Events proved that the greatest beneficiary of the storm’s passing was Sheng Hong.

In ancient times, people set great store by moral backbone and integrity. Sheng Hong, as an official who had risen through the legitimate path of the imperial examinations, now had a daughter married into a family of noble rank. Never mind that the Zhongqin Earl’s Household had long been in decline, never mind that Liang Han was merely the youngest son — the newly prominent Gu Tingye was entirely real, and in the eyes of the circle of officials who prided themselves on their refined moral standing, the whole affair risked earning Sheng Hong a reputation for “currying favor with the powerful.”

But Father Sheng’s luck held remarkably well. Before he even reached the bridge, the boat had straightened its own course.

“You intend to wed your daughter to that marquis-rank young man?” Sheng Hong’s former superior, the current second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Elder Lu, was rather surprised. He and Sheng Hong had gotten along very well during their time together in the Ministry of Works, and knew that it was a legitimate daughter of the Sheng Family who was involved.

Sheng Hong gave a firm nod, then bowed his hands respectfully and said: “I lost my father at a young age, and the senior members of my clan are not here in the capital. I ask the Elder to act as matchmaker for my two daughters.”

Elder Lu was perfectly willing, yet he could not help asking: “I had originally thought…” People have their characteristic ways — he left the rest unsaid.

Sheng Hong wore an expression of apologetic regret, his manner heavy with sorrow: “To my great shame, I was the first to give my word and then fail to keep it, and I owe the Qin Family a great debt. I have long wished to renew the marriage agreement, if only to be true to the words of the sages.”

Elder Lu was deeply moved and agreed on the spot to serve as matchmaker for the Sheng Family’s daughters. When word of this spread, the people of the capital were all struck dumb. After a brief stupor, they began with one voice to praise Sheng Hong’s moral backbone.

Well before Molan and the Liang Family’s engagement, Wang Shi — confident that the matter was settled — had let slip a word or two in company, and quite a few people had learned that the Sheng Family intended to match Molan to a certain marquis-rank young man. To everyone’s surprise, a storm had blown up and Molan had instead married into the Liang Household. While people privately marveled at Molan’s good fortune, they also privately felt sorry for the unlucky young marquis who had been snatched away. And then, even more unexpectedly, Sheng Hong had firmly betrothed a legitimate daughter to this hapless young man — and the Sheng Family was not afraid of provoking Gu Second Young Master?!

But after waiting a long while, no retaliation came from the Gu Household — instead, preparations for the wedding were being made with great urgency. This left quite a few people who had settled in to watch the spectacle feeling rather deflated. The most aggrieved of all was the Peng Family: Both cases involved swapping a concubine-born daughter for a legitimate one — so why did the Sheng Family get away with it and we didn’t? Gu Tingye, you’re clearly playing favorites!

From refined literary gentlemen to officials of the Six Ministries, everyone was thoroughly pleased, and lavished a great deal of praise on Comrade Sheng Hong’s “moral backbone.” Father Sheng thus gained both reputation and advantage, honor both in public and in private.

As a general rule, husband and wife are fated opposites, and their fortunes tend to run contrary to each other. Just as Sheng Hong was being praised by his superiors and admired by his subordinates, Wang Shi found herself beset by troubles on all sides. At the start of the twelfth month, the Liang Family’s elders finally gathered sufficient betrothal gifts and came to present the formal engagement to the Sheng Household. When the Liang Family had spoken of betrothing Molan, Wang Shi had found the Liang family elders tolerable enough on the whole — but now that it was Rulan’s turn, she found cause to fret over every last detail.

One moment she felt the betrothal gifts too thin; the next she felt the Liang family elders were stingy and petty. The female members of the household could all see what was in her heart plainly enough: Hai Shi was clever enough to declare that her morning sickness had not yet ended, and withdrew to her room without coming out. Wang Shi did not dare speak up in front of Sheng Lao, and so spent her days in sullen silence, her temper flaring at ten times its usual intensity.

Sheng Lao was already irritated with Wang Shi over Minglan’s situation, and seeing Wang Shi carrying on this way only inwardly satisfied her sense of justice. But Rulan was still her granddaughter, after all; and after a few days, Sheng Lao truly could not bear to watch any further and was forced to speak up.

“A matter of this magnitude — how could you act without consulting the family? You simply went ahead and arranged everything?!” Sheng Lao sat rigidly on the kang, her voice severe.

Wang Shi stood below, her expression suggesting she felt somewhat aggrieved: “The son-in-law’s family background is ordinary, and Rulan is making such a sacrifice in this match. I felt for her, and so I supplemented things a little more.”

