Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

On the third day after Changbai got married, Princess Pingning set up a banquet at Duke Qi's mansion, saying that she was grateful to the Sheng family for inviting the famous teacher Qi Heng to teach, and invited all the Sheng family members to her home. Molan was unable to move, so Changfeng declined the invitation on her behalf; Qi Heng claimed to be sick and stayed in bed, and never came to the hall.

During the dinner, Princess Pingning talked about her visit to Yuqing Temple a few days ago to get fortune-teller's fortune: "I wanted to tell Heng'er's fortune for the imperial examination, and the Taoist priest said that our family has too much yang energy, so we need to find a goddaughter to cleanse it. We need to find someone who is gentle and demure, and who must be born in June."

Wang Ruofu screamed, "Oh, wasn't Minglan born in June?" She regretted it the moment she said it.

Princess Pingning was extremely surprised: "So Minglan was born in June? No wonder I like her so much!"

Wang Ruofu waved her hands quickly: "Alas, she is just a straw mat girl, how can she win the favor of the princess. Although my Ru'er is eight..."

Princess Pingning pretended not to hear him, staring at Minglan and continuing to speak: "I think this girl is quiet, well-behaved, gentle and lovely, just in line with what the Taoist said. Old lady, I know Minglan was raised by you, I wonder if you are willing to let Minglan recognize me as her godmother?"

Wang Ruofu thought to herself, why should I recognize Minglan? If I have to recognize someone, I should recognize Rulan! But how could she dare to say that? She hesitated and looked at Sheng Hong. Sheng Hong was also puzzled and looked at the old lady in doubt.

The old lady nodded with a smile and said, "If this girl can have Princess Pingning as her godmother, it will be a blessing she has cultivated for several lifetimes."

Princess Pingning laughed and said that it would be better to do it today than to wait for another day. She immediately took out the white jade locket that she brought as a dowry and asked Minglan to accept it.

Minglan accepted the gift with great joy and kowtowed three times to Princess Pingning, and the marriage was concluded.

On the way home, Wang Ruofu was puzzled: "My Ruer is a legitimate daughter, well-behaved, sensible, gentle and lovely. What's wrong with Princess Pingning that she only likes Minglan?"

Sheng Hong was very happy. He laughed twice and said, "What kind of daughter have you taught yourself? Don't you know it yourself? Rulan can only endure for a while, but how can Princess Pingning not see what kind of person she is in her heart? Besides, she has clearly stated that she wants the baby to be born in June. Among our three girls, only Minglan is suitable! Do you want to give up this opportunity and let the princess recognize the daughter of another family?"

Wang Ruofu: "No, no, of course not. Although it's not Ruer who I recognized, she is my daughter after all. From now on, our family is completely related to the Duke of Qi's Mansion, haha! In the future, will our Ruer be able to see the young master often? What do you think if..."

"Stop, stop!" Sheng Hong knew what she wanted to say and stopped her immediately: "Although the princess only recognized Minglan, if it comes down to it, Ruolan has to call Qi Heng her godbrother. From now on, don't have any other ideas. It is the best outcome for the children of our two families to treat each other as siblings." Seeing Wang Ruofu's face fall, he comforted her: "Now that our family has this godparent, it will be useful for the children to get married in the future."

Wang Ruofu was comforted and laughed again: "That's right, if this matter is made public, everyone will look up to us. No, I have to go to the Yuan family now, I have to talk to Hualan's mean mother-in-law, and see if she dares to bully our daughter in the future."

"Can you please stop believing everything you hear?" Sheng Hong finally lost his patience. "I said all this just to reassure you, why are you making such a fuss again? Hua'er is finally pregnant now, but you won't let her stay at home and rest quietly, and you even go to her house to gossip about her. With your mouth faster than your brain, if you cause her mother-in-law to worry again, won't you be causing trouble for Hua'er for nothing?"

"Then I'm just going to tell my in-laws some good news. Is that okay?"

"Are you going there to announce the good news or to show off? Do you think people are stupid enough not to see it?" Sheng Hong squinted at her, "I beg you, just be quiet, wait until Hua'er is pregnant and returns to our own home, then you can tell her about this in detail, right?"

Wang Ruofu rolled her eyes and whispered, "It's frustrating."

……

Five days later, Mrs. Sheng took Minglan on the ship back to Youyang, and the entire Sheng family came to see them off.

