Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 254 A Relief and Discussion of Marriage
Upon seeing Sheng Changquan walk in, Minglan's face immediately lit up with joy.

"Sister!"

Sheng Changquan also called out to Minglan.

However, after he came in, he did not immediately talk to Minglan. Instead, he waved to Cuiming, Jiegeng and the others beside him, signaling them to leave.

The following conversation might involve Minglan, so Sheng Changquan had no choice but to leave it at that.

After all, although the people in this house were all quite reliable, Sheng Changquan still dared not be careless when it came to Minglan's reputation.

Of course, Cuiming and the others weren't stupid either. After Minglan arrived, they noticed that she had been sitting in the main room without leaving, and her face showed a hint of urgency.

Their demeanor clearly indicated that they had something to discuss with their young master, so they obediently withdrew before Sheng Changquan could finish waving his hand.

Of course, Minglan's personal maid, Xiaotao, also went out with Cuiming and the others. In fact, Xiaotao thoughtfully closed the door of the main room to prevent the sounds of their conversation from getting out.

Clearly, as Minglan's closest maid, Xiaotao knew what Minglan wanted to ask.

"Brother!"

After everyone had left the room, Minglan stood up impatiently.

"Brother, do you know what's going on outside?"

Minglan strode to Sheng Changquan's side, grabbed his wrist, stared into his eyes, and asked urgently, "It's about the marriage alliance involving the Duke of Qi's family, this..."

"Is...is this really true?"

Minglan hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to ask the question directly.

Since Sheng Changquan knew about her situation, Minglan didn't bother to hide anything and directly asked him the questions that were on her mind.

Faced with Minglan's questioning, Sheng Changquan sighed inwardly.

"It's just as I expected!"

However, when faced with Minglan's problem, Sheng Changquan ultimately decided to deal with it according to the plan he had just devised.

"Sis, it's true!"

"The Duke of Qi's mansion is indeed going to form a marriage alliance with the Prince of Yong's mansion!"

Sheng Changquan confirmed Minglan's guess, then took her hands in return, led her to a chair, and helped her sit down.

"Brother, this..."

Minglan's expression was somewhat gloomy, and she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

"Sister!"

Seeing Minglan's somewhat gloomy expression, Sheng Changquan also felt a pang of sadness. However, since he had already done this, he would never change his mind.

After all, for Minglan, a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one!

"Sis, I only received this news yesterday!"

Seeing Minglan's dazed expression, Sheng Changquan began to explain himself.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you this yesterday when I heard the news!"

"but!"

Sheng Changquan glanced at his older sister and muttered to himself, "But then it suddenly occurred to me that things between you and the young master are now over!"

"Then this matter has nothing to do with us!"

"So I think it's best not to tell you about this anymore, so you won't feel uncomfortable after hearing it!"

Minglan lowered her head and remained silent, while Sheng Changquan, standing in front of her, could not see her expression clearly. In the end, he could only continue to persuade her, "Sister, if the Duke of Qi's mansion looks down on our Sheng family, then we don't need to eagerly rush forward to serve them!"

"Although the young master is a good person, he is too soft-hearted and cannot do anything to Princess Pingning."

"In the end, he couldn't resist!"

At this point, a complex emotion flashed across Sheng Changquan's face.

Back then, Sheng Changquan shouldn't have had even the slightest expectation of Qi Heng; otherwise, Minglan wouldn't be the way she is today.

However, this was just Sheng Changquan's own wild imagination. When Minglan made the decision to try with Qi Heng, he couldn't do anything about it.

Minglan and her brother share similar personalities; both are people with unwavering inner strength.

Once they've made up their minds, they'll stick to it no matter what, unless they give up on their own. No outsider can ever change their minds.

"Sister!"

Sometimes, it's better to forget each other in the vast world than to cling together in hardship.

In the end, Sheng Changquan offered a brief but comforting remark.

"Sharing weal and woe?"

Minglan raised her head, lost in thought.

Although there is no such story of mutual support and companionship in this world, Minglan can still discern some hidden meaning in these four words.

"Correct!"

Seeing that Minglan seemed to have some reaction, Sheng Changquan quickly continued, "The story of mutual support in times of hardship is one I heard from an old man."

Seeing that Minglan seemed to be somewhat moved by these four words, Sheng Changquan struck while the iron was hot and conveyed an idea to her: love can hurt, but letting go won't!

"The old man told me that he once saw two struggling little fish in a dried-up spring."

Sheng Changquan began to tell Minglan the story vividly.

"The spring has dried up, but the fish trapped on land cling to each other, relying on the moisture from each other's breath to survive and depend on one another."

"However, this situation is ultimately temporary and will not last forever. So after the old man stood by for more than an hour, both fish were on their deathbeds!"

Minglan listened intently, seemingly putting herself in the fish's shoes.

"So...did that old man finally lend a helping hand?"

Minglan asked softly, seemingly eager to know the fate of the two fish.

"Take action!"

Sheng Changquan sighed slightly, not revealing the actual fate of the two fish, but instead adapting the story: "In the end, the old man was moved by these two fish, so he decided to help them and send them back to the water."

"However, the old man is quite old and has some difficulty moving around. When he was putting the two fish back into the water, he accidentally put one of them into the river, while the other fell into a deep well by the riverbank!"

Sheng Changquan's voice was incredibly high-pitched, as if it concealed something.

"Although the two were rescued, they were ultimately worlds apart, unable to see each other even once!"

Sheng Changquan concluded by saying, "That's why the old man told me the last lesson he learned!"

"That is—rather than clinging to each other in this way, it would be better to forget each other in the vast world."

"In this way, both sides can be freed!"

"Sharing weal and woe?"

"To forget each other in the world?" Minglan's eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if she were lost in thought, or perhaps deep in contemplation.