Sheng Lao looked at Wang Shi’s face and felt her anger flare. She slapped the headboard of the kang and snapped: “You foolish woman! Do you think I am making a fuss over a bit of money?! In all the years since you married into the Sheng Family, have your father-in-law and I ever laid a finger on a fraction of your dowry? If you want to leave every bit of it to the children you bore yourself, not a word of objection would I utter! What kind of petty, small-minded thinking are you showing off, and for whose benefit?!”

Seeing that Sheng Lao was truly angry, Wang Shi immediately knelt, saying again and again: “Grandmother, please don’t be angry — it is entirely my fault; I should have consulted you first. It is just that Rulan is suffering such an unfair match…” As she spoke, Wang Shi’s eyes grew moist; she pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. “Grandmother, you haven’t seen this in-law’s family — the mother-in-law is a truly coarse and common village woman. It is for Rulan’s sake that I…”

Sheng Lao saw Wang Shi’s display of maternal devotion, and her voice softened slightly despite herself: “The son-in-law’s father was also a man of letters, and simply had very poor luck — he had only just passed the imperial examinations and had not yet received his official appointment when a bout of typhoid fever took his life. If the mother-in-law were not tough, how could she hold the household together?! I know you fear that Rulan will be made to suffer there, and that is why you arranged for a residence in the city. But in doing so, you have achieved precisely the opposite of what you intended!”

Wang Shi looked up in bewilderment, completely uncomprehending.

Faced with Wang Shi’s obtuseness, Sheng Lao felt entirely drained. She looked down and smoothed the stone-blue gray-squirrel-fur-trimmed border of her sleeve, letting her breath even out several times before she could speak with any patience: “I have not yet met this in-law’s family, but thinking it through — a widowed woman raising two sons on her own, and looking at what the son-in-law has worn and eaten over the years — I can well imagine that she must count every coin carefully. You noticed this too, and that is why you were worried about Rulan, is that right?”

Wang Shi nodded vigorously, and quickly interjected: “Grandmother, that is exactly it. I have heard that the mother-in-law has always favored her younger son and handed over the greater portion of their money to the younger one. When she came to present the betrothal gifts the other day, I probed a little, and she had the nerve to say they did not have sufficient funds, and that after the wedding, Rulan and the son-in-law would have to rent a house and live on their own! And so I…”

Wang Shi trailed off under Sheng Lao’s glare and fell silent. Sheng Lao turned away and sighed, then turned back: “Arranging a residence for the son-in-law was a bit heavy-handed of you, but not entirely wrong — it is common enough for official families to help a promising but impoverished son-in-law with his affairs. Where you went wrong was in buying them a house with a full two connected courtyards in one go. What would a young couple do with all that space?! …When there is a big house in the city sitting empty, what mother-in-law wouldn’t want to move in and enjoy it? Just you wait — your in-law will bring the entire family from their country estate in the suburbs and move in before long. And then Rulan will have gotten herself into trouble entirely of her own making!”

Wang Shi turned this over in her mind and saw the sense in it immediately. Her lips began to tremble and her face grew pale.

Sheng Lao shook her head in bitter disappointment: “You have had this disposition your entire life — you love to take matters into your own hands, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. What mistress of a household doesn’t want to have the final say? But you must at least allow people to feel at ease! Every time it truly matters, you muddle it! If you had been willing to consult me beforehand, how could things have come to this? Rulan may be lacking in many ways, but she is still a child I have watched grow up — as if I would harm her! …If you truly wanted to supplement things for Rulan, then convert it into silver and land, and find them a small, modest house to live in. The mother-in-law would see the place is small and feel embarrassed about squeezing in. That way Rulan would actually be comfortable!”

Wang Shi’s expression grew panicked. She opened and closed her mouth several times before managing: “Then what do we do now?… I have already had people preparing the new house. Even the maidservants and matrons have been purchased, and the Liang Family knows!”

Sheng Lao, still fuming inwardly, said in a fit of pique: “She’s your own daughter — you decide.”

