Fifth Old Master only felt greatly mortified and humiliated after being forced to move away. Then he stayed in his study all day and refused to see the complacent face of his "rebellious nephew". Only on the day when his family moved did he show up again. However, under the great grievance, he had made a great achievement in art. His handwriting was unrestrained and powerful, showing how indignant he was. The poems he improvised were pa.s.sionate and heroic with perfect rhymes. Now he didn"t need to hear the compliments from the guests and already knew that he had made great progress.

“… Taibai was dejected for half of his life and has drifted from place to place homeless. Huaisu lived in poverty for all his life and became a monk at last. All the great people in the history have endured hardships. Does one have to go through a lot of sufferings to make great achievements…”

He muttered that while wondering whether the reason for his failure in the study and career was that he had lived too comfortably. "Maybe I can only achieve something after enduring hardships?" He thought. (He finally realized the truth.)

Fifth Old Master could still abandon himself to art when feeling aggrieved, but Fourth Old Master was not able to be cool about this. The latter swore and cursed all day and always found excuses to beat and abuse others. The whole Fourth family were in depression. This day, after Concubine Liu had reminded him, he was finally enlightened and realized that he had to pinch for a little bit more before he left.

“Fifth Brother…” Fourth Old Master hesitated, “wouldn"t fight with us for the silvers.”

Concubine Liu was a well-preserved woman. Although she was about to turn fifty, she looked like thirty. She gave a charming smile and then approached Fourth Old Master, “Don"t forget about Fifth Old Madam. You know about Fifth Old Master. As long as he"s incited, he would fight with us no matter what.”

As a winner of the family feud, Concubine Liu was a very intelligent woman. As she had expected, Fifth Old Master hadn"t wanted to go at first. However, after Fifth Old Madam had cried about the hardships in their family and the difficulties of living independently, he had to agree to her at last.

This day, Minglan sent Xian back by herself. Shao shi saw the smiling face of her daughter as well as Rong who stood beside Xian with a reluctant look. As Shao shi observed closely, she found her daughter having a rosy face and getting taller. Xian pulled Shao shi"s sleeve and kept babbling like a yellowbird with a vigorous and lively look. Shao shi had already heard from the Momo who had followed Xian to the Cheng Manor that Xian had lived well there, so she felt very grateful to Minglan. The two sisters-in-law chatted for a long while with their hands holding together and then stood up.

Minglan left Rong and Xian in the room to let them talk for a while and went to Old Madam Qin"s room with Shao shi. While Minglan showed her concern for Zhu shi who already had a baby b.u.mp, Old Madam Qin who leaned on the cushion also chimed in. The atmosphere in the room seemed quite harmonious.

“Your Eldest Sister-In-Law"s condition gradually got better. Now the only thing I"m concern about is your sister"s marriage.” Old Madam Qin sighed worriedly, “She"s not young now, but still haven"t been engaged.”

Shaoshi who had just recovered from the serious illness said in a soft voice, “Mother, don"t worry. Our sister"s great character and beautiful appearance are famous in the capital. Her engagement has been delayed only because of the accidents which showed up one after another.”

Old Madam Qin found those words pleasant to hear, and the look on her face turned softer.

“Eldest Sister-In-Law, you are right.” Zhu shi leaned over and said gently, “Mother, take it easy. The First Lady of Marquis Zhongshan"s family is about to turn eighteen. Also, the ladies of Duke Han"s family, the lady of Minister Yan"s family… Come to think about it, Sister Tingcan is not the only n.o.ble lady whose marriage has been delayed in the capital.” With the anxious look on Old Madam Qin"s face fading away, she chuckled, “You are trying to cheer me up. I wish things were like what you have said. Alas… Minglan, what do you say?” Saying that, she glanced at Minglan.

Great changes had been taking place over the past few years. After the national mourning and the few mutinies, the powerful and n.o.ble families had been through ups and downs. There truly were lots of n.o.ble ladies whose marriage had been delayed. Therefore, Gu Tingcan wasn"t very special as a lady who hadn"t got married at that age.

Minglan seemed a bit bashful and smiled shyly, “I, I don"t know. A virtuous and pretty lady like Sister Tingcan would definitely have a wonderful marriage. No matter what… I am waiting to add something to her dowry.”

