Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 60 Arrival in Beijing
Grandma Sheng took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away Minglan's tears. Then, in an almost coaxing tone, she said, "And your stepmother, she was a good person. Even if she died, she left behind Tuange'er for the Sheng family!"

"Tell me, can she rest easy about Tuan-ge'er from heaven?"

"Right now, the only person I can rely on most is you!"

“If you don’t pull yourself together, what if Tuan’er gets spoiled and neglected? Who will your stepmother rely on to pay her respects in the future?”

Knowing that Sheng Minglan's unresolved issue was Wei Xiaoniang, Old Madam Sheng struck the right direction with her first move.

Seeing Old Madam Sheng's actions, Madam Fang, who had been standing nearby, quickly stepped forward, took the dirty handkerchief from the old lady, and handed her a new one. She then said, "Yes, Sixth Miss!"

"Right now, Tuan-ge'er only has you as his older sister!"

"If you don't take care of him, he will really be left to live a lonely life in this world!"

Following the old lady's words, Mrs. Fang continued to persuade her.

Listening to the two elders' comforting words, Sheng Minglan was not unaware of their reasoning, nor was she ungrateful; it was simply that she was too heartbroken to escape her grief.

Little Minglan lowered her head, not uttering a single word, only large tears streaming down her face.

"Snapped!"

Tears, like raindrops, dripped directly onto the wooden planks in the cabin.

After a long while, just when Old Madam Sheng and the others were at a loss and anxious, Xiao Minglan spoke up.

"Grandmother, I understand!"

The sound was soft, like a cat's meow, gentle and weak.

She turned her head and looked at Tuan Ge'er sleeping beside her. Xiao Minglan forced a smile and said with difficulty, "Grandmother, don't worry, I'll be fine!"

"I won't let Tuan Ge live alone."

Although Sheng Minglan's voice was soft, her tone was firm, and judging from her appearance, she had made up her mind.

"Ok!"

Grandma Sheng blinked her dry eyes and nodded to herself. At the same time, she felt even more sorry for this poor child.

"Ming, don't worry, you still have someone who cares for you!"

"With this old woman here, no one can bully you!"

She wiped away Sheng Minglan's tears with a handkerchief, and looking at her hair, which had become somewhat dry recently, Old Madam Sheng seemed to have found a new purpose in life, and looked much more energetic than before.

Looking at the grandmother and grandson embracing each other, Fang's mother couldn't help but show a hint of comfort, leaving only a silly little Tao staring blankly at Tuan Ge'er in the room, somewhat dazed.

……

In this way, more than three months passed in the blink of an eye. The entire Sheng family smoothly arrived in Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital, from Yangzhou.

However, something happened that made Madam Wang extremely unhappy.

That is, Lin Qinshuang finally found an opportunity to get close to Sheng Hong. After using her three tricks of crying, arguing, and self-pity, "Honglang" finally chose to forgive her.

The moment Lin Qinshuang saw Sheng Hong, she started crying. Her tears were so beautiful, like pear blossoms in the rain, that even before her "Hong Lang" had started, her heart softened a little.

Thus, Lin Qinshuang successfully won over Sheng Hong's heart with her tears. Of course, there was an important prerequisite: she had to cry beautifully. Otherwise, let's see if you would feel disgusted if you let Sister Feng cry!

The second debater, who was good at sophistry, used her speaking skills to cleverly shirk her responsibility and even turned the tables, directly shifting half of the blame to Wang Ruofu. Her excuse was the two midwives who knew how to give birth, namely Zhao, the "Drunken Eight Immortals" hired by Sheng Minglan, and Li, who had asked for leave in advance.

Since both of them were Wang Da Niangzi's maids, and both were "by some twist of fate" unable to deliver babies, this matter seems suspicious no matter how you look at it.

By the way, that "Midwife Saint" who ran away beforehand was also imprisoned by Sheng Hong with just one notice, on the grounds that she disregarded human life and abandoned her master halfway through the process.

In short, none of these people met a good end.

This self-pity is essentially self-pity and lamentation. It's said that Lin Qinshuang only chose to become a concubine in the Sheng family because she admired Sheng Hong's talent, instead of being a proper wife outside the home. This is used to express her "great sacrifice" and prove her "true love" with Sheng Hong.

Sure enough, Sheng Hong actually fell for it. Plus, with the hot-tempered and sharp-tongued Madam Wang making things worse, the situation in the inner quarters of the Sheng family was completely rewritten. Madam Wang fell silent, and Lin Qinshuang rose to prominence again.

When Sheng Hong and his family disembarked and returned to their residence in Tokyo, Madam Wang was still furious and extremely angry!

That said, the Sheng family's mansion in Tokyo was actually a large four- or five-courtyard house outside Tai'an Gate that the old patriarch of the Sheng family bought decades ago when his ancestral graves were emitting auspicious smoke and his son passed the imperial examination with the rank of Tan Hua.

After all, the capital city is a place where officials gather and powerful people are everywhere. To buy a house, you need not only money but also status. Especially in those prime locations near the capital, people with low-status jobs or unclean backgrounds are not allowed to live there, no matter how much money they have!

The Sheng family mansion in Tokyo was quite nice, located in a slightly above-average area. It was bordered by Linqingfang, a neighborhood where scholars lived, to the right, and by a semi-formed residential area for the powerful and wealthy to the left. Taking advantage of his son's marriage to the daughter of a marquis, Old Master Sheng also bought a garden behind the mansion and connected it to the main area.

Today, many of Sheng Hong's contemporaries or colleagues are from ordinary families who entered officialdom through the imperial examinations. They can only afford to buy houses in the outskirts of the capital or in remote alleys. However, Sheng Hong has become one of the few "nouveau riche" officials of the same rank who owns a garden house.

Therefore, we must say how remarkable the older generation was.

After floating on the water for more than three months, not to mention the women, even the strong man Sheng Hong was finding it hard to stand. As soon as his feet touched Mother Earth, he immediately ran to the middle of the dock in a panic, just to feel the firmness of his feet once more.

In a short while, Sheng Hong arrived with several impressive carriages, walking over in a rather strange manner.

The strange posture is a consequence of sitting on the water for a long time; it will get better after a while.

"Mother, the car has arrived. Please get in."

Sheng Hong first bowed and invited the old lady to get into the carriage. After giving instructions to the servants who were driving, he hurriedly got into the carriage with his family and prepared to go home.

On the other side, Sheng Changbai and Gu Tingye, who shared a deep brotherly bond, also wished each other well and then parted ways.

Two chapters short... (﹏)
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(End of this chapter)