Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 277 Sour Words of Pleading
"Brother!"

Standing in front of the East Mansion gate, Minglan urged Sheng Changquan, "Let's go in quickly!"

Because she was preoccupied with Shulan's matter, Minglan didn't want to waste any more time and was focused on finding Pinlan as soon as possible to complete her plan.

That's right, Minglan thought about it all night yesterday and finally came up with a good idea.

Her breakthrough came from Shulan's younger sister, Pinlan.

Pinlan is the youngest daughter of Shengwei's uncle's family and the most beloved younger sister of Shulan. The two of them have been very close since childhood, and their relationship is exceptionally good.

If Pinlan knew that her sister was living such a difficult life, she would definitely make a huge scene, and as soon as Pinlan made a scene, the old lady would naturally find out about it.

After all, the Sheng Wei couple would absolutely not dare to continue keeping it from the old lady under her orders!

"it is good!"

Seeing Minglan's anxious expression, Sheng Changquan smiled slightly, appearing unhurried.

Although he could understand her thoughts, Sheng Changquan understood a principle even more clearly: one must remain calm in the face of major events.

The more urgent something is, the more slowly you should take it. You must not make mistakes because of haste, which could lead to even worse consequences.

Sheng Changquan first waved to his driver, signaling him to stop the carriage properly, before turning around leisurely and slowly following Minglan forward.

Compared to Minglan's somewhat flustered state, Sheng Changquan's actions were unhurried and showed great composure!
The gatekeeper of the East Mansion knew Minglan and knew she was a girl from the West Mansion, so he naturally dared not stop her. Although he didn't know who the man beside her was, it was obviously not something a servant like him could worry about.

Therefore, the gatekeeper simply greeted the two of them politely and then very considerately escorted them into the mansion.

……

Dongfu.

When Minglan and her brother entered the mansion, they walked around a long corridor and passed a large garden of flowers and rockeries before finally arriving at the front hall of the East Mansion for receiving guests.

Although Youyang is not as prosperous as the capital, the extravagance of the wealthy and powerful families here is no less impressive.

Although it lacks the profound cultural heritage of the wealthy families of Bianliang, its scenery is still quite unique.

Putting aside everything else, just look at the East Mansion; the various buildings within it are truly remarkable.

Everywhere you look, you see the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan. It must have cost a lot to build this mansion back then, and top craftsmen were hired to do it. Otherwise, this East Mansion would never be as beautiful and charming as it is now.

Just as Sheng Changquan was secretly amazed by the wealth of the Sheng family, he and his sister had already arrived at their destination.

The front hall was filled with the entire family.

At this moment, a kind and benevolent old woman with white hair sat steadily in the hall, holding a peach-patterned longevity cane. She was none other than the matriarch of the East Mansion, the eldest matriarch.

To the left of the old lady sat a man and a woman. The man had a wide mouth and square nose, with a beard, and his expression was shrewd and composed. The woman was graceful and dignified, and quite wealthy. Both of them were middle-aged and were Sheng Wei, the eldest uncle of Minglan and her brother, and Li Shi, the eldest aunt.

Opposite Sheng Wei and his wife sat a row of even younger men and women. They were none other than Minglan's second cousin, Song, her second cousin's wife, Wen, her third cousin, Wu, and her fourth cousin, Pinlan.

Clearly, they were waiting for Sheng Changquan to come to them.

Upon seeing this, Sheng Changquan immediately quickened his pace, getting ahead of Minglan and entering the front hall first.

He first bowed respectfully to the matriarch in the hall, saying, "Changquan greets his great-grandmother!"

Then, turning to face Sheng Wei and his wife, he bowed again and said, "Greetings, Uncle and Aunt!"

However, before Sheng Changquan could even greet his remaining brothers and sisters, the old lady sitting in the hall couldn't help but call out.

"Brother Quan?"

"Is that Quan-ge'er?"

The old lady was getting on in years, and her eyesight was failing her.

Although she had heard from her family before who the visitor was, after Sheng Changquan spoke, the old lady still couldn't help but ask more questions, wanting to call him over so she could take a good look at him.

