Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Ruolan could still go to Molan's house to relax after her engagement was cancelled, but Minglan felt that she had no such relationship with Molan, so she could only stay in her own small courtyard and do nothing while Mrs. Sheng was heartbroken. Later, Mrs. Sheng used the excuse that the girl should learn some housekeeping skills when she grew up, and pushed Minglan out to help Han as the housekeeper. Wang Ruofu was the first to object.

Wang Ruofu hated the way that Old Madam Sheng was selfish but insisted on occupying the moral high ground. She said bluntly in front of Sheng Hong and the two wives, "As for my Ru'er, that was what I told my sister-in-law in person. Minglan was just the old lady talking on her own. I and the master have no say. Wasn't the mess she caused enough for her family to clean up?!"

Sheng Hong frowned and said nothing. He was worried about the two children's consecutive unhappy marriages, but he also knew that there was nothing wrong with what Wang Ruofu said. He was even more annoyed that Old Lady Sheng always used such shady means to achieve her goals.

Seeing that Sheng Hong didn't say anything, Wang Ruofu continued, "In the past, there was no such thing as a girl managing the household. Not to mention Hualan at that time, even Molan who came later only managed her own small courtyard. Ruer and Minglan should naturally follow Molan's old rules."

Old Lady Sheng was speechless after being blocked by Wang Ruofu. She knew that Wang Ruofu would definitely object, but before she could pull Ruolan out to complain to Minglan, Wang Ruofu rejected her idea. Now she had no choice but to accept Wang Ruofu's words to let the girls manage their own courtyards.

Of course Minglan couldn't bear to see Old Lady Sheng so lonely, so she quickly said, "Madam, please don't be angry. This matter was caused by me. I will apologize to you today. Please don't hate Grandmother for being partial to me because of her anxiety."

Wang Ruofu looked at Minglan with an expression of disbelief. She had known from the beginning that Minglan was not an easy person to deal with. But after all, Minglan had been cautious since she was a child and would not move unless pricked by a needle. This was the first time she had seen Minglan being so aggressive.

Sheng Hong heard Minglan's unreasonable words and directly scolded her: "Shut up!"

"Is this your attitude towards your stepmother?!"

Minglan looked at Sheng Hong with her big, clear eyes. The meaning was very clear. She was saying that he and Wang Ruofu only showed respect to their biological mother, Madam Sheng, out of appearance.

Sheng Hong was so angry that he laughed, "Sixth girl, these ten fingers are still long. Let alone compared with your brothers, even if you compare with Molan and Rulan, what is there about you that is worthy of my and the eldest lady's preference?"

Wang Ruofu was furious when she saw Minglan's expression: "You are a concubine's daughter, and you still want to covet my dowry?!"

Sheng Hong also stood on Wang Ruofu's side. He himself had never thought of spending her dowry, and of course he would not allow his children to covet it. "You may have been neglected by your family for a period of time when you were a child, but your share has never been short of money. How come you have become envious of the extra dowry that the eldest lady gave Molan when she got married?"

Old Madam Sheng heard Sheng Hong's harsh words and quickly stopped him: "You and your wife are both parents, how can you force your child in the dark like this!"

Wang Ruofu had no intention of letting things go today, and she said directly to Minglan: "It seems that the Sixth Miss is quite resentful. If you have time today, please speak up. Don't give me face, just say it directly!"

Han and Liu, who were sitting below, were really on pins and needles. They couldn't say anything at all. Fortunately, Sheng Hong felt that it was enough to leave it at that for the sake of the old lady, so he waved his hand and asked them to leave.

Seeing that her sister-in-law had left, Minglan didn't care about much anymore. All the grievances she had just been scolded for came to her mind. "Father, do you still remember my mother? Do you remember what she looked like and what kind of personality she had?"

Sheng Hong remained silent. Of course he could not remember what Wei Xiaoniang looked like. He only remembered that Wei Xiaoniang avoided him as much as possible, as if being his concubine was a humiliation. Therefore, even though Wei Xiaoniang was prettier than Lin Qinshuang, he did not want to put himself in such a difficult position after failing to get a good response from her several times.

Seeing Sheng Hong didn't say anything, Minglan took a deep breath and continued, "When my mother was pregnant, Linqi Pavilion deducted her allowance. I still remember how embarrassed I was at that time and couldn't even wear new clothes. Later, my mother had trouble giving birth and passed away with the baby in her belly who was not sure if it was my brother or sister. That's when I was raised by my grandmother and had enough food and clothes to wear."

Wang Ruofu laughed out loud, "Ming girl, you are amazing. I didn't know when you developed the habit of talking nonsense!"

"Back then, Lin Qige did manage the household expenses for a period of time, but to say that he withheld money from your pregnant mother, that is definitely not the case. After all, your father and I investigated what happened back then. Whenever your yard was short of something, it was your mother who withdrew it and gave it to her brothers from her mother's family!"

"As for your mother's difficult labor, the doctor at the time said it very clearly. She was greedy and raised the baby, and you made her give birth prematurely, which is why she suffered."

"You can't just talk nonsense and accuse someone for no reason just because you were young and maybe forgot some things."

Old Lady Sheng also found out that Minglan actually had such a worry in her mind, and had been holding it for so many years. However, the death of Wei Xiaoniang back then was somewhat related to her, and Sheng Hong would never let Lin Qinshuang be involved in anything. Besides, Wei Xiaoniang's affair was also witnessed by her younger sister from her natal family. Even if Minglan was unwilling, she really couldn't make any random associations.

Without waiting for Sheng Hong to say anything, Old Lady Sheng pulled Minglan into her arms, tears streaming down her face, "My poor Ming'er, grandma didn't know that you still have so many grievances in your heart."

The old man and the child both cried. Sheng Hong could only suppress the anger that surged up to his forehead. "I don't know whether Wei Xiaoniang was really stupid or just wanted to take advantage of the time of childbirth to die directly. Anyway, she had already given birth to you, and then she didn't know to avoid certain foods, and raised the child in her belly. Because of her anger, she had a difficult delivery, and finally died with the child in her belly."

"Everyone in the Sheng family knows about this. Besides, we hired more than one doctor at the time. We should be able to find out a lot if we investigate now. If you don't believe it, go and find out for yourself."

Old Madam Sheng would not watch Minglan being completely abandoned by Sheng Hong, and immediately looked up and said, "Ming'er was still young at that time, and no one had told her that Wei Xiaoniang had also used her share to support her parents' family. Naturally, she thought that her family had deducted her share, and it was normal for her to feel a little resentful."

"How can there be any conflict between two close family members? Now that these misunderstandings have been cleared up, how can you, as an elder, distance yourself from your own flesh and blood because of this?"

Sheng Hong was so angry that he laughed, "The old lady is too biased. Wasn't she the one who found out everything today?!"

"Besides, you heard it yourself before. She almost said that I gave birth to a child but didn't raise it, and that the eldest lady and Shuang'er killed her youngest wife!"

Wang Ruofu also said, "You think our family is not doing well. But remember Miss Yu from the family of Old Master Yu, who you are close to? She is the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife, but she lives a life worse than even a concubine's daughter like you."

"So where do all these grievances and resentments come from?!"

Minglan could see that Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu were not lying. She couldn't believe that she had been a villain all these years and had made herself a joke. She fell ill the moment she returned home. However, apart from Mrs. Sheng and Rulan who cared about her, only her two sisters-in-law, Han and Liu, would occasionally send people to visit her to save her face.