Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 257 Jiang Xingzong's Agreement
"aunt!"

"aunt!"

Upon seeing Aunt Wei, Minglan and her brother immediately stood up from their seats and quickly walked out of the teahouse!
They ran straight into the distance!

"aunt!"

"You've finally arrived!"

Even from a distance, Minglan hurriedly and excitedly went to greet them!
At this moment, she abandoned her usual cautiousness in the Sheng family mansion and regained her lively girlish nature, becoming much more cheerful.

Sheng Changquan walked behind Minglan, his eyes filled with a hint of doting affection, as if their roles had been reversed, with him being the elder brother and Minglan the younger sister.

"tread!"

Minglan ran all the way and finally arrived in front of Aunt Wei.
"Auntie, these past few days, I've been eagerly waiting for you to come over every day!" Minglan said, feigning surprise but actually delight.

"Yo!"

"It's Aunt's fault!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wei's face immediately lit up with joy!
She cheerfully took Minglan's hands and said with a smile, "It's all Aunt's fault. It took so long, and my Ming'er was so anxious!"

"hehe!"

"However, my Ming'er is still the most considerate of his aunt. He's such a good child!"

As Aunt Wei chatted away with Minglan, she couldn't help but glance behind Minglan.

That's where Sheng Changquan was standing.

"aunt!"

Sheng Changquan stepped forward and bowed to Aunt Wei.

"Okay! Good boy!"

Seeing the two children left behind by her elder sister, Aunt Wei was overjoyed. She looked at Minglan in front of her, and the smile in her eyes became even more obvious.

Minglan held her hand tightly, which made her even happier. After all, seeing her niece so clingy made Aunt Wei feel incredibly warm inside!

She felt like she'd been given a dream come true.

Sweet, honeyed, all of them!
"ah!"

"Auntie, why are you like this!"

Aunt Wei's words, which sounded like she was coaxing a child, made Minglan blush a little.

However, Minglan really missed Aunt Wei, so at this moment, the two of them ignored the scorching sun and started exchanging pleasantries on the spot.

On the other side, Sheng Changquan simply greeted Aunt Wei and then left without joining them.

Firstly, it's because he's introverted and lacks the gentleness of a young woman, so he can't say things like Minglan.

Another reason was that he also had to receive an important person, namely Aunt Wei's eldest son, his cousin!

—Jiang Xingzong.

"Cousin Xingzong!"

Since it was their first meeting, there was still a sense of unfamiliarity between them.

"Cousin Chang...Changquan!"

Jiang Xingzong looked somewhat nervous, especially when facing Sheng Changquan.

"Ha ha!"

Sheng Changquan laughed heartily, deliberately adopting a familiar posture, and said with a smile, "Cousin, you must be tired from your journey. Come home with me and rest!"

Without waiting for Jiang Xingzong to refuse, he quickly gave Xu Changqing a wink, signaling him to take his cousin's luggage.

Since this trip was to send Jiang Xingzong to the capital to study, the Jiang family prepared quite a lot of things. After all, it would be very uneconomical for the Jiang family to buy everything in the capital. So, if the things Aunt Wei brought to the capital were put together, they would probably make up a large load.

"Young Master Xingzong, let me take on this responsibility!"

Xu Changqing understood his role perfectly. His main purpose in coming here was to collect the luggage, so he quickly stepped forward, stretched out his hands, and prepared to take the carrying pole from Jiang Xingzong.

Because Aunt Wei came to the capital with the escort agency that Sheng Changquan had arranged for her, all these things were initially stored on the agency's carriage. It was only after they left the capital that Jiang Xingzong picked them up.

"Ah? This..."

Jiang Xingzong was still a little unaccustomed to all this, and in the end he could only helplessly look at Sheng Changquan beside him to see what he had to say.

After all, although the Jiang family was a wealthy household in the countryside, they had never kept servants.

Firstly, because the imperial court had its own criminal law stipulating that those without official rank were not allowed to privately keep servants!
Those who violate this rule and are caught by the government will not only have to release their slave contracts (the contracts of sale for slaves), but will also have to pay a fine of one hundred times the amount of the slave's debt!

Its base is the amount of money on all slave contracts.