"Is that you, Quan-ge'er?"

"Come closer, let me see!"

Among the children of the second branch of the Sheng family, apart from Sheng Changbai, Sheng Changquan spent the most time with the eldest branch.

However, because of Sheng Changbai's personality, that is, his always stern and serious face, in the heart of the old lady, among Sheng Hong's three sons, Sheng Changquan was the one she liked the most.

Of course, this was partly due to Old Madam Sheng, after all, Sheng Changquan had grown up under her care.

However, the eldest branch of the family and Old Madam Sheng have a deeper connection.

"Grandmother, it's me!"

Seeing the old lady's genuine emotions, Sheng Changquan couldn't help but feel moved.

He quickened his pace and swiftly approached the old lady, gently supporting her as he softly said, "Grandmother, Changquan has returned!"

"It is indeed my fault that my grandmother is so concerned!"

In fact, Sheng Changquan should have addressed the eldest lady as his grandmother, but because the two families were close, and Sheng Changquan guessed that the eldest lady might prefer his more affectionate way of addressing her, he made some adjustments to his address and secretly changed it to "grandmother".

Sure enough, upon hearing Sheng Changquan's response, the old lady laughed even more heartily.

"Ha ha!"

"Mother, I'm afraid it's only when Quan-ge'er comes that you smile so happily!"

Seeing Sheng Changquan and the old lady looking like real grandmother and granddaughter, Sheng Wei couldn't help but make a joke.

"Yes, my lord is right!"

Li, who was standing to the side, also joined in the fun with a smile, saying, "Mother, you really do like Quan-ge'er!"

"If someone who didn't know better saw this, they might think that your nephew Changquan is your real grandson!"

Sheng Wei was genuinely joking when he spoke, but his wife, Li, was different.

Although she spoke with a smile, her words carried a strange undertone, as if she were subtly criticizing the old lady for favoring her grandnephews over her own grandsons.

After all, besides the inappropriate tone, she also specifically mentioned the word "nephew," seemingly to remind the old lady of the difference in kinship.

"Humph!"

In response, the shrewd old lady couldn't help but snort coldly, and her face suddenly darkened!
Although the old lady's eyesight was poor, her hearing was still good. Therefore, she could clearly hear and understand the "good words" in Li's mouth!
"If your sons were as promising as Quan-ge'er, they would bring me back a Xiucai degree right away!"

"And I, this old woman, see them the same way!"

The old lady, however, was not intimidated at all and shut him down with a single sentence.

"Ah...this..." Seeing her mother-in-law's strong reaction, Li's face changed instantly, and she even became hesitant in her speech.

At this moment, the scene suddenly became somewhat awkward.

Not only Shengwei and Li Shi didn't know what to say, but even the younger generation like Changsong and Changwu all lowered their heads and dared not speak, for fear of getting into trouble and offending their elders.

After all, if the younger ones were to speak up, they would either offend their mother or their grandmother. Weighing the two options, it was better to keep quiet.

Seeing this, Sheng Wei and his wife couldn't help but turn their gaze to Minglan and her brother across from them, hoping that the two of them could speak up and smooth things over.

However, Minglan values ​​her younger brother the most.

She was already displeased when she saw Li deliberately targeting Sheng Changquan. In Minglan's mind, she was only refraining from speaking up against her because of the relationship between the two families and because the other party was an elder. It was absolutely impossible for her to speak well of Li.

As for Sheng Changquan, that's even more impossible!

You see, he's not one to suffer losses. Take this matter of Shulan, for example. If it weren't for Minglan's strong insistence and his lingering affection for Shulan from back then, Sheng Changquan probably wouldn't have been willing to get involved.

Not to mention, Sheng Wei and his family were also secretly plotting against the second wife.

After all, it seems that the Sheng couple wanted the second wife to take the initiative to handle Shulan's matter.

"Mother, that's not what my wife meant!"

"She...she just envies how affectionate you are with Quan-ge'er!"

