Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 289 Complaint Erupts
The Sheng Family Mansion in the West.

Shou'an Hall.

"Grandma, someone from the East Mansion has arrived."

"They said they wanted to invite you to their home for a chat, to welcome Brother Quan back!"

Madam Fang walked in from the outer room and began to report to Old Madam Sheng in the main hall.

"Ok?"

"Passing through the residence?"

Grandma Sheng was taken aback at first, then put down the Buddhist scripture in her hand and asked with slight surprise, "Ru'an, what time is it now?"

"Why is it lunchtime already?"

Since it was to welcome Sheng Changquan back, a grand banquet was naturally to be held, which is why Old Madam Sheng said that.

"hehe!"

Mrs. Fang smiled slightly, then expertly helped Old Madam Sheng up, saying, "Old Madam, it's almost noon!"

Mrs. Fang and Mrs. Sheng have been old friends for many years, so they can talk much more casually in private.

"You've been reading Buddhist scriptures for almost two hours now, it's time for you to take a break!"

"is it?"

Grandma Sheng hadn't noticed how quickly time had passed. She shook her head, took the maroon cane handed to her by a maid, and sighed helplessly, "I never noticed before, how come time passes so quickly now?"

"In the blink of an eye, half a day has passed. Time really flies, and youth fades quickly!"

Grandma Sheng leaned on her cane, looking somewhat melancholy.

"hehe!"

"Grandma, you're not right about that!"

Madam Fang smiled and said, "No matter how much time passes, in Ru'an's heart, you will always be that peerless and elegant young lady from the Marquis's mansion!"

"Whether on horseback or on foot, their skills are superb!"

"Hahaha!"

"Ruan, how come you get sweeter and sweeter as you get older!"

Old Madam Sheng was amused by Fang Mama's words: "If you had been this eloquent in your younger years, I would definitely have kept you in the Marquis's mansion."

"So that you won't come along looking like a treacherous villain, always trying to deceive me with sweet words!"

Grandma Sheng laughed, a rare occurrence for her, and seemed much more lively.

"Old lady~"

Mother Fang called out with a smile, her whole being radiating a sense of joy.

"I'm telling the truth! I'm not like those treacherous officials in those plays, deceiving their superiors and fooling their lord!"

Mrs. Fang said with some grievance, "Grandma, you've really wronged me!"

"I refuse to accept this!"

"Hahaha……"

Grandma Sheng laughed heartily this time, as if she had returned to the time before she got married.

"Alright, let's go!"

After laughing for a while, the old lady couldn't help but urge them a few times.

"Going early will save my sister-in-law from having to wait for me at the East Mansion!"

"Yes, old lady!"

Knowing the importance of the situation, Madam Fang quickly instructed the driver, Old Huang, to harness the carriage. Once the carriage was stable, she immediately helped Old Madam Sheng into the carriage.

"Old Huang, head to the East Mansion!"

Mother Fang peeked out from behind the carriage curtain and instructed the driver, Old Huang, "Try to arrive before noon!"

"Hey!"

"got it!"

Old Huang smiled sheepishly and quickly agreed.

After he waited for Madam Fang to turn around and lower the carriage curtain, he flicked his whip and struck the carriage shaft with a crack.

Because he cared about the horses, Lao Huang always raised his whip high and flicked the cart shaft at an angle to scare them and make them run.

The same applies at this time.

"Let's go!"

After shouting a command, Old Huang immediately drove the carriage towards the East Mansion.

……

Dongfu.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Li, accompanied by Changsong's wife Wen, went to the old lady's house and gently knocked on the door.

"Mother, the family dinner is ready!"

Li bowed respectfully towards the old lady in the house and asked in a low voice for instructions.

"Oh? Did your second aunt send someone to invite her?"

No sooner had Mrs. Li finished speaking than the old lady immediately spoke up.

After being scolded by the old lady, Li Shi became extremely obedient. Although she was no longer under the old lady's watchful eye, she still put on a meek and submissive demeanor.

"Please rest assured, Mother!"

"My daughter-in-law has also sent someone to invite my second aunt!"

"Squeak!"

With a soft sound, the door in front of Li was suddenly opened.

