Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 481 Experience 2

The winter in Yangzhou is just like most areas in Jiangnan, cold and damp. When Lin Qinshuang heard Molan and Changfeng talking about this, she couldn't help laughing and said, "You were still young at that time, so you don't remember what it was like in Quanzhou. Although the winter in Quanzhou is not as cold as Yangzhou, it is much more humid. When you two were young, you always had to see a doctor when the seasons changed."

Chang Feng still has some memories of his time in Quanzhou, but he was still a little confused at that time. He was being deliberately ignored by the old lady and Wang Ruofu, and was somewhat led astray. He only remembered that after his brother Changbai was sent to the Wang family in Beijing to study, he was the "only favorite" for a period of time. He never cared about other things and naturally didn't remember anything.

Molan has a good memory, but she is not a person who is born knowledgeable. Moreover, although she was born in Quanzhou, Sheng Hong was appointed as the magistrate of Yangzhou when she was less than a year old. Everything in her memory is related to Yangzhou.

Today was the day when the Duke Zhongqin of the capital came to Yangzhou to propose marriage to Hualan. Lin Qinshuang and the two children laughed for a while, and then she heard Zhou Xuenniang say that it was getting late. Her face immediately fell, "You two should hurry up and go to the front. Today is your eldest sister's big day. If you don't go, it will be unacceptable!"

Chang Feng saw that Lin Qinshuang was unhappy, so he pulled Molan up and said to Lin Qinshuang, "Don't worry, mother. Daddy just taught us the current wedding customs and etiquette a few days ago. I will take my sister to the front to see if Daddy has taught us correctly."

Molan also quickly agreed, "Yes, the Zhongqin Marquis's family is also of noble origin, and they have made great achievements through military service. If they really value Sister Hualan, they should have included a pair of wild geese in the betrothal gift."

Lin Qinshuang laughed at the two children, but immediately stopped smiling. She tapped the two children's foreheads unhappily and said, "The Yuan family said that the uncle and his wife came to Yangzhou in person. I wonder why the Yuan family went to such great lengths to marry the daughter of a fifth-rank official."

That's right. Lin Qinshuang has finally figured it out these days. The Yuan family is either empty inside and has only a facade, or they have something to ask of the Sheng family. Otherwise, it is impossible for a founding earl's mansion to marry the daughter of a fifth-rank official to its own son.

No matter what Lin Qinshuang thought, Changfeng and Molan still liked such a lively scene. The brother and sister went to Wang Ruofu's yard hand in hand to meet Wang Ruofu, and then went straight to the front under the pretext of watching the excitement.

Seeing that Molan was taken out to play by her brother, Rulan couldn't sit still. She turned around and pulled Wang Ruofu's arm and begged, "Mother, you see Molan and my third brother have gone to the front yard. There is no use for me here. I will go with them to have a look."

Seeing Rulan being so close to Changfeng and Molan, Wang Ruofu couldn't help but feel angry towards Lin Qinshuang, "Your dear sister is going to propose marriage today, but you don't stay in the room and talk to her, but you just want to play with those two from Lin Qige!"

Rulan was immediately weak when she saw her mother getting angry. Hualan took Wang Ruofu's hand and gently persuaded her, "Mother, Fifth Sister is still young. She likes to be lively at her age. Besides, she just sat with me for a long time."

The eldest daughter spoke, and the youngest daughter pleaded again. Wang Ruofu had no choice but to turn to Mother Liu and said, "She only has one magpie by her side, and she is too young to be of any use. Please arrange for another person to take her to the front to have a look."

Liu Kun's wife responded immediately, took the happy Rulan out of the door, and called a maid to guard the gate. He handed Rulan to her and gave her a few quick instructions before watching Rulan walk out of the yard.

When Changfeng and Molan went to the front and found Sheng Hong, they saw that Sheng Hong had a very ugly face. They immediately stopped and were not in a hurry to approach him. Even though Sheng Hong would not vent his anger on others in such an occasion, they were still two children and there was really no need to go forward and cause trouble.

Rulan, who was behind, caught up quickly. She stepped forward and grabbed Molan's hand. Only then did she realize that Changfeng and Molan did not go to Sheng Hong. She was a little surprised: "Why don't we go over there?"

Chang Feng took his two sisters to the corridor and said in a low voice, "Dad looked a little unhappy just now. Something must have gone wrong. Let's not go over and make trouble. Let's just watch the fun from here."

Molan was tactful, but Ruolan, who was not very tactful, was most afraid of Sheng Hong getting angry, so the three siblings stood in the corridor and watched the excitement.

After a while, a servant came running in and said that the betrothal gifts were about to be brought in. Chang Feng hurriedly pulled his two sisters, one on the left and one on the right, to the second door, for fear of missing out on the excitement.

As the sound of firecrackers rang out, the mahogany box decorated with red silk flowers was carried into the gate of Sheng Mansion. Changfeng and Rulan, two real children, could not help but start counting. Molan was infected by the scene and started counting silently as well.

Fortunately, the Duke Zhongqin's Mansion was willing to spend some money to save face, and twenty-four mahogany boxes were carried into the gate of the Sheng Mansion. Molan had sensitive ears and even heard a burst of cheers on the street. So she forgot about Sheng Hong's bad face and followed a group of children to see the betrothal gifts.

As for Wang Ruofu later, Sheng Hong had a bad face before because the plan that Earl Zhongqin and his wife would come to Yangzhou in person to propose marriage, which had been confirmed in advance, was changed at the last minute. Earl Zhongqin and his wife were replaced by the eldest son and daughter-in-law of Earl Zhongqin's mansion, and the betrothal was proposed by the eldest brother-in-law and the eldest sister-in-law instead of the parents-in-law. The difference between them was not just a simple change of people, so it was no wonder that Sheng Hong had a bad face.

Wang Ruofu even said that she didn't want to get married. It took Sheng Hong a while of gentleness and humility to persuade Wang Ruofu to calm down.

Lin Qinshuang, who was always keeping an eye on news outside in Linqi Pavilion, felt that the Zhongqin Marquis' Mansion was not a good place after hearing that the person who proposed marriage had changed.

Lin Qinshuang said to Zhou Xueniang, "I have always felt that the eldest lady's marriage is really too high, and I think there might be something fishy about the Yuan family. Today's incident has confirmed my suspicions, but I can't figure out the reason behind it. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to help me, so it's not easy for me to make indirect comments to my master."

Zhou Xueniang looked at Lin Qinshuang and advised, "There are many dirty things in the rich families. Miss, just manage your property well and save more money for our young master and young lady."

Talking about the business management, Lin Qinshuang could not help but feel discouraged. She was only seven or eight years old when the Lin family changed. She was smart since childhood and was pampered by her parents. Even though she made great progress in her studies and had read some of the Four Books and knew a little about account books, running a business was another skill. She had not learned these from the old lady. Now she could only rent out the business in her hands. There was no other way!