Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 256 My Cousin Goes to Beijing
"Mother, do you think the Hai family's daughter is better?"

Upon hearing Old Madam Sheng's choice, Sheng Hong was also pleasantly surprised!

"To be honest, Mother, I also think that the Hai family is the most suitable for Changbai!"

A blush rose to Sheng Hong's face, and he began to feel that the gap between himself and Old Madam Sheng had become very small.

What does this tell us?
That means that Sheng Hong is also starting to have vision and foresight!

Sheng Hong was naturally pleased with himself, and a blush crept onto his face.

"Hmph, hum!"

"From this day forward, Sheng Hong is finally the rightful leader of the Sheng family!"

While letting his thoughts wander, Sheng Hong also began to explain the situation of the Hai family in detail.

With a slight smile, he began to explain to the old lady his reasons for making the same choice.

"Mother, the Hai family is a distinguished family of upright officials for generations!"

"Not only does their family have a profound heritage and upright family traditions, but their methods of educating the clan's children through clan school are also quite remarkable!"

A look of intense longing flashed in Sheng Hong's eyes as he continued, "Especially the current head of the Hai family, Hai Wenyan, whose cultivation level is even more unfathomable!"

"Not to mention his own children, even some of the more promising younger members of the Hai clan are his subordinates!"

Unlike other aristocratic families, the Hai family's clan school is directly managed by the family head. In other words, most of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations produced by the Hai family over the years were students trained by the current family head, Hai Wenyan.

The Hai family's profound heritage is something the Sheng family can never catch up with. Therefore, what Sheng Hong envies is only the Hai family's clan school system, hoping that his own family can also learn its essence and produce more talents for the Sheng family.

His plan was to leverage the marriage alliance between the two families to allow the Sheng family to explore the mysteries of the Hai family's clan studies.

Of course, even if the other party refuses to impart the core secrets of the clan's teachings and the Sheng family cannot learn them, it would still be worthwhile to send two members of the Sheng family in so that they can learn something!
In response, Sheng Hong naturally had his plans in mind.

"hehe!"

Seeing that Sheng Hong's eyes were a little red, Old Madam Sheng couldn't help but chuckle a few times.

However, after laughing, the old lady's expression became more serious, as if she were being somewhat meticulous.

"What, is that all you're thinking about?"

The old lady gently tapped the name card on the table, a hint of disappointment on her face.

"what?"

At this moment, Sheng Hong finally realized that the old lady's choice probably had a deeper meaning.

"Mother!"

"My son is dull-witted!"

Sheng Hong looked at the old lady cautiously, as if he were looking up at a profound and unfathomable king.

"I don't know, what do you mean?"

"Humph!"

The old lady put down the name card in her hand and asked unhappily, "What? Did you choose the Hai family just because of their family background?"

"This……"

Sheng Hong was speechless.

But believe it or not, that's exactly what Sheng Hong thought. He felt that if Sheng Changbai had a wife's family like the Hai family, his future career would be much smoother.

After all, neither the Geng family nor the Bao family had their own strengths, but their influence in the imperial court was far less than that of the Hai family.

Grandma Sheng glanced at Sheng Hong, who was scratching his head, but the disappointment in her eyes deepened!

She knew that Sheng Hong was a man who valued profit more than family ties, but deep down, Old Madam Sheng still held a sliver of hope that he would pay attention to other things.

Even if they only value their own legitimate son, it still shows that they prioritize family ties over interests.

Unfortunately!
In the end, the old lady was disappointed.

"Mother, please give me your guidance!"

Sheng Hong, who was standing to the side, thought for a long time, but he just couldn't grasp the key point or understand the mystery in the old lady's words. In the end, he could only speak plainly.

"Ugh!"

Grandma Sheng sighed inwardly, then closed her eyes, concealing her inner emotions.

"What you've said is only one aspect," Old Madam Sheng said, opening her eyes again. "Actually, there's another crucial factor that makes the Hai family a good fit for Changbai!"

"Oh? What?"

Sheng Hong was curious, and he couldn't help but secretly prick up his ears and listen carefully.

"Because of what?"

The old lady glanced coldly at Sheng Hong and said quietly, "Of course it's because of the Hai family's ancestral precepts!"

"what?"

