Chapter 555: Lin Lin Qinshuang Is Extremely Anxious!!! [Please vote]

On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month,

this day being the Festival of the Changing Year,

most households in the capital would prepare wine and fruits on this day to send off the Kitchen God, and would also burn paper money to dispel misfortune and pray for blessings.

At exactly the hour of Si (after ten in the morning),

in Jiying Lane,

at the Sheng family residence,

within the Linqi Pavilion courtyard,

the outer room of the main hall was furnished with simple elegance,

on the table in the room stood a porcelain vase, into which were inserted fresh flowers, a rare sight in winter.

Beside it, an incense burner drifted out fragrance; the smoke curled around the fresh flowers before slowly dispersing into the air.

Beside the table,

Sheng Changfeng sat on a chair, frowning at the lessons before him while gently biting the brush he held in his hand.

Seeing Mo Lan sat on one side of Sheng Changfeng, holding a book of poetry, and looking at the verses upon it, she softly recited: "The silk curtains feel slightly cold; the swallows fly away in pairs."

Sheng Changfeng slanted a glance at Seeing Mo Lan and said,

"I say, Sister, could you stop reciting? Can't you see your brother is doing his lessons?"

Seeing Mo Lan glared at Sheng Changfeng and said, "Brother, you have been sitting at this desk for two quarter-hours, yet not a single character is written on the paper! Since you cannot write it yourself, what does my reciting poetry have to do with it!"

Sheng Changfeng: "Sister, you!"

"What?" Seeing Mo Lan asked, thrusting her neck forward.

"What noise is this?" At the door to the inner room, Lin Lin Qinshuang, dressed in vibrant clothes and clutching a handkerchief, asked.

"Mother, Sister keeps reciting poetry and disturbing me while I do my lessons."

"Mother, I did not!"

"Seeing Mo Lan, your brother's imperial examination is a major matter; since he says it is a disturbance, just recite silently in your heart."

Hearing Lin Lin Qinshuang's words, Sheng Changfeng looked at Seeing Mo Lan with a face full of smugness and raised an eyebrow.

Seeing Mo Lan pressed her lips together in some depression and slammed the poetry book in her hand shut with force.

At this moment,

"Zhou Da Niangzi has arrived."

The voice of a young maid came from the doorway.

Zhou Zhou Xueniang, clutching a handkerchief, lowered her head and ducked through the door curtain into the room.

After first bowing to Sheng Changfeng and Seeing Mo Lan, Zhou Zhou Xueniang followed Lin Lin Qinshuang into the inner room of the main hall.

Subsequently, the mistress and servant sat and stood respectively beside a round table from which they could see the situation in the outer room.

Glancing outward, Lin Lin Qinshuang asked with some urgency in her tone, "How are things? Did you and your husband find out clearly?"

Zhou Zhou Xueniang nodded repeatedly and said in a low voice, "Wei Xiaoniang, it has been found out clearly!"

"Just now I specifically went to ask Dongrong; it is true that the master of the Kang household was stripped of his official position these past two days, and I heard the court is investigating whether he committed any faults during his time in office!"

Lin Lin Qinshuang, sitting on an embroidered stool, nodded slightly and said with eyes full of satisfaction, "So it seems that the family of that shrew Wang Wang Ruofu's elder sister has encountered a major disaster?"

Zhou Zhou Xueniang nodded repeatedly: "This servant observes that it is exactly so!"

Lin Lin Qinshuang said in a low voice, "Truly Heaven has eyes; a poisonous woman like Lady Kang Wang deserves this fate!"

Ever since coming to Bianjing, although Aunt Kang's heart was unrighteous, causing the Old Lady to greatly disapprove of her, and though she did not visit the Sheng family often, basically every time she came she would scold and humiliate Lin Lin Qinshuang.

Zhou Zhou Xueniang continued, "Wei Xiaoniang, there is more! This servant slipped two taels of silver to Dongrong and heard that the master of the Kang household will come to our Sheng family this afternoon!"

"Come for what purpose?"

Before Zhou Zhou Xueniang could speak,

Lin Lin Qinshuang smiled lightly and said, "Presumably he comes to beg Honglang to help his Kang family."

"Wei Xiaoniang is truly divinely calculative!"

Hearing Zhou Zhou Xueniang's praise, Lin Lin Qinshuang smiled.

"Wei Xiaoniang, Dongrong also told this servant that yesterday the steward of the Kang family asked him about the marriage of Xu Wu Ge'er from the eldest branch."

"What?"

Lin Lin Qinshuang's eyes turned, and a look of understanding appeared in them as she said, "They wish to marry Miss Yun'er of the Kang family over here."

"Wei Xiaoniang, with such a major disaster befalling the Kang family these past two days, do you think this matter can succeed?"