However, as time went by, this law was gradually overlooked. Nowadays, the principle is that officials will not pursue such matters unless the people complain. As long as no one deliberately files a complaint, the government has no intention of dwelling on it.

After all, those who can afford to keep servants are mostly people with considerable wealth, such as famous merchants.

Moreover, as the saying goes, "where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure." Even if they are caught, they can still get away with it by saying that these servants are not household servants, but rather the adopted sons or daughters of the master.

If all else fails, it's just a fine, which is insignificant to those families.

Therefore, unless necessary, the government has no intention of arresting these things.

Of course, another reason why the Jiang family has never taken in many maids is that they only have a little surplus wealth and haven't reached that level yet.

Moreover, given Aunt Wei's proud nature, she would not have taken in servants unless someone in her family had achieved academic success.

Therefore, Jiang Xingzong, a true farmer's son, was naturally unfamiliar with and unaccustomed to being served.

See this.

"hehe!"

"Cousin, just give these things to him!"

Sheng Changquan smiled, then pointed to Xu Changqing and introduced him, "He's one of my men, an honest and reliable person, so cousin, don't be so formal!"

"Yep!"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan introduce himself in this way, Xu Changqing felt as if the bones in his body had melted.

Moreover, he actually had a little something going on in his mind, which was to try his best to coax Sheng Changquan so that he would be lenient with him in the future and let him off the hook!
After all, he has been writing articles for Sheng Changquan to review every day lately!
This was an extremely painful thing for Xu Changqing.

"hehe!"

Sheng Changquan seemed to have noticed Xu Changqing's little thoughts, and couldn't help but give him a meaningful look, but he didn't say anything.

However, even that one glance made Xu Changqing extremely uneasy.

"Then, I'll have to trouble you, young man!"

Jiang Xingzong thought for a moment, but in the end, he didn't refuse Sheng Changquan's kindness and handed over the carrying pole he was carrying. "Haha!"

"Young Master Xingzong, you're too kind. You can just call me Changqing!"

Xu Changqing felt a little flustered under Sheng Changquan's gaze!
At this point, he could only manage a dry laugh, then quickly straightened his chest and tried his best to appear as if he were doing his best, hoping to win his master's favor and avoid his "torture".

"Uh……"

Jiang Xingzong was also extremely uncomfortable with Xu Changqing's sycophantic manner.

"Brother Changqing, thank you very much!"

"Hehe, no need, no need!"

"This is my duty, Young Master Xingzong, you are too kind!"

As Xu Changqing spoke, he excitedly picked up his luggage, his face beaming with joy.

Sheng Changquan simply smiled faintly but remained silent.

He was observing his older cousin, trying to figure out what kind of person he was.

In Sheng Changquan's eyes, Jiang Xingzong made a very good first impression on him; he was strong and robust.

Perhaps because he inherited his aunt's looks, he was quite handsome; if you only looked at his face, he looked more like a dashing scholar.

However, because of his dark skin and his somewhat simple and honest smile, Jiang Xingzong gives people a different feeling overall, looking like a silly boy!
Among them, Sheng Changquan had heard Aunt Wei mention that Jiang Xingzong's dark skin was due to the fact that in order to cultivate the Jiang family children's ability to endure hardship, both cousins ​​Xingzong and Xianzong had worked in the fields with their parents since childhood, and even cousin Minghan had done the same.

However, since Cousin Minghan is a young woman, she only needs to do some chores at home, such as cooking and boiling water.

Although she doesn't have to go out to work in the fields, her tasks are still quite demanding.

Over time, the three children of the Jiang family each benefited from this, and none of them were raised to be bad. At the same time, they became the "other people's children" that all the villagers in Jiangjia Village envied.

……

"Haha, that's interesting!"

As Sheng Changquan watched Jiang Xingzong "foolishly" follow Xu Changqing, talking as they walked, he smiled to himself, but a hint of amusement lingered in his heart.

In the eyes of this old monster who had lived two lives, it was easy for him to see that Jiang Xingzong was trying to trick Xu Changqing into revealing information. However, Sheng Changquan did not stop him. Instead, he stood aside and quietly watched what he was doing.