"Ah That's good!"

The old lady standing inside the house nodded to Li, indicating that she was relieved.

Just then, Sheng Wei was helping the old lady carefully walk out the door. He turned around and instructed his wife, "By the way, wife!"

"I'll take care of Mother here. You go ahead and greet Second Aunt!"

"And while you're at it, let's call the kids out too, so everyone can get together!"

Shengwei knew that his mother liked lively gatherings, so he reminded Li to call all the children together.

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing Sheng Wei's instructions, Li immediately prepared to turn and leave. However, just as she took a step, a thought suddenly struck her, and she remembered her other daughter.

"Official!"

Li stopped and tentatively asked, "Since we want to reunite, why don't we send someone to the Sun family again to call Shulan back?"

"After all, Shulan and Quan'er have a very good relationship, so it's only right that the two siblings meet!"

After saying this, Li stared intently at Sheng Wei, her eyes brimming with tears, as if a torrent of water was flowing within them.

However, Shengwei knew that the wetness wasn't just from tears, but also from a mother's worry for her child.

"This……"

Seeing the pleading look in Li's eyes, Sheng Wei hesitated.

He knew that Madam Li was worried about Shulan and wanted her to come back, but today's matter was not easy to handle.

Of course, it's not that Shengwei disagreed with Shulan's return, but he was worried that the Sun family might cause some trouble, such as deliberately creating some disturbances to prevent Shulan from returning.

Normally it would be fine, but today's family banquet is to welcome Sheng Changquan back. If any trouble arises, it will not only be a slap in the face to the second branch of the family, but it will also embarrass the first branch.

Therefore, Sheng Wei is in a dilemma.

After all, he was a businessman to the core and really didn't want this situation to happen.

"Hmm, what my daughter-in-law said is quite right!"

Just as Sheng Wei hesitated for a long time, and was even about to refuse, the old lady spoke up.

"Wife, send someone to the Sun family again!"

“Just say that this old woman misses her granddaughter and ask them to send Shulan back!” The old lady was unaware of Shulan’s situation and thought it was just an ordinary visit.

After all, in the old lady's heart, no matter how much she disliked the Sun family, it was undeniable that their family status was higher than that of the Sheng family. In other words, the old lady believed that if the two families were to be concerned with etiquette, the Sun family would probably be much more disciplined than the Sheng family.

However, all of this was just the old lady's imagination. How could she have known that the Sun family would have such an ugly appearance?
"Hey!"

"Mother, your daughter-in-law will go and fetch someone right away!"

Upon hearing that the old lady supported her idea, Li was overjoyed!
She didn't even have time to glance at her husband's expression before she hurriedly pulled Changsong's wife, Wenshi, outside.

Judging from her appearance, it seems that Shulan is the only thing on her mind right now.

Seeing that the old lady had made the decision for him, Sheng Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the old lady and said softly, "Mother!"

"In that case, let's take our seats!"

"Well, let's go!"

Although the old lady felt that Sheng Wei and his wife were a bit strange, she couldn't figure out the specific reason.

In addition, there's an old saying, "If you're not deaf and dumb, you can't be the head of the family." Therefore, unless necessary, the old lady didn't want to get to the bottom of things. Anyway, if there really was something important, they would naturally explain it to her.

……

"Bang!"

"Bangdang..."

The carriage maintained its previous speed, traveling unhurriedly eastward. However, the atmosphere inside the carriage was different from before.

The carriage was filled with a somber atmosphere.

It was as if an invisible shackle was pressing down hard on everyone's hearts.

Seeing the new and old wounds on Shulan's arms, even the usually carefree Pinlan couldn't help but shed tears and slowly sob.

She stretched out her fingers, trembling as she touched the wounds, too heartbroken to utter a single word.

"Sister Shulan, you!"

Minglan's eyes also reddened, but she was ultimately stronger than Pinlan. Looking at Shulan, who remained silent, she asked in a trembling voice, "You... did the Sun family do all this?"

Although she had expected it, Minglan still found herself unable to bear it when the evidence was actually presented to her.

"Sister Shulan, could it be..."

"Are the Sun family all wolves and beasts?"