Only then did Wang Shi understand the gravity of the situation. She knelt and pleaded for a long while, declaring her faults over and over and apologizing, grabbing Sheng Lao’s sleeve and weeping. Though Sheng Lao’s anger had not fully abated, she could not entirely wash her hands of it. In the end she only said: “There is no need to worry too much. However tough the mother-in-law is, she would not go so far as to torture her daughter-in-law while living off the daughter-in-law’s dowry. Besides, given Rulan’s temperament, she is unlikely to come off badly. Say nothing yourself — when you open your mouth, you only make matters worse. Have Changbai go and speak with the son-in-law; tell him to be clear-headed. If his mother and his wife come into conflict, he must judge the matter fairly — he need not take sides, but let each situation be handled as it ought to be… And let me say this plainly: our Sheng Family does have daughters who have ended marriages!”

Wang Shi sat motionless on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

As a habitual eavesdropper who had been napping in the inner room, Minglan had been wide awake long since. Listening to all of this, she could only shake her head repeatedly.

Madam Wang was rather like a clumsy director of limited talent. When she intended to make a comedy, the audience invariably wept. When she intended to make a tragedy, the audience invariably burst out laughing. Though her productions turned a profit, they always left people exasperated — yet fortunately her investors and producers were reliable enough to keep a firm hand on the big picture, so the whole enterprise never quite lost money overall.

Wang Shi wept a while longer, then departed in a daze. Only then did Minglan dare to come out. She could not help asking: “Grandmother, is the Liang family mother-in-law truly so troublesome?”

Sheng Lao, thoroughly worn out by Wang Shi, was slowly drinking her tea. At this question, she gave a faint, mirthless laugh: “There is no mother-in-law in the world who isn’t troublesome. What matters is the husband. Your eldest sister’s husband was not as sensible as Changbai, and gave your eldest sister quite a difficult time. But Hualan was capable — she endured patiently for all those years, and water wearing away stone, her husband eventually came around. Now he takes her side in everything and has even started finding fault with his own mother.”

Minglan said admiringly: “Eldest Sister is truly remarkable. Her husband is filial enough, and yet she was able to slowly bring him around.” She had never experienced dealing with a mother-in-law in her previous life and felt deep respect for Hualan’s capabilities. If every modern woman had Hualan’s skills, Yao Yiyi’s workload in her profession would probably have halved.

Sheng Lao sighed softly: “The hardest thing of all is simply the word ‘endure.’ No matter how filial and how fraternal the eldest son-in-law may be, he cannot bear to watch his own mother play favorites to such an extreme degree — giving every good and valuable thing to the eldest branch without fail. The eldest son-in-law is a man with ambition and pride, who must also keep up appearances in the outside world; when he was in difficulty, his own mother pushed him away and left him to manage alone, and he could only bow his head and stretch out his hand to his wife. Yet whenever the eldest branch had needs, the mother would press and urge him to give every support. Every person in this world has their self-interest — the eldest son-in-law has a wife and children of his own. Year after year of this, even a natural-born son’s heart will grow distant.”

Minglan chimed in with a well-timed compliment: “Grandmother has put it perfectly — it is precisely this word ‘endure’ that is so admirable. Eldest Sister is such a strong-willed person, and yet she has sustained herself through it all with such patient resolve — all because of the fine upbringing Grandmother gave her!”

Sheng Lao glanced sideways at Minglan’s ingratiating expression — her dimples showing as she smiled her most flattering smile. Ever since Minglan had disclosed the whole Gu Tingye affair, she had been visibly consumed by guilt toward Grandmother, and had adopted a manner of sincere remorse and diligent compensation every day. Sheng Lao was secretly amused, and said deliberately: “Come to think of it, you are quite fortunate. Your mother-in-law will be a stepmother — that should save you a great deal of trouble in future.”

The moment she finished speaking, Sheng Lao watched Minglan with keen interest. But contrary to expectations, Minglan did not flush in the slightest. She calmly shook her head: “Not necessarily. Without personally witnessing things with one’s own ears and eyes, one ought not draw hasty conclusions.”

Sheng Lao was silent for quite some time before making a sound of acknowledgment.

As a legal professional, Minglan had always insisted on speaking only from evidence.

At the present time, the Ningyuan Marquis Household was in a state of severe decline. Not only had their placard been taken down, but censors and remonstrating officials were submitting memorial after memorial, with concrete accusations that the Ningyuan Marquis Household had been “forming factions and engaging in reckless conduct and misconduct.” Among the noble families that had already been detained and questioned, some had even given testimony implicating the Ningyuan Marquis Household. The Court of Judicial Review, responsible for investigating the treason case, had put forward the position that even if the Household’s noble rank were not immediately revoked and its members arrested, at the very least someone ought to be summoned for questioning.

