Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

The Shi family members were all easy to get along with, especially Shi Ying, who took the initiative to create the image of a person who saved Molan from dire straits in front of his parents and brothers. In addition, Shi Ying told them the inside story of how Princess Jiacheng married Qi Heng, the only son of Duke Qi. So after they came to the capital, the arrogance and impetuousness that Shi Ying had developed as a confidant of the official family completely dissipated.

Of course, for Shi Ying, and more importantly to reduce trouble for herself, Molan had to pretend to be a little more virtuous in front of the Shi family. Shi Ying's behavior was indeed beyond her expectations, especially with Yuan Wenshao as a comparison. Even Hualan couldn't help feeling jealous.

Originally Wang Ruofu thought that she would be able to arrange Ruolan's wedding well, but she didn't expect that something unexpected would happen overnight. Her elder sister Wang Ruoyu, who had been married for many years, also returned to the capital with her husband's promotion. However, before the two sisters had time to reminisce about the past, they were told that Wang Ruoyu had snatched Ruolan's fiancé for her daughter!

Wang Ruofu was almost furious, and immediately took Rulan back to her parents' home to ask Old Lady Wang for an explanation. However, even though she had been getting along well with Old Lady Wang over the years, she still could not replace her sister Wang Ruoyu's position in the eyes of her biological mother, Old Lady Wang.

It was good that Wang Ruofu didn't usually conflict with Wang Ruoyu. Old Lady Wang seemed to be able to treat them equally, and even tended to be a little biased towards her because of the slight guilt in her heart.

But now, not only are Wang Ruo and her husband useless, but they also take concubines and keep a bunch of illegitimate daughters. Her life is completely different from before, and it's like a complete transformation compared to Wang Ruofu.

Therefore, Wang Ruofu returned to her parents' home and gained nothing except being angry. Instead, she urged Wang Ruoyu to finalize the marriage between her daughter and her nephew.

Rulan was of course a little uncomfortable about having her marriage snatched away from her, but it was not something she could not get over, because her marriage almost only existed in the mouths of Wang Ruofu and Aunt Wang. The two families just had a tacit understanding and did not even exchange engagement letters.

But Rulan couldn't act like she didn't care about anything, so she could only use the excuse that she was depressed and move to Shiying and Molan's house for a while. The excuse was simple: just to accompany Molan, who had been diagnosed with pregnancy.

Fortunately, Mrs. Sheng took Minglan back to her hometown in Youyang after Molan's wedding, and also brought Shulan and Pinlan who had already completed their inspection in the capital.

Pinlan originally just wanted Shulan to meet the female shopkeepers in the capital, so that she could establish herself in the Sun family and manage her own life. Unexpectedly, although Shulan looked gentle, she was more determined than anyone else once she made up her mind.

Even though Shulan had already initially gained control over Sun Xiucai and his daughter, she was still determined to divorce. She had even thought about how she would live after the divorce.

Shulan said to Molan, Rulan, Minglan and Pinlan at the time: "I know that my marriage is irreparable now, and I can't watch myself fall into a situation where I have to fight with a concubine who came from a brothel, so I plan to divorce and take all the dowry with me, then run a few small shops by myself, and maybe I will marry again in the future."

Molan agreed with Shulan's attitude that she was not completely disappointed in her marriage. After all, it was not her fault that she met Sun Xiucai. It was true that Sun Xiucai and his mother were not human beings. Shulan could be disappointed in her marriage with Sun Xiucai, but it was not easy for her to end it all at once.

Molan didn't care what kind of shop Shulan opened. After discussing with Rulan and Shiying, she directly sponsored Shulan with seven dim sum recipes and seven menus. Four of the dim sum and four menus were from Shiying's hometown, and the rest were copied at home after Molan and Rulan tasted them in restaurants outside. They were given to Shulan because she was going to use them in her hometown of Youyang.

