Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 255 Marriage to the Hai Family
"Hmph, you heartless bastard!"

Madam Wang lay on the bed, gripping the corner of the quilt tightly with her hands, her expression still one of extreme indignation, looking extremely angry!
"Bai'er is someone I gave birth to with great difficulty!"

Madam Wang cried out in injustice, "

"During those ten months when I was pregnant with Bai'er, did he have anything to do with her?"

"But now, things have gotten even worse. He's completely bypassed me and arranged a marriage between Bai'er and the Hai family!"

"Does he still see me, Bai'er's biological mother, in his eyes?!"

The more Madam Wang talked, the more wronged she felt. Then, she thought of the bullying she had suffered at the hands of Linxi Pavilion. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears streamed down her face as she cried.
"Oh, madam, please don't cry!"

Seeing that Wang Ruofu was crying more and more sadly, Liu Mama quickly stepped forward, stood in front of the bed, helped Wang Ruofu up, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, and carefully wiped her face.

At the same time, Liu's mother couldn't help but gently advise, "Madam, what you're saying isn't quite right!"

Liu's mother has always sided with Madam Wang, but this time she is going to support Sheng Hong.

"Madam, the master is Bai-ge'er's biological father, he would never harm him!"

Compared to her own daughter's judgment, Liu's mother was more willing to trust her own master!
Mother Liu appealed to her emotions and reasoned with her, saying, "Madam, please don't forget!"

"Brother Bai is the eldest son and the eldest grandson of this family. His marriage is a matter of great importance to the future rise and fall of the Sheng family!"

"Even if the lord's judgment is flawed, isn't there still the old lady to help?"

"Leaving aside whether the lord might be confused in choosing a wife for Brother Bai, the old lady in Shou'an Hall will definitely be keeping a close eye on things!"

"How could the lord be allowed to randomly choose a daughter-in-law?"

Hearing Liu Mama's words, Madam Wang felt a little better.

"Humph!"

Madam Wang sobbed and said, "What you said makes sense!"

In fact, Wang Ruofu knew in her heart that Sheng Hong was more reliable than herself, but she just couldn't control her emotions after hearing the news.

She felt extremely uncomfortable, and then her emotions flared up, which naturally led to this strong reaction.

However, after venting her frustrations, Madam Wang's mood gradually improved.

"However, I still need to talk to him about this!"

Madam Wang was still somewhat uncomfortable!
"He dared to arrange a marriage for Bai'er without even consulting me today. What will he do the next day, marrying off my Ru'er without a word?"

"At least Bai'er has someone coming into the family this time, but if it were Ru'er, that would be a different story!"

Madam Wang looked furious!

"For Ru'er's sake, I absolutely cannot let him get through this easily this time!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Madam, you're right!"

"That's how you should think!"

"..."

While Liu Mama verbally agreed with her mistress, she couldn't help but think to herself, "Even our young lady wouldn't be this attentive, let alone the master!"

In fact, everyone in the Sheng family could see that although Sheng Hong loved all his children dearly, there was one he disliked the least.

That is Rulan.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Sheng Hong would ignore Ru Lan or anything; it just means that among these children, Ru Lan is the least pleasing to him.

Among Sheng Hong's daughters, Ru Lan was neither as sensible and magnanimous as Hua Lan, nor as talented as Mo Lan, who could write and compose poetry. In fact, she couldn't even be as obedient and pitiful as Ming Lan.

Rulan perfectly inherited her mother's straightforwardness and fiery temper. In addition, she was pampered by her mother since childhood, so she was inevitably spoiled. She usually speaks and acts recklessly and is sharp-tongued. She rarely acts coquettishly or yields to Sheng Hong.

Therefore, even though Rulan is Sheng Hong's youngest legitimate daughter, after being frequently contradicted by her, it is difficult for Sheng Hong to love her as much as he would his other daughters.

Of course, Rulan was the same way; she often thought in her heart that her father was a fool!

An old fool who has been deceived by Mo Lan and her daughter all along!

……

Liu's mother uttered a string of kind words, each one different from the last.

"uh-huh!"