Seeing that no one spoke up for his wife, Sheng Wei had no choice but to speak up himself, trying to smooth things over: "Besides, how can Changsong and Changwu compare to Quan-ge'er?"

"Their brains are exactly like mine!"

"He's simply not cut out for studying!"

Sheng Wei deliberately used his two children as a source of self-deprecation, hoping to ease the tension in the court.

Sheng Wei ultimately felt sorry for his wife who had raised four children for him, so he secretly swallowed his pride and begged his mother for forgiveness in an almost pleading tone.

"Humph!"

Seeing her son making such a fuss, and with younger relatives like Changsong present, the old lady could only snort coldly and let the matter drop, not pursuing it any further.

However, she immediately turned her head and pulled Sheng Changquan aside, saying, "Brother Quan, don't take your aunt's sour words to heart!"

The moment those words left her lips, Li's face turned green!
Sarcastic remarks!

acid……

At this moment, Li felt incredibly embarrassed!

Embarrassing!

In other words, Li doesn't have superpowers; otherwise, she would definitely want to teleport away and leave this place that makes her so miserable.

"Hey!"

In fact, even Sheng Changquan was quite surprised.

He really didn't expect the old lady to be so tough!

She didn't give her daughter-in-law any face at all, directly exposing the bad thoughts in Li's heart.

At this moment, the old lady didn't care what her daughter-in-law, Li, thought, and simply continued, "Her!"

"It's because I've been so busy with Changwu's marriage that I'm a bit stressed!"

"That's why you said such insensible things!"

As she spoke, the old lady glanced at her daughter-in-law, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

"Brother Quan, please don't take it personally for the sake of your wife!"

After saying this, the old lady held Sheng Changquan's hand tightly, as if she were pleading for Li Shi.

Of course, the old lady was indeed speaking well of Li, but her attitude was rather strange, as if she valued Sheng Changquan too much.

"Grandmother, what are you saying!"

Sheng Changquan smiled at the old lady and said in a very appropriate manner, "Auntie is just envious of your affection for me, there's nothing so sour about it!"

"Changquan didn't find it strange at all, Grandmother, you're overthinking it!"

Sheng Changquan smiled slightly, seemingly not taking what Li said to heart at all.

However, the old lady did not speak, but stared at Sheng Changquan with her old eyes, her eyes filled with sincere pleading!

"Shh!"

When Sheng Changquan saw the old lady's gaze, he was immediately shocked!
The little thought that had been lingering in my mind melted away like snowflakes meeting a flame.

Actually, Sheng Changquan was quite annoyed when Li made those sarcastic remarks.

After all, he came here to help Shulan in her family. Regardless of whether the matter will succeed, the sentiment behind his actions is something that Li Shi should be grateful for.

Unexpectedly, she was so petty that even the old lady couldn't stand his affection!

Furthermore, even if Li Shi was unaware of Sheng Changquan's good intentions, Sheng Changquan, as a nephew, was still a guest visiting her home. How could she, as his aunt, say such things to her nephew?
It is clear from this that Li's character was not good. At the very least, Shulan's submissive and terrible nature was largely her fault!
"Grandmother, don't worry, I really didn't take it to heart!"

Meeting the old lady's cloudy yet sincere eyes, Sheng Changquan gently whispered this promise in her ear.

"……it is good!"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan's sincere words, the old lady paused for a long time before finally smiling.

Seeing that the scene had become harmonious again, Sheng Wei immediately gestured to his wife with his eyes, telling her to leave so that she wouldn't stay and annoy the old lady.

To be honest, although Sheng Wei is quite calculating, he is extremely filial to his mother. Especially because of his childhood experiences, he has always been very fond of his grandmother. Therefore, it is not surprising that he has such thoughts.

Seeing this, Li had no choice but to reluctantly ask the old lady for permission.

"Mother!"

"Then...daughter-in-law...will go downstairs to prepare the banquet."

The old lady completely ignored this, simply waving her hand dismissively, signaling Li to leave.

……

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(End of this chapter)