Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

West Garden of Sheng’s House.

This was originally the residence of the second branch of the Sheng family, and now it is inhabited by "Mrs. Shen's family who came from other places to seek refuge with the second branch of the Sheng family." Minglan and her grandchildren live in the east courtyard of the first branch, and are very close to the eldest old lady.

In order to reduce the presence of the Shen family as much as possible, Minglan usually does not come to see them, and only asks Xiaotao to send various food and daily necessities over every day.

The eldest branch of the Sheng family had received many friends and relatives who came to ask for money in Youyang, so they were not surprised by these "Shen family members" with unclear origins, but they were not enthusiastic about them.

Old Madam Sheng ignored these people. Although she took them in for Minglan's sake, it did not mean that she welcomed them. In her heart, she still did not want Minglan to get involved in a dispute with an unknown outcome.

It was late at night, and after Minglan had helped the old lady wash and lie down, she came to Madam Shen's door and saw that the light was still on. She asked softly, "Is the Madam asleep?"

Now Shen Congying was just an ordinary woman, so there was no reason to arrange for a maid to wait on her door. But in the dark, several pairs of eyes were watching and patrolling the surroundings.

Shen Congying was already very familiar with Minglan's voice, and he quickly opened the door to welcome her in: "Why did you come here in person?"

Before they got off the boat, they agreed to reduce direct contact after entering Sheng's house to avoid being seen.

Minglan: "Look, Madam, the lights are still on. I'll come over to take a look when no one is around. Also, Minglan wants to ask Madam for help with something."

Shen Congying had been worrying about how to repay the Sheng family for saving his life. Upon hearing this, he said, "What are you asking for? You've helped us so much. I can't thank you enough. Just tell me if there's anything I can do."

"I have a cousin..." Minglan explained the story of Shulan and the Sun family to Shen Congying in detail. After listening to the whole story, Shen Congying said with disgust: "The Sun family is really worthless! People like this should have lost their reputation long ago so that they can learn how to be human beings from scratch."

Minglan nodded: "What he did is indeed unbecoming of a scholar, but my family still has to consider the reputation of the women in the family, so we can't make things too awkward with him for the time being."

Shen Congying: "Indeed. If your cousin really uses the evidence of his prostitution to sue him, although it can make him lose his fame, but according to the laws of our dynasty, your cousin will also have to go to jail for a year as a wife suing her husband. In this way, the unmarried girls in your family will be affected." When discussing marriage, if anyone heard that the girl in this family had been in jail, he would hesitate.

Minglan: "So, now I have a plan. Let Shitou and Sun Zhigao put on a show so that Sun Zhigao can ask for a divorce himself. But this matter needs to be reported to my uncle's family in the end. If they know that I am the one behind it, they will be scared."

Shen Congying: "What do you mean?"

Minglan explained the plan to Shen Congying in detail, and then said, "I would like to ask Madam to come forward and take charge of this matter."

Shen Congying was shocked by Minglan's scheme at first, but then hesitant: "This is a huge favor, how can I claim it?"

Minglan: "If no one comes forward to take responsibility for this matter in the end, then this plan will still have loopholes. And this is not considered as claiming the money by false pretenses. You used Gu Tingye's money and Gu Tingye's people did the work. These were originally arranged by Gu Tingye for your family. I'm just borrowing his power. If my family mistakenly thinks that Gu Tingye did these for me, my grandmother will beat me to death..." After she finished speaking, her face turned slightly red.

Shen Congying thought she was very cute and smiled: "You look weak and cute, but you can come up with such a big plan. I really admire you."

Minglan waved her hands again and again: "Madam, please don't say that. These are all conspiracies and tricks. If I tell others, it will make me look sinister. But, for my cousin, I have to do these things. I can't stand seeing her being beaten and bullied by her husband's family..."

Shen Congying held her hand and said, "You have good intentions. How could I not know that? Scum like Sun Zhigao should be severely punished. You did the right thing."

Minglan looked at her with sparkling eyes: "Did the Madam agree?"

Shen Congying nodded: "I have no problem accepting it. But if I do this, it seems that the identity I told your family before is inconsistent with me?"

Minglan: "To be honest, I have been troubled by the issue of hiding your identity. Although the fewer people who know the better, you will be living here for quite some time. If the Sheng family always thinks that you are here to take advantage of me, and treat you indifferently, I will feel guilty towards you and my family."

Shen Congying held Minglan's hand and said gently, "Good girl, didn't I tell you? We know we are on the run, so it doesn't matter what kind of life we ​​live. We are grateful to be alive!"

Minglan: "My madam said so, but I can't do this. If Erlang knew that you are being ignored here, he will probably blame me later." Of course, but Minglan knew that Gu Tingye would not do this. At most, he would just laugh and laugh at her jokes, and then help her find ways to make up for it.

Shen Congying: "Then you are wrong about Erlang. That naughty boy came to my place to beg for money when he was in Yuzhou. He would eat anything I gave him with relish, and would even beg for more if I didn't give him anything."

The two laughed.

Minglan: "Madam, don't worry. Only my elders and cousins ​​will know about this. Outsiders will never think that it was our Sheng family who set up this trap. They will only think that the Sheng family was brought into trouble by the Sun family."