At this moment, Madam Wang acted like a cat that had just been petted by Aunt Liu, humming smugly.

However, she didn't enjoy her triumph for long before she suddenly remembered something.

Madam Wang turned around abruptly, frowning as she asked, "By the way, do you know anything about this Hai family's daughter?"

"Is he easy to get along with?"

"what?"

"Madam, don't you know?"

Hearing Madam Wang ask this question, Mother Liu was also surprised!

"When I saw how excited you were, I thought you knew about the Hai family!"

Because Liu Mama and Wang Ruofu had been mistress and servant for many years, their way of addressing each other wasn't very formal when no one was around. To be honest, at this moment, they didn't seem like mistress and servant talking, but rather like two old sisters chatting.

"Ah? This..."

Madam Wang felt a little embarrassed for a moment, but since they were old acquaintances, she nodded in agreement after a brief moment of shyness.

"Well... I was just focused on being angry before!"

"Back then, how could we possibly care about such things!"

Madam Wang spoke frankly and made no attempt to hide her true feelings.

"This……"

At this moment, Liu's mother also looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Madam, I only heard about the Hai family today. I really don't know anything about their specific situation at the moment!"

"Is that so?"

Madam Wang looked somewhat disappointed, but she quickly became serious again.

"Actually, I've heard some things about the Hai family!"

After all, she was the wife of an official, and the circle of noblewomen in Bianjing was only so big; it was impossible for Wang Ruofu to be completely unaware of any information.

"Speaking of which, if Bai'er really marries this girl from the Hai family, then our family would be doing us a disservice!"

Wang Ruofu said truthfully, "The Hai family is no ordinary family. They have had members serving as officials in the imperial court for generations!"

"Moreover, my father once told me about the Hai family when he was alive."

A look of reminiscence crossed Madam Wang's face as she spoke, "He said the Hai family is a long-standing family of upright officials. Their lineage can be traced back to the dynasty before that!"

The previous dynasty, Daqian, lasted for 312 years, and the dynasty before that, Dazhen, lasted for 405 years. As for this dynasty, it has only been 77 years.

"The fact that the Hai family was able to stand strong through three dynasties speaks volumes about their profound heritage!"

"In fact, from the very beginning of this dynasty to the present day, there have always been members of their family in the court!"

"Their family's situation is practically that of an evergreen in officialdom!"

A hint of envy flickered in Madam Wang's eyes: "So, let alone the Sheng family, even the Wang family when my father was alive couldn't compare to them!"

"what?"

"Wouldn't that be better?"

Mrs. Liu looked puzzled!

"Madam, if Brother Bai really marries the Hai family's daughter, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Won't Brother Bai's career be smooth sailing from now on?"

Mrs. Liu was a little confused: "It's Bai-ge'er's good fortune to have a family like the Hai family to help him!"

"Then what about you..."

Liu's mother didn't say what she was going to say next, but Wang's mother understood.

"hehe!"

Wang Ruofu gave a bitter smile.

"Actually, you don't know what's going on here!"

Madam Wang spoke with a hint of sarcasm: "Do you know that the Hai family has an ancestral precept?"

"That means 'A member of the Hai family must be with only one person for life'!"

"Huh? What does this mean?"

Liu's mother couldn't figure it out for a moment, not knowing the specific meaning behind it.

"Ah!"

Wang Ruofu sneered and said, "It's very simple. This ancestral rule means that the Hai family members cannot have any other members after marriage!"

"Whether male or female, anyone from the Hai family must comply!"

At this moment, Liu's mother finally understood Wang's concerns.

"Madam, this shouldn't be happening, should it?"

She frowned and analyzed, "What if the Hai family members have health problems and can't have children? We can't let their family line die out, can we?"

"Ugh!"

Madam Wang waved her hand and continued, "That's not necessary!"

"There's a rule left in the Hai family's ancestral precepts: 'Only when a descendant has no sons by forty can he take a concubine!'"

"In other words, unless the Hai family members reach the age of forty, as long as they exist, it is absolutely impossible to let another person into the family!"

It is said that it was precisely because of this ancestral precept of the Hai family that the men of the Hai family found it easy to get married, but the women found it difficult to get married.

