The Splendor of the Red Chamber

As dusk settled, the bride and groom paid their respects to heaven and earth, and a grand banquet was held inside and outside the Sheng family mansion.

After settling her relatives in the inner quarters, Li went to the front to find her husband, Shengwei, to discuss matters.

Seeing that Sheng Wei was flushed and behaving somewhat out of control, she quickly pulled him aside and asked with concern, "Master, are you perhaps drunk? Should I have a maid bring you a bowl of hangover soup?"

I didn't have many drinks.

Sheng Wei embraced his wife excitedly and said, "I'm mainly happy! You didn't see how terrified Magistrate Chen was. Let's see if he dares to extort money from our family again!"

He paused, then added regretfully, "It's a pity that Second Master Lian's favor was for the second branch of the family. Otherwise, if we could get close to the Rongguo Mansion, our family could do whatever we wanted in the entire Jiangzhe region, let alone the small Youyang County!"

Madam Li shared the same thought and quickly suggested, "How about we prepare more generous gifts..."

Sheng Wei frowned and shook his head: "Less is not enough, but more always needs a reason. If we knew what Master Lian likes, we could cater to his preferences and achieve twice the result with half the effort."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a loud crashing sound in the hall, as if someone was smashing things inside.

The couple rushed in to check, only to find Sun Zhigao drunkenly climbing onto the table and kicking cups, plates, and food haphazardly off the table.

"Son-in-law, son-in-law!"

The old steward of the Sheng family next door repeatedly pleaded, "I'm really busy today. Changwu will come to drink with you in a little while, young master, would you please come down first?"

It turned out that after the groom, Sheng Changwu, finished paying respects to heaven and earth, he first went to have a few drinks with Jia Lian and Magistrate Chen, so he came out late and it wasn't Sun Zhigao's turn yet.

Sun Zhigao had been holding back his anger for a long time, so how could he miss this good opportunity?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father-in-law and mother-in-law arrive at the door. He immediately grabbed the old steward by the collar and slapped him across the face without saying a word, cursing, "You old bastard, how dare you lie to me!"

The slap landed on the steward's face, but it caused both Sheng Wei and Madam Li to change color.

Li was used to being submissive to the Sun family, so she still went up to persuade them, while Sheng Wei stood motionless in front of the door, gritting his teeth.

At this time, the inner quarters also received the news, and the women of the household arrived one after another.

Sun Zhao was the fastest to run, and upon seeing her son, she hurriedly asked, "What happened? Why did they start fighting?"

Sun Zhigao stood on the table, looked around, and then pointed at the steward, cursing, "What are you so busy with? You're clearly deliberately neglecting me, a scholar! Changwu is just a lowly military officer, how dare you be so arrogant?!"

For a mere military officer to show such disrespect to a scholar like myself is an insult to scholarship and deserves to be punished in court!

He was used to being arrogant in the Sheng family, and when he roared, no one could control him for a while.

Instead of offering any advice, Madam Sun grabbed her daughter-in-law, Shulan, and questioned her: "You were perfectly fine yesterday! You even told me that your mistress was pregnant, a joyous occasion for our Sun family. How could things turn out like this today?!"

As he spoke, he poked Shulan's chest with one finger and said fiercely, "Tell me, did you make him angry again?!"

To openly announce the extramarital affair's pregnancy at the Sheng family's wedding banquet was nothing short of another slap in the face to the Sheng family.

Shulan's eyes were red, and she repeatedly said, "Your daughter-in-law wouldn't dare."

The wicked mother-in-law, however, was relentless, continuing to push and shove while trying to blame Sun Zhigao's outburst on Sheng Shulan.

At this point, Old Mrs. Xu from the second wife's family, who was Minglan's grandmother, finally couldn't stand it anymore.

Stepping forward from the crowd, she announced loudly, "On this joyous occasion, let my grand-nephew-in-law drink if he wants. Once he's had his fill, he won't feel so resentful anymore—didn't he complain about having no one to drink with? Nephew's wife!"

Li hurriedly came closer and respectfully said, "What are your instructions, Aunt?"

"Go tell my eldest nephew to come and properly entertain our distinguished guest—the scholar who passed the imperial examination. He's a son of a prime minister, how esteemed he is! Everyone must fawn over him!"

As he spoke, he waved to everyone around him, saying, "Come on, everyone, whether you can reach it or not, come and offer us a toast. That's how you treat your guests!"

These words were clearly a dig at Sun Zhigao.

But Sun Zhigao also knew that the second wife was not like the first wife, who had some influence in officialdom, and besides, he had already made enough trouble.

Therefore, he pretended not to understand, bowed his hands in thanks, and readily accepted the offer.

This storm was barely covered up.

…………

As the wedding banquet drew to a close, the members of the Sheng family returned to their residence, all filled with righteous indignation.

Under her grandmother's persistent questioning, Shulan recounted in detail the abuse she had suffered at her husband's family's home, which only fueled the entire family's hatred for the Sun family mother and son.

