Chapter 246 Rulan: I was kept in school?

That night, the night was dark.

Wei Ruixuan.

Hualan talked with her father and mother.

After chatting for a while, Changbai went back to his room to study the classics of the saints.

Rulan sat on a small stool next to Wang Ruofu.

He supported his head with one hand and played with the wick of a lamp with a wooden hairpin in the other.

There were a lot of black charcoal stains on the wooden hairpin, and it was obvious that this was not the first time she had done it.

However, there were many lights on in the house at this time, so the flickering of the lights was not noticeable.

"Why didn't you invite the princess to dinner today? The letter I sent last night was so urgent."

Sheng Hong cared about whether Hualan was living comfortably in Pingyang Marquis's Mansion. After making sure that his daughter was living a stable life, he expressed his confusion:
"At the dinner just now, I noticed that most of you were not in high spirits. Did something happen?"

"What's so spiritual about this?"

Rulan on the side muttered immediately:
"It's fine if they all admit it, but the gifts they give are all the same."

Rulan was obviously dissatisfied with the fact that she, as a legitimate daughter, received the same things as Minglan and Molan, but she did not dare to directly say the difference between legitimate and illegitimate daughters in front of her father, so she just complained vaguely.

Did your daughter accept other people’s things?

Sheng Hong was a little panicked.

'I wonder if this will be the "evidence" that the future censor will use to impeach me.'

So he hurriedly asked:

"Something? What?"

"Look, this is it!" Rulan's taste has been spoiled by her sister Hualan, so she didn't care much about the South Pearl bracelet given by Qi Heng. She immediately rolled up her sleeves and revealed the bracelet on her hand.

"Who gave this to you?" Sheng Hong could tell at a glance that what Rulan had in her hand were South China pearls, which were very expensive, so he asked immediately.

Rulan was about to explain, but was interrupted by Wang Ruofu, who was worried that she might say something wrong.

Wang Ruofu glanced at Rulan and then said with a smile:

“These beads were given by the Duke of Qi’s Mansion, and each of the girls in the family has a string.

Princess Pingning came today to acknowledge the girls in her family as her sisters."

Rulan was suddenly interrupted by her mother. She immediately pursed her lips unhappily and rolled her eyes at her mother in a spoiled manner.

"You still treat me like a little girl. I'm not completely ignorant now!"

Feeling indignant, Rulan began to fiddle with the wick in a simple and rough manner, and immediately put out the light in the lamp.

Seeing her eyes darken slightly, Ru Lan suddenly became like a deflated ball, her shoulders drooped, as if she had lost her happiness.

After a while, he slowly leaned on his mother Wang Ruofu's lap, propped up his little head, and began to fantasize:
"It would be nice if you treated me like a child at the marriage proposal. It would be nice if I could just stay at home and be an old maid!"

"Acknowledge her as your sister?"

Sheng Hong immediately looked surprised:

"You sent me such a hasty invitation last night, just to recognize a few sisters?"

Sheng Hong felt that he could not quite understand the thinking of these powerful people.

Sheng Hong had never thought that his daughter could marry into the Duke of Qi's mansion, nor did he understand the feelings between Qi Heng and Minglan. Therefore, without knowing anything, he did not think that Princess Pingning was guarding against his own girl.

He just felt that Princess Pingning's move was a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"I think it's because he heard that Minglan and Rulan are going to Youyang tomorrow, so he's worried that it will be late."

Wang Ruofu laughed:

"I knew that the princess doted on the young master, but now I know the details."

Sheng Hong nodded doubtfully.

This is normal, but even Wang Ruofu understands Princess Pingning's "stinginess" with power, not to mention Sheng Hong, a veteran in the officialdom.

But Sheng Hong couldn't think of any other reasons.

He would never have dreamed that among the three girls in his family waiting to be married, except the heartless Rulan, the other two had the hope of marrying Qi Heng.

Sheng Hong nodded gently:

"There is only one son in the family, so it is never too much to spoil him."

When saying this, Sheng Hong seemed to have thought of something. He glanced at Hua Lan who was sitting next to him and opened his mouth slightly, but even though he was a father, he didn't know how to speak.

"Okay, let's stop here. Hua'er and Rulan have to get up early tomorrow morning to catch the boat. If they don't sleep well, they can't make up for it on the boat." Wang Ruofu stopped talking.

Sheng Hong nodded after hearing this, and after standing up, he said to Hua Lan:

"You may not be back for a month or so, so I will let you sleep with your mother tonight."

