bullyxtreme Chapter 59 Do You Know? 13
Chapter 59 Do You Know? 13
Wu Da Niangzi's polo match ended successfully, and Wang Da Niangzi led the children, who were still full of energy, home. On the way, they stopped at Yuqing Temple to rest. Wang Da Niangzi went into the hall to worship the immortal, while Sheng Minglan, because her birth mother's memorial tablet was enshrined there, went to another hall to offer incense to Wei Xiaoniang.
Sheng Changfeng watched helplessly as Minglan entered a grand hall, while Xiao Tao remained at the entrance.
Behind the main hall, at another doorway, stood a guard, none other than Qi Xiaogongye's servant, Buwei.
Sheng Changfeng gave Qu Shui, who was following him, a wink. Qu Shui immediately left quickly and returned a moment later, panting, and nodded to him.
"You've worked hard, have some water!" Sheng Changfeng handed Qu Shui a glass of water, letting him rest so that people wouldn't notice he had been gone.
After paying her respects to the immortal, Madam Wang noticed that it was getting late and prepared to leave with Granny Liu. Since the direction they were going was a bit far, they decided to pass through another hall. However, as soon as they got close, they heard the voices of men and women talking inside.
"Don't you know how to be discreet in front of a real person? Aren't you afraid of being blamed?" Madam Wang said disdainfully to Granny Liu in a low voice.
For once, Liu's mother did not agree with her, but instead said hesitantly, "Madam, listen to the people talking inside, do they sound like Sixth Miss and Young Master Qi?"
Just as Madam Wang was about to walk around, her face stiffened. She stopped in disbelief and leaned closer to the side hall. Sure enough, inside, Sheng Minglan and Qi Heng were talking.
"I will marry no one but you in this life!" Qi Heng.
“I swore an oath before my birth mother that I would rather be a farmer’s wife than a concubine in a government office. You should give up this idea as soon as possible!” said Sheng Minglan.
“Who wants you as a concubine? I want to marry you as my wife, my legal wife. I will definitely ask my mother for her consent, go to your house to propose marriage, have it written in the family genealogy and in the ancestral hall, and go through the three letters and six rites, and enter the house in a grand sedan chair.”
"You do have feelings for me, you just don't dare to admit it."
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A light drizzle began to fall outside. Madam Wang and Granny Liu stood outside in the rain, waiting until everyone inside had left and they were sure it was the two people they had guessed. Only then did they exchange a glance and see the shock in each other's eyes.
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That evening, Sheng Hong heard that Sheng Changfeng and Sheng Minglan had shone brightly at the polo field that day, and he was overjoyed. He immediately decided to go to Linxi Pavilion to find Lin Xiaoniang, but was intercepted by the eldest daughter-in-law and taken to Weirui Pavilion.
He thought that Madam Wang was just jealous of Lin Xiaoniang, and he was quite pleased with himself. But as soon as he sat down, Madam Wang dropped a bombshell on him.
"What did you say? Minglan and the young master were alone in a room at Yuqing Temple, and the young master even secretly vowed to marry Minglan?" Sheng Hong immediately exploded in anger.
Qi Heng was of noble birth and came from a prominent family. When Qi Heng came to the Sheng family to study, he did have his eye on the marriage. However, the difference in social standing between the two families was too great. Princess Pingning would never allow her son to marry the daughter of a minor official of the fifth rank, especially since she was an illegitimate daughter.
Having figured all this out, Sheng Hong gave up on the idea and even firmly refused when Lin Xiaoniang brought it up.
Unexpectedly, Qi Heng took a liking to Minglan, and the two even disregarded social norms and began seeing each other in private.
In this world, marriages are arranged by parents and matchmakers. If Qi Heng's parents came to propose marriage to Minglan, Sheng Hong would be overjoyed and immediately agree to the marriage.
However, Qi Heng's secret proposal to Sheng Minglan changed the nature of the matter.
"Keep your voice down! Is it something to be proud of?" Madam Wang glared at him.
"You didn't make this up about Minglan, did you?" Sheng Hong still didn't believe it.
Who is Young Master Qi? He is the only son of Duke Qi and Princess Pingning. How could he possibly be interested in Minglan?
When Madam Wang saw that he didn't believe her, she swore to the heavens: "I and Granny Liu heard all of this with our own ears. We didn't make up a single word. We also saw with our own eyes that the people inside came out of the main hall one after the other. It was clear that it was Ming's daughter and Young Master Qi."
“Ming’er also has to call me mother. Why would I make up lies about her, especially something so disgraceful to the family? What good would that do me?”
“If the young master really wants to marry Minglan, he can have his father and mother come to the Sheng family to propose marriage. I would be overjoyed at that time. But the two of them are alone in a room... If this gets out, people will say that our Sheng family is not strict with its discipline. How will Hua’er hold her head up in her husband’s family? Will Rulan still be able to get married?”
Sheng Hong listened to Madam Wang's words with a gloomy face. His anger rose higher and higher. He couldn't hold back for a moment. He got up and went to Shou'an Hall in a fierce manner.
After that, Sheng Changfeng ran out of mental energy and knew nothing more. It wasn't until the next morning that he learned that Sheng Minglan had been punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall and confined to Shou'an Hall. After that, news spread that the family was going to arrange marriages for their daughters as soon as possible, but that was the end of it.
It is estimated that although Sheng Hong was angry that Sheng Minglan and Qi Heng were seeing each other in private, he also held a sliver of hope that Qi Heng could really persuade his mother, Princess Pingning, to propose marriage.
That's simply impossible. Princess Pingning is determined to find a virtuous and talented woman from a prominent family to be her son's wife, and she doesn't even consider the Sheng family.
Sheng Changfeng stopped paying attention to Sheng Minglan's affairs and continued to act according to his own plan.
That day at the polo match, he began to open up his social circle. In the past few days, many people have sent him invitations to participate in events such as poetry gatherings. He selected a few to participate in and purposefully continued to showcase his knowledge and abilities at the poetry gatherings, reciting poems and composing essays. He stood out from the crowd and successfully attracted the attention of people around the Prince of Yan.
Talented individuals are scarce in this world, and the Prince of Yan has already shown signs of weakness in the struggle for the throne between the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong. Especially after the emperor used Sheng Hong to warn the court officials, his life has become even more difficult, and he is now eager to recruit talented individuals to his own ranks.
Just then, Sheng Changfeng appeared in his sight, naturally attracting his attention.
After attracting the attention of the Prince of Yan, Sheng Changfeng realized the importance of moderation and wisely tempered his arrogance. He maintained a respectful distance from those sent by the Prince of Yan to approach him, displaying an attitude that was neither humble nor overbearing.
They ignored the olive branches extended to them.
Laugh to death!
Is he some kind of trash? Anyone could easily recruit him.
Even if it's not the Prince of Yan himself who comes, it has to be someone important by his side, otherwise it would make him seem like he has no status.
Thus, after a period of contact, Sheng Changfeng maintained this attitude of neither taking the initiative nor refusing, which made the other party quite bored. Just when the other party was about to lose patience, he dropped a bombshell on them.
The Treatise on Military Preparedness crossed the river of time, arriving in the Song Dynasty from the Ming Dynasty through the hands of Sheng Changfeng.