Guifen also came. She held Minglan's hand and said reluctantly, "Yanran is going back to Liangzhou to get married, and you are going back to Youyang too. How come you two left at the same time, leaving me alone in Bianjing..."

Minglan laughed and said, "It's not like I won't come back! I'll bring you some local produce from my hometown when the time comes."

"Who cares about your mountain products?" Gui Fen said to her, "You should take good care of yourself. Don't come back and let me find out that you have lost weight or are injured, otherwise I will not forgive you! Here, these two, you asked me to find them for you. Don't look at them as skinny, they are actually very skilled."

She pointed at the two maids behind her and asked them to salute Minglan.

Minglan nodded and let the two get on board first. She said to Guifen, "Thank you! This trip is really long, and there are women and children on the boat. I am worried that if something happens on the way, it would be more reassuring to have two skilled people. If it weren't for you, I really don't know where to find such a person."

Guifen smiled and said, "This kind of thing is very simple for our family. You should come to me. I can feel more at ease with the two of them escorting me along the way. These two people are yours from now on. You must take good care of them."

Minglan waved her hands: "No, no, we agreed at the beginning. I just borrowed someone from you, and I will return it to you when I come back."

Gui Fen: "Are you being polite to me now? I said I would send you off, but why don't you want to recognize me before we even leave Bian Jing?"

Minglan: "How can that be! I am not..."

Guifen: "Don't say this or that. If you don't mean that, just keep it. I put their indentures in the box of snacks. Remember to take them out. Don't just eat them as if they were wrapped in oil paper." She knew Minglan was a foodie.

Minglan laughed and said, "The one who understands me is Sister Zhang!"

Guifen pushed her into the cabin and said, "Go quickly! Come back quickly!"

Amid the sound of splashing water, the grandparents set off.

The two stood at the stern and watched the Bianliang Wharf gradually disappear into the smoke. The old lady suddenly said, "Ming Er, we will not be back for at least half a year after we leave."

Minglan helped the old lady back to the cabin: "My granddaughter knows."

The old lady didn't look at her: "Maybe when we come back, the young master's marriage will be settled."

Minglan also looked straight ahead: "If that's the case, then I'll give my brother a gift as a gift."

After returning to the cabin, the old lady dismissed everyone around her and closed the door before continuing, "Speaking of which, the Duke's Mansion is a very noble family, and the young master is also very handsome. You rejected him so decisively. Don't you regret it?" The old lady had always wanted to ask this question, but before, considering that the young master had not given up and might tease her again at any time, she was afraid that asking too much would make Minglan waver, so she kept it to herself.

Minglan made a horrified expression: "I would really regret it if I accepted it. The young master is not much younger than my second brother. With his character and appearance, there should be a long queue of people going to the Duke's Mansion to propose marriage. But why is Princess Pingning reluctant to arrange a marriage for the young master?"

"Don't you want to wait until the young master passes the imperial examination before getting married?" The old lady pretended to be ignorant.

Minglan shook her head, "That's why we have to make this plan. If my second brother didn't have this honor, my lady wouldn't have the face to propose marriage to a family like the Hai family. The Hai family has five Hanlin scholars in their own family. How could they just want my second brother's title of 13th in the first class? They saw that my second brother is a handsome man and was willing to swear that he would never take a concubine, so they agreed to marry their daughter. But this honor is also necessary, it is a stepping stone. With this, the Hai family is willing to let my brother come closer and take a look."

Minglan picked up the tea from the table and handed it to the old lady, continuing, "But the Duke's Mansion is different. Their family already has the highest title among the opposite sex ministers, so why should they rely on the young master to take the imperial examination to gain a high status? Princess Pingning is delaying this, just waiting for a good price."

"Waiting for a good price?" The old lady asked, but she already had the answer in her heart. She was just testing Minglan at this moment, and when she heard this word, admiration flashed in her eyes.

"That's right, she is waiting for the right price. She is waiting for the one who will eventually become the emperor. As long as the news is confirmed, Princess Pingning will take action immediately. In other words, once she sees who the young master will marry, the attitude of the palace will be self-evident."

The old lady nodded with satisfaction: "The princess no longer cares about the wealth of her male subjects. What she wants is the true royal dignity."

Minglan sighed slightly, "It's just that the world's affairs are treacherous and unpredictable, and how can the fate of a country be calculated by human hearts? As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. Instead of being cautious and wavering, it's better to calm down and do your own job well, and leave the rest to God."