Lin Lin Qinshuang looked at Sheng Changfeng in the outer room and said proudly, "If Changwu of the eldest branch, like my Feng'er, had studied successfully and become a provincial graduate, this marriage would mostly likely not succeed."

"But, alas, Changwu only likes playing with swords and spears; in the future he will either inherit the eldest branch's business and become a merchant, or join the army to become a Wei Xiao, so his prospects are just so-so."

"And even if the Kang family has fallen, a broken ship still has three thousand nails; that Yun'er is still the granddaughter of Old Lady Wang and the niece of Wang Wang Ruofu!"

"With the Wang family's connections, do you think the eldest branch will agree?"

Zhou Zhou Xueniang smiled and said, "This servant initially thought it could not succeed, but after Wei Xiaoniang speaks thus, this servant feels there is a ninety percent chance."

Hearing these words,

the corners of Lin Lin Qinshuang's mouth revealed a smile as she looked at Seeing Mo Lan outside the room.

Lin Lin Qinshuang was originally a beauty of outstanding appearance; otherwise, she would not have been favored by Sheng Hong back then!

Their daughter Seeing Mo Lan, though not yet grown, already possessed eyebrows and eyes that were clear and beautiful, lovely and charming, incomparable to ordinary official families' misses; truly, if she were ordinary, later on Liang Han would not have fallen in love at first sight.

Sighing slightly, Lin Lin Qinshuang said, "Alas! In the academy there is one Young Xiao Xiao Gongye and two legitimate sons from Hou Fu; with my Mo'er being so outstanding, even I, as her mother, feel my eyes are dazzled from choosing!"

"Speaking of family background, the Qi family's Young Xiao Xiao Gongye is still the best! Yet I hear the Lady Ningyuan Hou Gu family is wealthy, while the Xu family is currently one of the most influential noble houses!"

"Judging by the Eldest Miss's demeanor, she is living very well in the Xu family; that Lady Sun must be a good mother-in-law."

"If the young masters of these three families all vie for my Mo'er, I, what ever should I do!"

Zhou Zhou Xueniang, standing to the side, nodded repeatedly and said, "Miss Wei Wei Xiaoniang, this servant still feels the Qi family is the best! Not only do they hold a noble title, but their grandfather is also the Marquis of Marquis Xiangyang, and his age matches perfectly with the Fourth Miss."

Lin Lin Qinshuang thought for a moment: "Mm! But Princess Princess Pingning has only one son, the Young Xiao Xiao Gongye; it might be slightly difficult for Mo'er to enter the Xiao Xiao Gongye's mansion."

"Miss Wei Wei Xiaoniang, the Fourth Miss is talented; at such a young age, she already enjoys quite a reputation among the official families in the capital. When Her Highness the Princess sees her, how could she not like her?"

"That is true!"

Lin Lin Qinshuang came from the family of a convicted official; when she came to the Sheng family to seek refuge with the Old Lady, the most valuable thing she possessed was a tattered garment.

Relying on the pity and affection of the Old Lady, who had lost her own child, Lin Lin Qinshuang's situation gradually improved.

Later, she entangled herself with Sheng Hong,

and by virtue of Lin Lin Qinshuang's own exquisite cunning, Sheng Hong's favoritism, and the main wife's mediocrity, her days became increasingly comfortable.

To rise from the kin of a convicted official to the concubine of a high-ranking official,

Lin Lin Qinshuang summarized these experiences and achievements as the result of her own formidable tactics, setting aside the factors of the Old Lady, Sheng Hong, and Wang Wang Ruofu.

She was completely unaware of how her life would have fared had she encountered a main wife like Lady Kang Wang.

In modern terms, she mistakenly took the platform for her own ability; once the environment changed, she would be utterly unable to replicate her 'glory'.

Therefore, Lin Lin Qinshuang naturally harbored these illusions.

"Have you found any faults in that little wretch?" Lin Lin Qinshuang continued.

Zhou Zhou Xueniang lowered her head and replied with some shame: "Miss Wei Wei Xiaoniang, although this Concubine Wei comes from a humble background, her methods in handling affairs are quite seasoned!"

"Moreover, with Nurse Cui from Shou'an Hall and Nurse Liu from Lady Wu Da Da Niangzi's side reminding us and plugging the gaps, this servant is dull and truly cannot find any faults."

Lin Lin Qinshuang breathed in heavily in frustration and whispered, "Back in Yang Zhou, that little wretch already sensed our schemes! Now that she manages the household, she has actually managed to hold back from striking against us."

"Miss Wei Wei Xiaoniang, with the Master's favoritism, how would she dare to play tricks on us?"

