Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 475 Embarrassing
Liang Han's hand holding the red silk suddenly tightened!
He suddenly looked up at Sheng Hong, his eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief!

What is this nonsense? !
On the eve of her daughter's wedding, in front of her son-in-law, she actually said, "You chose this path yourself," and "Take care of yourself"?!

This isn't a word of advice; it's clearly an attempt to distance oneself! It's a warning!
It was a public declaration that this daughter would no longer have any deep affection or friendship with the Sheng family!
"Is this...right...?"

A tremendous sense of humiliation instantly overwhelmed Liang Han!

He felt like a fool, tricked by the Sheng family and by his seemingly gentle but actually ruthless father-in-law!
What exactly did he marry?
After saying this, Sheng Hong seemed to have unloaded a huge burden. He stopped looking at anyone and ignored Liang Han's shocked and angry gaze. He nodded slightly to the butler, then turned and walked into the heavy side door without looking back.

That back view was so resolute, without a trace of lingering affection.

"Father……"

Beneath the veil, Mo Lan let out a faint, almost inaudible sob, her body swaying. If the matchmaker hadn't held her up tightly, she would have collapsed to the ground.

Sheng Hong's words completely shattered the last shred of hope she had for her father's family.

Liang Han's face turned extremely pale, and the knuckles of her fingers gripping the red silk turned white from the force.

He stared intently at the doorway where Sheng Hong had disappeared, then glared fiercely at Sheng Changquan, who remained silent in the shadows like a statue, before finally letting his gaze fall back on the red veil that seemed to carry an ominous aura.

All the pride and calculations turned into cold anger and indescribable frustration at this moment.

This marriage, which he thought was a sure thing and even a source of pride, was permeated from the very beginning with an embarrassing hypocrisy and coldness.

He felt like a complete clown!

He even seemed to hear an extraterrestrial demon clamoring in his ears, urging him to take him to another world to fight a guy called Batman...

Liang Han shook his head, shaking off his own fantasies, and turned to look at the gate of the Sheng family. In fact, he had asked someone to inquire why the other two young masters of the Sheng family, Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng, were absent.

Especially Sheng Changfeng, who is Mo Lan's twin brother!
Why didn't he show up?

However, the servants of the Sheng family had already been instructed that if any members of the Liang family or busybodies asked, they should simply lower their heads and reply with just the right amount of sorrow: "Third Master... injured his hand a few days ago, and the injury is quite serious. He is really unable to get up. I hope Sixth Young Master and his in-laws will understand."

This casual remark, coupled with the faint scent of medicine wafting through the mansion, was enough to make Liang Han think of many things, including the banditry that had recently occurred at the Sheng mansion, making this marriage seem incredibly unlucky.

Sheng Changfeng's crippled hand, like a huge, invisible shadow, loomed over this hasty and cold wedding, becoming the Sheng family's silent yet most powerful accusation and disassociation.

"Get up the sedan——!"

The matchmaker's shrill voice rang out again, carrying a sense of panic as she desperately wanted to end this farce.

With a livid face, Liang Han almost roughly shoved the red silk into Mo Lan's hands, as if it were something filthy. He no longer looked at the sedan chair or anyone in the Sheng family, and his movement as he mounted his horse was clearly filled with anger.

"go!"

He waved to the wedding procession, his voice icy.

The musicians were intimidated by the oppressive atmosphere, and their playing sounded weak and listless, almost out of tune. But as the sedan curtain fell, it instantly shut out the cold, perfunctory, contemptuous, and angry world outside.

The sedan chair was lifted and, in the cold, lifeless morning light, swayed and staggered away from the side gate of the Sheng Mansion.

Mo Lan huddled in the narrow sedan chair, tears streaming down her face beneath the veil. Sheng Hong's words, "You chose this path yourself" and "Take care of yourself," were like poisoned ice picks, piercing her already numb heart and bringing sharp pain.

These words shattered the last vestige of her hope for warmth in her father's family. They were like a cold curse, foreshadowing the difficult situation she would face after entering the Liang family. She clutched the cold, slippery red silk tightly, as if she were holding onto her own precarious fate.

At the same time, she also vividly recalled a scene from several hours earlier in the dimly lit, empty Shou'an Hall—

Before dawn, only a few dim candles were lit inside the house, their flickering light casting an unreal shadow over everything.

