Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 490 Experience 11

Master Zhuang and his wife arrived before Nanny Kong. Molan and Rulan had been taking classes with Changbai and Changfeng for almost two months before Nanny Kong was finally allowed to leave the palace and come to the Sheng family.

Hualan has been learning horse riding with Professor Sheng Hong most of the time in the past two months. It is too late for her to play polo, but she must learn to ride a horse. Molan even instigated Rulan to come up with an idea to Hualan, saying that she should ask her husband Yuan Wenshao to teach her to play polo in the future, which can also be regarded as a hobby for the couple.

Hualan blushed as soon as she heard this and rejected Rulan's proposal righteously: "These actions are really not worthy of being on stage. I can't do them."

Rulan pouted to show her dissatisfaction. She was really thinking about Hualan. But Wang Ruofu stood on Rulan's side this time and persuaded Hualan: "Take me as an example. I used to have a warm and good time with your father. But I really couldn't recite those poems, so I gradually drifted away from your father."

Wang Ruofu didn't say anything else, but Rulan understood the meaning. No wonder Wang Ruofu agreed and even supported Rulan's proposal.

Hua Lan saw that Wang Ruofu was speaking seriously, and although she still felt embarrassed, she finally kept the matter in mind.

When Nanny Kong arrived, the first thing she did was to teach the four girls about the rules and interpersonal relationships of wealthy families. In particular, she listed in detail all the famous nobles and upright officials in the capital, and even talked about the in-laws between these families. This really opened the eyes of the four girls.

Because it was agreed in advance that Nanny Kong would focus on Hualan, and the remaining three girls were there to either accompany Hualan or attend the lectures to gain experience, so Nanny Kong really put Hualan first in everything. However, considering that Minglan was raised by Old Madam Sheng, she also took good care of Minglan.

As for Molan and Rulan, they both felt that they would not marry into noble families, and they just regarded the rules of those noble families as stories. They were incomparable to Hualan who looked serious and Minglan who even took notes.

After talking about the family rules and the in-law relationships, the next thing came to the elegant matters of flower arranging and making tea. Nanny Kong still followed Hualan, while Molan and Rulan just listened to the general idea and took advantage of their young age to act casually when they started to practice. But at this point, Nanny Kong discovered that Minglan had learned to hide her shortcomings at such a young age.

As for the four girls of the Sheng family, Madam Kong often praised them even in front of Old Madam Sheng: "Your four girls really brought together all the spiritual energy of the capital!"

Old Madam Sheng was delighted but didn't dare to respond: "You have seen so many beautiful ladies in the palace, how can you be interested in these ugly girls in my family?"

The two old sisters ate and drank for a while, and Madam Kong commented sternly: "Your eldest daughter is beautiful and thoughtful, and she is tolerant but strict with her younger brothers and sisters. I'm just afraid that because she is the eldest sister in the family, she always wants to be thoughtful and good in everything, but she doesn't know that there are always things that cannot be thoughtful in this world, and there are even more people who cannot be good."

Thinking about Hualan's upcoming marriage and the situation at the Earl of Zhongqin's Mansion, Old Lady Sheng couldn't help but sigh for Hualan, but there was nothing she could do.

Madam Kong then talked about Molan and Rulan: "The ones who surprised me most in your family were the fourth and fifth girls."

"I have heard some of Miss Lin's deeds, but I didn't expect that Miss Five would be willing to have such a close relationship with Miss Four, and even to always follow Miss Four's opinion. This really makes me look at her in a new light."

Although Old Lady Sheng hated Lin Qinshuang's indifference to Molan, she still had to say a few good words for Molan in front of the old sisters: "Molan is different from Lin. She is cold-hearted, but she is also gradually doing things more thoughtfully. It's really a good thing that good things come out of bad things."

Speaking of Rulan, Old Lady Sheng couldn't help but sighed, "As for Rulan, she first thought that the snacks and drinks at Linqi Pavilion were good, and later she learned a lot from Molan, and even got a little favor from their father, so the eldest lady let her go."

Madam Kong and Old Lady Sheng had not seen each other for decades. Although they still felt the same when they met, they both understood that some things could not be said. In particular, Old Lady Sheng was obviously more concerned about Minglan, who was raised by her. So Madam Kong smiled and commented on Minglan: "I only pity the Sixth Miss you have in your room."

"She has a good appearance, and it's hard to tell what her temperament was like before, but now she seems a little timid, especially in front of the eldest girl and her two sisters who are about the same age."

"However, her greatest advantage is that she follows you, and I can see that she is not a bad person by nature, she is smart, and she has a bright future ahead of her."

Old Madam Sheng finally revealed a sincere smile and said with emotion: "Oh, it's a pity for Ming'er. Her mother has been unpopular for many years, and her life has not been easy. Later, her mother died of dystocia, leaving her a little person to make a living in this inner house. If I don't protect her, she will be in trouble."

Madam Kong also smiled, and seeing this, she swallowed the rest of her words and flattered, "They say that from childhood to old age, Sixth Miss is a sincere girl, and she will not let you work in vain. Old sister, you have hope for the future."

However, there were some things that Madam Kong did not say. She felt that she had not made a mistake in judging people. Among the four girls of the Sheng family, she was most optimistic about the fourth girl, Molan, who was the least favored by Old Lady Sheng.

Originally, she wanted to persuade her old sisters for their future, but seeing that her old sisters were wholeheartedly devoted to Minglan, and Minglan was indeed a good choice, she stopped being annoying.

On the other side, Molan and Rulan privately recalled what Nanny Kong had said about the nobles and the high-ranking families. After spending more than ten days, they finally formed an overall picture.

Molan has a photographic memory and can memorize everything she hears. Not only can she remember what Grandma Kong said, she can even remember the facial expression when she spoke.

Although Rulan's memory was average, she loved gossip very much. In order to make it easier for everyone to remember, Nanny Kong always said a little more about the goings-on in each mansion, so Rulan could remember half of it.

Rulan looked at the finalized project and sighed, "I didn't expect that there are twelve dukes' mansions, ten marquis' mansions, and six earl's mansions in the capital."

"These are just military merits. There are countless people who were suppressed by civil officials in the court."

Molan agreed with Rulan's words very much. "Moreover, the nobles listed above are all still alive today. I heard that more than 20 years ago, many nobles were deprived of their titles by Guo because of the Queen Jing'an incident. Half of the officials in the court had their property confiscated and their families exterminated. No one dares to discuss such a situation until now."

"Look, there are nearly thirty noble families still active here."

Rulan had also heard of Queen Jing'an's deeds, but she only knew a little bit from Lin Qinshuang, because the Lin family was implicated in that huge disaster.

Rulan pointed at the records of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion and asked, "Fourth sister, look, the Ningyuan Marquis has married three wives. His first wife and second wife are both from the Dongchang Marquis's mansion, and only the first wife is from a Haining salt merchant family. Tell me, how many secrets are there?"

Molan looked at the record of Ningyuan Marquis' second wife, Haining Bai, and couldn't help but think: "Do you remember when the Zhongqin Marquis's residence went to Yangzhou to propose marriage to my eldest sister, a boy named Bai Ye dragged my third brother to compete in pitching pots with my eldest sister's betrothal goose as a prize?"

Ru La nodded, and suddenly realized: "So, the boy named Bai Ye is most likely the second son of Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion, the legitimate son born to the second wife of the Haining Bai family!"