But the current Ningyuan Marquis, Gu Tingyu, was gravely ill and often lost to unconsciousness. The Emperor, out of regard for Gu Tingye, had withheld all memorials pertaining to the Ningyuan Marquis Household from being acted upon, and so the beleaguered Household had managed to preserve itself when so many other noble families in similar situations had not.

Now Gu Tingye’s power and prestige were at their height. Setting aside the fact that since returning to the capital he had been residing in the Commander’s Residence granted by imperial favor, he had even approached General Bo’s elderly husband and wife to act as intermediaries in the proposal to the Sheng Family — with that, without a word needing to be said, people outside could not help but speculate. Those with a perceptive eye had begun slowly unearthing old matters about the Ningyuan Marquis Household from years past, and whispers had started to circulate — vague and shadowy insinuations about the bullying Gu Tingye had suffered in his youth.

In truth, Lady Qin of the Gu Household had always enjoyed an excellent reputation among the noble ladies of the capital: gentle, proper, kind, and virtuous, frequently extending aid to orphans and the vulnerable. Even now, no one had directly accused her of being a malicious stepmother with ulterior motives. Apart from those seeking to flatter Gu Tingye, most people actually privately sympathized with Lady Qin.

Yet outcomes argue backward to causes. Lady Qin’s own sons were perfectly well — married, with heirs. Even Gu Tingyu, frail and sickly as he was, had somehow persisted through all these years. It was only Gu Tingye alone who had left home and drifted for years without returning — and that, when spoken of, did not sound well. But as for the truth of the matter… Minglan looked up at the ceiling. That was probably… quite complicated.

It seemed Heaven had heard Minglan’s thoughts: not many days later, Gu Tingye sent a calling card indicating that Lady Qin intended to pay a formal visit to the Household. On hearing this news, Minglan blanked for a moment. Sheng Lao remained silent for a good while before finally sighing: “This is for the best. Whatever may have occurred in the past, when a wedding is being arranged, all the proprieties must be observed.” After a pause she added: “Gu… he has shown thoughtfulness in this…”

Minglan said nothing. She understood what Sheng Lao meant.

By normal wedding procedure, all the steps from viewing the prospective bride through presenting betrothal gifts ought to be managed by the parents and senior family members. Any deviation from these steps was inherently unseemly. Even if Lady Qin had once attempted to interfere in Gu Tingye’s marital affairs — and had been thwarted in a highly mortifying fashion by Gu Tingye himself — she had said nothing further since. Now Gu Tingye was willing to offer this concession, and Lady Qin was glad to take the opportunity gracefully.

Lady Qin, however, did not travel by donkey. She came in a four-horse carriage of dark blue brocade with dark red accents on the canopy — and so arrived quite promptly.

The next day, Minglan sprawled on the kang with a well-fed stomach and was lazily embroidering a pair of mandarin duck pillowcases in bright crimson brocade. She had just finished stitching two blades of water-grass when Cuiping came rushing in to report that the Ningyuan Marquis’ Lady had arrived and was in the Shouan Hall exchanging greetings with Grandmother.

“Grandmother says the young lady must dress smartly!” Cuiping saw Xiaotao standing there blankly holding a plain everyday outer garment, and immediately instructed Danju. The girls dove at once into the wardrobe for a thorough rummaging.

Minglan changed into a garment of Japanese satin in a pistil-red pattern of intertwining apricot-and-pomegranate-blossoms, worn over a deeply-hemmed pleated skirt in rose pink. Her hair was neatly arranged in a crescent-moon bun, adorned with only a pair of double-happiness and double-ruyi kingfisher-feather hairpins, their elegance both striking and refined.

The party hurried their way to the Shouan Hall. At the doorway, Minglan paused to catch her breath, smoothed a strand of hair at her temple, and was announced by the maidservant at the door. She stepped inside, walking slowly with her head lowered. Within the sweep of her downcast gaze, she saw Sheng Lao seated at the head of the room, and at a table beside her, a lady in fine brocade sitting upright. Wang Shi was in attendance below. Seeing Minglan enter, she pointed to her and smiled: “This is my sixth daughter.” Then, gesturing to the lady in brocade, she made the introduction: “This is Lady of the Ningyuan Marquis Household. Minglan, make your greeting.”

Minglan curtseyed with respectful formality, her skirt still, her posture unwavering, graceful and composed.

Lady Qin, at first sight, felt a flash of admiring surprise. She quickly asked Minglan to rise, then drew Minglan to her side and studied her carefully. The girl’s complexion was as fair as snow, her features delicate as blossoms — beauty that defied easy description. Lady Qin could not restrain herself from saying: “What a lovely child — how is it possible to be born so beautiful?”

