tallest building

Chapter 13 Things Are Different Now

After parting ways with Liu, Wen Mingqian did not return to the palace immediately. Instead, he went to Mingjing Tower, asked for a small private room, ordered four dishes and a pot of wine, and sipped them slowly for a full hour.

The capital city is full of restaurants, and Mingjinglou is not unusual, but it used to be her favorite place.

In the first two years after marrying into the Gong family, whenever she was in a bad mood, she would come here to drink alone.

However, the Gong family members strongly disapproved of this, especially the old lady.

She was never very satisfied with Wen Mingqian, but she couldn't go against her husband's wishes.

When Wen Mingqian was thirteen, he went to Beijing and his father became a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue.

Because Wen's father was upright and honest throughout his life, despite his talent and learning, he always remained a low-ranking official.

At that time, the old master of the Gong family was serving as an assistant secretary in the Ministry of Revenue. He and Wen's father were both successful candidates in the imperial examinations and admired each other's integrity, not judging each other based on their official positions.

The two became close friends. When the old man came to the Wen family as a guest, Wen's father instructed his children to come out and pay their respects.

The old man then took a liking to Wen Mingqian and decided to marry her to his youngest son, Gong Xu.

Madam Gong naturally disagreed. She felt that the Wen family's social standing was too low. Although Wen Mingqian's great-grandfather had served as a vice minister, that was a thing of the past, several generations ago.

Nowadays, Wen Mingqian's father is only a minor official of the eighth rank, which is really not respectable and makes him a laughing stock.

But the old man was determined to arrange the marriage, because he felt that the Wen family had been a family of scholars for generations and had an extremely upright family tradition.

Nowadays, the world is morally corrupt and people's hearts are fickle. Only those with integrity can bring peace and stability to their homes and the country.

Wen Mingqian is well-educated and polite, with outstanding looks, and what's even more remarkable is that he is not greedy for vanity and has a sincere heart.

Therefore, despite everyone's objections, the marriage was arranged the following year.

Although Madam Gong was extremely unwilling, she ultimately couldn't fight against the powerful.

Moreover, the Gong family values ​​reputation above all else, and it's not good to publicize her dissatisfaction. So, they went along with it, which also helped maintain their good name.

Unfortunately, the engagement lasted only three months before the old man suddenly fell seriously ill and passed away.

Gong Xu observed three years of mourning. Because of his late father's dying wish that he must get married within three months after the mourning period ended, he welcomed Wen Mingqian into his family.

When she was about to get married, her father gave her earnest advice and was reluctant to part with her. He felt sorry for his daughter who had lost her mother at a young age and that he was about to be transferred to another place.

At that time, Wen Mingqian felt a mix of emotions, but he never expected that he would experience such hardship and suffering.

Her life was like a willow in spring, which had just stretched out its body when it was chopped down hard by an axe.

Wen Mingqian stared out the window at the pedestrians and vehicles on the street, lost in thought for quite a while.

It wasn't until the waiter gently tapped the wall and asked if he wanted more wine or hot dishes that Wen Mingqian came back to his senses.

"No need, let's settle the bill!" Wen Mingqian glanced at the dishes on the table that had only been touched a little. The chef here had changed, and the taste was not as good as before.

Like many people and things in this world, it's really too difficult to keep things the way they were when we first met.

"Don't remove the table yet. Let my attendants come up and finish eating first," Wen Mingqian added.

This time, Aunt Tian accompanied her, while Zhang Ma stayed at home to keep Gong Chang'an company.

Aunt Tian was naturally one of Song's people, but among them, she was the most resourceful.

After settling the bill, Wen Mingqian came out of Mingjinglou and saw Aunt Tian and the coachman waiting there, but they didn't seem impatient.

"You two go upstairs and have your meal. I'll go check out the perfume shop next door," Wen Mingqian said. "If you need more rice, just ask for more. I've already had the dishes reheated." "Thank you, Madam," Aunt Tian and the coachman thanked her hurriedly and followed the waiter inside.

Wen Mingqian went to the perfume shop, carefully looked at both floors, and finally selected a few items that he wanted to use.

By the time she finished shopping, Aunt Tian and the driver had also finished their meal.

Aunt Tian asked Wen Mingqian with a smile, "Madam, would you like to visit other places?"

"Then let's go to the general store again." Wen Mingqian didn't stand on ceremony. "I wonder if Zou's General Store on Shiren Street is still there?"

"Yes, yes, their goods are the most authentic, and their business is booming," the driver said. "There are fewer people here now."

Although Wen Mingqian was not favored by the master, she was, after all, the mistress of the house, and he was just a servant. How could he possibly neglect his master?
Besides, although those two girls weren't sold off a couple of days ago, they still caused quite a scene, so it wasn't worth it at all.

Wen Mingqian selected some items at the general store and had Aunt Tian and the driver load them onto the cart, while he casually strolled over to the silk shop next door.

A handsome young shop assistant immediately dropped what he was doing and came to greet her with a smile, saying, "Madam, you've arrived."

Gong Xu returned home early today, while Gong Baoan stayed home all day because he was on holiday from school.

The father and son were strolling around the mansion when Gong Baoan spotted a delicate embroidered ball kite flying in the sky. He jumped up and down, saying, "Who in our family is flying a kite? Let's go take a look!"

As he spoke, he took off running towards the kite. Gong Xu, fearing he might fall, quickly followed behind.

It was later discovered that the person flying the kite was none other than Gong Chang'an.

Gong Baoan stood in front of Yunfengzhai, hesitant to go in.

"Bao'er, what's wrong?" Gong Xu asked him.

“Mother said I shouldn’t come here,” Gong Baoan said, but his eyes were fixed on the kite, “saying it would disturb Madam.”

Gong Xu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Madam Song was too kind. She was wary of Wen Mingqian, that vicious woman. Although she would admonish her son, she would not speak ill of her to him.

“Your mother is right, let’s go back! You like kites, your father will ask someone to go to the street to buy you some.” Gong Xu said, bending down to pick up his son.

At this moment, Gong Chang'an turned around and saw them, and immediately handed the spool of thread to Zhang Ma who was standing to the side.

"Father," Gong Chang'an quickly walked up to Gong Xu, greeted him, and then smiled at Gong Bao'an, asking, "This must be my younger brother Bao'an!"

"Who are you?" Gong Baoan asked curiously. "Why do you recognize me, but I don't recognize you?"

“This is your fourth brother, Chang’an.” Gong Xu had endless patience for Gong Bao’an. “He just returned from his hometown not long ago.”

"You're the older brother who's above me?" Gong Baoan was even more curious. He knew that the eldest and second eldest brothers were from the first branch of the family, and his third brother, Kang An, was his biological brother, but he had passed away long ago.

No one dared to mention him in front of his mother, otherwise it would surely sadden her.

He only learned about his third brother's situation after he said something wrong and was quietly instructed by Mother Yang.

He was the fifth child in his family, with a fourth brother between him and his third brother.

This fourth brother is even more taboo than the third brother. Not only should he not be mentioned in front of Mother, but it's best not to mention him in front of anyone else in the family.

But the more it is forbidden to mention, the more curious people become. Gong Bao'an is younger than Gong Chang'an and naturally shorter. He looked up at his fourth brother and couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill.

Gong Chang'an gently reached out and patted his head: "Fifth brother, if you like this kite, I'll give it to you! I made it today."

By this time, Zhang Ma had already retrieved the kite and handed it to Gong Chang'an.

The new book is still in its early stages and needs everyone's support. Please leave comments and check in; thank you so much!


(End of this chapter)