Chapter 158: A Difference Like Clouds and Mud [Many thanks for everyone's support

On the second day, Wei Wei Shuyi took Minglan and others to the second gate to see her younger sister off from the Sheng family.

Although Minglan claimed she was being raised under the Old Lady's care, the Old Lady had not immediately instructed Minglan to move into Shou'an Hall.

Previously, after paying morning respects, Minglan would mostly return directly to the side courtyard; now, she stayed with the Old Lady to eat breakfast together, after which the Old Lady taught Minglan to read and write, while Mama Fang taught needlework, and only after eating dinner at Shou'an Hall in the evening did she return to the side courtyard.

It was not until the fourth day, when a small room partitioned by lattice doors was prepared in the bedroom of Shou'an Hall, that Minglan truly moved in there.

That night, having changed her clothes, the Old Lady asked softly, "Is she asleep?"

Mama Fang nodded and replied, "She is asleep; she did not cry."

The Old Lady nodded and said, "For such a small child not to cry, her Wei Xiaoniang must have taught her well."

Mama Fang nodded again: "Yes, it is just that these past few days, the Sixth Miss has been puckering her lips in unhappiness whenever she sees Brother Jing."

"That little rascal; when there are many people around he calls her 'Sixth Sister,' but when few are present he comes up and calls Minglan 'yellow-haired girl'; no wonder he isn't happy to see her. What has he been busy with these past two days that he hasn't seen Brother Jing during the daytime?"

"Every morning after the young master finishes his drills, he goes to study with Brother Bai; two days ago, Ye'er from the Gu family also came."

"Good, studying is good! I see that matters in the Yang Zhou officialdom will not be resolved without some time, but fortunately, they have not delayed the crucial imperial examinations for the prefecture and counties."

"What the Old Lady says is true; once all affairs are concluded, several families may likely travel together to Bianjing, providing mutual support along the way."

"Mm, we must also go to the mountain ahead of time to pay respects to the True Person and move Zhen'er's spirit tablet to Bianjing."

In late February,

the county examination in Yang Zhou was held as scheduled.

Sheng Changbai entered the examination hall and passed smoothly.

For this, Sheng Hong specially hosted a banquet at home to thank the teachers, and many figures from the Yang Zhou officialdom came to offer congratulations.

The promotion of this Yang Zhou Assistant Prefect to Bianjing was already virtually certain.

After the county examination, Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye also spent much time studying with Sheng Changbai, analyzing the examination questions and Sheng Changbai's answers.

As the stars shifted and the constellations turned,

it was now March,

and the weather was gradually warming.

On this day, Sheng Hualan, who had been embroidering her dowry at home for a long time, was summoned by Wang Shi to attend, together with Hearing Rulan, the first gathering of officials' families in Yang Zhou since the turmoil.

When Peng Da's wife from the Hong family, the Department Magistrate, saw Wang Shi, there was not much embarrassment, but rather sighs of emotion and relief at having survived a disaster, since many of the wives familiar from previous gatherings, such as those from the Qi family, had long since been arrested and imprisoned.

"A few days ago, when the stewardess from our household went out to make purchases, she saw servants from the Qi family being sold off right in Chengnan," Peng Da's wife said with a sigh.

"Oh my! Then what about their Da Da Niangzi and young ladies? Wasn't it previously said they were matched with the Gao family of Laizhou?" Wang Shi asked, frowning.

"That was merely a verbal agreement made at your home; with such a disaster befalling their family, who would still acknowledge it! Let us not speak of such joy-killing matters; Assistant Prefect Sheng's promotion to Bianjing is truly cause for celebration."

"Alas, may the gods protect us!" Wang Wang Ruofu sincerely clasped her hands and bowed several times.

This gathering lacked the liveliness of days past,

and by exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, the ladies had all dispersed with little enthusiasm.

As the carriage bearing the Sheng family plaque traveled through the streets of Yang Zhou, Sheng Hualan and Hearing Rulan inside suddenly heard the sound of a woman weeping.

Wang Shi leaned against the carriage curtain and asked outward, "Mama Liu, what is happening?"

Mama Liu, walking beside the carriage, replied, "Da Da Niangzi, they are family members of convicted officials."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shi and the sisters Sheng Hualan and Hearing Rulan all lifted the curtains to look outside.

"Sister, isn't that the Second Miss of the Qi family?" Hearing Rulan whispered to Sheng Hualan inside the carriage.

Sheng Hualan nodded while looking outside; on the street, a group of Yamen Runners was escorting a band of female relatives. The Second Miss of the Qi family, who had always been at odds with her, now had no ornaments in her hair, which hung loose and disheveled; as she walked, the tattoo on her forehead was visible, and she wore no silk garments, only the ochre robes marking her as a criminal.

Seeing the character 'Sheng' on the carriage, the Yamen Runners knew it belonged to Assistant Prefect Sheng's family and ordered the convicted officials' families to stop by the roadside as a sign of respect.

This group of convicted officials' families also saw the carriage; among them, the Second Miss of the Qi family looked up and caught sight of Sheng Hualan revealed within the carriage, yet Sheng Hualan's eyes held no trace of joy.

The people in the carriage still wore silk and adorned themselves with pearls and kingfisher feathers, whereas she, the Second Miss of the Qi family, had become a criminal of low status; from this moment on, they were as different as clouds and mud.

She lowered her head, no longer looking at the Sheng family's carriage; just then, she heard a snort of laughter, and looking up, she saw it came from the Hong family's carriage following behind, where the Third Miss of the Hong family was looking at her with a face full of mockery before shaking her head and lowering the curtain.

After lowering the curtain, the Third Miss of the Hong family said to her mother, "Mother, how did the Qi family's relatives fall into such a plight?"

