.

After all, warfare is no joke.

He knew that Youyang Shengwei's family all doted on Changwu.

If something really happened, he, as an uncle, knew the seriousness of the situation but was unable to stop it.

No matter what others think, he is afraid that he will feel guilty towards Sheng Wei.

However, Changwu seemed to be determined, or perhaps he heard that Wang Ye was also going and felt that he could not be cowardly and lose face for the Sheng family, so no matter what Sheng Hong said, he only agreed verbally. But anyone with a discerning eye could see that Changwu did not listen.

In the end, Sheng Hong could only say helplessly:
"The matter of the military department has not been decided yet, so let's discuss it later."

Sheng Hong no longer planned to tell Chang Wu.

After all, when you are young and full of energy, you may not be willing to listen to anything.

He planned to talk to Sheng Wei in detail when the time came.

If you can't convince your son, you can't convince your father either.

"Your grandmother is already waiting, you go ahead."

"Changbai, take Wu'er to Shou'an Hall."

"Yes!"

After responding, Changbai led Changwu to the back house.

"Why, are you feeling sorry for your nephew?"

After Changbai and Changwu walked away, Wang Ruofu said to Sheng Hong indifferently:
"Since Changwu won't listen to your advice and insists on taking the military exam, why do you have to be the bad guy?"

Sheng Hong didn't want to say more, he just shook his sleeves, stood up and said:

“I have my own opinion on this matter.

I'll go to my room and change my clothes first, and you go and tell the kitchen to prepare the feast."

After saying that, Sheng Hong left on his own.

"Virtue!"

Looking at Sheng Hong's back, Wang Ruofu snorted softly, then turned to Mama Liu and instructed:

"Go to the kitchen and see if everything is ready. I'll go wash and dress myself, and then we'll go to Shou'an Hall to talk."

"Yes, madam."

Shou'an Hall.

Yang Wenyuan, Hua Lan and others were already chatting and waiting.

Changwu and Changbai walked in together.

He first bowed to Old Lady Sheng and said some auspicious words. After Old Lady Sheng accepted the gesture, he started talking to the person next to him and recognized his face.

Changwu had only met Yang Wenyuan once, at the wedding of the Yang and Sheng families. He immediately bowed to Yang Wenyuan and greeted him.

After a brief greeting, Old Lady Sheng asked about Youyang's eldest lady's recent situation.

Old Madam Sheng and the eldest madam of the Sheng family in Youyang are very close.

The reason for this is that the Sheng family has a tradition of favoring concubines over wives, and the husbands of both of them are the best among them.

They were all victims of the policy of favoring concubines over wives, and had similar experiences, having endured the pain of losing their children to concubines.

Therefore, although the two old ladies did not see each other often, they were quite sympathetic to each other and supported each other.

But it is a little different from Mrs. Sheng.

The old lady's youngest daughter died, and her son Sheng Wei stayed behind to continue the bloodline.

Old Madam Sheng had no descendants.

When Changwu heard Old Lady Sheng asking about her grandmother, he knew that the two elderly people had a good relationship, so he told her everything he knew.

Upon hearing that the old lady was feeling unwell due to the extremely cold weather this year, Old Lady Sheng couldn't help but look a little worried.

Now that she is old, it is not easy for her to go out. It can be said that every long journey consumes Mrs. Sheng’s energy.

Therefore, even though she was worried, Mrs. Sheng could not travel far away to visit.

Traveling anytime and anywhere is a "privilege" for young people, but it is a luxury for an old person of Mrs. Sheng's age.

Fortunately, Changwu's wedding is imminent, and Mrs. Sheng will be able to attend the wedding banquet and have a good talk with the eldest lady.

But by then, I'm afraid it will be the last time the two old men will see each other in this life...

Changwu went to the capital this time to welcome the bride in person, so of course he couldn't come alone. His father Sheng Wei and mother Li also had to go with him.

However, because the couple were out doing business at the time and also had to prepare gifts for visiting the guest, they let Changwu go first, and the couple followed afterwards.

Changwu's arrival did not bring any changes to the life in the school.

Except for Changbai and a few others who took a day off, everything else remained the same.

It is now mid-February.

There are only twenty days left until the Spring Examination in early March (the previous time was wrong and has been corrected), so there is naturally no time to delay.

Qiming Pavilion.