The matriarch of the Sheng family's eldest branch wiped away her tears and said to her daughter-in-law, Li, "With a mother-in-law like this and a husband like this, how can you expect her to endure the next few decades?"

While shedding tears, Li argued, "How could I not love my own daughter? But if the Sun family divorces her, what good family will she be able to find in the future?"

Besides, Sun Zhigao has considerable connections in Shilin and is a close friend of the county magistrate. If he deliberately ruins our family's reputation, what will happen to our unmarried daughters? What will happen to my Pinlan?!

Seeing her aunt so stubborn, still thinking of compromising even at this point, Sheng Minglan was shocked.

Unable to resist speaking out for justice, she said, "Once you've entered a dead end, you should turn around in time! Sister Pinlan is generous and has a dignified demeanor. She would never be willing to use her lifelong happiness as a stepping stone to marry some high-ranking man."

Besides, given Sun Juren's character, if anyone were to criticize the Sheng family because of this, it would only prove they are all cut from the same cloth, and would actually help Pinlan avoid another pitfall.

Before she could finish speaking, Pinlan stepped forward, knelt down, and said firmly, "Minglan is right. I would rather remain unmarried for the rest of my life than see my sister suffer in the Sun family!"

Seeing that Minglan could say such things at such a young age, the entire eldest branch of the Sheng family was deeply moved; and seeing that Pinlan was so resolute for her sister, they couldn't help but feel gratified.

Li stepped forward and helped Pinlan up, hesitatingly saying, "This...this is for a lifetime..."

Pa~!

At this moment, Sheng Wei suddenly slammed his hand on the coffee table and gritted his teeth, saying, "Enough! Even if Shulan is divorced by the Sun family, I will break off this marriage!"

Sheng Wei wouldn't have made up his mind so quickly, but because of Jia Lian, even the county magistrate flattered him. Sheng Wei was in a high position at the time, so how could he bear such humiliation?

"Shut up, shut up...this,this..."

Li trembled and could not utter a complete sentence.

The old lady of the first wife frowned and said, "It would be best to get a divorce."

"How could the Sun family possibly agree to a divorce?!"

Sheng Wei shook his head helplessly, then, remembering that there were still distinguished guests at home, he quickly said to Minglan and Pinlan, "You don't need to worry about this. Just go and keep Miss Lin company."

Seeing that the decision to divorce had been made, and the only thing they were struggling with was the difference between being divorced and being divorced, Minglan and Pinlan obediently withdrew.

As soon as they reached the door, they bumped into Lin Daiyu and her maid.

"Minglan".

Lin Daiyu came up and took Minglan's hand, pressing her for an answer: "How is your cousin's situation?"

Lin Daiyu is a cold-faced but warm-hearted person. In addition, she is favored by Madam Xu of the Sheng family and gets along very well with Minglan. How could she not care when she heard that something happened to the Sheng family?

Minglan did not want her family scandal to be exposed, and wanted to cover it up.

But Pinlan was a straightforward person and explained the whole story directly.

I heard that Sun Zhigao is spending Sheng Shulan's dowry and money given to him by the Sheng family, and treating Shulan like a maid, beating and scolding her all the time. Now he has even brought a pregnant prostitute home and is treating her like his legal wife.

Lin Daiyu was also furious.

I also heard that the Sheng family wants a divorce, but the Sun family won't agree, so in the end, the wife will most likely be divorced.

She gritted her teeth and said sternly, "Yesterday, I spared that old crow out of consideration for you and the old lady. Now that the two families want a divorce, I'll go and talk to my brother. He'll surely have a way to deal with the Sun family!"

Upon hearing this, Pinlan immediately clapped her hands and cheered.

Minglan quickly grabbed Lin Daiyu and said with concern, "Don't let our family's affairs cause you any trouble!"

Although she was raised in the Sheng family, it was no different from living under someone else's roof, so she could best understand Lin Daiyu's difficulties.

"Irrelevant!"

Lin Daiyu resolutely replied, "I was just trying to vent my anger; I'm sure my brother will understand!"

A year ago, she certainly wouldn't have caused Jia Lian any trouble.

Now the cousins ​​are as close as blood siblings, and Daiyu secretly relies on Jia Lian as a second elder, so she has no qualms about asking him for help.

The three had made their plans and were about to go find Jia Lian when suddenly the curtain in the living room was lifted, and Sheng Shulan walked out from inside with red eyes.

Seeing the three girls walking out excitedly, she instinctively asked, "Where are you all going?"

When Pinlan saw that it was her elder sister, her eyes lit up, and she immediately grabbed her, saying, "We're going to ask the young master to uphold justice. Sister, come along too, so we don't have any misunderstandings!"

"This, this isn't..."

Shulan stumbled a few steps as her younger sister pulled her, and instinctively thought to say that this was against the rules.

But thinking of that handsome young master, she couldn't help but feel hopeful that he would stand up for her.

While hesitating, Pinlan had already pulled him out of the inner courtyard.