Seeing the dazed look on her face, Shao shi couldn"t help but chuckle, “Girl, we are talking about the marriage of Sister Tingcan, why did you blush? You have just got married after all and is still a thin-skinned girl.” That was what Minglan expected to hear. So, she just lowered her head with her long eyelashes shivering.

Old Madam Qin"s eyes sparkled and she gave a smile. It was a custom that a woman added things to her younger sister-in-law"s dowry. Minglan hadn"t said that she would help with Gu Tingcan"s marriage. Nor had she said how many things she would add to the latter"s dowry. So, it was like Minglan had said nothing.

Minglan let out a sigh of relief after she had pa.s.sed the test. Then she wanted to leave right away. However, while she was about to bid farewell, Fourth Old Master and Fifth Old Master arrived.

Fourth Old Master walked ahead. On one side of him was Concubine Liu who helped him affably while on the other side was Fourth Old Madam whose face looked quite sullen. Behind them were Fifth Old Master and Fifth Old Madam who walked with chins up and chests out. Seeing that, Old Madam Qin frowned slightly. Then she showed a serious look on her face and straightened herself. Minglan, her heart pounding, stood up respectfully with Shao shi.

Seeing that Minglan was there, Fifth Old Madam kept coughing, sounding quite displeased. Minglan ignored her straightly and believed that this old lady had fishbones in her throat. Fourth Old Master glared at Minglan with resentment in his eyes. Minglan turned her head away and believed that this old man had a twitch on his eyelids while standing still. After they greeted each other, Fourth Old Master went straight to the point and talked about the money issue right away.

“Divide the family property again?” Although Old Madam Qin had prepared for this, she was still shocked when hearing that bold proposal, “Fourth Brother-In-Law, why do you want to do that? Haven"t our father and mother already divided the family property?”

Fourth Old Master put on an act by sighing and then said, “That"s right. But over the past decades, we have eaten and lived together. The accounts for such a long time are hard to sort out. I"m afraid that our feelings would be hurt if we check every number on the accounts. So, it"s better to divide the family property again. I didn"t want to bring this up before, but now the condition in our family is difficult. I have to be shameless and ask this.”

After he had said that, Zhu shi who was clear about the money affairs in the family flushed with anger. Even Shao shi who always didn"t care about the family affairs got angry secretly. According to the rules, the young madams shouldn"t show their faces so often. Then Minglan lowered her head and stood behind Shao shi while saying inwardly, "Finally". Then she held her breath and waited for the war to break out. She had been curious about how Old Madam Qin would behave when she was set on fire. Minglan hoped that Old Madam Qin wouldn"t disappoint her.

"Come on, baby!"

With no expression on Old Madam Qin"s face, she put one of her hands on the bed table while holding her handkerchief tightly with the other hand. The silver ring with white jade and green emerald inlaid gave off dim light. After she pondered for a while, she turned around and said gently, “Minglan, what do you say about this? After all, you are the Madam of Marquis Ningyuan"s family now.”

“I"m too young to understand these things.” The audience watching the show had been dragged onto the stage all of a sudden. Minglan blinked her eyes and gave an obeisance modestly with her head lowered. Then she raised her head tenderly and sighed, “Speaking of the difficult condition, Cheng Manor has been through a hard time too. Gosh, the expense on maintaining the relationships is so large, but there is still no income from our estates yet. A few days later, we are going to start the construction and repair the mansion. These days we spent too much money. Luckily, Fifth Uncle and Old Madam have given the property which Old Master left to Master back, which could help us deal with the immediate need. Fourth Uncle, you see…”

Fourth Old Master was afraid that Minglan would mention that. At that time, they claimed that they guarded the property for Gu Tingye in front of all the members of the family. Now it was unreasonable for him to swallow that property. For the moment, he froze and was stuck for words. Luckily, he reacted very fast and changed the subject, “Minglan, how can you say that? Your husband has already become the master of the mansion. Hasn"t Tingyu explained the property clearly to you? Why you still don"t have enough silvers? Sister-in-law, you seem a bit too stingy.”

Old Madam Qin glanced at Minglan with a meaningful look in her eyes and then said slowly, “We can talk about that later. Minglan, you should voice your opinions about this matter first.”