Ever since the day Changbai asked for leave, Qi Heng had a private talk with Minglan and he felt much better. He even had more energy to study.

However, this enthusiasm is only temporary and cannot last.

As a result, Qi Heng had the thought "I just can't get in" again, hoping that Changbai would take another leave to help his cousin with his marriage.

"We are cousins. Even if the imperial examination comes first, we should still focus on brotherhood!"

But unfortunately, Qi Heng never found another opportunity.

Minglan's side.

Ever since Qi Heng approached her rashly, she felt distressed because she felt that things were becoming increasingly out of control.

I thought that after my second brother Changbai talked to Qi Heng, Qi Heng would learn to be polite and no longer look for me privately, but it turned out that as soon as my second brother took a day off, Qi Heng followed him out.

Seeing Qi Heng's increasingly attentive eyes these days, Minglan felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, fearing that Qi Heng would launch another "sneak attack" like last time.

Living in fear like this every day made Minglan lose her appetite.

Finally, Minglan made up her mind to put an end to Qi Heng and clear herself of all ties with him completely!

Inside Qiming Pavilion.

Master Zhuang stood up and let the students study on their own, while he himself, suffering from the inconvenience of being an elderly person, went to "change clothes".

However, as Qi Heng was practicing, he could not help but glance towards Minglan. However, after enjoying the "sweetness", when Qi Heng retracted his gaze, his eyes suddenly became determined. He suddenly saw the purple brush he gave to Minglan in Rulan's hand at the table in front of Minglan!

Zhuang Xuejiu was not there, and the brothers at the front desk were studying hard. Qi Heng immediately whispered to Rulan:

"Fifth sister, the pen in your hand..."

Rulan was used to being lazy, so naturally she didn't practice calligraphy seriously. She was just drawing the characters without a brush. When she heard Qi Heng's question, she immediately turned around.

"Thank you, Brother Yuanruo, for the pen." Rulan replied sweetly.

Rulan glanced at the purple brush in her hand and continued with a smile:
"But how could Brother Yuanruo be willing to give away such a good pen?"

"Yes!" Mo Lan at the front table also turned around and said softly:
Qi Heng turned his head and saw the purple-hair brush that he had given to Minglan in Molan's hand.

"I only gave two away, and now they are all in someone else's hands..."

Qi Heng's expression froze immediately.

"It would be better if Brother Yuanruo sent it himself."

Molan continued:

"Mo'er has plenty of time. Brother Yuanruo just needs to tell him. There's no need for Xiaoliu to send it to you."

Hearing this, Qi Heng looked at Minglan again.

But this time he was not only paying attention to her beautiful face, but also looking at the pen in her hand. He saw that the pen in Minglan's hand had been changed to the original style, and was no longer the ordinary one that Qi Heng had given her before.

"Even this has been changed..."

It was impossible for Minglan to be unaware of the person talking to the one next to her. At this moment, she noticed Qi Heng looking at her out of the corner of her eye. She just continued to practice calligraphy, pretending nothing had happened.

Seeing that Minglan didn't respond at all and acted like an outsider, Qi Heng felt even colder in his heart.

Zhuang Xuejiu returned to class at this time and immediately started explaining the lesson again.

However, Qi Heng did not have the heart to listen. He just sat there in a daze, occasionally glancing at the purple-hair brushes held by Rulan and Molan next to him.

Molan's mind is mostly on Qi Heng.

At this time, seeing Qi Heng occasionally looking at her and unable to move his head away, she felt very happy and thought that Qi Heng was fascinated by her.

"That's right! Brother Yuanruo asked my father about the method of practicing calligraphy during the Chinese New Year. I think he loves practicing calligraphy, and my calligraphy is the best among the girls in the family. I'm afraid he gave the pen to Rulan just for me. He just wanted to look good, so he gave it to Rulan, who is so stupid. Xiaoliu is not very important and never dares to say anything, so he let her give the pen..."

The more Molan thought about it, the more it made sense to her, and she couldn't help but feel secretly proud of herself.

Sure enough, the young master has good vision!
He immediately turned around and looked at Qi Heng, and their eyes met.

Qi Heng was still in a daze, but Molan smiled shyly first.

Seeing this, Qi Heng had to nod slightly, and then immediately lowered his head.

In the afternoon, the school is over.

Qi Heng had been feeling depressed all day. When he saw Master Zhuang walking out of the house, he immediately stood up.

