Chapter 336

Yue Fuguang watched as everyone, including her grandfather and second uncle, gathered around the poem she had tossed out, clicking their tongues in praise.

She suddenly felt she should have had some wine just now, and memorized more in the future, just like that Fan Xian, to thoroughly give the literati of this world a bit of shock from poetry.

At this moment, Yue Fuguang, who was secretly proud of awing the crowd, never expected that because of a small interlude today, the story would change once it spread out.

It was rumored that the Young Preceptor was extremely good at writing poetry, and the reputation that every piece was a masterpiece spread wider and wider, so much so that it later spread throughout the lands of the Six Nations, and even brought about a lot of trouble later on. But all of that is a story for another time.

Knowing nothing of this at the moment, she sat back down beside her grandmother and sisters, smiling as she watched everyone fiercely debating which poem should be the champion and which author should be considered a master.

[Master, I checked. This Sun Chengmin is indeed plagued by bad luck, just as you said.]

"Oh? Little Zhu, since we have nothing else to do, tell me about it."

Hearing their words, the people both near and far unconsciously lowered their voices in conversation.

[At the beginning of the year, Sun Chengmin's youngest daughter unfortunately fell into the water and was almost not saved. Her twin brother was so frightened by seeing his sister fall in that he fell seriously ill.

Less than two months later, his father broke his leg slipping on the icy, snow-covered road.

In May, his eldest daughter-in-law, who was over nine months pregnant, was startled into premature labor. If your grandfather hadn't given Sun Chengmin a century-old ginseng to save her life, it would likely have resulted in the deaths of both mother and child.]

Yue Fuguang nodded. "In less than half a year, the Sun family has suffered a series of disasters. Is it man-made, or just due to bad luck?"

[Master, you only know that Sun Chengmin is highly skilled in mechanics, but you don't know that he is also someone who loves to study bizarre and unusual weapons.

The weapons he makes privately are all unconventional, so he is embarrassed to show them to others.

Inspired by your firearms, especially that gun of yours, he actually privately developed a very primitive type of musket.]

"Oh? He actually created the predecessor of the gun, a musket, in such a short time? He is a talent!

But what does this have to do with his family's bad luck?"

[Master, although those weapons he makes are not suitable for the military, they are still very useful when fighting an enemy one-on-one.

Therefore, the things he makes are often secretly taken out and sold for money by his nephew, Wei Ming.

After Sun Chengmin found out, he reprimanded him a few times and told him that if he did it again, he would be sent back home.

Because of this, the man harbored a grudge and made a move against the younger generation of the Sun family.]

At this moment, Sun Chengmin only felt his brain buzzing and his teeth chattering incessantly. In the July weather, he felt a bone-piercing cold all over his body.

He never expected that his nephew, whom he usually loved dearly, would harbor a grudge just because he was reprimanded a few times by his uncle for doing something wrong.

Not only did he resent him, but he also committed such a frantic and cruel act against his family. Setting everything else aside, his father was Wei Ming's own maternal grandfather. How could he bring himself to do it?

"Is this Wei Ming Sun Chengmin's biological nephew?"

[Wei Ming is the son of Sun Chengmin's younger sister. When Wei Ming was seven years old, his younger sister passed away early. Father Wei married a new wife less than a year later, and the following year she gave birth to a younger brother for him, and later gave birth to two more younger siblings in succession.

Wei Ming's life became increasingly difficult. The Sun family, afraid that their grandson would be tormented and fail to grow up properly, brought him to the Sun household to be raised.

As a result, they never expected this Wei Ming to be an ungrateful wretch, constantly comparing his treatment with that of the Sun family siblings.

He often used the early death of his biological mother and his father's lack of affection to win the sympathy of the Sun family. Not only did he always eat and take more than his share, but he also didn't study well at school, made some fair-weather friends, and picked up the bad habit of gambling.

When he gambled all his money away, he targeted his uncle Sun Chengmin's weapons. After Sun Chengmin caught him stealing, he started having wicked thoughts.]

"Didn't Sun Chengmin realize that the incidents happening to his family members were man-made?"

Sun Chengmin nodded. His youngest daughter had indeed told him that she was pushed from behind while playing with ice by the pool at home.

His eldest daughter-in-law also said she was startled by a suddenly appearing black cat during the day, slipped, and fell.

As for his father, the ice at his door was indeed smoother and thicker than elsewhere...

He ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍suspected that someone was targeting the Sun family, but he never thought it was the doing of the biological nephew he had raised!

[He probably did realize it, he just didn't expect it to be his own nephew.

Also, Master, this Wei Ming has stolen from the Sun family again. He is afraid of being discovered, so he is looking for an opportunity these past two days to set a fire and destroy the evidence.]

Sun Chengmin's heart tightened, and he was so shocked he almost stood up from his chair. He wished he could sprout wings and fly home right now.

Just as he was anxiously thinking about how to quietly take his leave early, a group of people slowly walked in through the moon gate of the garden.

The person leading them was none other than Crown Prince Xie Zhiyan. Behind him followed not only the invited Eighth Princess, but also the Seventh Prince, who was inseparable from the Eighth Princess, and... Fifth Brother Xie?

If she remembered correctly, every time this person saw her, it was like a mouse seeing a cat—he couldn't hide fast enough. Why would he take the initiative to come over?

Before Yue Fuguang could figure it out, the Crown Prince and his group had already approached.

After everyone exchanged greetings, they took their seats as host and guests.

Xie Zhiyan took the lead and smiled at Yue Fuguang, saying, "I heard from Eighth Sister that the golden lotuses planted by the Young Preceptor have bloomed, and you invited her to admire the flowers."

Yue Fuguang nodded. "They just bloomed today. This courtyard full of fragrance is emitted by the golden lotuses."

"I snatched a guard's errand to come here, and it seems I made the right choice. Even before seeing the golden lotuses, just smelling this lotus fragrance relaxes the body and mind significantly."

Yue Fuguang pointed toward the lotus pond. "Look, Your Highness, the golden lotuses are right there!"

It was already dusk. The intense heat had subsided, and only a glimmer of light remained on the horizon. At this time, the golden lotuses also restrained most of their radiance, leaving only a gentle, glowing luster, like a lamp in the dark night, warm and not dazzling.

Everyone thought to themselves that this hour was actually the best time to view the golden lotuses.

Just as they were thinking this, the afterglow on the horizon completely faded, and the surroundings grew entirely dark. Cuizhu received orders to hold up lamps for the princes and princesses. Under the illumination of the candlelight, the golden lotuses emitted a different, faint golden light, their texture resembling golden jade, appearing even more warm and smooth.

Xie Zhiyan and his group were all full of praise. The Eighth Princess even made an appointment with Yu Ningxuan and the others to come back tomorrow at noon. She wanted to see how dazzling the golden lotuses would be when they shone the brightest.

And the news that Young Preceptor Yue's estate grew the best golden lotuses in all of Great Yan spread like wildfire.

Except for the big three in the imperial palace who didn't make a move, all the other high-ranking officials who could speak with her came to pay their respects to the true appearance of the golden lotuses.

As a result, Yue Fuguang, who was just sitting at home, unexpectedly received a large batch of gifts. However, the storehouse of her separate estate was large, so she didn't have to worry about running out of space to put them.

Her return gift was simply a small jar of lotus leaf tea. Of course, all of this was handled by the men of the Yu family on her behalf. Yue Fuguang just enjoyed her leisure time hiding in her own courtyard, and no one dared to disturb her peace.

However, today was an exception. Why say so? Because the status of the people who came today was exceptionally different.