After telling this story, Sheng Changquan kept his mouth shut and did not disturb Minglan again. He simply sat quietly with her, waiting for her to emerge from the maze in her heart.

……

a long time.

"Brother, I understand!"

It's unclear whether Minglan has figured something out, but at this moment, there was something particularly bright in her eyes!

It shines brightly, like a star in the night sky.

She turned her head and looked at her younger brother who was silently accompanying her, and suddenly realized many things.

"Don't worry, little brother!"

"I've figured it out, sister!"

Minglan smiled.

This was the first time she had smiled so contentedly since Princess Pingning had come to visit!
"Brother, I understand what you mean!"

Minglan gently patted Sheng Changquan's head, just like she did when he was a child, and smiled indulgently. She combed Sheng Changquan's loose black hair, and her brows finally relaxed completely.

"From now on, I will no longer dwell on the matter between myself and the young master!"

Minglan's words seemed to be both a promise to Sheng Changquan and a warning to herself: "From now on, he can be his young master, and we will live our own lives!"

"Only in this way can we truly say we've forgotten each other in the world!"

"Yes, sister, it's good that you understand!"

Sheng Changquan glanced at Minglan, whose expression was natural and who showed no sign of reluctance, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Oh, right, older sister!"

"Now that you've figured it out, I'll tell you everything I know!"

Sheng Changquan continued, recounting in detail the events between Qi Heng and the Princess of Jiacheng.

"Actually, after Princess Pingning visited our home that day, the Duke of Qi's mansion sent a matchmaker to the Prince of Yong's mansion the very next day to carry..."

Of course, he wasn't part of the story he told; he simply described the events between the Duke of Qi's mansion and the Prince of Yong's mansion from an outsider's perspective.

Sheng Changquan didn't know if Minglan's apparent acceptance was temporary, but he felt it was necessary to solidify the matter completely so that Minglan wouldn't have any room for regret in the future.

So he simply and efficiently recounted Qi Heng's marriage from beginning to end.

In particular, he used a great deal of language to describe the relationship between Qi Heng and Princess Jiacheng in a very detailed way. In fact, Minglan could almost picture the scene from the description.

However, this time Minglan has truly let go.

Even as Sheng Changquan was almost speechless, she still wore the same relieved smile as before.

"It seems that my sister has truly let go!"

Sheng Changquan nodded to himself.

"Alright, little brother!"

Minglan had actually figured out some of Sheng Changquan's intentions.

She couldn't help but feel touched, but also a little amused: "Since the young master has found a good match, we should offer our blessings, not be so indignant."

From Sheng Changquan's tone, Minglan could easily sense his dissatisfaction with Qi Heng, so she couldn't help but speak up and advise, "Brother, putting aside your years of friendship as classmates, just consider the care that the young master has given us over the years, both openly and secretly. We should be grateful for that!"

"Don't take your anger out on the young master because of what happened between us!"

Minglan looked at Sheng Changquan with a hint of reproach, but her expression was also helpless.

She knew very well that her younger brother was vindictive and petty, especially when it came to her!
Minglan and her brother have relied on each other for many years, and each of them is a taboo subject for the other. Sometimes, they would rather be seriously injured themselves than let the other lose a single hair.

"hehe!"

"Sister, I won't!"

Sheng Changquan did not admit it, but just chuckled a few times in a somewhat roguish manner.

"Ah~"

As his older sister, Minglan was naturally very familiar with Sheng Changquan. Seeing him avoid the topic, she understood the situation quite well.

Although she and Qi Heng were destined to be apart, Minglan did not hate him, nor did she hate his mother, Princess Pingning.

After all, from their respective perspectives, neither of them is wrong!
Seeing Sheng Changquan's shameless behavior, Minglan was helpless.

Fortunately, Sheng Changquan was quite sensible, so Minglan wasn't worried about a major conflict between them. She was just thinking that she would find an opportunity in the future to slowly persuade Sheng Changquan to give up his desire for revenge.

However, Minglan did not expect that the matter between Qi Heng and Princess Jiacheng was actually orchestrated by Sheng Changquan behind the scenes.

If this matter is discovered by others, especially by Qi Heng, then there will only be one relationship between the two of them!
Those are mortal enemies!
Of course, the life-or-death situation might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the enemies are definitely there.

After all, Qi Heng's personality wasn't really as weak and easily bullied as Baozi!
At that time, it wouldn't just be Sheng Changquan seeking revenge; even Qi Heng, who had always loved Minglan, would never be willing to let the other party go.

After all, Sheng Changquan's actions not only caused Qi Heng to lose his love, but also nearly caused him to lose his family.

How can he possibly forget this?

Fortunately, only Sheng Changquan and his servant knew about this. Even the Rong family members were unaware of Sheng Changquan's true identity, so there was no need to worry about the matter being exposed for the time being.

……

And so, after that day, Minglan's condition truly improved day by day.

Not only could the shrewd and experienced Old Madam Sheng see it, but even the usually carefree Rulan noticed something different about her.

In Rulan's words, Minglan's current state is like a molting snake that has shed its skin after hibernation, and has gained new vitality and life.

However, to be fair, Rulan's way of speaking is always so unpleasant.

She looks exactly like Madam Wang!
Speaking of Madam Wang, we must also mention another thing that troubled her.

……

Wei Ruixuan.

"Woo~"

"That heartless bastard! He didn't even consult me ​​about Bai'er's marriage before making the decision all by himself. Does he even respect me as his housekeeper's wife?"

Madam Wang lay on her bed, sobbing and crying.

"Yes Yes Yes!"

"Madam, please don't be so sad. The master has his reasons for doing this!"

Liu Mama, Wang Da Niangzi's "close confidante," tried her best to comfort her.

(End of this chapter)