Minglan kept her head demurely lowered, while discreetly studying Lady Qin out of the corner of her eye. Two glances, and she could not help being quietly startled.

Lady Qin was wearing a deep rust-colored garment of interlocking chrysanthemum pattern with a facing-panel front, over a honey-melon-colored cotton gauze skirt. Her hair was simply arranged in a round bun, held in place by a white jade good-fortune hairpin that was translucent all the way through. Her skin was white and smooth and dewy, a composed smile at the corners of her lips — she had a pleasant, approachable presence, warm and gentle: a beautiful middle-aged woman, with only faint fine lines at the corners of her eyes betraying her age.

By years, she was several years older than Wang Shi — yet by appearance, Wang Shi would not have the face to step forward and address her as “Elder Sister.”

Lady Qin drew Minglan into a pleasant conversation, asking about her favorite foods, what books she read, and what she did in her daily life. Minglan answered each question according to proper etiquette, and Lady Qin seemed very pleased. She slid a pair of jade bracelets from her own wrist and placed them on Minglan’s, then turned to smile: “What a lovely child — as though she stepped right out of a painting!”

Minglan’s cheeks tinted a faint pink; she stood with head lowered in a shy manner. Sheng Lao gave her a measured sidelong glance, then replied with composed graciousness: “She is truly still a child — rather ignorant of the world.”

Lady Qin gave a mild, playful protest and laughed: “Grandmother is too modest — the dignity this child carries is not something that can be feigned. She is perceptive and clear-minded; this household has raised its daughters with true care.”

Wang Shi felt a swell of pride inwardly and could not help saying: “It is no exaggeration — in our family, raising daughters has always taken even more care than raising sons. Reading, needlework, household management — all of it has been taught carefully and thoroughly.”

Lady Qin’s gaze flickered briefly, and she smiled and offered a few words of agreement. Wang Shi listened with great satisfaction.

Lady Qin’s voice was soft and gentle, flowing as if in quiet murmur, and without one quite knowing when, she had a way of persuading you of things. Her manner of speaking, though easy and natural, never lost its high-born elegance. If the noble Lady of the Yongchang Marquis Household carried a grandeur with an air of cool detachment, Lady Qin’s was a quiet grace that barely made itself felt. She understood very well how to speak to different people: toward Sheng Lao her diction was refined, every phrase cultivated and literary, entirely in the manner of a marquis household’s daughter; toward Wang Shi she was warm and unguarded, easy and familiar. After some time, Sheng Lao’s manner had grown somewhat more intimate though still courteous — but Wang Shi had gradually let down her initial wariness and vigilance, and the two of them were talking with increasing warmth.

The ladies chatted and laughed for a while, and then Lady Qin suddenly showed a trace of hesitation. She glanced at Minglan, appearing to want to speak but holding back. Ordinarily slow-witted Wang Shi suddenly became quick-minded, and immediately said: “Lady, please speak freely — no need to stand on ceremony.”

Lady Qin smiled pleasantly and no longer held back: “In that case, I will not mince words. The reason I have come to trouble you today is to deliver my second son’s birth-date card.” As she spoke, she withdrew from her sleeve a large, red, gold-dusted folded paper and presented it with both hands to Sheng Lao. Then she added: “If neither of you finds the Gu Household too modest and plain, I will take the liberty of asking for Minglan’s birth-date card in exchange.”

Minglan worked hard to lower her head further, thoroughly vexed in her heart. She ought, at this moment, to have a face flushed bright crimson and an expression of perfect shyness — but her face was simply not going red at all! She could hardly slap herself several times across the cheek to bring up the color.

Sheng Lao took the birth-date card, flipped it open for a brief look, and a satisfied expression rose on her face. She cast a glance at Wang Shi, who understood at once, and immediately turned to smile: “What is there to speak of ‘modest and plain’? The Ningyuan Marquis Household has distinguished service founding the dynasty and guarding the frontier — who in the world does not hold them in admiration? It is only a wonder whether our Minglan is worthy of the match!”

In truth, Wang Shi said this only as polite demurral — nothing more than an expanded version of “You flatter us.” But Lady Qin’s eyes unexpectedly grew a little misty, and a look of faint sorrow crossed her expression.

Wang Shi saw this and immediately asked with concern. Lady Qin dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief and smiled through the emotion: “It is nothing… only that… I have come today with one more thing I must say. I hope Grandmother and Madam Wang will not think me too presumptuous.”