Sheng Hong was embarrassed!
Sheng Hong was naturally aware of the Hai family's ancestral precepts.

"Mother, this..."

"This is indeed a bit unfair to Changbai, but a man in this world inevitably has to make some choices!"

"My son thinks..."

Sheng Hong thought that the old lady was being sarcastic, so he quickly opened his mouth to explain to her.

unexpectedly!

"Hong'er, you're wrong about that!"

The old lady shook her head, interrupting Sheng Hong, and began to say, "It is precisely because of this Hai family ancestral precept that I chose the Hai family from among these three candidates!"

"Ok?"

Sheng Hong frowned, but he couldn't understand what the old lady meant.

"As Changbai's father, how could you not know what kind of person he is?"

The old lady's words carried a deeper meaning: "I don't know what other influence it might have, but in any case, Changbai is a well-behaved child who follows the rules!"

"He's not like Changfeng; he doesn't have so many ulterior motives, and he doesn't like those women!"

"Otherwise, take a look at the kind of people in Changbai's house."

A hint of admiration flashed in the old lady's eyes!
“In his room, apart from an honest servant named Yang Zhao, everyone else was a servant or a page.”

"This shows that Changbai is not a lecherous man!"

"Cough cough!"

Sheng Hong, standing next to him, blushed slightly and coughed a few times.

However, his blushing face this time was different from his usual rosy complexion. He was now simply embarrassed by what Old Madam Sheng had said, which caused him to blush with shame.

"Yes Yes!"

"Mother, you're right!"

The biggest difference between Old Madam Sheng and Madam Wang is that Old Madam Sheng has a sense of propriety. Unlike Wang Ruofu, she doesn't relentlessly pursue Sheng Hong. After giving Sheng Hong a few words of advice, Old Madam Sheng continued, "Therefore, if this Hai family girl enters the Sheng family, Changbai will surely have a peaceful and prosperous household in the future!"

"Besides, there are probably very few people in this world who can better meet the Hai family's marriage customs!"

The old lady's words were spoken softly yet powerfully. Her words were filled with admiration and pride for Sheng Changbai.

"That's why I think the Hai family's daughter is the most suitable for Changbai!"

"Oh?"

After hearing these words, Sheng Hong didn't pay much attention to anything else, but he remembered only one sentence: "There are very few people in this world who can meet the Hai family's marriage rules."

"If that's the case, then if Changbai succeeds in this matter, wouldn't he be even more favored by the Yue family and receive greater assistance?"

Sheng Hong's eyes lit up, as if he had seen how much Hai Wenyan and his wife favored Sheng Changbai, which ultimately led to Sheng Changbai's meteoric rise to prominence!
"Ah~"

No one knows a son better than his mother. When she saw Sheng Hong's excited expression, Old Madam Sheng knew that he was thinking about something else.

"okay!"

When Old Madam Sheng saw Sheng Hong's profit-driven attitude, she immediately didn't want to see him anymore.

She waved her hand, indicating, "Now that the choice has been made, you should go back and discuss it thoroughly with your mistress, and then go to the Hai family to propose marriage as soon as possible!"

"While Changbai is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, it's a good time to finalize the marriage with the Hai family and let them benefit from Changbai's arrangements!"

The old lady saw through Sheng Hong's scheming at a glance, so she simply offered him benefits to get him to settle things with Madam Wang as soon as possible so that Sheng Changbai could marry a new woman.

This way, she can hold her great-grandson sooner.

"Ah? Yes, Mother!"

Sheng Hong wasn't angry at being kicked out by the old lady; on the contrary, he felt a sense of joy and relief.

"Mother, then your son will take his leave now!"

Watching Sheng Hong leave happily with the visiting card, Old Madam Sheng couldn't help but shake her head.

"Heh, your wife still has plenty of trouble to deal with!"

Based on her understanding of Wang Ruofu, Old Madam Sheng could almost foresee everything that was about to happen.

Although Sheng Hong will eventually be able to win over Madam Wang, it will undoubtedly cause him some headaches for a while.

After all, while Madam Wang may be easy to deal with, she can be unstoppable when she starts to act unreasonably!

In short, this incident involving Madam Wang can be seen as a lesson taught to Sheng Hong by his mother, and a punishment for his profit-driven nature.