Such an unusual behavior immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

"Yuan Ruo, are you in a hurry to go home?" Gu Tingye asked.

Qi Heng glanced at Minglan when he heard this, but she still did not respond as before, and did not even raise her head.

Even more bitter!

Qi Heng simply said "Hmm!", raised his hand to ask Bu Wei to pack up the bookcase, and left first.

In the Qi family carriage.

Qi Heng sat in the carriage depressed, feeling that life was not worth it.

At this time, Buwei also hurriedly brought Qi Heng's study into the room and immediately told the coachman to go home.

"Brother, why are you leaving so early today?"

After Buwei packed up his book box, he asked Qi Heng, but he did not get any answer from Qi Heng.

After a moment, Qi Heng suddenly said:
"Why did she give my things to others casually?"

"What? What? Sir, are you talking about Miss Sheng Liu?"

"Ok!"

Qi Heng nodded heavily:
"She gave all the purple hair brushes I gave her to her sister. She didn't keep any. Although it's not easy for her to take them out, she shouldn't give them to others either."

Qi Heng's words were full of resentment, and he turned his head and said:

"How dare you give me that excuse?"

At this moment, Xiaotao's voice suddenly came from outside the carriage.

"Young Master, the young lady asked me to pass on some words."

Upon hearing this, Qi Heng lifted the curtain on the window, revealing a face full of joy, thinking that Minglan had asked Xiaotao to say something good.

Xiao Tao handed the food box as an excuse to Bu Wei who got off the carriage, and then said to Qi Heng:

"Young Master, our daughter said that she couldn't use the pen anyway, and it would be a waste to just leave it at the bottom of the box, so she gave it to her two sisters."

"This... How can this be..."

Qi Heng was in a trance for a moment and said:

"After all, this is from me."

Xiao Tao continued:
"My daughter said that the young master is the one who sympathizes with the poor and the weak. Don't come to see my daughter in the future. Otherwise, if someone sees you and spreads the news, I'm afraid it will ruin the young master's reputation."

"I'm a grown man, what does it matter if I have a reputation or not?" Qi Heng quickly stuck his head out and asked.

"Young Master, I am just delivering your message."

Xiao Tao bowed slightly and said:
"Young Master, the imperial examination is very important, please take care of yourself."

"Eh……"

Qi Heng quickly stretched out his hand to stop Xiao Tao, still holding on to a glimmer of hope and asked:

"That's all your girl wants you to say, nothing else?"

"Nothing else."

Xiao Tao finished her words quickly and left in two steps.

After all, she is Minglan's personal maid. If others see her coming to see Qi Heng, it will still have an impact on Minglan.

Qi Heng sat in the carriage in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.

He didn't understand why it happened so suddenly...

Does this mean farewell?

At this time, no one got back on the carriage with their bags.

He just realized that Xiaotao had brought back the message from the Sixth Miss of the Sheng family, so he quickly found an excuse to take the coachman away, to prevent the coachman from hearing the message and letting the princess know.

"I've been living a smooth life for so long that I think I'm so rich."

Qi Heng looked up at the top of the carriage for no apparent reason and said self-deprecatingly:
"I always think that I am doing good to others, but in fact, they may not appreciate it..."

Qi Heng felt a little aggrieved.

Anyone would be so happy to see a young master like me showing goodwill like this.

But when it came to Minglan, she didn't show any expression at all and even seemed a little disgusted with herself.

Buwei and Qi Heng grew up together, so he naturally understood Qi Heng's thoughts and knew that Qi Heng would definitely not give up, so he said:
"Sir, there may be some misunderstanding here. Many things need to be explained in person to be sorted out."

"You think so too?!"

Qi Heng immediately seemed to come alive, and quickly moved closer to Buwei, saying in a confirming tone:

"Do you also think I should talk to Minglan face to face?"

"Yes, that's it!"

Qi Heng didn't care about the reply and encouraged himself:
"I will only meet Minglan one last time to explain everything to her and assure her that after the imperial examination, I will go to my mother and tell her that I will get engaged to the Sheng family..."

Qi Heng guessed that Minglan became gradually cold towards him because the gap between their statuses was too big and she had no hope for their future.

Qi Heng understands Minglan's difficulties.

Therefore, he must find his mother and make it clear that he is determined to marry no one but Minglan!
(End of this chapter)