“Please go ahead,” said Sheng Lao quietly, her eyes brightening.

Lady Qin set down her handkerchief, her smile still gentle and warm, though lightly touched with sorrow: “My second son has always had a strong will. Since quarreling with his late father and leaving home, he and the family have grown increasingly estranged over the years. His elder brother and I have been deeply troubled — Gu Household is still his home, after all. Now that he is to be married, I thought… the wedding really ought to be held at the Ningyuan Marquis Household.”

Wang Shi hesitated faintly — in matters involving the conflict between a biological mother and a stepmother, she, as a mother-in-law who had not yet achieved official status in the arrangement, was not in a position to express opinions prematurely. Sheng Lao reflected briefly, then said: “Setting aside that the wedding has not yet been finalized — even once Minglan has entered the Gu Household, matters of the Gu Family’s internal affairs would not be ours to comment on at will.”

Lady Qin let out a gentle sigh, and looked directly at Sheng Lao with candid, sincere eyes, speaking quietly: “Ye’s eldest brother is now quite gravely ill, confined to his bed and missing his younger brother every day. He says that with so much to manage, he must have a close blood relation to help share the burden; the younger ones below are all unseasoned. If Ye could return to the Household, then in future…” And then came a long, quiet sigh.

Wang Shi’s eyes lit up. It was no secret that Gu Tingyu currently had no heir and was gravely ill. To marry into a marquis household as a younger brother’s wife and to serve as the marquis’s own wife were two entirely different standings in the world — and the gap in prestige between a marquis’s brother’s mother-in-law and a marquis’s own mother-in-law was even more vast. Furthermore, the Ningyuan Marquis Household genuinely needed Gu Tingye to prop up the family’s reputation. Thinking along these lines, she could not help saying: “It would naturally be best for him to return home…” The remainder was cut off by Sheng Lao’s gaze; Wang Shi slowly reined herself back in.

Sheng Lao withdrew the look she had directed at Wang Shi and turned to smile at Lady Qin: “Commander Gu is a perceptive man — he will certainly understand the Marquis’s difficulties and your ladyship’s kindness.”

Lady Qin appeared not in the least displeased. She turned to glance at Minglan standing to one side, then turned back to face Sheng Lao directly, looking at her steadily, word by word: “Being a stepmother has never been easy, as everyone knows — and my second son’s nature, as people are aware, is strong-willed. He was unruly and troublesome in his youth, then went off to roam the rivers and lakes; his temperament has inevitably become somewhat inflexible. He once declared openly that he would ‘marry none but a legitimate-born daughter.’ Now… I find Minglan to be a good young woman, and with me here, I cannot promise everything — but I will not allow anyone to bully her!”

As she reached the last words, her voice nearly broke with emotion. Wang Shi was quite moved, found the words reasonable, and nodded with a light sigh.

But Sheng Lao’s brow furrowed, as though puzzled. She turned her eyes toward Minglan — and saw that Minglan had raised her head slightly, her expression still composed, but her large eyes gleaming with a bright, clear light. Minglan immediately lowered her head again, not daring to let anyone catch the subtle change in her expression. She had understood where the issue lay.

Gu Tingye had made his intention to marry into the Sheng Family known, and the matter had reached the Emperor’s ears. Everyone had assumed the bride would be the Sheng Family’s legitimate daughter. Then came the unexpected turn: Rulan was matched elsewhere, and Gu Tingye had quietly, without a word of objection, accepted the Sheng Family’s concubine-born daughter. Why was the circle of officials so pleased? Because they believed this was the newly-risen powerful nobleman making a concession and showing respect to them — hence the wave of praise from outside.

Minglan’s mind was clear as day. Most people would assume it was Gu Tingye who had backed down. But in truth, only she and Sheng Lao knew that the situation was precisely the reverse — she was the one who had been schemed into this position.

Following the general pattern of thinking, given Gu Tingye’s and Lady Qin’s established reputations, Lady Qin’s words just now were in fact highly persuasive. Yet… a trace of a smile, barely perceptible, appeared on Minglan’s face. She finally understood where her greatest advantage lay — she knew a Gu Tingye that no one else knew. Very few people — especially those within the Gu Household — would ever know this.

Minglan slowly raised her head. Her gaze met Sheng Lao’s directly. Sheng Lao too seemed to have gradually understood. The faintest trace of quiet, satisfied pleasure rose at the corners of her mouth. She turned to Lady Qin and replied: “I am afraid your ladyship is mistaken. My sixth young lady has always been born legitimate.”