Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 103 Knee Pads
This burly man was none other than Xu Changqing, the grandson of Old Master Xu.

Because Master Xu was getting old and Madam Jiang's health was not as good as it had been a few years ago, the two of them asked the old lady for a favor and went to the estate together.

Although life in the manor was not as convenient as in the Sheng family mansion, it was a paradise for the two elderly people. At the very least, they could live freely and comfortably!
Because he was grateful for the two elders' achievements, and because Xu Changqing was indeed a rare talent, honest and upright, and never competed with others for profit, Sheng Changquan simply accepted him as a confidant.

Although Xu Changqing looks incredibly strong, he is actually only seven years older than Sheng Changquan and is only fourteen years old at the time.

However, Xu Changqing was truly gifted and naturally outstanding. Not only was he big and stronger than ordinary people, but his hair also grew much faster and more intensely than ordinary people!
Therefore, Xu Changqing, who is about the same age as Sheng Changfeng, or even a year younger, has now become a burly man with a full beard!
"Master, look!"

Xu Changqing carried a basket full of things and handed it to Sheng Changquan, saying in a deep voice, "These were all sent by the Sixth Miss!"

"It's not just about having a pen and ink, but also paper and an inkstone."

As Xu Changqing rummaged through the contents, he said, "Besides these writing implements, there's also a pair of knee pads and wrist guards!"

Because February in Bianliang, the capital of Tokyo, is still a time of late spring cold, the nights and early mornings are always extremely cold. Although the preliminary examinations for the imperial examinations are not as rigorous as the other examinations, they are still very arduous and require one to withstand the harsh cold.

Therefore, Minglan, as Sheng Changquan's older sister, naturally prepared warm clothing for him well in advance, sewing him a pair of knee and wrist guards, and even embroidering a cartoon image of a palace maid picking laurels on them.

It seems that not only does it have a good meaning, but its design is also very fun and interesting.

Of course, this futuristic cartoon design was taught to his sister by Sheng Changquan, and then Minglan expanded on it and carried it forward on her own.

Now, this has become Minglan's trademark!

At the very least, all the women in Tokyo now know about Minglan and that she has exceptional needlework skills!
Because some members of the Sheng family were taking the imperial examinations, Minglan prepared gifts for each of them. However, due to time constraints, Minglan could only make a pair of knee pads for Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng.

Moreover, they were "simple" knee pads with no embroidery whatsoever.

Of course, since they had studied together, Minglan couldn't show favoritism and not give Qi Heng a gift. Therefore, he also received a pair of knee pads.

On another note, over the past three years, no matter how distant Minglan and her brother had become, Qi Heng had always eagerly come to them.

Even when Sheng Changquan deliberately plotted against Zhuang Xuejiu to make things difficult for Qi Heng, or when Minglan directly gave away or returned the gifts given to her, Qi Heng was still happy to accept them, leaving the siblings speechless.

However, after Sheng Changquan's repeated prompting, Qi Heng finally understood what restraint and moderation meant.

Restraining one's passionate emotions is the best way to protect Minglan.

So, through his persistent efforts over the past three years, Qi Heng has been caring for Minglan in an almost clumsy way, trying to get closer to her and hoping to move her with his sincerity!

In the end, Sheng Changquan was not moved at all, but Minglan was somewhat wavering. Even with Sheng Changquan's opposition, Minglan still gradually showed a tendency to fall into Qi Heng's "trap".

Of course, Minglan would not admit it, but someone as discerning as Sheng Changquan could see right through her at a glance!

As her younger brother, Sheng Changquan naturally understood what she was thinking.

Sheng Changquan wanted to speak frankly, but seeing his sister cautiously denying and concealing the truth, and seeing her secretly and furtively moved and happy about it, Sheng Changquan could only forcibly suppress his desire to act, allowing Minglan's girlish feelings to quietly blossom once more.

After all, Sheng Changquan was confident that as long as he held the red thread tightly, Minglan would not get hurt!

Moreover, Minglan ultimately remembered Wei Xiaoniang's admonition, being cautious in her words and actions, and never living in the limelight. Apart from the intelligent Sheng Changquan, even the old lady who lived with Minglan day and night was completely unaware of her thoughts. "Knee pads?"

In the study, Sheng Changquan, who was listening to Xu Changqing speak, suddenly paused, then put down his brush and walked out.

"Changqing, bring those knee pads over here so I can take a look!"

"Oh!"

Xu Changqing responded honestly, then took out the knee pads from the basket and handed them to his young master.

"These knee pads?"

Sheng Changquan took the pair of crimson knee pads, turning them over and over to look at them, his eyes involuntarily flashing back to the scene he had witnessed a few days ago when he visited his sister Minglan.

That day, when Sheng Changquan entered Minglan's room, he saw that, in addition to the completed knee pads in his own hands, the three people in the room each held a pair.

Among them, Xiao Tao and Dan Ju had already finished most of the knee pads, with only the final finishing touches remaining. Sheng Changquan could tell at a glance from the stitches that Ming Lan had done most of the work on the knee pads, leaving only the final sewing to Xiao Tao and the others.

What made Sheng Changquan's eyes narrow was that the knee pads in Minglan's hands were obviously finished, but she was still busy, as if she was preparing to embroider some pattern on them.

He remembered that Minglan was embroidering a golden ingot in her hand at the time. However, Sheng Changquan did not pay attention then and only asked about it casually. Now that he thought about it, the pair of knee pads that were second only to the pair in his own hand probably belonged to someone else.

"Young master, what's wrong with these knee pads? Is there something wrong with them?"

Seeing Sheng Changquan's inscrutable expression, Xu Changqing asked with some confusion.

"Oh? It's nothing!"

Sheng Changquan didn't want to spread the news about Minglan, so he just smiled and changed the subject: "By the way, Changqing, go to Shou'an Hall and find Sister Xiaotao, and ask her to come over for a moment!"

Sheng Changquan felt that some things were slipping out of his control!

When did Minglan, the older sister, finally make things clear with Qi Heng?
"Yes, son!"

Xu Changqing agreed again in a muffled voice.

"Oh, right!"

Behind him, Sheng Changquan added, "Changqing, remember to be careful, don't let my sister find out!"

"Ok!"

……

I finally made it, here's a chapter...

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(End of this chapter)