Peng Da's wife revealed a hint of mockery at the corner of her mouth: "The Salt Commissioner of the entire prefecture nearly became the leader of those salt merchants; accepting bribes, their family wealth piled up like mountains; furthermore, the Gao family of Laizhou only agreed to the match with the Qi family because of the dowry they provided."

"Previously, we thought they might have some connection with the Duke of Qi's mansion, but now it seems..."

Just as they were speaking, the Hong family's carriage halted; before the mother and daughter inside could ask, the old woman outside the carriage immediately reported, "Da Da Niangzi, the stewardess from the Sheng family ahead has given silver to the Yamen Runners; should we..."

Peng Da's wife lifted the curtain again to take a look and said, "Let us give some as well; our Hong family is not a heartless household."

Having received the silver, the Yamen Runners all bowed with clasped hands to express gratitude, verbally promising to take good care of this group of criminals.

In the past, the Second Miss of the Qi family had also performed such acts of charity with her mother, but she never in her wildest dreams expected that she would become the recipient of such charity.

The carriages passed the criminals, and there would likely be no opportunity for them to meet again in this lifetime.

Sheng Sheng Changbai, Xu Xu Zaijing, and Gu Gu Tingye, who had returned from riding and playing on the river surface in Chengnan, also witnessed this scene.

Because they were on horseback, Xu Xu Zaijing arrived at almost the same time as the Sheng family carriage and entered the main gate together with it.

Xu Xu Zaijing went to Shou'an Hall to pay respects and called Minglan a "yellow-haired girl," resulting in the Old Lady of the Sheng family pretending to strike him with force while saying, "You must not call our Ming-girl like that in the future!"

"By the way, Great-Aunt, here is a medical booklet that Gu Tingye gave me today; he said it was written by the female physician attending to my elder sister."

The Old Lady of the Sheng family took the thin little booklet from Xu Xu Zaijing's hand, opened it to examine it carefully, and nodded.

"Ming'er."

Minglan opened her large eyes wide, her gaze full of anticipation and joy.

The Old Lady smiled and whispered in Minglan's ear, "Do not let others know about this matter."

Minglan nodded vigorously, then happily ran out of Shou'an Hall with Xiao Xiao Xiaotao, heading toward the side courtyard.

Wang Shi also alighted from the carriage; Sheng Hualan took Hearing Rulan to pay respects to the Old Lady, while Xu Xu Zaijing tactfully withdrew and left Shou'an Hall.

Noticing Sheng Hualan's somewhat depressed demeanor, the Old Lady asked a few questions, and Sheng Hualan recounted the scene she had witnessed that day to the Old Lady.

The Old Lady of the Sheng family said, "Accepting bribes involves only a first time and countless subsequent times; once the head of the Qi family accepted the first sum of money, he had no choice but to accept those that followed. Hua'er, do not worry unnecessarily; your father acts with tact and caution, and with the support of the main branch in Youyang, our family will not suffer such a fate."

Looking into Sheng Hualan's eyes, the Old Lady understood her thoughts and smiled, saying, "Look at your cousin Xu Zaijing; he is so self-disciplined and has already appeared before His Majesty several times. Your eldest brother is currently gaining experience in the military under your father's sworn brother, Xu Zaizhang is now studying, and Xu Pingmei goes without saying. Do not grieve as if sharing the same fate; our family is not like the disgraced Qi family."

"Mm." Hearing the Old Lady's consolation, Sheng Hualan nodded.

Linqi Pavilion,

Lin Lin Qinshuang was focused on teaching Mo Lan calligraphy. Although Sheng Hong had not visited her quarters these past days, since Dong Rong had informed her in advance of the important news that the Wang family relative was promoted to Minister of Personnel, she harbored few doubts in her heart,

for sometimes a brief separation surpasses the joy of a wedding night; how could someone as bland and uninteresting as Wang Wang Ruofu ever be her match!

After nightfall, Mo Lan went to the bedchamber, while Lin Lin Qinshuang and Zhou Zhou Xueniang sat in the main hall, trimming candle wicks as they conversed:

"According to that Physician Zhang's diagnosis, the woman in the side courtyard is not far from her delivery date."

"Then, Wei Xiaoniang, when should we have her second uncle—"

"Is she still drinking that astragalus tea?"

"Replying to Wei Xiaoniang, she is drinking it; the young maids in our courtyard often see Sister Sister Xiaodie brewing astragalus tea at the entrance of the side courtyard."

"That is good; let us act soon. A person in mourning for a death cannot enter freely; if they offend a pregnant woman, no one can bear the responsibility."

"What Wei Xiaoniang says is true. But a few days ago, the younger sister from that side courtyard's natal family arrived; Wei Xiaoniang, should we still—"

Lin Lin Qinshuang sneered coldly and said nothing.

Mid-March,

at a roadside relay station located on the essential route from Huainan East Circuit heading south,

Zhao Zhao Meifeng led the clerks and soldiers of the Imperial City Bureau walking slowly into the courtyard of the relay station. Looking at a middle-aged man pushing a cart and dressed as an ordinary commoner, he said, "Senior Brother, you are still so patient, waiting this long before leaving Yang Zhou."

"No matter how patient one is, one still ends up in Junior Brother's hands." Upon seeing Zhao Zhao Meifeng, the middle-aged man had already discreetly struck his fire starter and placed it on the cart.

He continued speaking: "However, I have always had a doubt: how did you track me down? And since when does the Imperial City Bureau possess fighters so formidable that they could completely annihilate all the elite soldiers who were previously arranged to extract me?"

"Since Senior Brother has asked, Junior Brother can only tell you that the answers to these questions are—"

And also

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(End of Chapter)