After saying this, without waiting for everyone's reaction, he quickly went out and headed towards Mu Cang Zhai.

Wei Shuyi now speaks nicely and flatteringly, and can be considered a talented woman in literature, much better than Lin Qinshuang.

And now that it is not winter, Wei Shuyi feels better...

After Sheng Hong left, Wang Ruofu knew that he had gone to Mu Cang Zhai. Since being detained in the palace, Sheng Hong rarely went to Lin Qinshuang.

Seeing that Wei Shuyi was gaining favor, Wang Ruofu didn't care.

As long as Sheng Hong doesn't go looking for that bitch Lin Qinshuang, he will go to Mu Cang Zhai.

Wang Ruofu asked Hualan and Rulan to take a bath and go to bed early.

When Rulan heard her mother's order to "disband on the spot", she looked very happy and immediately got up and went back to her room.

Hua Lan said:
"Mother, I want to go visit my grandmother. I'm afraid it will be late at night when I come back, so I will go back to my room and sleep."

Although Hualan was married, Wang Ruofu still kept her room and had it cleaned and tidied every day so that she could go to bed with her bag at any time.

In her words, even if her daughter gets married, there must be a place for her in the family.

The saying “A daughter who is married off is like water poured out” is all fallacy. How can the girl who you carried for ten months and gave birth to be no longer a member of your family?

It's not like I'm selling my daughter!

"Why are we going here? What if grandma is already asleep..."

But Hualan's attitude remained firm. Wang Ruofu could not persuade her, so she had no choice but to let Hualan go.

"wait!"

Hualan left, and Rulan wanted to follow quietly out the door, but she had just stepped through the door when she heard her mother's voice behind her:

"You're in such a hurry to get back to your room, maybe you want to take a shower? Then pack up early and sleep at my place tonight!"

Ru Lan's face suddenly turned pale.

She was most reluctant to sleep with her mother, not because she disliked her, but because her mother loved to nag in her ear.

When her mother and father were not on good terms, Rulan just listened to their complaints.

The relationship is better now, but Rulan still complains when she hears it.

My mother found various ways to recall the past with me.

By the way, to use the words of my brother-in-law, it means to recall the good times and cherish the bad times!

God have mercy on me, I’m still a little girl!
I just want to sleep, not listen to people nagging in my ears!

"Mother..." Rulan looked back pitifully, trying to escape from her mother's clutches.

Wang Ruofu ignored Rulan's pleas and told Madam Liu, who couldn't hold back her laughter, to prepare for a bath while glaring at her.
"You're not happy about me sleeping with you? When I was your age, I begged my mother to get out of bed."

Seeing Rulan's sudden expression of interest, Wang Ruofu immediately realized that she had said something wrong and accidentally mentioned her embarrassing experience as a girl, so she immediately changed the subject:

"You don't seem to sleep well and you like to make noises. It's good enough that I don't dislike you, but you dislike me instead. It's really..."

It was because Wang Ruofu had not spent much time with Yang Wenyuan and had not heard of Yang Wenyuan's Quotations, otherwise she would have blurted out:
"Reverse Tian Gang!"

Finally, Wang Ruofu made the final decision and did not allow Rulan to object:

"Go back to your room and get ready. If you haven't come by the time I finish my bath, then you don't have to go to Youyang. Just stay home and learn needlework!"

As she spoke, Wang Ruofu took off her coat and hung it on the clothes rack. She looked at Rulan, who was standing blankly at the door with a bitter face, and admonished her:
"She didn't learn needlework well, but she still has the nerve to act like a wild girl, wanting to join in any fun."

As she spoke, Wang Ruofu seemed to realize something, and looked at Rulan with a look of doubt:

"You want to go to Youyang with me, aren't you planning to skip school and do needlework?"

"This...how could this be possible? Mother, you think too badly of your daughter!" Although Rulan lacked confidence, she immediately stiffened her neck and argued in order to show that she was right.

“I think that’s true!”

Wang Ruofu was just saying it casually, but seeing Rulan's reaction was quite strong, she couldn't help but start to look suspicious.

But before Wang Ruofu could continue speaking, Rulan immediately rushed out.

"Mother, your daughter will be here soon!"

Shou'an Hall.

Hualan entered the courtyard, but did not go directly to Old Lady Sheng. Instead, she went to the house where Minglan lived first.

However, before entering the hanging flower gate, I saw the maids who usually worked in my grandmother's room standing guard nearby, trying not to let anyone see what was going on inside.

"Big sister..."

Cuiwei, who was still the first-class maid in Old Lady Sheng's room at that time, was in charge of guarding the door.

