Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Grandma Kong's course lasted only a little over a month. Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu packed a car full of gifts and sent Grandma Kong away, and then it was time for Hualan's wedding.

Hualan was not the first child of the Sheng family to get married, but she was the eldest child of Sheng Hong, and her marriage was to the Earl's family, so Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu spent a lot of money to arrange the wedding. Not to mention other things, the colorful silks used for decoration alone cost more than a thousand taels of silver. Fortunately, these colorful silks were not only used once, and could be taken out and used again when Changbai got married next time.

Hualan got up early to pack her clothes. Molan and Rulan brought Minglan to her room to accompany her. People from the first and third wives of Youyang also came early. Especially the first wife was in business and was very rich. She sent Hualan a lot of dowry.

Hualan listened to the sounds of stringed instruments outside, and all her previous happiness and excitement turned into expectation and fear for the future. At the moment, she only remembered that she had only learned how to ride a horse and did not know how to play polo. The handkerchief in her hand was almost crumpled to pieces.

Although Molan couldn't figure out what Hualan was worried about, she could probably figure out that she must be reluctant to leave home and was worried about her future life in her husband's family. After Xiniang went out for tea, she pulled Rulan over to comfort her.

Molan said, "Don't be afraid, big sister. Our family is now in the capital, and the lady loves you very much. She will definitely send you invitations during the holidays. No matter how difficult the Yuan family is, there is no reason to keep you from moving."

Rulan agreed as soon as she heard it: "Yes, yes, big sister, you don't have to worry too much about how to live in the Yuan family."

Seeing this, Minglan also said, "Don't be afraid, big sister. Madam Kong also said that you are very good."

Because she was about to leave home, Hualan was deeply moved when she heard her three sisters' words of comfort. She held her three sisters' hands and was almost in tears.

However, precisely because she was grateful for the kindness of her three younger sisters, Hua Lan decided that no matter how difficult the Yuan family was, she would not allow anyone to find fault with them. She had to consider the reputation of her three younger sisters and make it easier for them to find marriages in the future.

Seeing that Hualan didn't relax much and that the matchmaker hadn't come out yet, Molan touched Rulan's arm. Rulan immediately understood her intention and took out a piece of paper from the small pouch on her waist. She and Molan unfolded it together and put it in front of Hualan.

Hua Lan took a closer look and found that it was actually a relationship chart of the people in the Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion. With her future parents-in-law at the center, it displayed almost all of the Yuan family's relatives and friends.

Rulan explained: "My fourth sister and I wrote this together, and my second and third brothers also contributed greatly."

Molan took the opportunity to explain to Hualan: "Everyone knows that the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion has only two legitimate sons, but Yuan Wenchun's talent is mediocre and he is not as capable as his younger brother Yuan Wenshao, so the two brothers have long had signs of quarreling. In order to gain more face in front of his parents, Yuan Wenchun even married his cousin from his uncle's family under the arrangement of the Countess."

"But the Countess's family has fallen into decline over the years. The Countess secretly used the property of the Earl Zhongqin's mansion to provide aid. This matter was not so secretive. The reason why the Earl was able to hide it was because the Countess did not dare to do it too blatantly. Secondly, it was probably because the Countess gave birth to two legitimate sons for the Yuan family."

"But the Lady of Shoushan, the Countess's sister-in-law, is very dissatisfied with this. However, due to her status as a married woman, it is difficult for her to control her too much. If the Countess makes things too difficult for you, you can go to the Lady of Shoushan for help."

"Also, the Yuan family is a little empty inside. Big sister is able to marry Yuan Wenshao, maybe because she is attracted by your generous dowry, so big sister can't give nothing after she gets married, otherwise the Yuan family will easily turn against her. But you can't give too much, otherwise the Yuan family will be greedy. Big sister will figure out the balance of this. If it doesn't work, big sister will ask father for his opinion."

"But my sister doesn't agree with you using your dowry to fill the Yuan family's public treasury. If you can take advantage of it, it's fine. But if you can't take advantage of it, and others even use it to make things difficult for you, then you might as well be a stingy person. After all, a family like the Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion is just a face in the capital."

Molan said so much in a very fast tone, and Hualan was a little slow to react for a moment. But seeing that Molan and Rulan were both worried and thinking seriously about her, she couldn't stop her tears and they fell like beads from a broken string.

Rulan was anxious: "Big sister, you can't be confused!"

"For example, the Ningyuan Marquisate, whose surname is Gu, is the one that became in-laws with the Dongchang Marquisate. They were short of money more than 20 years ago, so they divorced the eldest lady from the Dongchang Marquisate and married the daughter of the Bai family, a salt merchant from Haining. The daughter of the Bai family brought a dowry of 500,000 yuan, which added to the deficit of the Ningyuan Marquisate. But the daughter of the Bai family died within three to five years. Now the eldest lady of the Marquisate is Xiao Qin, the younger sister of the original wife!"

"Mother used the Wang family's connections to get this information for you. You must take this as a warning and not let us get upset."

In order to give Hualan a more intuitive feeling, Molan told Hualan about Bai Ye's story: "When the Yuan family went to Yangzhou to propose marriage to your elder sister, wasn't there a boy named Bai Ye who wanted to use your betrothal goose walk as a bet to compete with your third brother in pitching pots? That Bai Ye should be the second son of Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, the grandson of Haining Bai's Gu Tingye."

"Gu Tingye is a well-known playboy in the capital. He didn't study or practice martial arts at a young age. He spent all day in brothels. Ning Yuanhou scolded and beat him for many years but he still didn't become a good person. Now he has followed the Bai family's path and went to study at Bai Ludong Academy. Although he has made a name for himself, he still keeps a mistress by his side."

"If you ask me, Gu Tingye is not a bad person, otherwise my second brother wouldn't be friends with him and they wouldn't have corresponded with each other. But if that's the case, it shows that there are many people in the Marquis' Mansion who don't want him to make progress or have a good reputation."

After hearing all the gossip and secrets of the inner house, Hua Lan forgot to cry. She quickly wiped her tears and assured her two sisters: "Don't worry, our family is different from the Bai family of Haining. After all, our family is also a noble family. Once your two brothers pass the imperial examination, we can be called a noble family."

"I really don't know how to thank my three sisters for their kindness. I can only live a good life in the Yuan family. Please come to our house as a guest to thank them."

Hualan implied Minglan in her words, but Minglan felt ashamed because she did nothing.

Hualan put away the relationship chart of the Yuan family from Molan and Rulan, and personally poured tea for her three sisters. The four sisters seemed to love each other very much at this time, which also made Wang Ruofu, who was overhearing outside, feel deeply moved.