Minglan is reborn, this time with no regrets!

Ever since Shulan's divorce, happy events have occurred one after another in the eldest branch of the Sheng family. First, Changwu and his fiancée got married successfully. The wedding banquet was a lively and reunion event, which made both families very proud. Then Shulan soon found a new partner. Although he was a farmer without any official title, the family was simple, the mother-in-law was gentle and kind, and the new son-in-law was also a kind and honest person. Their ancestors had worked diligently and had accumulated abundant land. Although Shulan's marriage to such a wealthy peasant family was not glorious, it was a happy and harmonious one.

After Shulan's engagement, Old Lady Sheng, in the presence of the clan elders, officially assigned Minglan to Wang Ruofu, making her the legitimate daughter in name. From then on, the Sheng family no longer told the public that Minglan was born out of wedlock, and when others asked, they would just say she was Wang Ruofu's child.

Of course, there is another happy event that no one except Minglan knows about, that is, the old lady successfully passed this level. In the story of the previous life, the old lady would have passed away after Shulan and the Sun family's divorce farce. After all, the quarrel between the two families was too big and too embarrassing. The old lady had to confront the shameless Sun family mother and son in the hall at an old age, which shortened her life.

By the time everything was done, New Year's Eve was about to arrive. The Sheng family's old house had not had time to take down the red silk for the wedding before it immediately added the colorful silk for the New Year.

Ah Yan followed the eldest wife of the first house and was busy all the time. Although she was young, she knew how to read people's expressions. She did a lot of work but said little. She was no longer the ignorant person she was in the Sheng Mansion in Beijing half a year ago. She was well-fed and well-dressed in the first house of the Sheng family. She had gradually forgotten the sad experience in Linqi Pavilion, but she often thought of her mother and brother at night and wondered where they were now.

Minglan looked at Ayan's busy figure and said to Xiaotao and Langya beside her: "This child has a miserable life. She met such parents. Although she has found a way to survive in Youyang now, she can no longer be reunited with her family. I don't know if she will blame me for the decision I made for her today."

Langya was the most touched by this matter. She said, "Being alive is more important than anything else. If I had only thought about reuniting with my parents and insisted on staying in the northwest, I would not have learned the skills to make a living today, and I would not have met such a good boss like you."

Xiao Tao also said, "As the saying goes, parents and relatives are only worthy of care if they treat each other sincerely. If they are like Zhu Manniang and Lin Xiaoniang, who use their own flesh and blood as a ladder to step on, they should stay away from them." She took Minglan's hand and said, "My girl is thinking about Jing'an Jushi and Qi Ge'er, right?"

Minglan nodded: "I don't know what the situation is in the capital now."

Xiao Tao leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Shi Tou just brought me a stack of letters, saying they were sent from the capital."

The master and servants returned to the room. Minglan opened the envelope and saw a letter from Changbai. It simply said something about the safety of the family and the longing for her. There was nothing special about it. But when she turned to the second page, the handwriting had changed. Minglan knew at a glance that it was written by Gu Tingye.

These letters talked about the situation in Yuzhou. As expected, Prince Yong's people set up an ambush in the Tuanlian Mansion to kill Shen Congying and his son, but they mistakenly killed Shen Congying's daughter-in-law and cut off her head... Minglan frowned slightly when she saw this. She didn't expect that helping Madam Zou escape death would cause the original Crown Princess to suffer... She couldn't help but feel sad for the two children who were in the west courtyard at this time, who lost their mother at such a young age... She decided to wait until after the New Year to tell Shen Congying the news, at least to let them have a good New Year first.

Gu Tingye also mentioned in the letter that after "Mr. Bai" returned to Yuzhou, he reported to him in detail what happened in Youyang. Gu Tingye was deeply impressed by Minglan's plan of killing three birds with one stone, and wanted to ask her if she wanted to go to Yuzhou to be a military advisor?

Minglan rolled her eyes at the letter and continued to read, but the handwriting turned back to Changbai's. The letter was sharp, asking Minglan to abide by her duties and not do anything risky or radical that would damage her reputation.

This piece was obviously written in excitement after seeing Gu Tingye's letter to Minglan.

Minglan held her forehead and smiled bitterly: "How could Second Brother peek at other people's letters!"

He wrote back, first reporting to Changbai that everything was fine with his grandmother, and then saying that he would wait until the ice thawed in the spring before returning to Beijing. Then he wrote back to Gu Tingye, first telling him that everything was fine with the Shen family, and asking Gu Tingye to work with peace of mind and remember to make arrangements to return to Beijing after the New Year. After finishing the business, he began to ask him how much salary he would get if he went to Yuzhou to be a military advisor, and what his rank would be...

As I was writing, there was a bang of firecrackers outside the window.

New Year is here!

……

Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky over Bianjing.

The Duke of Qi's Mansion welcomed a rare guest on New Year's Eve - Lady Rong, the mother of Concubine Rong.