Lin Lin Qinshuang nodded slightly and said softly, "In the future, when my Feng'er passes the imperial examinations and Mo'er marries into the Xiao Xiao Gongye's mansion, just wait and see how I deal with Wang Wang Ruofu and that little wretch!"

"The Master is here!"

The voice of a young maid came through,

and the expression on Lin Lin Qinshuang's face changed; she rose and walked toward the outer room with a considerate smile.

"Father!"

"Father!"

Mo Lan and Chang Feng happily stood up and walked toward Sheng Hong, who was entering the room.

Sheng Hong looked at his children with a beaming smile and handed the cloak in his hand to Lin Lin Qinshuang, who had stepped forward to meet him.

After speaking a few words laughingly with Mo Lan, Sheng Hong began discussing lessons with Chang Feng, while Lin Lin Qinshuang stood to the side serving tea and fruits, presenting a scene of a loving father and filial children within the room.

After lunch,

Chang Feng and Mo Lan went to their own rooms,

while Lin Lin Qinshuang served Sheng Hong a digestif drink.

"Hong Lang, now that the matter concerning the Kang relatives is known throughout all of Bianjing, will it have no impact on the Sheng family or on Hong Lang's official career?" Lin Lin Qinshuang asked in a soft and delicate tone.

Holding his teacup, Sheng Hong shook his head with a smile and said, "Shuang'er, rest assured, it will not."

"Although the Sheng family is not a great noble house, we still have several relatives in the capital! Moreover, I have always been loyal to state affairs at court; the matter of the Kang family is not enough to affect our family!"

"Then, what is to be done about the matter of the Kang relatives?"

Lin Lin Qinshuang continued.

Sheng Hong pondered for a moment and said in a somewhat contemptuous tone: "That brother-in-law of mine has committed no grave error; most likely, he will merely be dismissed from his post and then settle the matter with compensation."

Lin Lin Qinshuang nodded with a look of sorrow: "Alas, this relative's family has truly suffered an undeserved calamity!"

"Hong Lang, if our Mo'er had been at the Feng family that day, surely she could have persuaded the two girls of the Kang family, preventing them from committing such acts."

The smile on Sheng Hong's face vanished; he set his teacup down on the table and said:

"Hmph! I do not know what was going through the mind of the Main Lady that day; she took only Ru'er with her, leaving both Mo'er and Ming'er at home!"

Lin Lin Qinshuang pressed her lips together and chided playfully, "Hong Lang, many great noble families from the capital went to the Feng family that day! Since both Mo'er and Miss Ming are of concubine birth, it was improper for the Main Lady to take them out!"

"Do not make excuses for her! Both Mo'er and Ming'er are daughters of my Sheng family; why could they not be taken out? Hmph!"

"Yes, yes, Hong Lang, this concubine spoke wrongly."

In the afternoon,

at the Chai family residence,

in the Autumn Sound Courtyard,

the sunlight in the courtyard made the spacious main hall very bright.

The young maid at the entrance of the main hall,

seeing the personal maid Miss Fuyi walking over from the corridor, merely smiled and performed a curtsy.

Miss Fuyi walked to the doorway, looked at the young maid, and whispered, "Is the Miss asleep?"

The young maid nodded.

Inside the room,

behind a screen,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng lay on an exquisite daybed; the warm temperature meant she was covered only by a thin sheet, and the quilt tucked closely around her faintly revealed the lovely figure of the young girl.

Yun Mu, standing to the side, looked at their Miss, who wore a smile on her lips even in her sleep, and said to Ziteng beside her with some confusion, "What is wrong with the Miss?"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng was riding high on the back of a dragon steed, exercising the horse in the Xu family's racecourse.

The scenery to the side receded behind her,

but today the Xu family's racecourse seemed exceptionally long; having run for who knew how long, the horse beneath her still galloped with hooves raised.

Suddenly,

the scenery beside Chai Chai Zhengzheng changed into something slightly familiar, vaguely resembling the appearance of that day when she had galloped wildly from the Prince of Yan's fiefdom toward Bianjing.

This sent a sudden jolt of shock through Chai Chai Zhengzheng's heart.

At this moment,

the sound of hooves rang out from the side,

and Xu Xu Zaijing appeared nearby riding a small black foal; he wore a suit of silver armor, held a silver spear in his hand, and atop the spear fluttered a large banner in the wind.

Faintly, there were also shouts like mountains calling and seas surging.

Looking at Xu Xu Zaijing beside her, Chai Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said, "Xu Wu Ge, what are you going to do?"

Xu Xu Zaijing at her side smiled and said, "The dragon steed beneath you is very clever; there is no need to use too much force."

Chai Chai Zhengzheng nodded with a smile: "Xu Wu Ge, I know."

"Mm!"