She was dragged to the center of the hall by two old women, like a piece of merchandise awaiting disposal. Her hastily made bright red wedding dress was glaringly red in the dim light, like congealed blood. The hall was empty.

Only Old Madam Sheng sat upright in the deepest shadow of the main seat, like an ancient statue eroded by time, with Madam Fang standing behind her with her hands at her sides, like another shadow.

The candlelight flickered, barely illuminating the old woman's tired, calm, and almost cold face.

She didn't look at the blinding red, nor even in the direction of Mo Lan. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the wall, landing in an unknown void, or perhaps it was just wearily closing her eyes.

a long time.

She spoke slowly, her voice aged and flat, without the slightest inflection, as if proclaiming a preordained verdict:

"Go."

There were no further words.

Without the instructions of her parents, without the support of her brothers to accompany her to her wedding, she had only a few servants standing idly in the shadows of a corner, like cold stone figurines.

This extreme desolation was more despairing than any scolding; Mo Lan felt like a lonely soul completely abandoned in the wilderness.

However, Mo Lan later learned piecemeal that her older brother, Sheng Changfeng, was injured in a much more serious way than she had imagined.

In particular, the heartbreak is even more devastating.

That day, after Sheng Changfeng pleaded for Lin Qinshuang with his crippled body, he returned home with a high fever and his wounds showed signs of festering.

After examining the young master, the physician's expression turned grave. He privately told Sheng Hong and Madam Wang: "The third young master's injuries are severe, and his heart is filled with grief and sorrow, which is extremely worrying! If he cannot rest peacefully, he needs to be comforted and reassured by close and trusted people at all times to prevent him from becoming disheartened and giving up on life. I fear... it may shorten his lifespan!"
These words struck Sheng Hong like a heavy hammer blow.

His overwhelming hatred for Lin Qinshuang was now transformed into worry for his son's life and regret for his past actions. He almost immediately ordered that Changfeng be allowed to rest and recuperate, and that no one or anything should disturb him.

With the help of Liu Mama, Madam Wang astutely seized this opportunity.

Her face was filled with a worried "motherly" expression as she wiped away non-existent tears from Sheng Hong and the old lady: "Master, Mother! Feng'er is so badly injured and has suffered such a great misfortune. This is the time when he needs his family by his side the most!"

"Changbai is a steady and reliable child, and he's also the eldest brother. It would be best to let him go and talk to Feng-ge'er and comfort him!"

"There are many complicated matters in the manor now, and people are restless. Only when Changbai goes can Feng-ge'er feel at ease!"

"As for... as for Fourth Sister's side..." She paused at just the right moment, glanced at the old lady, and lowered her voice, "With the old lady in charge and the servants taking care of things, I suppose... nothing too serious will happen."

"It wouldn't be right to delay Feng-ge's recovery over such a 'trivial' matter as his daughter's wedding, would it?"

"What if... what if something goes wrong? How could we possibly bear the consequences!"

She kept mentioning "Feng-ge'er is seriously injured" and "Chang-bai is needed" in her sentences, making her attempt to prevent Sheng Chang-bai from attending the wedding seem respectable and watertight, and even subtly belittling Mo-lan's marriage as a trivial "minor matter".

Sheng Hong was already exhausted from Chang Feng's injuries, and was moved by Madam Wang's "deep concern". In addition, he deeply hated Lin Qinshuang and her daughter, so he acquiesced almost without hesitation.

Old Madam Sheng was astute and understood Madam Wang's scheme perfectly, but at this moment she was more concerned about the future of the Sheng family and Changfeng's life. Mo Lan's marriage was no longer of any importance to her.

Thus, Sheng Changbai—the eldest son of the Sheng family, who had already passed the imperial examination and entered the court as an official, and who should have been the main person in charge of the wedding procession—was "legitimately" left by Changfeng's sickbed, using his steady companionship to isolate the shameful ceremony that belonged to Molan outside.

His absence was not only physical, but also a complete severance in terms of identity and attitude.

In the vast Sheng family, only two adult male members remained who were present and of high status at the wedding: one was Sheng Changfeng, whose future was ruined and who was bedridden; the other was Sheng Changquan, the illegitimate son who was about to face the imperial examination and whose future was uncertain.

Since Changfeng was obviously out of the question, the only one who could barely make up the numbers was Sheng Changquan.

Thanks for the support, Sanmao! The pacing is indeed a bit slow; I'll think about it some more...