When he saw that the person coming was Hualan, he couldn't help but look embarrassed.

If the person who came was from her mother's room, she would rush back without saying a word.

Even if it was the housekeeper next to the eldest lady, she could still keep a cold face and let people wait, but now that Hua Lan was in front of her, she didn't dare to stop her...

Fortunately, Mrs. Sheng came out at this time and rescued her.

"Why are you here too?" Old Mrs. Sheng came out of the house and saw Hualan here. She couldn't help but look surprised.

"I... I just came out from my mother's place, and on a whim, I wanted to come and see Xiaoliu..."

Hualan felt a rare sense of fear in her heart.

The truth is that she was hiding something from her grandmother.

Old Madam Sheng was a very clear-sighted person. She saw through Hua Lan's thoughts with just one glance. She glared at Hua Lan and led her to her room, saying unhappily:
"Do you think I'm old and easy to fool? You want to hide everything from an old woman like me. If I hadn't caught you now, wouldn't you still pretend not to know?"

Hualan immediately realized that Old Lady Sheng also knew about Minglan's situation, so she immediately supported Old Lady Sheng's arm and said coquettishly:

"Grandma, I just want you to live in peace and happiness, that's why I didn't tell you."

"Hmph! Don't try to fool me."

Old Madam Sheng snorted and glanced at Hua Lan from the corner of her eye:
"Tell me, was it your family who instigated you? Otherwise, with your temper, you would have come to me a long time ago."

Hualan's face twisted for a moment, and then she decisively sold Yang Wenyuan out.

My lord, you know, this was definitely not my intention. It was really my grandmother who had a keen eye and could tell it at a glance!
Hua Lan confessed everything quickly.

It was not until he returned to Old Lady Sheng's bedroom and sat down that he confessed and was shown leniency.

Old Mrs. Sheng was in no hurry to speak. She first asked Fang Mama to warm up a pot of tea for Hualan to moisten her throat.

After Hualan finished her tea and looked over eagerly, Mrs. Sheng spoke:

"You think you've kept it a secret from me, but I can't see anything from Minglan, and you didn't tell me either, so I can't detect anything from you.

But his young master sent things to our house every now and then, and even had servants pass messages and notes secretly. Even Princess Pingning could see it, and they were right under my nose, how could I not see it?"

Old Madam Sheng shook her head and smiled bitterly, sighing:
"I should have thought of it earlier. How could such an honest child like Qi Heng convince his mother? When I found out, I should have woken Minglan up with a blow.

But I can't bear it.

It’s like the time of youth, and I just happened to meet someone who really loves me…”

Hua Lan nodded and said:
"I also think that the young master really likes Minglan, otherwise my husband and I would not have watched him get close to Xiaoliu without stopping him, and instead kept it a secret from you."

"Who says it isn't?"

Old Madam Sheng kept shaking her head, her tone regretful:

"Marriage is more important than reincarnation in a woman's life. I also have the extravagant hope that, what if... what if she and the young master really get married? In the future, she will have someone who truly loves her and live a comfortable life."

"Who would have thought, who would have thought..."

Old Madam Sheng looked dejected, and said to Hua Lan with a hint of emotion:
"It's probably not easy to get a smooth and satisfactory marriage. You also had many twists and turns in the beginning. I, your grandmother, didn't learn my lesson and even thought Minglan could avoid this hurdle. In the end, I still watched Minglan get bruised and battered.

If you put your hopes in things that do not belong to you, you will suffer alone."

Hua Lan also felt the same way at this moment, her eyes slightly reddened:
"It's always sad."

Old Madam Sheng nodded gently:
"Ming'er is not born with the fortune you have, and fortune will not fall from the sky on her head. There will be people with a solid foundation to take over, and it will not be her turn. Her daughter has experienced life and death, and although she has let it go now, her foundation is as thin as paper. The only one she can rely on is me, her old grandmother."

Old Lady Sheng didn't say anything about asking Hualan to help Minglan find someone.

After all, she is not my biological sister, so it would be inappropriate to talk about her without a proper name.

Once these words were spoken, not only did Hua Lan feel embarrassed, but also his own family.

"Each girl in the family has someone to help her with the arrangements.

I feel very relieved that Rulan has you and the lady.

Molan has his own father, so he might be wary of me interfering.

Only Minglan didn't get much.

I don't ask for a rich family for Minglan, I just want a good and comfortable marriage, so that I don't have to look at other people's faces or make calculations in the future. "

(End of this chapter)