Having spoken, the helmet on Xu Xu Zaijing's head underwent a change; the neck guard dropped down, covering Xu Xu Zaijing's face until only a pair of eyes remained visible.

Meanwhile, the horse beneath Xu Xu Zaijing gradually picked up speed, accelerating past Chai Chai Zhengzheng and galloping forward.

"Xu Wu Ge, wait for me!"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng cried out in some haste.

After shouting, Chai Chai Zhengzheng finally saw that seated behind Xu Xu Zaijing on the horse was actually a Miss wearing a goose-yellow hair ribbon, who vaguely resembled Miss Rong Feiyan of the Rong family.

Not only was Rong Rong Feiyan seated behind Xu Xu Zaijing, but her two hands were also tightly clutching Xu Xu Zaijing's sturdy waist in front.

Seeing this scene,

a huge sense of loss surged into Chai Chai Zhengzheng's heart.

This feeling of loss made Chai Chai Zhengzheng's heart sour and her nose stuffy, her eyes feeling somewhat hot; at some point, Chai Chai Zhengzheng found herself standing before a wooden puppet suit of armor in her bedroom.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng stood on tiptoe, pulled down the neck guard on the armor, wanting to see those cross-eyed eyes that often made her laugh.

But although the neck guard was pulled down, the cross-eyed eyes beneath the helmet did not appear.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng furrowed her brow, and a thought surfaced in her heart:

'I am dreaming!'

'Why?'

'Because the cross-eyed eyes beneath the helmet cannot possibly disappear, impossible!'

"Hu!"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng woke up; she discovered her forehead was pressed against the carriage wall.

'To think I actually fell asleep just like that.'

Reflecting on the scene she had just witnessed, Chai Chai Zhengzheng felt a sense of relief in her heart.

Suddenly,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng noticed something was off about the carriage: there was far too much red!

Noisy sounds also rose from outside the carriage; indistinctly, they sounded like music played with wind and percussion instruments.

Looking down at her own clothes,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng only then realized she was actually wearing wedding attire!!!

Chai Chai Zhengzheng wanted to recall how this had happened? Who was I marrying? Yet her mind was completely blank.

'Heavens! Was what happened just now not a dream? Have I, have I actually been betrothed to another family?'

A terrifying thought arose in Chai Chai Zhengzheng's heart.

'Foolish? Lift the carriage curtain and you will see!'

Another voice said.

'Right!'

Thinking this, Chai Chai Zhengzheng immediately leaned forward, reached out, and lifted a corner of the carriage curtain.

In her line of sight, directly ahead were musicians playing wind and percussion instruments, and truly ahead was a person wearing similar wedding celebratory robes, riding a tall, sturdy horse.

But the groom walked at the very front, with his back to Chai Chai Zhengzheng, so she could not make out the person's appearance.

'I do not know; Yun Mu and the others must know.'

As the thought surfaced,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng immediately withdrew her leaning body, lifted the side carriage curtain, and looking at Yun Mu outside, who was adorned with red silk ribbons and wore a face full of joy, she said in a low voice, "Yun Mu, who is the groom?"

Yun Mu first stared in blank surprise, then a smile floated onto her face, saying, "Miss, what nonsense are you speaking? The groom is naturally Young Master Jing of the Xu family!"

Putting down the curtain,

a wave of ecstatic joy surged into Chai Chai Zhengzheng's heart; this feeling of happiness made Chai Chai Zhengzheng wish she could leap up from inside the carriage.

Suddenly,

another thought appeared: 'Do I still remember the steps for Renbaitang?'

Chai Chai Zhengzheng's heart trembled: "Ah?? What were the steps for Renbaitang again?"

"Let me think, let me think!"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng thought anxiously in her heart, but the more anxious she became, the less she could remember.

"Miss, we have arrived at Quyuan Street."

The voice of her personal maid, Yun Mu, rang out from outside the carriage.

"Pi-li-pa-la~"

The firecrackers for the wedding procession also began to sound.

"It's over, it's over, I should have learned it a few more times; how could I have forgotten!"

"Xu Wu Ge!!"

"I, Chai Chai Zhengzheng, am extremely anxious!!!"

Suddenly!

"Hmm?"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng snapped her eyes open!

The intense excitement and joy at hearing who the groom was still echoed in her heart,

but her cheeks could already feel the soft pillow, and the thin quilt draped over her body.

The thought "I was napping" surfaced in her mind.

"A dream? How can this be a dream? It's so real!"

Chai Chai Zhengzheng thought, her mood sinking.

"Hmm, so no one was sitting behind him, holding his waist. Actually, that's quite good too."

Thinking this, Chai Chai Zhengzheng felt much better and smiled faintly.

(End of this chapter)