Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

By late at night, everyone was exhausted.

Sheng Hong had a terrible headache and went to sleep in the study. Although Hua Lan was suspected in this matter, Lin Qinshuang was definitely guilty. He didn't want to cause any more trouble in the marriage with the Earl's Mansion, nor did he want his beloved Shuang'er to suffer. This was the best solution at the moment.

Madam Wang felt that she had caught Lin's handle but failed to kill her, so she cursed angrily. Hualan removed the maid guarding the door and told her the whole story. Wang Ruofu finally came to her senses and became afraid again. She kept scolding Hualan for not caring about her reputation and not mentioning the "false account" again.

In fact, the dowry was not lost at all. Hualan herself carefully selected these two items from the dowry and gave them to Liu Mama, who then asked a newly bought servant who had signed a death contract to sell them at a low price to the purchasing boy in the name of stolen goods.

The shopping boy was not fooled at first and asked why the buyer didn't go to the pawnshop to exchange it for a good price, but was willing to sell it to him for just over ten taels of silver?

The man said, "If I sell it to a pawnshop and the owner recognizes it later, won't I be sued? It would be better to sell it to you, and you can go back and give it to a young lady or girl who doesn't go out often. They will play with it in their boudoirs and never take it out, so who would know where it came from?"

The shopping boy thought, "Yes! Instead of giving such a delicate and valuable thing to others, which would arouse suspicion, it is better to give it to Lin Xiaoniang under a pretext, saying that it was bought. This will not only please her, but also earn her more money."

The first time he gave the carved dragon and phoenix bracelet to Lin Xiaoniang, he made fifty taels of silver and was so happy that he drank three meals of wine. A few days later, he got an unprecedented folding fan, which he eagerly gave to Lin Xiaoniang, and made eighty taels of silver. He was planning to go find his sworn brother who sold the stolen goods, but he couldn't find him anymore.

Where did he go? He had been sent back to Wang's house by Liu's mother to wait for further investigation.

At this point, Lin Qinshuang knew that she was set up, but she could not defend herself because her false accounts had been exposed. Although she lost her power as a housekeeper, she also retained her dignity. She was only confined to her house, but she did not suffer any serious punishment. Even Madam Zhou was not punished. So she only dared to lose her temper secretly in her room and did not want to make a big deal out of it.

Dong Rong fought all night and beat the purchasing servant to death in Lin's courtyard.

The several managers who were accomplices of Lin Qinshuang had their badges taken away that night. They stood by and watched the servants being beaten to death. They were scared to death. The next day, they were changed into coarse cloth clothes and arranged to wash clothes, sweep the floor, and clean the toilet in Lin's yard. They knew that the master had already shown them kindness, so they dared not say a word.

Everything that happened that night was erased, except for the guards outside the Sheng Mansion, who remained guarding until the entire Sheng family boarded the ship. The Yuan family thought that Lord Sheng was shocked by Gu Tingye's incident and strengthened the defense for them. Instead, they thought that their in-laws were thoughtful and did not notice anything unusual.

……

Winter passed and spring came. Sheng Hong's departure for Beijing was approaching. He and Wang Ruofu packed their bags and prepared to go to Runzhou to bid farewell to the Wang family and temporarily hand over the housekeeping power to the old lady.

Under the old lady's care, Wei gradually regained her complexion. When she regained her energy and strength, she began to worship Buddha in the house every day, praying for the old lady to live a long life.

Minglan usually lives in the old lady's room, and every afternoon she goes to Wei Xiaoniang's room to do needlework with her.

After taking care of his grandfather's funeral, Gu Tingye returned to the Sheng Mansion with a large box of deeds and banknotes, and he was thinking about finding an opportunity to talk to Minglan.

He pretended to ask Changbai: "Why haven't I seen Brother Changfeng these days?"

Changbai: "Father said he was not doing well in schoolwork and put him under house arrest."

Gu Tingye said "oh" and asked again: "Which sister of yours was the one who played pot toss with me last time?"

Changbai raised his eyebrows: "She is the sixth child in my family. What's the matter? One moment you ask Changfeng and the next you ask Minglan. Are you itching to try your luck? You said you would stop gambling by throwing pots!"

Gu Tingye: "Of course not! I just think that your sixth sister is well-raised, upright and strong-willed. Was this skill of pitching pots taught by the eldest lady?"

Changbai shrugged, "She was born to my father's concubine. She was raised in her own mother's room before. Now her mother is pregnant again. My grandmother is kind and took her to her own room to raise her."

Gu Tingye was puzzled: "Oh? But I remember you said that the girl surnamed Lin raised her own children."

Changbai rolled his eyes. "That evil woman Lin is not Minglan's biological mother. Her mother is Wei, who is not favored by our father and cannot take good care of Minglan. Grandmother felt sorry for them and took Minglan in. But Grandmother always let Minglan go to accompany her biological mother every afternoon. My sixth sister goes there every day regardless of wind or snow."

Gu Tingye: "I think this young lady from the Wei family takes good care of Minglan. She is affectionate, righteous, brave and resourceful."

Changbai: "Is it brave and resourceful to play pot toss with you? Tell me about yourself first! My heart still beats when I think of the dangerous situation you were assassinated that day. If you encounter such a thing again in the future, don't hide it from me!"

Gu Tingye: "I was mainly afraid of scaring you, and I didn't expect those people in the Bai family to be so cruel. If it weren't for my servant Zhique that day, I would have been buried in the water."

Changbai: "It is a blessing to have such a loyal servant. We should remember him well." His eyes lit up and he continued: "How about this! If you encounter such a dangerous situation again in the future and cannot tell him in person, you can use 'Zhi Que' as a code, how about that?"

Gu Tingye's heart moved slightly, and he nodded and said, "Okay!"

Changbai felt much more relieved and then asked, "So what are your plans next?"

Gu Tingye: "Of course I should study hard and pass the imperial examination as soon as possible!"

Changbai: "Okay! When we get back to Beijing, let's go to my private school. When my father was wrongfully imprisoned, he met the great scholar Zhuang Mohan. He has already made an agreement with him that he will come to my private school to teach us when we return to Beijing."

Gu Tingye looked up at the sky: "I want to, but my family is full of monsters and demons. Once they know that I have inherited such a large family business, I am afraid they will not let me study hard. What's more, I have never studied hard at my age. If I rashly go to listen to the class of a great scholar, I am afraid I will not be able to keep up."

Changbai sighed, "I originally thought you were just naughty by nature, but these days I'm really scared after hearing you talk about a lot of things at home... You have it so hard. But if you don't come to my house, where are you going to study?"

Gu Tingye: "I plan to go to Bailudong Academy."

Changbai's eyes lit up: "Bailudong Academy! That's great, very good! Bailudong is famous for its rigorous academic research, and has produced many successful candidates over the years. If you go there, you can stay away from family affairs and study with peace of mind. With your talent, you will definitely be admitted to a high school in the future!"

Gu Tingye patted Changbai on the shoulder and sighed sincerely: "Among the people around me, except for Nanny Chang, only you and my stepmother Xiao Qinshi treat me sincerely and hope for my best."

……

At the beginning of the afternoon, Minglan came out of Wei's room. Halfway through her walk, she felt something hit her head.

She looked up and saw a head sticking out of the roof. It was Gu Tingye.