Because Sheng Changquan's actions were somewhat obvious, Jiang Xingzong quickly noticed them.

"Cousin, what's going on?"

Seeing that his actions seemed to have been noticed, Jiang Xingzong couldn't help but blush!
However, because of his dark skin, it wasn't too obvious.

"Haha, cousin, it's nothing!"

Sheng Changquan naturally wouldn't say anything at this point. He simply waved his hand and said to Jiang Xingzong, "I was just trying to tell you to hurry up!"

"Look, Aunt and my older sister are waiting for us up ahead!"

Sheng Changquan smiled and explained to Jiang Xingzong to put his mind at ease.

"That's it!"

really.

As soon as Jiang Xingzong looked up, he saw Minglan and the others waving back. He first glanced suspiciously at Sheng Changquan opposite him, feeling somewhat uneasy.

However, after observing Sheng Changquan repeatedly, Jiang Xingzong found that there was nothing unusual on Sheng Changquan's face, and he gradually relaxed.

"In that case, let's hurry up!"

Jiang Xingzong revealed his signature goofy smile and echoed Sheng Changquan's words.

"Yes, that's exactly right!"

Sheng Changquan nodded, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Moreover, after saying this, he took a step and walked straight ahead.

Upon seeing this, Xu Changqing quickly followed, seemingly afraid of being separated from his young master.

However, this inevitably put Jiang Xingzong at a disadvantage.

However, Jiang Xingzong was more than happy to see it this way.

"Whoo~"

Only after Sheng Changquan walked ahead did Jiang Xingzong dare to breathe a long sigh of relief.

"Be good!"

"Why does my cousin Changquan have such a powerful aura?"

Jiang Xingzong had lived in the countryside for a long time and had not seen much of the world, but he was very perceptive. He noticed that Sheng Changquan was different from others the moment he met him!

Putting aside his tall and strong physique, which is far superior to that of his peers, the aura he exudes is already enough to be awe-inspiring!

Since Aunt Wei had already told her son about Minglan and her brother's situation, Jiang Xingzong wasn't really shocked by Sheng Changquan's physique.

After all, people with unusual appearances have existed since ancient times, so it's not surprising that Sheng Changquan is one of them.

However, what shocked Jiang Xingzong the most was the mysterious aura emanating from Sheng Changquan.

To call it mysterious might not be quite right, but to describe it as aloof and otherworldly would be much more fitting.

In fact, Sheng Changquan himself was unaware that he had a strong sense of pride. Because of his own difference from others, apart from his relatives such as Minglan, he looked at everyone else as if they were mentally challenged. It seemed that he had a deep sense of superiority in his heart!

Ordinary people can't see it, but the elderly and those with keen minds can vaguely sense it. That's why Mr. Zhuang Ru deliberately suppressed Sheng Changquan for several years, and even made an agreement that Sheng Changquan would go away with him for a few years.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that being a scholar could help with this trip, Mr. Zhuang would definitely not have allowed Sheng Changquan to take the provincial examination now. He really wanted to suppress Sheng Changquan's arrogance, otherwise, Mr. Zhuang felt that Sheng Changquan would suffer a great loss sooner or later if he continued like this.

As for Sheng Changquan's otherworldly air, it is understandable, after all, otherworldliness is just a sense of detachment.

Sheng Changquan is a transmigrator, and he still feels somewhat alienated from the world he lives in. Although he has improved a lot under the influence of Minglan and others, he still maintains this sense of distance in his heart.

Perhaps, things will only change when he leaves his own mark on this world.

"Sigh, I'll ask Mother again tonight!"

Recalling his earlier actions in trying to extract information, Jiang Xingzong couldn't help but feel a little regretful!
"If I had known, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry!"

Although everything at the moment indicated that Sheng Changquan hadn't noticed his little tricks, for some reason, Jiang Xingzong had a vague feeling that his little cousin had actually seen through them.

Perhaps they were just saving him face.

Upon thinking of this, Jiang Xingzong's face immediately turned a dark reddish-brown!
"Sigh, whatever, I'd better catch up with them!"

Jiang Xingzong watched the group of people gradually walk away, shook his head helplessly, and finally had no choice but to silently catch up.

……

(End of this chapter)