……

Meanwhile, Minglan and her brother were not paying attention to their second brother's marriage; in fact, they weren't even home today.

At the west gate of Bianliang City, Sheng Changquan, Xu Changqing, Minglan, and Xiaotao walked together to a small teahouse outside the city gate.

It was called a teahouse, but it was actually just a tea stall, consisting of a sunshade, a few tables, and a few stools—a small business set up by an ordinary family.

This tea stall was actually just a place for passing merchants to rest and quench their thirst. It didn't earn much, but the expenses weren't high either, so it was a livelihood business for ordinary people.

"Whoo~"

In the teahouse, Minglan sat next to Sheng Changquan and let out a heavy sigh.

"Brother, when do you think my cousin will arrive today?"

Minglan was wearing a veiled hat at this time, which concealed her youthful appearance.

"Ok?"

Sheng Changquan looked up at the sun in the sky, made a mental estimate for a while, and then looked at Minglan and said, "Sister, don't worry, it will be within the next hour at most!"

Previously, Sheng Changquan had already received a message from Aunt Wei, saying that they would arrive in the capital around noon today.

The reason I say "them" is because this time Aunt Wei didn't go to the capital alone.

Besides Aunt Wei, Sheng Changquan's eldest cousin Jiang Xingzong will also be coming to the capital.

This was something they had agreed upon with Aunt Wei beforehand, so naturally they wouldn't go back on their word.

"Sigh, I wonder how long Aunt Wei will stay this time?"

Minglan slightly lifted the curtain in front of her, picked up a bowl of cold tea from the table, and took a small sip.

However, although Minglan's drinking movements were small, the frequency was very fast, and she had already drunk several cups in just a few breaths.

Although it was not yet early summer, the weather was already extremely hot at noon. Minglan had only been outside for a little over half an hour when she felt incredibly thirsty, so she quickly gulped down several bowls of cool tea.

"hehe!"

Sheng Changquan smiled and poured Minglan several bowls of iced tea, saying with a smile, "Sister, your health is really not good!"

"You've only been out for an hour or two, and you're already like this. What will you do if you have to travel long distances in the future?"

"Humph!"

Minglan waved her hand dismissively, saying, "I'm not a man, why would I need to go through such strenuous travel?"

"Besides, my health is already considered good. Compared to me, Sister Yanran is much worse off!"

Sheng Changquan was speechless in response.

Because what Minglan said was true. Among the many daughters of officials in Bianliang City, apart from a few women, Minglan's physical condition was indeed considered good!

Speaking of which young lady in the capital is the healthiest, it has to be Zhang Guifang, the daughter of the Duke of England.

The Duke of England's family were renowned founding fathers and a symbol of the military in the court, so it's not surprising that their daughters possessed such physical qualities.

However, Sheng Changquan had seen the Zhang family's daughter from afar, but he also noticed that although she was skilled, she was not very healthy. In fact, she had some hidden injuries in some of her meridians, as if they were old injuries caused by improper martial arts training over the years.

Based on Sheng Changquan's medical expertise, if her condition is not improved soon, then the Zhang family girl will surely face a calamity in the future!
This means that during childbirth, dystocia (difficult labor) is very likely to occur.

On the other hand, faced with Minglan's expression, Sheng Changquan could only helplessly say, "Fine!"

"Row!"

"Row!"

Sheng Changquan poured Minglan another bowl of cold tea and said earnestly, "In short, sister, you should try to get up early every day and practice the Five Animal Frolics that I taught you more often, otherwise you will regret it sooner or later!"

"hehe!"

Seeing her younger brother's concerned expression, Minglan felt extremely comforted.

“I know, little brother!”

"I'm already getting up early every day and practicing the Five Animal Frolics diligently, so don't worry about me!"

Minglan replied with a smile.

"Humph!"

Sheng Changquan gave a soft snort.

"Sister, I hope you can keep going all the way..."

"Miss, the concubine has arrived!"

Before Sheng Changquan could finish speaking, Xiao Tao, who was standing next to Minglan, blurted out loudly.

"Ah? Where?"

At this moment, Minglan and her brother couldn't care about anything else and quickly looked up into the distance.

Sure enough, on the official road in the distance, Aunt Wei was leading a sturdy young man, walking quickly toward them.

(End of this chapter)