At first Shulan was determined not to accept it, but later Molan said that it should be regarded as Ruolan and her share of the money. The three of them wrote the deed in a formal manner and asked Changbai and Changfeng to witness it. After that, they went to the government to file a case. It was really thoughtful. Only then did Shulan feel at ease to take the things.

However, no one expected that Rulan’s unhappy marriage was the beginning of the Sheng family’s misfortunes.

When Mrs. Sheng brought Minglan back to the capital from her hometown in Youyang to celebrate the New Year, she first brought the news of Shulan's divorce, and then said that Shulan's dim sum shop had opened successfully and was doing good business. She also used Sheng Hong's invitation to shield Shulan from a lot of trouble.

Then there are signs that Pinlan is getting married, and her husband is her great aunt's cousin named Hu Taisheng.

It is also said that Shulan has a suitor, who is still a poor scholar, but this man is different from Scholar Sun. At least he has both parents. Even though his family is a little poor because his old father needs medical treatment, he is still able to humble himself and work as an accountant to earn money to support his family.

But Minglan's own marriage had some twists and turns. Just after the New Year, a coup in the palace caused Prince Yong and Prince Yan to kill each other. The position of crown prince was taken away by Zhao Zongquan, the commander of the Yuzhou militia, who went to Beijing to file a complaint.

Fortunately, the emperor had someone to protect him. Although he was forced by Prince Yong and Prince Yan to establish Zhao Zongquan, his physical condition was actually quite good. He recovered after being sick for ten days or so. Therefore, the old people from Yuzhou brought by Zhao Zongquan did not have time to become royalists.

Because Shi Ying saved the emperor's life, after the emperor cleaned up the court, he promoted Shi Ying to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and gave him the honorary title of Prince Taifu. Not only was he promoted three levels himself, he also earned Molan the imperial edict of a third-rank lady, and from then on she was called Sheng Shuren.

Just when everyone in the Sheng family was happy about Minglan's marriage, something unexpected happened.

First, He Hongwen's cousin from his mother's family didn't want to be exiled to the frontier with her family, so she shamelessly begged He Hongwen's biological mother, Madam Cao, for a marriage certificate with He Hongwen. After being rejected, she actually drugged He Hongwen to confirm her physical intimacy with him.

Old Madam He only had time to give cousin Cao a bowl of contraceptive soup, but she had to handle things carefully afterwards. After all, the Sheng family had risen a lot compared to the He family. Not to mention that Minglan was a girl raised by Old Madam Sheng, even if she was an ordinary girl in the Sheng family, the He family would have to deal with her carefully.

However, He Hongwen's temper and character are similar to Qi Heng's. Both are somewhat compromising in nature, and do not want to personally step forward to face difficulties unless it is absolutely necessary.

Besides, He Hongwen also had feelings for his biological mother, Madam Cao. In fact, before meeting Minglan, he had met his cousin Cao Jinxiu first. However, at that time, the He family was far inferior to the Cao family, and Cao Jinxiu also looked down on He Hongwen, so the two families did not mention marriage arrangements.

But now the Cao family was exiled to the frontier because of the dispute between Prince Yong and Prince Yan. Cao Jinxiu instantly fell from being a daughter of an official family to a slave with words tattooed on her face. The Cao family talked about the marriage certificate from the He family just to create a time difference so that they could rely on the He family through this relationship.

Mrs. Cao was not welcomed at her natal home before, and later she was ignored for many years by both her natal and in-laws because of her husband's early death. Now the Cao family suddenly came to flatter her, and she felt so elated that after crying, making a fuss, and threatening to commit suicide to no avail, she personally covered up for Cao Jinxiu's plot against her own son.

Old Madam He only hated herself for not taking action in time because she wanted to suppress Minglan. Now that He Hongwen was involved with Cao Jinxiu, she was sure that Old Madam Sheng would definitely look down on He Hongwen after this incident, so she came to the house in person to explain the reason, compensated Minglan with a set of fine kingfisher pearl headwear, and ended the verbal engagement between He Hongwen and Minglan.