The Rong family was a rare gem among the nobles in Bianjing. The Rong family was originally a bricklayer family under the imperial city. Because of poverty, they sent the young Rong Fei to the palace to be a maid. They just wanted their daughter to have a meal and to support the family. Unexpectedly, Rong Fei caught the emperor's eye. She served the emperor in the emperor's bedchamber and was favored. Within a few years, she was promoted to the position of concubine without any children. The Rong family also rose with the tide and enjoyed all the honors. It's a pity that the Rong family can only repair walls and lay tiles, and have no achievements in the family business. They can neither enter the imperial examination hall nor the circle of Bianjing nobles. They can only rely on the old emperor, and their foundation is as shallow as duckweed.

Princess Pingning looked down on such a family, but the daughter of such a family fell in love with her son.

As soon as Madam Rong entered the house, she asked the maid who followed her to spread the gifts all over the courtyard of Duke Qi's mansion: "Come, come, these are the gifts I prepared for your family!"

Princess Pingning lowered her eyes and looked. The gold ornaments, ivory ornaments, silk fabrics, pearls and agates were shining with golden light, giving the impression of a nouveau riche.

She said calmly, "It is an honor for the Qi family that Madam Rong can come to my house. Why do you have to bring so many gifts? They are so heavy!"

She only said that the thing was heavy and never mentioned how valuable it was, implicitly mocking the Rong family's crude behavior.

Mrs. Rong couldn't hear what was going on, so she just said, "Quick, call your son out. I have something very happy to tell him."

Princess Pingning knew why Madam Rong came, but it was New Year's Eve and she couldn't say that her son was not at home. She had to call Qi Heng from the back hall to the front hall with a fake smile.

Seeing that everyone was present, Madam Rong got straight to the point: "I am here today for no other reason than to propose marriage to my unmarried little daughter."

Duke Qi was stunned: "Propose marriage?"

Madam Rong: "Yes, about marriage! Haven't you seen my youngest daughter Rong Feiyan? She is beautiful, just like our eldest daughter! If your son marries my daughter, he will become a brother-in-law to the emperor. This is a great benefit that others cannot even get!"

Princess Pingning was speechless... Who dares to marry into the imperial family? Anyone from a different family who wants to marry into the royal family must lower their status, so how can they follow the ways of ordinary people? She interrupted Madam Rong: "You are joking. The emperor is our emperor. He is the emperor and the father. We must be careful to fulfill our duties as subjects."

Mrs. Rong was speechless for a moment: "Uh... yes... yes..." She reorganized her words, "Ah, anyway, my daughter has fallen in love with your son, and I want to ask your family for their opinion on how and when the marriage should be concluded."

Princess Pingning and Duke Qi looked at each other and thought to themselves that their family hadn't agreed yet, so why was the other party already asking when they would get married...

Qi Heng bowed and said, "I would like to thank Madam Tai for your kindness, but I am currently studying the classics and preparing for the next imperial examination, so I really have no intention of getting married at the moment."

Madam Rong threw her handkerchief and said, "Silly boy, you still have to wait another two years for the imperial examination. It's so boring for you to spend your life immersed in a pile of old papers at your prime age! Listen to my advice and get married first. This way, you will have a wife to warm your bed, and your Qi family will be able to hold their grandchildren sooner!"

The remarks were vulgar and unreasonable.

Qi Heng's eyebrows twitched. Even though he was a gentle man, he couldn't stand this Madam Rong.

Princess Pingning had already thought of a countermeasure during this time, and said with a smile: "To be honest, Madam, your arrival is unfortunate. Before you came, my son had just made a vow in front of the ancestral tablets that he would marry after passing the imperial examination. If we suddenly change our mind at this time, I'm afraid our ancestors will blame us."

Madam Rong laughed out loud: "What's the big deal? If your Qi family's ancestors knew that your son could be a brother-in-law of the emperor, they would probably be grinning from ear to ear in their graves. How could they blame you?"

It is said that a random punch can kill a master. Princess Pingning, who is good at getting along with everyone, was completely confused by Madam Rong's nonsense and could only look at Duke Qi in a daze.

Although Duke Qi had no talent in official affairs, he was very good at dealing with older women. He asked Mrs. Rong with a smile: "Do you drink bird's nest every day at home?"

Madam Rong was stunned: "Bird's nest? No, that thing is tasteless. I don't know why those princes and nobles love it."

Duke Qi did not care that he was also scolded and asked, "Then how do you keep such a good complexion? To be honest, since you just came into the mansion, I felt that the room was a little brighter. I sat and thought for a long time before I realized that it was because of you, Madam."

Oh, this flattery made Mrs. Rong grinning from ear to ear on the spot.

After finally getting Mrs. Rong to sleep and inviting her back to the Rong Mansion, Princess Pingning slammed the table and said angrily, "What an uneducated thing! She ruined a good New Year!"

Duke of Qi: "After all, her daughter is in great favor now, we can't offend her."

Princess Pingning: "How dare a bricklayer with no foundation come to our house to propose marriage? Don't you think about whether her daughter is a good match? Is her family a good match? A toad wants to eat swan meat, dreaming!"

Early in the morning on New Year's Day.

Madam Rong was still dreaming, but the Duke of Qi's Mansion welcomed another distinguished guest - Princess Yong.