Minglan gritted her teeth, feeling a deep hatred for someone for the first time!

"If it weren't for you, Sister Shulan, how could their family live such a life of plenty with so many servants?"

"Don't they have even the slightest sense of gratitude?"

Faced with Minglan's questioning, Shulan did not speak, but quietly lowered her eyes, trying to hide the tears in her eyes and not let them fall.

"Sister, please stop talking!"

Seeing the increasingly somber atmosphere in the carriage, Sheng Changquan finally spoke.

He first stopped the indignant Minglan, then looked at the silent Shulan opposite him and said in a deep voice, "Sister Shulan, you shouldn't have kept this from everyone!"

Sheng Changquan didn't say anything else, but blamed Shulan for not taking on this responsibility alone.

"Sister Shulan, if we hadn't 'coincidentally' discovered your problem this time, even if you were tormented to death by the Sun family, we probably would never know the truth behind it all!"

"Didn't you ever think about how much pain we all suffered back then?"

Sheng Changquan deliberately said these exaggerated things in order to provoke Pinlan and Shulan on the other side.

However, the former requires her to go back and report the matter to the old lady, while the latter requires her to stimulate her will to survive.

Indeed, during Sheng Changquan's observation, he suddenly discovered that Shulan seemed to harbor a desire to die.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to endure it for so long without uttering a single complaint.

Sheng Changquan estimated that if this matter were to be covered up again, Shulan would surely die within three years.

"Sister Shulan, don't you care about these things at all?"

"You don't even want to tell your parents and relatives about these things?"

Hearing what Sheng Changquan said, Shulan remained motionless, quietly maintaining her withdrawn demeanor without uttering a word.

Seeing this, Sheng Changquan narrowed his eyes, seemingly thinking of a way to break the deadlock.

After a long silence, he suddenly asked, "Or is it that your uncle and the others actually know about you?"

"But do they still force you to keep going?"

Sheng Changquan's hurtful words immediately frightened Shulan!
"No!"

"no!"

"My father and mother don't know about this!"

Shulan was afraid that this matter would affect the reputation of Shengwei and his wife, so she quickly spoke up to defend them, saying, "Brother Changquan, don't make these pointless speculations!"

"I deliberately kept this from my family; I didn't want them to know!"

Perhaps fearing that Sheng Changquan might have a bad impression of her family, Shulan quickly extricated the East Mansion from the matter.

"why?"

"Sister, why didn't you tell us?"

Sheng Changquan knew that Shulan's words were untrue, but he had no intention of exposing her. As long as Pinlan knew about this today, it would mean that the Old Madam would also know.

Thus, his goal was achieved.

"Pinlan!"

Seeing that Pinlan was about to explode, Shulan quickly turned around and comforted her younger sister.

Unfortunately, this approach did not yield good results.

"Pinlan, listen to me..."

Shulan pulled Pinlan aside and explained in detail her "thoughts at that time." Although she spoke very persuasively, it was of no use to the emotional Sheng Pinlan!

"Sister!"

"I'm going to tell my grandmother about this and let her stand up for you!"

Even though Shulan said a lot, Pinlan was determined to tell the old lady and ask her to make a decision on this matter.

"No...no way!"

Shulan panicked!

“Pinlan, Grandma is getting old, you mustn’t tell her about this…”

"..."

"when!"

Just as Shulan was about to pull Pinlan aside and explain the "reasons" in detail, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"Girl, we're here!"

Xiao Tao's voice suddenly came from outside the carriage.

"Just right!"

Pinlan wiped away her tears, then suddenly stood up and got off the carriage first!

Her strength and speed were so great that even Sheng Changquan was "unable to stop her" for a moment, and could only watch helplessly as she ran into the backyard of the East Mansion.

"not good!"

"Pinlan, don't go!"

Seeing Pinlan's actions, Shulan behind her became really anxious!

However, her anxiety was ultimately futile.

"Sister Shulan!"

Minglan helped the anxious Shulan down from the carriage.

"You can't stop this from happening. You know what kind of person Sister Pinlan is."

"Now that things have come to this, the best outcome is for our great-grandmother to make the decision!"

Shulan could only accept this helplessly.

(End of this chapter)