For families with choices, becoming a daughter-in-law of the Hai family would be ideal, but marrying their daughter would be a difficult situation.

After all, most parents hope their children will have many children and grandchildren; how could they expect them to stay with only one wife?
Therefore, this ancestral precept of the Hai family caused many people who wanted to climb the social ladder to back down.

However, the clever little devil, Sheng Hong, saw a golden opportunity in this!

"So, the lord..."

At this moment, Liu's mother also understood Sheng Hong's thoughts and knew what he was thinking.

"Humph!"

Wang Ruofu sneered, "He himself can't abide by the Hai family's rules, and he took in that slut from Linxi Pavilion. Now he wants my Bai'er to suffer this torment!"

"He really is a good father to Bai'er!"

The thought of this reignited a new wave of anger in Madam Wang's heart.

Actually, when it comes to Sheng Hong's thoughts, it's fair to say he was wronged.

Although Sheng Hong proposed the marriage to Sheng Changbai, it was ultimately chosen by Old Madam Sheng.

At first, Sheng Hong had chosen three girls for Sheng Changbai. However, since it concerned the future rise and fall of the Sheng family, he did not dare to make a decision on his own and had to consult with Old Madam Sheng.

It was only at times like this that Sheng Hong would remember Old Madam Sheng and appreciate her foresight. Otherwise, if it weren't for the constraints of etiquette, he would have preferred to move out and stay far away from the old lady to avoid seeing her.

In fact, Old Madam Sheng had nothing to say about Sheng Hong, but it was precisely because of the great kindness she had shown him that Sheng Hong felt so distressed.

Firstly, Sheng Hong actually harbored resentment.

He had always harbored resentment towards his childhood experiences and the death of his birth mother, Chun Xiaoniang!
Although he knew that the main reason for this was his father Sheng Xu's favored concubine who killed his wife, and that it was not at all the fault of Old Madam Sheng, and that even Old Madam Sheng herself had been poisoned by that person and lost her only child, Sheng Hong still felt uncomfortable.

Sometimes, he would think that if Old Madam Sheng hadn't let Old Master Sheng Xu run wild back then, how could she, as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi, have failed to subdue that mere concubine!
Therefore, he harbored resentment!
Secondly, it was because of Shenghong's own dignity.

After all, he was a man and the head of the Sheng family. If he had to ask the old lady for advice on everything, wouldn't that make him seem incompetent?
Therefore, he didn't want to bother the old lady unless absolutely necessary.

Getting back to the main point, among the three candidates that Sheng Hong chose for Old Madam Sheng, one was the daughter of Geng Yong, a close family friend of the Sheng family and a former classmate of Old Master Sheng Xu.

The Geng and Sheng families had a good relationship. Back then, if it weren't for Geng Yong's help, Sheng Hong would have had a hard time getting promoted to a government official in the capital.

Sheng Hong chose the Geng family's daughter because he valued the good relationship between the two families, which would ensure that Sheng Changbai would not have any family worries in the future.

The second one is the second daughter of the Hai family.

The main reason Sheng Hong took a liking to the Hai family girl was indeed because of the Hai family's social standing.

If Sheng Changbai marries a girl from the Hai family, it will greatly benefit his future career, since the Geng family's power is no match for the Hai family's.

Sheng Hong's third choice was the Bao family of Jiangnan.

The Bao family is a small family that has only emerged in recent decades. Compared with the Geng and Hai families, the Bao family has much less foundation and power. However, in one respect, the Bao family has surpassed the Geng family.

That is Bao Jinchuan, the current head of the Bao family, and the reputation of Old Master Bao.

Because Mr. Bao is a well-known Confucian scholar in the literary world today.

However, the Bao family had an extremely high reputation among scholars.

Of course, the girls from the three families that Sheng Hong chose were all good, or at the very least, of excellent character!
However, when these three people were put into Old Madam Sheng's hands, she chose the Hai family within a quarter of an hour.

"Let's choose this girl from the Hai family!"

The old lady made the final decision and settled the matter directly.

(End of this chapter)