……

The next day, a stranger named "Mr. Bai" came to Qianjin Pavilion in Youyang County, waved his hand and bought a table of the most expensive banquet. He also asked the waiter to call the madam, saying that he wanted to discuss a business with her.

The madam came in late, and as soon as she entered the room, she poured wine for Mr. Bai and said jokingly, "Sir, I hope you are not interested in this old thing of mine when you are talking about business?"

Mr. Bai laughed out loud: "Not really, not really. Madam, you are too kind. May I ask your name, madam?"

The madam pretended to be surprised and said, "When people come to me, I always ask the girls their last names. You are the first one to ask mine."

Mr. Bai: "Since you want to do business with mom, you must treat her with courtesy."

People like this who go to a brothel and don't look for girls but the madam are usually troublemakers. The madam didn't have much patience to deal with the man in front of her, but she didn't expect that the man would have some courtesy. She paused and said, "No need to ask for your surname, old lady."

Mr. Bai also poured a glass of wine for the madam: "Mother Fei, I want to buy a girl from you."

Mother Fei understood and said, "So it's a lovelorn young man who wants to redeem his beloved girl? But I've never seen a young man come to my place before, so I don't know where this story came from."

Could it be that one of the bitches under his command secretly got married to someone else behind her back?

Mr. Bai waved his hand and said, "I don't like being with the courtesan. I bought her for a private matter. Madam Fei, just tell me whether to sell her or not."

Mother Fei frowned and thought for a moment, then waved her hand and said, "Although I am doing the flesh trade with the girls, I am also an honest businessman. I will never do anything illegal like killing people."

She didn't know what Mr. Bai was up to, so she didn't dare to agree.

Mr. Bai: "Of course I didn't do anything illegal. She is my biological sister who was separated from me when I was young."

Mother Fei couldn't help but stand up: "What?!"

Mr. Bai sighed softly, "It took me many years to find her. Now I have a fortune, but I have no relatives around me. I want to find her and take her back so that I can have someone to rely on."

Mother Fei looked at his expression and asked, "Who is it?"

"Flower girl."

"Impossible!" Mother Fei waved her handkerchief. "I bought her from her parents. How could I not know her family background? Besides, you don't look like her at all. You can't be her brother."

Mr. Bai: "Her father and mother's surname is Ding, and they are also prostitutes."

Mother Fei: “You know this too?”

Mr. Bai: "I told you, I have been looking for Hua Niang for a long time."

Mother Fei snorted, "Even if they knew, it wouldn't be surprising. Hua Niang's background is no secret, and she's not the only one who has been a prostitute in Qianjin Pavilion for generations."

Mr. Bai slapped a piece of government silver on the table and said sadly, "Seventeen years ago, my father was traveling for business and stopped here. He had a few nights of pleasure with Madam Ding, and that's how Hua Niang came into being. But at that time, he was restricted everywhere and had no choice but to not take them back, so they had to leave with hatred. Now I'm the only one left in the family, so I came here to take her back, just to show my filial piety."

Mother Fei's breathing was slightly rapid. Silver was a scarce commodity. Few people in Youyang could afford a whole ingot of official silver. Even the richest family, the Sheng family, usually used copper coins to pay bills. This ingot of silver was estimated to be ten taels, which was more than enough to buy Hua Niang.

Mr. Bai begged, "Mother Fei, please let me take my sister back. I am now in the salt business, so it is no problem for me to support her. Even if she never gets married, I can still support her for the rest of her life. If she wants to get married, I will give her 100,000 taels of silver and let her get married in style, so that no one will look down on her."

When she heard the word "selling salt", Mother Fei felt her heart skip a beat; and when she heard the word "ten thousand taels of silver", she felt her headache was about to flare up.

"Words are not enough. How can I know if you are lying to me?" Mother Fei suppressed her pounding heart and said calmly, "In this world, even venison can be faked with horse meat. How can I know if you are a fake rich businessman or a real liar?"

Mr. Bai sighed, took out a document from his pocket, and said, "I came out in a hurry this time, and I only brought this with me. Mama Fei runs a business, so she should be able to read, right?"

Mother Fei took the document and looked at it, and saw the words "Salt Notes" clearly written on it.

Mother Fei was so frightened that she threw the document back on the table and asked with a trembling voice: "Is this really yours?"

Mr. Bai looked at her with deep eyes: "Mother Fei is a businessman, so you should know that not everyone can get this thing. You should also know that not everyone can stamp the red seal on this deed."

Mother Fei's mind was full of thoughts and she thought of countless possibilities, but the red mark on the salt bill dispelled all her doubts. She pondered for a long time, and finally put on a smile and laughed, "It turned out to be a misunderstanding! I didn't expect that the man was so important. I really made a mistake."

"Mr. Bai" waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Mother loves her girls, so it's right to be cautious. I know my sister is being treated so well, and I feel much more relieved."

Mother Fei stood up and poured wine for Mr. Bai, saying:

"Since you have such means, I believe you have not missed any of your relatives. Hua Niang must be your sister. Please wait for a moment, I will go and find your sister for you."